The Countdown - 9 to go

This season really comes down to two things and you can check that to determine what the final score was/is for the Mets, something that's been the case for the past three years.

How did Jose Reyes do and did the bullpen finish the job?

They won three games in a row and took over first place again. Reyes was 7-of-14 with 6 runs scored and 5 RBIs and the bullpen held off late charges in two of the three.

The Mets lose two in a row, two very winable games at Turner Field with Bobby Cox taking his foot off the gas slightly shown by the fact that Chipper Jones didn't even start on Saturday.

Reyes strikes out to start the game and Pedro gives up three runs in the first. Yes, he did settle down and keep the game close until the sixth but that's still a mountain to climb and an anthill seems like Mt. Everest when Reyes goes 0-for-4.

That 4-2 loss ended moments after the Phillies, who sense blood in the water, hold off the Marlins, who I actually heard someone talking how they're closing in on the wild card with three left in New York to end the season.

If that were the case, then someone would have come through on Saturday night. Thanks to Gameday (I really hate listening to the Marlins announcers), I slowly watched the Fish put a runner in scoring position in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings when a base hit would have tied the game and JC Romero, Ryan Madson (Didn't he play at Gonzaga?) and Brad Lidge did what a compentent bullpen is supposed to do - close the door and confirm a victory.

With that in mind, the Mets got four runs early on Sunday afternoon and the offense went into the tank. Meanwhile, Mike Pelfrey struggled at first but got into the seventh with the lead and turned it over...

Well, I picked up the action on the radio in the top of the eighth and with Marlon Anderson on first I was able to hear Reyes complete an 0-for-5 day. Then smiled with glee as Schoeneweis gave up a double and the lead then Joe Smith let the Braves go up on a Frenchy triple.

That's when I turned the radio off and it wasn't for another 20 minutes that I went to my computer to see that the pen allowed four runs in the frame. Yeah, Delgado did homer in the ninth to make the score close, but that only matters with horseshoes and hand grenades...

Where does that leave us? 1.5 behind Philly for the NL East, 1.5 ahead of the Brewers for the wild card and seven games in seven days at home to end the season. We all know Met fans aren't the kindest lot in the world, so that means Monday's game is huge and will likely set the tone for the rest of the week and who do we get to send to the mound?

Next Up:
Jason Marquis, RHP (10-9, 4.39) vs. Jonathon Niese, LHP (1-0, 4.09)
We send a rookie pitcher making start No. 3 in his career against the NL Central champion Cubs in easily the biggest game of the year. This is similar to last year (Did I just say that?) when a mis communication or just sheer stupidity forced us to send Phil Humber to the mound to make his pro debut against the Nationals during that downward slide.

The kid pitched well last time out and he is at home, but it's really simple - We have to pound the baseball and leave it out of his hands, out of the bullpen's shaky hands and hope that if we get up early that Sweet Lou will call off the dogs and start clearing the bench.

Speaking of the bench, Johan Santana will be sitting there with two more starts to make and I can't see how the season finale won't be necessary and he can rest up. The way it's set up, Pelfrey and Neise will pitch against the Fish and I've got to hope those games still mean something positive not that we're fighting for our lives...

BTW - The Giants are 3-0. I don't really care how it looked, that the Bengals suck this or the defense allowed that. The defending Super Bowl champs have started the season 3-0. A fat man texted a question - name five quarterbacks you would take over Elisha?

The first three are easy, so long as injuries are taken out of the equation. Brady, Peyton and McNabb are just better and a lot of that has to do with experience. I argued Drew Brees because I'm impressed with what he's done in two different systems, but Elisha's on his level. Tony Romo made my list because anyone who's motorboated Jessica Simpson's breasts gets a nod regardless of his flaws and lack of playoff victories. What do you thing, America?