Billy Wagner douses the fire

The Mets' poor play against a pair of last-place teams lit the match last week, but it was Billy Wagner's words that whipped a small flame into a wildfire. The Mets were transformed from underachievers to a club in crisis with a schism in the clubhouse.

The fire is out now. Wagner doused it when he made his first eighth-inning appearance of the season and snuffed the Yankees with a four-out save for a 7-4 win Saturday at the Stadium. It was his first save of more than three outs in nearly two years. Wagner certainly caused some stir by calling teammates out and demanding accountability after the Mets dropped their third game in four to the Nationals on Thursday at Shea. Still, he remains irreplaceable in that closer's role. His save not only won a game, it changed the tenor of the clubhouse and took some heat off Willie Randolph. Continue