Sweep Who You Need to Sweep

It's hard to get excited about sweeping the abysmal Washington Nationals. There's really nothing to brag about. The Mets are a superior team and they're supposed to sweep the Nationals like the lowly bottom dwellers that they are. If you're going to win a pennant you're going to have to beat the teams you're supposed to beat.

This has been a major problem of the Mets over the last few seasons. For some reason they have trouble beating the bad teams. A perfect example of this is Oliver Perez's record against teams under .500. He's 7-2 with a 2.80 ERA against teams over .500, but last night was only his second win in seven outings against sub .500 teams where he has an ERA over 4.

The Nationals, the Padres, the Astros and the Pirates are all teams that we have to beat. We should sweep them, but the percentages say that it's probable the Mets will lose a game here and there so I'll accept the fact that one or two losses may be in the future.

This is an extremely important point, especially over the course of the next two weeks. The Mets have 11 games against teams under .500. The Mets will face the Pirates, the Braves and the Astros over the next 11 days and all of them are teams out of contention. I fully expect them to go 9-2, anything less is unacceptable.

Then after those 11 games, it's time to head out to see the Phillies. The Mets, oddly enough, find themselves alone in first place. Who said there's no such thing as miracles? This is the time to get some ground between them and the Phils before we gear up for the September stretch run.

Players I Want Invited Back to Commemorate Shea Stadium

While listening to Boomer & Cartin on WFAN this morning, the discussion was brought up about who to invite back to Shea Stadium the final week of the season now that Mike Piazza and Tom Seaver have been officially invited.

Do you bring back only high profile players? Do you invite everyone who's ever played? The debate is open for discussion, but here's my take on who I'd like to see at Shea Stadium before it's doors are officially closed.

1. Anyone on the 1986 team - It's the marquee season for Shea Stadium so anyone who was on that championship team is welcomed back. You too, George Foser.
2. Anyone on the 1969 team - No brainer here as well.
3. Former Mets All Stars not named Armando Benitez or Bobby Bonilla- If you were an All Star as a Mets player, it's safe to say you were someone we'd like to remember, except for Armando Benitez. He can stay home.
4. Some select few from the 1999-2001 seasons - This short list would include the likes of Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile, John Olerud, and let's see if we can get Benny Agbayani to fly in from Japan.

I know this list encompasses a lot of players, but this is something that only happens once in a lifetime and I think it'd be a nice homage to Shea Stadium to have this type of crowd show up for the last games at Shea.

A True Mets Lifer

This is crazy, but I love it. Check out this Metsblog.com reader who sent in a photo of his new "Mets car." I gotta hand it to this guy. Very nicely done. You are an official Mets Lifer.

Did You Hear the One About the Mets Being in First Place?

There's this great story I heard this morning. So it starts with this team, who I'll call the Mets, and they've been playing sloppy baseball, making errors, blowing games, not hitting with runners in scoring position among other things. Then one day they wake up, score 12 runs and find themselves magically transported to first place.

And the craziest thing is. . . it's a true story.

Yes folks, this isn't some made for TV movie with Meredith Baxter Birney. I don't know what happened, how it happened, or how long this will last, but the Mets are now tied for first place.

Who thought we'd be in this position after Monday's implosion against the Pirates? I talked with Bryan the other day and predicted that the Mets would be 4 games out by the end of the week. Call me synical, but my Mets experience has molded me into the fan I am today.

Now the Mets have a great opportunity to make a move this week or they could totally crumble. There's one game left with the Nationals this week and then a series against the Pirates in which they should be eagerly seeking revenge. These are teams the Mets have to beat and with the Phillies struggling on the West Coast the timing couldn't be better.

But I'll leave you with this warning. The Mets are a bigger tease than anyone you've ever met so be prepared for some rough waters, but enjoy the ride.

Piazza to Return to Shea

The word from Newsday is that Mike Piazza will be making an appearance at Shea Stadium during the final week of the season as part of a goodbye celebration to Shea Stadium.

This is fantastic news and I'm glad the Mets are starting to learn that they need to keep in touch with their former star players.

I'm hopeful that #31 will be retired when they open up Citi Field. I'm totally biased as I'm one of the biggest fans of Mike Piazza, but I think it'd be hard to argue that it's not deserved.

Either way it'll be great to see Piazza back in New York. Hopefully someday we'll see him involved with the Mets either in the dugout or the broadcast booth.

Can Someone Tell Tri-State Ford Dealers to Get Us a David Wright Commercial?

As anyone who watches the Mets on SNY knows, there are 3 commercials you're guaranteed to see during any Mets game: 1) Ron Darling's Sovereign Bank ads 2) That Heineken Amsterdam commercial that starts with the old dude yelling something incomprehensible 3) Derek Jeter's Ford Edge commercial.

The only way tri-state Ford dealers can air a TV spot this many times during is a season is if they've cut some sort of season long sponsorship deal where they get ad space during every Mets game. So let me get this straight, you just cut a deal to advertise on every Mets game and you're spokesperson is Derek Jeter?

Hmmmm, that's great target marketing.

It's not like the Mets don't have someone who could do a good job. David Wright would be perfect for one of their spots. You could even give Johan Santana a shot. Both are recognizable names with exceptional talent, but instead we've got to watch a Yankee smiling on our TV sets for 162 games a year.

Come on tri-state Ford dealers. Give me my David Wright's got an Edge commercial. Get with the program.

Santana Tries Reverse Psychology

Johan Santana has had enough and I think the bullpen woes are starting to get to him. So what did he do about it on Tuesday night? He tried to blow the game for the bullpen before they got a chance to. I guess you might call it a little reverse psychology.

And crazy enough it worked.

Santana was given a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but he quickly found a way to give it right back. The crazy thing was the Nationals were getting serious hits off of Santana. These weren't balls that just found the hole or blooped into the outfield. They were hitting rockets down the lines. Yes, the Nationals. And Langerhans, who had no home runs this year, hit a bomb off Santana. What is with Santana and giving up home runs to no name guys? I haven't seen him give one up to Pujols or Howard or Burrell. But Langerhans?

Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez kept talking about pitch count when the game was 3-3 in the 7th, and I'm think how on earth can anyone in the Mets organization be thinking about pitch count when you have this bullpen. If I'm Jerry Manuel, I'm telling Santana before the game that he's got to give me 9 innings. Period.

But after the Mets finally regained the lead after Damion Easley got plunked in the head to score a run, a miracle happened. The bullpen didn't blow it.

Come on, who didn't think that after Joe Smith gave up a lead off hit that we were headed to another crushing defeat at the hands of the bullpen? I know I did. And when Manuel decided to bring in Pedro Feliciano to pitch the entire 9th, I thought I was going to have a stroke.

But it all worked out. The Mets got a much needed win to put the debacle with the Pirates behind them. Oh wait, we're supposed to beat the Nationals?