Mets close bunch, hope it stays that way

LOS ANGELES

Maybe it's impossible to quantify what role the video games RBI Baseball, Joust and Battleship (the updated iPad version) have played in the Mets' start to this West Coast trip.

But the connection between the players this season is undeniable, and one manifestation of that has been their jumping around the cramped visitors' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, chirping at each other about sinking a PT boat or hitting a pixilated home run.

"I think they enjoy being around each other," manager Terry Collins said. "When the first bus comes, there's 17 or 18 guys on it. They come to the ballpark to be around each other, and for some reason, it's meshed on the road."

The bus from the hotel often can be a ghost ship, with many players opting for taxis and later arrivals. But not this year, and there's little doubt the bond that's developed among the Mets has helped their performance on the field.

Said Jason Bay, "I don't think there's too many people that thought we'd be in the position we're at right now minus the guys that we've been without."

Probably a safe bet. Only now, with the July 31 non-waivers deadline looming, the Mets are at a greater risk of losing more players to trades than adding their significant injured players in a timely fashion. Which puts this current group at a crossroads.

By fighting to stay in the wild-card race, they're making a statement to the front office about keeping the team largely intact for September. That's the hope, anyway.

"As a team, you want to keep everyone here," Mike Pelfrey said. "You want to finish with the guys that you started with. If we continue to win, we'll send a message that we deserve to stay together."

But general manager Sandy Alderson has other things to consider when looking ahead to 2012 and beyond. There are financial factors, such as the bloated contracts of Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez, and what those players could bring back in the trade market.

What's ironic about the Mets' situation is that Beltran, who figured to be a goner by midseason, has never seemed happier in a Mets uniform at any point during his seven-year, $119-million contract.

Toward the end of last year and the beginning of this one, the conversation around him always focused on his no-trade clause and where he would be next.

But during the past few weeks, the focus has shifted from the future to the present, and what he means to the Mets. Or even what these Mets have meant to him. The turnaround has been surprising, and he seems to be a bit shocked by it.

"I'm having fun," Beltran said, breaking into a smile. "These guys are making me do things in the field that I have never done in my past."

As he mentioned this, he threw up his right arm in a crooked "claw" motion and relayed what happened Wednesday night when he failed to do it after the first of his two doubles. "I forgot about it," he said, laughing. "They all got on me, saying you got to do it. Then, three pitches after, I did it. They're having fun, I'm having fun. We're winning, and when you win, of course that makes things better for everybody."

Chemistry hasn't turned these Mets into a serious playoff contender -- at least not yet. They entered Thursday night at a season-high three games over .500 (45-42) but 9 1/2 games behind the Phillies for the NL East lead and seven behind the Braves for the wild card.

But it has provided a glimmer of hope, and in their efforts to prove the skeptics wrong, the Mets are enjoying themselves along the way. Where that leads is anybody's guess at this point, and Alderson has defined these next two weeks as "critical" in determining the direction of the Mets for the remainder of the season.

That comes as no surprise to the players, who know the mood can change in a hurry if the winning stops and their teammates are shipped off to clubs with the promise of happier Septembers. "It's outside our own control, and yet there is a component that we do control if we are playing well," R.A. Dickey said. "These games leading up to the break and the first 10 games after the break are really going to be the barometer for what the front office is going to be doing."