Former Mets pitcher Don Cardwell died yesterday at the age of 72 in North Carolina. Traded to the Lovable Loser Mets in 1966, Cardwell's performance during 1969 mirrored that of the team itself and helped the Mets win the their division title on the way to their first World Series Championship. Like the Mets, Cardwell started the '69 season in a lackluster manner, posting a 3-9 win-loss record through the first four months of the......

Mets 13, Marlins 0: For once, optimism abounds. John Maine struck out 14 and took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning -- he lost it on a bleeder up the third-base line -- to guide the Mets back into a tie for first place. For once, the Mets roughed up a pitcher they needed to rough up. If they hadn't gotten to Chris Seddon, they probably didn't deserve to make the playoffs. Even though......

Marlins 7, Mets 4: Who thought this bad dream would last this long? Needing a quality start from Oliver Perez to stop their bleeding, the Mets instead got a vintage -- as in 2005 -- effort in their fifth straight loss. Not even Byung-Hyun Kim could play the platelet to the Mets' open wound. The Marlins righty kept the Mets in check, and Oliver Perez lost control at the most critical points. Even David Wright,......

Mets 8 Nationals 4: Boy did they need this one. With the division lead down to 1-1/2 games, the Mets could not afford to get swept by Washington and they showed some fight Wednesday night, by getting a game they had to have. And, perhaps best of all, the Phillies lost in extra innings, putting the division lead back at 2-1/2 games. Moises Alou shook off an injury and provided three hits and a......

Nationals 9, Mets 8: If a four-run lead can't stand up against the Nationals, against whom will it last? The Mets are hoping what was a seven-game lead as recently as Sept. 12 stands up, but they're not helping their fans maintain regular heartbeats. John Maine hit before he threw a pitch and still couldn't get out of the fifth. That's against a team that's last in the Major Leagues in runs scored and playing......

Yankees 8 Baltimore 5: Nothing comes easy at the end of the year. The Yankees fell behind 2-0 before rallying for a 5-2 lead. But, Phil Hughes was shaky and had to be lifted in the sixth as the Orioles threatened. Edwar Ramirez managed to end that threat, but the Orioles rallied in the seventh and Luis Vizcaino had to come in and snuff out that rally. Kyle Farnsworth created problems in the ninth and......

There's one member of the Mets that is up for the Hall of Fame today. The Mascot Hall of Fame, that is. The round-headed ball of a mascot is trailing by about 5,500 votes in the race for popularity on the Mascot Hall of Fame website. He trails The Coyote, the mascot of the San Antonio Spurs. The Post pulls out all the stops to make sure Mr. Met is the top vote getter.......

Yankees 7 Orioles 6: This game is an example of how good things are going for the Yankees right now. Ace gets slapped around for three runs in the first, no problem. All-time great closer blows it in the ninth, no problem either. New York stormed back from a 3-0 deficit and overcame a blown save by Mariano as well. As has been usual recently, home runs played a part in the show. Bobby Abreu......

Mr. Met's hat may be cocked, but he's not cocky after being nominated for the online entity that is the Mascot Hall of Fame. Mets organization officials said the usually mute mascot remained speechless at the honor. Induction is not a sure thing. Other candidates, which will be voted for online, include the Coyote for the San Antonio Spurs, Hugo the Hornet for the New Orleans Hornets, the Oriole bird for the Baltimore Orioles,......

Mets 5, Nationals 0 (5 innings): John Maine lasted five innings. Normally that wouldn't that be that good, but then the rains came, the game was called 90 minutes later and Maine had a complete-game one-hitter. Don't look past Maine's battery-mate, Ramon Castro, who went 2-for-2 with a home run and has looked great when he's seen the time. Would the Mets be a better team with him as the regular catcher and Paul......

Mets gain a split: El Duque led the Mets to a 3-1 victory in the first game pitching seven innings and striking out eight. In the nightcap Pedro Feliciano couldn’t keep things close and New York dropped a 6-5 decision. Baltimore 7 Yankees 5: The Orioles jumped out to a 7-1 lead thanks to shaky relief from Brian Bruney, but the Yankees made things interesting with a four-run ninth. But, the Yankees couldn’t tie things......

Yankees 8, Orioles 7: Way back on June 28th, the game between the Yankees and Orioles was suspended in the 8th inning with New York up 8-6. Last night, the two teams continued the June game with Mariano Rivera allowing one Baltimore run to make things exciting in the 9th before picking up what is officially his 10th save of the season. Orioles 4, Yankees 2: In the regularly scheduled game last night, the Yankees......

Orioles 4, Yankees 0: Roger Clemens had struck out a batter in 200 straight starts until he lost to the Orioles on Wednesday. Maybe it was the heat -- it was 97 at the first pitch -- but when Clemens last went without a strikeout, he only pitched an inning before leaving with an injury. The Yankees have now lost four straight games and have not looked good doing it. They have managed four runs......

Who could forget the bloody sock of Curt Schilling during game 6 of the 2004 American League Championship Series? Certainly not Red Sox fans and maybe not Yankee fans. To refresh - Schilling had ankle surgery after game 1 of the ALCS to stabilize a tendon in his right ankle. He returned in game 6, winning that game. Boston won the series and went on to win its first World Series in 86 years. On......

Islanders 3, Devils 2 (SO): Improbable as it may seem, the Islanders have made the playoffs. All it took was four straight wins in their final four games, and do that while third-string goalie Wade Dubielewicz logged significant time. No one will remember that they blew a 2-0 lead in Sunday's game, and the Islanders earned a crack at the conference's best team, the Buffalo Sabres. Orioles 6, Yankees 4: They couldn't repeat the late-inning......

Yankees 10, Orioles 7: Yeah, you read the headline right. Alex Rodriguez came through in yesterday afternoon's game in the biggest way - with a two-out game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 9th inning. It was his 2nd home run of the game. The bottom of the ninth inning went something like this: out, out, Robinson Cano single, Derek Jeter walk, Bobby Abreu hit-by-pitch, grand slam by Rodriguez into the black seats. Kei......

Mets 11, Braves 1: Coming into the season, nobody questioned the Mets offense, and so far, their bats have certainly been lively. The big questions surrounded their pitching, which has also been superb to start the season. While they have scored an insane 31 runs in four games, the Mets have also held their opponents to a measly three runs with impressive pitching from their starters. Last night, Oliver Perez was the latest starter to......

-Mets 7 Braves 4: This one soothed the soul. The Mets haven’t looked like much the past week, but Thursday night, El Duque reminded everyone why they are the best team in the NL. Hernandez pitched five innings allowing only an unearned run and showed why he will take the mound in Game One of the NLDS next week. Carlos Beltran added his 41st home run and Jose Reyes added his 64th steal in the......

-Yankees 5 Orioles 4: It’s a weeklong audition for those Yankees who haven’t cemented a place on the playoff roster, so Cory Lidle’s six strong innings were certainly timely. So was another scoreless inning from Brian Bruney and a 1-4 night from Gary Sheffield. Yes, Gary Sheffield has not guaranteed himself a spot on the playoff roster and it is doubtful he will unless he starts to hit again. Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano both......

-Yankees 9 Orioles 6: It took awhile, but the Yankees’ offense finally came alive in the seventh. After watching Randy Johnson struggle through six innings, New York erupted for six runs in the seventh; the key hit a three-run double by Robinson Cano to erase a four-run deficit. Despite his struggles, Johnson picked up his 17th win of the season with help from the bullpen. Brian Bruney continued his excellent relief work with a 1-2-3......

-Yankees 9 Orioles 4: Sal Fasano became a Yankee because of his defense and not his hitting, but on Sunday he showed that he has some offensive skills too. Fasano went 2-4 with a three-run homer as New York cruised to an easy victory. Derek Jeter extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games and drove in four runs. It looked like Jaret Wright might actually pitch seven innings, but he tired and left the......

-Yankees 3 Orioles 2: On a day when New York played without a lot of regulars they managed to eek out a win, thanks to Chien-Ming Wang. Wang went 7 1/3 innings to win his 17th game, giving up only one run. Mike Myers and Scott Proctor combined to finish the eighth and Kyle Farnsworth earned the save despite allowing a home run to Kevin Millar. Jason Giambi was sent to the doctor to......

-Phillies 3 Mets 0: For the first time since they went to Philadelphia, the Mets got a good pitching performance. Tom Glavine pitched well, surrendering only three runs over seven innings, but Jon Lieber was better. Lieber held the Mets to only five hits and did not allow a runner past second base as he pitched his first shutout in five years. New York will try and avoid being swept tomorrow afternoon. -Orioles 3 Yankees......

-Yankees 6 Orioles 1: It has been a great week for New York, adding big names, going 5-1 and taking a two-game lead in the AL East. The Yankees latest victory was powered by solo homeruns from Damon, Jeter, Cabrera and Giambi combined with a shaky start from Jaret Wright. Wright only lasted his usual six innings while walking four and giving up five hits, but Baltimore could never come up with a big......

- Mets 4, Phillies 3: Since June 23rd, Tom Glavine was stuck on career win number 286, but thanks to Philly starter Jon Lieber, he was finally able to move one win closer to #300. Glavine and the Mets trailed the Phillies by two runs after one inning but took the lead in the 6th inning when Lieber threw away what should have been the third out of the inning. Prior to the error,......

- Yankees 5, Orioles 4: The Yankees won their fifth game in a row Friday night with a 9th inning victory over the Orioles. Randy Johnson allowed four runs over his six inning outing, but didn't strike out a single batter for the second game in a row - only the second time that has happened in his career. The Yankees jumped to an early lead on a solo home run by Johnny Damon......

-All seemed set for local favorite Phil Mickelson to win the U.S. Open. He had come close at Bethpage (2002) and Shinnecock (2004). On Sunday, he entered the final hole needing a par to win and a bogey to force a playoff. But he double-bogeyed the hole, and Australian Geoff Ogilvy won the championship. As Ogilvy told NBC's Bob Costas afterward, the Winged Foot golf course in Mamoroneck may have beaten all the golfers. Ogilvy's......

-Washington 11 Yankees 9: If the Yankees miss the playoffs by one game, this is the one to remember. Fifteen hits and a seven-run lead weren’t enough for the pathetic Yankee pitching as they collapsed down the stretch and gave the Nationals an improbable victory. Mariano Rivera came in during the eighth inning and couldn’t stop the bleeding, giving up the tying run on a throwing error by Jorge Posada and two more runs......

- Orioles 6, Mets 3: For the Mets, their 8-game winning streak had to end sometime, and that sometime was last night against the Orioles in a rematch of the 1969 World Series. Alay Soler struggled at the start of the game, but it he pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance for their 9th straight victory. Aaron Heilman blew the save and the Mets chances at victory in the 7th inning......

-Giants 7 Mets 6 12inn: It was a game that had a lot of familiar events. Armando Benitez blowing a save and the Mets coming back in dramatic fashion, but the ending was different. Jose Valentin and Lastings Milledge homered in the tenth off of Benitez to bring New York back from a 6-4 deficit, but Pedro Feliz knocked in the winning run in the twelfth to give the Giants a series win. -Baltimore 11......