Pirate Focus

It only seems that the Mets have been horrid against the Pirates over the last four years. They haven't ... going 16-12 from 2005-2008. But among the 12 there always seemed to be a Tike Redman, a Ronny Paulino, or a Steve Pearce that make one loss carry enough heartache for two or three.

The common thread with those losses and tonight might have been weaved as, for a short while in the ninth on Friday, it looked like J.J. Putz (with help from the omni-present former hockey player and current ground covering outfielder Nyjer Morgan) was going to add to that list of horrific losses that make me want to pour boric acid down my eye sockets.

But Putz got it together and saved (though only figuratively ... not in the stat line) Bobby Parnell his first major league win, and thus kept the Mets win streak alive at five. Make no mistake. This is no ordinary win. Because sure the Mets beat the Braves and Phillies four straight. But in the last two seasons ... especially last year ... it wasn't really about the Braves or the Phillies. it's been about the Pirates. And the Nationals. And the Marlins. And teams that the Mets always beat on paper but not where it counts, and not in the moments that count.

It would have been easy for the Mets to attempt to mail this one in and be all proud of themselves for winning four in a row against their mortal enemies. Instead, the Mets did all we could ask of them against your run of the mill regular opponent which is pitch well (welcome back to the show, Jon Niese), score some runs late (thanks to Carlos Beltran's cue shot and Carlos Delgado going all Dae Sung Koo on Sean Burnett), and only partially collapse in the bullpen (and not completely like some seasons we aren't going to mention here).

I don't think it's asking a lot.

How Much Are YOU Worth?

There's a goofy website out there called "Human For Sale" which tells you how much you're worth if you ever want to sell yourself. And before you ask, I never finished the survey because I don't have to ... I already know you can't put a dollar figure on my worthlessness.

And lucky for Luis Ayala, he doesn't have to finish this survey either (and risk having his e-mail flooded with spam for weeks afterwards.) Because we know what Ayala is worth: $1.88.

That's what the Mets gave up for Ayala ... as in the buck eighty-eight average that Anderson Hernandez was putting up in New Orleans, cementing his place as nothing more than a defensive replacement on a good team (equivalent to a regular role on the Washington Nationals), so off he goes to get the former Montrealer Ayala in return and continue Minaya's march to create the "Metspos".

Of course, in this Mets bullpen, you can't place a value on another veteran arm with a 1-8 record and a 5.77 ERA, which makes him fit right in with this outfit which suffered through another outing where Filthy Sanchez did nothing but throw batting practice to the Pirates in a tie game. That created a small stain on a stellar road trip which finishes up at 6-1 after the 5-2 loss to Jack Wilson, Steve Pearce, Steve Pearce's Ultimate Warrior facepaint, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. (Sanchez blames a monkey on his back. It certainly couldn't have been the super-cool shades he was wearing, right? Perhaps the good ol' goggles should make a return.)

And it's crystal clear that John Maine needs to learn what Johan Santana has learned ... that is how to go nine innings. Johan learned to make sure the pen doesn't see the light of day, and now Maine needs to learn the art of distrust. But seriously, Maine seems to be back where he was before the injury, five innings, few runs, and 2,000 pitches (okay, 96). I'm sure that regardless of the bullpen problems, the Mets would love find a way to have John use his pitches a little more economically. Because when it comes to today's economics, $1.88 doesn't buy much these days.