Subway Series: Confidence level is high

I don't follow the Yankees very closely, or the American League at all, which confounds one particular colleague at work who will ask me what I think of Ivan Nova, or if I saw that Twins-White Sox game.

The only Nova I have any opinion on is Aldo Nova, and since I am in an NL-only fantasy league, I couldn't care less about what goes on in the junior circuit. I have enough to worry about with the Mets and the two-time champion Winslow Homers.

But since it's Subway Series time again, I took a closer look at the boys from the Bronx, who will play this series without their beloved Captain (who always kills the Mets but is otherwise playing like an aging No. 8 hitter).

Did you know that 3/5ths of the Yankees rotation is made up of Nova, Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon? A youngster with a WHIP of 1.4 and two retreads? That cannot be sustainable. And those are the three starters the Mets will face this weekend.

Confidence level: HIGH.

I'm thrilled that the Mets will have Jon Niese, Dillon Gee and R.A. Dickey pitching in the series. And while Mike Pelfrey is much, much better at home than he is on the road, I don't mind seeing him sit this one out.

The Mets just won four of six on the road against two of the three teams that have been in first place in the AL, and the Yankees will be No. 3. The Mets currently have a better road record than home so far this season, but that figures to turn at some point, and what better than now, when the team is scoring double digits per game?

I'm less than thrilled that two of the three games will be national broadcasts, on Fox and TBS Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Sunday I'll be at a barbecue at a friend's house and won't be able to hear the audio anyway, and we'll have to work something out for Saturday because Joe Buck gives me a twitch.

If you think about the stretch of games the Mets are in the middle of — three first-place AL teams, followed by four games in LA and then three at first-place San Francisico — that's a pretty tough run. And yet the Mets are in a good position to come through that with a winning record for the trip and plus-.500 at the All-Star break, with David Wright ready to return right after that.

Think of where this team was two months ago. Amazing.

NOTE: Since I mentioned Aldo Nova at the top I wanted to include the music video for "Fantasy," but embedding was disabled. So you can find it here. Aldo's leopard jumpsuit is worth the clickthrough on its own, and if anyone can tell me what the deal is with the hunchback guy carrying Aldo's guitar, I'd appreciate it.

Instead, in the spirit of the Subway Series, enjoy "Let's Go, Mets, Go!"

Satisfied with one win? Nope.

You tell yourself before the series that one win would be fine, it's a bonus if you get two, and a sweep is too much to even hope for. So when the Mets took game one on Friday night, we should have been satisfied with that, right?

Right?

Of course not. One win down so quickly, we're thinking two, minimum. But then the Yankees hit a couple of cheap homers on Saturday — loved this take at Optimetsic — and even the series. OK, fine, we've got Sunday's game, and the resurgent Mike Pelfrey against Ivan Nova. Sounds promising.

And for 6 1/2 innings, it sure was.

Then Big Pelf melted down like Ollie used to, Mets fan Pedro Beato got unlucky on a dribbler by A-Rod before allowing a legitimate RBI single, and then Pat Misch threw kerosene over everything in an eight-run eighth that could have been, should have been, a lot less damaging.

Pelf fell apart quickly, but the worst was not Jeter — damn him — but hitting Francisco Cervelli as he tried to bunt. So instead of one out, one on and two runs in after Jeter's seeing-eye grounder, it was no outs, first and third. Big difference. Maybe you get out of the former situation with the game tied.

Instead, you end up with bases loaded and one out for A-Rod, who delivered what Terry Collins wanted, a grounder. It was just too weakly hit. Figures. Then the roof caved in.

So now .500 is two games away again. For the Mets to regain that hill and move beyond it, they're going to have to figure out how to score more than three runs a game, especially when Justin Turner doesn't get a hit.

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?

Could it have ended any other way?

I'm definitely a glass-half-full Mets fan, and this site is dedicated to not getting sucked into the negativity that seems to surround the Mets 24/7.

That said, I was less than confident with K-Rod on the mound Sunday night.

A run-scoring double by Derek Jeter, an RBI groundout and ridiculous infield single on a chopper by Mark Texeira (who can't buy a hit otherwise) -- all against Frankie Rodriguez -- brought up A-Rod against K-Rod with two outs in the top of the ninth, the Mets holding onto a  6-4 lead that had been 6-1 when the inning started.

The count went to 3-1 and I was sure K-Rod was going to walk the bases loaded. Then a foul ball to make the count full, followed by two more foul balls. This was excruciating. This was the Mets.

Finally, Frankie fools A-Rod with the breaking ball, a swinging strike three, and the Mets win the game and the initial installment of the Subway Series, 2 games to 1. Joy and hope had returned to Flushing, where the Phillies would be starting Tuesday -- a Phillies team once again without Jimmy Rollins, and one that would not be featuring Roy Halladay this time around.

Thankfully, the series win over the Yankees should quell some of the anti-Manuel rumors, but that will only be temporary, unless the Mets go on a monumental winning streak. What is important is how the starting pitching performed against the Yankees and how the offense has improved.

Johan Santana was brilliant for almost eight full innings, one day after Mike Pelfrey shut the Yankees down, which came a day after Hisanori Takahaski stepped up with a strong outing in a 2-1 loss on Friday.

Takahashi and R.A. Dickey each pitched well enough to earn second starts against the Phillies, and they will be matching up against Jaime Moyer and Joe Blanton, respectively. Those are winnable games for the Mets, as is the Thursday game featuring Cole Hamels against Pelfrey.

The end of the Phillies series, coming on the heels of the Yankees series, has stood out all along as the first real landmark of the Mets 2010 season. The Mets will be 48 games into the season after this series is over, and will either be just above or a bit below .500. Considering their struggles -- and thanks to the mediocrity of the National League -- that ain't bad.

What the Mets need to do is keep the mojo going, and with Jose Reyes showing some signs of life, and with Jason Bay heating up (two homers on Sunday night), maybe the Mets are ready to break out. Not like the 9-1 homestand, but really start putting things together, winning series one after another, getting a few games up over the .500 mark as we hit the All-Star break and the possible return of Carlos Beltran.

Ryota Igarashi's return could also be a big factor. He looked bad against the Yankees, but make no mistake -- if he goes back to pitching the way he was pre-injury, it lessens Fernando Nieve's workload and gives the bullpen another weapon, especially big if Takahashi remains in the rotation.

With a five-run lead in the ninth, it was the perfect time to give Igarashi some action -- unfortunately, he wasn't up to the task and K-Rod had to come in after a five-out save the night before. Had he blown the save and had the Mets lost, there was no way you could blame Manuel -- but you know there would be those who would.

In the meantime, it was not only nice to see the Mets take a rubber game and win this series, it was also nice to see the national spotlight focus on the hitting troubles of a New York player not named David Wright.

Someone should really tell Texeira that the season has started. The guy is barely above the Mendoza line. Where are his boos?