For the first time this year the Mets lost three games in a row. And for the first time this year the Mets were swept in a series. But you knew that. You’re an informed Mets fan or you would not be reading this. Here’s another first you didn’t know. While the new film, “Superman Returns”, claims that Superman is none other than Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent, the truth is Superman is actually Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp. How else can one explain how Coco flew through the air and snatched David Wright’s line drive as it soared past. That red tee shirt under Coco’s jersey was very likely his cape. Come clean Coco, you can’t fool me any longer. I’m not sure why he chose a name that sounds like a breakfast cereal though. Surely that drive off of Wright’s bat would have been a game tying double or perhaps even a triple. Who knows what would have happened then.

Nothing much you can do except pack your bags and move on to the next team. Who do the Mets play next anyway? The Mets ran into a buzz saw at Fenway Park. The Red Sox can do no wrong right now. This is how the Mets played a few weeks ago in LA, Arizona, and Philadelphia. The Mets played well in Toronto too so what happened in Boston? Well, a number of things. First and foremost as I said, the Sox are just red hot right now. Not only getting big hits but playing sound defense, running the bases well, and doing the little things that winning teams do. Secondly, I think the Mets youngsters of Jose Reyes, David Wright, Lastings Milledge, and Alay Soler were a bit intimidated by that historic place and the team that plays there. Because the Mets have played so well, we Mets fans think that our team is invincible. But these last three days showed that the Mets core players are still very young and that this is just the beginning of the Mets next great era of winning baseball. I am not surprised by their play this week, it was bound to happen. You can not assume the Mets would have gone through an entire season not losing more than two games in a row or not being swept in a series. Even the ’86 Mets lost four in a row a couple of times and I am by no means comparing the 2006 team to the last World Championship Mets. The St. Louis Cardinals have lost eight in a row and they’re a good team too.

Be honest, if a little birdie had told you back in spring training that the Mets would be 11 games up by the time they went to Yankee Stadium, you would have soiled yourself. Hopefully the trip to Boston will serve as a wakeup call for the Mets. Hopefully they realize now that every game must be played as if they have a mere one game lead in the division. This is not to suggest that the Mets lost because they played poorly or didn’t try, the Red Sox were simply the better team. But the Mets have played better and crisper baseball this season than what they displayed at Fenway. At times during this series, the Mets occasionally looked like a deer in the headlights. The Red Sox effectively contained Jose Reyes and thanks to Coco Crisp, David Wright. Also, except for Tom Glavine, the Mets starting pitching floundered, especially Pedro Martinez. Most surprisingly to me about Martinez was not his pitching performance as much as his focus. I never would have guessed that Pedro would have gotten so caught up in his return to Boston that his pitching would suffer.

The Boston series was the first bloody nose the Mets have had this season. It probably won’t be their last. Teams are not going to just roll over for them. If the Mets think that things will get easier after the Yankee series, they will be in for a rude awakening. Teams like the Pirates and Marlins can become very dangerous to a team with a big lead. There has been a tendency to compare this current Mets club to the one of 1986. Make no mistake, there is no comparison. The main difference that I see between the current club and the one from twenty years ago is their killer instinct. The Mets of ’86 obliterated everyone in their path. The current Mets team has that potential but they are not there yet.  

The Boston series is not just a wakeup call for the Mets, it’s also a wakeup call for Mets fans. We expect the Mets to win every day. That can’t happen in Baseball, it’s simply not part of the paradigm. Let’s hope the Mets continue to play the sound fundamental baseball they played in the first have of the season. They must beat up the teams they are expected to beat up and play competitive with the other good teams in the National League. I am not one who thinks the Mets are a sure thing to reach the playoffs here on June 30th. I have followed baseball for 45 years. Trust me, crap happens. Ask the ’78 Red Sox who held a 14 game lead at the All Star break. At the end of June, there is no guarantee that the Mets make the playoffs although I would be shocked if they don’t. I would by shocked not because of their lead, but because of their talent.

Now it’s on to the Yankees. Two out of three would be sweet. But I have to be honest, for the first time this season, my confidence has lowered. Hopefully somehow some way the Mets will get their act together this weekend in the Bronx.