It seems so long ago, but this wasn’t the first time Mike Francesa criticized Matt Cerrone.

Mike says “who cares what Matt Cerrone thinks“? Matt addresses the comment, then removes the post. Then Mike backtracks (a little). The bloggers unite, calling out Mike and every other old-school media dinosaur who couldn’t power on a computer if their life depended on it — much less “get” this “blog thing”.

In the end, it’s welcome drama to an otherwise slow Memorial Day weekend in the blogosphere.

I still say let’s stage a duel between Matt and Mike to settle this like men, and create an enormous public relations opportunity / fund raiser. I have the ideal location.

Or maybe there’s another way … cast your vote below:

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Brewers 2 Mets 0

The bad news: the 1969 Mets record of 42 consecutive scoreless innings remains intact.

Sorry, no good news.

Johan Santana and Yovani Gallardo locked horns in a good old fashioned pitchers’ duel — a real barn-burner of a contest, matching goose eggs for 8 innings. The Mets had a couple of mild threats that were extinguished, and in the end it was the Brewers who finally crossed home plate — but not before Mets pitchers extended their scoreless innings streak to 35 2/3.

Game Notes

Johan Santana allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks in 8 shutout innings, expending 105 pitches. If I were manager, I might’ve allowed Santana to go out there for the ninth. But I’m just a blogger, second-guessing from the comfort of my couch.

Yovani Gallardo gave up 8 hits and a walk, but went the distance, earning the first shutout of his career and completing only his second game ever. He struck out 7 and tossed 121 pitches in all. Several Mets batters were miffed by called strikes by home plate umpire Jeff Nelson, but from the perspective of our TV viewing angle, it appeared that Nelson was fairly consistent with the zone for both sides. Yes, many pitches were close, but I don’t trust the off-center cameras to give us the best viewpoint. Santana was getting several close calls as well.

Interestingly, Santana and Rod Barajas were the only Mets to collect more than one hit in the game. Santana blasted a double off the rightfield wall literally moments after SNY announcer Gary Cohen suggested that Johan could swing for a homerun.

Ryota Igarashi was the scapegoat and losing pitcher, as he allowed an infield single to Ryan Braun and a walkoff 2-run homer to Corey Hart with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Next Mets Game

The Mets face the Brewers again on Saturday night at 7:10 PM in Milwaukee. Fernando Nieve attempts to keep his arm anatomically connected while Manny Parra takes the mound for the Brew Crew.

The Mets (25-23) will try to continue their recent success on the road tonight, as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers(19-28) at Miller Park. Johan Santana (4-2, 3.41) gets the ball for the Mets and he’ll be faced by Yovani Gallardo (4-2, 3.20).

UPDATE: Lineups have been posted:

1.). Reyes (SS)

2.) Cora (2B)

3.) Bay (LF)

4.) Davis (1B)

5.) Wright (3B)

6.) Pagan (CF)

7.) Barajas (C)

8.) Francoeur (RF)

9.) Santana (P)

Discuss…

Yankees fans are notorious for proclaiming if and how a player has “earned his Yankees stripes.” It’s a bit ridiculous and it can get incredibly annoying to have a conversation with someone who insists a player on the level of Mark Texeiria wasn’t REALLY a Yankee until [insert appropriate Yankeeography episode title here] happened.

But… I get it. They want to feel like a guy is worthy of their support. They want everyone to know that they won’t blindly accept a player just because he is drawing a hefty paycheck from Yankee Baseball Industries & Merchandising Supply Co, Ltd.

Newsday’s David Lennon makes the case that Citi Field had its moment of Mets fan acceptance this past week, as the Mets steamrolled the Yankees and the Phillies:

I think it is fair to say, though, that the Mets new park has established its identity. Fans were rightfully upset last year when they noticed that the place looked nice and it had great food and all, but it just didn’t seem like home. The franchise did some improvements to address that, such as the Mets Hall of Fame and the Hodges and Stengel entrance and the banners depicting former Mets on the perimeter. [Citi Field finds its identity]

It’s an interesting theory and it makes perfect sense. Whether you think the Mets are now on their way to the postseason or not, you won’t forget this past week for a long time.

Whether you will now forget all of the negativity that has surrounded Citi Field up to this point is another story. But it seems like the Mets may have settled into their new home.

The Mets are on top of the world and ahead of the Nats… Time for some links:

MyMetsJournal – Joe Petruccio creates some fantastic artwork out of Gary Cohen’s fantastically forced “goose egg sweep” comment.

MetsMerized – Jessup gives a State of the Union-type rundown of the Mets. Translation: it’s time to bring in Oswalt.

213 Miles From Shea – Did you know that two of the top three current AL home run leaders were dealt by the Mets in the same 2004 trade? That’s some random trivia!

NY Daily News – Bill Price tries to explain the Mets recent hot streak and why they are so good at Citi Field.

Rotoworld – Aaron Gleeman reports that Carlos Beltran will be 6-8 weeks away from returning… once he resumes baseball activities, that is.

OnTheBlack – Kerel Cooper has a video rundown on who’s hot… and who’s not.

And as my JV basketball coach used to say, “You’re never as good as you think you are, but you’re never as bad as you think you are.”

Mets 3 Phillies 0

Run for cover! Do not leave your home! At any moment, frogs and toads are certain to fall from a blue and orange-tinged sky, signifying the rapture! Cataclysm is near!

Or maybe the Mets shutting out the Phillies in three straight is a completely normal event, having nothing to do with the apocalypse. Perhaps it was a staged episode for the return of the Twilight Zone.

Whatever it is, it ain’t normal. But I’ll take it. And revel in it.

Game Notes

Mike Pelfrey was brilliant (again), shutting out the Phillies through seven frames, allowing only three hits. The five walks were too many, but no baserunners scored, so we’ll glaze over them.

I find it funny — now — that one of the questions posed to me by Bill Baer at Crashburn Alley prior to the series was “How much patience do the Mets have with Jose Reyes? He’s currently sporting a .550 OPS.”. Well, I think it’s safe to say that those questions won’t be coming up again. Reyes went 3-for-4 with a double, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Further, he was 8-for-13 with 5 RBI and 5 runs scored in the series, sparking the club from the leadoff spot (note: Reyes was NOT batting third).

Angel Pagan went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, AGAIN. Seems like he goes 2-for-4 with a stolen base every game, doesn’t it?

Cole Hamels didn’t pitch poorly — allowing 3 runs on 9 hits and a walk through 6 1/3 — but the Phillies hitters are in a team-wide, massive funk. The question is: did this three-game sweep say more about the Mets or the Phillies? Meaning, were the Mets pitchers really that spectacular, or are the Phillies hitters in that horrendous a cold streak? Is it a combination of both?

After winning the Yankees series and pasting the Phillies in three straight, the Mets will go into Milwaukee to face a struggling Brewers club. You’ve got to believe that confidence alone will help the Mets to another series win this weekend (don’t even start with the “jinx” thing — if I have that kind of power I’ll use it for something like world peace). A little confidence can go a long way, and in the case of the Mets, it just might jettison them to the top of the NL East come Memorial Day.

At 19-9, the Mets have the best home record in MLB. At 6-14, they have the third-worst road record in MLB. Again I mention the 1987 Minnesota Twins. Look it up.

During the rain delay, SNY showed the press conference announcing the purchase of the Mets by Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon for $21M. This year, the Mets are paying Johan Santana $21M. How times have changed, eh?

Next Mets Game

The Mets move on to Milwaukee to face the Brewers on Friday night. Johan Santana faces Yovani Gallardo. Game time is 8:10 PM.

The Mets (24-23) take on the Phillies (26-19) tonight at Citi Field. Mike Pelfrey (6-1, 2.86) takes the mound against Cole Hamels (5-2, 3.92). First pitch at 7:10pm EDT.

Discuss…

Straight from the Mets’ PR Department, tonight’s lineup vs. Cole Hamels and the Phillies:

Jose Reyes – SS
Luis Castillo – 2B
Jason Bay – LF
Ike Davis – 1B
David Wright – 3B
Angel Pagan – CF
Jeff Francoeur – RF
Henry Blanco – C
Mike Pelfrey – RHP

Looks almost exactly like the lineup that’s been working for the past week, except for Hank White.