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Door suddenly open for Mets to redeem themselves

Shaun Powell

July 10, 2008

Their one and only All-Star Game participant was handed to them on the electoral vote, and today they might sneak another player in on the popular vote. Yet it really doesn't matter all that much that the Mets won't be well represented Tuesday in the Midsummer Classic.

What matters is: How many Mets will play like All-Stars after that game?

As they tighten the NL East, which tells you how crummy the NL East is, it's time the Mets get money performances from their money players. Now that they've massaged the wounds caused by the firing of Willie Randolph, almost healed from injuries to important players and nearly shaken off last fall's collapse, the Mets are figuring it out. The mood is better, so is the won-loss record, and for the first time since, oh, this time last summer, doom isn't following the club around.

In other words, the Mets better not screw up this opportunity like the others.

Everything's falling into place. Everywhere you look, a scenario's unfolding where the Mets can seize hold of their fate and put the past behind them. The pitching's looking pretty strong. The upcoming schedule's looking pretty weak. The Phillies are looking like make-believe division champs. It's all looking up for the Mets, who might/should emerge from the break as an entirely different team than the one that started the season.

Of course, that depends. That depends on Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, David Wright and Billy Wagner, Johan Santana and John Maine. The players who were supposed to be All-Stars need to play like All-Stars from here, for a team that suddenly finds itself back in the mix.

"Everybody has to go out there and do their jobs and do them well," Wright said.

Not only did the Mets get five scoreless innings and three-hit ball from Santana last night in a rain-delayed game, they didn't waste his effort, unlike before. They wiped out the Giants, 5-0, and made it five straight wins, tying their longest streak of the season, and had Shea Stadium thinking this isn't a tease.

Maybe it isn't. The best thing for the Mets lately is how their big-name players are finally putting up numbers and performances to match. Reyes' batting average is flirting around .300 and he's getting on base, where he belongs, where he's dangerous. The Mets hope Jerry Manuel can connect with him better than Randolph could. Just days ago, Wright had the best game of any Met this season, all things considered, when he drove in four runs in that big win over Philly. Expect the fans to vote him into the All-Star Game today.

Beltran, a notoriously slow starter, appears ready to emerge from his spring cocoon, based on the last few games, where he's hit close to .400. And the Mets are even getting decent at-bats from Carlos Delgado every now and then. He's no longer getting booed at Shea, a sure sign of progress.

Even better, the pitching's becoming consistent. The Mets now have a hunch what they'll get from Oliver Perez instead of flipping coins to see which Perez would show up. Then there's Mike Pelfrey, who hasn't looked shaky in weeks, who's surely headed for a breakout season.

Maybe the Mets were headed in this direction eventually, whether they fired Randolph or not. Right now, based on appearance, if nothing else, they're responding to Manuel. They're listening to "a different voice," according to GM Omar Minaya, who thinks Manuel's more aggressive approach to baseball suits this team.

"We've put together a program that we think the guys are responding to," Manuel said. "We're getting the results. I try to do what is best to win."

When the Mets took three of four in Philly, it demonstrated how a lousy division is up for grabs. The Phillies have big-game players but no pitching. The Marlins can't be taken too seriously, and all the Braves have is Chipper Jones. In almost any other division, the Mets would be six games down. In the NL East, come next month, they could be six games up.

They're also getting help from the baseball gods, who brought San Francisco to town for three games, then Colorado for three more, and after the break the Mets get four with the Reds. There's no reason the Mets can't make a run. The redemption for losing a seven-game lead with 17 to play begins now.