Those damned Astros

The Astros? Really? How do the Astros come in and win two of the first three games against a team that had been humming along rather nicely?

Some would say, "That's baseball." We say, "That's the Mets." Inconsistency, thy name is Mets.

It's not just that the bullpen failed again Sunday -- in fact, only two guys failed: Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano. Joe Smith, Scott Schoeneweis and Luis Ayala pitched 2 1/3 scoreless before Feliciano blew up in the 10th. No, the offense was equally culpable on Saturday and Sunday, going long stretches without scoring, mostly against a Houston bullpen that shouldn't strike fear into anyone.

Of course, Carlos Beltran homers twice in Sunday's loss. To Joe Benigno, surely that's worse than going 0-for-4.

Ollie Perez allowed four runs but didn't pitch badly, allowing four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts.

Will David Newhan be haunting the sleep of the Mets and their fans this winter?

Meanwhile, John Maine may be done for the year with a bone spur in his shoulder. Awesome. Jonathan Niese, it's your turn to follow in the footsteps of Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans. Or will we see more from Tony Armas or Claudio Vargas?

Oh, yes, the Phillies rallied to win in the 11th and trail by just a half game with two games in Philly looming Tuesday and Wednesday.

One game to get redemption against these damn Astros Monday night at Shea, Pelfrey against Moehler.