That's what we're talking about!

We've said over and over here on MFC that the Mets need to beat the bad teams, and when you looked at the eight-game stretch against the Pirates and Nationals -- the last seven on the road -- you wanted six wins. Minimum.

Well, the Mets got those six wins with a game to spare, winning six straight -- three at Washington and the first three of four at Pittsburgh. The latest victory was a pure gem by Johan Santana, a complete-game, three-hit shutout that allowed the bullpen to kick back and enjoy their cheese fries or RothlisBurgers or whatever it is they eat out there.

Santana was the dominant pitcher Mets fans want to see every time out, which isn't possible. Santana has had an excellent year and should probably have 16 wins by now had he received more run support and better efforts from the pen.

Someone hose down Brian Schneider. He hit his second homer in a week and singled in another, driving in three of the four Mets runs. Carlos Beltran hit a solo homer for the fourth run, his 17th tater of the season. Argenis Reyes also went off with three hits.

Shed a tear for the Anderson Hernandez era, 'cuz it's over. Once he clears waivers, he'll be sent to the Nationals in exchange for Luis Ayala, an old friend of Omar Minaya's from his Expos days. The 30-year-old Ayala is having an awful season, with an ERA approaching 6, but he had a good year last season and has been nothing if not dependable.

Ayala will be added to a mix that is without Billy Wagner, whose bobblehead now adorns my desk. Wagner's forearm stiffness has migrated to his elbow, which cannot be defined as progress. So someone needs to step up. It won't be Eddie Kunz, who was finally given a chance in a 7-1 game Saturday night and almost blew it.