First, I have to say the new Hot Foot looks great!   Great job Anthony!  

        On to my post for this evening.   What do the Mets need to do down the stretch to get ready for the play offs?  

        In my opinion the Mets need to do three important things to ensure optimal performance in the playoffs.  First, the Mets must continue to get healthy.  The health of Carlos Delgado concerns me.  Injuries with the core, whether abs or hip pointer, are troublesome and fickle.  You are fine one minute and crying in pain the next.  Well, okay I was crying in pain.  The point is that the Mets must be careful to ensure Delgado gets healthy.   The Mets also should consider bubble wrapping El Duque and Alou.  I’m not kidding. 

      The second is obvious.  Get Pedro ready.  Pedro Martinez IS the key to the playoffs in so many ways.   His attitude and competitive fire drives this team.  Any question of that was answered in the last 11 days.  Pedro Martinez though must get to the point were he can go 6 or 7 innings per start.  The 5 inning games are understandable, but over the last few weeks of September, Pedro is going to have to push himself beyond that point.  With Pedro Martinez starting game 1 or 2 in the playoffs, the Mets become a very dangerous team.

      Last but not least, define roles.   The roles on the bench and bullpen must be defined.  All year due to injuries, the only defined role in the bullpen belonged to Billy Wagner.  The bench, forget about it.   With the return of all the players for the bench, Willie Randolph needs to concentrate on getting at bats for the bench guys he’s taking to the playoffs and innings pitched for the bullpen pitchers.   This includes the possibility of Pelfrey, Maine, El Duque, or Perez getting use to coming out of the bullpen.

        As we Mets fans end this regular season over the next few weeks, lets enjoy the end of the “team to beat” and the supposed curse of Atlanta.  We fans also have to get ready for the playoffs.  So get ready for the excitement and heart raising fits of October!   Get your voices ready to shake Shea and show the baseball world what New York Mets fans can do!