On the Mets beat

Jorge Sosa became the latest Mets casualty minutes ago when he crumbled to the ground in the sixth inning with a strained left hamstring. Sosa tried to beat out his double-play grounder to short, but stepped on the base awkwardly with his left foot. Moments later, Sosa was on the ground, grimacing in pain as he was examined by manager Willie Randolph and trainer Ray Ramirez. He hobbled off the field and it's a safe bet he won't be making his next start.

Mike Pelfrey already is pencilled in to start Tuesday in Colorado, and Dave Williams, who made his second rehab start last Wednesday, may be ready to join the Mets shortly.

Only in the first inning here at Citizens Bank Park, and there's good news and bad news to report. Paul Lo Duca and David Wright already have homered, and the Mets lead, 3-0. But the Mets look concerned about Jose Reyes, who appears to have some sort of problem with his right shoulder.

Reyes grabbed at the shoulder after fouling off a 1-and-1 pitch, and after getting checked out by manager Willie Randolph and trainer Ray Ramirez, he stayed in the game to slap a single up the middle. But as soon as he reached first base, Reyes called time again and motioned for Ramirez, who trotted out with Randolph for another look at the shortstop.

Again, Reyes stayed in, but after jogging around the bases on Lo Duca's homer -- and doing one of his stylish fist pumps with the catcher -- Reyes disappeared into the clubhouse. His status is uncertain at this point.

Update (4:17 p.m.): Reyes is now at shortstop. Crisis averted.

Lastings Milledge is expected to be the DH tonight for Class A St. Lucie, his first game since landing on the disabled list with sprained ligaments in his right foot.

... what did you mean by telling a handful of reporters, "I'll do this [interview], but you need to start talking to other players.It's the same three or four people every day. Nobody else wants to talk. Some of these guys have got to start talking. They speak English, believe me."

At best, Lo Duca was portrayed in some media circles this morning as a hothead fed up with constantly answering for his teammates. At worst? A racist in one of the more racially diverse clubhouses in the majors. Either way, those comments got Lo Duca called into the manager's office for a chat that lasted nearly 30 minutes, and the catcher emerged breathing fire to reporters.

"So now I’m a racist," Lo Duca said. "Right now, I’m a gambler, a racist, and I like 18-year-old girls. That’s the perception of people in New York about me. Is any of it true? No, none of it.Yet, no one knows that. Do you understand where I’m coming from? Do I have a right to be frustrated? Tell me if I’m wrong. You ask any of these guys in the clubhouse and ask whether I have a problem with any of them – if they like me, if I’m an issue. One thing about me – listen, I’ve had issues in my life, I’ve went through marital problems, I understand that.

"If you go to all three of my clubs, name one teammate who has a problem with me. Name one. One person who’s ever said to you that Paul Lo Duca is a cancer in the clubhouse or that Paul Lo Duca is a racist or that Paul Lo Duca has issues. Nobody."

Lo Duca was referring to specifically last season, when two of the tabloids used him as a volleyball, alternately detailing his alleged trysts with teenagers and alleged gambling issues. In this case, it now appears that a few off-the-cuff comments put him in hot water -- and his teammates tried their best too cool off the situation before the first game of today's crucial doubleheader against the Phillies.

"We don't care about that. . . . We definitely don't care about that," Carlos Delgado said. "It's like, there's a lot of guys here that speak Spanish -- is that racial? There's a lot of guys here that speak English – is that racial? Maybe he was implying that you guys don't speak Spanish. Maybe he was kind of cracking a joke on you. I don't know.

"I don't find it offensive at all. It's like two Japanese guys walk in here and say 'there's a couple guys who speak Japanese' –- is that racial? Are you segregating anything? I personally as a teammate I don't think that's offensive to anybody. That was the quote? That's it?"

Maybe if this managing gig doesn’t work out for Willie Randolph, he can get into the sports handicapping business. The Mets’ manager put on a Nostradamus-like act last night, in effect saying he had predicted the Yankees’ just-completed woeful road trip as well as having a premonition that Yadier Molina would hurt his team in last October’s playoffs.
Randolph’s impromptu rant evolved from a discussion about how elements other than statistics can sometimes affect a team’s performance. “That’s why I laugh at people trying to pick the games and who will win,” Randolph said before last night’s game against the Cardinals was rained out. “Just because you’re better on paper doesn’t mean anything, really. It means that you’re good and you have a chance to win.”
Which brought Randolph to his former employer. “Not to get on the Yankees but, I had a feeling the Yankees might have a rough road trip. I’ve been there before,” he said. “They’re playing in Colorado in front of a packed house. These young kids are fired up; they’re facing the Yankees. I look at that – I look at a lot of little things that other people maybe don’t look at. I had a feeling they were going to have a tough trip. San Francisco? That’s another situation.
“They hate the East Coast people,” Randolph said with a laugh. “They’re all fired up out there. Barry Bonds is stealing bases. And they’ve got good young arms. People are saying, ‘Oh the Yankees are going to have a great trip.’ I didn’t think that..”
Not even in Baltimore, always a favorite patsy of the Yankees at Camden Yards in the Joe Torre Era? “They always play well in Baltimore but that was going to turn,” Randolph said sagely. “They fired the manager so the guys were fired up to get going.”
The intangibles that Randolph referred to can even surface in the postseason. He revealed that even though he believed he had the superior team when his Mets faced the Cardinals in last fall’s NLCS, Randolph had some worrisome premonitions. “You’ve got to have quality starters in the playoffs and then you hope everybody’s biorhythms are clicking together. I believe in that, too,” Randolph said.
Then, as soon as some reporters started chuckling, Randolph added, “I believe in that, too. I’m serious. You think the Cardinals were really better than us last year? But I had a feeling Molina was going to have a good series because he had a horse[bleep] year. I just had a feeling that he was going to be one of those unsung hero guys. There’s always one of them. When he hit the home run [in the ninth inning of Game 7 for the winning runs in St. Louis’ 3-1 victory] I wasn’t even surprised. I was more nervous about him than I was about [Albert] Pujols going into the series.”
Wonder if Willie is more worried this weekend about Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz than he is about slugging first baseman Ryan Howard.

The balloting won't be complete until next week, but the Mets will be missing one notable name from the All-Star Game. Manager Willie Randolph pulled himself off the National League's coaching staff today because of shoulder surgery he plans to have during the break. Randolph was invited by Cardinals manager Tony La Russa to next month's game in San Francisco, but apparently the procedure couldn't wait.

"Just from wear-and-tear," Randolph said. "Got to get it cleaned out."

As for tonight, Damion Easley takes over for Jose Valentin at second base, but Randolph said it had nothing to do with Valentin's slippery fingers in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Cards. When someone asked if Valentin's knee condition affected him that night, Randolph replied, "He doesn't have any braces on his hands. He had the ball in his hands. He just dropped it."

I sense a little frustration -- OK, blinding hostility -- with Scott Schoeneweis out there in Metsland. Unfortunately, there's no real solution. Schoeneweis is dealing with a torn tendon in his left knee, and despite his best efforts to pitch through the condition, it's obviously not working.

The Mets also are stuck with him. GM Omar Minaya signed him to a three-year, $10.8-million contract that is looking like one of the worst deals of his tenure, so forget trying to package him for something of value elsewhere. Maybe it's time for the Mets to just cut their losses and put Schoeneweis on the disabled list, even though he's already said that won't help his injury situation very much. But at least manager Willie Randolph won't feel compelled to use him then.

On a related note, I watched Royce Ring toss three impressive innings against the Red Sox over the weekend -- retired nine of 11 with five Ks.

Herzog here, pinch-hitting for Lennon ...

An odd lineup for the Mets today, as a couple of players needed the day off. Carlos Delgado asked for a break and Willie Randolph gladly complied. “His numbers against [Oakland starter Joe] Kennedy are atrocious,” the Mets’ manager noted. Delgado is 5-for-36 lifetime against the A’s lefthander, a .139 average. Additionally, Julio Franco, who would have started at first base yesterday, said his knee was acting up and could not start. So Shawn Green made his 119th career start at first base and Damion Easley made his sixth career start in rightfield.

The lineup:

Reyes SS
LoDuca C
Beltran CF
Wright 3B
Easley RF
Green 1B
Valentin 2B
Gomez LF
Maine P

Hey, Sports Illustrated: Try this for "This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse"

A radio reporter actually said the Mets "got a small measure of revenge" for the A's winning the 1973 World Series by beating Oakland on Friday night.

UPDATE, 11:02 p.m., Saturday:
The Mets got more revenge with a 1-0 win.
Ken Holtzman (Game 7 winner) must be really upset right now.

So the A's are here for the final weekend of interleague play. It's Oakland's first visit to play the Mets here since the 1973 World Series, which is either third or fourth in Mets' World Series history.
If you don't know much about the '73 series, try this link:
Let's try this for the weekend poll: Rank the Mets' World Series appearances, from your most favorite to least favorite.
The choices are 1969, 1973, 1986 and 2000.
Obviously, 69 and 86 are the best, but in what order?
And 2000 or 73? Which World Series was more fun for Mets fans, even though the Mets lost?

Is there a bigger start for Tom Glavine this season than tomorrow night against the A's? I don't think so. Personally, the frustrated Glavine badly needs a victory to inch a little closer to No. 300 and prove to himself that he can still be a reliable front-end starter. And from a team standpoint, the Mets are desperate. Or as desperate as a first-place team can be.

After a week of self-reflection, and a little fine-tuning, expect Glavine to rebound from his last two flops. It's no coincidence that he was pounded by two AL teams -- the Tigers and Yankees -- but the A's lineup isn't quite as powerful as those two. But if Glavine stumbles again, GM Omar Minaya will have no choice but to deal a few prospects for a top-flight starter like the White Sox' Mark Buehrle by next month's July 31 trade deadline.

Rickey Henderson, employed by the Mets as a roving instructor, dropped by this afternoon to be a self-described "lucky charm" for the slumping team. Henderson chatted with his base-stealing protege Jose Reyes and hung out in uniform during batting practice.

"If we lose, I was never here," Henderson joked.

Speaking of tonight's game, here's the lineup. Ricky Ledee is back in left after Monday's three RBI performance.

Reyes ...... SS
Lo Duca ....C
Beltran ..... CF
Wright ...... 3B
Delgado .... 1B
Green ........ RF
Valentin .... 2B
Ledee ........ LF
Perez ........ LHP

With Johan Santana on the mound for the Twins tonight, manager Willie Randolph went with a more righthanded lineup that includes Damion Easley and Carlos Gomez. Tough break for Ricky Ledee, who had a home run and three RBIs in last night's 8-1 win.

Reyes ........ SS
Lo Duca ....... C
Beltran .........CF
Wright ..........3B
Delgado .......1B
Easley ......... 2B
Green .......... RF
Gomez ......... LF
Sosa ............ RHP

Carlos Delgado says he's going with the high socks again tonight, too. "Why not?" he said. After a couple of hits and a home run last night, no sense in changing anything.

I'd like to say I'm surprised by callers to WFAN screaming that they want the Mets to get rid of Carlos Beltran. Maybe it's just that more people are having Budweiser for breakfast than I would have guessed. Is that what it's come to these days? OK, Beltran hasn't looked much like a $119-million player lately. But he did finish fourth in the NL MVP voting last year and do these people truly believe he's done?

GM Omar Minaya was trying to suppress laughter yesterday when asked if maybe sitting Beltran would be the best thing for his strained left quad. And play who? Beltran at 80 percent is still one of the best players on the field and the quad situation hasn't seemed to affect his ability to play center. He was chasing down deep fly balls all weekend in the Bronx and continued to do so in last night's 8-1 win over the Twins.

Minaya also insisted that Beltran, the top vote-getter in the NL, will not be prevented from playing in next month's All-Star Game. At least not yet.

On another topic, anyone else think the Mets went a little nuts last night with the relentless All-Star campaigning for Paul Lo Duca? They obviously got the idea from seeing the Dodgers do the same thing for Russell Martin last week in LA and it worked for him. Let's see what the numbers look like next week.

Carlos Beltran wants everyone to know that his left quad muscle is fine. Really. So stop asking him about it. After creating a media tempest this weekend by mentioning his leg problems as a possible cause of his slump, Beltran did an about face following batting practice.

"I don't want to talk about the quad anymore," Beltran said. "The quad is fine. I don't know what you guys are trying to do. You guys go write whatever you want. Let's talk about baseball. I'm tired of talking about it."

Now that we got that out of the way, here's tonight's lineup. Notice that Paul Lo Duca is back after leaving Sunday night's game in the fourth inning because of a bruised left elbow. Lo Duca has been drilled numerous times this season on the same spot and the Yankees' Chien-Ming Wang got him again.

Reyes ........ SS
Lo Duca ...... C
Beltran ........ CF
Wright ........ 3B
Delgado ....... 1B
Green .......... RF
Valentin ....... 2B
Ledee .......... LF
Maine .......... RHP

In the wake of all these losses piling up for the Mets, could they lose bench coach Jerry Manuel, too? It appears that the firing of manager Sam Perlozzo is imminent in Baltimore -- possibly today -- and Manuel could be at the top of the Orioles' list. YES analyst and 2006 Manager of the Year Joe Girardi also is being mentioned as a candidate, though it seems that the former Yankee catcher is waiting out Joe Torre for the skipper's job in the Bronx.

The Mets likely won't stand in the way of Manuel leaving. But that would be a huge blow to manager Willie Randolph, who has benefited greatly from having Manuel beside him as a trusted confidante. Stay tuned.

Update (12:01 p.m.)
-- Looks like Perlozzo got the axe.

Carlos Beltran has been bothered by a quad strain for a while now and hasn't been shy about pointing out how it has affected his game. Doesn't it seem like Beltran's legs have been an issue ever since he signed with the Mets? With that in mind, I find it interesting that Willie Randolph hasn't used him as the DH in any of the team's games against the American League yet (not sure of what tonight's lineup will be). I know the Mets are short on outfielders, but is Willie trying to give Beltran a message by not giving him a partial day off?

Not sure what right-wing propaganda Bill O'Reilly planned to spread in the Mets clubhouse this morning, but it wasn't happening without the proper credential. Actually, O'Reilly didn't crash the clubhouse to distribute DVDs of the "Factor." At least I don't think so

Unfortunately for him, after strolling aimlessly through a pack of reporters who were there doing their jobs, O'Reilly was intercepted by a security guard, who pointed out that his media credential did not include clubhouse access.

Shed no tears for O'Reilly, however. He was all smiles hanging around the cage while the Yankees took batting practice later this morning.

Conventional wisdom has the Yankees winning two of three (that's what our baseball columnist, Ken Davidoff, thinks).
I kinda think the Mets will win two out of three. Why? Not sure. In football, I believe in the "desperate team" theory that says when evenly matched teams play, the team that needs the win more will generally get it (especially if that team is at home).
The Mets need a win more tonight, which is why I think they will win Game 1. Then all they have to do is take one of the next two.
So that's what I'm going for.
What do you all think? And here's a side question: will Glavine get win No. 296 on Saturday? I say no, but think the Mets could still win the game. So I guess I'm predicting the Mets to win Friday and Saturday and lose Sunday.

Is it me, or are the Mets letting themselves get pushed around a little too much lately. I'm not talking about the losing. That happens. But not retaliating for Hong-Chih Kuo's ridiculous bat flip Tuesday night was a mistake. And the bullying continued Wednesday when LA starter Brad Penny got in Shawn Green's face after striking him out to end the third inning.

Green bent over to remove his shin guard, and when he stood up, there was Penny, jawing at him about stealing signs and pitch location in the first inning. Green was standing on second base after his one-out double, and that sort of subterfuge does happen around the league. But Green seemed surprised by the accusation, and I think he should have given it right back to Penny, who was out of line walking all the way from the mound to the plate instead of to his own dugout. Alas, Green is too nice a guy.

"Someone on their side said I was relaying the location of pitches, which wasn't the case," Green said after Wednesday's 9-1 loss to LA. "It was a little bit of paranoia on their side."

Green went on to say that the Mets believed the LA players were doing that to Aaron Heilman earlier in the series and all he did was change his signs -- without a confrontation.

Expect to see a little more fire from the Mets this weekend in the Bronx. They have to draw the line somewhere, and what better setting than the emotionally-charged atmosphere of the Subway Series.

BY DAVID LENNON

LOS ANGELES – The second week of June is a little early to be talking about must-wins, but heading into last night’s series finale at Dodger Stadium, it definitely felt like one for the Mets.

Not so much for their grip on first place in the National League East. That was safe regardless of the outcome. But at stake last night for the Mets was something even more important – their dignity – and they fumbled that away too in a 9-1 loss to the Dodgers.

Jorge Sosa picked a bad time to lose his magic touch, allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings, and the Mets didn’t score after taking a 1-0 lead in the first on David Wright’s RBI single.

Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado went a combined 0-for-8 as the Dodgers completed their first three-game sweep of the Mets at Chavez Ravine since 1996. Billy Wagner, who served up a two-run homer to James Loney in the eighth inning, expressed the disgust that has enveloped the Mets after dropping their fifth straight.

Asked if he was embarrassed, Wagner replied, “Oh yeah,” then continued to issue what sounded like an apology for another lackluster performance.

“I’m sure Omar [Minaya] didn’t put this team together to expect this type of play,” Wagner said. “I’m sure Fred Wilpon didn’t shell out all that money for us to go play like this.”

The spiraling Mets (36-28) have lost nine of 10 as their lead continued to shrink in the NL East. The Phillies moved into a second-place tie with the Braves yesterday and both teams trail by only two games with the Mets heading to the Bronx for this weekend’s Subway Series

“We’ve got to turn it around and we’ve got to turn it around fast,” Wright said. “Why not play the best? That’s what we have to do. We’re capable of beating the best teams and the Yankees are probably the best team in baseball right now.”

The Dodgers looked pretty good, too. They outscored the Mets, 18-4, in the sweep and came from behind in each of the three games. Penny allowed seven hits and struck out seven over seven innings as the Mets went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

"We caused a lot of our own problems, but right now they’re very good," Wagner said."They played outstanding baseball and we made them look better with our sloppy play and lackadaisical efforts.

It was Sosa who stopped the Mets’ previous four-game slide Friday with eight scoreless innings in Detroit and last night he was asked to do it again. Given the moribund state of the team’s offense lately, a repeat performance was probably a good idea, and Sosa looked ready for the encore when he retired seven straight to open the game.

But Sosa couldn’t hold a 1-0 lead and the Mets already trailed, 5-1, when manager Willie Randolph came out to retrieve him with in the sixth inning. The Dodgers got a pair of two-out singles by Wilson Betemit and Matt Kemp to chase Sosa and Pedro Feliciano gave up an RBI-double to Tony Abreu for another insurance run.

Betemit tied the score in the fifth inning when launched a leadoff home run that sailed over the outstretched glove of Carlos Beltran in left-centerfield. Betemit was the one who started the Dodgers’ three-homer barrage Tuesday against John Maine and this time, with the count 0-and-2, he crushed a hanging slider to tie the score.

“I was trying to throw a backdoor slider but the ball stayed in the middle of the plate,” said Sosa, who had allowed only one run in his previous 17 1/3 innings. “I knew that he was a bad breaking ball hitter but that ball was right in the middle of the plate.”

The next batter, Matt Kemp, reached when Sosa couldn’t beat him to the bag on Delgado’s flip to first. One out later, Penny sacrificed him over and Rafael Furcal hammered the first pitch into the rightfield corner for a triple that put the Dodgers up, 2-1. Juan Pierre followed with an RBI single but was thrown out trying to stretch for a double in an apparent attempt to catch the Mets napping.

Once again, the Mets raced to an early lead, just as they had in the first two losses to the Dodgers. It was almost becoming more of a tease for a demoralized team grasping for any shred of hope. Despite Penny’s dominance this season (7-1, 2.26 ERA) he’s always been ordinary facing the Mets. In 16 career starts, Penny was 3-10 with a 6.16 ERA against them.

That trend continued in the first inning and then abruptly stopped. Shawn Green slapped a one-out double down the leftfield line, and after Beltran bounced to third, Wright punched an RBI single to center. As yet another example of the Mets’ desperation, Wright tried to stretch for a double and was easily gunned down to end the inning.

Wright has been virtually alone in the middle of the Mets’ lineup. Heading into last night’s series finale, Beltran was batting .171 (6-for-35) with as many strikeouts as hits this month. He also had just one RBI, courtesy of his only extra-base hit, a home run on June 6 in a loss to the Phillies.

Delgado has struggled as well. Wright bumped him from the cleanup spot for these three games in LA, even with the righthanded Penny starting last night, and Delgado’s RBI single Tuesday snapped an 0-for-16 skid with runners in scoring position. Since Friday’s homer in Detroit, Delgado was 3-for-17 with a pair of doubles and one RBI during the Mets’ four-game slide.

Delgado was asked yesterday if the team’s struggles have forced players to put too much pressure on themselves. In his case, it could be reflected in a lack of patience, as Randolph cautioned the Mets about before this series began on Monday. Delgado and Beltran each have only one walk this month.

“It kind of happens,” Delgado said, “but that’s the worst thing you can do. It does get a little more personal. You want to bear down a little more and help turn this thing around.”

As for the reversal of fortune over the past two weeks, Delgado added, “We’ve got the same guys, so it’s not like they forgot to play overnight. We’ve got great talent in this room.”

Want to shag fly balls with Carlos Beltran? Play a round of golf with Tom Glavine? Or maybe learn Spanish from Jose Reyes? Then you might want to attend the Mets "Teammates in the Community" fundraiser on June 21. Check out the details below.

We understand it was a big moment for Hong-Chih Kuo last night when he drilled his first career home run deep into the rightfield bleachers -- and the third straight for the Dodgers on consecutive pitches. But flipping the bat like he was Barry Bonds hitting No. 756 was a little over the top as far as baseball etiquette is concerned.

Manager Willie Randolph had a sarcastic response for reporters afterward, snapping, "He looked good anyway. He must be used to it." And the Mets, including John Maine, didn't show much anger in the postgame clubhouse. At the very least, Maine has to send a message to Kuo that such theatrics are out of line. Not hit him necessarily, but at least brush him back, get him to move his feet a little. Plus, it doesn't take much to knock a pitcher down. A chest-high fastball a few extra inches inside and I'm sure Kuo would have grabbed some dirt.

I know with the way the Mets are going right now, it might have been an unwanted distraction. But losing is one thing. Getting embarrassed and shown up on the field is another. They shouldn't put up with that, too.

BY DAVID LENNON

LOS ANGELES – The Dodgers treated the second inning of last night’s game against the reeling Mets as if it were a longest-drive contest at Chavez Ravine C.C.

John Maine, in that scenario, was the tee.

On consecutive pitches, the threesome of Wilson Betemit, Matt Kemp and, yes, even Hong-Chih Kuo, launched home runs deep into the fading twilight of Dodger Stadium. Each one soared further than 400 feet.

String them all together, and they may have reached the “THINK BLUE” sign perched on the hills behind the leftfield bleachers. For the Mets, it was humiliating, especially watching Kuo flip his bat into the air like he was Barry Bonds.

Maine became the team’s first pitcher in seven years to suffer that particular indignity and the Mets essentially rolled over against Kuo in a 4-1 loss at Dodger Stadium. They now have lost eight of nine and 10 of their last 13.

What began as a June swoon is developing into a free-fall. The Mets, at 2-9, have lost more games this month than anyone else in the majors and the race is tightening in the NL East. The Braves remain two games back, but the Phillies closed to within three after last night’s victory over the White Sox.

“This is a test of our character and what we are made of,” David Wright said. “We need to step up. We’re getting to the point now where it’s beyond a little slump and beyond a little rut. We’ve got to step up.”

The Mets watched Orlando Hernandez’s streak of 15 scoreless innings go up in smoke in Monday’s 5-3 loss to the Dodgers. Last night, it was Maine’s perfect road record that was ruined in spectacular fashion. Maine was 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA in six starts away from Shea this season.

But by the time he left the mound with one out in the fifth, the shell-shocked Maine was a road warrior no longer. As if the three homers weren’t enough, Maine was stuck with a fourth run when Kemp’s infield single off reliever Joe Smith scored Luis Gonzalez, who had reached on a leadoff walk.

Before the game, manager Willie Randolph talked about keeping an even keel through the Mets’ recent misfortune. But that becomes increasingly difficult when the losing continues.

“I always try to keep things in perspective,” Randolph said. “We don’t like getting beat up. But the bottom line is that we’re a good team and we’ll ride whatever waves are in front of us.”

Last night was more like a tsunami. Maine became the first Mets’ pitcher to serve up three consecutive home runs since Pete Harnisch, who joined that select club on Opening Day of the 1997 season (Chris Gomez, Rickey Henderson, Quilvio Veras) against the Padres.

For the Dodgers, such an amazing display of power has been an annual event. It was only last September that they drilled four straight home runs – the last three on consecutive pitches -- in the ninth inning to complete an incredible rally against the Padres.

The Dodgers’ three-homer assault on Maine in the second inning was stunning. It happened on consecutive pitches, from the bottom three hitters in the lineup, including Kuo, who was 1-for-10 in his career with six strikeouts. And these were not cheapies, either.

“It happened so fast,” Carlos Beltran said. “I was like, ‘Wow.’ It looked so easy. Including the pitcher, he took a great swing and drove that ball really far.”

Betemit’s blast, on a 1-and-1 pitch, traveled 408 feet into the left-centerfield bleachers. Kemp followed with a 447- foot shot that reached the second-level loge seats just beyond the leftfield foul pole. How rare was that? Olmedo Saenz, then with the Dodgers, was the previous player to smash one into those same yellow seats back in 2005.

Last, but not least, was Kuo. Maybe by then word had spread through LA’s dugout about swinging at the first pitch because Kuo took a monstrous hack and knew it was gone as soon as he made contact. That was obvious when Kuo flipped his bat in the air, which did not sit well with some of the Mets.

“He looked good anyway,” Randolph said, sarcastically. “He must be used to it.”

But Maine, who claimed not to notice when Kuo made contact, never bothered to buzz Kuo in his next at-bat. Afterward, he watched the replay in the clubhouse and expressed some minor irritation.

“I don’t really care,” Maine said. “That stuff is nonsense. I’m not worried about it. It’s done. When you see it, it upsets you a little bit, but who knows.”

As Kuo jogged around the bases, the normally laid-back crowd at Chavez Ravine was in a full-on frenzy. It was then that pitching coach Rick Peterson visited the mound, put his hands on Maine’s shoulders and tried to restore some sanity to the situation.

For the second straight night, the Mets jumped to an early lead, only to lose it shortly afterward. Kuo had been tough on them in the past, with nine scoreless innings in three regular-season games that included one start – his first in the majors.

The Mets beat him in Game 2 of the Division Series, however, knocking him out after 4 1/3 innings. And they took a 1-0 lead in the second inning last night on Carlos Delgado’s RBI single to center. David Wright opened with a single that extended his hitting streak to 14 games and then stole second base. The sneaky Wright has not been caught stealing this season (14-for-14) and his aggressiveness was just what the Mets needed.

But the rally died quickly. Paul Lo Duca bounced into a double play and Kuo whiffed Jose Valentin with a nasty breaking pitch to demoralize the Mets. Little did they know it was only the beginning.

“An early season test,” Randolph said. “We’ve got to keep grinding it out and find a way to win tomorrow.”

... Know what I'm sayin' ... But seriously, the cover story in this week's Sports Illustrated on Omar Minaya, titled "The Story of O," is another outstanding job by Gary Smith. It hits the newsstands tomorrow.

Manager Willie Randolph is usually effusive in his praise of Orlando Hernandez, but one pitch in particular really bothered him from last night's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers. It was the 3-and-2 slow curve that El Duque threw to Juan Pierre leading off the fourth inning. Pierre didn't bite, wound up on first base with a walk and sparked the Dodgers' three-run burst.

"That leadoff walk didn't help any," Randolph said. "He threw him a slow curve that he didn't even swing at. You can't do that. He was throwing the ball well to that point."

That's definitely a no-no to Pierre, who walked twice last night for the first this season and now has only 11 this season overall.He rattled Hernandez by stealing second and later scored on Russell Martin's double.

Catcher Paul Lo Duca felt the only mistake Hernandez made that inning was the hanger that Luis Gonzalez ripped for an RBI double.El Duque allowed as many runs in the fourth as he had in his previous 36 innings, and letting LA tie the score at that point definitely blew a hole in the Mets' confidence.

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Shawn Green credited the element of surprise for his steal of second base in the first inning. Green, in his first game back from the DL, stunned the Dodgers to the extent that catcher Russell Martin's bounced away for an error and he took third.

"That was kind of my approach," Green said, smiling. "I knew they wouldn't be expecting it so I went on the first pitch."

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Here's David Wright's take on the Mets' brutal stretch ahead, where they play the Yankees, Twins, A's and Cardinals after wrapping this series with the Dodgers.

"You try not to think ahead, but we have a tough schedule overall and a tough interleague schedule. They're all playoff teams from last year and we know that. We know that we’re going to have to elevate our game. It’s kind of a tough spot in the season to scuffle as we have, and then play these teams. Sometimes you scuffle and get away with playing lower echelon teams. but when you’re playing the best of the best, they’re going to exploit your weaknesses, and that’s what Detroit did.

"We’re going to have to recuperate quickly or we’re going to get embarrassed over these next couple weeks. We’re at a point in the season we need to dig down deep. Even if we’re not playing as well as we can, we have to find ways to win. We have to create runs, we have to push, because over this streak you can get beat up pretty good with these teams that we’re playing."

BY DAVID LENNON

LOS ANGELES – It appears that the Mets’ recent malaise is a little more troubling than one lost weekend in Detroit.

In an effort to turn the page, manager Willie Randolph delivered a brief 15-minute pep talk to his players before last night’s game against the Dodgers. But the bad karma from that dreadful series against the Tigers must have followed the Mets westward to Chavez Ravine.

How else can you explain Orlando Hernandez suddenly unraveling after 15 scoreless innings? Or the Mets going ice-cold after sprinting to a 3-0 lead? It’s easier to blame last night’s 5-3 loss to the Dodgers on lousy luck and hope it turns soon after the Mets’ ninth defeat in 12 games. But the players think differently.

“To get out of this, it’s going to be a grind,” Paul Lo Duca said. “I’m sick and tired of hearing that we’re banged up. That’s not an excuse. We need to play better. That’s the bottom line.”

The Mets actually got healthier with the return of Shawn Green from the disabled list and the rightfielder chipped in with a pair of hits, including an RBI single in the first inning. In that same sequence, Green stole second and took third when the throw from catcher Russell Martin bounced away for an error. He later scored on David Wright’s two-out single.

Not bad for a guy still recovering from a broken foot, but Green is more concerned with the Mets’ fractured psyche.

“Sometimes during a season, things just don’t mesh,” Green said. “We’re just finding ways to lose.”

Here’s how it happened last night. Hernandez, who had allowed only three runs in his previous 33 innings, failed to hold a 3-0 lead. The Dodgers rallied for three runs to tie the score in the fourth inning and then moved ahead with two more in the sixth.

Luis Gonzalez opened with a double to the gap in right-center, and one out later, James Loney followed with a double to the warning track in left that nearly caused a collision between Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gomez. The ball landed at the base of the wall, where Beltran retrieved it near the fallen Gomez, but he dropped it before making a throw and the error allowed Loney to take third.

With Tony Abreu at the plate, the Dodgers gambled with a suicide squeeze. The Mets called a pitchout, but the lefthanded Abreu barely got his bat on the ball, and the bunt rolled up the third-base line, where Lo Duca easily tagged out Loney. Lo Duca should have stopped there.

Instead, he fired a wild throw to first that skidded past the diving Carlos Delgado and bounced into rightfield. The error let Abreu sprint all the way around to third and pinch hitter Wilson Betemit put the Dodgers ahead, 5-3, with an RBI single that finished El Duque.

“”I don’t regret throwing it,” Lo Duca said. “I just didn’t make the throw. It would have been a great double play.”

Randolph’s team is on a slippery slope after a sweep by the Phillies at Shea was made considerably worse by losing two of three to the defending American League champions at Comerica Park. The finale, a 15-7 whipping on Sunday, left a particularly bad taste in the manager’s mouth and Randolph thought it might be time for a little reminder about playing the game with maximum effort.

The message was a broad one, and Randolph hinted at his feelings when he spoke with reporters yesterday afternoon. The manager talked about how some players have to be smarter at the plate and not have the attitude that they “own” RBIs in certain situations. Randolph stopped short of calling anyone selfish, but he also suggested the Mets’ approach is not where it should be.

“Don’t assume you own those RBIs,” Randolph said before the game. “There’s somebody on deck behind you. It’s a team. The ultimate goal is to get guys in.”

Last night’s lineup may have been a reflection of that. Wright was in the No. 4 spot rather than the inconsistent Carlos Delgado, who was batting fifth. Wright extended his hitting streak to 13 games, but after belting a home run in four consecutive games, he fell short of Richard Hidalgo’s franchise record. That, of course, was not the most pressing issue on his mind after the Mets went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

“I think everybody wants to get that big hit,” Wright said. “Hopefully we’ll have good at-bats and find some holes. This is just what happens when you’re going through a rut like we are right now.”

Gomez put the Mets up, 3-0, with his two-out RBI single in the fourth inning, but the Dodgers rallied to the tie the score in the bottom half. A leadoff walk to Juan Pierre became trouble when he stole second to set up Martin, who pulled an RBI single past the diving Wright.

Martinez also preyed on El Duque’s slow delivery by swiping second, and one out later, Gonzalez ripped an RBI double into the rightfield corner. Andre Ethier continued to pile on when he dunked a single into shallow left and Gomez blew any shot he had at Gonzalez by taking too much time to get the ball out of his glove. By the time Gomez did, his throw was wide, and Lo Duca stepped up to keep Ethier at first base.

Just like that, the Mets’ early lead had vanished. The losing, however, continued for another day.

“We’ll go out tomorrow and get a win,” Randolph said. “Keep working.”

Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, caused a media ruckus on the field during batting practice as she practiced for throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Posh needed the help, and she got plenty of tutoring from Derek Lowe, as well as a few other attentive Dodgers.

Also among the VIPs -- Jerry Seinfeld, sitting in a field level box and wearing a Mets hat, of course. As was Oscar winner Hilary Swank, who was booed when her face appeared on the jumbotron.

Paris Hilton had tickets, but was unavoidably detained (Just kidding).

The Dodgers' Russell Martin leapfrogged Paul Lo Duca in the voting for the NL's starting catcher in next month's All-Star Game in San Francisco. Martin had trailed Lo Duca by more than 90,000 votes last week. Check out the tabulations below: