Hanging by a Thread

The Mets fell back to .500 today with a loss to the Brewers. Things are not looking good, but lets first take a look at what transpired this week.

While it wasn't pretty, things got off on a good note Tuesday in the series opener. The Mets were down by three runs when they had a nice three run rally in the seventh to tie it. Roberto Hernandez tried to give the game away in the ninth by giving up a solo homer, but Mike Cameron picked him up by hitting a solo shot of his own to send the game into extra frames. In the bottom of the eleventh, Mike Piazza drew a bases loaded walk (would that be a walk off walk?) to end the game. The Mets used six pitchers, and four of their relievers threw at least two innings because Victor Zambrano was knocked out of the game in the second inning.

Yesterday, the Brewers turned the table. This time we had a 4-2 lead courtesy of some solid pitching by Pedro Martinez. While he wasn't perfect, he held the Brewers to three runs through seven innings and he struck out eight.

The pen was also less then perfect, and it cost the Mets the game. Once again, Roberto Hernandez gave up a run as the Brewers tied it, and then in the top of the ninth, Brandon Looper gave up two runs and suffered his fifth loss of the season. Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 16 games by getting a single in the bottom of the ninth and Cliff Floyd hit his 25th homer of the season.

Today's game was tough to take. Very tough to take. The Mets entered the ninth with a 9-7 lead when the Brewers busted the game open with five runs in the ninth. Once again it was Roberto Hernendaz. In the three games he pitched in, he lost one and blew another save.

Mike Piazza had a huge game. He homered and drove in five runs. Carlos Beltran hit his 13th homers, and Mike Cameron hit his 12th. Jose Reyes extended his hitting streak to 17 games.

The Braves look like they're going to win tonight, so the Mets are down by 8 1/2 games. At this point, I think winning the division is a tad unrealistic. They're 5 1/2 games back of the Astros for the Wild Card with the Astros still having to play tonight. This weekend we square off with the Cubs, who are right there in the middle of the chase for the Wild Card. We need to win at least two of three. If the Mets lose another series and the Astros win another, I think our goose is cooked.