New York Mets: It's Fun When They Win

The Mets have won three in a row and 11 of their last 13, and as a fan, it feels good. Because when you're winning, nobody talks about how many runners were left in scoring position. Or whether the starting pitcher was pulled too soon. Or whether the players have enough heart, passion, or desire.

The Mets have scored in the first inning in each of the last four games for a total of seven runs. They scored in the ninth to break a tie and beat the Giants Thursday, then after erasing a four-run deficit did the same thing last night.

Today they didn't need to come back, but they finally provided Johan Santana with the run support he certainly deserves. And it was a good day to do it, since Santana wasn't his sharpest. He still went seven and the Mets won 9-6.

That's seven, eight, and nine runs scored by the Mets in San Francisco, and they'll go for the four-game sweep tomorrow night. What makes this even more impressive is that it's been with their sparkplug and slugger on the bench.

Jose Reyes hasn't played yet this series with a stiff calf, ditto for Carlos Delgado, whose ailing hip has finally forced the Mets to put him on the DL.

Imagine if the Mets had lost these past three games. They'd be at .500 and in fourth place in the division instead of first. Fans would be very nervous about Reyes' calf—his biggest asset is his speed, and this is a leg injury!—wondering if he'd be the same when he did return.

Instead, we're looking at it as a nice opportunity for some days off, a chance to rest his body and clear his head after a series of bonehead baserunning.

Delgado's injury is more troublesome, but with replacements like Gary Sheffield, Fernando Tatis, and Alex Cora playing well, people just don't care as much. Not having Delgado's bat in the lineup long term would be a problem, but nobody seems too concerned about that. Hey, we're winning, so no big deal!

Mike Pelfrey takes the mound tomorrow night and will try to keep the good vibes rolling. Considering the Mets have taken the first three of the series and are going up against a good pitcher in Matt Cain, there's a slight margin for error.

A couple bad games in a row, though, and the doubts surrounding this team are going to come to the forefront again. That's just how it is in New York.