You can't get any better than that

I believe it was Gary Cohen, in a recent Mets broadcast, who said that for starting pitchers like John Maine and Oliver Perez, "The scholarships are over." That point was repeated during Wednesday night's 5-0 win over the Phillies -- a second straight shutout -- as Hisanori Takahashi earned his first win as a starter with superb outing in his second consecutive start.

Gary, Keith and Ron all agreed that at this point, Mets starters not named Johan or Mike will have to prove themselves worthy of a rotation slot every time they go out there. Your contract means nothing. Your willingness to pitch in pain is admirable, but doesn't help win ballgames. Throwing strikes, limiting walks, putting up innings -- those things count the most.

Takahashi did just that in shutting down a Phillies lineup that has more flight than fight these days. Hernandez noted that Chase Utley looks like he's hurt his hip again -- either that or he is as lost at the plate as Mark Texeira -- and Ryan Howard was waving at breaking pitches like he was shooing away moths.

When the Mets moved Takahashi to the rotation, the concern was that the move would weaken the bullpen. But if Takahashi, who was a starter in Japan for years, continues to pitch like this, then he is much more valuable in the rotation. The guy flat knows how to pitch, and the difference between him and Perez -- who does not know how to pitch, yet somehow earns $12 million a year -- is stark.

When Jon Niese returns, he also will have to show that he's worthy, although he will be given plenty of slack, mainly because there's no one else to take his spot on a regular basis. Fernando Nieve will start Saturday as the Mets juggle that last position until Niese's return.

With Takahashi in complete command, once the Mets took the lead you got the feeling that the game was in hand, even when the Mets were only up 2-0. The vibe was 180 degrees from what it is typically against the Phillies, who have the kind of offense that can quickly eliminate any deficit.

Jose Reyes snapped a long homerless drought with a solo shot leading off the third, and then the Mets put the game away in the sixth on a leadoff double by Wright, a sweet bunt for a base hit by Pagan, a stolen base by Pagan (the Mets ran wild on Brian Schneider) and a two-run double by Barajas. A throwing error by Utley (nice) allowed Reyes to come up and single in the fifth run.

Just like that, two shutouts and the series is already won. The Mets go for the sweep (!) Thursday night in a showdown between Mike Pelfrey and Cole Hamels, who had a brutal April but has pitched well in his four starts in May.

Enjoy the ride, people

This is the way it's going to be all season, Mets fans. Buckle up.

The team drops 4 of 5 on the road before getting back-to-back walk-off wins on homers by each catcher, then loses to the Giants on an eighth-inning homer after rallying to take a lead in a game started by Tim Lincecum, followed by a loss to a rookie pitcher, followed by doing next to nothing for seven innings before scoring eight runs in the eighth for one of the most enjoyable victories in recent memory, capped off by a another loss forged by a ninth-inning home run off K-Rod.

No one said the ride was going to be smooth one, and while Wednesday's loss -- coming as it did on the heels of a tremendous comeback win on Tuesday night -- was dispiriting, there's no denying that the vibe around the Mets is a much different one than a year ago, when the team had the same record through the first six weeks.

Then, things were falling apart. Injuries were beginning to take their toll, and by the All-Star break the Mets were a dead team walking.

Now, despite a few red flags (walks allowed, giving up late-inning home runs, not hitting with RISP) and some cold spells suffered by the likes of David Wright, Jason Bay, Jose Reyes and Jeff Francoeur (i.e., the middle of the order), there is much more optimism.

Gary Sheffield and Carlos Delgado have been replaced by players like Francoeur, Bay and Ike Davis. The catching duo of Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco is light years better than what the team had last season. The new additions to the bullpen, especially Hisanori Takahashi (and when he was healthy, Ryota Igarashi) have turned a liability into an asset.

Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, promising Jon Niese and a resurgent John Maine each give the Mets a chance to win whenever they're on the mound.

Fans saw no walk-off wins last season at Citi Field, and this week they got two back-to-back. Resiliency, the hallmark of great teams, is starting to appear. Tuesday's comeback was one for the ages, and featured a clutch pinch hit by Chris "the Animal" Carter, who should have made the team out of spring training and whose relentless attitude provides yet another spark to this club.

What more can you say about Davis, who went over the rail for the third time in about as many weeks for a circus catch, this time for the game-ending grab? Just incredible.

And for all the criticism thrown his way, David Wright is 5-for-10 since being ejected, is hitting .288 with an OBP of .419 and and OPS of .961, projecting to about 28 homers and 105 RBI. Awful, isn't it?

Sure, Reyes isn't hitting, but the Mets have benefited by having different players step up at different times. Davis has been excellent, and Barajas has been a revelation.

The cheating Phillies -- and I agree 100% with Francoeur that the extra three home games the Phils are getting against Toronto is "bullsh&t" -- aren't running away with anything just yet. There's plenty of talent and fight in this Mets team, enough to expect it to hang in the race for the division title for a good, long while.

Take Wednesday's game. Although the Mets were down, 4-2, I had every confidence that they could make up the deficit, and they did. You couldn't say that last season.

If it wasn't for Roger Bernardina (Two home runs? Really?), who drove in three and saved three with a diving, two-out catch with the bases loaded, Wednesday could have been just as exciting as Tuesday.

But with these Mets, there's always a tomorrow to look forward to. Last season, there were only tomorrows to dread.

Not quite a lost weekend, but close

I had prepared myself mentally for the Mets dropping two of three against the Phillies this weekend.

Not that I expected it — on the contrary, I thought the pitching match-ups were very favorable to the Mets, particularly Johan Santana against Jamie Moyer on Sunday night. But, being a Mets fan, I readied myself for the possibility of two losses and was OK with it, knowing that if it came to pass, the Mets would only be a half-game out of first when it was all over.

Monday morning, I'm not as OK with it as I thought I'd be.

That's because after hammering the Phils in game one, getting another strong performance from Jonathan Niese, you had to think the Mets were in great position to take the series. Sure, Roy (I refuse to ever refer to him as 'Doc') Halladay shut the Mets down completely in game two, when the dam burst against Mike Pelfrey, but then we had Johan against Moyer, who looked like a street person Sunday night, unshaven, sweaty and worn.

And sure enough, the Mets were lighting up Moyer in the first four innings, scoring five on a three-run blast by David Wright and two more on a dinger by former Phillie Rod Barajas, who loves the joke of a park known as Citizens Bank as much as Wright does. So when the Mets were exchanging the Phillies' solo shots with two- and three-run bombs, things looked good.

Then things got ugly for the Mets' ace. Two outs, runner on third, a three-run lead and the bottom of the order coming up. Somehow, before that final out was recorded, the Phillies scored nine runs.

Sure, you could bemoan the fact that the Mets' offense went to sleep after witnessing the barrage, that you'd have liked to see more fight in the dog. But make no mistake about it — this loss is completely on Santana.

Not Jerry Manuel for batting Gary Matthews Jr. leadoff (hey Jerry, you could bat Castillo leadoff every once in a while instead of that black hole), or even for not having anyone warming up in the pen to take Johan out earlier. I can't blame Jerry for that. This was his ace, in a huge early-season game against the bitterest of rivals on national TV, needing just one lousy out to end the inning with the Mets still ahead. Certainly he can do that, right?

No. No, he could not.

Single to Ibanez scores one run. A single by Castro. Then a walk to Ruiz, the eight hitter, bad enough but you figure, OK, just blow away Moyer and let's end this.

I find it incredible that the ESPN crew floated the possibility that Moyer's solidly-hit ground ball in his first at-bat somehow affected how Santana pitched to him in the fourth. This is Johan Freakin' Santana pitching against an almost 50-year-old Moyer. I don't care how well Moyer "handles the bat." You HAVE TO put him away.

Walk to Moyer, grand slam to Victorino, single and then a homer by Utley (of course) and it was over. See you in Cincinnati. U-G-L-Y.

Sunday's game was similar to Saturday's in that small events led to bigger things. Saturday, Jose Reyes and Alex Cora had chances to make catches that, had they been outs, would have altered the course of the game. They were tough plays, not made, and then the runs flowed like water. Although with Halladay dealing the way he was, the outcome likely would have been the same.

Only two things about Sunday's loss took the edge off for me. I DVR'd the game and was about 90 minutes behind, so once ALL THAT happened I watched the rest of the game on fast forward. Also, I have Victorino and Polanco on my fantasy team (Wright, too).

I think it's safe to chalk this up as just a rare bad night for Santana, one that doesn't portend anything worse down the line. And I think the makeup of this Mets team is positive enough to put the last two games behind it, without a losing streak being triggered.

I think. Meanwhile, we have Ollie Perez stepping up as the stopper Monday night against the Reds. 'Ollie Perez' and 'stopper' in the same sentence? Yikes.

Nothing but rainbows and lollipops in Port St. Lucie

Kelvim Escobar's throwing timetable aside, the news out of the Mets spring training facility has been almost unrelentingly positive. Maybe it's just hope springing eternal, but there have been so many feel-good stories out of Port St. Lonesome that it would surpise no one if, during a fielding drill, a High School Musical-like dance routine spontaneously broke out.

Examples?

Henry Blanco and Rod Barajas: Two defensive-minded backstops (Blanco caught Johan Santana in his Cy Young season in Minnesota) have been getting all kinds of love for their reputations as guys who can really help a pitching staff and whip into shape those who may need some whipping (we're looking at you, Ollie and Big Pelf). That, and they couldn't have been had any cheaper. Nice work, Omar.

Jose Reyes: Holy cow, is it great seeing him on the field again. And now that he finally has custom-made shoes from UnderArmour, we can all breathe easy. As for Reyes batting third, if he's cool with it, why not? As Eric Karabell notes on ESPN, batting third won't necessarily mean a big drop in stolen bases. Even if it did, if the offense performed better as a whole, that's what really matters. And it would deepen the lineup. Hmmmmm.

Keith Hernandez working with Daniel Murphy and others at first base: I'm really looking forward to seeing what Murphy can do this year. Getting 15 HR, 40 2B, 70-80 RBI and a .270 average is certainly in the realm of possibility, and would be great considering where he'd be hitting in a lineup after Reyes, Wright, Bay, Beltran (eventually) and probably Francouer. And you know his defense will be better. Why? Because his teacher is Keith Hernandez, that's why.

Beltran's right on target: At least that's what he's saying, but hearing that he was pain-free the day after all the junk was taken out of his knee was heartening.

Pelfrey and Perez came in to camp in shape: Big Pelf is actually Not-Quite-as-Big Pelf, having lost 20 pounds or so, and though there were some differing tweets, by all accounts Ollie looks good. Here's hoping his off-season training regimen included regular visits with someone like Dr. Melfi. Luis Castillo also reported to camp in great shape, saying he was undaunted by the constant trade rumors.


Jason Bay's one hell of a guy (and ballplayer): Signing autographs immediately upon his arrival in St. Lucie, Bay only solidified his reputation as a solid clubhouse presence, which will go nicely alongside his offensive numbers.

There was much talk in the winter about "changing the culture" of the team, and think about who's gone. Carlos Delgado, who may have had too much presence and aloofness, and Gary Sheffield, replaced by Bay, Blanco and Barajas.

Sounds like an upgrade in character, too. Then again, that may just be the Kool-Aid talking.