67 Games

Once before in Y2K history had the Mets turned on a dime immediately after an A.F.O.M.G. hatchet job. That was June 7, 2006, when I ripped the Mets for, among other things, "being unable to put together a decent winning streak". That night they won and they didn't lose again for a total of 8 games straight.

On July 3 I ripped the Mets again, and again they've got me feeling a bit sheepish. The team whose "wins don't prove anything [because they] never string enough of them together to leave any kind of impression" won 9 straight heading into the All Star Break, vaulting themselves into immediate contention for both the NL East and the Wild Card.

If only all it ever took was me ripping the team to provoke a response.

* * * * *

There's an old Bobby V adage that I've always been fond of. Teams, he used to say, are never as good as they look during a winning streak and never as bad as they look during a losing streak.

The Mets aren't going to win out their schedule; eventually this winning streak will come to an end.

Other than that, certainties are hard to come by. What should we expect during the remaining 67 games? It's a really tough question.

The good news is that basically every trend is running in our favor on the pitching front.

You figure Johan's gotta have better luck in the second half; plus, everyone always said he was a better second half pitcher.

You gotta figure Pedro's gonna have a better second half; ditto John Maine, who didn't exactly look like a 20-game winner in the first half.

Then on top of that Ollie already seems to be rounding into form; I think we'll continue riding the tide with Perez up and down all year, but I think he'll be good more often than he's bad.

And then there's Mike Pelfrey, who all of a sudden looks like Cy Young. I used to look at Mike Pelfrey and see a dear in headlights. During interviews he'd sound terrified.

And then he started winning and he starting walking and talking like a man who believed in himself and believed in his abilities. The thing to watch with Pelfrey is that he needs to show he can bounce back from a hard outing. He's had a sustained run of success now, and he's made national headlines because of it. He needs to prove he can remain confident even when the inevitable hiccup comes.

That leaves the hitting, and that's where it gets hard. Count me in the camp that really thinks this team needs a corner outfield with some pop. We can't afford to count on Ryan Church right now, and even if he does, as great as Fernando Tatis and Endy Chavez have been lately, it's a tough duo to hang your hat on.

How do we get that extra bat? I don't know. What's that line you used to hear? In Omar we trust?

* * * * *

The Mets are 51-44. 67 games remain. Winning 90 games means going 39-28 the rest of the way.

It won't be easy; it took a 9-game winning streak to get to 7 games over .500, after all. But there are three more things in their favor.

One is that this Mets team has proven it can dominate. They haven't just won these last 9 games, they've dominated them. They've piled on runs and held offenses down. It's as good a recipe as you could hope for.

The second is that their pitching appears to be very sound, and the Phillies' borders on bad.

Third, and most important, is they look like they believe in themselves again. They don't look like a team playing scared anymore, or a team that expects the other shoe to drop at any moment. It's a different feeling altogether than the first 80 games.

* * * * *

In my apartment there's a bottle of champagne I bought the morning of September 30, 2007. We entered play that day with a chance of emerging as division champions. Instead... well, you know.

I resolved then to keep that bottle of champagne, and only drink it on the next occassion that the Mets were again division champions.

Earlier this year it looked like another year on the shelf for my bottle of champagne.

Today I believe again. I think this team, for all the drama and all the ups and downs, has what it takes to win the NL East.

That process starts tonight. We've got 67 games left to bring it all home. Johan's leading off with a chance to pitch us into a tie with Philly.

Let's go to work.

- A.F.O.M.G.