Six games left. What, me worry?

We've already declared MFC.com a no-panic zone, so we're not going to do that. But that isn't stopping the media from doing so.

What bothers me is how certain members of the media are calling this season another collapse. Excuse me? The Mets may be in a bad stretch, but it's nothing like last year, and if the Phillies weren't white-hot, the Mets would be right with them. And when did the Mets ever have a sizeable lead? They dragged themselves from the morass to get back into the race, and have stayed competitive despite:

- Having the worst bullpen of any contender in anyone's memory, one that has 29 blown saves.
- Suffering the following losses in the last 50 days: Their closer, a top-three starter and their comeback player of the year candidate whose righthanded bat filled the void of the righthanded bat who missed the whole season.
- Falling into a hole at the start of the season that was as much mental and spiritual as it was standings-literal. The team was dead as a doornail. Throw in the 70 games or so that Ryan Church missed and it's amazing they're in it at all.

So for writers and pundits to say that Jerry Manuel needs to get the Mets into the playoffs to save his job, that's crazy talk. He has done a phenomenal job this season, and if the Mets' bullpen was worth a hot dog wrapper he'd be locked up to an extension already.

And the talk of blowing up the core of the team? First, define the core: Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Delgado, Santana, Maine, Pelfrey. Add Church and Schneider, who aren't going anywhere, and Daniel Murphy, who's been a revelation. That's your core.

John Maine would have started Monday night had he been healthy, instead, you had Jon Niese making his third major league start and he didn't have it. His curveball is supposedly his best pitch but he was hanging it -- just ask Jason Marquis. The pitcher hits a grand slam in a six-run inning, that just sucks.

Yes, the Mets had their chances, with 11 left on base, and that's been a constant problem. But they still lead the wild card, and still have two starts left by Johan Santana, another by Ollie "Big Game Hunter" Perez and another by Mike Pelfrey. They have every opportunity to get into the playoffs, whether they win the division or not.

Hat tip to MetsBlog for pointing out this factoid, as reported by ESPN's Jason Stark -- Bill James noted that:

“If all games ended after six innings, those NL East standings would look a whole lot different. If games were six innings, the Mets would be leading this division by 11½ games.”

“Thanks to the best closer in baseball this year, Brad Lidge, the Phillies are 75-0 when they lead after eight innings.”

Stark goes on to note that if all games were just eight innings long, the Mets lead in the East would be 6.5 games.

I know, games are 9 innings long, but it shows you that this season is all about the bullpen.

One other MetsBlog note. That site posted the Mets' magic number countdown on Sept. 12 (despite the fact that 44 percent of poll respondents said to 'never' post it and only 8 percent said post it now), taking it down a few days later after many fan complaints, and the fact that the Phillies were gaining ground fast. The Mets' magic number on Sept. 12 was 16. Since the number was posted, the Mets are 4-7, and the Phillies are 9-1, and now THEY have a magic number of 4.

Just saying. And Matt wonders why he can't sleep at night.