X in A Reau

10 in a Row. Ten in a Rau. It all sounds the same -- GOOD.

Mets are now EARNING their wins with some hard fought come from behind victories and not laying down when an opponent has crossed the plate more than they have.

Santana pitched so-so, but the lesson here is that everyone must contribute. AND, how about that Fernando Tatis. Is he on track to becoming "Comeback Player of the Year?" Every year there is a hidden Gem and he appears to be a leading candidate.

One note I want to share is that on ESPN radio today, Peter Gammons was asked which of the two New York baseball teams he thought could go to the playoffs - without hesitation, he said the Mets as they were "the hottest team in baseball."

That, I may add is excellent kudos, considering the Mets were at the 40 degree below mark (Centigrade AND Fahrenheit -- kiddies, look up this stat and reference, you will be amazed) -- ice cold.

We'll catch up. The weekend is coming and we are tied with the Phils for first place. Did I just write that? Yes. Can I believe it? Why, uh, YES!

The Tone Changes

So, I am a positive, upbeat person, but the way the Mets played early on this year, the only way to write about was to criticize, lament and try to prevent that tear from falling in your beer.

Today, the Mets took the Rockies again and extended their winning streak to 8. Hope is eternal. Delgado, whom I was willing to trade for a fungo bat and a few practice baseballs earlier in the year, has come around and is connecting. Fernando Tatis is the latest of Mets sensations which earlier in the year included Ryan Church and Angel Pagan. (side note, where IS Angel Pagan these days? Perhaps paling around with J.D. Salinger and Thomas Pynchon? No one has mentioned him at all of late save for "he's on the DL.:

The asset the Mets have is that the underheralded players, a la Damon Easely and the aforementioned chaps in the preceding paragraph all have the capability to turn the game around. That is what makes baseball exciting.

We have to see what is up with Pedro after today's game. And, tomorrow, it is Pelfrey, under the lights on the night game. (wonder if CowBell Man is going to be at the game tomorrow?)

Nice W over the Giants...Barry Zito? Zee-WHO???

I had the chance to take in some of the game today, live, in-person. It was the day before my final day at my job and I decided that Shea would be my venue for my lunch Menu.

Maine, in my opinion was paradoxical. He had several strikeouts, but looked like he was struggling and he put a lot of homo sapiens on base by issuing 4 balls out of the strike zone.

A bit later, I had to leave. My supervisor called for a 4pm meeting, so I left in the bottom of the 5th. OH, when I got back to the office, the meeting was canceled, else I would have parked it in the blue seats at Shea. A special thanks to the unnamed guy who gave me an extra ticket he had when I got shooed away from sneaking into the Box area. Us die hard Mets fans watch out for each other.

A special Kudos to Fernando Tatis who is tattooing the ball. A guy I sat next to at the game today had a British accent. He used to live in the US and then moved back to his native UK, but told me he catches ALL the Mets games online. He said he wasn't too familiar with Tatis, but as I was about to leave, he told me he liked the way he played. Can't argue with that London Logic.

So, the word Streak can now be used in a positive way as the Mets put more than 5 Ws together. It is all a matter of time. It's not how fast you play in May, but where you end up in late September.

For the true stat junkies, here is the box score.

Something else to ponder...I was listening to Steve Somers on WFAN and the topic was who to trade for Matt Holliday of the Rockies...a consensus was Aaron Heilman, and if you had to, Pelfrey. I'd go an alternative route: Heilman, Schoenweis and a prospect.

Pelfrey - I Like-Y

So, Mike Pelfrey has turned me from a crusty curmudgeon "atheist" in his ability to a believer. A friend of mine, who used to do an occasional guest blog here (MAC) said to me last year, Pelfrey is legit. Wait. I did for a bit, but got tired (Jerseyites give about 10 seconds, TOPS!).

In the last 5 starts, he brought it around. In a fantasy league I am in, I stupidly traded Tim Linceum early in the year making a bold prediction he would suffer a sophomore jinx. Some freakin sage I am, right? Well, I was going to pick up Pelfrey for a spot start tonight, but surmised it would be a loss against the Mighty Tim.

Pelfrey put up some good numbers, didn't issue a BB and had 7 shutout innings. Plus, the team knocked the ball around including Argenis Reyes (pictured) with his first hit. For those who saw the broadcast, the ball was rolled back to the dugout, grabbed by Fernando Tatis (Yes, an HR tonight!) and he faked a toss into the crowd with a dummy ball.

Giants don't have much of an offense, but their mound presence is strong. Should be a good series. Just 1 1/2 games out. Don't ever discount the Mets -- NOT EVER.

Box Score

Waiting at the DMV Can Now Be a Pleasant Experience...

Today was a "Perfect Storm" of sports events. But, all seemed to run long time wise beyond expectations.

Wimbledon started and was stopped by two rain delays. (I tuned into a little of that).
Track and Field Championships for the US Olympic team caught my eye.
Tour de France (as a cycler, I envy these bikes..WOW)
And, the Mets...

What a long, entertaining, spine-tingling, spellbinding affair. Ollie Perez was Brilliant! (YES, I said that!) and I think he finally has his confidence back to pitch tough against a tough team and hold them to only 1 run.

Beltran's stick was stellar. Reyes was spot on with the acrobatic defense.

But, Wagner, Oh My. Did he put us through the hoops. 2 Out. 2 Strikes in the 9th. Up by two...then BOOM. A tie.

I have to add here, that in a spirit of serendipity, I fell asleep on the couch during part of the rain delay. I woke up, no lie, just as the first pitch was about to be thrown. Chalk one up for efficiency.

So, as the game was tied, we were running out of players and pitchers. I immediately thought of that Bugs Bunny episode where he was stranded on an island with 2 matches. Well, Tatis, the man who hit two grannies in an inning back in '99 pulled through again. It is nice to see another #17 (Kudos to Keith Hernandez) hitting and winning.

Two down, we gave the Phils one and Monday its ours to take 3.

Box Score (lot of innings to absorb)

PET PEEVE TIME: OK, let's get a little more hardy and have pitchers face more than 1 batter or a third of an inning.

Can We Clone Nick Evans?

What a day! Nick Evans, just called up from the farm, looking like a boyish Jerry Seinfeld, swung a mean stick. Collecting three doubles and two RBI. Let's just say he led by example, showed up the team and got them fired up.

You know, with the DL summoning many a Met these days (Marlon "Pinch Hit a Specialty" Anderson, Moises "Again" Alou, Pedro, El Duque etc...) the new blood - Fernando Tatis included has given the Mets an extra spice that helped them win.

I like Evans. He's a surprise. Looks very confident, shows good patience and judgement at the plate and is very hungry. The night before, he's in Double A Binghamton and then skips a level and literally steps up to the plate. This is the approach the Mets of Yore took -2005, 2006, 1986, 1988 and that especially scrappy 1973 team. The latter foundered most of the year before coming back to roar to the World Series. This is still a goal and it still can be done.

The story on the Mets web site,"Evans makes his mark right away" http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080524&content_id=2762234&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym is a good recap.

Willie Randolph summed it up:

"He hit a bomb in Spring Training off the center-field wall," Randolph recalled on Saturday. "I like his approach -- nice inside-out kind of swing. Usually with young kids, you notice that right away, the way they approach the at-bats. I just saw two or three at-bats at the most and watched him take a little BP.

"He's having a nice little year. We need some help. Guys are getting banged up again. Hopefully, we can get a little feel for what he can help us do, not just now but maybe in the future. He's one of our young prospects. I like young kids, and I like to see what they do."

I see a bright future for him. Go # 6~