Last night I was driving while the game was on the radio.  It was my first game heard entirely on the radio this year, and listening on the radio is something I truly love to do.  You really hear the crowd, the atmosphere just as you would at the park itself.  Friends that I have sat with in my season tickets over the past few years were at the game, but I had to turn down the offer of some tickets to take care of some personal things, so listening was a little bittersweet for that reason too.

But, despite a day of sports talk radio callers lamenting the fact that the Mets had to run Livan Hernandez out to the mound, while the bullpen is top of the line.  But Livan did what is basically needed from a fifth starter, he went 5+ very good innings.  He kept his team in it, even, really after the 3 run home run that he gave up to Ryan Braun, really.

But Met fans who called in yesterday also spoke about the need for one more bat, or an upgrade at 2nd, and Omar Minaya’s mistake of sticking with what the Mets had offensively after last year.  What we saw last night is that Minaya did not stick with the same team.  Castillo, and I should say for the record I have never been a fan, is healthier than he was last year.  What he did last night, is what Castillo has done much of his career, and its why the team got him in the first place.  His wheels got him to first base before the ball.

And then there is Sheffield.  Sheffield who has always proved his value when he has needed to, in any way he has needed to, paid the Mets back last night for giving him a chance.  His 500th home run will be worth some marketing oportunities, especially since it was the run that tied the game back up and kept the team in the game.  It was the first big moment at Citi Field.  Sheffield’s role will grow with the team will grow over the coming weeks, perhaps to the detriment of Ryan Church and Dan Murphy.  But, as another caller said yesterday, Dan Murphy can’t stay this hot.  Or can he.

Last year may have been the Mets playing 7 games under their 2008 Pecota measurement (Baseball Prosepctus explains their Pecota measurement), due to not only their bullpen but also to many other factors. Castillo, Delgado’s first half, Moises Alou.  Those problems, at least for the moment have been fixed.

Minaya, or those around him, has great instincts.  He makes some deals, like 4- years to Castillo , that leave even the savvy fan scratching their head.  But, I can’t come up with a GM that seems to use his intuition as often as Minaya and seems to get it right- as if by luck.

One thing, I beleive, is that the Mets need a few more games like last night to return some swagger to their walk and then they, and their fans, can start to believe again.  And then the Phillies fans might need to worry.  Its going to take a few more nights like last night though, before Philly has to worry.