Back to the Battlefield

Tonight's Preview:
After Brian Bannister, my new favorite player, shredded the Nationals lineup yesterday, and Alpaca Farm Wagner put on his best Looper mask, it only means one thing. Pedro es, how you say, back on the hill. Without a doubt, he'll face Jose Guillen and I think they'll "just play ball." But let's get real here: this is a big start for Petey. He needs to win, he needs to look nasty, he needs to make all of the Nationals hitters look like jokes. While the Mets are more likely to bail him out of bad starts than they were last year, mostly because Miguel Cairo is not even close to Washington right now.
Pedro is a competitor. He knows that he's two wins away from 200, as he chases (gasp!) Bert Blyleven for the most wins by a foreign-born pitcher.

Yesterday's Recap:
I liked yesterday's win a lot. First of all, Brian Bannister is really good. He's got good control and he fits in nicely with the rotation. I find it hard to second-guess Minaya's decision to move him there and stick Heilman in the pen. Secondly, Carlos Beltran hit that ball really far. And, wow, imagine if he did that more often. I liked the fact that the offense didn't stop scoring. I liked the fact that lo Duca's a hot hitter. And I'll be damned if Jose Reyes and David Wright aren't the next comings of, well, someone. Granted, although we're 5-1, the wins have been against the Fish and Nats. Shed not a tear, Mets faithful, though. This team is quality with a capital Q.