If three months ago you told me Ollie Perez would be the guy keeping the Mets fiercest competition in check I'd probably tell you to that maybe its time to stop doing drugs.  Crack is whack yo. Turns out I'm the wrong one.  Perez went a full seven, giving up just four hits while striking out five and walking two. Oh, and err…hitting a couple batters  But he kept in it. He'd load the bases, and find his way out.  Perez has continued to dominate the Braves..

The Mets faired only slightly better, scoring 3 runs in 3 seperate innings. The biggest of course, was Wright's solo homerun, his sole hit of the game. Reyes stole 3rd and then scored on a throwing error by Braves catcher Saltamalachia, and more than anything else: am thankful that none of our hard to spell out relief pitchers were involved in the play. Paulie Lo Duca scored the other Met run, on a Gomez sacrifice.  Paulie went 2 for 3 with a double.  With hot turned cold and cold turned hot, up is down, etc etc: Delgado went 2 for 4 and Reyes and Beltran combined for 0-8. Reyes drew a walk and was intentially walked another time up.

Joe Smith faced just 3 batters and struck out two. Wagner finished it off, pitching the 9th and caught ex Met Chris Woodward looking to record the final out. He struck out two and gave up a single. It was his 11th save.

Thoughts, Notes, Things:
Wright has four homeruns in four games, which is half of his 07 homeruns to date. All eight have been this month.

If four hit batsmen in a Braves Mets matchup doesn't result in an onfield scuffle: nothing will. Sorry Sidd, we might have to wait for Pedro's return before we get your brawl

Dukes solid game bumped him up even further, he's now hitting .314.

Keith used the word 'fanny' multiple times during the SNY broadcast.  No word on whether or not this will result in the same uproar as his criticism of female Padres massage therapists in the dugout.

Early on this had all the looks of a run away win for the Mets. The Mets scored runs in each of the first four innings.  David Wright homered twice, in what proved to be the only two at bats that the Yankees would pitch to him. Endy was unstoppable, going 4 for 5 with 2 rbi's.

Some of the Mets success should be credited of course to Robinson Cano, who was credited with two errors while making an additional few bad plays, including a poor throw to first in the 8th off a Franco hit that resulted in an extra run scoring.

Of course, things were kept interesting. Show had a bad…well, showing. He gave up three runs, including back to back homers to A-rod and Jorge Posada. He eventually got the pull for Feleciano after walking Bobby Abreu.

Not the greatest game for Glavine, but he was playing in rain. He pitched six innings, getting the pull one batter into the 7th. He walked two, struck out two, and gave up three runs including a homerun to Cano.  He left with a hefty lead, and gets the win.  Where was all this run support for him last season?  Heilman faced one batter.  Wagner came in for the 9th, and again, kept us watching. But not in the good way. With one out, he made a poor decision and threw to home rather than first, resulting in an error and run scored. He eventually settled down and took out the next two batters.

For those who tuned in late: Endy Chavez hit a comebacker to Rassner, resulting in what Joe Buck was reporting as a fractured finger.  He was pulled afterwards and Myers came in with 2 on in the 1st and no outs. I mentioned this already, but seriously: Endy went 4 for 5. If you read this Omar, make sure Endy gets a new contract before we lose him.

Other numbers: Wright was intentionally walked three times. He also stole a base of Farnsworth, as part of an uncontested double steal (Beltran took 3rd).  Much as people might get frustrated when Willie's aggressive baserunning causes an unnecessary out, this double steal is what led to Franco's 2 RBI single, and gave us a nice extra cushion after Show's meltdown.  Delgado was the only other multihit Met, going 2 for 5 with a double. The Mets stole five bases, four uncontested. Endy was caught stealing, while oddly enough Shawn Green wasn't.

All that mattered today: 9th inning.

In the previous 8: Vargas looked decent, though he gave up two two-run homeruns. But considering that the defense behind him wasn't exactly the greatest, he did alright. Some sloppy throws to first, including one from Franco that looked like it almost went to high, and another from Newhan that completely missed Delgado.  All considering, they managed to keep the Cubs to five. The sole early game run for the Mets was a RBI double by Gotay to score Chavez.

But on to what really mattered: the 9th. Down 5-1 the Mets did what they do. No flashy homeruns. No power triples. The guys who were supposed to be the B team stepped up.  Newhan singled. Then Castro made what proved to be the sole out of the inning. Gomez singled, and stole second on defensive indifferance. Which proved pointless, as Beltran drew a walk while hitting for Burgos. Chavez drew a walk, to make it 5-2.  Gotay, holder of the Mets first RBI, came through again and singled in Gomez. Wright, in his first pinch hitting apperance of the year singled in Beltran to bring the Mets within one.  And finally, Delgado knocked in a 2 RBI single for the win. For those who had to work, this is about when the team went all crazy.  Hojo led the team as they mobbed Delgado in celebration.

Numberie things: Gotay went 2 for 4 with his first double of the season. Green and Chavez both went 2 for 4, and the normally quiet bat of Newhan went 2 for 3. He also drew a walk.

Burgos pitched two scoreless innings for the win, dropping his ERA to 3.72.  Vargas was responsible for all 5 cubs runs, boosting his ERA to 6.43.

Its a bit late, so we'll try to make this a quick one.

This game was pretty much an old school beat down.  Bases got stolen (Wright got his 8th). Sacrifice flies were made. There were homeruns, doubles, intentional walks. And a nice 3 hour rain delay to kick it all off.

Sosa pitched 7, giving up just one hit while striking out five and walking three. Joe Smith gave up a run to an inherited runner from Sosa on a Cliff Floyd single, Cliff's sole hit of the night and the second Cub hit of the game. This drops Smith's ERA to 1.47.  Sorry Joe, it can't ever fall back to 0.00. Wagner finished out the game, pitching the ninth, facing just 3 batters. Wagner's ERA is now 0.53, but was not eligible for the save due to the large size of the margin of victory.

The Mets spread it out pretty well.  With Sosa drawing a walk in the sixth, all nine Met starters reached safely at least once. Easley had another homerun, a 2 run shot that scored Reyes in the fourth. Easley went 2 for 4 and walked once, with two runs and 2 RBIs.  Reyes went 2 for 5 and left with an injury in the bottom of the 8th. Gomez had his first RBI, he finished the night 2 for 4 with 2 RBI's and a double. Wright went 2 for 4, also with 2 RBI's. All together, the Mets had 12 hits and drew 5 walks (well, 4, since Paulie was walked intentionally).

Well, that was an interesting way to end the game.

With the score tied in the 9th and two outs, Jose Reyes singled then stole 2nd (stolen base 23).  Cubs reliever Wuertz proceeded to walk Chavez, then Beltran.  Delgado went foul happy, and with a full count, walked, bringing in the game winner.

Does it count as a walk off walk? Or is merely a sign that the Cubs make not bring in their asking price during the team's sale this offseason?

Glavine a little shakey tonight, giving up six hits and four runs. All the runs came in the first two innings. Three of the hits off Glavine were doubles.

Heilman gets the win, he finished off the 9th.  He threw just one pitch, and is now 4-2. Smith and Feliciano each added 1 and 1/3 innings of relief, each giving up 1 hit.

David Wright went 3 for 4 including a 2 run homer to put the first Mets runs of the night up. Endy went 2 for 4, Easley sacrificed a run in, and Paulie had an RBI double. Maybe not the prettiest Met win, but a Met win nonetheless. Plus the Mets did score early enough where Glavine wasn't on the hook for a loss. Glavine now has a win or no decision in his last seven starts.

Seriously, a three walk 9th to lose the game Cubs?

The Mets, perhaps in the most difficult game for them to win in this series, put away the Dodgers by a score of 6 to 5. John Maine stepped up with very little notice, after Orlando Hernandez went down with a torn calf and pitched five innings, giving up just one run and four and a third innings.

Give the game ball to Carlos Delgado and David Wright. Delgado went 4-5, with 2 RBI, including a mammoth homer to center field. David Wright was a big contributor as well, going 2 for 4 and more importantly driving in 3 runs. Wright hit a double in the sixth that scored two runs, and hit another double in the seventh to score an important sixth run for the Mets.

Jose Reyes was also big for the Mets, drawing a walk in the seventh inning, and then stealing second to put himself in scoring position. Delgado then stepped to the plate and got his 4th hit of the night, knocking in Reyes and giving the Mets the lead.

In a surreal play, Paul Lo Duca tagged out two runners on the same hit. Dodgers rookie Russel Martin hit a ball off the base of the right-field wall. Jeff
Kent watched the ball, thinking it might be caught and left the base late, leaving JD Drew running just a few strides behind him. Third base coach, Rich Donnelly waved both of them around third. Shawn Green threw a laser to Jose Valentin who then relayed it to Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca applied the tag to Kent and at first didn't realize Drew was on his way behind Kent. John Maine, who was backing Maine up at home, alerted Lo Duca that Drew was coming and Paulie quickly swung around and tagged out Drew who tried to sneak in behind Kent. It seemed like the kind of play that could swing the momentum the Mets way, after all the negativity that had occurred over the past 24 hours.

The Mets hope the momentum can carry them past a tough lefty assignment tomorrow, as the Dodger deal them their wild card, Hong-Chih Kuo. The Mets counter with their current ace, Tom Glavine who is 8-3 at home with a 2.88 ERA.

Oliver Perez was simply outstanding, pitching a complete game shutout, giving up just five hits and walking one, striking out six to complete the Mets first doubleheader sweep since 2000 and their first doubleheader sweep over the Braves since 1988, which co-oncidentally is the last time the Mets won the NL East. It was Oliver's first win as a Met.

Shawn Green had six hits over the two games, including a 2 home runs, one in each game. Green had been struggling mightily since joining the Mets, with just 11 hits in 45 at bats, but he showed signs of getting into a groove today. Green mentioned after the game he has been working with Carlos Delgado who has known Shawn a long time and noticed some things he wasn't doing right with his swing. Jose Reyes hit his sixth lead off home run of the year, off the first pitch of the second game, his 17th of the year. His six leadoff homers are a Mets single-season record. He has eight leadoff home runs for his career. Reyes was 4-8 over the two games.

Dave Williams was nearly as impressive as Oliver, pitching six innings and giving up just one run on five hits, striking out three. Perhaps more impressive than Oliver's start is that Williams has delivered four consecutive strong outings. Feliciano, Mota and Wagner pitched a scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth. Wagner closed it out to earn his 35th save.

Cliff Floyd looked spry, making a nice sliding catch in the second game, without an ounce of hesitation before or pain after the play.

Footnote….I knew I would do it eventually, i've got a mental block with Darren Oliver and Oliver Perez, originally this post had me posting the wrong Oliver.

The Don, Cliff Floyd, quickly marked his return in style, giving the Mets and John Maine an insurance run in the ninth inning with a double to deep right field to send home his former bellhop, David Wright. John Maine was tremendous, showing he should be a lock for the postseason roster, and for the 2007 rotation. He gave up just 2 hits in 6 2/3 innings, both home runs. He retired the first 12 batters, until Berkman's homer in the 5th.

Carlos Beltran injured his knee crashing into the wall in the ninth inning. He walked off the field in some discomfort. It is not yet know how serious the injury is.

Lo Duca singled to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. David Wright went 2-3 with an RBI. Billy Wagner came on in the ninth and earned his 34th save. Feliciano finished a scoreless 7th and Aaron Heilman pitched a scoreless 8th.

The Mets played an afternoon game today to make up for yesterday's rainout. As Mets Toot pointed out, there may have been more people in our chat than at the stadium today. 8,766 was the official attendance. Can't really blame em, with it being a unscheduled weekday game. The Mets lowered their magic number to 18 and John Maine had another impressive start.

Endy Chavez got it started in the 3rd slashing a leadoff single, he went 2-4. John Maine laid down a bunt and catcher Chris Coste tried to nail Chavez out at second but pulled Rollins off the bag, allowing Chavez to advance and Maine to take first. Jose Reyes then dropped down a picture perfect bunt right in front of him, everyones safe, the Mets loading the bases. Lo Duca then slapped a hit down the right field line to bring a run in. Delgado doubled, going 2-3, and knocked in 2 more. David Wright stepped up and appeared to have fouled a ball over to third base but Manny Acta then had the eagle eye and noticed that David Wright's hit seemed to have hit the third base bag, making it a fair ball. The replays seemed to show it was in fact a foul ball. The umpires conferenced and determined Wright's hit was indeed fair and awarded him the hit. Manuel came out to argue and was ejected soon after. Shawn Green poured it on with a double scoring two more. The Mets took a healthy 6-0 lead.

Reyes later tripled when he slapped a ball to left which was misplayed. He then scored on Paul Lo Duca's single just past Burrell at third.

Ryan Howard launched his 47th homer of the season off Mota but that was all she wrote. The Phillies have homered in 18 consecutive games off the Mets. Lo Duca was lucky enough to get a nice carom off the backstop when a passed ball was thrown by Mota, and Duke was able to throw the runner out on a swinging strike.

Lo Duca jokingly said he hasn't played a day game in 10 years but was happy to continue his hot hitting.  Maine pitched 6.1, gave up 5 hits and just 2 earned runs, walking just 2 and striking out 2. He rebounded nicely after getting smoked by the Albert Pujols in his last start.

The words had barely left Gary Cohen's lips when the ball left Carlos Beltran's bat to give the Mets a thrilling come from behind victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets and Cardinals put on a grand display of offense. Carlos Delgado set it off, crushing a solo shot in the second. Pujols responded, hitting his first of two homers of the night in the fourth, a three run shot. In the very next inning, Pujols hit a grand slam, putting the Mets in a 7-1 deficit. In the same inning, Paul Lo Duca made a spectacular play at the plate to save a run, swinging his glove back over to the third base side after catching the relay throw from Reyes to tag out Molina.

John Maine started the game retiring the first 9 batters but Pujlos ended his night early. Willie Randolph pulled him for a pinch hitter in the 5th to try and spark a Mets rally. His move turned out to be a good one. Ricky Ledee pinch hit for Maine and walked. Reyes then reached on an error by Duncan who earlier in the first inning robbed Reyes of an extra base hit with a fantastic diving catch. Lo Duca singled to load the bases and then it was time for Carlos Delgado to respond with his second homer and grand slam of his own, bringing the Mets within 2 runs.

The Mets picked up another run in the sixth on a fielders choice, but would have wait until the 9th to try to win it. Mota made his Mets debut and shut down the Cards in the 6th. Feliciano, Bradford and Heilman combined to do the same in the 7th, 8th and 9th. Bradford was especially impressive, shutting down Pujols, getting him to hit into a inning ending double play in the 8th.

And then came the Mets half of the ninth, Lo Duca dropped a ball in front of Taguchi who misplayed it and let it dribbled behind him. Gary Cohen, in an almost Vin Scully-esque moment, gave Beltran a perfect introduction, mouthing the words “so one out and one on, here comes Beltran, and one swing can win it for New York”, and not a half second later the ball was sailing over the right field fence and Beltran was pointing to his dugout as he trotted to first base. Beltran emphatically jumped and stomped onto home plate and was mobbed by his teammates.

The rest as they say, is history, and another chapter in what is becoming a very special season for the New York Mets.

Mike Piazza went from returning folk hero to annoying visitor in a hurry, stealing a line from Gary Cohen on tonights SNY broadcast. After hitting his second homer of the night, Piazza stepped to bat in the eight inning but this time with the Mets nursing a 2 run lead and 2 runners on for Mike. The reception he heard this time around was decidedly different, with the Shea faithful returning to their blue and orange loyalties, booing him like he was the drunken uncle who parked his RV in the driveway. Mike nearly had his third dinger of the night but Beltran reeled it in just short of the warning track.

Despite the drama, it was another successful outing for Heilman who has had just one poor one to show for since the departure of the dirty one. Pedro Martinez was outstanding, giving up just three hits, two of them leaving the yard off Piazza's bat. He's been rock solid since his return from the DL, looks like the rest did him well.

Lastings Milledge went from 1st to 3rd on a bunt using some
aggressive baserunning. I think its a just a matter of time before this kid hits a rhythm and really shows people what he can do.

Endy Chavez continues to fill in admirably, using his speed to run down fly balls in left and going 3-3 with an RBI and a walk.

Billy Wagner continues to walk the line, promptly giving up a dinger to Barfield but settling down to earn his 26th save of the year.

Mike Piazza is one of the few people who could return to New York in enemy laundry and be treated like royalty. Every time Mike stepped to bat tonight, the entire stadium was on its feet. His first at bat, the Mets played walk up music, unheard of for a visiting player. The opening riff of Voodoo Child played, which Mike often came out when he called games behind the plate at Shea, and there he stood tipping his hat to those who came to chant his name. Not only that, but he was given loud ovations from the moment he entered the field for pregame warmups. It was a sight to behold, and I personally had chills seeing the face of the franchise for so many years of my Mets fandom receive the ultimate reception.

Oh, at the Mets won 3-2, it what was actually a thrilling ballgame, upstaged by the return of an icon. Steve Trachsel was good enough to win, again. Five relievers combined to shut down the Pods over the final 3 1/3 innings. Paul Lo Duca continues to be the best hitter in the majors, despite his reputation for having poor second halfs. David Wright showing signs of breaking out of his mini slump, going 3-4, stealing a base, and knocking in 2 runs that would be the difference in this game. Carlos Beltran continues to prove his case for NL MVP with a 3-4 night, all three hits for doubles tying a Mets record for doubles in a single game. A Met has hit three doubles in a game 20 times. The previous time was Wright at San Francisco on Aug. 21, 2004.

Lastings Milledge hit into a double play with no outs and the bases loaded to score the first run. Milledge caught a bad break on a fly ball that the wind caught up to and blew over the right field fence. Eli Marrero was designated for assignment after the game to make room for newly acquired Ricky Ledee. Willie Randolph commented on his joining the club.

Mike Cameron slapped a double for his only hit of the night, in his return to Shea. He received a very warm reception as well, a huge favorite in the Mets clubhouse in the past 2 years.

Billy Wagner pitched a scoreless 9th for his 25th save.

Weekday day games are a double edged sword for me.

Its great because it helps my day fly by, with a ballgame available to peek in on while i'm at work, however i'm at the mercy of MLB Gameday and the fine folks in the Hot Foot Bleachers to keep me abreast of the up to the second events of the game at hand. MLB.tv is not an option unfortunately for me, firewalls and all, but I digress. The reason you're here is for the happy recap, and a happy recap it is.

David Wright knows chicks dig the long ball, and he gave them a pair today. Wright hit one in the 4th, and another in the 5th inning, both 2 run shots, both with Beltran on. The Mets did all their damage in those innings. Nady and Beltran provided the other two runs, driving in Franco and Reyes respectively.

Reyes helped the cause with heads up base running, getting over to third mainly because he was running on Woodward's ground out. Reyes went 2-4, stole 2 bases, and is now batting .286, he also contributed a big double play that got Heath Bell out of trouble in the 7th.

Julio Franco got the start today to give Carlos Delgado a spell, and contributed going 2-4. Franco is batting .346 and the ageless wonder stole his 4th base of the year in the 5th.

Pedro pitched 6 innings, striking out 8, but was uncharacteristically, walking 5. Pedro has averaged only 2 walks per game this season. He only gave up two hits and got the win, his 7th.

Heath Bell, Pedro Feliciano, and Chad Bradford combined for 3 scoreless innings to close it out. Bradford earned his 2nd save of the year, pitching in the 8th and 9th, striking out 3 of 4 batters, 2 of them in the 9th inning.

The Mets split the series and head to Toronto to take on the blue birds for a three game set, and then off to Boston where Pedro faces Josh Beckett and his former teammates on Wednesday in what should be must see TV.

Xavier Nady seems to be back in fighting shape and showed off his power stroke last night, launching two home runs in the Mets 9-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in only the second game back from his appendectomy. Nady also robbed Austin Kearns of an extra-base hit with a leaping catch in the fourth.

Carlos Delgado hit his 20th home run of the season, a 2 run shot in the first inning. It was the 11th time in the last 13 games that New York has scored in the first inning. The home run was the 389th of Delgado's career, tying him with Hall of Famer Johnny Bench for 47th place on the career list.

Steve Trachsel even got in on the action, smacking a line drive home run of his own to left field, on a 0-2 count. Steve Trachsel's home run Tuesday night was the first by a Mets pitcher in four years, since Shawn Estes hit one out against the Yankees' Roger Clemens on June 15, 2002. During the Mets' drought, every other NL team had at
least two home runs from its pitchers, with the Cubs leading the way
with 14.

Jose Reyes continued his hot hitting, going 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Reyes extended his hitting streak to eight games. Paul Lo Duca had two doubles,

Trachsel won his third straight game, pitching six innings allowing six hits and two runs, and striking out only one. Duaner Sanchez came on in relief and allowed a sac fly but then shut down the Reds inducing a inning ending double play. Aaron Heilman allowed a single in a scoreless eighth, and Darren Oliver gave up a double but no runs in the ninth.

Valentin brothers, Javier and Jose both started, catcher Javier for the Reds and second
baseman Jose for the Mets. Javier tagged Jose at home on an
attempted inside-the-park home run in the eighth.

Lastings Milledge threw Ryan Freel who tried to stretch a single into a double in the first inning. It was his third assist in 18 games.