Mets might be NL's best, but even they aren't sure yet

The return of Pedro Martinez makes an effective starting rotation that much better. AP

The Mets aren't exactly turning heads or buckling knees around the rest of the National League. Heck, even the Mets aren't all that impressed with the Mets.

But here they are, one of the best teams in the league -- for whatever that's worth -- now just a couple weeks away from a second straight NL East title and another trip to the playoffs. It'll be a journey filled, once again, with a lot of New York kind of noise and great expectations for a team that, in reality, has given no one any reason to stick the word "great" anywhere near it.

Are the Mets, with the best record in the league and a five-game lead in the East, really the best the senior circuit has to offer? And if they are, what does that say about the NL?

"We've really struggled against the best teams in our division. In a lot of ways, we're fortunate to be where we are," the Mets' MVP-caliber third baseman, David Wright, said last week, the day after the second-place Phillies finished off a four-game sweep of the Mets. "We feel like we have the tools. We just haven't put it together yet ..."

Despite their position atop the East, the Mets are, as Wright suggests, a disappointment even within their own clubhouse. Part of that goes to what Wright said: the Mets have losing records against the top two challengers in the division, the Phillies and Braves. But most of the disappointment can be traced to the high, maybe unrealistic expectations that came with their cruise to the NL East title last season. On Sept. 12 last year the Mets held a 16.5 game edge. They won the division by 12 games. They finished nine games better than anyone in the league.

This year, the story is a lot different. The Mets have been in first place every day since May 16, but their largest lead was seven games on Aug. 25. By last Thursday night, after that disastrous series with the Phillies, the lead was down to two. That's when all of those season-long doubts hit a zenith.

The Mets' pitching, maybe the steadiest part of the team all season long, gave up 27 runs in the four games. The Phils hit .365 and smacked 11 home runs. And the Mets' lineup, supposedly their strength at the beginning of the season, hit just .254 in the series, managed only two runs in each of the first three games and hit just two homers in a park where home runs are as cheap as the Philly fans' catcalls.

Yeah, it was only four games. And, after the debacle in Philadelphia, the Mets have gone on arguably their best run of the season. They swept the Braves in Atlanta over the weekend and now, after a win on Tuesday night in Cincinnati, have ripped off five straight -- remarkably, their longest winning streak of 2007.

But is anyone, in either league, convinced about the Mets yet? Anyone?

"We just haven't had that sustained run that I think we are capable of having," pitcher Tom Glavine said before the team's recent streak. "We thought a week ago [after the Mets ran off four straight wins], 'OK, here we go.' And then we hit a speed bump."

The Mets, as Wright says, seem to have enough talent, especially with the bats. They average almost 4.9 runs a game. Wright will get a lot of MVP votes, and shortstop Jose Reyes is considered the best leadoff man in the league. Center fielder Carlos Beltran is having a very good, if not particularly great, season. Outfielder Moises Alou is finally healthy and playing well. Even 35-year-old first baseman Carlos Delgado, who slumped badly in the first half, has had a resurgence of sorts in the second half, though he's destined to finish with some of the worst numbers of his career.

The starting pitching, the biggest worry coming into the season, is better than anyone could have imagined. The Mets' rotation has a 4.16 ERA , second only to the Padres in the NL, and now that Pedro Martinez is back after his offseason shoulder surgery (he made his first start of the season on Monday), the Mets are positioned better than they have been all season. Even their bullpen, the most heavily scrutinized part of the team, is passable; its 3.81 ERA ranks in the middle of the NL pack and only two teams have fewer bullpen losses.

1 of 2