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.

Strength in numbers

In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end.  — Tom Seaver

Sorry, Tom, but we're gonna dwell on some tasty numbers today.

3: More hits for Justin Turner, who drove in the Mets' first run, after a double by Fernando Martinez (to whom Collins gave the start at DH).

5: The inning in which Jose Reyes made the play of the game, a diving stop of a grounder up the middle hit by A-Rod, who was gunned out by a step. Reyes went 0-for-4, but that play was worth a boatload of hits (which Reyes has, leading the league, by the way. Sandy Alderson is watching, right?)

6: Innings of four-hit ball thrown by R.A. Dickey, whose knuckler was finally knuckling.

9: Straight batter retired by relievers Mike O'Connor, Jason Isringhausen and K-Rod to end the game, striking out five in the process.

10: Wins in their last 14 games for the Mets.

11: Total strikeouts by Mets pitchers Friday night.

15: Consecutive saves for Frankie Rodriguez

17: Wins with 9 losses since the Mets opened at 5-13.

19: Straight scoreless innings for K-Rod.

22: The number of wins the Mets have this season (same as the number of losses).

23: The number of wins the Yankees have this season.
    
344: Feet (officially) traveled by Mark Texeira's solo home run in the third, a fly out at Citi Field and just about anywhere else. What a joke that park is. (Yes, Murphy's homer was just 346 feet, but down the line, that was a legit shot. Texeira's was basically a pop-up).

1,000: Approximate number of seats short of a sellout at Yankee Stadium for game one of the Subway Series. And there were plenty of Mets fans there filling the place out, as you could tell as K-Rod struck out Nick Swisher to end the game.

In the end, it's not about the numbers. It's about how this team, led by Terry Collins, has overcome the injuries to key players by stepping up as a group and being accountable. They're not waiting and wondering when the injured guy is coming back, they're plugging a new guy in there and saying, 'Go get 'em.'

It's a team of underdogs, always the best kind of Mets team to root for.

Now that the sweep has been avoided, the Mets will look to win the series either Saturday or Sunday. The pitching matchups are favorable, and you have to love the way this team is playing.

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?

Subway Series: Just as it was foreseen

The Mets took two of three from the Yankees at Citi Field, and the Yankees returned the favor at Yankee Stadium this weekend, a series split that gave the Mets a 7-2 road trip that vaulted the club into the Wild Card lead and within three games of first place in the NL East.

That gap was as close as a half game, but the Braves swept the Kansas City Royals while the Mets lost twice in the Bronx. Is there a catchy nickname for when the Braves and Royals face off? Didn't think so.

The Mets didn't manage a win with their top two starters on the mound, as Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana were out-dueled by Phil Hughes and C.C. Sabathia. But having won eight in a row, it's tough to get too down on them.

Pelfrey just didn't have his rhythm against the Yankees, which I imagine would be a problem for most National League pitchers, seeing as how the Yankees take a particularly leisurely approach to the plate. And it's not just the Yankees: American League baseball, with the DH and short fences, looks like slow-pitch softball sometimes compared to the National League, characterized by bigger fields and more of an emphasis on pitching, speed and defense.

Did you see the grand slam by Mark Texeira? A fly out at Citi Field. Sire, Jose Reyes took advantage for two home runs on Saturday, but as the home team the Yankees have many more opportunities to capitalize on the embarrassing dimensions of their ballpark. Jorge Posada recently hit two grand slams — at least one would have landed in an outfielder's glove in Flushing.

As for Santana, he didn't lose the game as much as Sabathia won, shutting down the Mets lineup. You had to feel for Santana, allowing a runner to load the bases on a fielding mishap covering a bunt, only to allow the cheapie slam to Texeira a batter later. Other than that, Santana was good, not great.

Maybe he was good enough to win on another day, but then again, Santana has been great enough to win a few times this season only to come away without the 'W.'

More amusing than the games themselves was the nonsense concerning Reyes and his celebrating, or the comments made by Keith Hernandez about Cervelli's futile attempts to deke runners on base by feigning passed balls.

It's apples and oranges. Reyes celebrates when he does something well, or when his team succeeds. Lots of players do to different degrees. Yankees fans who complain about Reyes should pay attention to themselves when Joba pumps his fist or when Nick Swisher styles.

Cervelli's antics are about deception and what is and is not acceptable. The hidden ball trick works rarely, and is tried rarely. Imagine if you saw that every game. It would become extremely tiresome. Aren't we all professionals here?

What Cervelli does is akin to the hidden ball trick, and perhaps that's what offended Hernandez's sensibilities as a former MLB player. Try it once, okay. Try it again, and again, and it's like, are you kidding me with that? Leave it at the schoolyard. This isn't Little League.

More interleague nonsense coming up this week as the Tigers and Twins visit Citi Field. Meanwhile, the Mets lead the Wild Card standings, when just a couple of weeks ago they were on the fringes of the group. That's progress.

This win was worth the (extra long) wait

Note to self: When DVRing any game involving the Yankees, make sure you set the record time for more than four hours.

Here's when I ran out of recording time for Friday night's game at Yankee Stadium: Bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, one out, two strikes on Derek Jeter.

Aaaaaaaaaauuuuugh!

A 4-0 game that was humming along nicely while Hisanori Takahashi and Javier Vasquez were dealing slowed to an absolute crawl. Seriously? You can't get a 4-0 game — one that featured 8 hits for each team — in under four hours? Joe West was right. That is ridiculous.

Equally insane is the preset recording time for Mets games on SNY (on Cablevision; I wonder if it's the same on other systems): 2 1/2 hours. I know the Mets are in the National League, but how many games really get in under 2:30? Not a lot.

So I added one to the hours column to make it 10, then clicked up two on the first digit of the minutes section to 5, which set the recording time to end at 10:50 p.m. I almost always watch the games late, and when the recording stopped with Jeter at the plate the time in the real world was 12:15 a.m. Saturday. The game had been over by about an hour.

So I had to go online to find out how it ended, fearing that I would see 5-4 Yankees or something equally horrific, like a Jeter grand slam off of Frankie Rodriguez.

Thankfully, it was just strikeout Jeter, foul out on Swisher caught by David Wright and the Mets win their eighth straight, their ninth shutout (wow) of the season. Niiiiiiiiice.

Takahashi was brilliant, shutting down the Yankees again, as was Pedro Feliciano. Wright made a great slide to score the first run, Angel Pagan came up huge with a two-run double in the eighth, and Jose Reyes tacked on an RBI in the ninth.

Texeira, A-Rod and Cano? A combined 1-for-11.

Fantastic for the Mets to win the first game of the series, with two great showdowns coming up Saturday and Sunday. This is going to be a fun weekend.

Going off the rails on a crazy train

The Mets are the hottest team in baseball, winners of seven straight — the last six on the road — and nine of their last 10, a juggernaut that is 12-2 in the month of June.

The runaway train pulls into New Yankee Stadium just a half-game behind the Braves for first place in the NL East, while the Yankees begin in a flat-footed tie for first in the AL East.

The Yanks might be in first place all by their lonesome had they not lost two of three to the Phillies, but hey — who's counting?

R.A. Dickey improved to 5-0 with a win Thursday, as the Mets went 6-0 against the feeble Orioles and Indians. Mets fans would have taken 4-2 in a heartbeat, but there's no denying this team lately.

Dickey has been so good — the Mets are 5-1 in his starts — that my 8-year-old son wants to learn the knuckleball. I think he actually tried to throw one the other night in his Little League game, except the palm of his hand somehow ended up facing him, and he looked like he was flicking a playing card into a hat. The batter swung and missed, though, so maybe he's on to something.

You loved seeing Reyes clap his hands together after legging out a triple that gave the Mets a two-run lead in the eighth, and this time there was little drama with K-Rod for the save.

Expect that to change in the Yankees series, where I can't say I'd complain too much if the Mets won just one. The pitching matchups look fantastic: Takahashi vs. Vasquez is a mere appetizer followed by Pelfrey vs. Hughes in a battle of the future aces, and then Santana vs. Sabathia on Father's Day.

I know where I'll be.

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?