Justin Turner Overdrive, takin' care of business

While Jorge Posada had a temper tantrum in the Bronx that put my 5-year-old to shame, Justin Turner kept quiet, put his head down and worked his way into an opportunity to make a difference with his club.

Certainly, the players and the circumstances are VASTLY different. Posada is a highly paid, highly accomplished veteran who has helped the Yankees win multiple titles, but is showing this season that he has next to nothing left in the tank.

Turner, meanwhile, is a 26-year-old who has been impressing folks in the Mets organization since last season, and is just now — thanks to his own solid play, the failure of Brad Emaus and an injury to Ike Davis — showing that he can be a contributor for the Mets.

On Sunday, Posada had to meekly apologize for his actions the day before, when he begged out of a game after seeing his name penciled in the No. 9 spot in the lineup. Turner, meanwhile, hit a three-run homer and doubled in two more runs as the Mets won their third straight series, beating the Astros, 7-4.

I love it.

Other than watching the Mets win and turn their season around, nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing the Yankees and their fans squirm. And the Yankees, just a couple of games better than a Mets team that a certain talk show host buried in the second week of April, have lots to worry about.

C.C. has not been much of an ace. Counting on Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to be major contributors is like depending on Charlie Sheen to be your designated driver. Derek Jeter is a slap hitter who's lost a step but is still getting paid like Tulowitzki. And A-Rod has already begun a steady decline that will see him steal millions before his contract is finally up. (By the way, Mariano can't pitch forever, either.)

The Mets, meanwhile, are looking better and the future is looking brighter. Jason Bay is still struggling at the plate but he made a game-saving defensive play down the line in left. Chris Capuano pitched another solid game and got the win. K-Rod is now throwing perfect innings. Jason Pridie stole home on a double-steal.

Sure, you have to be concerned about R.A. Dickey, but his situation isn't typical because of the pitch he throws, so you hope he figures it out. Pelfrey's been better lately, and he'll have a huge test Monday at home against Josh Johnson and the Marlins.

Two big games against Florida and two more at Citi Field against Washington before heading to the Boogie Down for a three-game set against the Geriatric Guild. We're counting the days.

On Beltran's blasts and the Dodgers back in Brooklyn

My son came running into the kitchen to tell me that Carlos Beltran had just hit a home run. I figured it was his second of the game — I had heard him hit the first one on the radio in the car earlier in the evening — but then Gary Cohen mentioned the three home runs and the six RBI and I realized that the middle homer was how the Mets got from five runs to seven (a period of the game I missed while my son was in karate class).

Of course, Beltran hitting three home runs in a game was just another reason for some to wonder how it will affect his trade value, for when the Mets inevitably deal him to a contender, probably in the American League, before the July 31 trade deadline (along with Jose Reyes, and maybe even David Wright, Mike Pelfrey and possible everyone not named Ike Davis).

This all presumes the Mets are not contenders in July, something that many in the media state practically as fact, like how the summer starts on June 21. For them, it may as well be on the calendar.

For me, I know Beltran won't be here next year, and I'll understand completely if the Mets do fall behind and deal him. I'd rather focus on his so-far remarkable comeback, remarkable not necessarily because of his production but because he has remained healthy.

It's what we've waited for, a Beltran who, while limited in the field, can still rake at the plate, from both sides. That he hit three out on a day when David Wright took his second day off, Davis went on the DL and Willie Harris played third was terrific timing. (And nice to see Harris finally contribute; he was on base each time Beltran went yard.)

Another series win, and now the Mets head to Houston for what should be another two of three. Why so few are willing to even entertain the idea that the Mets are as in contention for a playoff spot as anyone else is somewhat puzzling, but at this point I don't care what anyone else thinks.


Johan Santana is throwing off a mound. Jose Reyes and Beltran look renewed (contract years will do that). The pitching is slowly coming around. Jason Isringhausen (knock wood) has been borderline amazing.

I'm enjoying the season. Are you?

---

Great story on ESPN from Howard Megdal on why the Dodgers should and could move back to Brooklyn. Sure, it'll never happen, but Megdal lays out a fairly convincing case that revolves around:

• The Yankees and Mets would be paid off to allow it — by waiving luxury tax for the Yanks and literally paying the Mets, who could use a cash infusion.
• NYC could easily handle three teams.
• The borough would welcome the team back with open arms (and there are several good locations for a new park).
• Los Angeles would get the Rays, a scenario where a weak market (Tampa) is eliminated in favor of two much stronger markets.
• Fred Wilpon would go down in history as helping bring the Dodgers back to Brooklyn.

Megdal doesn't expand on this, but I immediately thought that an ownership swap could be part of the deal, where the Wilpons would own the now-Brooklyn Dodgers, and the Mets get new owners.

Nah, it'll never happen. Still, read it.

Big Pelf steps up, Davis steps badly (ouch)

These West Coast games are a killer for the blog. They end late, and I am usually exhausted. Especially on Tuesday night, when I missed the game because of softball — 8 p.m. doubleheaders, baby.

Anyway, it was great to see Big Pelf get the win (suddenly, he's 3-3), and pitch into the seventh. He looked solid, despite the three solo homers, and he delivered the two-run double that was the difference in the game. Is he settling in, finally? Is Ronny Paulino working his magic? Whatever — just keep it up, Mike.

Amazing how good news is always paired with bad with these Mets. They take two of three from L.A. but lose Chris Young, probably for the season. They beat the Rockies but Ike Davis gets hurt in a collision with David Wright. It's always something.

Davis hopes to play in Wednesday afternoon's game but don't hold your breath. Wright's getting the day off too, so we're looking at a possible infield of Turner, Reyes, Hu and Murphy.

Loved the work by the bullpen, and the starters are also settling down as well, with Pelfrey's effort coming on the heels of a very strong start by Capuano. Even K-Rod is tossing 1-2-3 innings.

Also, tip the cap to Murphy for stepping back into first base and not missing a beat defensive, with a couple of terrific plays, including the diving stab of a shot down the line. The guy's got a glove. Just don't put him in the outfield.

Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose ... Jo-se! Jo-se!

The Mets failed to complete the sweep of the Dodgers on Sunday, settling instead for two out of three and three wins in their last four games before embarking to Colorado and Houston this week. But rather than recap the weekend, I much prefer to talk about Jose Reyes.

Four triples in his last four games, and the guy has been pure dynamite. I actually had a dream last night that Jose hit three triples in one game, prompting Gary Cohen to cry on the air. I can totally see that happening.

He is that kind of player. I have made plain my feelings on Reyes and why the Mets would be smart to keep him in Flushing, and I'm glad to see that others out there are feeling the same way. I don't want him going anywhere, and I think most Mets fans agree he's just too good a player — a game-changer, homegrown, dynamic, everything fans love.

That said, if he does get traded or even if he signs elsewhere, here is what I would like to see happen. And by writing it down in this humble blog, I hope to get the credit when, 40 years from now, someone asks, "Where did that come from?"

On February 25, 1979, Islanders captain and All-Star defenseman Denis Potvin checked promising Rangers winger Ulf Nilsson and broke his ankle. While the Rangers went on to eliminate the Islanders in the playoffs that season, the Rangers lost to the Canadiens in the finals, Nilsson was lost for the season and by all accounts was never the same again, and the following season the Islanders began their string of four straight Stanley Cup championships.

Rangers fans, who hated Potvin already, now had even more reason to despise him, and created a chant that piggybacked onto the end of "Let's Go Band," a popular tune played in stadiums and arenas. (Side note: At Boston University, the marching band would play the tune and after the final three notes — DUM-DUM-DUM — the crowd would chant, "GO B.U.! BEAT B.C! THEY SUCK SH*T!")

At Rangers games, the organist would play the tune and the fans would yell, "POT-VIN SUCKS!" The Garden banned the playing of the tune in the mid-eighties, but the savvy and resilient Rangers fans (I have to give them credit on this one, and I am an Islanders fan) got around the ban by WHISTLING the tune en masse, and then chanting, "POT-VIN SUCKS!"

More than 30 years later, Rangers fans still do that chant, both at home and at Islanders-Rangers games at Nassau Coliseum. It has become part of the fabric of New York sports.

What does this have to do with Reyes? Well, should Reyes leave the Mets, at the first non-Reyes game at Citi Field — whether it is a regular season game in 2011 or the first home game of the 2012 season — Mets fans should, when the Mets' leadoff hitter steps up to the plate in the bottom of the first, start the JO-SE, JOSE, JOSE, JOSE chant.

And keep it up for the whole opening inning. And do that for every home game after. For the rest of the season, and for every game in every season to follow.

Can you imagine what that would be like? What better way for the fans to let their feelings known — other than by not buying tickets or merchandise. No signs that could be taken away by eagle-eyed ushers. There would be no way for the Mets to silence thousands of fans.

It would be incredibly emotional at first, but as time went on, the chant would become part of the regular home game routine. A haunting tribute to a player who transcended sabermetric analysis, who turbocharged not only his own team but the fans. Whose departure would suck the life from a fan base that has been battered the last five years.

Like I said, I hope Reyes stays. But if he goes, this has to happen. And when I'm at a Mets game with my grandchildren and they ask me, "What are the fans singing?" I will have some story to tell them.

Mets win, Pelfrey pitches well, but the cranks are still cranky

This post should really be about Mike Pelfrey showing signs of life, pitching into the seventh inning for the second time in his last three starts to help the Mets avoid the sweep Thursday, 5-2. It should be about how Pelfrey may be starting to turn things around, and how we shouldn't have been too shocked that he started off slow, considering his personality, the extra pressure of having to be "the man" in Santana's absence, and the death of his friend and confidante, sports psychologist Harvey Dorfman.

It should be about the win. It should be about Beltran continuing to hit and also play almost every day. It should be about Jason Bay coming back and doubling immediately, about Jose Reyes tripling in two runs, or about K-Rod walking the tight wire again but still getting the save and still, despite all the baserunners, not allowing a run.

But it's not.

You know I've cut Francesa out of my life, and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be. Well, now Joe and Evan have been cut from the rotation.

I'm getting lunch and listening to the FAN prior to Thursday's game and a bumper comes on with Chris Capuano promoting the Mets Box Office Blitz. Evan follows by saying, "Be the fifth caller — and five is probably what Capuano's ERA is going to be at the end of the year..."

Are you shitting me?

This is on the day after Capuano pitched reasonably well in a 2-0 duel with Tim Lincecum, allowing two runs in 6 1/3. But no, the Mets are losers, let's just crap on them at every given opportunity.

Of course, misery loves company, and who is more miserable than Joe Benigno? A few minutes later, they're running through the Giants' lineup and noting how awful most of the batters are, and Joe chimes in with, "Well, Pelfrey's pitching tonight so they'll probably score 10 runs."

Evan mindessly agrees, and, like clockwork, Joe adds, "Oh, the pain."

Tune into Mac and Tierney at noon on ESPN 1050, folks.

Metsblog gets into the act as well. We don't need to see the wild card standings every day. And yes, Matt, since you're asking, May 6 is too early to worry about games behind. So cut the standings update back to maybe once a week, if that? Thanks.

And I understand why there is speculation about the Giants maybe trading for Reyes. It makes sense. Reyes is going to be a free agent, the Giants' offense sucks, they have no decent shortstop, they having pitching to spare, and they were in town for three games. You could see it coming a mile away.

But beyond that, can we have a chance to enjoy the season, and enjoy Reyes, before the stories speculating on his future become incessant? Can we at least wait until June? We're starting already on May 1? Come on.

I'm also getting tired of reading about how the Mets may not want to give "too many years and too much money" on a player "who relies on his legs."

First off, if you're going to sign a star player, you are definitely going to pay too much money and run the risk of giving too many years. It's just how it goes. If you're never going to do that, then you're never going to acquire a star player. Simple as that. And make no mistake, Reyes is a star player.

Regarding his legs, it seems to me that players who rely on their legs primarily are the ones who keep their legs the longest. One of them is coaching first, Mookie Wilson. What about Rickey Henderson? Kenny Lofton? These guys were athletes and runners first, like Reyes, and maintained that edge well into their 30s, and played into their 40s.

Will Reyes? Who knows? But to flatly state that it doesn't make sense to give a 28-year-old a multiyear deal because he runs well is ridiculous. He'll be 34 at the end of seven years, and seven likely the longest anyone would go on him. Sure, you could expect some kind of decline by then, but you'd likely have some pretty good prime years in between.

I think you can take to the bank that K-Rod will not finish 55 games this year, or he'll be traded. So that's $12 million off the books to go along with the $19 million for Beltran, and another $18 million for Ollie and Castillo. That's $49 million leaving.

The free agent list isn't terribly impressive and one would think with ownership issues and new management they are not going after the likes of Albert Pujols or anyone else too expensive anyway. But this is still a New York team charging New York prices competing in the New York market with the Yankees and in a division where the Phillies added Cliff Lee to Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

They may cut payroll, but they can never go cheap. This ain't Oakland.

Reyes gets $11 million now. Considering the dearth of talent at shortstop, why not pay an extra $5 million or so a year to keep the guy who you already have, a player who when he plays, your team wins, who is beloved by the fans, who is the third-best shortstop in the game, who puts people in the seats at a time when you really need people in the seats?

It's almost mind-boggling. And then you get the people saying it doesn't make sense to trade Reyes unless you trade Wright, too, and bring back a ton of new players to start over.

Really? You think fans are staying away in droves now?

It's depressing, at a time of the year when none of us should be depressed. It's early May, for God's sake! But no, there's no time to just enjoy baseball, to see how this all plays out, to see whether Santana comes back, to enjoy guys like Reyes and Beltran finally playing every day, healthy.

The Dodgers are in town for three this weekend. Which of course means more stories of how these two franchises are on the rocks and doomed.

Sounds like fun.

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.