Pedro's Ice Cream Sunday of Bad News

Goodness, when Pedro falls apart, he really falls apart.

I half expect him, like an agèd, overhugged teddy bear to come apart at the seams and leave little bits of stuffing every where he's placed.

So the other shoe has dropped with an expectant thud. Not just the strained tendon in the right calf but the torn tendon in the left calf and the torn rotator cuff in the pitching arm; that which had once hung by a thread hangs no longer.

Of course for the Mets, this is a double-whammy, not just losing Pedro for the postseason but maybe losing Pedro for good. Coming back from such a surgery at his age and his frail physique will be a daunting task and whilst it wasn't entirely unexpected, losing the number one name of your rotation would hurt any franchise long-term. The impact of his loss on the Mets' postseason has been overstated but next year, with Glavine and El Duque a year older, no Pedro and a collection of rookies, reclamation projects and Steve Trachsel, well Omar is going to have a busy winter.

There will be plenty of obituaries written for Pedro down the road but the Mets have a more important task to consider just ahead of them - the postseason.

Yesterday's 13-0 drubbing of the hapless Nats, the Mets' third victory in a row, featured an outstanding six inning shutout performance for Tom Glavine, the "other" aged pitcher of the Mets' now notorious second string staff. This followed a one-run victory Friday night which featured Billy Wagner's 40th save of the season.

It's difficult to know what, if anything the pair of victories against a team that has already packed its bags for the season means other than the fact it feels better winning than it does losing heading into the playoffs. Hell, it feels good just to be heading into the playoffs and maybe, just maybe, with some of the expectation of being the best team in the National League wearing off a little, the Mets will spring up and unveil a few more surprises for us.

The season finale will not be started by Steve Trachsel, who flew away for personal reasons to the west coast (scouting the Dodgers?) and by the time he returns to the rotation (if the mysterious need to get away isn't more subterfuge disguising serious injury) to pitch in the post season he will have had off since 24th September.

Anyone remember what Trachsel's performances are like with an extended period of rest? I think you can already tag an "L" on his next start. After all, remember his last start against the Dodgers? 4 earned runs, five hits and a pair of walks in less than three innings of work; a 13.50 ERA.

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But hey, the 48 year old Julio Franco became the oldest player in history to hit a homerun and drove in 5 runs to boot in the lopsided victory, the second-to-last note of Frank Robinson's swan song.

Tom Glavine recorded his 290th career victory and Shawn Green and David Wright both drove in three runs even if Carlos Delgado was scratched from the lineup for numerous ailments. If Carlos Beltran is starting whilst admitting to be only about 80% healthy, what do you reckon Delgado's level of fitness is if he's missing the second to last game of the season instead of getting his bat timing down?

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I remain far more concerned about the Mets hitting than their pitching. Although they showed a spark of life at the plate against the Nats of late, the Mets have an iritating habit of not hitting in the clutch lately.

If you look at this stat-happy note you'll see that the Mets are the most-effective team in the National League when it comes to scoring with runners in scoring position versus allowing others to score in the same situation.

However, over the last month they have been significantly less successful, ranking ahead of only the San Francisco Giants in all of the National League.

If the trend continues the Mets will have alot more than a rotation to worry about. They'll see alot of frustrating innings with men on base and nothing to show for it.

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Let's hope this is the only celebrating the Dodgers do the rest of the season.

With the Dodgers having clinched a playoff spot but still having a chance to oust the Padres from the NL West title, the situation of the Mets' first round opponent is still up in the air.

Note that the Dodger have been 40-19 after July 28, tying Oakland for the best record from that date.

The Padres in that time span have gone 33-25, the Mets 34-25 and the Cardinals 25-33.

Sunday will decide who the Mets open against next Wednesday, either the Padres or the Dodgers.