Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL (final)
Cubs (1) vs. Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Milwaukee (4)

Well, we have a game today, and not even a play-in game, which is unusual. The White Sox have to play a makeup against Detroit in Chicago. If the White Sox win, then it's a play-in game tomorrow night against the Twins in Chicago. If the Chisox lose, then the Twins win the AL Central, and our dreams of an all-Chicago World Series are spoiled.

So let's break down today's Tigers-White Sox tilt, position by position.

Catcher: Brandon Inge vs. A.J. Pierzynski. Gotta give the edge to Bridgehampton native Pierzynski and his 3.3 Wins Above Replacement Player (WARP). Although, say this for the Mike Francesa-loved Inge and his BABIP...

Nah, I'm just kidding with that. Let's talk Mets!

In honor of yesterday's game becoming the eighth memorably heartbreaking defeat in the team's history, here are eight thoughts on the Mets:

1. Here is my column from the game. I now think that, given what transpired over the last month, the Mets should just suck it up and sign K-Rod. They can't be doing the cutesy "closer audition" next spring, not after a horrible bullpen caused The Second Collapse, and not when there are ultra-expensive tickets waiting to be sold at Citi Field.

2. As I wrote in the column, and as I mentioned here last week, it would be foolhardy to trade Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes or David Wright, IMHO. And I don't think they will. Yes, it's true, the lineup didn't produce enough over the last week. I think they were just exhausted after fighting back so often. This offense did score 799 runs, second-most in the National League.

Besides, the whole choke/clutch/SOFT stuff is such a slippery slope. In the eighth inning yesterday, with two outs, Jose Reyes hit a ground-rule double _ Marlins centerfielder Cameron Maybin helped by taking a bizarre route to the ball - and Carlos Beltran walked. Florida manager Fredi Gonzalez went to his lefty specialist, 2,000-year-old man Arthur Rhodes, and Delgado hit a ball right on the screws, right to Josh Willingham on the warning track. So the Mets choked, right? But if Delgado had broken his bat and hit a bloop single to left, then they would've been clutch?

They can't sign Manny Ramirez. They have to get younger. I suggested signing Juan Rivera in my column today, and you'd bet on a Fernando Tatis return, too. If Daniel Murphy can actually play second base, the Mets would have an improved lineup.

3. Omar. You don't like him. I understand. He botched the bullpen, big-time, two years in a row. How painful was it to see Matt Lindstrom, whom the Mets gave up for essentially nothing, finishing them off with the fastball the Mets could use so badly?

It's a second straight emotional finish, but if the Mets are to straighten this out, they have to take a step back and look at their situation at least somewhat intellectually. 89 wins and a collapse is horrifying, but it's not horrible. Signing Minaya through 2013 seemed a bit excessive. But firing him would have been far more excessive, especially considering the success of youngsters like Daniel Murphy and Mike Pelfrey.

What really killed the Mets' bullpen was the downfalls of Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez, who were supposed to be the safety nets for a Billy Wagner injury. So if they actually sign K-Rod, the Mets should back up their new closer with as many young, power arms as they can find. No more three-year deals for poor Scott Schoeneweis, who looked about as despondent as I've ever seen an athlete, and his breed of mediocrity.

4. Jerry Manuel. What struck me, having been in the Mets' clubhouse after Game 162 both this season and last, was how much more upbeat team officials were yesterday than last year. That reflects how much they like Manuel and how much they disliked Randolph. Remember, last year, they made Randolph sweat out his return for nearly 48 hours, but yesterday, Fred Wilpon and everyone beneath him made it clear that Manuel will get the full-time gig.

Remember, Randolph didn't get fired because of the '07 collapse. He lost his job because he failed to move the team beyond The Collapse. I think Manuel will be more up to such a challenge, given his better people skills.

5. Starting pitching. They're going to need to sign at least one veteran, and preferably two. Pedro Martinez has to go; the Mets can no longer employ part-time players like Pedro, as likeable as he is.

They should engage in negotiations with Oliver Perez, and who knows? Maybe this dreadful economy will actually keep Ollie's price on the reasonable side. He sure looked like a different pitcher for the better part of Dan Warthen's reign as pitching coach. Otherwise, the Mets should stay away from the big catches (CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Ben Sheets) and look at Derek Lowe, who can handle the pressure, and Jon Garland, who eats innings in the American League and should be even more proficient in the National League.

6. Luis Castillo. He's just a symbol of The Second Collapse now. If the Mets are feeling very bold, they should eat $4 million a year for the next three years and shop him to a club as a three-year, $6-million player. If Murphy can play second base, they'd have a minimum-wage player there, which would dull the pain a tad.

7. Mets fans. Why the Mets planned yesterday's Shea farewell AFTER the game , I'll never understand. But when I was walking from the press box to the Mets' clubhouse after the game, I saw very few fans departing, and I thought that was great.

You Mets fans are a hearty lot, weathering repeated heartbreaks. You deserved to say goodbye to your loveable hellhole, and to acknowledge the contributions of players ranging from Willie Mays and Tom Seaver to Dwight Gooden and Mike Piazza. I missed the ceremony, as I was interviewing people in the clubhouse, but it sounded like a much better show than the Yankees' goodbye to the Stadium last week.

8. And in accordance with that, one final image: After finishing my work in the clubhouse, I happened to ride the elevator back upstairs to the press box with Keith Hernandez, who was still wearing his old Mets jersey from the ceremony.Everyone who crossed Keith's path smiled, shook his hand and thanked him. Hernandez smiled and said, "We'll get 'em next year."

That's the essence of sports right there, isn't it? Connecting with your favorite players. Sticking with your favorite team, no matter how difficult they make it to do so.

Meanwhile, up in Boston... Congrats to Mike Mussina, and from reading his quotes, I really think he'll retire.

I recalled a conversation a handful of reporters had with Mussina at Shea Stadium, during a regular season Subway Series. It had to be either 2002 or 2003, because those were the two seasons Mussina and David Wells were Yankees teammates.

Mussina said something like, "You don't want to hang around too long. You don't want to have the decision made for you. I think most players feel that way."

"But some players will hang around until there's no more money left, don't you think?" I countered. "Don't you think that Boomer will keep going until no one wants him?"

Mussina flashed his trademark, "I went to Stanford, and I'm smarter than everyone else in here" smile.

"Absolutely," he said.

And finally, Brian Cashman will decide on his future as soon as today. I'm sticking with the 55-45 chance that he stays. That kind of covers me either way, but seriously, from speaking to friends of the Yankees' GM, it sounds like he is seriously conflicted over what to do.

Well, Dennis, you were right. The Mets' bullpen haunted them in the end, and throw in a good dose of offensive choke-itude.

Jerry Manuel will be back. They'll probably announce it tomorrow or Tuesday. I can't fault the Mets for that. The Collapse notwithstanding, this team has a much more positive vibe than it did a year ago.

Richie G., I think the Mets might just change their stance on K-Rod. He could be a $60 million Band-Aid heading into Citi Field.

Meanwhile, congrats to the Brewers. The Lou Lamoriello-esque, late-season manager change worked. I know we have some people here who aren't big fans of the Seligs, but be happy for the fine people of Milwaukee who deserve a playoff team every 26 years or so. What a stud CC Sabathia is - and good luck to whatever team invests six years and nine figures in that arm.

Much more analysis tomorrow. I've got a column to hammer out.

Here is my Sunday Insider, which leads with the moment when Shea Stadium might have shined brightest.

Here is the Seventh-Inning Stretch.

Here are your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Dodgers (3) or Mets (1)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Milwaukee (4) or Dodgers (3)

Here is my column from last night's Mets game. What an amazing ride this has been.

Here are your updated playoff seeds:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Milwaukee (4)

Have a great day.

UPDATE, 2:04: I should've mentioned this earlier, but with the Astros eliminated from playoff contention, I have won the donut bet. I'll has out the details shortly.

You folks want answers, and I try to get them for you.

I asked Daniel Murphy what the heck the deal was with his ninth-inning bunt strikeout Thursday night.

"My job was to get the bunt down," he said. "I didn't get it down."

"So the third-base coach gave you the bunt sign?" I asked.

"Yes," he said.

I went to third-base coach Luis Aguayo.

"He did it on his own," Aguayo said. No way, no how, Aguayo said, did he signal to Murphy to bunt.

Based on Manuel's reactions on TV - did you see him after Murphy bunted for strike two? - I have to think the kid just got overwhelmed (uncharacteristically so) by the situation and just lost his head.

Let's start with updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. Minnesota (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Mets (4) or Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Dodgers (3) or Milwaukee (4)

Okay, now onto the deadly serious predictions:

1. The Mets, coming off the high of Thursday night's victory, will sweep the Marlins in a doubleheader Saturday (after tonight's rainout) and win Sunday's Shea Stadium regular-season finale. In the three games, Jerry Manuel will use a total of 18 relievers - and that's with Johan Santana pitching a complete game on Sunday. Manuel will grow so desperate in Saturday's Game 2, which will last 15 innings, that he'll ask Ryan Church to pitch. But Church will swerve around Manuel, avoiding the assignment and raising his arms triumphantly.

2. At Miller Park, the Brewers will sweep the resting Cubs. CC Sabathia, pitching Sunday on three days' rest for the third straight time, will throw seven strong innings to pull the Brewers even with the Mets. After the game, Brewers manager Dale Sveum will say, "Hey, CC, I know we've been working you kind of hard, but there's a slight tear in the ballpark roof. Would you mind grabbing a tool belt and helping out?"

3. At Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies will win two of three from Washington, falling into a tie with both the Mets and Brewers, causing a playoff in which the Mets will visit Philly on Monday, and then the loser of that game will host Milwaukee on Tuesday. The Phillies will be so frustrated by this turn of events that they'll detonate three packages of hot dogs.

4. The White Sox will win two of three from the Indians in Chicago, while the Twins will seep the Royals at the Metrodome, giving Minnesota, shockingly, the AL Central title. After not getting much from the Mets players they acquired, the Twins will prevail Sunday when Carlos Gomez reaches first base on a strikeout and wild pitch and comes around to score on a Justin Morneau double. "That play, alone was worth giving up Santana," Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire will say. "It's not like just anyone could have struck out in that situation."

5. The Yankees will wrap up their season by getting swept by the Red Sox in Fenway Park. When Alex Rodriguez shows up in a full body cast and wheelchair, Joe Girardi will insist, suspicously, "He was just cold and tired. He could play today if we needed him."

Meanwhile, the Rays will get swept by Detroit, giving the Red Sox the AL East title and Tampa Bay the AL wild card. A fuming Hank Steinbrenner will write, "The whole idea of teams besides the Yankees making the playoffs is ridiculous. The Yankees should have their own division and automatically make the playoffs."

6. There seems to be this prevailing idea that, if the Mets don't make the playoffs, newly extended GM Omar Minaya should break up the core of the team. In other words, trade someone from Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright.

To this, I say, "You cannot be serious!"

First of all, the Mets don't have any real character problems. If you had argued that a year ago, I'd have agreed with you. But not now. Really, given the bullpen's horrid performance for so much of the season, you couldn't have blamed the position players terribly if they had shrugged their shoulders and quit on the season. But that never happened.

Second of all, the Mets have a pretty good nucleus. Whom would you want to trade out of Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana. As Jay Jaffe illustrated in this strong piece for Baseball Prospectus, the Mets have pretty much lived up to their preseason expectations, except for their bullpen.

One reader e-mailed me, "I cannot come up with a trade proposal involving either Reyes, Wright or Beltran where the Mets would not come out on the short end in talent." Ummm, right. Reyes, Wright and Beltran are all great players. They're the types of players around whom you build.

Here's another line I've heard multiple times: "How can the Mets extend Omar Minaya when he can't even build a good bullpen?" The answer is that no GM is hired, fired or promoted based on bullpen construction. It's too difficult and random a science. Minaya put together a great bullpen in 2006, featuring a healthy and productive Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez, and then a juiced Guillermo Mota joined the fun in August. Last year, however, the Mets' pen was awful, and the same goes for this year.

Hideki Okajima was an unforeseen force for Boston last year, as the setup guy for Jonathan Papelbon. This year, Okajima, while still decent, is far more human, and bullpen remains a concern for the Sawx heading into the playoffs.

Break up the Mets? No shot. Just start developing some power arms to put in that bullpen, that's all.

Have a great weekend.

Jim Spadafore covered the Michigan men's basketball team for The Detroit News for many years _ his byline is on the bottom of this story _ including 1992-93, the season I covered the Wolverines for The Michigan Daily. That season ended like this. Jim was a nice enough fellow, but what I remember most about him was when he and his Detroit News teammates wrote columns with the most simple format: News, and Views.

It would be something like this:

News: Michigan loses to Minnesota, 82-72.
Views: Bad loss for the Wolverines, who are now 5-11 lifetime at Williams Arena. Also, look for this team to be embroiled in a huge scandal.

Because I don't like to steal other people's ideas or words, I wanted to credit "Spad" and his Detroit News teammates of the time _ Terry Foster, Tom Gage and Mike O'Hara come to mind _ for making this blog entry possible.

But first, some updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. White Sox (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Mets (4) or Dodgers (3)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Dodgers (3) or Milwaukee (4)

News: It's Armageddon once more at Shea.

Views: Man oh man. Where do we begin? With the bottom of the ninth, IMHO. Daniel Murphy leads off with a triple, putting a Mets victory 90 feet away, and with righty Bob Howry on the mound, Cubs skipper Lou Piniella opts to pitch - carefully, mind you - to David Wright. Despite getting ahead, 3-and-0, Wright goes down swinging on a fastball outside the strike zone.

Then Piniella intentionally walks the hot Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran to load the bases go after the ice-cold Ryan Church and Ramon Castro. Perfectly played by Lou, as Church hits into the force play at home and Castro strikes out on three pitches.

Sweet Lou gets flack for his temper, for his handling of a pitching staff and for his abilitiy to wear down nearly everyone around him. But the man can manage some.

Meanwhile, Wright looked like he was pressing. He should've looked at that last pitch for ball four, at which point Howry would have needed to pitch to either Delgado or Beltran with no one out. Wright now has a .705 OPS (.329 OBP, .376 SLG) with runners in scoring position this year. Alex "He's why the Yankees never win it all" Rodriguez has an .847 OPS (.396 OBP, .451 SLG) in the same spots.

Does tonight now become Pedro Martinez's most important start as a Met? I'd say so. If Pedro checks in with a typically shaky first inning, Shea just might implode about 72 hours earlier than scheduled.

I still think the Mets survive and make the playoffs. They have too much talent - talent that is playing well at the moment - to blow it again.

News: The Brewers climb back into a playoff spot.

Views: With another game against the Pirates tonight, and then the "playoffs first" Cubs coming to Miller Park over the weekend, the Brewers are benefiting from an easy schedule. Nevertheless, a collapse can happen even with cream puff opponents, as we saw last year with the Mets. Credit the Brewers and interim manager Dale Sveum for righting themselves.

CC Sabathia, last night's winner on three days' rest, is making a case to be placed on NL Cy Young and MVP ballots _ if not first place, then somewhere. And with this heavy workload, he's got to be scaring prospective suitors this winter, at least a little.

News: The Yankees win again, and Phil Hughes pitches well.

Views: In my conversations with Yankees fans, I am seeing more of a divide than ever. There is a strong segment that is at peace with what transpired this year, that sees the team moving forward with more of an emphasis on youth and versatility. And there is an equally strong segment that thinks Brian Cashman, Joe Girardi and A-Rod should all be sent to the island from this movie.

As the regulars know, I'm taking the half-glass-full approach with this team. Yes, there are concerns for the future, and yes, it's fair to wonder exactly how good a job Cashman has done, and yes, you can especially question whether Girardi is the right person to handle the unique demands of being the Yankees' manager.

But the Yankees continue to develop interesting, young players. Now there's reason to be hopeful about Hughes again, and Alfredo Aceves and Phil Coke both have displayed potential. Austin Jackson had a promising year at Double-A Trenton. Maybe Brett Gardner, hitting low in the lineup, can keep the centerfield job warm for Jackson.

Most of them won't stick; where have you gone, Shelley Duncan? But the idea is, if you bring enough young talent into the organization, and you give enough of them a chance, then you can build a team using some of those players for your club and some as trade chips to get other, established players, like in the trade that acquired Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady.

News: The Twins beat the White Sox again, closing within a half-game of the AL Central lead.

Views: I have just one guarantee here. No matter who wins the division, the AL Division Series pitting Tampa Bay against the AL Central champ will not sniff prime time.

News: The Dodgers clinch a tie for the NL West title.

Views: Last fall, I agreed with those of you who thought it was time for Torre to leave the Yankees. But the lack of respect with which the Yankees have treated Torre, since Game 4 of the 2007 ALDS, is appalling.

First, there was the offer they wanted him to turn down, in the delusional hope that Yankees fans would be stupid enough to say, "It's Torre's fault! They made him an offer!" Then there was the snubbing at the Yankee Stadium farewell. And now Hank Steinbrenner, who had virtually nothing to do with the Yankees from 1996 through 2007, is sniping at Torre.

In Shaun Powell's column today, you'll see that Torre took the high road regarding the recent developments. Of course he did. Torre might have lost plenty of games for the Yankees due to strategical mistakes and poor bullpen usage. He might have lost his job, ultimately, because he couldn't get along with his Yankees superiors. But Torre's next PR loss will be his first.

Here is my Midweek Insider, which focuses on Alfonso Soriano and his bad habit of admiring long fly balls that do not quite clear the wall.

This column is an example of how much I benefit from those of you kind enough to comment. You have helped me to examine and re-examine a number of issues, and in some instances, I've even asked a baseball person one of your questions. In this case, we all know that "hustle" has been a big issue here thanks largely to Richie G. It motivated me to ask Soriano these questions.

In non-baseball news, rest in peace, Dick Lynch. I have fond memories of riding in my family's car, on dark, late afternoons in the autumn, and listening to Jim Gordon and Dick Lynch call the Giants game on the radio.

Don't you just love it when one of our hot-button, needle-moving issues presents itself to us? Just begs for attention and discussion?

Last night at Shea Stadium, to me, exemplified why, as much as we want to analyze Omar Minaya, Jerry Manuel, Johan Santana, Jose Reyes and every relief pitcher between the age of 22 and 38, sometimes a team gets a little luck to push it over the top.

If the Mets can play their last five games without hitting another major crisis, and I know that's a sizeable if, then we'll look at this play as the turning point in the final week. What an incredible play! And what a turn of momentum: It put runners on first and second with one out, bringing forth the top of the lineup. Even after Jose Reyes lined out, Luis Castillo walked to load the bases, and David Wright delivered the huge, game-tying, two-run single in the fifth.

Yes, many other things had to happen last night for the Mets to win; besides Santana and Wright, Reyes hit a three-run triple in the sixth, perhaps the biggest hit of his career. And Luis Ayala secured the final two outs. But maybe, if Santana's bat doesn't break in the fifth, he hits into a double play. And maybe the Mets never get anything going against Cubs starter Sean Marshall.

It's a real thing, luck. It doesn't mean that bad luck can't be overcome. Yet luck can steer results in a certain direction. The smaller the sample size - like a postseason, or the final days of the regular season - the greater a role luck can play.

Here is our story on the Mets' extension of Omar Minaya. We all knew it was coming - sorry, Jim, no Cashman to the Mets scenario ;). Obviously, the Mets do not want to discuss this now, not with bigger news occurring on the field.

While I think four years is a bit on the long side _ with Minaya already signed through next year, I would've thrown another year on top of it, giving him security through 2010 - it does exemplify that teams don't hire and fire personnel based solely on results. Minaya has an excellent relationship with the Wilpons, and he has done a great deal to extend the Mets brand into Latin America, no small thing. As I wrote in the story, he gained additional leverage when Mike Pelfrey and Daniel Murphy disproved the notion that the Mets' farm system was worthless.

The bullpen? Yes, the Mets' bullpen is horrible, and that's on Omar. But very few GMs consistently put together good bullpens. San Diego's Kevin Towers comes the closest, and he benefits from working in an extreme pitchers' ballpark.

Catching up from the previous item: Hank Steinbrenner's whining about the divisions is silly. The Yankees won the AL East at 87-74 in 2000. What does he want? Rotating divisions? I understand his points about revenue sharing, but the most recent CBA made that far more favorable to the Yankees and other large-market teams.

It's a pet peeve of mine when perception trumps reality. Therefore, covering and talking about baseball, I get annoyed a lot.

Here's one that always takes a couple of minutes out of my life that I'll never get back: When people say that Randy Johnson was "a flop" as a Yankee. Really? A flop? The Big Unit pitched quite well in 2005, his first year, beating the Red Sox five times and putting up a 3.79 ERA. He was subpar in 2006, yet he still pitched 205 innings and struck out 172. That's not ace-level production, yet it probably isn't a flop, either.

People talk about the Big Unit's poor postseason performance with the Yankees, and it's true, he had bad starts in both 2005 and 2006. In Game 5 of the 2005 ALDS in Anaheim, however, he relieved Mike Mussina and threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings, keeping the game close at 5-2 and ensuring that Alex Rodriguez, rather than Johnson, would be viewed as that series' goat.

Now, this written, I'm not a fan. I'll sleep well tonight no matter what the Mets do. So it's very likely that I don't weigh things the same way a fan would. And the customer, after all, is always right.

That brings us to Johan Santana and his huge start tonight for the Mets. Will you hang his entire season on tonight? If he falters, and the Mets proceed to miss the playoffs, will you remember tonight most of all?

Because, you know, the Mets would be nowhere near the NL wild-card lead without Santana's contributions, particularly in terms of acting as the "stopper" that the Mets lacked last year.

Tonight will mark Santana's 15th start following a Mets loss. In his previous 14 starts in such situations, he is 6-4 with a 2.80 ERA. In 17 starts following a Mets victory, he's even better, going 7-3 with a 2.55 ERA. He won the 2008 season opener, which, if you want to be cute, could count as following a loss.

Santana has justified the Mets' investment in him, so far. I think he'll come through again tonight. But if he doesn't, does that invalidate everything that he has done so far? Was that the case for Roger Clemens, for instance, when he lost huge games for the Astros in the 2004 and 2005 postseasons?

Will it be a matter of, "Sure, Santana pitched all right, but when we needed him most, he let us down?"

I'm curious to read your takes on this.

I received a DVD of Bud Greenspan's "Pride and Prejudice: The Larry Doby Story," (you can see I grabbed this photo from that site) and I thought it was a good biography of Doby, as well as a good history of his era. In 1997, I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. Doby at his home in Montclair, New Jersey, in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of his major-league debut. Mr. Doby was soft-spoken, but he politely answered all of the questions I asked him. It couldn't have been easy talking so much about such a painful period.

Anyway, I'll give the DVD to the first person who can answer this question:

If you were to write a comprehensive history of the 1978 Yankees, you would have to mention Doby, even though he didn't work for the Yankees. What tangential role did he play in that memorable season?

The first person who e-mails the correct answer to kdavidoff@newsday.com will get the DVD.

WE HAVE A WINNER!: whynot was the first to answer correctly that Larry Doby replaced Bob Lemon as the White Sox manager in 1978, and Lemon wound up replacing Billy Martin as the Yankees manager and leading the Yankees to the World Series title.

Ken Davidoff answers your baseball questions in a live chat today at noon.

All right, so after yet another Mets bullpen collapse and a Brewers victory, it's very much on. The Mets are far from safe, with the ghosts of 2007 having purchased their tickets to see what happens this final week at Shea Stadium.

Team to watch this week: I certainly possess an East Coast bias, but how can you not say the Mets, after what happened last year? There's so much compelling stuff going on with them: Will Johan Santana save them from themselves with complete games? Will Jose Reyes, who had a good week, fully redeem himself by serving as a spark?

And why in the world won't Jerry Manuel use Bobby Parnell in a higher-leverage situation? Could he possibly be worse than what they're putting out there?

Here is my column from yesterday's Mets game.

Team to watch this week, silver medal: Yes, the Brewers. Will they use CC Sabathia on three days' rest twice more? Is Ben Sheets done for the year after taking himself out of last Thursday's game (he's listed for Friday)? Can they capitalize on their easy draw of Pittsburgh, tomorrow through Thursday?

The decider: The Cubs. Having already clinched the NL Central, the Cubbies (still a distant cousin of Newsday) close their regular-season schedule with four games at Shea and then three games at Miller Park. Their magic number to clinch the NL's top seed is one. So how seriously will Lou Piniella's guys approach these games? Two of their top starting pitchers, Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano, could clearly use some rest; how far will the go in their scheduled starts, tomorrow and Wednesday? And traditionally when a team clinches, it gives its regular players a breather, too.

It aint' over...: Did anyone notice that Arizona has closed within two and a half games of the Dodgers in the NL West? The Dodgers still have the edge, though; next up is a three-game set against lowly San Diego at home _ yes, we know the Padres just swept Washington, but still _ while the Diamondbacks are in St. Louis for three.

The most boring race: Sorry, but is anyone else finding it difficult to follow the AL Central? It seems like Chicago Norm is, and he's a White Sox fan, for gosh sakes. At least it'll get interesting starting tomorrow night, when the White Sox and Twins kick off a three-game series at the Metrodome.

Players to Watch: 1) Santana. When he takes the ball tomorrow night, he could very well be looking to stop a three-game losing streak, since lefty rookie Jon Niese could struggle tonight against the Cubs' powerful righty lineup; 2) Ryan Howard. He has been ridiculously hot this month. 3) Dustin Pedroia. Can the possible AL MVP lead the Red Sox over the Rays for the AL East title? It'll be challenging, with the Sawx playing host to hot Cleveland and the Rays visiting cold Baltimore.

Miracle monitoring of the week: It would be fun, just a touch of drama, if the Red Sox lost, say, their games to the Indians tonight and tomorrow night while the Yankees won in Toronto tomorrow. We would have to start speculating about the Yankees' season-ending trip to Fenway Park actually meaning something; the Yankees would have to win out and the Red Sox would have to lose the rest of their games in order to have a one-game playoff. In reality, though, the Red Sox, who already have clinched a tie for a playoff spot, are just too good to create such excitement.

In any case, while it's dangerous to make rash judgments in September, the Yankees have at least added a touch of dignity to their season. It's evidence, if you choose to regard it as such, that the Yankees don't need to tear things down and start from scratch. Rather, they should stick to the development-heavy philosophy that got them here.

It's personal for all of us, isn't it? Those of us who love sports _ and most of all baseball, because it's a near-daily event _ tie in baseball memories to the rest of our lives, and the other way around.

So when Yankee Stadium closes, as it will after tonight (barring the most miraculous of Yankees comebacks in this final week), I'm a little sorry that I won't be there. But not too much. The Stadium already occupies a special place in me, as I'm sure it does for many of you.

When I think of my first game there, as a fan, it's fathers and sons, and childhood and friendship. I recall being dropped off at home by my Mill Road Day Camp bus, getting picked up by my friend Scott and his dad and meeting Steve from South Amboy, who took the subway from his Manhattan office, at the Stadium. Scott and I laughed for many years overthe the heavyset guy sitting behind us, screaming, "Hey, Jackson, you're worth toilet papah! That's what you're worth!" I really don't remember much about the game besides the fact that Dick Trdrow started it, and the Yankees lost.

Let's start with the day's new playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. White Sox (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Mets (4)
Philadelphia (2) vs. Dodgers (3)

Keep in mind that, as the Brewers continue to fade, and the battle between the Phillies and Mets morphs from a fight for survival like last year's to a mere tiff for playoff seeding, the Mets have the edge. With their 11-7 record against Philadelphia this season, the Mets will get the seeding edge if the two clubs finish with the same record. So if both teams win out, for instance, the Mets will wind up as the NL East champs, and the Phils will have to open up at Chicago.

Anyway, here is my column off last night's Mets game. It's still utterly fascinating to watch Pedro Martinez pitch, even in the autumn of his career.

He didn't pitch horribly last night, but his first-inning struggles continued. Come playoff time _ and despite Pedro's protestations, who else would possibly pitch Game 4? _ the Mets can give Pedro only so much leeway in the first inning before they'd just have to pull him.

Meanwhile, I set a blog record last night, seeing two commenters during the game: Howard (who, full disclosure, was a friend before he was a commenter) and whynot.

Here is my Sunday Insider, which wonders whether the real-world occurrences of the last week will impact the sale of the Cubs and the game's financial health, in general.

Here is Newsday's special section bidding farewell to Yankee Stadium. I think it's kind of cool that, as long as the Yankees win tonight, they'll leave the ballpark still mathematically alive for the playoffs.

Stay tuned today. I'll do my own personal farewell to the Stadium, and there are rumors spreading around my hotel room that I might try another contest, this one with an easier answer that won't end up exposing me once more.

Here is my column from last night's Mets game. I spoke with Tom Glavine before the game and asked him if he wishes he could join the 2008 Mets in their quest for redemption.

Fun Mets game. Jerry Manuel had the magic touch. He used four pitchers _ Nelson Figueroa, Ricardo Rincon, Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano _ to get three outs without giving up a run in the bottom of the seventh, and then Dan Murphy produced the big, pinch-hit double in the top of the eighth_ on the first pitch he saw, no less _ from Julian Tavarez.

And now here are your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. White Sox (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Philadelphia (4)
Mets (2) vs. Dodgers (3)

Things change quickly, as we know, but it's sure looking like the Brewers are going to alleviate the Mets' stress. They've got nothing right now. Remember when the Mets met with Jeff Suppan two offseasons ago, the same winter they met with Barry Zito? Suppan, now with a 5.06 ERA after last night's pummeling, represents another bullet dodged for the Mets.

And now CC Sabathia is going on short rest today. Hank Steinbrenner should largely be ignored, but he has expressed a concern over Sabathia's workload, and I think he's right on that one.

Spoke a few hours ago with Mike Schmidt, who unwittingly stirred it up a couple of weeks ago when his e-mail to the Phillies became public. He regretted that he came off as trashing the Mets.

"I shouldn't have said '(The Mets) know you're better than they are," Schmidt said. "It's something I might have said if I was in uniform, in the clubhouse. 'They know you're better than they are,' that's kind of a tough comment. Maybe 'You know you're better than they are' would've been better.

"I didn't mean it to be disrespectful. ...Basically, both teams have got to feel they're better than the other team. For me, the most important stuff in the e-mail was the other stuff, about thinking small."

The truth is that, if the Phillies hadn't been so mindless about posting the e-mail where nosy media folks like myself could see it, this never would have become a story.

Meanwhile, Schmidt is promoting his involvement with this cause. This is especially relevant for men in their late 40s and early 50s. Schmidt himself is dealing with an enlarged prostate.