-If ever there were a tale of two New York baseball teams, then this was probably the defining week as the Mets went from a devastating ninth inning loss to running a perfect 6-0 response over lowly Washington and Pittsburgh with the final game of four later today versus those Pirates. Jerry Manuel’s club is a season high 12 over .500 and instead of trailing the Phillies by a couple, they’re up by that margin with the Marlins lumbering four and a half behind after a lost weekend versus the Cubs.

Even with the continued uncertainty of closer Billy Wagner, it’s all working for the Mets who now have emerged into the team to beat in the NL East as many predicted. They did pick up Luis Ayala from the Nats for minor league second baseman Anderson Hernandez to help aid what still is a shaky pen. It remains to be seen if he can rediscover what once made him one of the better late inning guys with a contending team. Still, the move by Omar Minaya is a no-brainer. His pen needs all the help it can get.

-As for the Yankees, they’re fortunate to even still be within striking distance of the WC-leading Red Sox, who dropped the final two games to the streaking Jays opening the door slightly as Joe Girardi’s struggling club got the last two from the lowly Royals though Saturday won’t be remembered for Brett Gardner’s walkoff but rather the amount of runners they left on base with established veteran stars failing time and time again as the game dragged on before the rookie recall delivered the two out hit in the 13th to possibly salvage their season. Have you ever seen a more pathetic bunch when it came to bringing in a runner from third with less than two out? With the caliber of talent they boast, it’s inexcusable. They’re so fundamentally unsound that it begs the question whether they’ve given completely up. That fourth inning where Jason Giambi bounced into an inning ending 4-6-3 double play following an Alex Rodriguez strikeout looking leaving the bases jammed was as ridiculous as it got and that included Derek Jeter hitting into yet another DP and Girardi in a tie game with the first two on electing not to bunt with Johnny Damon, who wound up K-ing for a third time preluding Jeter’s twin killing. Inexplicable strategy considering how much his team was struggling and needed the game.

The offense finally snapped out of it responding with six in the first with A-Rod blasting his club-leading 28th to tie the score followed two batters later by Xavier Nady’s seventh in Pinstripes as they hammered ex-Met Brian Bannister for 10 earned in one-plus with Jason Giambi’s grand slam the exclamation point in a 15-6 rout. Even Cody Ransom got into the act later with a two-run shot as the Yanks made Mike Mussina a 16-game winner.

Sure. It was a good day which hopefully will give Girardi’s guys a spark with only 38 games left including 22 on the road where they’re three under .500. But if they don’t follow it up with a strong road trip versus AL East foes Toronto and Baltimore, then it’s all but over for them. And who actually thinks they’re going to hit A.J. Burnett and Roy Halladay? This team has been inconsistent all year and almost never makes a dent against either. That must change starting tomorrow. They also better discover a way to get Aubrey Huff out when they visit Camden.

For now, the Yanks gained two games on Boston to get within five. Problem is they’re also chasing the Twins or White Sox with the co-AL Central leaders half a game worse than the Red Sox. It’s very possible that both make October leaving the Yanks and Red Sox home. A rarity which is possible considering how flawed both are.

-What happened to the Phillies offense? Granted. They had to play the Dodgers for four getting swept while the Mets were destroying Washington and Pittsburgh but at this point of the season, you don’t expect Charlie Manuel’s club to lose all four to Los Angeles and even drop one to the lowly Padres.

-I thought Romania’s Sandra Izbasa had a great routine capturing gold in the floor gymnastics competition but was it really 1.5 better than American silver medalist Shawn Johnson? Still, the talented 16 year-old was all smiles enjoying her time in the limelight while all around teammate and gold medalist Nastia Liukin took bronze. Speaking of which, her routine was pretty special as well and probably merited a higher score than what she received which tells you just how hard it is to judge three fantastic routines. They all were brilliant.

-Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser blitzed the women’s field in the 100 coasting to gold with a 10.78 time besting teammates Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart giving her country a sweep of both 100’s and gold, silver and bronze while American Lauryn Williams was edged out by Stewart finishing fourth compared to runner-up four years ago in Athens. Disappointing? Certainly. But for years, American has dominated the short distances. Perhaps it was just Jamaica’s time after previously never having a gold medal winner in either 100. While Usain “Lightning” Bolt made it look routine as if he wasn’t trying celebrating the last 20 meters, Fraser got off to a blistering start and ripped through to the end to take gold. Most impressive about world record holder Bolt’s 9.69 was that he easily could’ve gotten 9.59 if he didn’t celebrate prematurely waving his arms. Never before has anyone made it look that easy. Hopefully, it was legit. You never can tell when it comes to world class sprinters.

-Why does NBC even bother touting our USA competitors in the longer distances when they have absolutely zero chance. Even former Kenyan two-time medalist Bernard Lagat struggled in his semifinal 1,500 heat finishing a disappointing sixth with his famous kick not there as he looked gassed after waiting too long to make his move. He just didn’t run a smart race falling too far back and then needing to pass many midway through the final lap which proved to be too much.

-You have to feel bad for Chinese star 110 M hurdler Liu Xiang, whose hamstring injury before his heat didn’t even allow him to defend his gold medal. To say seeing him walk away in obvious pain pulling out would be an understatement. Especially with so much of his country invested in seeing one of their brightest stars in such pain. That had to be very very hard.

-Meanwhile, yahoo’s Josh Peter documents sprinter Tyson Gay’s disappointing Olympics by alluding to a poor decision six weeks prior taking part in a 200 M quarter despite a bad left hamstring.

-I like James Blake and respect how hard he competes and handles himself. I get his complete frustration at Fernando Gonzalez not giving him that first point eight apiece in the final set. But he still could’ve dug deep and overcome it. Gonzalez is a good player but does anyone really believe he’s better than Blake? That’s not getting any press.

-I’d much rather watch curling than synchronized swimming. Just saying.