Perfect night: Mets beat Phillies in extras, bin Laden is dead

I watch most Mets games on the DVR. I've got two kids and the bedtime routines start around the same time as the night games do, so I usually don't start watching til 9 or so.

The plus side is I get to fast forward through the commercial breaks, and from pitch to pitch if I want. I don't do the latter that often because it means I'd miss the chatter from Gary, Keith and Ron. Except when the game is on Fox or ESPN, when there's no chance I'm missing any kind of substantive commentary. The national TV teams are patently awful compared to the SNY crew, but we all know that.

So I'm riding the FF button when I see the crawl change to BREAKING NEWS. It took me a second or two to realize that the crawl had something to do with the crowd shots of people on their iPhones and BlackBerrys. Osama bin Laden was (finally) dead.

Ten years ago this fall, the Mets played the first major league baseball game after 9/11, a night when Mike Piazza homered to beat the Braves and give the city something to cheer about. Ironic that the bin Laden news broke during a Mets game, and with Bobby Valentine in the broadcast booth, no less.

Chris Young said after the game that it would be a night he'd never forget. His seven shutout innings — hanging inning for inning with Cliff Lee while dealing 85 mph fastballs — will have something to do with it, as will the fact that the Mets won, 2-1, in 14 innings to avoid the Philly sweep and salvage a 3-3 road trip.

But what will stick with Young will be the same thing we'll all remember about this May 1 baseball game. Where we were when bin Laden, 9/11 architect and Public Enemy No. 1 since G.W. Bush said he was "Wanted, dead or alive," was finally brought down. And not in some cave in the mountains, but in a mansion with 18-foot walls in a Pakistani suburb.

The bin Laden news overshadowed the extra-inning victory, but that's probably a good thing since so much of the game story was negative for the Mets. Not the pitching — that was outstanding, with the exceptions of Izzy and Tim Byrdak not getting it done in the eighth.

It was the old bugaboo, hitting with runners on base and runners in scoring position. The Mets had baserunners on in almost every inning and outhit the Phillies but could only scratch across two runs. Of course the Phillies were just as impotent, despite playing at their home bandbox, managing just the one run in the eighth on an opposite-field hit by Ryan Howard.

Thank God for Ronny Paulino! Five hits, including the game-winner, on his first game with the team after Visa and health problems. And he threw a runner out in a key spot. Welcome to the club, Ronny.

So on an off day where we'd normally be talking about how Jason Bay has stopped hitting, or how good Pedro Beato continues to look, we'll rightly be spending our time discussing an event of historic importance. An event that, once again, has ties to the Mets. Amazing.

You could see this one coming a mile away

Short one tonight. Let me say only that if I bet the house against the Mets every time they faced a rookie or unknown starting pitcher, I'd be a rich man today. Vance Worley? Of course.

Probably worse was the way Mike Pelfrey fell apart after three scoreless innings. Perhaps it was too much coming off a week when he lost 11 pounds to the stomach flu. Then he shouldn't have started. Dillon Gee didn't fare much better, though Howard's grand slam was not exactly crushed. What a joke of a ballpark.

Totally agreed with Howie and Wayne regarding walking the anemic Brian Schneider to face the pitcher wth two outs. Yes, Pelf struck out Worley, but the Phils had the top of the order in the next inning, and of course scored two runs. Bad move. Igarashi walked three -- ugly all around!

Loved the homer by Ike Davis. And Pridie showed some pride with his two-run shot in the ninth.

Now we have Jon Niese against Halladay Saturday afternoon, and then Chris Young against Cliff Lee in prime time Sunday night. That .500 road trip? It's gonna be tough now.

Home opener at Citi Field: Perfect timing

A few things to note as the Mets get ready for their home opener Friday afternoon at Citi Field:

• Plenty of good seats available. I was looking on StubHub today and you can get 2 seats in the second row of Promenade Reserved behind third base for $24 each. On Opening Day. You can get seats in the Promenade Club for less than $50. And better seats if you want to fork over bigger bucks. I'll be honest, if my son didn't have a dek hockey game at 6 o'clock, I'd have bought tickets and gone.
• Home field advantage. We've heard how the Yankees have already sold 3.5 million tickets this season and the Mets only a million. No surprise there. And across baseball, attendance so far is down. Less than 10,000 a game in Cleveland? Only 18,000 in Miami for a weekend series against the Mets? Digusting. So don't be surprised if the Mets aren't drawing big numbers this weekend. With the economy and recent history, it's understandable, and I'm not one to go to a ton of games. But I'm thinking that this season, I'm going to try and go more. You can get good tickets for a reasonable price, and let's face it, the team could use all the support it can get. Hopefully I'm not the only one who feels this way and is ready to make Citi Field a true house of horrors for the opposition.
• What else can I tell you? Oh, yeah, Jason Bay hit off a tee today. Nice!
• Um... let's see... uh, Carlos Beltran is still healthy.
• And, yeah, the Phillies scored 21 runs in two days, and Jon Niese followed Mike Pelfrey's implosion with a stinker of his own, and David Wright struck out when the Mets had a first-inning chance to do damage. But hey, like Terry Collins said, a 3-3 road trip ain't bad leading into the first homestand of the season.

It's Dickey Time!

Nothing like a Broad Street beatdown

No one gives the Mets much of a chance this season. Beat writers, radio hosts, national columnists, you name it. They all think the Mets will be lucky to be .500, or bad enough to finish alongside the Nationals at the bottom of the division. (Seriously.) Jose Reyes will be traded, so will K-Rod — whatever.

It's kind of amazing considering the amount of talent on the roster. Even without Jason Bay, this team should hit, and it is hitting. The bench is much better. The bullpen is revamped. The starting pitching is a question without Johan, but Mike Pelfrey has improved each year, Jonathon Niese is good and has a ton or promise, and R.A. Dickey is R.A. Dickey.

Is it because the fourth and fifth starters are Chris Young and Chris Capuano? Two guys that have won before and are coming off injuries? Is that it?

Well, Young had a terrific spring and on Tuesday night he laid the smack down — for 5 1/3 innings, anyway — on a depleted Phillies team that started the season 3-0 against the less-than-intimidating Astros. Young battled through the wind and the cold, struck out seven and made Ryan Howard look foolish, eliciting a groundout with the bases loaded in a key spot in the bottom of the fifth, when the Phillies had a chance to cut into the Mets' big lead.

The hole was a large one because the Mets once again made Cole Hamels their bitch. Hamels is 2-9 against the Mets in his career, and when you consider the fact that the Mets have had some success in the past against Roy Oswalt, and Joe Blanton is average at best, that's 3/5 of the Phillies' vaunted rotation that doesn't scare anyone in blue and orange.

Sure, Halladay and Lee are HALLADAY AND LEE, but suddenly — no Lidge, no Utley — the Phils have some chinks in the armor. And judging by the first few games, these Mets are ready to shut people up.

David Wright — worth every penny of the $42 I spent on him in my fantasy baseball league — had four hits and Young himself had three. The Mets are getting on base, hitting, moving runners around, playing aggressively. Terry Collins likes to use his bench, keeping those guys sharp. So far, he has managed, paraphrasing Bobby Ojeda, not for approval, but to win.

I heard Joe Benigno say that he would take one of three in Philly. Why stop there? Hamels, as we've seen, can be beaten and the Mets beat him all the time. Blanton? Beatable. Halladay? OK, pencil that one in for the Phils, but these Mets should feel that they can take two games in Philly against a team that is less than full strength.

They're halfway there.

Never in our wildest dreams

Seriously. Forget about sweeping the Phillies at Citi Field. But shutting them out in all three games? Sure, the Phils are struggling at the plate, but zero runs in 27 innings? If I'd put $100 on the Mets to shut out the Phillies in three straight, I'd be richer than Tony Stark right now.

Funny how Ryan Howard brushed off Philly's ineptitude against R.A. Dickey by noting how rare it was to face a knuckleballer (let along two in less than a week), before saying they would bounce back against "a real pitcher." Well, they didn't fare too well against Hisanori Takahashi, and then when they had a chance to face Mike Pelfrey -- who doesn't rely on deception as much as Takahashi -- they still came up way, way short.

The series was as odd as it was enjoyable. Seeing Mets pitchers continue to throw with confidence and authority and control was glorious. Watching the awakening of Jose Reyes -- another huge clutch hit for a two-run double Thursday night sealed the sweep -- has been awesome. Almost expecting the team to come through with runners in scoring position? That's going to take some getting used to.

But how bad were the Phillies? They looked disinterested. Flat isn't the word. They showed no fight, no heart, no grit -- all things that are supposed to be hallmarks of baseball in the city of Brotherly Love. It was the Mets who showed some guts, who ran down balls in the outfield (nice catch by Angel Pagan Thursday), who stole bases and pitched out of jams.

It goes to show that what really matters isn't perception, but results. When the Phillies are winning, they are full of piss and vinegar and that's old-time baseball. When the Mets were losing, they had no heart.

The Phillies had a hole in their collective chest in this series. Maybe it's a temporary condition. The fact is the Mets took them to the woodshed in this series and made it look easy.

Now we'll see if the Mets can carry the momentum on the road, where they need to show improvement. In the meantime, it looks like there is a true home-field advantage at Citi Field, which will justify its design and dimensions. I really don't care if David Wright can't hit more than a handful of home runs there, if it means more wins for the home team.

And yeah, that's an Asia video at the top. Best. Band. Ever.

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.

The Mets have a secret weapon

R.A. Dickey's ultimate Mets fate will likely be no more than an answer to a trivia question, but for now, he is nothing less than a savior.

Missing a tendon in his pitching arm but possessing a knuckleball that at one point this season retired 27 straight AAA hitters in one game, Dickey has stepped up and saved the Mets' starting rotation from imploding under the weight of injury and ineffectiveness. He has helped the Mets turn their season around just when things were looking bleak, and he may have even helped save Jerry Manuel's job.

For now.

Dickey shut out the Phillies in Tuesday's series opener, won by the Mets by a convincing 8-0 margin. While elder statesman Jamie Moyer was ineffective, Dickey dodged bullets through six innings, allowing seven hits and walking three while striking out seven. The Phillies got runners on base, but none managed an extra-base hit against Dickey, which likely made Citi Field look even more cavernous to the Phils, compared to their adorable shoe box of a ballpark.

Dickey came to the knuckleball late in his career, turning to it almost in desperation. The Mets similarly turned to Dickey in desperation, having demoted Oliver Perez before seeing Jon Niese and then John Maine lost to the disabled list.

All Dickey has done is earn a spot in a starting rotation that has revived itself despite losing three of its pieces.

And let's not forget the work of Raul Valdes, a 32-year-old Cuban finally getting a chance and making the most of it. His three innings of scoreless relief not only earned him a save but gave the bullpen even more rest after an off-day Monday, which is invaluable for the Mets' busy relief corps.

The Mets' less-secret weapon is Jose Reyes, who busted out Tuesday with three hits, three runs, two steals and an RBI. For as long as he has been here, it has been said that as Reyes goes, so go the Mets. Any wonder that the Mets struggled while Reyes himself struggled for seven weeks to get back into playing shape after missing almost all of spring training?

It is Reyes' resurgence that will trigger a Mets turnaround, if one is coming. The lineup has enough depth and talent to score runs, especially if Reyes is leading the way.

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.