PROTECTING THIS HOUSE
I'll tell ya, some sports blogs are a real crock these days.  Over-the-top opinions, overreactions, and everybody thinks they're the all-knowing guru of sports.  With the baseball season less than three weeks old, and look what some fugazies were moaning about when it came to the New York Mets...

"Mike Jacobs has played like a drunk elephant at first base."

"Starters John Maine and Oliver Perez haven't pulled a rabbit out oftheir hats to find success yet."

"Jason Bay's bat has been about as gentle as Jason Mraz's voice."

"David Wright has been seen sipping strawberry daiquiris during the seventh inning stretch of games."

"They seldom hit for power and don't score enough to win as a result."

Let's not get hunkered down into who exactly made those statements.  (Please, let's not.)  And the David Wright one isn't even real.  The bottom line is that it was a nightmare start to 2010 that no fan could bear.  2009 was just too scarring.  In my previous Mets blog, I labeled rookie first baseman Ike Davis as no more than a ploy to fill seats at Citi Field.  Well, thank goodness I'm not the one calling the shots.

Forget a breath of fresh air...Davis' arrival has been nothing short of a gale force wind of fresh air for this team.  Correction: this first-place team.  Today, the Amazins put a cherry on top of their best homestand in franchise history.  Ten games, nine wins, worst-to-first.  Davis has been crucial, and the veterans around him are finally, finally staring to produce.  Reyes is slowly getting cozy in the three-hole.  Bay's hitting has gone from Jason Mraz-gentleness to Jason Voorhees-ferocity.  Wright still has his hair-pulling strikeouts, but his big finish to the homestand is encouraging.

Yes, the hitting resurgence has been quite a relief.  But let's be honest here: it's all about the pitching, pitching, pitching.  The Mets have allowed a grand total of 14 runs in their last nine wins.  Santana has answered all doubts concerning his offseason surgery.  Mike Pelfrey (MIKE PELFREY!) leads Major League Baseball with his 0.69 ERA.  Jon Niese has been everything you could expect from a #5 starter.  After a lot a of concern, John Maine showed hints today that he may be emerging from his years-long troubles.  Oliver Perez...has a cool accent.

So how 'bout them Mets?  May is on the horizon, and those boys in blue and orange are a first-place team.  Debbie Downer (or Yanni Yankee fan) might say that they've beaten some slumping teams and still draw no fans to their beautiful ballpark.  But Conor Calamity says nonsense.  The Mets haven't played this well in almost a full year, and isn't it lovely that they visit their buddies in Philadelphia this weekend. 

Nobody's popping the champagne yet, though.  We're still in April, and it's impossible for the Mets to keep this torrid pace for months at a time.  But ten days ago, it was hard to wear your Mets hat in public without feeling a little queasiness in the stomach area.  For at least the time being, the laughs have been silenced and a new leaf has been turned for 2010.  Say it with pride, Mets fans: your team that started 4-8 are now division leaders.

Let's just hope we're still saying it when the team buses leave Philadelphia on Sunday night.