Mets still don't find home too sweet

Looks as though we figured out the solution to getting the Subway Series its buzz back:

Just make sure both New York teams enter the weekend on a roll, throw in perfect summer weather and voila! No more whining about how this interleague rivalry is played out.

Alas, this Holiday Weekend of Good Feelings could unravel quickly when you peel back the layer of this bonhomie: Only one of the two clubs has significant room for error. And that team won the first game.

The Yankees prevailed over the Mets Friday night in a game that threatened early to be a slugfest but settled into a 5-1 affair. The play of the game, not surprisingly, featured the New York man of the year, the Mets' Jose Reyes, who both made a questionable decision and suffered from a questionable call in the seventh inning.

"We've won baseball games because we've been aggressive on the bases," Mets manager Terry Collins said in defending his most valuable player.

The problem for the Mets is, if they want to stay relevant in this demanding city, they need to win plenty more baseball games.

With their second straight loss, the Mets fell to .500 (41-41) and dropped 61/2 games behind Atlanta (48-35) for the National League wild-card lead, with four more teams in front of them. For all that Collins' group accomplished in climbing out of that ugly 5-13 start, they still face major challenges in remaining in contention through the July 31 non-waivers trading deadline, let alone actually qualifying for the playoffs.

The problems start, oddly enough, here at home, where the Mets are 18-21 after posting a 47-34 Citi Field record last year and a 41-40 mark in 2009. With the ballpark hopping at first pitch, the Yankees quickly electrified their significant fan base on site, scoring three runs off Mets starter Jon Niese before they recorded two outs.

Yankees starting pitcher Ivan Nova, who could be facing a demotion to either the bullpen or the minor leagues as Bartolo Colon and Phil Hughes come off the disabled list, danced with danger all night yet managed to limit the Mets to one hit and one walk in eight plate appearances with runners in scoring position. Joe Girardi credited the rookie with delivering the necessary pitches to survive his tightrope walk.

And Reyes, the main attraction of this weekend, showed off both his speed and his recklessness when -- after singling and advancing from first to second on Justin Turner's long flyout to Curtis Granderson -- he broke for third when Eduardo Nuñez dropped Granderson's relay and nonchalanted after it (Nuñez said he lost sight of the ball).

Replays indicated that plate umpire Jerry Layne very well might have erred in calling Reyes out at third, as Alex Rodriguez might not have tagged him. However, with just one out and Carlos Beltran up next, Reyes would've been better off staying at second base.

Instead, Derek Jeter's replacement, Nuñez, wound up looking good on that play, and with a career-best four-hit night.

"I felt so good tonight," Nunez said. "I feel great."

It proved that kind of night for the Mets, who risk falling back under .500 Saturday against the returning Colon. If he pitches the way he did earlier this season before going on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring, the Mets' dilapidated lineup is going to have a tough day.

The Mets have proven a scrappy, resilient bunch. The 162-game season, however, has proven relentless and unforgiving to good storylines. Even on holiday weekends.