5th Starter Wars

(in your best Bill Murray lounge singer voice please)

"Starter wars, nothing, but....starter wars...."

In a battle of craptasticy, no clear frontrunner has emerged as the favorite for the Mets 5th starter position.

As such, I have officially added Pedro Martinez to the list of those battling for the position.

Loyal readers of NY Sports Dog know I've been touting Pedro for months, and ran this piece a few days ago.

So let's take a look at the competition:

Freddy Garcia: Coming back from injury, mixed results now with decreased velocity and very hittable "fat" pitches in his last outing.
Tim Redding: Shut down once already, 4.95 ERA last year including a 6.49 ERA in his last 10 starts, another guy coming back from surgery
Livan Hernandez: Looked good in 2 innings in his first start, and then got bombed. Hernandez, who needed just 18 pitches in two perfect innings against the Cardinals in his spring debut last Friday, allowed three runs in 2-2/3 innings in the Mets' 6-4 loss to the Nationals yesterday. Hernandez was pulled one out shy of his targeted three innings when he walked Kory Casto to load the bases. The final six Nats to face Hernandez reached base. 6.05 ERA last year including a 7.91 ERA in his last 10 starts in 2008.
Jon Niese: Got bombed this week, very much looks like a AAA pitcher at this point
Pedro Martinez: Martinez pitched two innings, his first game work since Sept. 25 with the Mets, and allowed two runs, three hits and one walk with two strikeouts in the Dominican Republic's 6-1 loss to the Orioles yesterday.

So the battle continues....and speaking of battles, there is a terrific on-going prank war going on between a couple of guys from CollegeHumor.com.

The latest installment just might be the best one yet.

Good Morning Mets Fans!

The Mets have dialed 6-1-1 under "interim" manager Jerry Manuel.

That is, a 33-21 record and a .611 winning percentage. It equates to 99 wins over a full season.

The never say die Mets have won their last 5 games, all on the road, and now stand 2 games up on the Phils and 3.5 up on the Marlins.

In last night's 7-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates the main contributers were a strong start by Pedro Martinez, the athleticism of Jose Reyes, and a balanced offensive attack that featured hits by 8 of the 9 starters and a bomb from Ramon Castro.

The Mets starting pitching staff is really stepping up its game, and Pedro is looking better and better with each start. All 5 starters are healthy and pitching well.

Future Hall of Famer Martinez is 1-1 in August with a fine 2.59 ERA. In his last two starts he has thrown 13 innings while surrendering 2 earned runs.

In last night's outing he didn't have his good fastball, but he always has his brain and experience--he deftly worked all four corners of the strike zone and changed speeds beautifully.

"It's starting to come along," Martinez said. "The last two outings, I've been making adjustments to get where I want to be."

"Pedro was outstanding tonight," said Jerry Manuel, "He kept them off balance, got big outs when he needed to and threw a minimum of pitches. That was impressive. We need that type of effort going forward."

Jose Reyes led off the game with a homerun off Pirate starter Zach Duke, then tripled in his second at-bat to score Pedro from first base.

Reyes is absolutely going to be a part of the MVP discussion. He is hitting .346 on this road trip and has played a major role in the winning streak, both with his bat and his glove.

NL Offense and Where Jose Ranks:
1st in Hits
1st in Triples
2nd in Stolen Bases
7th in Batting Average
10th in Doubles

Ramon Castro continues to prove his worth as the best backup catcher in the Game. He went 2 for 3 yesterday with a long homerun that put the Mets up 6-0.

But it wasn't all a bowl of cherries, primarily with the bullpen. Eddie Kunz struggled after a long layoff. It would be nice to see what he could do in back to back games.

Otherwise the bullpen was fine. Stokes and Feliciano both looked strong, and the single Joe Smith gave up was on a ground ball.

Billy Wagner's elbow is sore. He is throwing and the forearm strain is gone, but he is stiff and in some pain. Sounds like it will be a week of careful rehab and then we'll see. He is getting examined today.

Johan Santana on the hill against former Yankee Jeff Karstens--should be a good one.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets (67-56) «	3	1	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	7	11	0
Pittsburgh (55-68)	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	4	13	0

Player of the Game

New York

P. Martinez	IP	7.0
	H	8
	ER	1
	BB	1
	K	4

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jose Reyes, SS	5	1	2	2	0	0	4	.305
Nick Evans, LF	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	.243
Endy Chavez, LF	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.272
David Wright, 3B	5	1	1	0	0	1	2	.292
Carlos Beltran, CF	5	1	1	1	0	1	1	.270
Carlos Delgado, 1B	5	1	1	0	0	1	2	.260
Fernando Tatis, RF	3	0	1	1	1	0	0	.302
Damion Easley, 2B	4	1	1	0	0	1	3	.267
Ramon Castro, C	3	1	2	2	1	1	0	.270
Pedro Martinez, P	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	.148
a- Daniel Murphy, PH	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	.421
Brian Stokes, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.667
Eddie Kunz, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Joe Smith, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Pedro Feliciano, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	37	7	11	7	3	6
a-walked for P. Martinez in the 8th
Batting
2B - Carlos Beltran (31, Duke)
3B - Jose Reyes (14, Duke)
HR - Jose Reyes (13, Duke), Ramon Castro (7, Duke)
SH - Pedro Martinez (4)
RBI - Jose Reyes 2 (53), Carlos Beltran (81), Fernando Tatis (36), Ramon Castro 2 (23), Daniel Murphy (9)
2-OUT RBI - Fernando Tatis (7), Ramon Castro 2 (17), Daniel Murphy (3)
Team LOB - 7
Fielding
DP - Wright-Easley-Delgado, Easley-Reyes-Delgado

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pedro Martinez (W,4-3)	7	8	1	1	1	4	1	4.96
Brian Stokes	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3.38
Eddie Kunz	0.1	3	3	3	0	0	0	13.50
Joe Smith	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4.25
Pedro Feliciano (S,2)	0.2	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.57
HBP - Pearce (by Eddie Kunz)
WP - Pedro Martinez (1), Eddie Kunz (2)
Pitches-Strikes - Pedro Martinez 95-64, Brian Stokes 12-9, Eddie Kunz 17-7, Joe Smith 5-4, Pedro Feliciano 8-6
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Pedro Martinez 8-7, Brian Stokes 2-1, Eddie Kunz 1-0, Pedro Feliciano 1-1
Batters Faced - Pedro Martinez 28, Brian Stokes 4, Eddie Kunz 5, Joe Smith 1, Pedro Feliciano 2

Throwing Out the First Pitch at Shea

I bet you've all considered what stepping onto the field at Shea Stadium would be like at some point in your lives.

Who didn't dream about pitching for the Mets, hitting a homerun to the Apple, or being a part of those wonderful and always interesting Met teams?

When my friend Corey told me his fiancee, Stephanie Demonte, was asked to throw out the first pitch at Shea for a great cause, I jumped at the chance to share her experience with you.

Stephanie is a young stroke survivor, a dedicated and selfless volunteer, and an amazing role model in our community.

Stephanie, thanks for sharing your experience with us and congratulations on your selection to throw out the 1st pitch at Shea during the final season. How were you selected for the honor?

It came about through some volunteer work I've been doing in support of a great organization--the American Heart Association. I have been volunteering with The American Heart Association "Go Red for Women" Program for many years. Initially, I began at NYU Rusk Cardio-rehab and continued after my stroke in 2005.

I was nominated to throw out the first pitch by one of the Directors of Go Red, and I obviously accepted!

Can you give our readers a rundown of what the day was like for you? Did you get to meet any players or coaches? Anyone give you any pointers before the throw? Did you stay for the whole game?

After my fiancee Corey and I arrived at Shea, we were given a tour of the stadium. The tour included a stop at the Mets bullpen (where we saw Heath Bell and Guy Conti), indoor batting cage, equipment room, locker room door, and other locations. We then went to the field to wait to throw the first pitch where we had a short conversation with SNY's Kevin Burkhardt.

When my name was called on the public address system, I was laughing because it was ridiculous that I was taking the field with the rest of the Mets! After my pitch, we made our way to our seats where we watched the entire game.

Were you a Mets fan growing up, and do you still follow the team? Who is your favorite player?

I never was a big baseball fan, but I grew up in a Mets home, and I even went to John Franco's house in Staten Island when I was a kid. Corey is a HUGE Mets fan, so I sometimes watch the games when he has it on, which is basically all the time! He is truly a Mets fanatic. I don't really have a favorite player, but Corey loves David Wright and Jose Reyes.

Tell us a bit more about the charity and how folks can get involved.

The goal of the American Heart Association Go Red For Women is to raise awareness about heart disease and stroke in women. The organization is trying to change the perception so women understand that these are not "man's diseases." By teaching more and more women to talk to their doctors about heart disease and stroke, we can save thousands of lives every year.

It is very easy to join the movement on the website at http://www.goredforwomen.org, which gives all of the information on how to get involved and make a real difference in the lives of everyone around you.

Hope 4 Stroke is a non-profit organization run completely by stroke survivors and caregivers, to support other stroke survivors and caregivers. You can get information on how to get involved and how to donate at http://www.hope4stroke.com.

Last question, was it a strike down the middle or "just a bit outside"?

A STRIKE!!! Brian Schneider caught it and told me, "Great Job!"

After the throw, we were in the tunnel when Pedro Martinez let up the first pitch homerun, when the grounds crew told me to turn around and get ready to pitch in the game! I guess I am not as a big of a spaz as Corey says I am!

Thanks Stephanie! We don't think you're a spaz either, in fact, your story is inspirational, and it's our hope that readers get involved with both Go Red For Women and Hope 4 Stroke. Congratulations on the first pitch, the upcoming nuptials, and your continued good health. Corey is one lucky guy!

Mets Rx: Health Update

Pedro Martinez came back last night and pitched reasonably well. His fastball creeped into the low 90s, and he climbed the ladder on several occasions en route to 5 Ks in 5 decent innings. He did allow 3 solo homeruns, but that had more to do with missing location than his stuff, which was pretty good.

John Maine is being skipped for precautionary reasons and feels good about his return. His MRI detected only minor swelling and no damage. Maine plans to throw both his sideline sessions before his start on Friday.

Ryan Church continues his increasing workout regiment and will fly to NY on Monday for an evaluation. If all goes well, expect to see Church back next week.

Luis Castillo DH'd for Port St Lucie and is progressing well. Expectations are for him to play a week's worth of games and, if all goes well, re-join the big club..

The Mets Critical Moment in Time

The Mets enter August one game out of first place and play a grueling 29 games in 31 days, including 23 games in a row from August 5-27.

John Maine might be hurt, or he might not be.

Ryan Church is still not back.

Luis Castillo is still not back.

And then there's Pedro Martinez, and he alone just might hold the key to the rest of the Mets season.

Pedro fought his way back last year, fought his way back in Spring Training, injured himself in his first start of the year, fought his way back again, came back with limited success, tweaked himself again, lost his father to cancer, and he is coming back, again, tonight.

I am particularly proud of my comma use in the above sentence, and I am worried about Pedro.

In a best-case scenario world the Mets have 5 really good starters. This presupposes John Maine comes back next week, and a healthy and moderately effective Pedro keeps the Mets in ballgames through 6 innings.

In a worse-case scenario the Mets get back a broken down former star who can only get by on guile and an increasingly slow, and hittable, array of pitches. This scenario, coupled with John Maine's injury being more serious than the Mets are letting on, would most likely put the Mets in a situation where John Niese and a lot of luck will be required to win the NL East.

Personally I'm optimistic. In his last two starts before the groin injury Pedro looked good--his arm slot was higher and he had more life on his fastball. In the "groin game" he had only allowed 1 hit through 4 innings, and I recall remarking to my friend that "looks like Petey is back."

But the realist in me says that the groin and shoulder are there lurking, waiting, and that whatever we get from Pedro at this point will have to be enough. 4 innings? 5 innings? 1 start or 10 more?

It's the great unknown.

Regardless I am, as always, the eternal Met optimist and feel good that Pedro Martinez is on the mound.

An August 1st with a healthy Pedro, Maine, Church and yes, even Castillo, would surely have been a wonderful thing. If we can have "our guys" back and healthy by next weekend, then all will be well in Met Nation.

As for now we'll watch and hope....it surely is a critical moment in time.

News and Notes

John Maine will travel to NY today to have an MRI to determine if there's any structural damage on his shoulder. He complained of pain before the game and dropped his shoulder angle during the game, which caused concern for other injuries due to the change in his motion.

Maine is next scheduled to pitch Sunday in Houston.

Pedro Martinez will get the start Friday and will be on an 80 pitch count.

Jerry Manuel named Fernando Tatis his starting leftfielder from here on out.

21-year old John Niese, the Mets best minor league pitcher, has been promoted to AAA.

Good Morning Mets Fans! 8 is Great!

Eight in a row and the Mets are officially the hottest team in baseball.

All they did was combine for the 33rd 1-hitter in club history and set a major league record in the process by allowing 3 or fewer hits in 5 consecutive ballgames.

The Mets are now just a half game back of the Phils in the NL East, and only 1.5 games back of the Cards in the NL Wild Card race.

It's as if Jerry Manuel snapped his fingers and said, "I want to get my guys to the top and let the second half decide the best team." Right now, the Cubs and Mets look like the cream of the NL crop.

National League East
Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road	East	Cent.	West	L10	Strk
Philadelphia	51	44	.537	-	26-23	25-21	17-14	17-12	13-7	5-5	L 1
N.Y. Mets	50	44	.532	½	27-18	23-26	18-16	6-8	17-14	9-1	W 8
Florida	49	44	.527	1	26-20	23-24	19-14	11-10	14-10	6-4	W 3
Atlanta	43	50	.462	7	30-18	13-32	16-19	9-16	10-8	3-7	L 2
Washington	36	59	.379	15	20-29	16-30	14-21	11-18	3-10	2-8	L 1

How did they get it done today? Pitching, pitching, pitching, and just a smattering of timely hitting.

Pedro Martinez was masterful early, surrendering only 1 hit through 4 before being taken out for precaution. His shoulder stiffened up on him a little, and Jerry Manuel quickly made the move to the Mets stellar bullpen.

"He wanted to go back in the game," Manuel said. "He fought, fought, fought, fought to go back out there and pitch, but I said, 'No."'

“My shoulder kind of locked up, so I had to pop it back,” Martinez said. “The flexibility is there. The strength is there. There’s nothing bothering me. I was fine, except my groin is a little sore. We’re going to rest it now during the All-Star break. … It’s not anything uncommon. It’s scar tissue and stuff like that. The doctor already checked me. My shoulder is perfectly fine. I’ve got nine days.”

Jose Reyes, you know, the guy who is not an All-Star, hit his 43rd extra-base hit of the season, his 10th homerun...Reyes also walked to lift his OBP to .366.

Jose's projected stats for the year are phenomenal:

SPLITS	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Season	92	391	68	118	23	10	10	42	41	48	32	10	.302	.366	.488	.854
Career	687	2905	487	832	141	62	54	283	215	352	266	68	.286	.335	.433	.769
Last 7	7	31	5	13	3	0	0	3	4	2	3	1	.419	.486	.516	1.002
Projected	160	680	118	205	40	17	17	73	71	83	56	17	.302	.366	.488	.854

Jose is definitely happy. "It feels good," Reyes said. "We're playing together as a team, we've got a lot of communication. That's why we've been successful."

Brian Schneider is another player who is hot, though you don't hear much about it. He has a .424 OBP in JUly, and I believe he is benefitting from the "near-platoon" he has with Ramon Castro.

Schneider had 3 leadoff walks on the day and called a terrific game behind the plate.

But the real "Player of the Game" was the bullpen. They have pitched 18 2/3 scoreless innings on this homestand and held the Rockies hitless over 5 innings.

Muniz, Schoeneweis, Heilman and Wagner...it was a symphony orchestrated masterfully by the Mets skipper.

Carlos Muniz has pitched 3.1 innings of no-hit baseball during this 5 game run and got the win.

Scott Schoeneweis sports a 2.65 ERA on the season hasn't given up a run in his last 6 outings. His July ERA is 0.00 with 4 hits allowed in 4.2 innings.

Aaron Heilman is on fire....REALLY on fire. In June and July he has pitched 21.2 innings, allowed 4 runs, struck out 25, and walked only 6. I wrote last month that he was still our best bridge to Wags, and he is proving that more and more every day.

Speaking of Billy Wagner, how happy was he to get out of Philly? All he's done the last 3 games in pitch no-hit baseball to close out all three wins with just 32 pitches. He also leads the team in ERA.

There's still one more game left before the break....Mike Pelfrey on the ESPN Sunday night game. Big Pelf is another hot pitcher, and I like our chances here...it's a game the Mets can make a statement with.

So enjoy your Sunday Morning coffee my friends....it sure feels good to be a Mets fan right now.

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Colorado (39-56)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
N.Y. Mets (50-44) «	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	x	3	8	0

Players of the Game

New York J. Reyes AB 4 R 1 H 1 HR 1 RBI 1

New York B. Schneider AB 1 R 0 H 1 HR 0 RBI 1

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jose Reyes, SS	4	1	1	1	1	0	2	.302
Argenis Reyes, 2B	5	0	1	0	0	1	4	.278
David Wright, 3B	4	0	1	0	0	2	1	.285
Carlos Beltran, CF	4	1	1	0	0	0	2	.262
Fernando Tatis, LF	4	0	1	1	0	2	2	.293
Carlos Delgado, 1B	2	1	1	0	2	1	0	.248
Endy Chavez, RF	3	0	1	0	0	1	3	.269
Brian Schneider, C	1	0	1	1	3	0	0	.254
Pedro Martinez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
a- Nick Evans, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	.179
Carlos Muniz, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
b- Marlon Anderson, PH	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.192
Aaron Heilman, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Scott Schoeneweis, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
c- Robinson Cancel, PH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.200
Billy Wagner, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	30	3	8	3	6	9
a-struck out for P. Martinez in the 4th
b-struck out for Muniz in the 6th
c-grounded out for Schoeneweis in the 8th
Batting
2B - Carlos Beltran (23, Jimenez), Brian Schneider (5, Jimenez)
HR - Jose Reyes (10, Jimenez)
SH - Endy Chavez (8), Pedro Martinez (3)
RBI - Jose Reyes (42), Fernando Tatis (19), Brian Schneider (20)
SB - Argenis Reyes (1, 2nd base off Jimenez/Iannetta), David Wright (11, 2nd base off Speier/Iannetta), Carlos Beltran (15, 3rd base off Jimenez/Iannetta), Fernando Tatis (3, 2nd base off Jimenez/Iannetta)
Team LOB - 11
Fielding
DP - Reyes-Delgado

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Pedro Martinez	4	1	0	0	3	3	0	6.25
Carlos Muniz (W,1-1)	2	0	0	0	1	2	0	4.80
Aaron Heilman (H,11)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	4.50
Scott Schoeneweis (H,10)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.65
Billy Wagner (S,22)	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2.31
Pitches-Strikes - Pedro Martinez 66-36, Carlos Muniz 31-20, Aaron Heilman 12-7, Scott Schoeneweis 7-6, Billy Wagner 14-10
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Pedro Martinez 2-6, Carlos Muniz 1-3, Aaron Heilman 2-0, Scott Schoeneweis 1-1, Billy Wagner 1-1
Batters Faced - Pedro Martinez 15, Carlos Muniz 7, Aaron Heilman 3, Scott Schoeneweis 3, Billy Wagner 3

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Just another day at the ballpark for the 2008 Mets. You know, 17 Hits, 10 Runs, a David Wright Homerun, strong outing by Pedro, 8-0 lead early.....and Billy Wagner on in the bottom of the 9th with the ballgame riding on his final pitch to Jayson Werth, the go ahead, and potential game winning, run for the Phils. Of course this was the same Jayson Werth that took Wags deep in the bottom of the 9th on Sunday to force extra innings.

Nervous, sweaty, irritated, unable to sit, here's the pitch from Wags--game over!

Crazy scoring day....went something like this:

8-0 Mets, and then...
10-1
10-2
10-3
10-5
10-7
10-9

Game Over...just like they draw it up in the manual. It was a wild ride! The Mets are now 45-44, and 2.5 games back in the NL East. With each game the club looks tighter, hits better, and shows a lot of the fight we expect from playoff caliber teams. The Mets, as has been reported on SNY, have a dugout full of chatter--pitchers now stay on the mound and hand the ball off to each other--it's a team with camaraderie, and that means something. Guys want to pick each other up. For those of you that have played sports, you know how good it feels to play ball with guys you like on a team with energy and kinship.

A lot of encouraging signs last night, none more so than Pedro Martinez, who looked like, well, Pedro Martinez. Pedro was more on top of the ball last night in his delivery. That translated into a lot more bite on his breaking pitches and more swings and misses. Pedro fanned 6 in 5 1/3, though he did look a little gassed in the 6th after running the bases and hitting an RBI single in the top half of the frame.

Is Pedro back? Maybe not all the way back, but I will say "Pedro is now here in 2008" and has a little ways to get back to 100%, but he's getting there. I think even he'd agree with that.

"My confidence is still an issue," Martinez said. "Without a doubt, this personal slump isn't over yet. I still have a lot of work to do."

The other encouraging sign from last night was the continued resurgence of the Mets offense. The Mets reached double digits in hits for the seventh time in nine games and now have 88 hits and 50 runs in their past seven contests.

"Maybe we're seeing the ball better," said center fielder Carlos Beltran, "we're getting on base and everything is starting to click."

The Mets can also point the finger at one Mr Professional Damion Easley as a reason for their resurgence---the guy is hot--no that's an understatement--they guy is so hot that he can turn sand into glass by waving his magic bat over it. Yeah, that's better.

How hot? Well he batted .340 in June, which was apparently just a tuneup for July.

Yup, he is 14 for 30 in July--a ridiculous .467. He has started all 7 games in July and is positively locked in on every at-bat. That puts pressure on the opposing pitcher, that moves runners along, that helps your teammates, that scores runs, that gets you to middle relievers quicker, that helps a lineup click....that is hot!

David Wright drove in 4 runs last night and now has 70 RBIs on the year. David Wright is not an All-Star...yet. He's in second place in the last man voting--I kind of hope he stays there.

Jose Reyes had two more hits, 2 more runs scored, and a stolen base last night...he now has 111 hits on the year, 66 Runs Sored, and 32 Stolen Bases....Jose Reyes is not an All-Star.

I was re-examining the Mets remaining schedule last night, and my eyes popped--they literally popped--in fact I had to take a break and put them back into their sockets.

The Mets have played 49 road games and only 40 home games. This means they have 41 home games remaining, and only 32 road games. Moreover, they don't have any more long road trips left, and they are done visiting the West Coast.

If you are a loyal reader (and I know you are) you'll remember how much I bagged on MLB for sending the Mets to the West Coast three times in June, with two of the trips occurring with one Mets 3-game homestand in the middle--ridiculous.

Well dear readers, let me say now that the brutal June schedule may have been a blessing in disguise, though it also may have contributed to Willie's dismissal, but that is pure supposition.

So what road games are left?

4 in Cincy
6 in Fla
3 in Houston
7 in Wash
4 in Pitt
2 in Philly
3 in Milwaukee
3 in Atl

Not bad--not bad at all. Did I mention the other thing in the Mets favor? 9 days off--yes, 9 off days--a ton by baseball standards. Seems as if the Mets first half schedule didn't allow for those "off day" thingies very often, so they load them up in the second half (when you need them the most).

So let's recap--the Mets are 2.5 games out, they only have 32 road games remaining, they don't have any more brutal road trips, Pedro is pitching better, the offense is clicking, Damion Easley can turn sand into glass with his bat, and David Wright and Jose Reyes are not all-stars.

Enjoy your coffee my peeps! Two young guns go tonight--Big Pelf against the amazing Tim Lincecum--could be a great one!