* The biggest gaffe in Subway Series regular-season history (Castillo's dropped pop-up in Game 1)
(Note: the biggest gaffe in Subway Series history is a tie between Timo Perez's bad baserunning in Game 1 of the 2000 World Series and Mike Piazza not doing anything about having a splintered bat thrown at him by Roger Clemens in the 2000 World Series after getting beaned earlier in the year by Clemens)

* The most lopsided game in the series (15-0 against Johan Santana (!) in Game 3)

* A second inning to forget with three errors by the Met infield (David Wright, Alex Cora, Nick Evans) to lead to four runs (9-1 Yankee win in Game 4)

* The best combined pitching performance in the series (one-hitter by A.J. Burnett, Brian Bruney, and David Robertson in Game 5)

* Having the Yankees celebrate Mariano Rivera's 500th save on the Citi Field turf (4-out save in Game 6)

The only win for the Mets came from the improbable pitching of Fernando Nieve, certainly a game most Met fans expected to lose.

Much more has gone wrong for the Mets besides the Subway Series.  First, the injuries have mounted and taken their toll.  It has been well documented and not providing this as the Mets excuse for how they have played in the first 70+ games this year, but the results speak for themselves.

Oliver Perez is rehabilitating in the minor leagues and John Maine was before he felt some shoulder discomfort.  Maine and Jose Reyes should return about the All-Star Break.  Carlos Delgado and J.J. Putz should be back in August.  Alex Cora and Brian Schneider were Opening Day players that have missed time and have come back. 

Carlos Beltran may end up being more costly than Reyes because Beltran may be out for longer.  The glue of the outfield and, along with David Wright, the glue in the middle of the batting order, is consulting a second opinion on his badly bruised knee with the inventor of microfracture surgery.  If surgery is recommended and undertaken, Beltran would be out for three months.  With three months left in the season, do the math, his season would be over.

Now, we are leaping to conclusions here, playing out the worst-case scenario.  But, it could be the ultimate damning headline in a back page of horrors to start the Mets 2009 season.

The least of the Mets worries was the sweep over the weekend at the hands of the Yankees.  As the Mets turn their attention back to the senior circuit, the sheen of their new ballpark, their charismatic manager, and the Subway Series have all gone.  The injuries are becoming insurmountable.  The summer may be longer than we think.

If the Phillies had their act together, the Mets would probably be sellers at the Trading Deadline this year.  Luckily, for the Mets, they are in the National League East and the Phillies are barely treading water.  But, the Phillies will not be this bad forever.  Brad Lidge, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels will most likely eventually find themselves.  The Florida Marlins are knocking on the door of the NL East penthouse.

Good time for the Mets to go on a road trip.  Counting the loss on Monday night to the Brewers, the Mets are 7-13 since June 9th, which was when I was hoping for Reyes to come back to the lineup to give the Mets some semblance of health.  Reyes is no closer to coming back.  He still has not started a rehab assignment.  Beltran is now out. 

The Mets have six games left on a road trip, with two games left against Milwaukee, a one-game makeup in Pittsburgh, and a weekend series at Philadelphia, the only real question seems to be: "How far will the Mets fall before they return home?"

1. Everyone knows about the Alex Rodriguez pop-up-turned-two-run-error by Luis Castillo in the bottom of the 9th on Friday night that allowed the Yankees to walk off with a 9-8 victory.  Everyone knows what they were doing when they saw the play.  I was in my living room and I was inconsolable for hours, not being able to speak for about 45 minutes.  My hands were glued to the temples of my forehead.  But, in the aftermath, and after the requisite head-shaking on either side, came a new appreciation for Luis Castillo. 

Castillo could have taken the LeBron James way out and high-tailed it out of the clubhouse to avoid the media.  He could have allowed his teammates to answer for him.  He could have made the situation a whole heckuva lot worse.  Castillo did not.  He stood there to address his mistake, answering questions in a soft, remorseful tone that could not help but soften the media's blow in Saturday's papers.  After apparently not getting a good night's sleep on Friday night, Castillo made himself available to reporters again on Saturday before the 4pm matinee on national television.

Castillo played second base and batted leadoff, going 2-for-5, and the Mets won 6-2.

I think the two events are related.  If Castillo bucked the media, the Mets would have had some ticked-off players in the clubhouse and the situation would have gotten worse in the cauldron of Yankee Stadium and the New York media would have stirred the pot.  By facing the music, Castillo diffused a bomb that even the Joe Torre S.W.A.T. team would have been proud of.  If Castillo bucked the media, I think the Mets would have been swept and the pressure would have mounted as the Mets would have been five games back after the weekend.  Instead, they salvaged a game in the series, possibly finding a starting pitcher in Fernando Nieve to contribute to the cause, and the Mets came away with some dignity intact.

Read George Vecsey's "Sports of The Times" in Sunday's New York Times for the full story.

2. The Francisco Rodriguez-Brian Bruney dust-up was a late-developing story and I did not mention it during our show.  But, it is worthy of a mention.  Brian Bruney was quoted as saying that the Met meltdown on Friday night "could not have happened to a better guy". 

Chamberlain is the king of fist pumps, the pride of the prideful.  Yes, Rodriguez beats his chest after a save with some more vigor than most players when they quietly point to the sky after touching home plate on a homer.  But, Chamberlain does it more often and I see that as more of a show-up type of move.

In a Mets team lacking fire, in the few times they show some personality, it makes news.  File this with the "I'm a man" proclamation from Johan Santana last Tuesday night against the Phillies.  There is nothing wrong with playing the game with spirit, fire, chutzpah, whatever you want to call it.  It is not right to show up an opposing player, a manager, a teammate, or the fans.  But, don't you think that if the Mets everyday players, who have to be a baseball team's leaders, showed more fire, the pitchers wouldn't have to?

Read Marty Noble's account of the K-Rod/Bruney incident.