This, That, and the Other Thing on a Busy Friday

Hey everyone, A Friend of Mr. Glass' here. Sorry to say but I've gotta keep this brief -- things got a little crazy here at the office and I've gotta get back to business of the non-blogging variety.

But you know we here at Y2K could never leave you in the lurch, so in that spirit I do have a few thoughts for you:

1. If you read four articles today (this being the first, naturally), be sure to read Lisa Olsen's "Wilpons Getting It All Right" in the Daily News, Mike Vaccaro's "Jugger-Mets Kept Their Promise to Pedro" in the Post, and Ben Shpigel's "Reyes and Wright Are Hitting, and Hitting Their Stride" in the Times.

If you want to understand the current state of the Mets, read them in that order.

As the Mets extended their lead in the NL East to 10 games for the first time since Oct. 2, 1988, there is much to be excited about.

You can take your cue from Olsen and be excited that the House of Wilpon finally smartened up and took a step back sometime late in the summer of 2004. By then it was too late to save Scott Kazmir, but as the standings suggest, it wasn't too late to save the Mets.

Or you can take your cue from Vaccaro and be thankful that Pedro Martinez ever brought his show to Shea Stadium, leaving the world champions behind in favor of a bunch that had gone 71-91 a year earlier. David Wright may soak up the "M-V-P!" chants at Shea, but it was Martinez who brought the buzz back, it was Martinez who put the key in the ignition and got the Mets rolling.

Or you can do as I did and take your cue from Shpigel.

Believe me, I give a lot of credit to the Wilpons. One of the hardest things in life is admitting one's failures and shortcomings, but sometimes it's necessary.

I doubt very highly that the Mets would be where they are today, 18 games over .500 with a present and future as bright as any team's in baseball, if the Wilpons hadn't been able to look themselves in the mirror and accept some of the blame for the horrible seasons from 2002-to-2004.

And I give Pedro a lot of credit for taking a chance on the Mets. I don't want to romanticize it too much -- we all know he went where the money and the years were -- but I think we all agree that none of this would have been possible this quickly without him signing with us.


But for me, my enjoyment of this team begins with the two kids on the left side of the infield. Pedro's put the key in the ignition, yes, but those two are the horsepower that will keep this franchise kicking for the next decade (we hope).

They've each been saluted this past week by Sippy Momo and in countless other corners of the Mets blogosphere, so I'll spare everyone yet another tribute to these two.

2. Speaking of Pedro...

I'm really happy happy he got the win yesterday. Something about him showing up at Fenway with a 6-3 record, let alone 6-4, just didn't sit right.

Nevermind that he could easily have 10 wins by now -- he doesn't have to prove anything to people who have been following him all year.

We all know he hasn't been quite himself his last four times out, but what those fans in Boston are gonna see when they open their newspapers next Wednesday is the entirely respectable following line: RHP P. Martinez: 7-3, 3.01.

I don't quite know what Red Sox fans think of Pedro. I know they would have liked having him last year. But most of all I wouldn't want them to think that he was a shell of his former self.

It's kind of how I feel about the day that Mike Piazza returns to Shea. He's gonna come back with something like a .260 batting average, 14 home runs, 50 RBI, and he's gonna be hitting cleanup in spite of it all and it's gonna be kind of depressing.

In some ways, of course, Pedro is actually a shell of his former self. He's not the guy from 1999 anymore, he's a different kind of pitcher. But what hasn't changed is his success; he might not win 20 games this season, but I sure as hell wouldn't bet against him winning 15-17.

When he returns to Fenway, he won't get the awkward courtesy applause that belongs to former greats who have lost their edge. He'll be the guy that got away, the one they should've never let walk, the one the fans will say "man, if only we'd held on to Pedro..." and for some reason, that makes me happy.

3. Great point by Nails.

My buddy Nails made a great point in an e-mail this morning, here's what he wrote:

"You know what's amazing? I was thinking this yesterday... How many teams could have a prospect as good as [Lastings] Milledge and only need him to pan out to be the 4th best player on our team? It's amazing. If he ends up better than Reyes, Wright or Beltran it is just pure gravy."

Great point. The horses are healthy boys and girls, the horses are healthy.

- A.F.O.M.G.