Awww, wasn't that nice

Well, the Mets last night apparently decided to make the Braves feel better. They figured, what the hell, we are 19 games up on them, let's throw them a freaking bone. I mean, what else explains the horrible showing last night? A couple of errors (the defense seems to have taken a rest the past few games after being so stout for a while recently). The bats stayed in hibernation, for a second straight game (1 hit? a day after getting only 4?)

Of course, the lineups lucky charm was going last night, in the persona of Steve (Trashball) Trachsel. Typically, when Steve pitches, the Mets hit. That is the only explanation for his 14 wins. Last night, Steve was true to form (actually a tad worse believe it or not), lasting 4 1/3, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits, with his usual 1 strikeout, along with 7 (count 'em - 7) walks. Heath Bell and Royce Ring pitched well in relief, Roberto Hernandez gave up a run in 1 inning of work. The result last night adds fuel to the anti-Trachsel fans who feel that the team cannot allow him to start in the playoffs, cause if they face a good pitcher, they are going to be in trouble, given Steve's 5.02 ERA. I like Steve, as a #5 starter, and tend to agree that he should not start. The problem is that he is not a good candidate for the pen, as he takes a long time to warm up. As a result, we will probably see Pedro, Glavine, Maine and Trax in the rotation, with El Duque coming out of the pen.

I did not post over the weekend, being occupied with end of summer stuff, but a couple of things stood out. For one, Carlos Beltran showed on Saturday why he is the MVP. That catch, in a game the Mets needed, was beautiful. Not only did he make the catch, he got the ball back in to the infield before he fell on his bad wheel. Of course, the shoddy offensive output the past two games shows how important he is to the lineup (Mets are 9-8 in games Carlos does not play). Now, I know Pujols puts up some great numbers, and Ryan Howard is a beast with the bat (and ugly with the glove.) How some pundits on the Worldwide Leader (Joe Morgan) feel he is not even the most valuable Met is beyond me. Morgan said that for a couple of months, Reyes and Wright carried the team. Hey Joe, do yourself a favor, and look into how consistent Beltran has been this year. Even when those two were carrying the team, Beltran was doing his part. And when they and Delgado slumped, Beltran did not, and proceeded to carry the team. All do respect to Howard, but a one-dimensional player should not be in the discussion. Beltran and Pujols are the top two candidates.

David Wright was slumping for quite some time, but Willie said he is young, and did not need a rest. So David starts to hit last week, and what does Willie do, he rests The Prince on Sunday, a game where Beltran was out with his knee, and Lo Duca was being rested. Tell me Willie, why the change of heart? Why take out another bat when Oswalt, the top guy for the Astros is on the mound? Now, I like Willie, but this is one of those things that makes his critics nuts. If he is young, and did not need a rest while slumping, why give him a rest when he is hitting the hell out of the ball?

So the Magic Number stays at 11. The number over the Braves stays at 8. Let's hope that the giving is over, and the Mets take the next two, the better to whittle the Braves tragic number down to 4.

In Jets news, Ray Mickens was cut. It was a nice story when he resigned this offseason, after being cut for Ty Law (who followed his buddy Herm to KC). The veteran leadership would have been nice, but Mangini went in another direction. Here's hoping Ray hooks on somewhere.