The Mets completed the sweep of the Washington Nationals tonight when Damion Easley scored the game winning run in the bottom of the 14th on a wild pitch by Joel Hanrahan.

After all the talk of the booing at Shea over the weekend against the Brewers, the Mets really needed to come out and put a few wins together, and thats exactly what they did. Even if it is the Nationals, who once again look like they're gonna be abysmal this year, any wins at all have to be confidence boosters for the Mets, and hopefully this week will help to put 2007 away for good.

Nelson Figueroa was brilliant once again tonight, going 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, and had 7 strikeouts. Not to mention he had one hell of a web gem against a liner hit by opposing pitcher John Lannan, catching the ball behind his back on the follow through of the pitch. The only blip in Figueroa's night was a two run homer to Nick Johnson in the 4th inning. Not bad for a guy we were considering our number 7 starter coming into the season. Who needs Pedro when we got Nelson Figueroa???

The big hit of the game was Carlos Delgado's game tying single in the 8th inning. Holy crap did Delgado actually get a big hit in a big spot with two outs???

This weekend, the Mets will head out to Philly for a 3 game series with the rival Phillies. Johan Santana will take on Phillies ace Cole Hamels... talk about a match up of aces, it should be one hell of a game.
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As pessimistic as I can be at times, I like a good heart-warming story any day of the week. It's difficult having two teams to follow each night now, The Real Mets & The Baby Mets, but I still managed to focus on most of the game last night.  XOXOs are easy tonight...especially when you cause premature thoughts of no-hitters.

On April 17, 1964 the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets faced off in the first ever opening day contest at Shea Stadium. 48,736 fans saw the Pirates beat the Mets that opening day in Queens, and in the 44 seasons since many millions more have made their way through the turnstiles to see the Mets play baseball.

On April 8, 2008, Shea Stadium will host it's 45th and final home opener, as the Mets welcome the defending National League East Champion Philadelphia Phillies into town. The Mets enter the game with a 2-3 record after receiving a two game punch in the gut from the Atlanta Braves this weekend. The Mets big bats didn't come through in clutch situations, and the pitching was wildly erratic (save Mr. Santana). The Phillies enter the series with a 3-4 record, and seem to have just as many question marks as the Mets do in the early parts of the season. They are coming off of a four game split with Cincinnati, in which many holes in their bullpen were exploited.

The Phillies won the season series twelve games to six on their way to winning the NL East last season. That's all I have to say about that.

In game one of the series the Mets will send out Oliver Perez (1-0) who looked awesome in his first start of the season. Perez went six innings, struck out eight, and left a zero on the scoreboard, as the Mets dismantled the Florida Marlins last Wednesday 13-0. This game was the last we have seen of the Mets, as they have gone missing since. The Phillies counter with the ageless Jamie Moyer (0-0). Just to let you know how old Jamie Moyer is, let it be known that I have a baseball card of his from Fleer '87. He was a member of the Texas Rangers. At that point, Juan Gonzalez and Nolan Ryan hadn't joined the team yet, and they still played their home games in Arlington Stadium. That's how old Jamie Moyer is. Not too mention Moyer looked sluggish in his first start as he couldn't get past the fourth inning. This game will start at 1:10 PM, and can be seen on SNY. For those of us Mets fans in the Philadelphia market (moia) the game will be broadcast on CSN.

Game two of the series will start at 7:10 on Wednesday. The Mets send out Mike Pelfrey (0-0) for his first start of the season. With the subtraction of Pedro Martinez from the Mets rotation, big things are now expected from Big Mike. Pelfrey needs to make a statement more than any other pitcher in this series. His value is diminishing rapidly, and so is the patience of Mets fans. I really want to like this guy, but in the past year or so he hasn't given me much to like. This is a big chance for him. Kyle Kendrick (1-0) goes to the mound for the Phillies in this game. The Phillies are big on this kid, but he no doubt escaped with a win last Friday against Cincy. In five innings Kendrick gave up four runs and only struck out one. Those numbers won't get it done on most days against the Mets. Then again most days Mike Pelfrey doesn't pitch. This game can be seen on SNY in New York and CN8 in Philadelphia. It is also ESPN2's Wednesday Night Game of the Week.

At 7:10 PM on Thursday night, the Mets and Phillies will close out the first round of their 2008 season. The Mets will send Nelson Figueroa (0-0) out for his first start of the season. Figueroa has seen some bullpen work so far this season, but this is his first start of the season. Figueroa steps into the rotation in place of Martinez who pulled something or other (does it really matter at this point). Figueroa was day and night in his two appearances so far this season. He threw a scoreless inning against Florida last Wednesday, and then looked horrible in giving up two runs against Atlanta on Saturday. Figueroa will go up against Adam Eaton (0-0). Eaton looked solid in his first start of the season last Saturday against Cincinnati. In going seven and two thirds innings, he gave up three earned and six hits, while striking out two. He was awarded a no decision after Phillies closer Tom Gordon pulled a Braden Looper and gave the game to Cincinnati in the ninth. This game can be viewed on SNY in New York and CSN in Philadelphia.

The Mets and Phillies have both started 2008 off on the wrong foot. The Mets are most in need of a statement against a division team, as they were tossed around like a rag doll by Atlanta. The Phillies didn't look horrible against Cincinnati, and if not for Gordon's blow up they would have won three out of those four games. Both of these teams know that this series could set the tone for the whole season for each team. There is no love loss between these two rivals, and the crowd at Shea will most likely be more hostile than usual. Look for an exciting series with most every game being well contested. With that being said, I hope we murder them.

PS: Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks for winning the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. A title well deserved. Also, the Stanley Cup playoffs start on Wednesday, go Devils, Rangers Suck. JD
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The New York Mets crushed the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night, winning 13-0. The Mets win their first series of the season, going 2-1 in Florida.

It was over when: The Mets stepped onto the field. Seriously. They took a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning and never looked back.

Good: Uh...where to start? David Wright had another 3 RBI game and Ryan Church drove in 3 runs as well. Jose Reyes had 2 RBI and Carlos Beltran had an RBI and his first home run of the season taken away by the umps. Even Carlos Delgado had a RBI tonight. Wow. Meanwhile, Oliver Perez was spectacular in six innings, striking out eight without giving up a single run. Nelson Figueroa was impressive in his first appearance as a Met. I could go on but if you're reading this, you can read the box score.

Bad: Luis Castillo didn't drive in any runs tonight. Seriously. That's it. The Mets won 13-0. You name something bad.

Ugly: The Florida Marlins. Period. The Mets should beat this team at least 70 percent of the time this season. Anything short of that is a failure. This is a AAA team out there and the Marlins have no business out there with the Mets. You almost feel sorry for Hanley Ramirez. Ok. You don't.

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SNY has reported that Pedro Martinez will be out 4-6 weeks with a strained hamstring. Nelson Figueroa is now with the team and is headed to the bullpen.

-Well, this could have been much worse. I still wouldn't be surprised if Pedro returns in June but we'll have to see. Read More...

Willie Randolph was on Mike and the Mad Dog this afternoon.
-Said that Pedro was in MRI machines as they were speaking (this was around 5 p.m. this afternoon. So much for Pedro having that MRI first thing in the morning.)
-Randolph fully expects Pedro to go on the DL.
-Hinted that Nelson Figueroa will be added to the rotation. It is being reported that Figueroa is on his way to Miami (according to Metsblog).
-Mike Pelfrey looked great in the bullpen today according to Randolph. And you guys were worried.
-Said that the Mets will in no way hurry El Duque back. Yeah, cause we wouldn't want to rush an injured and aging pitcher back to the rotation.
-Randolph praised the Mets bullpen for their work in the first two games of the season.
-Reassured fans that the clubhouse is indeed emotionally intact after Pedro hurt himself. I, for one, am sick of hearing about how Pedro's injuries will cripple team morale. It's the second game of the season. If losing Pedro Martinez is crippling to anything regarding this team, it's going to be a very long season.
-He continued his praise of John Maine, even saying that Maine has a little swagger going for him.
-Duaner Sanchez may be back before May.
-Also, Luis Castillo has one leg shorter than the other. I can't make this up, friends.

Randolph of course said more but nothing earth shattering. Perhaps we'll learn more about Martinez during tonight's game. Read More...