Mets reeling, Phillies sailing

The New York Mets have dug such a deep hole for themselves that it appears unlikely they'll be able to pull themselves out. Yesterday, even Pedro Martinez's quality start and two shutout innings of relief weren't enough to secure a victory. St. Louis shut them out 3-0. Even the hot-hitting Moise Alou couldn't get a hit, ending his hit streak at 30 games.

In their last 14 games the Mets have held their opponents to three or fewer runs only three times, and they lost two of those games.

Since the start of June, they haven't even played .500 ball: Their record is 53-54.

They have three home games left in the season against the surging Florida Marlins. In their last three games, the Fish swept their three-game series with the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs.

Oliver Perez starts today; he's won six of his last eight starts. If he can contain his emotions tonight and the Mets hit better than they did last night, they might win. There's no guarantee despite what Mets manager Willie Randolph said.

After yesterday's loss, Randolph said "We're gonna win this thing!" I don't believe him.

Surprisingly, in a separate post-game conversation, Carlos Delgado said "It doesn't do us any good to say 'we have to win,' or 'we have to do this.' We just need to go out and play." The Mets and their manager don't seem to be sailing on the same ship.

The Mets are a disheartened team whose sails can no longer find any wind. Against Florida, they'll be lucky to win one game.