This time, Mets avoid the trap, continue to rake

Wednesday night's game against the Tigers was the classic trap game that the Mets, in recent years, always seemed to stumble into.

They get a win in the first game of the series, and face a less-than-impressive starter in game two, knowing that the opposition's ace awaits in game three.

The Mets won game one on Tuesday, then faced Phil Coke in game two, the ex-Yankee of the 1-7 record, with Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander (who was drafted by Detroit one spot ahead of the Mets, ugh) going in game three. The middle game was the winnable one, the one that would clinch the series win.

In the past, the Mets would find a way to botch this scenario, then inevitably get throttled by the ace in the final game and lose the series.

So it was great to see them hammer Coke the way they did, the offense continuing not only to hit but to hit with two outs, something they couldn't do at all in April. And pile on runs, which came in handy when the Tigers kept scratching and clawing to stay in it, until the relentless of the Mets offense — did I just type that? — became too much to overcome.

Angel Pagan had a huge night, as did Daniel Murphy, who had two, two-out, two-run singles. Of course Jose Reyes had another multi-hit game, what else did you expect? Guy is hitting EVERYTHING. Turner and Tejada also had two hits each, and Ronny Paulino, batting FOURTH, had four hits and four runs scored.

I hope Terry Collins had some time to take a ferry to Ontario for some casino action, because everything he does is coming up gold right now.

Jason Bay was 1-for-2 but drew four walks and made an incredible diving catch in left early in the game to keep the Mets comfortably in front. He also had two steals as the Mets continued to run at will on the bases, this time against the ineffective Victor Martinez.

What more can you say about how this team is playing now? They have scored a franchise-best 52 runs and amassed 69 hits in the last four games, with an RISP average of .484. Good Lord.

Enjoy the ride.

Signs of the apocalypse, or of better things to come?

You would think that hitting two grand slams in one game (in consecutive innings), when your team hadn't hit one in two years (while allowing 18 to the opposition) would exorcise plenty of demons.

Toss in the fact that one of the blasts was delivered by Jason Bay, who needed a hit like that more than anyone else on the roster, if not in the league, and Tuesday night's demolition of the Tigers could be viewed as a season-altering event.

We'd like to think so. After singling the Rangers to death, the Mets busted out the big lumber, hitting three bombs to give R.A. Dickey a month's worth of run support. The Mets chased starter Rick Porcello and then hammered Daniel Schlereth for the two grand salamis. That'll inflate the old ERA.

And what more can you say about Jose Reyes? How about this: Ty Cobb. Reyes has 98 career triples and 360 steals. The only other player in history to reach those numbers as fast as Reyes? Cobb. Wow.

I'll say it now. Pay the man. Sure, teams are valuing him on a career year that may never happen again, but understand that Reyes is entering the prime years of 28-32. That's five seasons. You're going to want Jose Reyes in his prime for five seasons. Yes, health is a rosk, but anyone can get hurt. He's healthy now, and has been healthy before (153-plus games a year from 2005-08).

And what's he worth to the team from a marketing standpoint? Many, many dollars. What is he worth to the soul of the franchise? To the fans? It's priceless.

Keep Jose.

Welcome to the House of Fun

I haven't been to Citi Field recently, not since Opening Week (I know, what am I waiting for?) but I understand that since the Mets have begun winning at home with scary regularity, the team has begun playing "Our House" by the English group Madness.

It's a good song, it's on my iPod, but I think a better choice by the same group is "House of Fun." Because that's what Citi Field has become for Mets fans these days. A place where the team and its fans are having a ball.

It's a real fun house when R.A. Dickey is on the hill tossing his knuckleball around. Dickey baffled the Tigers for eight innings Wednesday night and improved to 6-0 in just seven starts. The guy has been flat-out incredible. One of the all-time finds for Omar Minaya. You can say Omar was lucky with this one, but he saw enough in Dickey to sign him, so give him credit.

More fun came from Jose Reyes, as always. One night after Angel Pagan missed a cycle by a home run, Reyes fell a double short, tripling to lead off the game and adding a home run in the fifth.

And who had more fun than Keith and Gary with Jerry Seinfeld in the booth tonight? And for 4 1/2 innings! Fantastic.

Since Jerry asked, my favorite Mets moment has to be the Grand Slam Single. I was there at Shea for that and for the Endy Chavez catch, but nothing will top what it was like when Ventura hit that homer. Total mayhem.

Total madness.

All sorts of tremendous

So much to enjoy today about the Mets:

1. Justin Verlander was in trouble from the start, and it just got worse for the Tigers from there. Sixteen hits, 14 runs, eight runs in the third inning after a rain delay, and the Mets routed Detroit for yet another win at home. That put the Mets 10 games over .500 with 40 wins on the season, with a 25-10 record at Citi Field.

Nice work by the top of the order — the first four hitters went 13-for-21, with 10 runs scored and 10 RBIs. And Angel Pagan, facing questions about possibly getting less playing time next month (see below), stepped up his game with four hits, one homer short of a cycle, and four runs batted in.

Niese kind of fell apart after the rain delay, but with an hour break and a huge lead that wasn't too surprising. But good work by Fernando Nieve for the win, and nice to see Bobby Parnell for an inning while Jennry Mejia goes back to the minors to start. Parnell showed flashes last season before running into the ground, but if he can be the hard-throwing strikeout guy in the late innings (and if Igarashi can bounce back), that's a huge boost for the bullpen.

2. We're spoiled as Mets fans because we have the best three-man TV booth in the game in Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling (Bobby O and Chris Carlin are excellent in the pre- and post-game as well). But it's about to get better when Jerry Seinfeld enters the booth and calls three innings of tonight's game with Keith and Gary.

I'm sure the references to Keith's apperance on the show in "The Boyfriend" episode (wow, that was 18 years ago) will get taken care of in the first inning — the magic loogie, "I'm Keith Hernandez" — but I'm looking forward to hearing some real fan perspective from Jerry. The DVR is set.

3. More Jerry: He called Steve Somers' show on WFAN Tuesday night and trashed Lady Gaga. Awesome.

4. And Carlos Beltran is starting his rehab assignment, which means he may actually be back after the All-Star break. In the lineup. Playing real games.

Sure, that means tough decisions for Jerry Manuel in the outfield, but it's safe to say that Beltran won't be rushed, maybe play 4-5 games a week, with Pagan getting a day off and Francoeur getting two days off, Bay getting a game off every week or two. Nothing wrong with that.

Like they say, a good problem to have.

5. And yeah, Kevin James threw out the first pitch Tuesday. He gets some flak in some parts but I like him. Grew up right near me in Suffolk County. "Mall Cop" was underrated.