Take it?

The Mets lost to the Phillies last night, snapping their second five game winning streak since September, 2006. Despite the loss, New York left Citizens Bank Park last night with a series win, a 4-2 advantage, in the early going, in head-t0-head match-ups against Philadelphia, and a 10-7 overall record.

Jose Reyes had a good week

The Mets are 5-1 since last Sunday's wretched loss against the Brewers sent fans' collective psyche to a new low, stoked anxieties about the Mets ability to overcome September, 2007, and renewed calls for Willie Randolph's firing.

So, if you're a Mets fan, do you take it? The Mets lost last night, which we never like to see, but they showed fight. They weren't just blowing off the third game of a three game series after winning the first two; you could tell this was a game they wanted to win. After falling behind 4-0 on two Chase Utley home runs, (even without the homers, Mike Pelfrey did NOT pitch so well last night) the Mets mounted a 4 run rally in the top of the sixth to tie the game. David Wright pumped his fist emphatically after scoring the third of those runs, and the Mets only fell behind again when Pedro Feliz hit a Shea Stadium double out to right for another Citizens Bandbox home run. The Mets rallied again in the ninth, but a would-be game-tying single by Carlos Beltran was turned into a fabulous play by the usually unreliable Eric Bruntlett, who dove to his left to stop the ball and fired a one-hopper to first to retire Beltran and end the game.

Despite the series win, and the encouraging effort last night, David Wright was pissed after the game. Said Wright, "these are the games that can bite you later on. We had a chance to deliver a knockout blow and we didn't. We won a series...great. But we had a chance to make a statement."

I'll certainly take that. The Mets young star and emerging leader is keenly aware of the cavalier attitude that doomed the Mets last season, and doesn't want to let a single game slip, or pass up a single chance to kick an opponent while they're down.

But while I'm happy that David Wright is angry, and that the Mets are bitter about losing last night, I'll take the results of the past week. There's certainly a lot to be encouraged by.

There's Jose Reyes, who was taken aside by Carlos Beltran before last Tuesday night's game and told, simply, to be himself again. For Jose, that bit of veteran advice has him at 12 for his last 28, with two home runs, a rally-igniting triple last night, and a return to the playfulness and dugout dances which, while oft criticized, are a signature part of who Reyes is and how he plays the game and energizes the rest of the Mets. I'll take seeing Jose Reyes perform one of these dances in the Phillies' house after hitting a key home run in the seventh inning Saturday afternoon which ended up providing the Mets' margin of victory.

I'll take seeing Aaron Heilman, who's still having a tough time so far this year, strike out Geoff Jenkins and Jayson Werth in the 8th inning of that same game, with the bases loaded for the Phillies and the Mets clinging to a 4-2 lead. That's a situation where Mets fans have been trained to expect the worst.

I'll take seeing the Mets withstand late Phillie surges in both that game and Friday night's game, where despite getting 7 innings and 10 strikeouts from Johan Santana (I'll take that too), the Mets still needed an insurance run in the ninth to gain some breathing room after the Phillies cut the lead from 5-1 to 5-4 on a Greg Dobbs home run.

I'll take the Mets missing multiple opportunities on Thursday night, but somehow finding a way to win in 14 innings to finish off a sweep of the Nationals. Even if they needed a walk, a wild pitch, a throwing error, and another wild pitch to score Damion Easley with the winning run. The bullpen had to be pretty good (7 innings, squat) to put the Mets in position to win at that stage of the game.

Speaking of the bullpen, for the most part, I'll take it. They've been great in the last six games. I'll take Duaner Sanchez coming back, finally, to bolster and help solidify things. I'll take Sanchez looking good, even in only three innings this past week. I'll take Scott Schoeneweis pitching pretty well so far this year, giving Willie another viable left-handed option in the late innings. I'll take Jorge Sosa continuing to justify Willie's decision to keep him in the bullpen. For the most part, he seems to be best suited for such a role.

Despite D Wright's disappointment at not coming out of Philly with a sweep, the Mets have made something of a statement in the past week, if not to the rest league yet, then certainly to Mets fans, or at least me: they're ready to re-establish themselves as winners, shake off the dust, and rise up.

Thanks, Matisyahu, for the metaphor

Most importantly over their last six, they've won. But the way they held off the Phillies, then made them scratch and claw for even one weekend win in their own building, was particularly encouraging.

Are we back? I don't know, but it's safe to say that 2007's cobwebs did trip us up in our first 12 or so games, especially after we suffered the misfortune in game two of losing Pedro indefinitely. Now Pedro says he's coming back earlier than expected, Moises Alou could return soon, the Mets are playing well, and all that stands between us and first place is the feisty Florida Marlins (yeah, okay Hanley Ramirez).

Have the Mets turned a corner, finally? If so, I'll take it.

(Pictures courtesy mets.com, modiya.nyu.edu)