Mets baseball blog

Mets' win streak ends at 10 as John Maine falls apart in loss to Reds

The Amazin' run couldn't last forever. John Maine failed to complete the fifth inning and the Mets' stay in first place lasted just a day as their winning streak was snapped at 10 games with a 5-2 loss to the Reds Friday night.

The Mets (52-45) fell one victory shy of matching a franchise-record 11-game winning streak, which has been achieved in 1969, '72, '86 and '90. Their last loss had come July 4 in Philadelphia, when Johan Santana departed after eight innings and 95 pitches with the score tied at 2 and Duaner Sanchez surrendered a game-ending RBI single to Shane Victorino. Continue

Mets rally late, win 10th straight, 10-8 over Reds to tie Phillies for 1st

One month ago the Mets were in shambles. Today, they are in first place. Exactly one month to the day of Willie Randolph's 3 a.m. firing, the Mets used some late magic Thursday night, scoring four times in the top of the ninth to drop the Reds, 10-8, and pull into a first-place tie with the idle Phillies. The victory was also their 10th straight, and improved their record under Jerry Manuel, who took over for Randolph, to 18-9.

"We've been taking such a beating all year long for how we play the game and what we've done wrong and what little we've done right," said Billy Wagner, who shook off his All-Star Game failure to record a 1-2-3 ninth Thursday night. "I love seeing guys who told us two weeks ago how bad we stunk, and now they're going, 'Well, you're in first place.' " Continue

Mets sweep Rockies for 9th win in row, two shy of franchise mark

Have your sendoff to Yankee Stadium if you must. After all, important stuff like Home Run Derby champ and World Series home-field advantage must be resolved. But must the Mets take a three-day hiatus?

Mike Pelfrey tossed eight scoreless innings and the Mets charged into the All-Star break with their ninth straight victory, a 7-0 win Sunday night over Colorado. Seven-and-a-half games out of first place on June 13, the Mets (51-44) have closed that deficit to a half-game, and are even in the loss column with the NL East-leading Phillies. Continue

Pedro Martinez, Mets win eighth straight, one-hit Rockies in 3-0 win

Pedro Martinez pronounced his surgically repaired shoulder in good health despite getting pulled after four innings. The Mets' pursuit of the Phillies is in even better shape.

Martinez and relievers Carlos Muniz, Aaron Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis and Billy Wagner combined on the 33rd one-hitter in team history as the Mets won their eighth straight, 3-0, over the Rockies at Shea to pull within a half-game of Philadelphia for first place in the NL East. Continue

Damion Easley hits homer in eighth, gives Mets 2-1 win vs. Rockies

Take your time, Luis Castillo. Damion Easley belted a solo homer on a full-count fastball from Taylor Buchholz with two out in the eighth and the Mets ran their winning streak to seven games with a 2-1 victory over the Rockies Friday night at Shea.

Easley - who sat out Thursday's matinee against San Francisco because of a barking left quadriceps muscle, which he irritated in St. Louis, during the series that saw Castillo land on the DL - actually winced when he tweaked the muscle two pitches before the homer. Still, Easley is now 16-for-38 with eight RBI in his last 10 games, coinciding with Castillo's strained left hip flexor sidelining him. He's been one of the super subs who have carried the Mets (49-44) during their current surge, along with Fernando Tatis, Endy Chavez and Ramon Castro. Continue

Fernando Tatis delivers, Mets beat San Francisco for 6th straight win

Between Ryan Church's concussions and Moises Alou's myriad of ailments, there have been too many questions regarding the Mets' starting outfield. Look inside the team's current hot streak and an answer may be emerging.

Fernando Tatis had his second big day in a week as the Mets extended their winning streak to a season-best six games and completed a sweep of the Giants with a 7-3 victory before 48,755 at Shea Thursday. He had a three extra-base hits, including a two-run home run that broke a 3-3 tie in the seventh, and finished the day with four RBI. Continue

Ramon Castro's homer backs Johan Santana in Mets' 5-0 win over Giants

Standing on the mound in a mounting downpour, Johan Santana Wednesday night evoked images of Charlie Brown. The only thing missing was the bubble over his head screaming "It's only a little rain!" Who can blame him for not wanting to follow his teammates off the field? The Mets' hard-luck ace was one out away from putting himself in position to end the most frustrating stretch of his career. Continue

Mike Pelfrey beats Tim Lincecum as Mets win 4th straight

Tim Lincecum is the hotshot magazine cover boy, the first-of-many-times All-Star, the so-called biggest arm in the smallest of packages. And Mike Pelfrey outpitched him Tuesday night in every imaginable way.

Pelfrey won his fifth consecutive decision over eight starts with seven tidy innings of three-hit ball. And he never looked back following Carlos Beltran's three-run homer in the first inning off Lincecum, as the Mets returned home and continued rolling with a 7-0 victory over the Giants at Shea. Continue

Mets hold off Phillies 10-9 to move within 2-1/2 games of first place

Which is more incomprehensible: Blowing a seven-game lead with 17 to play? Or a nine-run lead with four innings to play? Apparently the former. Just barely.

The Mets avoided setting a team record for largest blown lead, holding on for a 10-9 victory over the Phillies Monday night to move within 2-1/2 games of first place. They also moved over .500 for the first time since June 5. Afterward, they labeled the win character-building. They would have preferred comfortable. Continue

Billy Wagner blows save, Fernando Tatis' homer in 12th lifts Mets

Watch out Cubs fans. World Series home-field advantage may be riding on Billy Wagner. On the day he was named the Mets' All-Star representative, and was one strike from notching his 20th save, Wagner served up a game-tying two-run homer to Jayson Werth. Thankfully for Wagner, the Mets salvaged a 4-2 victory over the Phillies Sunday on a two-run homer by Fernando Tatis off Chad Durbin in the 12th combined with 2-1/3 scoreless innings from Joe Smith. Continue

Mets rally late to beat Phillies, but lose John Maine & Ryan Church

The Mets got a big win Saturday night, but the losses they suffered might be even bigger. Ryan Church had to leave with dizziness, and John Maine exited prematurely, overshadowing a 9-4 victory over the Phillies that cut the Mets' deficit in the NL East to 4-1/2 games.

After consulting by telephone with Anita Wu, the Hospital for Special Surgery neurologist who has treated him for concussions, Church - who has had two concussions this year - insisted his dizziness was the .result of migraine headaches he's experienced since high school. But there's no way to know for sure, and the right fielder acknowledged that increased frequency of migraines can be a byproduct of concussions. Church started experiencing a bad headache in the front of his head on the right side midway through the game. Even his eyes began throbbing as dizziness .surfaced. He left the game in the eighth. Church sat out Friday's game with fatigue, another post-concussion symptom. Continue

Shane Victorino's single in ninth gives Phillies 3-2 win over Mets

For $137.5 million, the Mets expect Johan Santana to hold a two-run lead, even on a night when he gets little support. But that's exactly what he couldn't do Friday night, and on a night of missed opportunities, the biggest one might have been the chance for the Mets to inch closer in the NL East race.

Interim manager Jerry Manuel pulled Santana from a tie game after eight innings and 95 pitches. Duaner Sanchez then allowed a two-out single to Shane Victorino in the ninth that scored Pedro Feliz as the Phillies rallied for a 3-2 win in the opener of a four-game series. The Mets dropped 51/2 games behind first-place Philadelphia. Continue

Mike Pelfrey, sluggers lead Mets to 11-1 win over Cardinals

Well, they're ready for the Phillies. The Mets battered rookie Mitchell Boggs for 11 runs and Mike Pelfrey took a scoreless effort into the sixth inning in an 11-1 rout of the Cardinals Thursday night at Busch Stadium. Now, the main event: a four-game series against division-leading Philadelphia, which holds a 4-1/2-game lead.

"I've said all along this is a big stretch for us playing the Yankees, and then playing a good St. Louis team, and then with the guys that we're chasing," said David Wright, who looked uncomfortable when he was pulled from the game in the sixth. "It's a big week. Obviously we can make up some ground or we can create some more work for us later in the year. I think we're playing good baseball. I like the way we're fighting back when we get down early. But, more importantly, we need some wins - especially against a team that you're chasing." Continue

Pedro Martinez, Pedro Feliciano falter as Mets succumb to Cardinals

Pedro Martinez was battered for a third straight game, but this time the Mets appeared to bail him out. That was until another Pedro - Feliciano - helped hand the Mets another in a string of heartbreaking defeats.

Chris Duncan's homer on the first pitch Feliciano threw in the eighth tied the game, and then Troy Glaus homered off Carlos Muniz with two outs in the ninth as the Cardinals sunk the Mets, 8-7, dropping them two games under .500 (41-43) and 4-1/2 behind the Phillies in the NL East. Continue

Tony Armas Jr. wins season debut as Mets down Cardinals 7-4

As Duaner Sanchez lay face down on the infield at Busch Stadium, he inevitably thought back to the 20 months he worked to get back to the big leagues following a taxicab accident. Fortunately for the reliever, he escaped Tuesday night's scare - when an eighth-inning line drive from Yadier Molina struck him on the inside of the right knee - relatively unscathed.

So the Mets could feel good about the 14-hit attack they put up in a 7-4 win over the Cardinals, even if Sanchez had to deal with a bruise that was sore in the clubhouse afterward. Ramon Castro had three RBI, David Wright and Carlos Delgado each had three hits and a walk, and Tony Armas Jr. earned the victory in his first big-league start with the organization as the Mets moved to 7-7 under Jerry Manuel. Continue

Oliver Perez pitches Mets over Yankees in Subway wrapup

Jerry Manuel was full of chuckles in his postgame press conference Sunday, dubbing winner Oliver Perez "Gangster Ollie" and gleefully telling the story of how he decided to watch only the catcher's mitt - not the pitcher - during the early innings so he wouldn't have a firsthand view of the lefty's usual inconsistencies.

But Perez was only maddening to the Yankees Sunday in one of his best performances of the season. After tweaking his windup and mind-set, "Gangster Ollie" allowed three hits and one run over seven innings in the Mets' 3-1 victory over their crosstown rivals in front of 56,277 at Shea. Continue

Little engine that could? It isn't Pedro Martinez much longer

On nights like this, it's hard to remember what Pedro Martinez looked like when he was the baddest man in baseball, the cocky gunslinger feared as much for his knockdown pitch as his fastball. On nights like this, you wonder how quickly time is running out on Pedro, and whether he has enough left to help the Mets make a second-half run at October this season.

It's not only that Martinez gave up six runs in 5-2/3 innings in a 9-0 loss to the Yankees Friday night, as these two inconsistent ballclubs fittingly split yesterday's day-night doubleheader. Continue

Carlos Delgado's bat does talking for Jerry Manuel, Mets

The afternoon belonged to Carlos Delgado, who drove in nine runs on three swings and might have provided an answer to the brute of a question, high and hard, that was directed at Jerry Manuel. It was before the game, before the 234 minutes that ended with the Mets punishing the Yanks, 15-6, in their house. Now they'll definitely have to tear it down.

Delgado, two days past his 36th birthday, has been playing older than that this season. The sports crowd wants him sent away, pronto. They've seen enough, too much. And the question for Manuel was very close to the complaint heard so frequently on the sports stations. Continue

David Wright, John Maine lead Mets over Mariners, 8-2

Give David Wright another day off. Oh, Thursday's a Mets off-day before the Subway Series? Perfect. Wright, who had been the final big leaguer to play every inning this season, returned from a respite forced on him by interim manager Jerry Manuel and slugged homers in his first two at-bats. Jose Reyes also homered, and John Maine didn't surrender a hit until the fifth inning as the Mets beat the Mariners, 8-2, Wednesday night at Shea.

The rout salvaged the finale of a disappointing series against lowly Seattle, moved the Mets (38-39) back to within a game of .500 and made them 4-4 under Manuel as Thursday's two-borough doubleheader against the Yankees looms. Continue

Enough! Jerry talks shakeup

Jerry Manuel has seen enough. The Mets need to start winning often - or else he'll have to consider making some dramatic moves. The Mets were annihilated last night at Shea Stadium, embarrassed by a horrible team and shut down by an atrocious pitcher. They were trounced 11-0 by the Mariners, the worst team in the majors, in a beating that was beyond rock bottom.

Manuel, who was also ejected in the fourth inning along with Carlos Beltran, pronounced the Mets a flat-out "bad offensive club" and declared there could be radical changes if the team doesn't start putting up. Continue

Felix Hernandez hits grand slam for Mariners in 5-2 win vs. Mets

Jerry Manuel insisted he wasn't ripping Mets fans with his misconstrued fertilizer analogy Sunday in Colorado, but something surely still stinks at Shea Stadium. One of those things, Manuel admits, is the team's approach at the plate.

The Mets returned home Monday night from a successful road trip - before and after Willie Randolph and two coaches were fired last Monday - and the boos resurfaced almost immediately in a limp 5-2 loss to baseball's worst team, the Seattle Mariners. Continue

Mike Pelfrey, Mets take rubber game from Rockies, 3-1

- One week later, the Mets return to Shea with a new manager, three new coaches and - most importantly - a new lease on life in the NL East.

The Mets won their third straight series Sunday, beating the Rockies, 3-1, at Coors Field to cap an eventful road trip that included the 3 a.m. firing of Willie Randolph, Rick Peterson and Tom Nieto at a Costa Mesa, Calif., hotel. Despite a modest .500 record, they arrive home for Jerry Manuel's Flushing debut as interim manager just 3-1/2 games behind the free-falling Phillies, who dropped their fifth straight Sunday. Continue

Pedro Martinez roughed up by Rockies, fails to make it out of 5th in loss

- Pedro Martinez looked to be in top form for four innings. Then he imploded. Not that it mattered anyway. The Mets mustered only two hits in eight innings against Rockies starter Ubaldo Jimenez and lost, 7-1, Saturday night at Coors Field. Martinez allowed his most runs since surrendering seven in 2-2/3 innings to the Braves on Sept. 27, 2006. It was after that outing that he headed for rotator cuff surgery.

"Man, I'll tell you what, he was cruising," interim manager Jerry Manuel said. "I thought that was probably the best we had seen him at this point. Obviously I'd seen him early in his career be dominant. He's just at that point in his career where a little mistake here, a little mistake there, it can cost him. But I feel very good about the stuff that he has." Continue

Trot Nixon, Carlos Delgado hit homers, Mets beat Rockies 7-2

- Four weeks after Omar Minaya arrived at Coors Field to offer his "support" for Willie Randolph, the Mets returned here for another series against the Rockies with that long ordeal finally having been resolved. And the sudden positive feelings only continued Friday night as the Mets moved within 4-1/2 games of the first-place Phillies - and just three games in the loss column.

Carlos Delgado and Trot Nixon homered, and John Maine tossed five-plus scoreless frames after allowing a first-inning longball to Jeff Baker, as the Mets reached .500 for the first time in two weeks with a 7-2 win against Colorado. Continue

Damion Easley homers in 10th, gives Jerry Manuel 1st win as Mets skipper

Omar Minaya justified firing Willie Randolph in part because of the Mets' inability to come back when facing late deficits. In fact, the Mets had just one win in 32 games when trailing after eight innings entering Wednesday night. Make that two wins.

David Wright ended Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez's consecutive saves streak at 25 when his two-out single in the ninth drove in Jose Reyes, who went 3-for-5 and scored three times a night after showing up his new boss. Damion Easley's solo homer in the 10th off Justin Speier then lifted the Mets to a 5-4 rubber-game victory against the Angels that evened interim manager Jerry Manuel's record at 1-1. Continue

Mets tumble in Jerry Manuel's debut as Jose Reyes throws early tantrum

Jerry Manuel's honeymoon as Willie Randolph's replacement lasted one play. It took Jose Reyes that long to test the interim manager's authority. After Reyes singled to open the tenure of the 19th manager in Mets history, the sparkplug's left hamstring tightened and he looked uncomfortable at first base.

Manuel approached Reyes, and out of caution tried to pull him from the game. Reyes walked away, wanting no part of the departure. He eventually consented, but tossed his helmet. The duo smoothed things out after the half-inning, when Manuel entered the tunnel toward the clubhouse and approached Reyes to explain the maneuver. Continue

Mets tumble in Jerry Manuel's debut as Jose Reyes throws early tantrum

Jerry Manuel's honeymoon as Willie Randolph's replacement lasted one play. It took Jose Reyes that long to test the interim manager's authority. After Reyes singled to open the tenure of the 19th manager in Mets history, the sparkplug's left hamstring tightened and he looked uncomfortable at first base.

Manuel approached Reyes, and out of caution tried to pull him from the game. Reyes walked away, wanting no part of the departure. He eventually consented, but tossed his helmet. The duo smoothed things out after the half-inning, when Manuel entered the tunnel toward the clubhouse and approached Reyes to explain the maneuver. Continue

Mets win in Willie Randolph's final game

Carlos Beltran hit a pair of solo homers and Mike Pelfrey picked up his first win since April 15 despite getting charged with six runs as the Mets held on to beat the AL West-leading Angels, 9-6, Monday night. It was the 11th two-homer game of Beltran's Mets tenure, and the 23rd of his career.

However, the victory could not save manager Willie Randolph, who was fired along with two coaches after the game. The Mets won for the third time in four games after their series win against the Rangers in Flushing over the weekend - even if Monday night's game took a scary turn in the seventh. Continue

Billy Wagner gets save as Mets gain split against Rangers

Father's Day for Willie Randolph didn't begin with breakfast in bed. Those days, he said, are long over. Instead it started with two games and a cross-country flight on his schedule, an empty suitcase in front of him and more than enough questions in his head to fill it.

The Mets did enough Sunday at Shea to get Randolph on that flight. They rallied from a two-run deficit to score a 4-2 victory in the nightcap after an 8-7 loss in the opener. Randolph's tough call to remove cruising starter Pedro Martinez for pinch-hitter Robinson Cancel delivered the game-winning runs in the nightcap. Continue

Oliver Perez throws gem, Mets shut down Rangers 7-1

No chances for a blown save this time. Only for some saved jobs, at least for another day. With Willie Randolph's job in grave danger, Oliver Perez welcomed the Texas Rangers to Flushing for the first time in three decades by tossing seven solid innings and hitting a two-run single as the Mets won, 7-1, Friday night.

That desperately needed contribution came with the Mets (32-34) having lost six of their past seven games - a stretch that included three emotionally crushing blown saves by Billy Wagner. "It's a big contrast to what's been going on," Randolph said. "Tonight felt like a walk in the park." Continue

Billy Wagner blows 3rd straight save in Mets' loss to Diamondbacks

Billy Wagner suddenly has Mets fans pining for the good ol' days of Armando Benitez. On Wednesday night, Mike Pelfrey finally lived up to his billing as a first-round pick, and Thursday, Johan Santana was nothing short of a full-fledged ace. Over the two games, they worked 15 stellar innings. Thanks to Wagner, neither has a victory to show for their efforts.

With Thursday's outing, Wagner has blown three saves in as many appearances and Carlos Beltran couldn't rescue the Mets this time as they wasted Santana's seven shutout innings against the Diamondbacks with yet another giveaway loss, 5-4, in 10 innings Thursday at Shea. Continue

Carlos Beltran's homer wins it in 13th for Mets, bails out Billy Wagner

One down, 61 more wins to go. But what a way to get there. After a shocking and disheartening top of the ninth, Carlos Beltran brought bedlam back to Shea with a two-run homer in the 13th inning to lift the Mets to a 5-3 win Wednesday night over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Mike Pelfrey had taken a shutout bid into the ninth in his longest career outing, with the Shea faithful even cheering Willie Randolph for sending the 2005 first-round pick back to the mound for the final frame with his pitch count at 110. But with the Mets one strike from beating MLB wins leader Brandon Webb and snapping a five-game losing streak, Wagner turned in his third crushing blown save in three weeks. Continue

Despite meeting, Mets blow lead and fall to Diamondbacks 9-5 at Shea

Few grand plans have gotten off to a worse start than the Mets' new one did Tuesday night. They haven't played like a playoff team, but the Mets still believe they are one. And Tuesday, before facing the Diamondbacks, the Mets players emerged from a brief players-only, closed-door meeting, each carrying a piece of paper with a blueprint for a future that includes the postseason.

No part of it included blowing a four-run lead and falling, 9-5, at Shea. Reliever Joe Smith surrendered a a go-ahead solo homer to Chris Snyder in the eighth and Duaner Sanchez coughed up three more runs in the ninth to complete the Mets' undoing. Continue

Tony Clark's pinch-hit HR off Billy Wagner gives Padres sweep of Mets

That machete Omar Minaya had smuggled to Colorado might get some use if this persists much longer. Two weeks after the Wilpons hauled Willie Randolph into a meeting to explain himself, the Mets again return home two games under .500, and again coming off a trip that included being swept in four games. Only now, the division leader is the Phillies, not the Marlins. And the 7-1/2-game deficit is the Mets' largest in the NL East since 2005. Continue

Mets offense sputters again, fall to Padres 2-1 for third straight game

Whether it's Mike Pelfrey, Johan Santana or Oliver Perez on the mound, scoring just one run isn't going to get it done for the Mets.

For the third straight night, the Mets lost a 2-1 game to the Padres. This time the defeat came in the 10th inning, when Scott Hairston homered off Pedro Feliciano. The Mets dropped below .500 and will attempt to avoid being swept in four games - it would be their second such sweep in less than a month - when Pedro Martinez opposes Wil Ledezma Sunday. Continue

Johan Santana's gaffe aids Padres rally in 2-1 Mets loss

Johan Santana earned a Gold Glove last season with the Twins. But when the $137.5 million Mets ace needed a fielding gem Friday night, he came up short. As a result, so did the Mets, who lost their second straight to the Padres, 2-1, to fall back to .500.

Santana, who scored the game's first run in the top of the sixth, surrendered a leadoff double to Scott Hairston in the bottom half. Edgar Gonzalez then attempted a sacrifice bunt, which Santana pounced on in front of the mound. But Santana's throw one-hopped David Wright at third, and Hairston slid in safely. Santana was charged with his first error in two seasons. Continue

Mets lose 2-1 to Padres, Schoeneweis gives up run with bases loaded

Mike Pelfrey, who retained his rotation spot when Pedro Martinez returned from a strained hamstring, did little to make Mets brass regret that decision. The former first-round pick twice stranded the bases loaded and allowed only one run in six innings Thursday night. But the Mets' bats fizzled in clutch situations and Scott Schoeneweis couldn't preserve a tie score in the ninth as the Padres dealt the Mets just their third defeat in 10 games, 2-1. Continue

Jose Reyes comes through for Mets in 5-3 win over Giants

Jose Reyes approached John Maine in the dugout after the shortstop's fourth-inning homer, but not to perform a new choreographed dance move with the pitcher. "He came over and patted me after he hit it," Maine said.

Reyes, whose two-out error the previous half-inning had allowed the Giants to get on the scoreboard, repaid Maine with a two-run shot over the right-field wall. Those proved the deciding runs as the Mets won Wednesday's rubber game against the Giants, 5-3. Continue

Pedro Martinez goes six innings in return as Mets beat Giants, 9-6

Joba Chamberlain got the hype. Pedro Martinez got the win. Martinez arrived in the visitors' clubhouse, and settled into a chair by his locker and caught a glimpse of the Yankee phenom's much-ballyhooed first start on television. Then Martinez showed he could be effective after missing two months with a strained left hamstring.

Matching up against free-agent mega-bust Barry Zito for the second time in their careers - the first meeting came in Boston's Game 5 division series win against Oakland in 2003 - Martinez, pitching for the first time since April 1, beat the Giants, 9-6. Continue

Oliver Perez, Mets take Giant beating

Willie Randolph chatted with Claudio Vargas during batting practice, informing the journeyman that he had been reassigned to the bullpen with Pedro Martinez slated to rejoin the rotation. Neither knew just how quickly Vargas would be pressed into the new role.

Oliver Perez singlehandedly doused the enthusiasm of a successful home stand, recording just one out in the shortest appearance of his career as the Mets' West Coast trip began with a 10-2 loss to the Giants Monday night. Continue

Mets hammer Dodgers behind third-inning homers and Johan Santana

The sounds at Shea, from the start of the week until the end, told the story. The Mets arrived home last Monday to a hostile holiday crowd, with cascading boos and calls for Willie Randolph's head the audible backdrop for a team on the verge of shambles. What a difference seven days make.

Saturday's comeback hero Carlos Beltran and concussion-comebacker Ryan Church (three hits) each blasted a two-run home run in a five-run third inning and Johan Santana pitched into the eighth as the Mets completed a turnaround home stand with a 6-1 win over the Dodgers. The Mets took three of four from Joe Torre's team before heading to San Francisco with renewed vigor. Continue

Carlos Beltran, Fernando Tatis spark comeback as Mets beat Dodgers

Carols Beltran mimicked Jimmy Rollins when the center fielder declared the Mets the NL East's "team to beat" back in February. But unlike the Phillies' shortstop, who backed up last year's prediction with an MVP season, Beltran had done little to support his boast. That is, until the eighth inning Saturday, with the Mets in danger of again dropping two games under .500 - exactly where they'd been when they arrived home from Colorado and Willie Randolph was called into a meeting with the Wilpons. Continue

Russell Martin gets four hits, Dodgers snap streak and beat Mets 9-5

Aaron Heilman had pitched four scoreless innings on this home stand, earning an insertion during a meaningful moment. So Willie Randolph asked the righthander to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning Friday night, after Pedro Feliciano allowed a disputed leadoff infield single.

Soon afterward, the celebratory atmosphere that had enveloped Shea for four days vanished. So, too, did the Mets' three-game winning streak.Heilman allowed four straight hits and was booed off the mound. Randolph was jeered, too, for the decision to turn to Heilman. The Dodgers eventually scored five runs in the inning en route to a 9-5 win that dropped the Mets back below .500. Continue

David Wright blasts two homers, Mets beat Dodgers in Joe Torre's return to NY

How about a contract extension? David Wright belted a pair of two-run homers off Brad Penny, and Endy Chavez used his arm for heroics a night after using his bat, as the Mets welcomed Joe Torre back to New York by returning to .500 with an 8-4 win against the Dodgers Thursday night. The Mets' third straight victory marked their longest winning streak since April 26-29 against Atlanta and Pittsburgh and perhaps can suspend the daily dissection of Willie Randolph's future.

"Back to .500. That's where you want to push from, get away from a little bit," Randolph said. "Every year you try to start from there and get five over, 10 over. We've got a ways to go, but it's nice to play well at home and get some rhythm going." Continue

Fernando Tatis, Mets comeback to beat Marlins in bottom of 12th inning

As two pile-up celebrations shook and shimmied around the Shea infield, it suddenly was hard to remember how this week had started for the Mets. If Tuesday's win behind ace Johan Santana supposedly stopped the bleeding, Wednesday night's 7-6 off-the-mat victory in 12 innings started everyone's blood pumping again at rejuvenated Shea.

"This is a game that can really get us rolling," Willie Randolph said after Fernando Tatis' two-run double in the 12th sealed the Mets' second straight victory. "We were talking the other day about comeback victories, and how lately we haven't been that good at it. Continue

Thanks to Johan Santana, Mets and Willie Randolph get much-needed win

Willie Randolph was smiling and cracking jokes. He clearly was more upbeat yesterday than he had been in looking so restless while seated next to GM Omar Minaya after his job was spared Monday.

But Randolph still acknowledged his team needed "to win in the worst way" Tuesday night, and who better to hand the ball to facing such desperation, he surmised, than ace Johan Santana? Santana at least temporarily curbed the insanity at Shea this week, restoring order after the Willie Watch and seven losses in the previous eight games by gutting through seven good-enough innings for a 5-3 Mets victory over the Marlins. Continue

Fielding gaffes fail to boost Willie Randolph and doom Mets vs. Marlins

Is it too soon for the Willie Randolph Watch to be back on again? If not, what time is today's organizational meeting? Omar Minaya's insistence that "Willie's job was never in danger" entering their Shea summit with ownership Monday was belied by sources who said the Wilpons were fully prepared to ax Randolph, depending on his level of contrition.

After Randolph admitted he was given no assurance that he will keep his job through the end of the season, the Mets responded to the news that he is staying with another sloppy loss, 7-3, last night to the Marlins at Shea - with a handful of fans chanting "Fire Willie" at the end. Continue

For Jose Reyes as for Willie Randolph, can it possibly get any worse?

Somehow, this felt like the worst loss of all for the Mets in a season already defined by unfulfilled promise, and maybe a loss that could cost the manager his job. The Rockies, mired in misery themselves these days, were missing five of their best hitters due to injury, and put what looked like a Triple-A team on the field Sunday. Yet the Mets lost, 4-1, partly because their punchless offense couldn't touch Aaron Cook, and partly because Jose Reyes looks like a lost soul on the ballfield these days.

So at this point, the Mets' decision-makers can justify just about anything. If they think they should fire Willie Randolph to make the fans happy and hope it somehow jolts the indifference out of their $140 million ballclub, it's hard to even argue. Continue

Evans' three-double debut leads Mets

Knowing full well that his job could be at stake this weekend, Willie Randolph filled out a lineup card Saturday that included Fernando Tatis in rightfield and Nick Evans, an emergency call-up from Double-A Binghamton, in left.

Forget that Tatis, primarily a corner infielder, is a liability every time his feet stray from the dirt. Evans, a 22-year-old converted first baseman, was making his major-league debut in the middle of a five-game losing streak that ultimately might get Randolph fired. Sticking both of them in Coors Field, home of the most spacious outfield in the majors, seemed like a death wish for Randolph. But instead of providing the next nail in his coffin, Evans put a smile on the beleaguered manager's face by starring in the Mets' 9-2 win over the Rockies. Continue

Mets lose in 13 innings to Rockies, drop fifth straight

Where's the support for Willie Randolph? He didn't legitimately get it from GM Omar Minaya, who arrived for a hastily arranged visit and would offer only a carefully worded endorsement of his manager. Not from Billy Wagner, who blew his second save when he gave up a game-tying solo homer to Matt Holliday in the ninth inning. And not from Aaron Heilman, who surrendered a game-ending RBI single to Holliday in the 13th as the Mets lost their fifth straight game, 6-5, to the Rockies Friday night at Coors Field to gravely endanger Randolph's job security. Continue

Mets swept by Braves in Atlanta, Willie Randolph's job in jeopardy

Willie Randolph's job wasn't considered in imminent danger Thursday afternoon, but the manager will be in trouble if the Mets don't salvage the remainder of their seven-game trip that continues tonight in Colorado, the Daily News has learned.

Thursday night's 4-2 loss to the Braves, which capped a four-game sweep that dropped the Mets below .500 for the first time since April 9, only further imperiled Randolph. Fred Wilpon, the team's principal owner, and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon will handle the decision about whether to change skippers - not GM Omar Minaya, according to sources. Continue

Mets blasted by Braves again as Willie Randolph back-pedals

Who's sorry now? Embattled manager Willie Randolph, who earlier in the day publicly apologized for comments critical of SNY, Met fans and the media, witnessed an 11-4 stinker Wednesday night that included the loss of Moises Alou to a strained left calf.

The third straight loss dropped the Mets to .500 as they continued to look unlike the team that knocked the Yankees around the Bronx. "It's not acceptable. That's not the way we want to play baseball," Randolph said about his team's Atlanta showing. ". . . We're better than this. But it's up to the players, and all of us, to keep working and find a way to get it done." Continue

Ryan Church gets bell rung, Mets swept by Braves in doubleheader

That optimism generated by a Subway Series sweep didn't last 48 hours. The Mets were swept by the Braves in a day-night doubleheader Tuesday, undoubtedly renewing the chatter about Willie Randolph's future. Worse, Ryan Church - the Mets' top performer - headed to the hospital after suffering his second concussion in three months trying to break up a game-ending double play in the nightcap.

The Mets lost, 6-1 and 6-2. "We had all the momentum in the world coming into this series and couldn't do anything with it," David Wright said. "Our record (22-21) shows it - it's inconsistency. It's mediocrity." Continue

Tom Glavine pitches Braves past Mets

After a very shaky start, Tom Glavine was downright unhittable against his former team. Glavine retired his last 17 batters during his first post-New York appearance against the Mets and led the Atlanta Braves to another home win, 6-1 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader Tuesday.

The 42-year-old left-hander allowed only three hits and a walk - all in the first. He left after six innings, and Will Ohman, Blaine Boyer and Manny Acosta finished for the Braves. After the first, the Mets didn't have another runner until Jose Reyes singled off Boyer with two outs in the eighth. New York, coming off a two-game sweep of the Yankees, managed just six hits. Continue

Mets maul Yankees, overcome negated homer to take both games at Stadium

It was never supposed to be this way in the final season at Yankee Stadium - Met fans hanging around at the end of the abbreviated two-game Subway Series set watching their team rout the hosts, making more noise than the subdued, disappointed Yankee faithful.

But this is quickly turning into a forgettable Yankee season, one in which a team that made a dynasty of taking advantage of breaks couldn't find a spark in an overturned Met home run in the fourth inning. A reversal of a three-run homer for Carlos Delgado - and what would have been a six-run Met lead - should have given the Yankees desperate hope, yet it was reduced to trivia in a humiliating 11-2 loss. Continue

Santana, Mets defeat Yankees, 7-4

Both the Mets' and Yankees' seasons will be graded on a curve -- or more specifically a fastball, changeup and slider. The latter three are the pitches Johan Santana throws and he will be the measuring stick for both clubs in 2008.

The Mets will judge themselves on how much Santana helped them, the pitching-hungry Yankees will mark themselves on how much Santana would have helped them, had they decided to acquire him. In any case, it was fitting that in the first meeting between the teams this season, Santana was decisive. He wasn't spectacular, allowing three home runs, but he was sturdy enough to get them a 7-4 win in the opener of the Subway Series at Yankee Stadium. Continue

Boos for Willie's amazin' mess

There are losses, and then there are soul-crushing nightmares that send teams spiraling and get managers fired. For the Mets and embattled boss Willie Randolph, yesterday's 1-0 setback against the last-place Nationals at Shea Stadium could very well be one of those losses. Turning a near no-hitter by Mike Pelfrey into their third loss to Washington in the past four games was so frustrating for the Mets that signs of a clubhouse fracture were evident afterward.

Outspoken closer Billy Wagner barked at reporters for interviewing him instead of center fielder Carlos Beltran and first baseman Carlos Delgado, otherwise known as the two primary culprits in the Mets' nearly season-long hitting funk."Can somebody tell me why the [bleep] the closer is being interviewed and I didn't even play? And why they're over there not being interviewed?" Wagner bellowed as he pointed to the lockers of Beltran and Delgado. "Oh, I got it. They're [bleeping] gone. [Bleeping] shocker." Continue

Aaron Heilman allows three runs in 7th inning, dooms Mets vs. Nationals

Can that Jorge Sosa move be rescinded? Aaron Heilman may be the reliever in need of reassignment. A day after Sosa was sent packing in a bullpen shakeup, Heilman looked like a reliever with a questionable future as he turned a tie game into a brutal 5-3 loss to the cellar-dwelling Nationals at Shea.

Heilman entered a 1-1 game in the top of the seventh, and by the time he was getting booed off the mound, the Mets trailed 5-1, as he not only sunk the Mets to 3-3 on the homestand, he also ruined Claudio Vargas' Met debut. Continue

Ryan Church, John Maine lead Mets past Nationals 6-3 at Shea

Where's the winter outcry about that Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider swap now? Church, aided by former teammate Austin Kearns' misplay in right field, homered and had four RBI as the Mets beat the last-place Nationals, 6-3, Tuesday night at Shea.

The Mets had been 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, but caught a break when Church sent a two-out rope to right field in the sixth. Kearns froze and it narrowly traveled over his head, allowing Schneider and pinch-hitter Fernando Tatis, who was just called up after Angel Pagan went on the DL Tuesday, to score as the Mets took a 4-2 lead. Continue

After Mets' loss, Nelson Figueroa calls Nationals 'bunch of softball girls'

Nelson Figueroa knows about bush league baseball. After all, he's toured the world trying to resurrect his major league career. But not until Monday night did Figueroa witness a truly amateurish display, the Mets pitcher suggested. Incensed at the chants emanating from the Washington dugout during the Mets' 10-4 loss Monday night at Shea, Figueroa ripped the Nationals afterward.

"They were cheerleading in the dugout like a bunch of softball girls," Figueroa said. "I'm a professional, just like anybody else. I take huge offense to that. If that's what a last-place team needs to do to fire themselves up, so be it. I think you need to show a little bit more class, a little bit more professionalism. They won tonight, but again, in the long run, they are who they are." Continue

Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church hit back-to-back homers as Mets blast Reds

The Mets' bats might not be totally red-hot, but they are at least pink-hot. Willie Randolph and several players believe it's no coincidence that the Mets' lineup has sprung to life - 33 runs in winning three of their past four games - since Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado finally have started to produce. Beltran, one of several Mets and players across baseball to swing pink bats on Mother's Day in the fight against breast cancer, homered to complete an eight-RBI weekend against the Reds, lifting Oliver Perez to an 8-3 victory over Cincinnati Sunday at Shea. Continue

Mets are like night and day in doubleheader, split games vs. Reds

The Mets' day-night doubleheader at Shea Saturday produced several positives, from a possible reawakening of Carlos Beltran's bat to a strong outing by struggling young pitcher Mike Pelfrey. But the prevailing emotion in the clubhouse following the nightcap against the Reds was regret thanks to an awful final two innings.

The Mets were able to celebrate their 12-6 victory over the Reds in the opener for "about an hour," David Wright said, before beginning preparations for Game 2, a disheartening 7-1 loss in which they wasted what Willie Randolph called Pelfrey's "best outing of the season." Continue

John Maine dominant as Mets deck Dodgers in Los Angeles

John Maine fell two outs shy of a complete game, but the Mets' victory over the Dodgers Wednesday was complete in virtually every other way. A day after stranding 13 baserunners and watching an early three-run lead erode - Willie Randolph suggested his team "gave away" that game - the Mets forged a split of a six-game trip to Arizona and L.A. by tagging two-time All-Star Brad Penny for a career-high 10 runs on the way to a 12-1 win.

Even Maine contributed to the barrage. Hitless in his last 23 at-bats dating to his outing last Aug. 26 against the Dodgers, Maine delivered a two-out, two-run single to center in the fifth that pushed the lead to 6-0. Continue