Let The Good Times Roll!

What team is THIS we're suddenly seeing at Citi Field? It's early yet, but if you were to tell me the Mets would go 9-1 on a home stand after this afternoon's 7-3 win over the Dodgers, I'd have told you to find an appropriate 12 Step Program:

"Hi, my name is Bobby and I am starting to believe the Mets can be a halfway decent team. Bring on the Phillies! "

Ok, I'm getting ahead of myself. As far as I know, there are no coins and gifts given out for "baseball sobriety."Lord knows Mets fans have needed a Higher Power to stay sane. An at best lukewarm management in terms of desire to win, and a shallowly built team riddled by injuries raised expectations for 2010 only slightly more than George W. Bush's final approval ratings.

You figured the team wasn't as bad as the 4-8 start. But no one could have guessed that the starting pitching would be so good, or that rookie Ike Davis would provide such a jolt to the offense. He went 2-4 today and is at a robust .355 for the season. Last week David Wright, the Derek Jeter wannabe matinee idol, was hearing the boo birds. Nothing says win the fans over like going on a hot streak. Wright was 6 for 10 in the series with the Dodgers. Jason bay and Jeff Francoeur continue to hit, and Jose Reyes scored another run. Baseball's best leadoff man now hitting third looks to be rounding into shape following 11 months away from the diamond.

The BEST news today: John Maine. Possibly pitching for his spot in the starting rotation. Maine responded with 6 and a third solid innings, striking out the side in the 6th. Once again, Jerry Manuel pulled his trigger a bit early, removing Maine after a walk in the 7th. You hope that the early hooks from Manuel won't come back to haunt him in big games. Starters need to learn to push through challenges. Manuel is like most of today's skippers: "I have 7 guys in the bullpen every day. Let me mix and match the last 6-9 outs." If you've read my blog entries you know I hate it. Relievers (I'm NOT counting A1 closers like Rivera and Papelpon) should be seen only when the starters DON'T have it. Otherwise, they'd be starters.

But, it worked out. With Santana and Pelfrey pitching well, if the Mets can keep Niese, Perez and Maine afloat, they should be OK. Today, they're in first place-a destination NO ONE foresaw. There's still 140 games left. We'll see how long it lasts. The Phillies, wounded or not, are always formidable. Win 2 out of 3 and I'll be impressed. By the way, the Mets-Phillies series opener can be seen right here on PIX 11 Friday at 7 pm.

Mets fans, enjoy it while you can.