Who will be the Mets Mr. October?

The regular season is now over. All that was accomplished, as a team and as individuals is wiped clean. All the playoff teams are in the same place, they are 0-0 and all have pluses and minuses as we start the most important time of the year, the playoffs. The Dodgers come in extremely hot, winning their last 7. The Mets, after floundering for a couple of weeks, finished up winning 4 in a row. The last time these two teams squared off in the playoffs, 1988, saw the Mets come in as the dominant team, and having destroyed the Dodgers in the regular season, only to have the Dodgers win the series. All that is in the past, what matters now is the present (though it would be nice to wipe that loss from the collective Mets fan memory bank). So how can they do it? How can the Mets defy the expectations of most pundits and actually win this series? I mean, they have been all but left for dead after the news about Pedro not being available hit the airwaves.

Remember fans (and pundits), this team was without Pedro for most of the season. This team was built around something that harmed them in the 2005 season, the bullpen. Out with Looper, in with Wagner. Out with Roberto Hernandez, in with Duaner Sanchez. Jorge Julio traded, in comes Guillermo Mota. Aaron Heilman, MIA for the 1st half, found himself in the second half. Mets starters rarely went deep, it was up to the pen, the aforementioned parts, as well as Darren Oliver, Pedro Feliciano, Chad Bradford to hold the fort. Look at the starters, Bannister gets a nod, he goes down. Victor Zambrano is still around, he gets hurt. Jose Lima makes a few starts. Pedro misses significant time. Glavine misses time. Filthy gets hurt. It went on and on. So what happened? The Mets won 97 games, a fact conveniently forgotten by those who (do not) know. I'll put this bullpen up against any out there.

Yes, the starters are not dominant. Glavine and Duque are old, and I have concerns about Duque on short rest. At the end of the day, these guys live for the big game. Trax, high on the Tums meter, was the guy who won the clincher. He was the guy, who when Pedro and Glavine were ailing or not winning, continued to win. It wasn't pretty, but he got the job done. John Maine is the key. The fireballer needs to pitch well, for his own sake, as well as those of the fans. He is pitching for a spot next year, and more importantly, for the team's playoff hopes. Who among this group will be the Bobby Ojeda of the staff? (yes, I know I wrote this last week, but it still fits). Who is going to step up and get the job done. With all that has been written about Duque's age and Glavine's and Trax's WHIP and Maine's youth, and the loss of Pedro, I expect these guys will be looking to prove people wrong.

For the offense, we have seen what Beltran can do when he gets hot, this year and in 2004 while in Houston. Is there someone else here who wants to do the same? Will Wright step up and announce his presence as he did at the All-Star Game? Will Reyes' speed scare someone into pulling a Buckner? Can Delgado go the other way against the shift? Who will be Ray Knight, the unheralded guy who comes up with the key hit? Valentin? PLD? Or maybe Uncle Cliff can make us remember when he was not hobbling around and come up with some key hits.

As for the Dodgers, this is a dangerous team. The lineup, while not powerful, is good, hitting well, and doing the little things. Their bullpen is OK, and Saito stepped in well for Gagne. I ask, where is the wonder about how he will fare in the playoffs? This is his first time after all. We've all read about how this is the first time for many Mets, shouldn't the same be true for the Dodgers? Maddux is good, no doubt, but the Mets have had success against him the past couple of years. Penny is injured. Lowe is good, no doubt, but not scary good. Of course, Little threw Kuo, a lefty, out there for game 2. Here's hoping this works out as well as his decision to leave Pedro in a few years back.

Who will be Mr. October? For my part, on the pitching side, I say Trax. Game 3 will be key, no matter what. I think he will step up in a big way. It has happened before to back-end rotation guys.

From the offense, I see Wright, as well as Floyd. David will do his normal quiet assassin work, while Cliff, who knows this may be his last stretch in NY, if not as an active player, will want to go out on a high. He will have a key hit at some point, and I feel a key play in the field from him as well. He's seen the stories about how he should not start.

Part of me wants this series to go 5, as I have a ticket thanks to a longtime friend. However, fear that my heart could not take it, and my feeling that this team is poised to send a message leads me to think the Mets take this in 4.