It'd be an exaggeration to call the Mets hot — like Greg, I'll need to be won over further before declaring our putative NL East leader fit for duty. Three out of four against the Reds? Sorry, but that's the stuff of necessity, not luxury. Lastings Milledge would seem to qualify as hot, and has […]

It's the Mets' first two-game winning streak since they and I were in Philadelphia. Momentum ho!

With a weeklong westward journey whose manifest lists seven grueling tests of Methood ahead, one can only hope.

We don't get fooled again here, or at least we don't get turned around that fast. Jason held his applause Saturday night for […]

I want to tell you about Ralph Kiner Night. I really do. But first I have to tell you about Norris Hopper Weekend.

Norris Hopper is the Reds' centerfielder. He plays Ken Griffey's former position and wears Ken Griffey's former number. That's all I knew about him as of the first inning Friday.

Well, that's not entirely […]

Not for Tom Glavine, who thoroughly earned No. 298 by baffling every Red who wasn't named Brandon Phillips. Glavine gets claps until my hands are sore. Same for the Mets' defense — the back-to-back sparklers from Gotay and Reyes will get the highlights, but David Wright had another quietly impressive game in the field. (Though […]

Would Daffy Duck or Yosemite Sam or any not-quite-doomed cartoon character who runs off a cliff stay aloft if his nemesis didn't point out he was no longer on solid ground but in fact trying to maintain his footing amid thin air? You don't want to think about the answer for too long because before […]

The Mets are in first place and the ship is not listing. But what ails this team is something that is sensed more than it’s been seen. Something is out of kilter — perhaps an approach to hitting, an approach to competing, an approach to winning.

That was Bill Rhoden in this morning's Times, and it […]

Go somewhere.

Hit traffic.

Run late.

Sit in car.

Turn on game.

Reyes homers.

Gotay homers.

History made.

Traffic eases.

Get there.

Do thing.

Get back in car.

Wagner closes.

Mets win.

Save for crawling on the Cross Bronx and missing the middle seven innings, may the rest of the second half be that simple.

Tonight the Mets will kick off the remaining 75/162th of the season at Shea, against the Cincinnati Reds. Bronson Arroyo will face Orlando Hernandez. Lastings Milledge may be patrolling left.

If I close my eyes I can imagine what Lastings' face will look like between his cap and the top of his jersey — a […]