No no-no, but a great start by Gee as Mets head to the Bronx

Just a few days ago, the first installment of the 2011 Subway Series looked dead on arrival. Mets players were dropping like flies, and the Yankees were losing games while seemingly falling apart at the seams.

But now both teams come into this weekend's tilt at the House that George and His Spoiled Kids Built on winning streaks, and while the Mets will still be without three starters, it's the kids who are stepping up and keeping the team from sinking.

A two-game sweep of Washington saw consecutive shutouts, with tremendous starts by Jonathon Niese and Dillon Gee. Sure, the Nats are a terrible offensive team, but Niese and Gee were on their games and delivered the kinds of performances the Mets are going to need, particularly when they're shorthanded at the plate, as they currently are.

Then again, when you have Justin Turner, what more do you need? Turner knocked in the only run, his 12th in his last 10 games. Incidentally, the Mets are 9-4 in their last 13 games.

Jason Bay had three hits, and with so much firepower out of the lineup the Mets really need him to get it going. Daniel Murphy is certainly not hitting, but his defense in these two games has been stellar. He also got a break in the eighth inning Thursday when his foot came off the bag on a throw from Turner, but umpire Phil Cuzzi called Jayson Werth out.

Hey, some breaks have to go the Mets' way, don't they?

Gee had a no-hitter into the sixth, when Livan Hernandez — in addition to shutting the Mets down on seven hits — singled with two outs. Figures.

You can see the pitching starting to come around, from Pelfrey on down; hopefully R.A. Dickey will get the memo.

And while they won't be back in time to play in the Bronx, word is that Ike Davis and Angel Pagan should be back within a week or so. Pedro Beato has already returned, and indications are that David Wright won't be out much longer than his required DL stay.

OK, so Irving Picard has a copy of a memo that he says indicates the Mets considered taking out fraud insurance. Big deal. They never did, which would have been a much more powerful indicator that the Wilpons knew something was up with Madoff. But Picard isn't letting go of that bone.

Hey, it can't all be good news, right?