The Mets (80–61) beat the Astros (62–80) by the score of 3–1 in Shea Stadium this afternoon.

For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.

…in the top of the third inning, Eric Munson was late, swinging and missing at an 81–mph fastball from Tom Glavine, for a strike out…he looked like childish…totally overmatched…by an 81 mph fastball…and that is glavine…that sums up his day, today, perfectly…ini the end, he allowed just one run and three hits, while walking nobody…

…Aaron Heilman, who entered the game in relief of glavine, with runners on first and second and no outs in the eighth, struck out the side looking about as good as he has all season…he must be feeling really good about himself, following that ridiculous make-over he got from Mets Weekly…what was that all about…jeez…

…David Wright is beyond on locked in right now…he worked a count full, fouled off many pitches, then hit an opposite field home run looking smooth, confident and totally in control…stay hot, david…

…Paul Lo Duca looks healthy and strong…he turned on an inside fastball, which he had been grounding out on earlier in the year, ripping it in to the corner to score Shawn Green…nice to see…

…Luis Castillo stole second, pushed up from his slide off his right knee, per usual, but started to hobble and wince…it looked bad…my knees hurt just watching it…of course, on the next batted ball he advanced to third looking fresh as ever…and that is castillo…get used to it…

…Billy Wagner pitched a 1–2–3 ninth inning, ending a career-high streak in which he allowed runs to score in five straight games…the crowd was so quiet while wagner worked…as if the entire stadium was holding its breath…actually, i bet that is exactly what was going on…

…can you feel it…i can…this team is focused and feeling the home stretch…keep it going, guys, and have fun tomorrow on St. Pedro’s Day…

The Game:

The first-place Mets (79-61) take on the Astros (62-79) this afternoon in Shea Stadium, starting at 12:10 pm EDT

The Mets (79–61) defeated the Astros (62–79) by the score of 11–3 in Shea Stadium last night.

For a recap and boxscore, go to Yahoo! Sports.

…it’s nice to have such a dominant win, coming off what had been a pretty stressful road trip…

…i was impressed by Mike Pelfrey, who did not have his best stuff…yet, instead of trying to muscle through it with ego, he settled down and made adjustments, using his slider less, and using his fastball more, which he threw with a variety of speeds ranging from 97 mph to 85 mph…good work…

…in the second, pelfrey allowed the bases to be loaded…he got a ground ball to Jose Reyes, who misjudged the hop while fielding the ball just a few feet from second, but the ball bounced off of his chest and directly in to the hands of Luis Castillo, who calmly stepped on second and flipped to first for the double play…genius…can a player win a Gold Glove at second if only playing two months in the league…

…in the end, pelfrey allowed two runs and 10 hits, while walking two, in to the sixth inning…

…in the sixth, with the bases loaded, pelfrey was removed in favor of Jorge Sosa, who allowed a shallow pop to right field…Lastings Milledge charged, dove, slid forward and made an outstanding catch…risky play…if the ball goes by him, the game is tied…however, he made the catch…but, still…

…David Wright ripped a huge, opposite-field, two-run double with total authority…despite all the talk about how he needs to get a day off, he does not look tired to me…

…Carlos Beltran followed with an RBI single, scoring wright, and the Mets never looked back…

…beltran also hit a towering home run, way, way over the Dunkin Donuts cup in left field, which was followed by a home run from milledge, as well…

…offense was not a problem tonight…

…despite two rough and weak at-bats from the right side of the plate earlier in the game, and two shaky defensive plays, reyes snapped out of a funk by hitting a triple, sliding in to the third, dirty, while bouncing to his feet with his patented, aggressive hand slap…hopefully, that was what he was waiting for…now, he can take a deep breath and push hard through the end of the season…whenever that may be…

SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
LF Moises Alou
1B Jeff Conine
C Paul Lo Duca
RF Lastings Milledge
P Mike Pelfrey

…there is increased buzz from Syracuse noting that the Mets triple-a affiliate will leave New Orleans at the end of this season, and move to Syracuse…

…all sorts of people continue to tell me that staff up in Syracuse have already been notified of the change…of course, from what i can gather, that’s news to people in New Orleans, who feel very comfortable with the one full year left on their current deal with the Mets…

…one thing i do know, the people of Syracuse are already quite cozy with the colors blue and orange, so that should make for easy marketing…

(sorry for the double post…ugh)

Mets SS Jose Reyes represents the Mets on this year’s ballot for The Hank Aaron Award, which acknowledges the the best overall offensive performer each league.

To vote, go to MLB.com.

…no offense to reyes, but, i think David Wright is the best overall offensive performer on the Mets, let alone the entire National League…oh well…i guess he’ll just have to settle for that other award, you know, what’s it called…oh, right, the MVP…

Wright is the only player in the National League who is batting over .300, with at least 25 HR, 30 stolen bases, 90 runs scored and 90 RBI.

Tom Glavine is nominated for this year’s Man of the Year Award.

The award is presented each year to a player elected by his peers as the one who best combines on-field performance with community service.

Yankees SS Derek Jeter, Marlins 3B Miguel Cabrera and Giants LHP Barry Zito are also nominated.

…frankly, the award should go to zito and his work with Strikeout for Troops, which does not get nearly enough publicity…i’ve tried…i’ve been on his publicist for years, but am routinely ignored…which is a shame, because all i want to do is help…also, no Mets are involved in his program, which makes no sense…

According to MLB.com, if the Mets and Phillies finish with the same record, the two teams will play a one-game playoff in Philadelphia, as a result of the recent coin flip conducted by the Commisoner’s Office.

…thanks to jason b for the link…

Last season, Jose Reyes became the third player in history to hit .300 with 50 stolen bases, 20 doubles, 15 triples and 10 HR.

Reyes, who already has at least 10 HR, 50 stolen bases and 20 doubles, is batting .292, and is four triples shy of 15.

…considering all of the talk about David Wright being an MVP, the following seems particularly relevant…

Last week in Newsday, David Lennon listed the actual rules for voting on the MVP, as adhered to by the BBWAA, which remain the same since the very first ballot in 1931.

According to Lennon, “Based on that criteria, Wright suddenly looks like the front-runner for the MVP.”

…well, i have to agree…

…the thing is, i try not to get too bogged down in this MVP argument each season, because i do not think every person, be it fan or voter, look at it the same way…despite what the rules say…

…to me, the MVP has become the Best Hitter Award…however, the best hitter award is actually the Hank Aaron Award, which nobody pays too much attention to…technically, Hank Aaron Award and the Cy Young Award are opposites, but nowadays it is like Cy Young and MVP are opposites…which i never understood…

…i lost interest in the MVP when Alex Rodriguez kept winning while his team, the Rangers, finished in last…it just never made sense to me, and still doesn’t…

…of course, given wright’s positioning, i sense i am about to become a hypocrite, while taking a ton of interest in him winning, mostly because i’ll be quite happy for him…