Just when I begin to lose faith the Mets go and win a pair against the Yankees and in Yankee stadium no less. The wins feature solid pitching, timely hitting and four RBIs for Jose Reyes. All of this I like and want more of. So I hope the Mets are not teasing us as they continue on their longest road trip of the season.

The funny thing about the victories versus the Yankees is the fact that the wins didn't elicit the same feeling as they usually do. Instead of elation over beating a hated rival I felt more of a sense of relief that the recent slide was halted, if only for the moment.

The Mets now need to get it in gear and win a bunch of ball games. The pitching has shown up over the last few games with Claudio Vargas, Pelfrey, Maine and Perez showing us that there is much life after Johan Santana in the Mets starting rotation. If the hitting follows up then there's no reason that the Mets can't play .700 baseball the rest of the way. A big "if" I know but why not?

I hope that the real Mets of 2008 are the team with great starting pitching, a juggernaut of a lineup and a rock solid bullpen. The coming road trip should give us a definitive answer on just exactly who these Mets of 2008 are.