Overall Record 51-44

Week 16 record 7-0

This is it right? The statement game of the year. Take 3 out of 4 in Philly. Take 7 out of 10 from Philly. Win the 3^rd straight series against Philly. Do you see where I am going with this? Fast forward to the top of the 6^th inning. Pedro singles to center field to give the Mets a 10-1 lead with 12 outs to go. This couldn’t be any sweeter. Not only are the Mets going to take 3 of 4, they are going to make a statement to Philly and the league that they are not done yet. Fast forward to the bottom of the 9^th inning. Pedro Feliz singles to center field off of Billy Wagner and for some reason Beltran is trying to gun down Eric Bruntlett at 3^rd base and for some reason Wright doesn’t get in front of the ball allowing Bruntlett to score. 10-9. At this point my body just shut down. I didn’t know whether to yell, throw things, cry, vomit, etc. I just sat there in horror as Jayson Werth stepped to the plate again. Luckily he hit a lazy fly ball to right field. Unluckily Endy Chavez decided to test my last nerve by using the Rickey Henderson snap catch to end the game. After having a beer and breathing again I was able to remember that we had actually won the game. As I wrote last week “Win 3 out of 4 here and I just might get suckered into believing in this team again.” Here we go.

Has there been a more enjoyable game this season than Tuesday night? I am going to say no. Listening to WFAN constantly, we cannot hear enough about Tim Lincecum from his fan club’s president Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo. He has basically already put Lincecum in the hall of fame next to Bob Gibson. Well Timmy and the boys come to town and Carlos Beltran greets him with a 3 run homer in the first inning. Delgado hits a moon shot in the 6^th and Mike Pelfrey pitches yet another gem in a Mets 7-0 victory. The Mets young stud went 7 innings of shut out ball and didn’t even make it interesting after the first inning. He continues to be the Mets #2 guy this season. The Mets don’t have let down, they win easily (very rare) the Phillies are shut out by Joel Pinero and suddenly the Mets are 1.5 games out of first. I’m getting giddy.

I’ll let Rick do much of the recap in his diary of the game. However my hat is off to the bullpen who pitched four perfect innings after Santana was taken out because of the rain delay.  My hat is even off for one night only to #48.

Thursday’s matinee proved to be the most interesting of the 3 game series. When are we ever going to get a 6 inning start out of John Maine? He has been wildly disappointing this season. Even though he struck out 8 he was all over the place and was lifted after 4 2/3 innings and 107 pitches. He’s becoming Al Leiter 2.0. The Mets and Giants were tied at 3 when “Mr. Drama” Fernando Tatis stepped to the plate with a man on and hit a towering home run off of Tony Romo’s Mexican friend. The Mets tacked on 2 more in the 8^th and swept the Giants by a final of 7-3. The Giants only managed 9 hits off the Mets all series and the bullpen combined for 10 1/3 innings of 1 hit shut out ball. They had a 0.29 WHIP in the series. Wow. The Mets have now won 6 straight which is their longest streak in almost 2 years. The Rockies are coming in for three games where the Mets can keep the pressure on the division leading Phillies.

Friday Night should be the Mets Geico game of the week. The Rockies came into town for their third series with the Mets and the first at Shea. Good Ollie and Aaron Cook were locked in a pitcher’s duel most of the game. In the 5^th inning with Ollie throwing a no-hitter, Brad Hawpe comes up with two outs. After Ollie throws 2 strikes, SNY cameras show the score board with the Rickies having no hits. Then they zoom in super close on the zero in the hits column. Literaly on the next pitch Hawpe crushes a home run to right field. Are you kidding me SNY? Gary Cohen keeps his mouth shut for once and the SNY producer jobs the Mets. However Jose Reyes cam through with a clutch 2 out single in the 5^th inning to tie the score at 1-1. Mets pitching proceeded on loading the bases in each of the next three innings, getting out of it each time. In the bottom of the 8^th inning, Easy E stepped up to the plate and on a 3-2 fastball crushed a go ahead home run to left center field off Taylor Buckholz. At the crack of the bat I jumped off the couch and I started yelling and clapping once it cleared the wall. Billy Wagner came in for a 1-2-3 9^th inning and despite walking 9 batters in the game, the Mets win their 7^th straight by a final of 2-1.

I did not watch much of Saturday’s game with good reason. I was too bust having a blast at the Mineo-Dick wedding in Massachusetts. Mets pitching combined for a one hitter setting a record for consecutive games allowing 3 hits or less. The 5-0 win couple with a Phillies loss left the Mets ½ game out of first. Enough about this game, let’s have some highlights from the wedding.

The ceremony at the St. Ignatius of Loyola Church on Boston College’s campus was very nice. However, some how at wedding of BC alums…in which nearly the entire wedding party on both sides were BC alums (Alex’s little brother is the only exception but he is still in high school) and nearly half the guests were BC alums, the groomsmen wore yellow ties and the brides maids wore green dresses. How the hell did nobody notice that the wedding parties were wearing Notre Dame colors? Too funny. The reception definitely goes into my top 5 weddings I have been to…and there have been A LOT! I had actually been to a wedding reception at this location less than a year ago, and I even sat at the same table. The band was great, and the booze was free even though Caron’s Dad jokingly threatened to close the bar in his speech. All in all it was a great day for Caron, Alex, and our New York Mets.

The Mets and Rockies were the featured Sunday Night game for no other reason then the fact they are covering the home run derby the next night 15 miles away. I was happy because I could watch the game. I hope everyone watched start to finish. Hats off to Beltran who hit another big first inning home run. Carlos Delgado hit a moon shot (seriously…it almost hit the moon) to right center to give the Mets a 7-0 lead in the 5^th. This game however was all about Mike Pelfrey who was dominant AGAIN in a win. He went 8 scoreless innings striking out 5 while scattering 6 hits and no walks. He threw ground ball after ground ball on sinkers in the low 90’s. He has gone from fringe #5 starter to the next Chin Ming Wang over the course of 2 months. The highlight of the game was in the 8^th inning. Pelfrey gave up a single to make it first and second with 2 outs. Dan Warthon came for a talk as Pelfrey was up to 110 pitches. The Mets left Pelfrey in the game and the fans responded with a deafening “Let’s Go Pel-frey” chant. #1 Great job by that many fans staying at a 7-0 Sunday night game. #2 Great job by fans getting behind Big Pelf who has more than earned it. Scott Podsednik popped up to David Wright and the crowd exploded. They actually made him come out for a curtain call. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week. 7-0 on the week and a 9 game winning streak heading into the all-star game. PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!!!

In a part of gauging the first half for the Mets, this week’s 5 Up/5 Down will be for the whole season and not just the week that was.

5 Up:

#1 David Wright: Yes I wish he stopped trying to pull everything and yes his defense has been brutal at times, but he continues to go out there and look to not only play, but win every day. I expect his average to creep over .300 by season’s end and he is on pace for 125 RBI’s. You don’t realize it across town, but no other team gets that king of production out of the third base position.

#2 Ryan Church: I know he has misses almost 2 months of baseball, but I have no idea where this team would be if it wasn’t for his bat in April and May. No matter where he hit, no matter who pitched, Church came up with a big hit game in and game out for 7 weeks of baseball. Plus, his defense was roughly a 10,000% increase over Shawn Green. Hopefully we see him on the field again in the second half of the year.

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#3 Mike Pelfrey: in his first 9 starts Pelfrey was 2-6 with a 5.33 ERA and just about everybody wanting him out of the rotation for Claudio Vargas. Over his next 9 starts Big Pelf has gone 6-0 (should be 8-0) with a 2.26 ERA. Other than Johan, I’d rather give him the ball than any other pitcher on the roster. I’m not saying he is the next big thing in baseball, but I think he can be a #3/4 pitcher in this rotation for many years to come with an even higher ceiling.

#4 Carlos Beltran: He has had his not so great moments, but he is also coming through with a ton of big hits of late. For better or worse the Mets can not lost his bat hitting in the #4 spot, and he has done it for the last 2 months with hardly any protection behind him. He is not winning an MVP any time soon, but he has been big for this team.

#5 Johan Santana: Johan could be #1 if the Mets had just scored him a couple of runs over a 6 start span. That 8-7 record could easily be 11-4 with his 2.84 ERA (5^th in the NL) and he is 7^th in strikeouts. I still believe the best is yet to come this season.

5 Down:

#1 Moises Alou: He solidified the #1 spot with his likely season ending hamstring tear this week. He has a total of 89 bats this season and even though he hit very well in those at bats…he has left a gaping hole in left field. Oh and for the record, Alou has made roughly $90,000 per at bat this season. I wish he would stop peeing on his hands, and pee on the rest of his crippled body.

#2 Luis Castillo: Well his knees are still shot, Jose Reyes isn’t any more mature, he still can’t hit and Omar gave him a 4 year $24 million deal. Awesome. I would much rather have Ruben Gotay at 2^nd base. Yeah…I brought his name back from the dead. I am still bitter.

#3 #48: He has really saved himself since June 1. He was as bad as it gets for the first two months of the year. I said some really mean things about him and I stand by it. He was THAT bad. Even though he has turned it around of late, I do not trust him in any situation any more.

#4 Billy Wagner: I am still a Billy Wagner fan but when he is bad…he is really bad He has killed the Mets in a couple of series which has overshadowed his lights out pitching at the beginning of the year. My only hope is that he continues not to be overused and can bounce back to his old form come August and September.

#5 Those who have gone for good: I couldn’t bring myself to put Willie Randolph on this list even though technically he should be on here. So here is a list of guys who will go down as a part of the 2008 Mets, but we won’t be seeing anymore:

Willie Randolph

Rick Peterson

Tom Nieto

Brady Clark

Gustavo Molina

Andy Phillips

Abraham Nunez

Nelson Figueroa

Pour one out for one’s homies.

Here is just one man’s opinion on midseason major awards for MLB this year.

AL MVP – Josh Hamilton: Not bad stats for a guy who Rick had written was dead last year. Literally dead.

NL MVP – Chase Utley: Hey, they can keep winning MVP’s as long as they keep not making or winning playoff games.

AL Cy Young – Justin Duchscherer: the most earned runs in a start he has allowed this season is 3…and that happened only once!!! Cliff Lee is a close second but a 1.83 ERA in the American League is unheard of.

NL Cy Young – Tim Lincecum: It was a toss up between him and Volquez, but after seeing the line up the Giants put out, I can’t imagine anyone winning 11 games for that team all year and he has done it in the first half.

AL Rookie – Evan Longoria: I can’t believe he has those stats and didn’t even start the year with the Rays.

NL Rookie: Edinson Volquez: Apologies to Giovani Soto but I have to give it to Volquez who has been dominant all year.

AL Manager:Ron Gardenhire: I know the Rays came out of nowhere this year, but nobody gave the Twins a shot in the NL Central and they might be there until the end (and that’s without Francisco Liriano).  His team competes every year. They lose Johan Santana and get better. That’s pretty impressive.

NL Manager: Fredi Gonzalez: The Marlins have the lowest payroll by far in the majors and they are right in the thick of the NL East. When the Rays have double your payroll and your team is still this good, you deserve some serious credit.

We’ll change it up again this week for a look at history. Time to recap the All-Star games during the 5 years we have been exploring all season.

July 15, 2003

Current Record 40-53

Overall Record 66-95

A.L. 7 N.L. 6

The American League All-Stars come back from a 5-1 deficit to defeat the National League 7-6 at Comiskey Park II. Giants pitcher Jason Schmidt and White Sox pitcher Esteban Loiza were named starters and both threw two scoreless innings to start the game. In the bottom of the third inning, Ichiro Suzuki hit a 1 out single off of Randy Wolf and moved to second on a wild pitch. After Alfonso Soriano struck out Carlos Delgado ripped a 2 out single to left field to give the American League a 1-0 advantage. In the fifth inning the National League exploded for 5 runs highlighted by Todd Helton’s 2 run home run off Shigetoshi Hasegawa. Hasegawa put two more runners on before being removed for Eddie Guardado. Every day Eddie immediately gave up a 2 run double to Andruw Jones and an RBI single to Albert Pujols to complete the 5 run inning. The AL answered in the 6^th inning when Alex Rodriguez led off with a single off Woody Williams and Garret Anderson followed it with a 2 run home run cutting the lead in half.. The NL scored an insurance run in the 7^th on an Andruw Jones home run off Mark Mulder. Jason Giambi immediately answered that with a home run off Billy Wagner in the bottom half of the inning. Things fell apart for the NL in the bottom of the 8th. Up 6-4, dominant closer Eric Gagne came in to the set up role. Garret Anderson hit a 1 out double of Gagne and then was pinch run for by Melvin Mora. After getting Carl Everett to ground out, Vernon Wells hit a 2 out double to centerfield to cut the lead to 6-5. Hank Blalock stepped to the plate and earned the MVP award with a 2 run home run to deep right center field to give the AL a 7-6 lead. Keith Foulke entered in the 9^th inning and induced 3 straight fly balls from Paul LoDuca, Luis Castillo, and Rafael Furcal for the save. The win gave the American league home field advantage in the World Series in the first year the All Star game would decide that honor.

Mets notes: The Mets lone all-star in 2003 was Armando Benitez who was 3-3 with 21 saves and a 3.10 ERA. Benitez did not appear in the game and the next day was traded to the New York Yankees for Jason Anderson, Anderson Garcia, and Ryan Bicondoa. I consider this trade a steal for the Mets.

July 11, 2000

Current Record: 48-38

Overall Record: 94-68

A.L. 6 N.L. 3

The American League led from start to finish and New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter was named MVP in a 6-3 win at Turner Field in Atlanta. Blue Jays starter David Wells pitched 2 scoreless innings and in the 3^rd the AL took a 1-0 lead on a Carl Everett bases loaded walk off Kevin Brown scoring Derek Jeter. Larry Jones answered the run with a solo home run in the bottom half of the third off of James Baldwin. The game turned for good in the top of the 4^th with Mets pitcher Al Leiter on the mound. After a leadoff walk to Jermaine Dye, Travis Fryman singled to center field moving Everett to second. Mike Sweeney then hit a double play ball to short that Barry Larkin booted loading the bases. After Leiter got Roberto Alomar to pop up to first, Derek Jeter stepped up and smacked a 2 run single to center scoring Dye and Fryman. Leiter would get out of the inning by getting Bernie Williams to ground out and then striking out Jason Giambi. The NL scored a run in the 5^th off of Jason Isringhausen on an Andruw Jones RBI single. The score remained 3-2 until the 9^th inning when Trevor Hoffman entered the game. Hoffman gave up 3 runs in the 9^th on RBI’s by Matt Lawton, Magglio Ordonez, and Darren Erstad. Despite giving up an RBI single to Steve Finley, Mariano Rivera was able to close the game out for the American League.

Mets notes:

Al Leiter was the losing pitcher giving up 2 runs in 1 inning of work.

Mike Piazza was voted as the starting catcher but did not play due to injury.

Edgardo Alfonzo replaced Jeff Kent at second base during the game and went 0-2 with a strikeout

July 15^, 1986

Current Record:  59-25

Overall Record: 108-54

A.L. 3 N.L. 2

The aces of the best two teams in baseball took the hill in a World Series preview at the Astrodome in Houston. Roger Clemens won this battle over Dwight Gooden retiring all 9 batters he faced striking out 2 in a 3-2 win for the American League. Clemens would earn the win as well as the MVP award for his performance. The AL scored first in the bottom of the second inning. Dave Winfield smacked a two out double to right field and Lou Whitaker followed a 2 run home run to give the AL an early 2-0. The NL did not get their first hit of the game until the 5^th inning when Darryl Strawberry single to right field. In the top of the 7^th inning, Frank White pinch hit against home town hero Mike Scott and cracked a solo home run to push the AL advantage to 3-0. The National league finally broke through in the 8^th inning off knuckle-baller Charlie Hough. Giants 3^rd baseman Chris Brown led off the 8^th with a double to left field. Brown advanced to third on a wild pitch. With one out Tim Raines struck out but advanced to first on Rich Gedman’s passed ball. Brown scored on the play. After a balk from Charlie Hough, Steve Sax singled scoring Raines and trimming the lead to 3-2. Dave Righetti would come in to retire Glen Davis and end the threat. However, with one out in the 9^th inning Jody Davis singled off Righetti and went to third on a Dave Parker single. Don Aase was called on to relieve Righetti and got Chris Brown to ground into a game ending 4-3 double play.

Mets Notes:

Dwight Gooden took the loss for the NL. He gave up 2 runs in 3 innings of work and struck out 2.

Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and Darryl Strawberry started in their normal 3,4,5 batting spots in the starting lineup. Unfortunately they combined to go 1 for 9 with Strawberry’s single as the only hit.

Sid Fernandez pitched the 8^th inning. After walking the first two hitters, El Sid struck out Brook Jacoby, Jim Rice, and Don Mattingly to retire the side.

July 23, 1969

Current Record: 53-39

Overall Record: 100-62

N.L. 9 A.L. 3

The National League scored all 9 of its runs in the first 4 innings including a 5 run 3^rd to defeat the American League 9-3 at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. In the first inning Moises…I mean Matty Alou led off with a single against AL starter Mel Stottlemeyer. He moved to 2^nd on a groundout and then to third base on a wild pitch. Hank Aaron skied a ball to left field that was dropped by Frank “Hondo” Howard and allowed Alou to score. In the second, Cleon Jones reached on an infield single and was immediately driven in on a 2 run homer from Johnny Bench giving the NL a 3-0 lead. Howard atoned for his error with a solo home in the bottom half of the inning off Steve Carlton to cut the lead to 3-1. Oakland A’s pitcher Blue Moon Odom started the third inning and was rocked by the NL squad. He allowed 5 runs in 1/3 of an inning which was highlighted by a 2 run homer from the bat of Willie McCovey. Later in the inning Felix Millan doubled home Cleon Jones and Johnny Bench and Steve Carlton joined the fun doubling home Millan. Willie McCovey would hit his second home run in the 4^th inning earning him MVP honors for the game. Tigers catcher Bill Freehan drove in the other 2 American League runs on a solo home run in the 3^rd and an RBI single in the 4^th.

Mets notes:

Cleon Jones started in left field and went 2-4 with 2 runs scored.

Jerry Koosman pitched a scoreless 1 2/3 innings only giving up a only a double to Rico Petrucelli and striking out Brooks Robinson.

Tom Seaver was named to the all-star team but did not appear in the game.

July 10, 1962

Current Record: 23-59

Overall Record: 40-120

N.L 3 A.L 1 (game one)

1962 was the final year that major league baseball hosted two all-star games a season. It was also the first year that MVP awards were given after the game. Jim Bunning and Don Drysdale began a pitcher duel. Each went 3 scoreless innings of 1 hit ball. Juan Marichal and Camillo Pascual continued the pitchers duel until the NL broke through in the 6^th. Stan Musial led off with a single and was removed for Maury Wills. Wills stole second and was driven in by a Dick Groat RBI single. Groat would later score on Orlando Cepeda’s RBI ground out for a 2-0 advantage. In the bottom of the 6^th inning Roger Maris drove home the only AL run with a sacrifice fly scoring Rich Rollins. Felipe Alou knocked in the only other game for the NL as Milwaukee Braves pitcher pitched the final two innings for the save and a 3-1 victory. Maury Wills came off the bench to be named MVP with a hit, stolen base and 2 runs scored.

July 30, 1962

A.L. 9 N.L. 4 (game two)

The American League got their revenge at Wrigley Field in the second all-star game of the year with a 9-4 victory. Angels left fielder Leon Wagner was named MVP going 3 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI’s. The AL put the game away in the top of the 7^th inning. With Turk Farrell on the mound, Rocky Colavito smacked a 3 run homer scoring Brooks Robinson and Roger Maris to give the AL a 7-1 lead. White Sox starter Ray Herbert got the win and Phillies starter Art Mahaffey took the loss for the NL.

Mets notes:

Richie Ashburn pinch hit in the 7^th inning of game two and singled to left in his only at bat and scored on a Dick Groat RBI groundout. He did not play in game one.