Rough Road coming up for Mets

The New York Mets will be challenged this week after a heartbreaking loss yesterday afternoon. The Mets lost their series with the Milwaukee Brewers after Chad Bradford gave up a walk off home run to Bill Hall in the 10th inning. Pedro Martinez only gave up four hits, but every one of them came in for a run.

Starting tomorrow, the Mets start a three game series with Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals. This battle of two first place teams should show whether the Mets are for real or not. Tom Glavine will take the hill tomorrow to see if he can continue his phenomenal pitching this season. The Phillies are only one game behind the Mets for the lead in the NL East, so this series could mean trouble for New York.

I am very interested to see how the Mets pitch to Pujols. They can probably ill afford to walk him every time he comes to the plate, or even 50% of the time. The Mets bats have been somewhat quiet lately, I'd like to see someone else besides Carlos Beltran start hitting with consistent power. It's time for David Wright to show us what he's got. Meanwhile, rumors continue to swirl about the Mets searching for a new starting pitcher. Livan Hernandez and Dontrelle Willis have both been mentioned, but for a trade of this magnitude to go down, Beltran or Wright would probably have to be given up. I still feel Kaz Matsui has a good chance of going, especially when you consider the return of Anderson Hernandez to the lineup, and the consistent hitting of Matsui. If he keeps getting singles on the pace he's doing, he could be a very appealing lead off man to many teams in the league.

Looking past the Cardinals, the first Subway Series of the season starts Friday with the New York Yankee$. This series is crucial in the Mets proving they are the better team in the city, especially with the Yanks' banged up outfield. More to come during the week.