The Mets were 7–5, with one game rained out in Pittsburgh.

The thing is, the Mets started the stretch 5–1 in the first six games, all at home, then went 2–4 while on the road, including a three-game sweep from the Pirates.

“This road trip didn’t go like we had wanted it to, like we had planned,” David Wright said, according to Newsday.  “Unfortunately, that’s baseball.”

This week, the Mets will play three games against the Phillies in Citi Field, starting tomorrow, then travel to the Bronx to face the Yankees on Friday.

In a post to Brooklyn Met Fan, Adam Salazar writes, “Normally I’m ready to rumble with our two biggest rivals but this time I feel naked going against them without Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado.  Sure we can beat the Nats and Fish with one hand tied behind our back, but consecutive showdowns with possibly the two best teams in baseball, could easily turn into a bloodbath.”

…i hear ya, adam… but, even if the Mets drop two of three during each of these two series, remember the Phillies are playing the Red Sox this weekend… so, sure, next week, on Monday, the Mets could be four or five games out of first, though still three or four games over .500… frankly, it’s the 23 games after that, which have me worried, with some in American League parks, and 16 against the Cardinals, Brewers, Yankees, Phillies and Dodgers… and then it’s the All-Star break… in other words, this will be a difficult month…

The concept is fine, I guess, but in practice it seems unfair.

This weekend, however, I am pretty excited, since the Mets are playing the Red Sox and the Yankees are playing the Phillies.

In addition to cheering for the Mets this weekend, I will also be pulling for the Yankees, which is weird, but unique, and sure to make my wife happy.

I hope most Yankees fans will be rooting for the Mets, as well.

However, there appears to be a section of Mets fans who just can’t bring themselves to cheer on the Yankees, and so, I guess, they’ll be rooting for the Phillies.  Yes, these Mets fans will be rooting for the Phillies.  So, if you’re among them, and the Mets again lose the division by one game, and that one game is because of the Yankees, I hope you can live with yourself.

I am not one of those people.  I hate the Phillies.  End of story.

In other words, ‘Let’s go Yankees.’

“Except for Queens,” Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, explains, “New York City still is the home of the Bronx Bombers, who are favored in the Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island, too.”

Among fans who say they are ‘very interested,’ or ‘somewhat interested,’ in Major League Baseball, 56 percent say they are Yankees fans, while 33 percent side with the Mets; three percent picked the Red Sox.

…this sounds right to me… my hunch has always been that the city is divided in three, equal parts Yankees fans, Mets fans and front-running fans… the team that is winning rings, picks up the middle third… and so, the above numbers make sense to me…

…here’s a suggestion, next year, hold the Winter Meetings in New York City, it will make things a lot easier…

Last night, at the Star-Ledger, Dan Graziano reported the Yankees resumed talks with the Brewers regarding Cameron and Cabrera, adding the deal would include a pitching prospect, ‘not likely to be Ian Kennedy.’

Update, 9:15 AM:

The Daily News writes, ‘The Yankees are set to acquire Cameron,’ in exchange for Cabrera.

Update, 9:17 AM:

…by the way, i was under the impression the Yankees had been shopping cabrera and kennedy to the Cardinals for Rick Ankiel…so, perhaps ankiel is now earmarked for a different deal...

Multiple reports suggest the 33-year-old left-hander will earn $12 million over the next three years.

In 72 combined games last season for the Yankees and Pirates, Marte was 5-3 with a 4.02 ERA.

…i would expect marte’s deal will set the floor for the high-end middle relief market…

We’re kind of like the second team…The Yankees have won 26, 27 championships.  They’ve been here longer, I would think…That’s just the way it is. That’s just my opinion now.  I don’t speak for everybody else.  That’s my opinion.  And being a baseball person all these years, from the outside, I’ve seen it that way.  In Chicago, if you asked me, ‘What was the favorite team in New York?’ I would have to say, ‘The Yankees.’  I don’t have a problem with that.  I love playing them…Shoot, use that as motivation.  If you want to be first, win.  Win some world championships.  Don’t be first just by popularity, or who wears what jersey.  Win some championships and you can claim first.  I don’t have a problem with that.”

…it’s sad, but true…i’m not happy about it, but he’s right…also, he’s right that if the Mets truly want to take the town back, they need to win…because, i think it’s quite clear that part of New York is a front-running town when it comes to baseball…

…i say that, because, to me, the two fanbases are probably split fairly even…it’s the middle ground, the undecided, fair-weather, front-runner fan who likely sways towards the championships and the cache of cheering for the favorite…and so, the team who is winning is the team with more ‘fans’…that happens to have been the Yankees over the last decade…for much of the 1980s, it was the Mets…and so on…and that’s all totally understable…

According to a poll by Quinnipiac University from last summer, which you can check out here, 52 percent of New York City baseball fans said they would back the Yankees over the Mets in a Subway Series, while only 44 percent said the Mets. 

Steinbrenner, who did not comment on which position would be available for Randolph, holds no grudge against the former Yankees second baseman for leaving the organization for their cross-town rival, as quoted by Puma…

“If he had left to take over the Red Sox maybe I would have had a problem with that. He’s a Yankee. He’ll always be a Yankee. Even the Mets never completely accepted him because they thought he was a Yankee.”

…hank has said a lot of stupid things in his short tenure as the “new boss” of the Yankees, but he is spot on with his comments about some not accepting willie as a Met…

…i’ve never held it against players/managers who have crisscrossed between the two boroughs, including willie…if willie wants a job with the yanks or any other club, for that matter, so be it…good luck, willie…

Each give their reasons on how their team will win this weekend’s showdown.

Cerrone believes the Mets pitching staff will be the determining factor in the Mets ability to take two of three versus the Yankees, but thinks the Mets have more to lose this weekend than their crosstown rival, writing…

“The thing is, and what worries me, is that I believe the Mets have far more to lose this weekend by being embarrassed by the Yankees, than the Yankees have to lose by being embarrassed by the Mets. The expectations for the Mets coming in to this season were much higher than for the Yankees, and so – for the first time in a long while – there may actually be more pressure on the Mets.”

Lombardi also believes pitching is the Yankees key to winning the series, however history is on their side, writing…

“Since 1997, the Mets have come into Yankee Stadium 10 times during the regular season (prior to this series). And, in only one of those ten visits have the Mets ever taken two of three games from the Yankees (2005). In the other three game sets, the Yankees have taken two of the three games eight times and swept the Mets once (in 2003).”

To read the entire debate, head on over to SNY.tv.

Klapish writes:

“Billy Wagner tore into Oliver Perez last week for lasting only 1 2/3 innings against the Pirates. Across town, Hank Steinbrenner was openly questioning whether his Bombers would even make it to the playoffs, let alone dethrone the Red Sox in the American League East … Of course, that was before an impressive weekend cleared everyone’s heads … But there was no ignoring the parallels between the crosstown rivals, both of whom left spring training with a we-own-the-world mentality only to discover a reality that wasn’t nearly as generous.”

…it is odd to see both teams experience the same things at the same time…age is catching up with the veterans, youth is under-performing, injuries to key players and the middle of the order is not hitting…

“I can’t really comment because it’s not done. All I can say is that the Twins did what they had to do.  I hope it works out well for them. The Mets made a good trade from their end. Hopefully it works out for both teams.”

…i love it…he just can’t say, ‘no comment,’ can he…he tried…give him credit…but he had to continue…he just can’t help himself…i love it…

…by the way, i was in the elevator the other day with two guys…one of them was holding a Yankees hat…the other man said, “Yeah, I’m a Yankees fan too,” to which the guy holding the hat said, “Oh, I don’t know, I’m not really a baseball fan, it’s just a hat I wear,” and i laughed out loud…priceless…