Three in a row is a good start but honestly I won’t feel this team has turned it around until we see 8 wins out of 10 games or something like that. There are a lot of positive signs however. Reyes is getting it together. Castillo is even getting his hits. Wright is starting to get back to hitting the ball squarely. The homeruns will come but David is a line drive hit to all fields type of hitter. Beltran is swinging the bat well, hitting it hard into a ton of bad luck. Delgado even had a decent night making a spectacular play in the field.

Most surprisingly has been the work of the bullpen. Last night the pen gave up no runs. The night before, they only gave up 1 run, the homer off of Sanchez that gave the Marlins the lead in the 12^th until the Mets came back in the bottom half to win it. But constancy is the key. We need to see this type of play and energy over an extended period of games, even in games the Mets lose.

Maybe the meeting earlier this week that Willie and Omar had with the Wilpons was a good thing. Since then, the Mets have shown a spring in their step we have not seen for a long time. Hopefully the year long stretch of .500 play is coming to an end. We’ll see. One thing is certain however, this year will be much different than the last two. Even if we assume the Mets have turned a corner, for the first time in 3 years, the Mets are the chasers, not the chased.

From the beginning of 2006 till the end of last season, the only home in the standings the Mets knew was first place. This year however it’s been another story. No doubt the Mets are showing signs of life but the question is do they have what it takes to chase and overtake the other clubs in the division. One step at a time however, the Mets are only at .500. There is a tough task ahead of them tonight as they face the young Dodger phenom Clayton Kershaw who throws bullets mixes with a big breaking ball ala Doc Gooden. Its pitchers like these that bring the Mets back down to earth. So while it’s good to see some consecutive wins, I’m not going to get all too giddy just yet.

College Baseball –

The other field of 64 starts today. June madness begins in earnest today as 64 colleges begin competition for the Division 1 National Championship. 16 regions kick off in a double elimination format over the weekend to produced college baseball’s equivalent of the sweet 16. The Super Regionals follow next week that will determine the 8 colleges who will compete in the 2008 College World Series to be held in Omaha Nebraska. For information including who plays who, where and when, and what games are on TV, go to www.ncaa.com. Many future Major League players will likely be playing in the tournament. Baseball’s amateur draft is only a couple of weeks away. The tournament gives us an excellent chance to see what talent is among the college ranks.