PIRATES 13, METS 1

It's a really good thing that this game took place during the work day. I completely forgot about it until 6:00 when I remembered to go online and see what happened. Needless to say I was not pleased. What the hell happened? It looked like a total Oliver Perez breakdown. Here was his second inning...

- X. Nady walked
- A. LaRoche struck out looking
- J. Bautista walked, X. Nady to second
- C. Gomez walked, X. Nady to third, J. Bautista to second
- T. Gorzelanny reached on fielder's choice, X. Nady scored, J. Bautista to third, C. Gomez to second on second baseman L. Castillo's fielding error
- N. McLouth walked, J. Bautista scored, C. Gomez to third, T. Gorzelanny to second
- F. Sanchez singled to center, C. Gomez scored, T. Gorzelanny to third, N. McLouth to second
- J. Bay hit sacrifice fly to center, T. Gorzelanny scored
- R. Doumit singled to left, N. McLouth scored, F. Sanchez to third, R. Doumit to second advancing on throw
- N. Figueroa relieved O. Perez

Ouch. From there Figgy mostly held it down in relief until the 6th inning came along and Jorge Sosa had another of his wonderful outings giving up five more runs. How was our offense? We only got two hits the entire game! How was our defense? Our fielders made three errors! Indeed this entire game was an error. They have an off day tomorrow to stew about it and then open a weekend series against Arizona - the best team in the National League right now.

WP: Tom Gorzelanny (2-3)
LP: Oliver Perez (2-2)

METS 5, PIRATES 4 (11 innings)

I'll start by saying I'm not sure I can get used to the sight of Darryl Strawberry in a suit, giving postgame analysis in the SNY studio. Now, on to tonight's game. I guess it was inevitable that Billy Wagner would allow a run and blow a save eventually. Thankfully it did not haunt us too much as the Mets would wind up winning the game in extra innings. Only thing that sucked about it was that Johan wound up getting a no decision. Offensive highlights tonight were a Ryan Church two-run homer, a 3 for 3 night for Jose Reyes (including an RBI triple), a 3 for 5 night for Endy Chavez, and David Wright getting the game winning RBI in the 11th. Delgado was cheered in his first at bat but wound up going 0 for 5, bringing his average back down to .194. Sigh. Day game tomorrow to wrap up this abbreviated series with the Bucs!

WP: Jorge Sosa (3-1)
LP: John Van Benschoten (0-1)

RAINED OUT

Rained all day in New York City so no game tonight against the Pirates! It will be made up in August. So instead of recaping a game, let's talk about the "controversy" that came up from Sunday's game. After Delgado's second home run, the fans were cheering and asking for a curtain call. He refused and a few booed him for that reason. I didn't think it was much of a big deal but apparently that's what people are still talking about. Who cares? Let the guy do what he wants. Would it have been nice if he took a bow? Sure. But if he didn't feel like it, too bad. Fortunately most Met fans respect Delgado's right to decide - a poll on MetsBlog showed that 86% feel he can do what he wants while only 14% thought he should have heeded the fans call. The guy has always been private anyway. As long as he breaks out of his slump, that's the only thing that's important.

METS 6, BRAVES 3

The no-hitter is over! Billy Wagner gave up a single today. But he still got the save as the Mets actually won this weekend's series against the Braves. So now instead of a hitless inning streak, Wagner can still boast of a scoreless inning streak. But nevermind Wagner's save - the Player of the Game is Carlos Delgado who hit TWO home runs. With his performance today, Delgado is now hitting above the .200 mark... .205 to be exact! Hey, it's progress. Also hitting a home run for the Mets today was Raul Casanova. Encouraging to see especially as Schneider continues to get treatment for his thumb infection. Good to see the Mets defeat John Smoltz and take 2 of 3 from the Braves - especially since Atlanta has always given us a hard time. Chimpmunk Jones wasn't in the lineup today though. Also encouraging was another decent outing from Figgy. Three runs allowed in five and a third. At this rate, Pedro can take his time recovering from the hamstring injury. Speaking of injuries - still no word on when Moises Alou will come back. Turns out that he's got swelling in his ankle and is going to have an MRI tomorrow.

WP: Nelson Figueroa (2-1)
LP: John Smoltz (3-2)
S: Billy Wagner (6)

METS 4, BRAVES 3

The Mets have never had a no-hitter in their entire history. And... we still haven't. HOWEVER, in getting the save today, Billy Wagner pitched his ninth hitless inning of the season. It's not a "no-hitter" but it's still pretty cool! And today the Mets won their first game of the season against Atlanta. Maine was solid through five. (Why only five?) And the Mets hitting was better although all of the scoring came in one inning... the bottom of the third. A Beltran double drove in Endy Chavez and Wright, and a Ryan Church triple drove in Beltran. Then the ever-slumping Delgado hit a weak grounder but it still scored Church. Whatever works. The bullpen held it down. Heilman pitched the sixth inning again while Feliciano and Sanchez pitched the eighth, setting up for Wagner. This leads me to believe that Heilman has been demoted. At least until he gets his act together. Rubber match tomorrow - Figgy vs. Smoltz! Too bad that Glavine is on Atlanta's DL and is missing this series...

WP: John Maine (2-2)
LP: Tim Hudson (3-2)
S: Billy Wagner (5)

BRAVES 6, METS 3

Tonight the Mets scored 3 runs... on 2 hits. All they managed all night against Jair Jurrjens and the Atlanta bullpen were two singles by Marlon Anderson and Raul Casanova. So how did they get the three runs? Bottom of the third... after the hits by Anderson and Casanova, and two subsequent outs, Luis Castillo walked. Jurrjens then consecutively walked with the bases loaded Wright, Beltran and Church. Insane. At that point we had a 3-1 lead but it was downhill from there. Our offense was done for the night but Atlanta's was just beginning including Kelly Johnson who hit a home run and had 4 RBIs. The team is looking really bad right now. Never mind that we're back at .500 and have slid to fourth, the quality of play is not good. Now we have Tim Hudson and John Smoltz to look forward to.

WP: Jair Jurrjens (3-2)
LP: Mike Pelfrey (2-1)

NATIONALS 10, METS 5

Disgusting. An early 3-0 lead went down the drain in a hurry. Perez pitched four shutout innings before falling apart in the fifth. Then Heilman gives up a grand slam in the sixth. Then Sosa allows three more runs in the seventh. Do those names sound familiar? They should. When you give up 10 runs, it's hard to blame the hitters and while we did score five tonight, it wasn't because of the big names. In my comments from yesterday, Howie lamented the lack of production from the big bats and he's right. Tonight Reyes was 1 for 5, Wright was 0 for 4, and Delgado was 0 for 4. Delgado's batting average is now under .200 (.198 to be exact) and that's frightening. Beltran was 1 for 5 but at least his one was a home run. Also hitting a home run was Marlon Anderson. Maybe we can try him out at first base. In roster news, Brian Schneider is currently out with an infected thumb. He's not going on the DL but since the Mets might need an extra catcher, Gustavo Molina was called up from AAA. To make room for him, Brady Clark was designated for assignment. Brady, we hardly knew ye.

WP: Mike O'Connor (1-0)
LP: Oliver Perez (2-1)

METS 7, NATIONALS 2

The Mets entered Nationals Park for the very first time and beat up on the Nats like the last place team that they are. Johan... what can I say. He played the ace again. Seven innings, two runs allowed. Duaner Sanchez pitched a 1-2-3 eighth and Billy Wagner hurled yet another scoreless inning in the ninth. Offensively speaking, the Mets had it going on but perhaps their best bat of all was Santana himself! In the tradition of Met aces like Seaver and Gooden, this guy can hit. Tonight he hit two doubles. And now would be a good time to take a look at last winters trade of Ryan Church and Brian Schneider for Lastings Milledge as all three played tonight. Church went 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs. Schneider went 1 for 3 with an RBI. Milledge? 0 for 4.

WP: Johan Santana (3-2)
LP: Tim Redding (3-2)

CUBS 8, METS 1

Ugh. Second disgusting loss to the Cubs in a row. Today's game was much like yesterday's. Like Maine, Nelson Figueroa did not pitch badly. He was just outdone by Chicago's Ted Lilly. Lilly - who had been struggling all year - ruled over the Met lineup. Most frustrating part? 4th inning. Mets load the bases. Delgado and Easley pop out. Mets don't score. That must have disheartened the team because in the bottom of the 4th, the Cubbies scored three against Figgy. He left the game down 3-1, and then our wonderful bullpen took over. I'm being a little sarcastic there. Joe Smith allowed one run, which was annoying but forgivable. What was unforgivable was Jorge Sosa surrendering a GRAND SLAM to Ronny Cedeno. Not Ramirez, not Lee, not the injured Soriano - but Ronny Cedeno. Sigh. Sosa is doing nothing for this team and I'm not one to demand heads but I think he needs to go. Next stop for the Mets is a trip to Washington D.C. to play in the brand new Nationals Park. Hopefully we can beat them up like we did last week at Shea. One thing to be happy about - we won't have to face John Lannan who pitched so well against the Mets last week. Lannan pitched seven shutout innings against the Braves today. This kid is going to be something special.

WP: Ted Lilly (1-3)
LP: Nelson Figueroa (1-1)

CUBS 7, METS 1

When you’re hot, you’re hot and right now the Chicago Cubs are hot. They’ve won 12 of their last 15 and have moved into first place in the NL Central. Tonight the Mets were their latest victim. John Maine did not pitch badly. It’s just that Carlos Zambrano was better. We only scored one run over seven innings against him. Maine only gave up two runs in his six innings of work, including an Aramis Ramirez homer. But the Cubs blew the game open in the 8th inning against Aaron Heilman and Jorge Sosa. It seems that if any members of the bullpen will give up runs this season, it will be Heilman and Sosa. A Ronny Cedeno 2-RBI single started their rally and a Felix Pie 3-run homer was the death knell. Day game tomorrow at Wrigley – Lilly vs. Figgy!

WP: Carlos Zambrano (3-1)
LP: John Maine (1-2)

PHILLIES 5, METS 4

So much for the sweep. Nationally televised on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, we came up a bit short although put in a strong effort. After falling behind 4-0 (not Pelfrey's best outing) the Mets came back in the 6th with 4 runs, tying the game up. But in the bottom of the 7th, the usually reliable Pedro Feliciano gave up a pitch hit home run to another Pedro... Pedro Feliz. And that was all. The Mets almost rallied in the 9th but not this time. And with the Marlins winning, we're not in first anymore! Tonight we start a two-game series against the Cubs... our only trip to Wrigley all year.

WP: J.C. Romero (1-0)
LP: Pedro Feliciano (0-1)
S: Brad Lidge (3)

METS 4, PHILLIES 2

Did not actually see this game as I was sedering in New Jersey. Is sedering a word? Well, it is now. But I was pleased to hear that the Mets won their fifth game in a row and their fourth against the Phillies! It was a reversal of opening day as this time Oliver Perez pitched the better of Jamie Moyer. And if Jose Reyes had any side effects from his Friday night collision, they did not show as he hit a two-run homer. It's probably a good thing I didn't see this game as I might have had an ulcer when Aaron Heilman was brought into a bases loaded jam in the 8th. While he did surrender one run, he also struck out the last two batters, getting the Mets out of it. And once again Wagner was perfect in the 9th. Very satisfying to beat the Phils. Especially since their fans are growing more and more obnoxious. Cheering when Jose Reyes got hurt and booing when he was OK? No class.

WP: Oliver Perez (2-0)
LP: Jamie Moyer (1-1)
S: Billy Wagner (4)

METS 6, PHILLIES 4

First place! Coming off the 3-game sweep of the Nats, the Mets took the bus down to Philadelphia and defeated the rival Phillies. Nevermind that Jimmy Rollins was not in their lineup tonight. Johan Santana was at his finest, David Wright was a home run away from hitting the cycle, and Billy Wagner pitched yet another hitless inning. There were a couple of scary moments though. Reyes stole second base by sliding headfirst... and wound up taking a knee to his head. What could have been a serious injury turned out to be not much more than getting the wind knocked out of him. Then in the 8th inning, Aaron Heilman gave up a three-run homer, making a 5-1 lead a 5-4 lead. While two of the runners on base were charged to Santana, Heilman cannot keep doing this to us! Fortunately the Mets were all about getting extra insurance runs tonight. I watched this game with the Mets Meetup Group at Mustang Sallys! A fun time was had - the highlight being when someone at the bar accidentally changed all of the TVs channels from the Met game to... Channel 55's showing of "An Ideal Husband." The whole bar started yelling to turn it back... and they did. Back to SNY. Except the game was on Channel 11. So everyone starts yelling "11! 11!" So the bar turns on ESPN. "11! 11!" Finally they got the channel right. Good stuff.

It's Passover weekend so I may not be able to post as frequently. Happy Pesach!

WP: Johan Santana (2-2)
LP: Cole Hamels (2-2)
S: Billy Wagner (3)

METS 3, NATIONALS 2 (14 innings)

It's not often that they play the 7th inning stretch twice in one game. This was a long one. 14 innings. 4 hours and 45 minutes. It was a really good pitching matchup between two unhearlded starters. Nelson Figueroa - otherwise known as Figgy - was excellent for his second start in a row. On the other hand, Washington's John Lannan struck out 11 batters in six innings! The Nats took a 2-1 lead into the 8th inning but Delgado got a clutch RBI hit, tying the game up. After five scoreless innings from both teams, the Mets finally won when Damion Easley scored... on a wild pitch. Hey, whatever works! And yet, this was still not the longest game of the night. The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 2-1... in 22 innings... which took 6 hours and 16 minutes to play. Wow.

WP: Jorge Sosa (2-1)
LP: Joel Hanrahan (0-1)

METS 5, NATIONALS 2

It was night of the long ball. 1st inning - Home Run Ryan Church! 5th inning - Home Run Jose Reyes! Later in the 5th inning - 3 run Home Run Carlos Beltran! And that was all the scoring we needed. The pitching was strong as John Maine was solid in his first win of the year. Good bullpen work too as Joe Smith did a great job as setup man and Billy Wagner had an easy ninth inning for the save. I don't know if the Mets are playing really well these past two games or if the Nationals are just playing like the last game team that they are. While Milledge played tonight (and went 1 for 3), our friend Paul LoDuca was once again out of the lineup. It was revealed that he has a bruised hand and will miss the series. First Glavine ducks the Mets, now LoDuca! With the Phillies loss tonight, the Mets move into sole possession of second place in the NL East. How are the Marlins of all teams still in first? This can't possibly last...

WP: John Maine (1-1)
LP: Matt Chico (0-3)
S: Billy Wagner (2)

METS 6, NATIONALS 0

So many great stories tonight. Mike Pelfrey, who last year started 0-7, is now 2-0 after pitching seven incredible shutout innings. Jose Reyes, who missed the weekend because of a hamstring injury, returned to the lineup and went 4 for 5. He was just a home run away from hitting the cycle. David Wright did hit a home run and also drove in 5 of the Mets' 6 runs. Duaner Sanchez made his first appearance since July 2006 and pitched a scoreless ninth inning. Tonight was also the return to Shea of Lastings Milledge - albeit in a Washington National uniform. He was booed. Paul Lo Duca would have been booed even louder had he played. Alas, he did not. Instead Washington's catcher was ex-Met Johnny Estrada. If you can call someone an ex-Met who never actually put their uniform on. Another interesting note was that with Reyes' return to the lineup and Castillo's recent hitting struggles, Willie decided to bat Ryan Church in the #2 slot. Interesting move. I would have thought he'd make Pagan the #2 hitter but we'll see how Church fares. What else? With Sanchez returning to the roster, Carlos Muniz was sent back down to the minors. Too bad because Muniz was effective in his appearances but I'm sure he'll be back. All in all, a very satisfying game. And that's without even mentioning that it was Jackie Robinson night! A bit confusing to see all the players on both teams wearing #42 uniforms - at least for identification purposes!

WP: Mike Pelfrey (2-0)
LP: Odalis Perez (0-3)

BREWERS 9, METS 7

When Oliver Perez faced off against Jeff Suppan in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, it was a pitchers duel that went into the final inning a 1-1 tie. Today was pretty much the opposite. Perez hit the first batter he faced and then gave up a 2 run homer to Gabe Kapler. The Mets then stormed back against Suppan and took a 6-2 lead. The Brewers tied it back up against Perez and took the lead against Jorge Sosa. The hits didn't stop there - the Mets having ample opportunities to come back but they were foiled by double plays. The Mets hit into five double plays today and left ten men on base. Can't expect to win when that happens. They even almost made a comeback against former Met Guillermo Mota in the 8th inning but it was not to be. Tomorrow is an off day and the next game is Tuesday night when the Mets start a series against the Washington Nationals. It will be a return to Shea for Lastings Milledge and Paul LoDuca. The good news is that Jose Reyes is expected to make his return to the lineup!

WP: Salomon Torres (2-0)
LP: Jorge Sosa (1-1)
S: Eric Gagne (3)

BREWERS 5, METS 3

Today was Johan Santana's Shea Stadium debut and he just didn't have it. The long ball was what killed him as he surrendered home runs to Bill Hall, Richie Weeks and Gabe Kaplar. Funny that it was those three and not the Brewers' big home run hitters, Fielder and Braun. But even if Johan hadn't given up those shots, it would have been difficult for the Mets to prevail because Ben Sheets was outstanding. At one point he retired 18 batters in a row. He was really rolling until David Wright hit a homer against him in the eighth. When Brewer manager Ned Yost came to take Sheets out of the game, the camera caught him shouting something out loud. Kind of funny. Then when Gagne came out to pitch the 9th inning, Gary Cohen had the line of the day, saying that Gagne is a Seth Rogan lookalike. One thing that bothered me... when Willie took Santana out of the game, I heard some boos. Come on people, he didn't pitch THAT badly and it's his first game at Shea. Way to welcome him. Fortunately there are lots of other fans who still appreciate him. As he walked off, many fans sitting behind the Mets dugout were standing and applauding. Rubber match tomorrow - Oliver Perez vs. Jeff Suppan. Isn't that a rematch of Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS?

WP: Ben Sheets (2-0)
LP: Johan Santana (1-2)
S: Eric Gagne (2)

METS 4, BREWERS 2

Now THAT is how you win a baseball game. Great pitching. Just enough hitting. If the Phillie series made me uncomfortable, this game made me feel a whole lot better. And how about Brooklyn's own Nelson Figueroa? He had not won a game in the Major Leagues since 2003 and he was impeccable tonight in his Mets debut. He retired the first 14 batters he faced. The Mets have never had a no hitter or perfect game. How great would it have been if their first came from Figueroa? I guess his emergence is the silver lining in Pedro's injury. But it was just his first start - can't get TOO excited! And the bullpen really delivered. Smith in the 7th, Heilman in the 8th and Wagner in the 9th. A huge relief to see Heilman have a good outing. The only snafu in tonight's win was that Jose Reyes hurt his hamstring. He says that it's not too bad and that he just needs to rest it. Let's hope so, our disabled list can't get much longer!

WP: Nelson Figueroa (1-0)
LP: Manny Parra (1-1)
S: Billy Wagner (1)

METS 4, PHILLIES 3 (12 innings)

Winning the rubber match against the Phillies should be a joyous occasion. Instead the emotion is exhaustion. This is a game that the Mets pulled out in 12 innings yet it should not have gone that far. John Maine was very good tonight and deserved the win. But Aaron Heilman had his third terrible outing in a row and the 3-1 lead he was handed became a 3-3 tie. Then the Mets were unable to do anything against the Phillie bullpen and it felt like we were doomed to lose. But then the 12th inning finally came along and our luck changed. Our hottest hitter, Angel Pagan hit an RBI single against Tom Gordon, driving in Jose Reyes. Also, while Heilman was poor, credit has to be given to the other Met relievers for holding it down - Feliciano, Wagner, Smith, Schoeneweis and Sosa. So now we are back at the .500 mark and will begin a weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Brooklynite Nelson Figueroa gets the start tomorrow. With Pedro and El Duque out, the Mets signed Claudio Vargas to a minor league contract today and it probably will not be long before he gets his shot at Shea.

WP: Jorge Sosa (1-0)
LP: Tom Gordon (0-2)

METS 8, PHILLIES 2

It was nice of the Mets to win on my dad's birthday. And tonight's win was huge because it ended a nine-game losing streak against the Phillies. Encouraging was that Mike Pelfrey pitched five solid innings for the win. Last year he was 0-7 before getting his first win so it's nice to see Pelf go 1-0. It's especially important that he pitch well because it looks like El Duque is going to be out longer than anticipated. Not in the lineup for the Mets tonight was Luis Castillo who left Tuesday's game with a strained knee. Easley filled in at 2nd, and Pagan took over the #2 slot in the batting order which might suit Pagan because he is a good contact hitter. On the Phillie injury front, Jimmy Rollins was scratched from tonight's game and his shortstop replacement - Eric Bruntlett - was quite horrid. His two errors in the 3rd inning helped the Mets build a six run inning. So now the Mets are 3-4, a game and a half behind the first place Florida Marlins. The first place Florida Marlins??? Ah... gotta love the standings in April.

WP: Mike Pelfrey (1-0)
LP: Kyle Kendrick (1-1)

PHILLIES 5, METS 2

Today was the final opening day at Shea Stadium and I was there! It would have been nice if they won though! Ah well, a good time was had anyway and I have a snazzy new schedule magnet on my refrigerator. I also took a bunch of pictures of Shea as well as Citi Field which is progressing very nicely.

I also went to the Diamond Club and had my picture taken with the 1986 championship trophy!

Anyway, the game. Today was the fifth time I sat in the Parks box and each of the other four times they won. Guess the streak is over. For the first half of the game, it looked like they would win after all. Oliver Perez was solid again and put in 5 and two-thirds scoreless innings. He has not given up a run all year. Carlos Delgado homered in the second and after 6 innings the Mets had a 2-0 lead. Then it was the bullpen's turn. Oy vey... the bullpen. Scott Schoeneweis and Aaron Heilman were today's culprits. Frustrating to watch leads slip away with the offense unable to regain them. We're now 2-4. Tomorrow is Mike Pelfrey's turn and Pelf better bring it. The guy has been given so many chances and if he completely screws up tomorrow, I don't think he should be given another one. No pressure though!

WP: Jamie Moyer (1-0)

LP: Scott Schoeneweis (0-1)

S: Tom Gordon (1)

BRAVES 3, METS 1

Turner Field is not kind to the Mets. Never has been. Today's loss was tough considering that Johan pitched so well. Only one run allowed in seven innings and he still gets a loss. The bats were just anemic all afternoon. I knew they should have saved some of their 13 runs from Wednesday for the Atlanta series! Trailing 1-0, Aaron Heilman gave up a two-run homer to Mark Teixiera in the 8th, which made the score an imposing 3-0. But I still held out hope for a 9th inning comeback against new Atlanta closer Rafael Soriano. One of the SNY guys mistakenly called him Rafael Santana and for a while he pitched as well as our cherished 1980s shortstop. But although the Mets got a run in the 9th (preventing a shutout) and put the tying runs on base, it was just not meant to be. Now we are 2-3, a half game out of Atlanta and Florida. Basically the division is a five-way tie with no team dominating for the first week of the season. And Tuesday is the home opener at Shea! The final home opener at Shea! Sniff...

WP: John Smoltz (1-0)
LP: Johan Santana (1-1)
S: Rafael Soriano (1)

BRAVES 11, METS 5

I did not see today's game. It is a good thing. Instead, I was playing The Amazing Race! You know that reality TV show where teams of two race around the world? Well today teams of six were racing around Manhattan. My team came in 4th out of 12. Not bad but on par with my course. In my fantasy baseball league, I'm also in 4th out of 12 teams! Anyway... the game. From what I read, not a good one. Maine didn't pitch well and Jorge Sosa pitched even worse. Hopefully Johan will pick up the pieces tomorrow but what is this business about Bobby Cox scratching Tom Glavine? He's having Smoltz start instead and used the excuse, "well, we're next going to Colorado and since Smoltz is coming off the DL he shouldn't pitch in cold weather." Um, sure. Sounds like Glavine is DUCKING the Mets cause he's afraid of us whupping his butt. We'll see - we've got a few more series against the Braves this year and Glavine can't duck us forever.

WP: Tim Hudson (1-0)
LP: John Maine (0-1)

RAINED OUT

Tonight was the first meetup for the season of the New York Mets Meetup group! It's a fun crowd to gather with and root on the Mets. I went to one of their parties last year and then participated in a group trip to Cooperstown a month ago (complete with a long bus ride with baseball movies on the DVD player!) Tonight's meetup was at the Grand Saloon on East 23rd Street between Lexington and 3rd. The menu said that in its former life, the establishment was a brothel. If only our former governor was around then...

Anyway I was all excited about tonight's game vs. the Braves and seeing John Maine pitch. But alas, it was rained out. Didn't stop us from socializing as we watched the SNY UltiMet Classic game from last May vs. the Giants. Well we didn't really watch the game, but it was on. Titled "Two Balks and a Walk" it was the one where Armando Benitez did himself in. But with tonight's rainout, Maine will pitch tomorrow instead. Johan Santana is still scheduled to pitch on Sunday when he will be opposed by Tom Glavine. Wow! Santana vs. Glavine. That's a great storyline. But what about Mike Pelfrey? Poor guy gets passed over.

And how amusing is it that Mike Hampton is on the DL for Atlanta... again. He's a sorrier case than Carl Pavano.

METS 13, MARLINS 0

The MRI results for Pedro confirmed that it was a sprained hamstring and that he will miss 4-6 weeks. Sad but I suppose it could have been worse. Hopefully his absence will not be more than that and hopefully he will continue to travel with the team as his personality does wonders for clubhouse chemistry. It certainly seemed that the loss of Pedro caused the rest of the Mets to step up their game tonight. 13-0 - wow! Oliver Perez can be either really really good or really really bad but tonight it was the former. Six shutout innings with eight strikeouts. And everyone took turns whacking the Marlin pitchers. Church went yard, Wright went yard and Beltran WOULD have went yard if the umpires didn't reverse their original call. Had the Mets not had such a large lead, Willie should have argued it more vigorously. But I suppose it's hard to complain in the midst of such a blowout. Record now stands at 2-1. On to Atlanta!

WP: Oliver Perez (1-0)
LP: Andrew Miller (0-1)

MARLINS 5, METS 4 (10 innings)

Noooooo!!! Is this some kind of April Fools joke? Pedro is hurt! (By Pedro, of course I mean Pedro Martinez, but like Elvis, no last name is necessary) After missing most of the 2007 season with a shoulder injury, he completely rehabbed it and was set to go for the 2008 campaign. Until he strained his hamstring tonight! Seeing him limp off the field was just heartbreaking. In the clubhouse, Kevin Burkhardt reported that Pedro told him that he felt a pop. That cannot be good. Oh yeah, the Mets lost tonight in extra innings. But that is certainly a secondary story to the loss of Pedro. Let's keep our fingers crossed for tomorrow's MRI results.

WP: Justin Miller (1-0)
LP: Matt Wise (0-1)