The bullpen really held this one together. Despite the walks we prevented any damage and held onto the one run lead with a solid outing by Wagner. I am not sure we really need to add any pieces to our bullpen. I think they have it within themselves to carry us through the season. I know Schowenweis has had his share of difficulties since arriving, but he has been solid of late. Sanchez is starting to become his old dominant self. Heilman is someone I think can perform in the clutch. The bridge to Wagner is not as shaky as some would make it out to be... the key is making sure that our starters can go deep in the game. I know Martinez is not going to do this but Perez, Pelfry, and Maine should be able to go seven on a regular basis given their age. Things are starting to come together!

I believe someone said tonight that the last time the Mets won seven straight was in 2006. This string has put the Mets back in the hunt but it's going to be a tough slog. The Phillies are in front of us and the Marlins are nipping at our heels.

There is going to be a real test starting on 7/22 when the Mets start a pair of home series against the Phillies and (our wild card rivals) the Cardinals. Then the Mets go to Miami to play the Marlins. Now that the Mets are back in the thick of things those games are shaping up to be a potential defining moment for the Mets in 2008. Let's go get 'em.

Maybe it is best if we lose players like Alou and Martinez now while Omar still has time to make some moves. Today was another outstanding effort by the bullpen. Pelfrey goes tomorrow for the sweep, which could leave us in first place! Who was thinking about that last week? I certainly wasn't. I agree that we have a tough run ahead of us but the dog days of summer have allowed this team to mature and grow together, they should be primed to keep the Phils on their heels all summer long.

i can't beleive the mets have a chance to be the division leaders heading inot the break! man, would that be a momentum booster and a heartbreaker for the phillies. it wouldn't kill us to be 1.5 back heading into the break, that would still be good, but .5 or ahead by .5 would be great. a few interesting facts i thought i'd throw out there...

1. tatis is hitting over .300 and has really torn it up of late.

2.easley is hitting .287! who would have expected that?

3. The mets bullpen has not allowed a single run in 18.1 innings.

4. The mets have just become the first team in history to go five consecutive games letting up 3 hits or less in each.

5. 3 of our past 5 games have been shutouts.

6. church's doctor has just said he is fine medically, but i'm sure with their past mishaps and the performance of fernando tatis the mets will play it safe and keep him out for a few days after his 15 day DL stint is over.

7. both angel pagan and el duque begin rehab assignments this week and are on pace to return within a week after the all-star break.

8. Oliver perez has turned in 3 straight great outings, along with basically the rest of the mets pitchers.

9. The mets have never thrown a no hitter, but since we were founded in 1962 we have thrown the second most 1 hitters, with today's being the 33.

number 9 is just an interesting tidbit, but numbers 1-8 are all promising signs for the second half.

the mets first round, 9th overall pick of 2005, he is only 24 and is in only his second season as a full time starter and he is doing amazing! he is 6 foot 7, and consistently throws a 97 mph fastball and an 95 mph sinker. he uses his fastball as his strikeout pitch and his sinker to induce grounders. thus, he hasn't let up a homer in his past 64 IP! he has only let up 4 this season. in tonights game, it wasn't until the 7th inning that he let up a pop up or fly ball! the rest were strikeouts or grounders. he has won his last 6 starts and the mets have won 8 of his last 9 starts. also, he hasn't allowed a walk in his past 2 starts. he is learning not to over rely on his sinker and not to trust that the speed of his fastball makes it ok to put it waist high. plus, he has excellent stamina which allows him to go very late into games. by the end of tonights masterful performance, fans were holding "pefreyized" signs and chanting his name. as he retired the side in the 8th the ESPN announcer, completely unbiased because he's not for SNY, declared "and in the 8th inning here at Shea, a star is born!" amidst teh roars of Shea. he will be a star in a few years, everyone just watch. he, maine, and santana, with perez as a not too shabby number 4, has me feeling good about our rotation for years to come. great job by the mets tonight. this whole 9 game winning streak (feels good to say that, doesn't it? 9 straight), we have been doing well in all parts of the game: our abts are slugging, our bullpen and starters are dealing, and we are playing energized and motivated ball. i think we displayed that nicely tonight on national television, and i have a lot of confidence in our squad heading into the second half. how could you not, when we're playing like this?

Who would've thought that the Mets would sprint back into the race so quickly? This nine game wind streak is the longest since 2000. And we all know how far the Mets went that year. I have to give credit to the pitching staff. The pitching has been phenomenal over this period. Absolutely phenomenal. And the hitting has improved too while the lineup has been hampered by injuries.

The Mets have worked to get back in it but there's lots more work to do. The Phillies are half a game in front and the Marlins are one game behind us. Take a look at the schedule and you'll see that the rest of July is going to be very important for this team.