Willie Randolph shouldn't panic quite yet. His team has run into talented teams when it's not playing its best. Too bad the schedule doesn't get any easier. The Dodgers represent just the second of six playoff teams the Mets play in successive series. A road set against the Yankees plus a homestand against Minnesota, Oakland and St. Louis await. The string ends when the Mets visit Philadelphia, the club responsible for starting this New York slide. more ›

In last night's game against the Phillies, Hidalgo batted in the clean-up slot for the Mets for the first time. Before the game, Cliff Floyd went to Art Howe to ask for a change in the line-up. The line-up card was already posted, but Floyd reasoned with Howe who agreed to switch Hidalgo and Floyd in the batting order. Floyd was only hitting .207 against lefthanders and Randy Wolf was the lefty pitcher slated to start for Philadelphia. Hidalgo went 2-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored. His home run streak ended, but his nine game hitting streak is still alive. During those nine games .471 with 7 home runs and 11 runs batted in. more ›