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Don't look now but the Metropolitans are a half game behind the first place Atlanta Braves and a total of 8 games over .500.  It's also June 16th for those of you looking for a calendar.  I'll admit that I wouldn't have believed for a second a month ago that they'd be in this position and they've gotten there in the most unlikely of ways.  Of course because I'm writing this blog now we can probably look forward to a nice 8 or 9 game skid.  Nonetheless, after winning their last five games, four of which admittedly have been against terrible teams, the Mets are playing decent baseball and getting support from all over the roster. Offensively David Wright appears to be off the snide batting over .400 in his last 14 games.  He's eclipsed his remarkably poor 10 home run total from last year and hopefully this CitiField thing has gotten out of his head.  Omar Minaya made a commendable move releasing Gary Mathews Jr. last week who has been abysmal.  With Carlos Beltran still on the DL, Angel Pagan has stepped up this year to play a decent center field and is batting .281 overall.  Rod Barajas (who I lampooned for poor base running a few weeks ago) has turned out to be one of the most surprising additions to the team doing a solid beside and behind the plate. 

On the mound, the biggest surprise has to be the performance of Mike Pelfrey who has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the National League this year with a 9 - 1 record and a 2.39 ERA.  Along with Johan Santana, who finally got some run support last night and picked up a win, they make for a nice one-two punch in the rotation.  The real story however in the last 4 - 6 weeks has been that of the revised 3 - 5 spots in the Met's rotation.  Hisanori Takahashi, R.A. Dickey and John Niese have been reliable and have been picking up wins.  With John Maine and Oliver Perez thankfully off the radar, this motley crew has managed to shore up the back end of the rotation.  Who knows how long this trend will last but it's absolutely one of the key drivers in the Met's recent success.  Trade rumors abound as they do this time of year and there's talk of making moves for Roy Oswalt or Cliff Lee.  It would be nice to pick up another starter and some bullpen help just as long as Omar doesn't mortgage the franchise.

The Mets play two more games at Cleveland this week and then come back to New York for a Subway Series with the Yankees in their house.  I'm hoping that it makes for a good Father's Day weekend.  I don't get the same pleasure I once did from watching the Mets beat the Yankees but it's no less sweet a victory when it happens.  Either way, both teams are playing well so it should make for a good series.

In other news, Abby finished her first year of pre-school yesterday which is a small but neat milestone for her.  Our town offers a program so she goes to one of the regular elementary schools and will do one more year in the program before starting Kindergarten.  She's come a long way and it's really sweet to see her with all of her little friends buzzing about etc.  To celebrate we had a nice dinner which I'll now share with you.  It's healthy, wicked easy to prepare and pretty impressive in the taste department.

Sauteed Scallops with Penne & Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Whole Wheat Penne pasta (Ronzoni is the best & healthiest of commonly available brands)
• 1 lb. bay scallops
• 2 1/2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli (I used a normal bag of frozen)
• 1/4 cup diced onion
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt & pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil on medium-high heat in a large sauce pan.  Rinse the scallops and then pat them dry.  Heat a pot full of water and cook the damn pasta.  (I add a drip of olive oil to the water) Once the pan is up to heat, add the onions and stir to coat with the oil.  Saute for about 3 minutes until the onions become translucent.  Add the minced garlic and saute while stirring until the garlic starts to brown just slightly.  Add in the scallops, lemon juice and saute for around 5 minutes.  The lemon juice and water from the scallops should begin to reduce.

Next add the broccoli (thawed if it was frozen) and saute, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes.  Add the Italian seasonings, stir and cover for another 3 minutes.  Uncover, add the Parmesan cheese and stir to coat.  Serve immediately over the penne and enjoy.  This recipe makes about 4 - 6 servings.