The Mets won the series from the Marlins two games to one and the Phillies split a four game set with the Cubs. So what that means is that the Mets head into the month of September with a one game lead over the Phillies and a seven game lead over the Marlins.

That’s a good thing but the Mets now have to travel to Milwaukee for a three game set with the surging Brewers. The Brew Crew leads the wild card 5.5 games over the Phillies. When you throw the Mets record into the wild card mix, they would be 4.5 games back. So these next three games are very important for the Mets. The Brewers are 41-24 at home while the Mets are a game under .500 on the road at 35-36. Johan Santana will face Ben Sheets in tomorrow afternoon’s game. The Mets will not face CC Sabathia in the series.

While the Mets will be battling Milwaukee, the Phillies will travel to Washington for a three game set. The Nationals have been playing better lately but considering the matchups for both the Mets and the Phillies, advantage Philadelphia. The Mets must win two games from Milwaukee to insure they return home to face the Phillies at least even in the standings. This should be an interesting week.  

The Mets cannot win a game by one or two runs. It’s simply impossible. If the Mets have a slim lead going to the late innings, just put it in the books as a loss. Case in point was Saturday night’s game when the combination of Duaner Sanchez and Aaron Heilman could not protect a one run lead.  It’s scary even with a three run lead. Friday night’s great comeback due to Carlos Beltran’s grand slam was almost marred by a nightmarish ninth inning. And today’s win got a little scary with two on and two out in the ninth. Jose Reyes saved the day with a diving catch to end the game.

The Mets are calling up five pitchers from the minors as the rosters expand to forty starting tomorrow, September 1st. The pitchers include Robert Parnell, Ricardo Rincon, Carlos Muniz, Al Reyes (another Reyes?), and Jon Niese who will start Tuesday night’s game. Hopefully some of these guys can help out the Mets beleaguered bullpen. Infielders Argenis Reyes and Ramon Martinez will also be called up. Marlon Anderson is due to come off the disabled list and he is expected to join the Mets in Milwaukee tomorrow.

August is over. Can the Mets make this September something special? Can they make us forget last September? They can but only if the bullpen can get its act together. There are twenty-five games left to the season. The Mets need to win a whole bunch of those games. Hopefully the first one comes tomorrow.

The American Heart Association (AHA) has issued the following announcement:

All Mets fans must take precaution for the risk of heart attack in the month of September. The AHA strongly recommends a brisk walk with heavy breaths daily. Preferable these walks should last 45 minutes or more and be taken during the 8th and 9th inning of Mets games. It is also recommended that an AED (Automated External defibrillator) is kept handy and do not watch Mets games without anyone who knows how to operate the device.

It is strongly recommended that if you have high blood pressure or have had periods of dizziness that you refrain from watching Mets games, period. Have a friend watch the game then carefully break the news to you as to the outcome after the game has concluded.

The AHA has come up with these recommendations as a response to last night's Mets win. With two outs and none on, the Mets loaded the bases and on the first pitch Carlos Beltran saw, he crushed it into the right field stands for a grand slam giving the Mets a come back three run lead. With the Phillies having lost earlier in the day to Chicago, the Mets were poised to go two games up in the NL East. During the bottom of the ninth inning, there was a spike in 911 calls related to heart symptoms in the New York Metropolitan area. Analysis revealed that the performance by Luis Ayala who almost gave back the lead and the game was the cause.

Again, watching Mets games may be hazardous to your health. These symptoms may persist for a month or more. Please follow the advice of the American Heart Association and take the proper precautions.

Thanks to the Chicago Cubs, the Mets find themselves in sole possession of first place today. The Phillies led the Cubs into the late innings last evening at Wrigley Field. But a five run outburst in the eighth inning including a grand slam homerun by Aramis Ramirez off of Chad Durbin was enough to defeat the Phillies who now trail the Mets in the NL East by one full game.

Both clubs have 28 games remaining. The Phillies have three more with the Cubs this weekend while the Mets play the Marlins in Florida. So far this season, the Mets are 3-3 in Dolphin Stadium. Oliver Perez takes the hill tonight for the Mets. This is another crucial series for New York. The Marlins will be looking to get back into the race this week.

Florida is currently six games behind the Mets and they are nine games back in the wild card standings. With 28 games to go, the Marlins have a tough road ahead. The Mets have a similar schedule than they had last year. On paper it looks like the Mets should have an easy time of it. But we know different now. We know that nothing is safe even with a seven game lead and seventeen to play.

Hopefully the Mets will have a different approach this September. Hopefully the players that were here last year learned a valuable lesson from last year’s demise. Once the Mets get through the next nine games against Florida, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia, they will have twelve consecutive games against Washington and Atlanta. Those games certainly look tempting but recall that it was Washington and Florida, the two worst teams in the division last year, who did the Mets in. Or should I say who the Mets allowed to do them in. The Mets may have let up against those teams. Perhaps unconsciously, but never the less, it happened.

With a bullpen that is anything but a sure thing, this September looks to be one that will give Mets fans lots of indigestion. It will be a tough four plus weeks. Let’s face it. The experience of last season’s collapse can only be exorcised if the Mets can pull it off and win the division. Both the Phillies and the Mets are capable of doing it. The two clubs are equally balanced when all is said and done. The difference is the Mets have a monkey on their back and they are going to have to deal with that in order to move forward.  

The wild card is likely not an option for either team. At the moment the Mets are 3.5 games behind the Brewers for the wild card so the series in Milwaukee starting on Labor Day is very important to the Mets. The wild card could be an insurance policy but to cash it in they will have to do some damage to a very good team in the Brewers.

The Phillies have a similar schedule to the Mets. While the Phillies play the hot Cubs the Mets will play the Marlins who have struggled of late. However on Monday when the Mets head to Milwaukee, the Phillies head home to play the Nationals. The Phillies then host the Brewers for four games before heading on the road to play Atlanta and Florida. Like the Mets the Phillies end the season at home. They play Atlanta and Washington to end the season while the Mets host the Cubs and the Marlins.

Personally I think the schedules for both teams are a wash. This division will be won by which ever team gets hot. If the Mets are hoping that other teams will help their cause by beating up the Phillies then I think we will witness another year of no post season in Flushing. The Mets need to take care of their own business and start doing so tonight. Sorry I do not feel more confident but I have the scars to prove my point. And so do you.

Notes - The New York Daily News reports that the Mets will open Citi Field next April 14 against the San Diego Padres. However the first games played at the new park will be the last weekend of spring training with a pair against the Boston Red Sox.

So am I suppose to get all excited because of the Mets inspired comeback win last night? Sorry, but I am still smarting from Tuesday night’s debacle. Do you realize the Mets would be 2.5 games up now if it wasn’t for another blown game?

Last night’s win demonstrated one thing. The Mets are a very resilient bunch. They have, unfortunately, had many opportunities this year to prove they can shake off a bad loss. If anything they have shown that bad things do roll off their back. A different team might go into a prolonged tail spin after blowing a 7-0 lead. Not the Mets. They always seem to bounce right back and that’s a good thing. Unfortunately however, their uncanny ability to bounce back does not prevent the next bullpen melt down which will undoubtedly occur in the final 28 games. At some point, the Mets are bound to blow another game and with time dwindling on the season, the next one may come at the most inopportune time.

After the Mets play the Marlins this weekend, September arrives. This will be the biggest test for the Mets this season. While the Mets at times, like last night, may appear to be super-human, they are not. The collapse of September 2007 will weigh on their minds, it has to. And unfortunately, the biggest culprit that contributed to the Mets demise last season is still there—the bullpen. At least this time the Mets can not collapse. A half game lead hardly lends itself to a catastrophic failure. But on the other hand, I can’t get excited thinking the Mets will somehow correct their bullpen problems in time to make the playoffs.

If the Mets are to win this thing, they will need to pummel their opponents into submission. Carlos Delgado is doing his part. However, Carlos Beltran will have to step it up big time. Now is the time for Carlos Beltran to go on one of his patented hot streaks. He has been hitting of late but his power stroke needs to get hot. If the Mets hitters can give their pitching big leads, you have to feel comfortable they will win consistently. The bullpen simply cannot protect small leads. Last night was the exception. Following the Mets four run eighth, Mets pitchers shut down the Phillies. It didn’t hurt that David Wright made a spectacular gold glove play for the second out in the eighth inning either. No question last night’s game was a big win but the Mets are going to have to keep getting big wins. The bullpen will remain the weak link to that goal. That’s a very scary reality.

Notes - The Phillies head to Chicago for a four game series with the best team in the NL, the Cubs. That should favor the Mets but I thought last weekend’s Dodgers-Phillies matchup would have favored the Mets too. It didn’t as the Phillies swept four from the Dodgers.

The Mets will have their own hands full this weekend with the Marlins. The Mets ended July in Miami as they will end August, with a three game set in Florida. This is a big opportunity for the Marlins to get back in the race so the Mets must be very careful. When the Mets were at Dolphin’s Stadium back in July, they lost two of three. Pelfrey has struggled against the Marlins this year. He has three losses and no wins against the Marlins this year. Mike is scheduled to pitch on Saturday.

The Mets continue to handle the Phillies well in spite of Tuesday night’s collapse. New York has yet to lose a series to Philadelphia with the split of this brief two game set. With last night’s win the Mets complete their 2008 games at Citizen’s Bank Park. The Mets finished the road series with the Phillies with a 6-3 mark. The Mets are 4-2 at Shea vs. the Phils with one more series the weekend of September 5th.

Could this be the year the Yankees do not make the playoffs. I’ll believe it when the math proves it. But for now, it does not look good for the Mets cross town rivals who have fallen to seven games back from the Red Sox. With 30 games remaining for both the Sox and Yanks, the former would have to win 23 of 30 if the Sox simply go .500 the rest of the year. That’s a tall order but as we Mets fans know from last year, anything can happen. The Yankees have been in the post season for 13 consecutive years. Derek Jeter has never played a Major League season in which he did not go to the post season. Come on, what Mets fans do not keep an eye on what the Yankee machine is up to.

With the conclusion of the Olympics, baseball on the world stage only needs to wait till March for the next big tournament. In 2009, the World Baseball Classic will return for the second time. Although there was much criticism from purists, the Classic turned out to be a huge success. And while American players did not show much enthusiasm at the outset, by the end of the tournament, the players were really into it.

In case you are not familiar with the World Baseball Classic, the idea was developed by Major League Baseball for the purpose of growing the game globally. Foreign countries have developed baseball programs and have spurred interest among their country’s athletes. As it was in 2006, there will be 16 nations competing in next spring’s Classic. That will likely grow to 24 teams in the years to come.

Japan won the inaugural WBC in ’06. The United States did not qualify for the semi-finals losing to Mexico in Anaheim.

There will be some changes in the tournament next year. Like the first tournament, sixteen teams will be divided into 4 separate pools in the first round. The first round will be played from March 5th through the 12th. Pool A will take place in Tokyo and be made up of clubs from China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Korea. Pool B is made up of Australia, Cuba, Mexico, and South Africa. These teams will compete in Mexico City. Pool C is made up of Canada, Italy, USA, and Venezuela. Pool C’s games will be played in Toronto’s Rodger’s Centre. The final pool, Pool D, will take place in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Panama, and Puerto Rico will play in Pool D.

What is different for next year is the first two rounds will be a double elimination instead of the round robin format used in 2006. This will eliminate the unruly tie breaker scenarios that occurred in the last Classic.

Six games will be played within each pool. The two teams that remain standing after the 5thgame will play each other to determine who the winner and runner up team is within the Pool. The winner and runner up from each of the pools will move on to the second round.

Pool A and Pool B’s winners will form Pool 1 in the second round and Pool C and Pool D will form Pool 2 in the second round. The same double elimination format will be used in the second round with each of the two pools determining a winner and a runner up. Pool 1’s games will be played in San Diego’s Petco Park while Dolphin Stadium will be home to Pool 2’s games. The second round will be played from March 14th through the 19th.

The second change to be made is in the semi-finals. The winner of Pool 1 and 2 will play the runner up teams from the opposite pools. In 2006, the top two winners in each pool of round 2 played each other in the semi-finals. The semi-finals will be single elimination. The winner of each semi-final game will play each other in a one game final with the winner crowned the champion of the World Baseball Classic. Both the semi-finals and the finals will be played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles from March 21st through the 23rd.

Major League players may play on teams of other countries if they are of ethnic background. In 2006, Mike Piazza played for Italy. Johan Santana played for Venezuela, and Luis Ayala pitched for Mexico where he suffered an injury that caused him to miss the entire season. And there is the rub. Many baseball owners are not thrilled that their players are pulled away from spring training and put at risk of injury.

Next spring, the spring training camps will be open longer to help players get ready for the season. This will force the regular season to start later and if the World Series of 2009 were to go seven games, it would end on November 5th, the latest in history.

Regardless of the arguments against, there are too many positives that could derail the Classic. Following next year, the Classic will be played every four years. The hope is that it will someday be as big as the World Cup in Soccer and that ballplayers from other countries will grow to be fodder for the Major Leagues who are always looking for repositories of new talent.

Willie Randolph was fired because the team was under performing. No one really seemed to mind. The Mets had collapsed at the end of last season. Many blamed Randolph although clearly the pitching was to blame.

The bullpen has done it again. In a game the Mets had led 7-0 against the Phillies and were poised to make a statement, the pitching staff once again imploded and the Mets now find themselves trailing the Phillies in the standings.

Pedro gave back 5 runs in 5 innings. Then after Brian Stokes did a fine job of holding the fort, Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano and Luis Ayala coughed up the lead. Two seasons in a row now we have witnessed this Mets bullpen give up lead after lead after lead. Will Omar be held just as accountable as Willie was earlier this season? If the Mets succumb again as they did last season how can Omar Minaya possible be taken seriously as he attempts to build the 2009 Mets in the off season.

I know no lead is safe in Citizen’s Bank Ballpark but this bullpen is a joke. The Mets bullpen has now given up 22 leads this season. That simply cannot be tolerated on a club with a 140 million dollar payroll. Who ever thought that trading away Matt Lindstrom and Heath Bell last year could have been such a bad move. But they were and now the Mets may pay the price for not making the post season for the second season in a row.

Losing last night is not the end of the world. If Santana pitches a gem tonight, the Mets leave town no worse than when they came in. Even if the Mets lose both games of this series, there still is plenty of time to make up the deficit. Don’t forget the Mets still have three games left with the Phillies at Shea Stadium the first weekend in September. But who are we kidding? Ourselves? We have seen many games like last night's this season. Frankly I think this team, this 2008 team, would become known as the miracle Mets if they ever somehow pulled off the division title.

There is no feeling of security with this bullpen. The pen was handed a two run lead and you knew that the Mets pitchers could not hold it. They did not disappoint. The frustrating thing was that Luis Ayala had gotten two fairly quick outs then could not seal the deal. If it was not for Jose Reyes’s fine play in the 9th, the Mets would have lost it right there. Carlos Delgado saved the day again in the 11th. If that ball got by him the game would have ended but instead they put it off until Schoeneweis could pick up the loss, something he is very good at.

Another big problem was the offense who put up seven runs in the first four innings then went to sleep hitting into three double plays and were not able to muster a single run after. The combination of an offense and a bullpen that fails late in the game will dome this campaign.

These games are excruciating. I wonder sometimes what is wrong with me that I subject myself to such torture. Unfortunately we have last September to keep reminding us that there is a very good chance the Mets will blow it again.

Starting tonight we will find out if it’s 2007 all over again or is it 2008. The Mets after a dominating performance to conclude the home stand against the Astros will move into Philadelphia tonight for a brief two game series. The Mets hold a slim ½ game lead over the Phils but that’s only because the Mets have played one more game than their new found rivals. Realistically they are tied for first because they are even with 59 losses. The Mets have won 73 games while the Phillies have won 72.

The Mets have handled the Phillies very nicely so far this season having won 9 of the 13 games played. But for the Mets to have a real chance of winning the division it’s this series tonight and the one next weekend at Shea Stadium that will count the most. It will be quite the challenge as the Mets must now deal with another injury.

John Maine has been disabled adding to the list of key Mets players who have been sidelined for extended periods of time this season. Maine was not scheduled to pitch against Philadelphia however. That task falls on Pedro Martinez tonight and Johan Santana tomorrow night. The Mets scored nine runs last evening and hope to bring that clout into Citizen’s Bank Park tonight but it could be a tough evening. Martinez is not the dominant pitcher he used to be and won’t have Shea’s spacious outfield to hold deep fly balls. Sweeping the Phillies would be nice but if the Mets could get out of town with a split, I’d take it.

From this point forward it’s a thirty game season and a two team race. I know I’ll probably regret discounting the Marlins but at five and a half games back, they will really have to step it up to get back into the race. Florida does have six more games with the Mets so anything is possible.

It starts with the Phillies but the road trip gets no easier. The Mets will head to Florida for a weekend set before going to Milwaukee for three next week. This is by far the toughest of the two road trips remaining on the schedule.

The Mets have surprised us a lot this season. They are tied for first having done so with a plethora of injuries and a bullpen full of holes. The next eight games will really test the Mets and show us what this club is made of. There is no question of the character of these players. Since Manuel took over this has become an inspired group, especially Carlos Delgado who launched two 3 run home runs last evening. I like the Mets chances but if the bullpen can get it together in the absence of Billy Wagner and Carlos Beltran can finally get on some kind of a hot streak, I would like their chances even more.

The greatest rivalry in baseball has become the Mets vs. the Phillies. Well, not really but I’m sure most Mets fans feel that way. The Red Sox at Yankee Stadium will get all the national attention but Mets nation will be focused on Philadelphia.

Notes - During last night’s game, Gary Cohen and Ron Darling discussed the future of Shea Stadium. After Shea is torn down, the parking lot will be constructed. Base lines will be painted to show everyone where Shea used to be. Plus the lines will be used for wheel chair baseball games. Nice idea. I would hope the name Shea somehow survives in that area. I believe there is a road near the stadium named Shea. How about naming the parking lot the Shea lot? Just a thought.

Just when we start feeling comfortable with the Mets progress, wham! The Mets have lost two of three from the Astros and the Phillies have won three in a row from the Dodgers. And if you saw any of the Sunday night game last night from Philadelphia, you can see how closely related the Mets are to the Dodgers. LA had many opportunities to help out their descendents last evening but like the Mets could not get a key hit when they needed it. The Phillies won in the 11th with the result leaving the Mets ahead of the Phillies by a half game but more importantly they are even in the loss column.

Did you honestly think the tandem of Heilman and Feliciano would not somehow blow more leads for the Mets this season. As reported on SNY’s Sports Night this morning, the Mets bullpen is responsible for giving up 21 leads this season. That’s unbelievable. Certainly you could not have expected the Mets or any bullpen not to give up a lead once in a while but 21 spells disaster. Had the bullpen been able to hold just 10 of those 21, we would be singing a different tune today. In an era where getting to the post season and surviving in the post season so much depends on a strong bullpen, we must conclude that the chances of the Mets playing in October are slim.

Unlike last year it’s unlikely the Mets will build such a lead to collapse from. Instead the Mets may need a miracle of their own to comeback from a big deficit. Look at the obstacles that await the Mets.

The bullpen continues to be very inconsistent. Billy Wagner is likely done for the year. Now it’s been revealed that perhaps John Maine’s season is over too. The Mets, after tonight’s home stand finale head on the road for a very crucial road trip against the Phillies, Marlins, and Brewers, all contenders. When the Mets return home they face the Phillies again to conclude their season’s series. If the Mets are still surviving at that point they must then continue to beat up the Nationals and the Braves. Last September, the Nats helped destroy the Mets season. Although Washington has been so bad this year, it still scares me that the Mets have six games remaining with them while still fighting for their lives. Also, the Mets last meeting with the Braves will be in Atlanta where they have not won a single game this year in two series there. And to top it off the Mets face the Cubs during Shea’s final home stand ever for four games. Four games with this season’s National League win machine. It all ends with three against the Marlins and you remember how that turned out last season.

92 wins is probably what will be required to win the NL East. With 31 games remaining the Mets must go 20-14. Is their bullpen capable of supporting such a lofty goal? The bullpen has given up leads in 16 percent of their games. That calculates to at least 5 more blown leads to come. But baseball is not an exact science. For the Met to reach the post season, it’s going to require people stepping up.

Many questions must be answered. Who’s going to close? Who’s going to start in the absence of John Maine? Who is going to ignite the offense when it goes into a funk as it has this weekend against the Astros? Will it come from those already on the roster? Is there some magical waiver deal that will cure all? Will one of the call ups spring into action and help out that dreadful bullpen or replace Maine? These questions will be answered over the final five weeks of the season, a season that is likely headed to another disappointing conclusion.

With an 8-4 victory over Japan, the US Olympic baseball team managed by Davey Johnson won the bronze medal at Beijing. The US lost yesterday to Cuba by a score of 10-2. That loss negated the opportunity for the gold or silver forcing the US to play the other losing team from the semifinals.

In the gold medal game of the final round earlier today, South Korea defeated Cuba by a score of 3-2. South Korea went undefeated (9-0) in the tournament. Cuba took the silver.

Baseball will not return to the Olympics in 2012 in London. However, if these types of tournaments are your thing, fret not, the World Baseball Classic returns next March.

The Cuban team crushed the American Baseball team today in Beijing ruining hopes of another gold for the US. Cuba beat the USA 10-2 to move on to the gold medal round. Undefeated South Korea beat Japan yesterday and will now face Cuba for the gold. The loser of this game will take the silver medal.

The United States will now play Japan for the bronze medal. The two teams played already in the preliminaries with the US winning by a score of 4-2.

Baseball has been dropped for the 2012 Olympics in London. Some say the reason is that Major League Baseball is unwilling to suspend the season for two weeks so that the best players can play in the Olympics. Remember some MLB players could play for other countries based on their ethnicity as is done in the World Baseball Classic.

The idea that multi-million dollar baseball players should suspend a baseball season for two weeks, play for no pay, and risk injury is a little unrealistic. By canceling baseball all the Olympic committee is doing is thwarting the efforts of countries who have spent a lot of money and effort on building a  baseball program. The Olympics has always been more about politics than it has about sport.  

Last night was probably the last time I will ever be at Shea Stadium. From August 4, 1965 to last evening, I have seen my fair share of games at that ballpark. If it is the last time I visit Shea, at least my personal run ended on one hell of a ballgame. Certainly a couple of miscues by the Braves helped out the Mets but in the grand scheme of things more has gone right for the Braves than the Mets and the score is hardly even.

It was great to see Pedro Martinez in person for the first time. He really pitched well despite giving up 4 runs. And the irony of seeing David Wright hit a laser home run to left off of Mike Hampton was poetic to say the least. You see, when Hampton chose to leave the Mets via free agency, the club received a compensation pick in return for the 2001 draft. Steve Phillips in one of his better moves as GM selected David Wright.

Carlos Delgado gave us some thrills too with a 5 hit night although a couple of those hits were questionable. Never the less it was an exciting come back win and do not forget that the bullpen gave up no runs thanks in part to a spectacular heads up double play started by Ramon Castro. Luis Ayala got the final four outs of the game against Atlanta and was the benefactor as the Mets pulled it out in the 9th when David Wright made like Superman as he dove across the plate. What better way to end my personal Shea Stadium experiences than with a walk off win.

As for the Stadium itself, it will be hard to realize Shea will not be there anymore come next April. Man is that place big. Taking Shea apart will be no easy task. As a facility Shea is not as bad as the media and many fans like to claim. But it’s clear compared to the stadiums built in the last 16 years since Oriole Park, Shea does not come close. Our seats last night were a prime example of why Shea is so outdated. Although they were cheap we sat in the last rows of the mezzanine where you could not even see the scoreboard. It was like having tunnel vision. Directly in front of you was the underside of the concrete decking of the upper level. Below that you could see the field but when a fly ball was hit, you had no idea where it was going and the players looked like ants. Fortunately we were able to move down and have a much better view (don’t tell Mets management).

So as a building, I won’t miss Shea but as far as the memories that is something completely different. Fred Wilpon talks emotionally about the games he went to with his dad at Ebbets Field and how painful it was to see the ballpark he grew up in torn down. Many Mets fans probably feel the same way about Shea. The difference of course, unlike the Dodgers of the past, the Mets are only moving next door to a shiny new facility reminiscent of the old Brooklyn yard. I don’t for one minute intend to compare our feelings of Shea’s demise with the pain those Brooklyn fans and Giants fans endured a half century ago.

I have been to many games at Shea. The first was in 1965 against the Pirates, a game the Mets lost as they often did back then. I became hooked after that day.  I attended two games in 1969, that miraculous year that this site is named for. The first game was a 6-0 gem against the San Francisco Giants. Art Shamsky knocked in 4 runs including a home run. Jim McAndrew pitched a complete game giving up just 2 hits. Later that season, my father was lucky enough to be given field box tickets from one of his customers for a Sunday game against the Phillies. The Mets won 9-3. We got those seats a few more times over the years that followed and it seemed like every time we went, we saw the Mets win.

In my late teens I often went to Shea with friends. One of my greatest memories then was of seeing Tom Seaver pitch his first game back in a Reds uniform in August of 1977. Certainly that was the most surreal Mets game I ever attended. I had seen Tom pitch at Shea as a Met a number of times. That Sunday, I openly cheered for Seaver but in my heart I still wanted the Mets to win. They didn’t. Seaver beat Jerry Koosman and the Mets easily. The one thing I remember most about going to Shea in the late 70’s was how easy it was to get a good seat. The baseball mojo had shifted to the Bronx by then and no one was going to Shea. I saw one Jets game I believe during the fall of 1979 or 1980, I can't remember. I sat in the end zone in the closed in section of the stadium. It was freezing and if I recall correctly the Jets lost.

I witnessed Darryl Strawberry hit one of his first home runs, a monster shot, when he came up in 1983. It was late in the season and the Mets were going nowhere again that year. However they won that game and it was obvious that the talent on the field was about to change the fortunes of the Mets franchise.

My wife and I saw many games during the eighties. At that time I also repaid my father for the games he took me to by taking him to quite a few. I went to a number of opening day games during the eighties. In '83 I was there when Tom Seaver returned to the Mets and opened the season. The most exciting opening day was when “The Kid”, Gary Carter, made his Mets debut in 1985 and hit a Neil Allen fastball into the picnic area in left field. Man was it cold that day. 

Perhaps my fondest memories of being at Mets games happened in 1986. I went to seven games that year. The Mets won four of them and lost the other three. Perhaps it was an omen as to what was to come that October. Of those seven games, the most exciting one was on September 17 when we watched the Mets, from a left field loge box, clinch the National League east against the Cubs. Doc Gooden pitched a complete game. That was the night when Dave Magadan subbed for Keith Hernandez and went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI. When the game ended, the fans stormed the field and destroyed it. I and my wife were not one of them. It was the last time a scene like that every occurred at Shea. Future celebrations were guarded with police on horseback.

Howard Johnson recently spoke of one of his favorite memories at Shea. It occurred when a fly ball hit a dove and Rafael Santana picked up the bird and carried it off the field. We sat in the third base field boxes that Sunday afternoon. That play occurred right in front of us. I remember seeing Kevin McReynolds come in to make the play and the next thing everyone wondered was what happened to the ball. It just stopped in mid air and fell to the ground. So did the bird. The Mets lost that game by the way.

The only time I ever paid for a scalper’s ticket was in 1988. It was game 5 of the NLCS, the game after Mike Scioscia hit the home run off Doc Gooden that tied the game. The Dodgers won in extra innings tying the series. The next day, a Monday afternoon I paid 75.00 for a reserved upper deck seat behind home plate. That was a lot of money 20 years ago. The Mets lost the game. Sid Fernandez was completely ineffective and eventually the Dodgers won the series then beat Oakland in the World Series.

The baseball strike and horrendous play kept me away from Shea Stadium for many years. Even during the wild card years I did not go to Shea. I followed the Mets as I always have but from the comfort of my living room. I went back in 2004 to take my son who also loves the Mets (fancy that). In a game against the Expos, my son's first game, we got to see a young third baseman line a double down the left field line for his first Major League hit. The player's name: David Wright. We have gone a couple of times every year since and last night was probably the final time till Citi Field opens next April 14th.

I’m sure you have your own special memories about going to Shea. I have done many different things in my life but to quote the fictional character Terence Mann from Field of Dreams, “The one constant through all the years has been baseball”. In my case as yours, Mets baseball has been the constant. Win or lose it was always fun to go to Shea Stadium. It was even more special when the Mets won as they did last evening. Hopefully the fine play the team has shown recently will continue and there will be an exciting end to the big round ballpark in Flushing this year before her doors are closed forever. Citi Field may be the best baseball park ever built but it will be years before her memories can come close to all that has happened at Shea.

Mike Hampton will be on the Shea Stadium hill tonight to face the Mets and Pedro Martinez. Pedro will be attempting to help the Mets sweep the Atlanta Braves while Hampton will continue to try and resurrect his career.

Eight years ago, tonight’s pitcher for Atlanta helped the Mets do something they had not accomplish in 14 previous years. Mike Hampton pitched a complete game 7-0 shutout as the Mets won their fourth and last National League pennant.

Hampton had spent most of his career with the Houston organization. He came up with Seattle and was traded to Houston following his first season. After compiling a record of 70-43 and spending six years with the Astros, the Mets obtained him over the winter of 1999 for outfielder Roger Cedeno and relief pitcher Octavio Dotel. The Mets also received Derek Bell in the deal. Adding Hampton to the Mets staff that already featured Al Leiter and Rick Reed gave the Mets a starting three they felt could compete with Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux for the Braves.

Hampton won 15 games while losing 10 in his only year as a Met. The Mets had traded for him in his walk year and would need to sign him long term to keep Hampton in a Mets uniform. Through the entire season there was never much discussion with the lefty. The Mets brass led by GM Steve Phillips said it would be handled at the end of the season when the Mets would have exclusive rights to negotiate with the pitcher for a period of time following the World Series, a series the Mets lost to the Yankees five games to one.

Apparently the school systems in the New York area were not up to snuff for the Hampton family or at least so he said. In December of 2000, Mike signed a then record 8 year 121 million dollar deal for a pitcher with the Colorado Rockies. The Mets made a solid offer but felt that was too steep a price to trump. The Mets would never regret not countering Colorado’s offer.

It wasn’t difficult to figure out Hampton’s motivation. Considering that Denver is where pitcher’s careers go to die, it was obvious the only concern for Hampton and family was money. Off the record some Mets players were not disappointed regardless of how Hampton helped the Mets to win the pennant. Hampton had a reputation of being aloof and not a real team guy.

After spending two years in Colorado and compiling a record of 22-28, Hampton was shipped off to Florida with Juan Pierre for catcher Charles Johnson, former Met Preston Wilson and a couple of others. But he never threw one pitch for the Marlins as two days later he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Tim Spooneybarger and Ryan Baker. The odd thing about this deal was that Colorado, Florida, and the Braves were all paying parts of Hampton’s ludicrous salary on the original contract that the Rockies must still be regretting.

From 2002 through 2005, Hampton won 32 games while losing 20. But in 2005 Hampton’s season was cut short by injury. Mike would require Tommy John surgery at the end of the season. Subsequently Hampton missed all of 2006. Then in April of 2007, Hampton underwent a second surgery on the elbow to repair a torn tendon. He missed his second consecutive season. After recovering from his second elbow surgery, Mike was sent to the Mexican Winter League to get back into game shape. In his first game back on the mound Mike severely pulled his right ham sting while attempting to field a ground ball. He missed all of winter ball recovering. As he prepared to start the 2008 campaign, yet another injury be felled the left handed pitcher. This time he strained a pectoral muscle.  Would Hampton ever come back?

Finally Hampton made his first start in three years on July 26th. Since then he has a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 6.92. This is why it is so dangerous to give a pitcher so much money for so many years. Since Hampton left the Mets to sign with the Rockies he has posted a 53-48 record, hardly worth 8 years and 121 million dollars. Plus he missed almost three full seasons of work.

Tonight Hampton continues to try and restore his baseball career. But so does his opponent Pedro Martinez. While Martinez has suffered his own sever injuries the last couple of years, his legacy will live much longer than Hamptons, probably all the way to the Hall of Fame.

Say what you want about Hampton and his unwillingness to stay in New York. Regardless of his stature amongst Mets fans, Hampton owns a small piece of Mets history in that he helped them reach their fourth World Series in team history. Let’s not forget the Mets have not made it back since.

The United States Olympic baseball team defeated the Japan team by a score of 4-2 earlier today in Beijing. The win ended the preliminary round and placed the US in third place for the finals that begin tomorrow. The US compiled a 5-2 record in the first round.

As the third seed the US must face Cuba, the second seed. Cuba's record was 6-1 in the first round of the tournament. South Korea who went undefeated at 7-0 will play against Japan who finished the preliminaries at 4-3. Cuba defeated the US in the first round in a close game by the score of 5-4.

The winner of both games will play for gold in the medal round while the losers will fight for the bronze in a game on Friday.

This Mets season has been all about finding a way through adversity. I wrote a piece a couple weeks back about how so many things have gone wrong for this Mets team but still they have managed a way to be in first place. Although it’s not a large lead, they still are for the moment the top dog in the National League East.

Last night, the Mets scored five runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Atlanta Braves in the first of three at Shea. The only runs allowed to the Braves were by Oliver Perez in the third inning. Perez, newly acquired reliever Luis Ayala, Aaron Heilman, and Scott Schoeneweis managed to shut down Atlanta the rest of the way. There was no need for Billy Wagner with a four run lead in the 9th. That was good because he was not available and most likely will not be for the foreseeable future.

The Mets have had many tests this season. They survived without having Pedro Martinez for two months. They lost Moises Alou for the entire season. Ryan Church suffered two concussions and is still out. The hitting at times has been absent and forget about scoring with the bases loaded. Except for last night when it happened twice in the eighth inning, scoring with the bases full just doesn’t happen. And perhaps the most glaring of problems this season has been the bullpen.

Blown saves, blown leads, heart palpitations, you name it this bullpen has been capable of doing it. Even in games with big leads that the Mets have won, the bullpen gave up runs forcing other relievers to warm up when they should have been able to rest.

At times the bullpen has shown signs of being very capable of getting the job done. But inconsistency has been a problem all year long. I would venture to say without actually doing the research that if the bullpen collectively put away half the games they have blown, the Mets would be leading the division very comfortably opposed to just a one game lead in the loss column. And least we forget that the number one cause of last September’s collapse was the pitching and in particular, the bullpen.

If all that is not bad enough another challenge has come to the forefront. Billy Wagner is likely gone for the season. Inflammation in the elbow has gotten worse and could be masking a tear. There will be no real closer for a team with aspirations of reaching the post season.

What are the odds of the Mets overcoming this latest hardship? The answer will have to come from within. Wild speculation of Trevor Hoffman coming to the Mets on New York talk radio yesterday morning is just that. Even if the Padres did place the soon to be free agent closer Hoffman on waivers, teams like the Marlins and Phillies could block him from getting to the Mets. Forget it. It’s a pie in the sky thinking. There is not external answer.

Can the Mets win without a closer? Actually I think they can. This year the Mets have won about half of their games by 3 runs or fewer. These do not include extra inning games at home either where a closer is not needed. This is not to say that closing is not necessary as much as it says a classic closer in the mold of a Wagner or Hoffman is not necessary. The Mets win a lot of games by a lot of runs. They do not win many 2-1 or 3-2 contests. They haven’t for more than a year. This suggests that the Mets are the type of team that could actually pull off a closer by committee scenario. It is not desirable but it is possible and frankly the Mets have no other choice.

If the Mets were a low run scoring team then a personality in the closer role would be key to securing many low run scoring games. This brings up an interesting point. If the Mets stop hitting or stop scoring runs the way they did in the first half of the season, then they will be in huge trouble. That situation in combination with the current bullpen woes would likely spell disaster for the Mets this year.

If anything the Mets have shown quite a bit of character this year, at least under skipper Jerry Manuel. If the Mets want to play late into October this season, that character must persist, especially in the bullpen.

According to an article that appeared in the New York Post last week, the most expensive seats at Citi Field next year will cost 495.00. These seats are in the first level in the first rows that surround home plate. For just less than 500 bucks, you can get food and non-alcoholic beverages included. I was wondering if I paid for that ticket, could I get 500 hot dogs and then distribute them to the less fortunate fans in the cheap seats. I could become the Robin Hood of Mets fandom.

If you think this is awful it could be worse. You could be a Yankee fan were similar seats are upwards of 2500.00 dollars. The Mets, according to the article, made a conscious effort to price their tickets lower than the Yankees. Hmm, 26 World Championships to 2 will make you do that.

If you are outraged about the cost of these tickets you are not alone. But know this, all of these seats have been sold. It’s a simple capitalistic principle known as supply and demand. If someone is willing to pay 495.00 for a seat, why should the Mets sell it for less? Apparently, there are a lot more people than we realize with the kind of cash to pay for these seats even in a slowed economy or do a dare say a recession.

As you move away from behind the plate and the dugouts, the tickets expectedly reduce in price but it appears the cheapest tickets in the field level are around 125.00 bucks a seat. And yes, these seats are still cheaper than equivalent seats at the new Yankee palace.

$125.00 per seat is still out of the price range of most fans. 500 dollars not including parking, concessions, transportation and tolls is a little above what the now squeezed middle class family of four can afford. But again, many seats and luxury suites have been sold out. In fact the Mets have said that 48 of 49 luxury suites have been sold already with about ten companies fighting over the last one. The luxury suites at Citi Field are going for a mere 275,000 to 500,000 dollars. One exec with the Mets thinks they under priced the suites. Equivalent suites at Yankee Stadium close in at almost a million dollars! Gees, is this baseball we are talking about?

So what is the average blue collar (even white collar for that matter) fan suppose to do? Well one thing is to watch more games on TV. With the money you save by not going to a game, a high definition TV at 32 inches or greater with a reasonably priced theatre system is a wonderful alternative. And many high definition sets have come way down in price. Brands like Vizio or LG offer great value without compromised picture quality. Citi Field and the new Yankee Stadium should look just grand on a flat panel LCD high def TV.

Going to games at Citi Field is still not out of the question. The upper deck known as the promenade level will feature prices that average 19.00 a seat. That’s an average with the lowest tickets around 12 bucks. Now to most, that’s affordable and these seats will still be lower and closer to the field than the upper deck at Shea.

In addition, the Mets will offer multiple ticket prices depending on when and who they are playing like they do now. So a week night game against the Nationals in the upper level might be quite affordable.

As long as there are people willing to pay the exorbitant prices in these new cathedrals, don’t expect the prices to drop. Look at the bright side. If the Mets intend on keeping ticket prices high, they will do their best to field the best team possible. If the Mets fall back to the losing ways of the early part of the decade, new stadium or not, Citi Field will be empty and the seat prices will drop. The problem then is who would want to go?

So while there will be reasonably priced seats available, there is another problem. Shea Stadium currently holds 57,333 people when full. Citi Field will hold 42,500 people. While the capacity of Citi Field is listed at 45,000, that includes standing room for 2500 fans. Do the math, Citi Field holds 14,833 less fans. According to the comparison page on Mets.com, Citi Fields upper level will hold 15,500 while Shea’s upper deck total is 20,420. That’s almost 5000 less seats per game at the new ballpark. Or another way of looking at it, next year there are 5000 less opportunities to get a ticket per game. As of yet, there has been no word on the pricing of standing room.

Both stadiums will be beautiful venues to watch your favorite team. Citi Field will be a bit more affordable but not much. The hard core fan will still get to a few games but there will be less of the die hard fans in total than ever. There will be more corporate types, you know, the empty suits who are more interested in being seen than knowing what David Wright’s average is with runners in scoring position with two out. That’s a shame because the one thing the Mets always have had going for them is the passionate Mets fan, the most passionate fans in baseball. Now there will be less and less of them at each ballgame.

The United States clinched a spot in the medal round at the Beijing Olympics with a victory against Chinese Taipei yesterday. The US will either be the number 3 or 4 seed depending on their final preliminary round game with Japan on Wednesday. Former Met Brandon Knight pitched into the 7th inning as the US came back to win the game late 4-2.

The win guarantees a shot at the gold medal providing the US can win two in a row. The losers of the second round’s contests play each other in the final or medal round for the Bronze. The winners of the second round play each other for the gold in the medal round. The loser of the game takes the silver medal. The loser in the Bronze medal game wins nothing.

After a stellar 6-1 road trip, the Mets return home to face the Atlanta Braves. The Mets have not seen the Braves since they were swept in 4 games at Turner field back on May 20-22. In fact, the Mets have not won a single game at Turner Field this year. The Mets managed to defeat the Braves two games to one during the series at Shea Stadium at the end of April.

After the Mets last met the Braves in Atlanta, there record was 22-23. Since then the Mets have gone 46-34. By contrast, the Braves record was 26-21 back in May after the Mets series. The Braves record since is 30-43. After yesterday’s loss to the Giants, the Braves are 12 games back of the Mets in 5th place in the NL East. Certainly things have not gone well for the Braves this season.

Tom Glavine’s return to the Braves to reunite with John Smoltz proved fruitless. Smoltz and Glavine are both on the DL and done for the season. So is Tim Hudson. What does it tell you when the veteran presence on the pitching staff is none other than Mike Hampton? The left hander has finally made a series of starts in what seemed to have been an eternity of rehabbing from various injuries. To his credit he has pitched well and will face the Mets this week. The Braves have had to bring up youngsters to fill in their rotation. As you might expect from the Braves farm, they are talented but lack experience.

Offensively Chipper Jones leads the pack and will likely prove to be a pain in the neck to the Mets once again starting tonight. He is batting .363 but he has suffered from nagging injuries a lot this season. Brian McCann and Mark Kotsay are also having fine years at the plate. Jeff Francoeur has struggled mightily this season and at one point he was optioned to the minors. He’s hitting just .231 with 10 home runs this year.

With all their problems this Braves still worry me. They have been a thorn in the Mets side well over ten years now. The players on that team whether veterans or new comers seem to be ingrained to raise their level of play against New York. The Mets cannot take these three games lightly regardless of the Braves record. The last thing the Mets want to do is to step back after taking such a leap forward. The good news for the Mets is that Oliver Perez pitches the opener of the series. He has pitched extremely well against the Braves in the past but has not faced them this season.

The Mets must hold serve because the Phillies are going up against the Nationals, the league’s worst team. The Mets have a one game in the loss column lead over Philadelphia. There are 37 games left, only 15 of which are on the road. The Mets have played very well at home this year with a record of 34-23. There are 7 games on this home stand, three with the Braves and four with the surging Astros. The bullpen has been the Mets Achilles heal. I think it’s safe to say the fortunes of the 2008 Mets rests in the bullpen.

In case you were wondering how the Olympic Baseball tournament works, well here it is.

There are 3 rounds being played in Beijing. The first round known as the preliminaries is in round robin format. Each of eight teams plays each other once. That’s a total of 7 games. The teams in the top four places will advance to the second round. There is a bunch of tie breaking scenarios if teams are tied including a coin flip if all else fails. It’s highly unlikely it would get to that.

In the second round, known as the semifinals, the highest ranked team plays the fourth ranked team. The second place team will play the third place team. The losers of both games will play each other for the Bronze in the medal or final round. The loser of that game ends in fourth place with no medal. The two winners of the semifinals will play for the gold. The loser will take home the silver.          

Currently the top four teams in the preliminaries are Cuba and South Korea who are both 5-0. The United States managed by Davey Johnson and Japan are in third and fourth place respectively with a record of 3-2. The Netherlands, Taiwan, Canada, and China are in positions five through eight each with a 1-4 record.

The games are being played at Wukesong Baseball Field in Bejing through Saturday, August 23. You might see some of the games on the Universal HD channel or USA. For more information, go to http://en.beijing2008.cn/sports/baseball/index.shtml.

All of a sudden, the Mets have finally figured out how to win on the road and how to beat lower division teams. Since the debacle last Monday when the Mets bullpen gave up six runs in the last two innings, the Mets have rolled off six consecutive wins on the road in Washington and Pittsburgh. The road trip concludes today with a 12:35