Sitting on a lead by the Bay...

Look at that turnaround. One second I'm blogging about Victor "Forget Carlos" Zambrano, and the next second I'm smiling about a potential head-to-head up north. Optimism.
After an underwhelming series split in "America's Finest City", the Mets head north to face a bunch of geriatric ex-steroid users, and one of the oldest starting outfields imaginable on some days. "BoneChips" Bonds will undoubtedly hit some balls to the fence and blame Pedro Gomez, and Moises Alou will still pee on his hands. The games will be played at Pac Bell SBC AT&T Park, where Xavier Nady will surely have trouble hustling to balls in the rightfield corner. I'm hoping for a Cliff Floyd splashdown reminiscent of that game in a lost 2004. Surely you remember: Saturday afternoon into night at then Pac Bell when Todd Zeile hit a ball that rightfielder Dustan Mohr lost in the sunlight, scoring the immortal Vance Wilson Delgado. Oh, you don't? Fortunato got the save. Mike Stanton the win. And Eric Valent (ERIC VALENT!) was leading off and playing first. Anyway, this series is kind of important for the Mets. Important to go to the Ted on a high note over the weekend.

Starters:
Game 1: Monday, 10:15
Tom Glavine, LHP (2-1, 1.38 ERA) vs. Matt Cain, RHP (0-2, 6.75 ERA)

Edge: Glavine. Tommy might be old enough to be Cain's father, which would make him Adam. Biblical humor? Anyway, Glavine is one of the NL's hottest pitchers (second probably to Greg Maddux, strange, eh?) and the young Cain has been hit hard in the early going.

Game 2: Tuesday, 10:15
Steve Trachsel, RHP (1-1, 3.71 ERA) vs. Jamey Wright, RHP (2-0, 2.91 ERA)

Edge: Push. Two crusty veterans take the hill, though Wright is much younger and much less accomplished. Trax pitched well the last time out.

Game 3: Wednesday, 3:35
Brian Bannister, RHP (2-0, 2.35 ERA) vs. Jason Schmidt, RHP (0-2, 5.33 ERA)

Edge: Bannister. My honest opinion: Jason was never that good. He is once again out of shape and is facing a youngster with a lot to prove. Brian should look to post something more like his start in Washington.

SF Breakdown: Record- 10-8
This team is old. It's also not very good. Most of the historical power on this team was generated erstwhile by performance-enhancing drugs (see: Bonds, Barry and Finley, Steve) and most of the other players are skinny (see: Vizquel, Omar and Durham, Ray). So far they've been pretty good, but their offense has not been generating much output. Vizquel has been pacing the offense for the light hitters and a resurgent Moises Alou has been packing the power. Randy Winn has also been strong in the early goings of his first full Giant season. The team's pitching staff is full of freaky stats: Tim Worrell (2-1, 6 saves, 8.31 ERA), Armando (0.00 ERA, 1 Save), Jack Taschner (6 G, 2.1 IP, 34.71 ERA). This leaves a doorway of hope for the Mets' bats, which have gone cold. Hopefully, they've got the hits (HITS!) and they'll score some runs (RUNS!).

Players to Watch for:
SF: Ray Durham. He's been cold so far this year, hitting only .208. Look for him to break out of his slump against these few pitchers.

NYM: Jose Reyes. Well that love affair got old quickly. Reyes, listen to me. You need a hit. ASAP. And preferably a lot of them, and some triples and maybe an inside-the-park home run and, if you could, some stolen bases.

Player of the Series: Kaz Matsui (stay hot!)

Picks: Two of three for the M-E-T-S Mets Mets Mets.

Sex can wait! Prognosticate:

Maybe you read my article earlier, but Victor Zambrano needs to go down to the minors. It doesn't matter who fills his spot, but if he can't step it up, his rotation slot will remain a problem for the Mets.

Brian Bannister might have to join Zamby in the minor leagues if he can't work his control problems out.

I was rejuvenated as a fan of Carlos Beltran's after this year's hot start, but he can't have all these nagging injuries. He needs to play and get Endy "Of Your Rally" Chavez out of the starting lineup.

Let's go Mets! We've got the teamwork... to make the dream work...

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