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Amazin' again?

Mets capturing fans' fancy -- and not just in New York

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Brooklyn native John Franco wears a cap in tribute to the New York Fire Department. AP

By Dan George, CNNSI.com

In 1969, they came out of nowhere to catch the Cubs, knock off the Braves in the NL playoffs and stun the Orioles in one of the biggest World Series upsets ever.

In 1973, they won the NL East with an improbable 82-79 record and, sparked by Tug McGraw's "You gotta believe" rallying cry, gave the mighty A's all they wanted before falling in Game 7 of the Series.

Do the Mets have another miracle in them?

A lot of baseball fans -- and not just those in New York -- hope so. Given up for dead after falling 13 games below .500 in mid-July, the Mets are back in the thick of things in the NL East. Even after a disheartening extra-inning loss to the Braves on Sunday, New York -- No. 16 in this week's Power Rankings -- trails first-place Atlanta by only four games.

Yes, only 12 games remain, which means that even if Atlanta goes 6-6 down the stretch, New York must win 10 of 12 just to tie. And there's the not-so-small matter of the second-place Phillies, who would also have to play .500 ball the rest of the way.

In the Mets' favor are three more games with the Braves, as well as three against the Pirates and six against the Expos, two excellent candidates against which to make up some ground. Working against New York is the fact that the Phils and Braves also play each other three times, meaning the Mets will be able to gain on only one -- not both -- of them on those nights.

Still, Bobby Valentine's team has won 22 of its past 28 games. That surge, along with sudden but fervent national support for New York in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, has turned the Mets into baseball's latest Cinderella team.

Can they keep it up?

Well, let's just say it should be an interesting final two weeks.

CNNSI.com's Power Rankings
Rank	LW		Team
1	1		Seattle Mariners They finally lost three straight. Then four straight. Which wouldn't be a big deal -- except three of them were to the A's, probably the biggest obstacle standing between the M's and the World Series.
2	2		Oakland Athletics About the only bad news they've had lately is that when Tim Hudson (16-8) lost to the Rangers the other night, his chances for a second straight 20-victory season went out the window.
3	4		Houston Astros Their pitching staff is banged up, and the Cards are looming in the rear-view mirror. The NL Central race isn't over quite yet.
4	3		New York Yankees Say what you want about Roger Clemens' run support, 20-1 is 20-1.
5	5		Cleveland Indians The concerns about their pitching are justified, but veteran lefty Chuck Finley is 3-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his last three outings.
6	8		St. Louis Cardinals Right now, they're the NL equivalent of the A's -- the team no one wants to meet in the playoffs.
7	6		Arizona Diamondbacks One reason they'll hang on: Randy Johnson is 24-2 in September since 1993.
8	7		San Francisco Giants Like it or not, here comes Barry.
9	11		Chicago Cubs Tom Gordon's elbow woes won't help their late fade, but given his history, how can they honestly be surprised?
10	9		Atlanta Braves Sure, the Phils and Mets are playing well, but these guys have done everything except make that beeping noise as they back up.
11	12		Philadelphia Phillies Whatever happened to all that friction between Larry Bowa and Scott Rolen, anyway?
12	10		Los Angeles Dodgers Any chance they had went poof! when the revamped schedule left them finishing the season with a nine-game road trip.
13	13		Minnesota Twins They've got three more shots at the Indians, but their 4-12 record against Cleveland thus far is hardly cause for encouragement.
14	16		Chicago White Sox No Sammy Sosa, no Wrigley Field, no love from Chicago fans. But know what? They're as close to first place as the Cubs are.
15	14		Boston Red Sox Another sign of what kind of year it's been: Carl Everett probably won't be back -- and that's good news.
16	17		New York Mets Will they be able to bounce back from Armando Benitez's latest meltdown?
17	19		San Diego Padres Mark it down to patriotic fervor: Ryan Klesko aggravated a back injury while helping to unfurl a giant American flag last week at Dodger Stadium.
18	15		Anaheim Angels How's this for a claim to fame? They're the team the Mariners have clinched against all four times they've made the playoffs.
19	18		Toronto Blue Jays OK, it's not exactly Jordanesque, but soon-to-retire Tony Fernandez's AL-leading 13 pinch hits are a nice way to go out.
20	21		Texas Rangers Rookie Carlos Pena's five-RBI game the other night should give Texas' expected youth movement a little momentum.
21	20		Florida Marlins Seven games down the stretch with the Braves, three with the Phils. Can you say "spoiler"?
22	23		Colorado Rockies How good does that Pedro Astacio-for-Scott Elarton deal look right now?
23	24		Montreal Expos Will the last guy out please turn off the lights? We know it won't be Jim Beattie.
24	22		Milwaukee Brewers The ultimate all-or-nothing team. Batting coach Rod Carew's minions are on pace to become the first team to finish with more strikeouts than hits.
25	25		Cincinnati Reds It's only been 11 years since Lou Piniella guided them to a wire-to-wire pennant. But who's counting?
26	26		Detroit Tigers Let's see. Roger Cedeno is a free agent, the Tigers stink, he gets into a shouting match with Phil Garner and now will be sitting most of the final two weeks. Do you think he'll be back?
27	28		Baltimore Orioles With Josh Towers out for the year with a broken finger, Jose Mercedes (7-17) appears to be back in the starting rotation. Yes! His quest for a 20-loss season is back on.
28	27		Kansas City Royals Owner David Glass says he'll hike the payroll 27 percent to $47 million in 2001. OK, that takes care of Mike Sweeney but what about the rest of the guys?
29	29		Pittsburgh Pirates Calling Derek Bell a bad free-agent signing is like saying the Titanic was a bumpy boat ride. Five homers, 14 RBIs, a .173 average and a two-year, $9.75 million contract. And now he's been named -- albeit not charged -- in an alleged underage sex ring in Tampa.
30	30		Tampa Bay Devil Rays They've been here all year, and they'll most likely finish here. But a talented farm system and 14 rookies on the active roster promise better times.

Dan George is a senior producer at CNNSI.com.

 

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