David Wright powered the Mets to a 8 to 4 victory over the Dodgers last night.  His two home runs and four RBI lead the Mets way to their third consecutive victory, the first time they've hit a winning streak of three since April 26 through 29.  Claudio Vargas earned his second win of the season.

Wright got the Mets going in the third with his first of two two-run homers.  Then in the fourth when the inning seemed to be over, catcher interference was called on Russell Martin and the inning extended with only two outs.  From there, Jose Reyes got a single, followed by a Luis Castillo double that allowed two runs to score after a throwing error, only followed by Wright second homer.

Vargas hit a little rough patch after the big inning, only allowing the Dodgers to get back into a little.  Not much came from it, as Endy Chavez and Brian Schneider provided back to back daggers with RBI singles in the seventh, make it an 8 to 4 ball game which didn't change from there.

The most alarming thing from last night's game is that all eight runs came with two outs.  Try to wrap your head around that Mets fans.  This team, who seems incredibly inept with runners on and two outs, found their way to get eight across in those situations.  Great job.

People can comment on how David Wright isn't "feeling", but one-third into the season he has 11 home runs and 40 RBI.  I'll take it.

If anyone was watching the game on SNY as I was, you saw they totally cut to commercial before the catcher interference call was made in the fourth, which forced the Reyes at-bat to be missed.  Bad job by SNY cutting to commercial before team's even really leave the field.  They also made a little mistake on Sunday during the game on CW11.

But really a great victory.  Things feel a lot better than they did on Monday.  You have to feel good about things as a Mets fan right now, as things seem to be on the up side.  Just stay inspired and keep it going, boys.

Last night's 7 to 6 victory over the Marlins was exactly what the Mets have been looking for since this season started.  From top to bottom it was pretty much a perfectly scripted game.  I think the only flaw you can point out for the Mets was Oliver Perez giving up three home runs.

Now while Duaner Sanchez got the win despite practically being the loser, this win goes to the bullpen.  What a tremendous job by Scott Schoeneweis, Aaron Heilman, Billy Wagner and Sanchez.  They sat down 18 of the 19 they had to face, the only one being the homer given up by Sanchez.  And they did this entirely being in control, combining for nine strikeouts.

Then of course the extra bounce the Mets seemed to have in their step yet again proved to lead to a win.  Once the Mets fell behind in the sixth for some reason I felt this was the night we had our big comeback.  The only other comeback came against the Nationals on April 17, and it was really nothing that big.  But last night had the feel of a big one.  While sitting there in the ninth with Endy Chavez up and behind in the count, there was just a feel that Endy would do something.  Who would've thought that something was a game tying home run.  And then it was really fitting that in the 12th inning the game was in the hands of Fernando Tatis, the guy trying to resurrect his career.   Once again behind in the count, he ripped it down the line scoring David Wright and Carlos Beltran to get the walk-off win.  We knew this team had it in them, but it's good to finally see some resiliency.

That's the attitude they need.  For the first time in a while I can say this team looks like they believe in themselves.  Now there's two games, time to make something big out of it.

In my post following Monday's loss, I had the following to say:

"all this team needs is a big, dramatic, comeback win"

And man, did we wait a long time for one like this.

There was a certain energy coming from this team once again tonight and it started off well with a Luis Castillo homerun.  The reserves did well again and Jose Reyes hit another homerun as the Mets had the lead.  However, Oliver Perez fell apart after his great start, surrendering three homeruns and the Mets were once again trailing after six innings.  And we all know the stat, 1-19.  Well in the ninth inning against the Marlins closer Kevin Gregg, Endy Chavez turned on one to tie it up.  Fast forward to the 12th inning as Duaner Sanchez, who looked awesome, just had Amezega kinda get lucky and tie the game up with a homerun.  So can we do it?  David Wright walks.  Beltran singles.  After an Easley strike out, the unlikely hero, Fernando Tatis won the game with a double into the left field corner.  What a game.

A really awesome game, and I had a great feeling the whole time about this one, and I have no idea why.  Great job by the bullpen, great job by the offense finally showing some guts and some fight, and great way to not quit.

You gotta love it, this is what we need.  I feel good right now, all of us should feel good right now, and based on that celebration, I know the Mets feel damn good right now.

WOOO! METS WIN!

The Mets look to take the final game of this three game series against the NL East leading Marlins.  With another lefty going for the Marlins, Scott Olson, Willie Randolph will send out the same lineup that found the Mets a victory last night.  So yes, Carlos Delgado is once again on the bench.

It's a big night for Oliver Perez who needs to be on top of his game.  It's a must for him to pitch the way he did against the Yankees on that Sunday night.  Everyone within the Mets would be able to let out a big sigh of relief with a victory tonight, because the focus has to get back onto winning series.

The Mets need to focus on the task at hand, which is tonight's game.  That means no thinking "hey we played great last night".  Worry about Scott Olson and the Marlins tonight and just take care of business.

This is worth a note, as Jay Horwitz, the Mets PR guy, is wearing his orange suit jacket.  He was talked into wearing the jacket last night and the Mets won, so maybe we've found our good luck charm.

Let's get it done tonight, Ollie.  Enjoy the game everyone.

LET'S GO METS! 

Well it's nice to be waking up the night after a victory.  It's been a rarity lately.  So with the heat being off the Mets for at least a few more hours, I have a few notes to pass along on this Wednesday.

Pedro Martinez will make a rehab start in Single-A Port St. Lucie tonight.  If all goes well Pedro expects to rejoin the Mets in San Francisco in order to start Tuesday night.

If you missed it, Matt Wise is back on the 15-day DL, leading to Carlos Muniz getting the call once again.  There was some speculation that Aaron Heilman may be sent down to Triple-A, but with Wise on the DL that seems unlikely now.

Ryan Church fortunately has no brain damage, as results came back negative from his visit with a neurologist yesterday.  However it is still unknown as to when Church will be OK to play.

Marlon Anderson, who was placed on the 15-day DL over the weekend after injuring his hamstring, turns out to have a torn hamstring.  Anderson says he can walk now but cannot run.

The Mets currently aren't getting much love on the NL All-Star ballot, as no Met is in the lead at their respective position as of today.  I have a good feeling this is because of the large amount of frustrated fans in the first two months of the season.  Maybe things will change.

If you take the last 162 games the Mets have played, they are 79-83, four games worse than they were in Willie Randolph's first year as manager.  Mets fans have been stumbling all over the place in search of answers the last few weeks, trying to figure out why this team is struggling so much.  It makes no sense at all that a team that is built around the same core that was so dominant in 2006 and very successful through 130 games last season is basically lousy this season.

Maybe the wrong moves were made after the collapse.  Maybe they shouldn't of counted on Carlos Delgado bouncing back or Moises Alou, Orlando Hernandez and Pedro Martinez staying healthy.  Maybe they shouldn't of resigned Luis Castillo, who clearly was a player on the decline.  You can go so many ways about, but truthfully, and I don't know how many Mets fans agree with me, this team is WAY better than this.

I know the old saying is you are as good as your record shows, but I think you'd be foolish to think this team is not good.  They are absolutely underachieving, and I think it's quite clear that this team gives up.  Last night was a great example as the final 15 hitters were sat down by relievers who I would in no way label "unhittable".

There's a lot wrong with this team, and eventually things are gonna have to be shaken up.  Because things can not continue to go the way they are.  Bench Castillo, maybe even release Delgado- do something!  This formula is only equaling disaster, and it cannot continue.

I know Mets fans are basically saying "can it get any worse than this?" pretty much every day, and are painfully learning it can.  So I won't sit here and say tonight's the night, because it's gonna take a lot more than one night.

I am a super-positive fan, the ultimate Mets optimist.  I bring myself all the way from Jersey to Shea on more than occasion and spend every inning of this team either in front of a TV or with a radio by my side.  And if I have something to do, I have my VCR set, no question.  My point is that at a time when I've run out of good things to say about this team, you know it's bad.  But, we gotta remember, we do not turn on our team, no matter how tired of things we get.  Be there tonight, be in support of Johan and the Mets and let's try to get the ball rolling.  I know when 7:10 comes I'll be plugged into Mets baseball, so no body better be jumping ship yet.  Because after all,  ya gotta believe.

A day you thought would've been perfect for the Mets to start a turnaround turned out to be just a typical day in the 2008 story.  The Mets lost 7 to 3 the night after Willie Randolph received a temporary vote of confidence from the front office.

What can you say at this point?  It started out awful with the Jose Reyes error, ultimately leading to two runs in the first.  But then it seemed like the Mets woke up.  Reyes homered and they added a few more hits after that and we had a tied game.  The in the second Reyes homered again and all of a sudden the Mets were in the lead.  From there, all you had to do was drop in your seat and say "here we go again".

Mike Pelfrey struggled with two outs in the fourth and once you blinked the Marlins were up 6 to 3.  The Mets got the tying run to the play in the fifth with two on and none out, but from there the next 15 hitters were sat down and the game simply came to an end, once again on the losing side.

I'm out of comments.  I know that all this team needs is a big, dramatic, comeback win, but I knew it wasn't gonna happen tonight.  They only have one win when trailing after six innings.  Pathetic.

Then things got even worse once the fans started chanting "Fire Willie" and strongly booing Carlos Delgado.  It was an overall ugly night at Shea Stadium, and it seems like nothing has changed in the last week now.

Things are going bad, and I don't know how they can be fixed.  This isn't Willie's fault, and if you've watched any of these last eight games closely, you know it's not Willie's fault.  These guys taking the field need to take a good, long look at themselves and need to realize they need to start playing at a different.  Then, and only then, will this team turn things around.

It's been painful, Mets fans, but just hang on.  After all, that's why we're fans.

Maybe, just maybe, the dramatic episode has come to a close.  The meeting is over and Willie Randolph is still the manager of the New York Mets.

Now what's next?

Well for starters it's the Florida Marlins followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers on a seven-game home stand.  Tonight will be Mike Pelfrey against Ricky Nolasco, a guy who's career ERA is over 10 against the Mets.  With all that's happened in the last 10 days, if this team can't be inspired tonight, then I don't what would do the trick.

Let me take you back to exactly 10 days ago.  The Mets were about to send Claudio Vargas to the mound in his Mets debut against the Nationals.  At this point, it was still very possible for the Mets to go 5-2 on that home stand, and you were just hoping Vargas could do a decent job.  It was wasted, only to be capped off with Aaron Heilman having a disturbing outing that night.  Since then everything has seemingly gone down hill, when that night it really wasn't that bad.  Now maybe today, 10 days later, with the press conference complete, we can move forward and away.  Because as easily as a bad stretch comes, a good stretch can come.  And if the next 10 days are a complete 180 from the last 10, then I think the Orange and Blue life is a little better.

I have a good feeling that this team will come out playing well tonight.  I would hope they feel a bit of a burden is off their back now that Willie's job status seems clear for now, but they still need to get the burden of not playing well off their back.

I just hope the fans come out in support of their team and in support of their manager tonight.  Times have been bad, but maybe we should all try and move forward right now.  I'm listening to Willie Randolph on WFAN right now and he seems very upbeat and very optimistic.  That's the type of inspiring play I want to see from the Mets tonight.

LET'S GO METS!

The Mets are headed back home with things having gotten a whole lot worse since they left back on the 15th (remember the 1-0 loss?).  A dreadful 3-6 road trip, which started out 2-0, ended dropping two out of three to the Colorado Rockies, who hold the second worst record in the league, and practically fielded a Triple-A lineup this afternoon.  The Mets will take the field tomorrow night at Shea Stadium at 23-25.  But more importantly, the Mets may take the field without Willie Randolph, as a morning meeting with the Wilpons awaits him.

The week started with his comments, while maybe a little stupid, not really an issue in my mind (which is why I haven't commented on it).  The team in no way helped out their manager after that, dropping four disgusting games to the Braves and then playing a pathetic series against the Rockies.

Thankfully the Mets pulled out a win on Saturday, because this series was as ugly as the Braves.  Friday's 13-inning loss had a lot of sting to it.  I don't blame Billy Wagner, he was gonna give one up eventually, it was just bad timing.  But man, this team had so many opportunities that night and took advantage of none.  And then today was basically the script I've seen too many times, which is John Maine's doing fine and the moment he gets the grounder he needs for a double play, it gets right by the one and only Jose Reyes.  Unbelievable.

I don't wanna say what will happen.  It's a hell of a thing to predict a manager's firing on Memorial Day.  But if it happens, I won't be surprised.  I'm not saying it's the right or wrong move, but I won't be surprised if this is the case come around 3 PM tomorrow.

I really think Willie has shown to be a good manager, I just feel that everything is falling around him.  He may pay the price, and it'll be a shame.  Now some may say I'm crazy for thinking he's done good things here, but he really has.  Think back to 2006, when Pedro, El Duque and Cliff Floyd all went down with injuries and then Steve Trachsel was unprepared for the postseason.  Willie still made things work, and give him a ton of credit for rolling the dice with Maine and Ollie and finding away to make this team stay upbeat at that time.  But now it's like he's lost everyone but Wright and Wagner, and I'll include Ryan Church and Brian Schneider, but they've only been here seven weeks.  It's troubling as a fan to watch a team with so much talent just practically give up.

I don't know what tomorrow holds.  I hope Willie doesn't get fired, but I also hope the front office finds away to fix this.  Something has to be done, because obviously things cannot continue the way they are.

I wish I could elaborate more, but after this road trip I am mentally shot as a Mets fan.  Tomorrow morning I'll have some good things, especially after everything will Willie and the Wilpons goes down.

Happy Memorial Day.

I've been purposely inactive since last night's game on the blog, and basically as a fan in general.

He's the reality of it; last night sucked. When the game ended, I was in a horrible mood. Not just about the Mets, but it for some reason really crippled me living my own life last night. I just felt dejected. So today, I decided I need a day away.

Truth be told, everyone is starting to over-think all of this. The front office, the coaches, the players, the media and even the fans. Yes, the Mets are playing terrible baseball and that was a pitiful display at Turner Field. But too much thought is being put into turning things around and how to go about it. It's simple, go win. It could be a perfect win or a sloppy win, it goes down as one in the W column. So enough with the extra thoughts. That's why I needed a day away. I haven't read a paper or listened to a thing of talk radio. We need to try and relax. And by we I mean everyone linked to the New York Mets.

I have one comment to make for tonight's game out in Colorado...

Let's Go Mets!

It's just been announced that Moises Alou has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left calf.

Who's surprised? Not I said the disgruntled Mets fan.

See you in August, Moises.

When questioning the Mets lack of desire and fire, I don't think any Mets fans is factoring David Wright into that mix.  Released this morning was a very good article by Marty Noble on MLB.com.  Wright spoke out a bit, saying things that are entirely true...

"I can accept losing, not easily, but every team loses here and there. But to go out and give the effort we're giving, to go out and lose without a fight ..."

"I just don't think we have the fire I would hope we'd have."

"The problem, isn't there or in there (the manager or coaches). ... The problem is with us, in here."

"Losing like this, I hope, would ruin their nights."

Good for David for speaking his mind.  Everyone has been saying this.  It's been something I've been saying pretty much every day on here, and if you look anywhere else, whether its SNY, WFAN, Metsblog.com, the Mets fan on the corner, they all say the same thing.  And now Wright's saying it.  I hope this message gets out to his teammates.

This is why you gotta respect Wright and then the guys like Wagner and Church and Maine.  These guys care.  Right now it's very much in question about the rest of them.  And this has kinda come up twice now in the last seven days with guys within questioning this team.  It's ridiculous that they didn't wake up the first time it happened.

Wright is 100 percent right in everything he said.  This team is missing all that.  And they need to realize it.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but Willie Randolph WILL lose his job if this team doesn't wake up.  I said it last night that someone has to step up.  I'm glad Wright said what he said, but obviously Wright isn't the problem.  I don't need to start mentioning any names, because there's way too many to mention.

I'm truthfully aggravated beyond belief this morning.  Wright's comments didn't necessarily put me in a good mood, but it had to be said.

There's a gap here.  It's becoming apparent that it's more that just on the field, the problems are coming from within as well.  You can only hope for change of tone in the near future, because if not, heads are gonna roll and this team will be in for a long, dreadful summer.

In the 3rd inning of last night's game, Moises Alou pulled himself due to a leg cramp.  As it turns out Alou has a mild strain in his left calf.  Alou told reporters he is not optimistic, but hopes for a "miracle" and can be back in a couple of days.  He is back in New York for an MRI

...basically, we'll see you in a few weeks, Moises.  It's crazy how this guy can't stay healthy.  And the hearing him say he's not optimistic tells you this will be a little bit of time.  I hope I'm wrong...

Ryan Church said he never had a concussion and hopes to be back in the lineup tonight.  Willie Randolph however wants to be "ultra-cautious".

...I'm becoming a big Church fan.  He's a gamer.  It's great that he wants to get right back out there...

Pedro Martinez arrived in Atlanta yesterday only to fly back to the Dominican Republic to be with his ailing father.  Pedro was scheduled to throw a bullpen session and possibly start for the Mets next week at home against the Marlins.

...our thoughts and prayers go out to Pedro and his family, it's a tough thing when someone in your family takes that turn for the worse...

When it rains its pours, and right now absolutely nothing can go right.  I noted how the Mets won as a team twice over the weekend at Yankee Stadium, well they're losing big time as a team as well.

Time and time again I've had to hear from the players, the manager, the front office, whoever, that 2007 is in the past, it's behind everyone.  Well if it's in the past, then why the hell is this team performing the exact same way? If they're all over the collapse, why are they continuing to collapse?  I'm hearing the same post-game comments whether it's win or loss for this team and I'm tired of it.  I thought that maybe today they would come out and find a way to take the Braves down, rally around their manager who is clearly on the hot seat, but of course that's not the case. I was crazy for thinking it would be.

I mean think about it, what gives any fan any reason to believe this team will turn it around into consistency.  If I woke up tomorrow morning and heard Willie Randolph was fired, I would not be surprised.  I'm not saying that's the right thing to do or that's gonna change anything, but I feel its just been such a downward spiral of late.

And I don't wanna hear anything about it being the Braves and it being in Turner Field, this team has looked like this against just about everyone at some point in time, even the Pirates earlier this year.  I'm sure all fans feel the way I do, as this is an extremely frustrating situation.

This team, this organization, has to take a good, long look at themselves in the mirror.  It's time to go out and perform.

I can't believe it, but here we are, May 21, and the Mets are 22-22.

In my experience as a Mets fan, I've always had a sense of optimism.  Even when the team had players like Bernard Gilkey and Todd Hundley, or Ty Wigginton and Jason Phillips, I was always the fan saying "hey, there's promise here!"

Now, with a team that's expected to produce, nothing is going right.  And that's forcing myself along with pretty much all Mets fans to have this sick feeling of failure, which has obviously been a huge part in Mets history.

Maybe it's all finally gotten to us.  We've been telling ourselves for years we have a good team, and now when we should with Santana and Reyes and Wright and Beltran and Delgado, we're a middle of the pack team.

Yeah, last September has been an extremely tough thing to get over.  People always said the defeats stick with the fans forever, and while it wasn't a playoff loss, that September collapse will sit in me forever.

So now, with the Mets 22-21 and Memorial Day approaching, you have to wonder what the Mets are doing.  There's been so many bad things happening to this team when going back to last July.  It starts with Jose Reyes not running out of the box and eventually being pulled from that game, then it goes to the constant bullpen failures, the embarrassing performances against the Nationals, not being able to beat the Phillies or hold the division lead, Pedro Martinez getting hurt again, inconsistent baseball, Billy Wagner's critical remarks and recently Willie Randolph's bizarre statements.  There's been so much BS going on within this team lately, no wonder they can't figure out how to go about just getting victories.

Tonight is a big night.  Five games remain on this road trip before going home for seven games.  The Mets cannot stumble back to Shea as a .500, or dare I say a sub-.500 baseball team.  If they think the boo'ing has been uncalled for, then imagine what it would be like on Memorial Day with the team being .500 or worse.

A decision has to be made on where this team is gonna go, and it has to be made by the 25 guys putting on the uniform.  Willie Randolph can't do anything here.  Someone has to be the guy to do something that gets this team going.  Mike Piazza just retired yesterday, and I hate to bring him up, but he was always a guy you could count on to do something big when this team needed something big,  Someone has to be that guy and it has to come tonight.  Do it in a stadium which this team has been historically dreadful at.  Make a statement, for once.   As a fan I am truthfully tired of the same "song and dance" with these Mets, and that's either win big or lose without seeming to try (even though that's not the case- you would hope not).  This is a game they have to win tonight.  It comes full circle with Pelfrey on the mound, and that 1-0 loss really started to snow ball all these issues.

Go out and make a statement.  It's Turner Field, it's the Braves... there couldn't be a better spot to do so.  For once let's see someone lead this team on the field and make it clear that the Mets are out to kill.

After an inspiring two games in the Bronx, the Mets came out and played a full day of listless baseball.  The start of game one seemed to be fine; Luis Castillo hit a home run and then the Mets put the next three guys on base, only to have all three left out there.  From there, the next 22 men were retired, 17 by ex-Met Tom Glavine.  The Mets went on to brutally losing the first.

Now I had a bad taste after the first game, the Mets just never play well at Turner Field.  But very little part of me felt good about the night game.  And those feelings proved to be right.  They didn't do a thing.  And it seemed like maybe they could come back, but after scoring their first two runs of the game, they gave two right back in the bottom of the inning.

Basically, the weekend was just another tease by what is now becoming the New York Mess.  I noted it yesterday, only three times has this team won three or more in a row.  At this point it seems like it is what it is. 

Now the Mets are in a terribly tough spot.  They have two games to follow the poor 18-inning performance they put up yesterday, and then they have three games at another stadium they've been historically bad at (Coors Field).  The Mets can in no way pull out say a 1-4 record to finish off this road trip.  They do that then they're going home under .500 for what you would figure to be a big four game series against the Marlins.

Right now it's just at a point of not being able to put your finger on the Mets.  Some days they seem like a wrecking ball, other days they seem lost and to be a bad baseball team.  And if you're someone who's watched this team through the first 43 games, the only thing you can be confident in is the starting pitching and Billy Wagner.  I also can't forget Ryan Church, but unfortunately he is surrounded by an inconsistent offense.

Somewhere things need to change.  And I hope this team plays the way they did at Yankee Stadium.  At some point this group needs to realize they're only showing to be a .500 team, and they need to understand they're a heck of a lot better than that.

It became official today, as C Mike Piazza officially announced his retirement.  The Hall of Fame catcher had a memorable 16-year career.  He spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics.  He finished with a career average of .308, with 427 home runs and 1,335 RBIs.

In no doubt, Mike Piazza was a significant figure in my baseball life.  I was only 10 years old in 1998 when the Mets made the greatest trade in their history bringing in the catcher.  I was ecstatic as a young fan because I knew how good Mike Piazza was, he was one of the best.  So having a stud come to my team was a great feeling and Piazza lived up to everything and more.  I'll never forget his first day coming to New York, as the image of that No. 31 on his back walking up the Mets dugout will always remain vivid in my mind.

Piazza had so many classic home runs for the Mets, it'd be hard for me to sit here and rank them all.  Fact of the matter is, he was the greatest offensive Met ever.  And I am honored to have been a fan growing up during that time.

I was at Shea Stadium the day he played his final game as a Met and then again the first day he returned as a member of the Padres.  Each day, when watching the tribute videos the Mets provided, a tear came to my eyes.

I'll try to do more on Piazza in the coming days, because he does indeed deserve a good tribute, other than just a blurb regarding his retirement.

For now, I'll leave with a nice quote provided by Piazza for the Mets fans.

"But I have to say that my time with the Mets wouldn't have been the same without the greatest fans in the world. One of the hardest moments of my career, was walking off the field at Shea Stadium and saying goodbye. My relationship with you made my time in New York the happiest of my career and for that, I will always be grateful."

The Mets head to Atlanta set to take on the Braves for four games in three days.  The series kicks off today with a day-night doubleheader.  In game one, John Maine (5-2, 2.81 ERA) will take the hill and his opponent will be Tom Glavine (1-1, 4.41 ERA), who Mets fans haven't seen since the pathetic performance on September 30, 2007.

John Maine has been terrific all season long, outside of his first start which was at Turner Field.  In his seven starts since that game, Maine hasn't allowed more than 2 earned runs and the Mets are 6-1.  His last two starts may have been his best on the year, in which he's pitched a total of 14-1/3 innings allowing only two earned runs and six hits.  The significant number is he's only had one walk in each of those starts.

The Mets are coming off maybe their best weekend of the season, with two very good victories against the Yankees.  They hope to build momentum now, as only three times this year have they had a winning steak of three games (the longest being five).

The Mets hope they can ride on Jose Reyes and David Wright.  Reyes went 4-for-10 at Yankee Stadium, while Wright went 5-for-10.

This is a huge series for the Mets.  They finally showed that attitude of dropping the hammer on other teams, and I hope that mentality is there in Atlanta.  This is a team they should want to kill.

Only one game out of first, let's get a good string of games going.

LET'S GO METS!

Was it just me, or did the Mets we saw over the weekend look like an entirely different group than we've seen all year?

The Mets defeated the Yankees in a big way on Sunday night by the score 11 to 2 .  With the victory, this is only the second time the Mets have won two games at Yankee Stadium and the first time they've earned a sweep at Yankee Stadium (so what if it was a two game series).

Oliver Perez was spot on tonight, throwing a great 7-2/3 innings with only one bad pitch, which resulted in a 2-run homer by Hideki Matsui.  By far his best start of the season as he only surrendered three hits.  He improves to 4-3 on the season.

The bats were working big time as well.  The Mets broke out against Chien-Ming Wang in the 4th inning.  They were able to avoid a disgusting call by the umpire crew, as a 3-run home run for Carlos Delgado was taken away .  This did not affect the Mets as they kept applying the pressure, something that they haven't done at all this season.  Ryan Church added his ninth home run of the season and then the Mets put up six runs in the 8th.  Jose Reyes provided three of those, hitting his fourth home run of the season, second in two games.

This was once again a team victory.  Everything was great.  A great point in the game was in the 8th when David Wright tagged up on a not-so-deep fly ball to Bobby Abreu, scoring safely and then letting out a huge fist pump.  That's the type of enthusiasm this team needs to be showing.

Had to be extremely pleased as a Mets fan.  I took a look at the dugout before the game started and I just felt like it seemed so much more lively than it has, which is something me, you and everyone else has been talking about.

Just to make a couple more notes on Perez, he really needed to throw well today.  In the 4th it seemed like it was gonna be another one of those Perez let downs, but he got his head on strait.  It was big for him to get the win because since April 20, the Mets are only 2-12 in games not pitched by Johan Santana and John Maine.  The rest of the rotation needs to solidify and Perez is a huge part to that happening.  Good job by Ollie tonight.

The Mets are now 22-19 and are all of a sudden playing energetic baseball.  Hopefully they carry that into Atlanta where they begin a four games in three days series.   And take a look at the NL East standings, the Mets are in second place and only one game out.  What a perfect time to get hot.

The Mets and Yankees will wrap up their two-game series tonight at Yankee Stadium.  Oliver Perez (3-3, 4.61 ERA) will take on Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang (6-1, 2.90 ERA).  First pitch is scheduled for 8:05.

Perez has been very successful in interleague play against the Yankees in the past holding a 3-1 record with a 3.04 ERA.  Last season, two of his best pitched games came against the Yanks, as he went 2-0 in those games only allowing 2 earned runs in 15 innings pitched.

The Mets hope to build off of yesterday's game.  A win would provide the Mets with their first sweep at Yankee Stadium, even if its only a two-game mini-series.  It would also only be the second time the Mets have two victories at Yankee Stadium in a season.

Marlon Anderson will get the start tonight in left field, as he will bat second.  This moves Moises Alou to the DH spot.  Anderson is 6-for-16 in the month of May, while Alou is batting .342 in 38 at-bats since returning from the DL.

Tonight's game can be watched on ESPN, and if you don't want to deal with the play-by-play from Jon Miller and Joe Morgan, then tune in to WFAN 660.

LET'S GO METS!

Mets win! And man oh man did they need this one.

It started out a bit bumpy, with Andy Pettitte somehow blowing everyone away and Johan Santana having a rough opening inning.  Derek Jeter was a thorn to the Mets once again when he hit a 2-run homer in the first inning giving the Yankees the early advantage. 

When it seemed like the Mets were in trouble, things quickly took a turn for the better.  After Pettitte cruised through three innings, the Mets finally started to chip away at him.  I made mention of the Mets needing to do the little things the other night, and that's what they did in the 4th inning.  They were taking pitches and making things happen with the bats and on the bases.  The inning started with three straight singles from Church, Wright and Beltran, which lead to their first run, then after a couple walks (one of which forced in a run) and a Castillo dribbler, the Mets had a 3-2 lead.  Santana flipped on cruise control from there and it was a beautiful thing. 

Maybe the best came in the 7th when Jose Reyes hit a home run off of Kyle Farnsworth, only to be followed two batters later by a 2-run homer from Wright.  Santana would give up two more home runs, solo shots to Giambi and Abreu, but to no serious harm. 

Billy Wagner, just two days after his controversial statements, was called in to back up his talk and get a four-out save.  He did just that, and as Howie Rose would say, put it in the books.

Very good game and I was very happy as a Mets fan.  There was a lot of energy coming from this team, something which they needed to do.  After the Yankees went up 2-0 I feared we would see the unenthusiastic bunch we've been saying when trailing early, but not the case.  They were lively in the dugout all game long.

Good for Jose Reyes hitting the home run.  We needed that.  Hey, it bumps the Mets to 16-2 when he scores now.  Nice to see Wright have a good day, nice to see Delgado get a couple hits and drive in an insurance run, and great to see Beltran have a 3-hit day.

Santana was tremendous.  The line doesn't look great (7-2/3 IP, 4 ER, 3 HR), but after the play in the 2nd inning in which Damon was thrown out at home (awesome block of the plate by Schneider), Santana cruised through the sixth inning barely throwing any pitches.

This was a team effort today, one of the few we've seen from the 2008 Mets.  So yeah, great to see.  But they need to go out and drop the hammer tomorrow.  You don't turn the world around with one day, you gotta go out and create momentum.

Good start in the Bronx, hopefully this sets everyone's mind in the right direction

The Mets and Yankees will kick off their shortened Subway Series matchup this afternoon at Yankee Stadium.  Johan Santana (4-2, 3.10 ERA) will take on Andy Pettitte (3-4, 4.40 ERA).  First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.

Johan Santana has won his last three decisions and the Mets are 6-2 in his starts this season.  He is 3-0 in his career against the Yankees with a 2.66 ERA over five starts, and 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his three starts at Yankee Stadium.

Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright have all handled Pettitte pretty well in the past.  Beltran is 12-for-34, Delgado is 21-for-60 with five home runs, and Wright is 5-for-13.

Damion Easley gets the start at DH today for the Mets, being 16-for-56 in his career against Pettitte with 8 RBI.

The Mets enter today at 20-19 in third place in the NL East.

LET'S GO METS! 

It may be the most apparent statement in regards to the Mets, but without a doubt, Jose Reyes desperately needs to get himself on a bit of a hot streak to pull this team out of the current disaster.

Jose Reyes has basically been on the down side since around the All-Star break last season, or you could say since Willie Randolph publicly embarrassed him after not leaving the box in a game only a few days before the All-Star break.  Since that time, Jose's numbers have been way down, and it's become more and more clear that when he goes, this team goes, and this team is very, very dangerous then.  But lately, for about 115 games now, he hasn't gone anywhere.

The best string of games Reyes has put together this season was from April 15 through 19, in which he went 10-for-23 with six runs scored over the five game span.  And oh yeah, the Mets were 5-0 then. 

As far as the entire season goes, the Mets are 15-2 and when Reyes scores.  That is quite a number, considering they're a disgustingly-awful 5-17 when he doesn't score.  Then out of the 11 multi-hit games Reyes has had this season, the Mets are 9-2.  It's ridiculous how good this team is record wise when Reyes does something as little as score or scatter a couple of hits.  So while all this team we've been putting the blame on Willie Randolph and Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran and so on, maybe the guy who should get the most blame is Jose Reyes.

It's clear that this team is tremendous when he scores, the numbers make it clear up there.  So somehow Jose Reyes needs to realize this.  I'm not saying he needs to put together two weeks where he hits .460 and scores 13 runs in that time.  All I'm looking for is some consistent baseball out of the shortstop.  I don't think it's much to ask for.  I don't want to see this clueless ballplayer who stops at second and then decides to try and outrun the shortstop to third base, and then oh yeah, doesn't even slide into the bag.  And maybe it's so frustrating to the fans because we know the type of player he can be, it doesn't just disappear at this young of an age.  I miss the guy that's running all over the place, make incredible plays and is basically an unstoppable force in baseball.  Because that's what he was in 2006 and the first half of 2007.  He also makes this team very, very dangerous.  At some point Jose Reyes has to realize he is the key to the Mets.

The Mets and Yankees were rained out of their first meeting in the 2008 Subway Series.  While it was a dreadful in New York all day, life within the Mets stayed negative even without a game.

The media was swarming in the clubhouse, there was a team meeting and the "Willie on the hot seat" rumors were at an all time high.  It was a weird day, and if you're a Mets fan, it was a day you didn't necessarily want to go through.

I'll start with the team meeting, which I'll quickly push aside.  I've seen this same song and dance from the Mets.  They did this two or three times last season, and it basically did nothing.  After Billy Wagner's comments yesterday, maybe there is a rift in the clubhouse, but who cares?  I don't need all 25 guys to be one big, happy family.  I expect them to walk out onto that field ready to play hard as a team.  So therefore, the team meetings are whatever to me, and truthfully, someone needs to step up and lead this team on the field.

Next, the media circus.  Obviously with the Subway Series it's a big deal, but I felt today it was more of a trial from the media.  Is there a problem in the clubhouse? Is Willie losing the players? Is Willie's job in danger? Can this be turned around? Question after question, to almost everyone.  For the most part, they handled it well.  I'm kinda caught between a rock and a hard place with the media coverage.  Mainly because I'm studying to begin a career in that very profession, but at the same time I'm a fan, and sometimes I think it's way over done.  But man, there is nothing good to talk about with this group today, therefore it was tough to take it all in as a fan.

And then of course Willie Randolph.  He was getting the most questions today.  His appearance on Mike and the Mad Dog was a good one.  You could tell he was a bit annoyed, and in a way I was glad to hear it.  He clearly has taken some offense to the criticism and to the booing, but he seems to realize it's gonna come.  But Willie's right, and I brought it up in my post yesterday, he has indeed done some very good things with this team since coming here (i.e. Willie Ball) and he shouldn't be questioned on the fact that he's giving his best to this team.  Now should he be fired?  I don't know.  I don't wanna say yes, because I can't necessarily say he's failed yet.  But I can't say no way.  I still have a window for Willie Randolph managing this team, and as long as he's my manager, I have to trust that he will bring us to where we want to see our team.

Honestly, it was a brutally exhausting day as a Mets fan.  So much negativity swarming this team and it's hard to avoid it.  By mid-afternoon I had to turn my radio off, step away from the internet and just go about my day until the game- which maybe being rained out was a good thing.  I hope that come tomorrow morning we can all breathe and enjoy a baseball game.

The Mets will be sending Johan Santana to the hill, only now to be taking on Andy Pettite.  I'll be checking in sometime before the game, so until then.

Tonight's game between the Mets and Yankees has been rained out.  No announcement has been made yet, but all signs point to a day-night doubleheader between Yankee and Shea Stadium when the two teams meet at the end of June.

In the meantime though, you can enjoy a memorable Subway Series moment, as SNY is airing the the first ever regular season game between the two (the Dave Mlicki shutout).  Mets fans should definitely tune in, it was a great moment and with current times being tough could provide you with some good feelings for a change.

I'll be back late tonight or early tomorrow assessing what turned into a media-filled day with the Mets.  But until then, enjoy the Mets Classic on SNY.

It's the morning of the start to the 2008 Subway Series, marking the 12th season the cross-town rivals have been taking part in the interleague matchup.  This time, however, there is a totally different feel around the series.  What's typically a time filled with excitement, there's only frustration and disappointment coming from the fans of both the Mets and Yankees.

Entering today, the Yankees are found in last place of the AL East at 20-22 and the Mets are third in the NL East at 20-19.  To say these two teams are underachieving would be quite the under statement.  Basically this weekend is what the paper exactly reads; a matchup between two teams who are no better than mediocre ball clubs.

As a Mets fan, the only juice I find going into this series is that the Yankees are in last.  That provides a small smile to my face when looking over the AL, but at the end of the day my team is playing like absolute garbage, so I'm not smiling the moment I move to the NL.

The Subway Series is and always will be a series that means a lot to me.  I'm only 20 years old, so I grew up as a Mets fan with a large crowd of clueless and pompous Yankees fans around me every day of my life it feels.  So yeah, I have some issues with the Yankees, mainly because of some of their jackass fans I've dealt with over the years (I don't mean all Yankees fans, so don't be mad).  It meant a lot to me in 1997 when Dave Milicki threw a complete-game shutout at Yankee Stadium in the first ever Subway Series game.  I always want the Mets to beat the Yankees, just because I want to be able to say to a Yankees fan "hey, my team was better than your's this weekend", mainly because that does nothing but aggravate them to the point where they start bickering in a senseless matter.

This year, unfortunately, we may not see very good baseball being played.  Neither team is living up to expectations, with a large credit going to the fact that each team has an inept offense.

So while in the past I may have been hoping to say to a Yankees fan "my team was better this weekend", I guess this year, at least based on the first six weeks, what's on the line in this three-game series is being able to say "hey, at least my team wasn't as lousy as your's this weekend".

After yesterday's 1-0 loss to the Nationals, Billy Wagner was approached by reporters.  Wagner is typically a reliable guy to get quotes from, and yesterday Wagner snapped a bit.  He had the following to say:

"Can somebody tell me why the (bleep) the closer being interviewed and I didn't even play, while they're over there not getting interviewed? I get it, they're gone. (Bleeping) shocker."

Wagner's comments take a shot right at some players, and from what all signs point to, this time it's Carlos Delgado.  Delgado, after putting up another hitless day (gee, some surprise that is) apparently fled the clubhouse quickly before the media showed.  But good for Billy Wagner.  He's gonna say what's necessary.  I can never known Wagner for not taking the heat, as he's always standing there holding his head up after a disaster.  But the problem is he's one of the few that do this.

As I left yesterday's game - in pure rage - I said to my Dad that somebody in this clubhouse needs to step up, someone other than Billy Wagner.  Well it was Wagner speaking again before someone else.  But it's gotta be someone other than the guy who we only see every two or three games that is trying to get this lifeless team upbeat.  What Wagner did yesterday I felt was good, and even a bit necessary.  Chances are this merits another behind-doors meeting with Willie Randolph, like after the Oliver Perez comments on April 30, in which he'll be told to keep things "in house".  But whatever, truthfully I'd like to see the anger and frustration Wagner showed after the game by the guys who take the field every day.

The clock is ticking.  As I've already noted, the Mets are just 74-75 since June 1 of 2007.  If things do not change in the immediate future, trust me, Willie Randolph will lose his job.

Last summer I spent a lot of time defending the job Willie was doing, being a fan of the type of play he's brought to the Mets after the two painful seasons of Art Howe.  I always labeled the Mets style of play as "Willie-Ball".  In 2005 and 2006, there was so much energy coming from the Mets.  Whether it was Jose Reyes getting on base and running wild, or runs being manufactured or if it was the "never-die" attitude this team presented every single night, it was some great baseball.  But then last season, right around that June 1 mark on the calendar, things went south... way south.  And is Willie Randolph the guy we have to blame?

At the end of the day the team's performance absolutely falls on the players.  But when I once labeled the style of play the team presented after the manager, I can only do the same now.  This team is playing some very underwhelming baseball, and have been for almost a full year now.  The problem starts right the top with Willie.

When does Willie get mad?  When does Willie say "we have to win"?  It seems like it's never gonna happen, and I don't get it.  For example, Thursday's game... why didn't Willie demand Moises Alou to play in a game the Mets without doubt needed.  It's the things like that where Willie just isn't getting this team to play hard to win.  And the problems don't just lie within his attitude, because there's been some poor managing going on this year, and late last year, as well.  I don't want to go too deep into the mistakes he's mad, because I feel all make mistakes.  But I just have two words regarding Willie's mishaps in 2008; Aaron Heilman.  I shouldn't need to say another word.

This team has been in an "indifference haze", as Steve Somers so perfectly said on WFAN around midnight.  There's no emotion, there's no passion.  If you go to Shea Stadium, the emotion and passion is coming from you and me, the fans.  We're yelling and screaming, cheering this team to no end, and now sadly some are being forced to boo because it's apparent that this team is out of it.

Maybe a change needs to happen.  It's a shame, because he's proven to be a good manager, but things may just not work out.  If you're asking me, I give him four to six weeks.  That's it.  But if the Mets drop two of three here against the Yankees and then go out to Turner Field and have the Braves man-handle them again, the Mets may very well be firing Willie by next Friday morning.  Happy Memorial Day, I guess.  Who knows what's gonna happen.  But indeed something has to.  And I hope what happens is this team wakes up.

Well, I'm back! That's right, Matt Dahl is blogging again... take 407.  OK, it hasn't been that many times, but I'm back to my home where I blogged the most.  And here's the time that I love most during May; the Subway Series!  What better time could I come back to blogging the Mets?  Gee, I don't know, how about a time when they're playing at least average baseball!?

So yeah, we're 39 games into the 2008 season, a year removed from the most embarrassing display in professional sports happened to our beloved New York Mets.  And what's happening?  Absolutely nothing.  A year in which revenge was in mind and the goal was to get off to a red-hot start, much like in 2006, has been nothing but a complete disgrace and total disappointment.

There's been glimpses of good times for the 2008 Mets, much like we say in 2007.  But those glimpses are basically a dream in which we all wake up to reality and watch this team hand games right over.

I was at today's game, the 1-0 inexcusable loss to the Washington Nationals, and I don't know when I left a game more upset than I did today, and it's May!  The problem I had with this team last September was that the feeling I got was that the fans cared more about winning the division than the Mets did.  Now that most likely isn't true, at least I hope not.  But by the listless play and careless attitudes, that's how it seemed.  And I can't help but feel the same way right now.  This team is LOADED with talent and should be a level above all in the National League East, and even the entire National League.  But no, they're a middle of the pack team and it's disgusting.

Today wasn't necessarily the last straw, but man are we running out.  Mike Pelfrey throws maybe the best game of his career and the team gets four hits for him.  Not only that, they make bonehead plays to no end.  Jose Reyes took a risk, and a stupid one.  Carlos Beltran then stood between third base and home plate confused, looking much like he did that October night in 2006 with the bat on his shoulders.

It's hit a point where enough is enough.  This team has been playing careless and clueless since June 1 of last year.  Since then, by the way, they are only 74-75.  Are you kidding me?  This team is way better than this, and we know it.

I give a ton of credit to Billy Wagner for saying what he said today.  He stepped up and showed his frustration.  And you know what, it's about damn time.  Somebody needs to be the guy who gets this group fired up and makes it quite clear that there is a sense of urgency.  Because guess what, if the players don't change things quick, a man will lose his job.  That man is Willie Randolph.  I don't put the blame on Willie, I've been a strong defender of Willie in his days with the Mets, but Willie's gotta get with it.  It starts at the top and he needs to show some fire himself if he wants his team to put in some care to this current debacle.

I'm an angry Mets fan and to be totally honest, I came back to this thing tonight because I truthfully needed to vent.  I will be around all morning, starting maybe at 2am, getting into the Subway Series and breaking down every piece of what is wrong with the New York Mets.  It will probably take all day, and a few more days.  But I'm here with you Mets fans, we will get through this.  At least I hope.