Send Lawyers Guns and Money

We find ourselves opening May by dropping the second in a row to the Florida Marlins. Just as the bats pick up (sort of) the pitching gets rocky, what with El Duque's injury, the continuing Mike Pelfrey project, and Chan Ho Park Chan Ho Parking. I have to tell you something. I don't get upset in May. I don't even blink in May. I'm oddly calm. I'm 100% certain we're going to the World Series. I'm a little sleepy.

Pelfrey settled down admirably after the rough first inning, working into the seventh. He actually threw harder in the first, up to 94 MPH, then he did in his more effective innings. Starting in the second we saw something pretty remarkable for anyone who saw Pelfrey this spring before his first few starts: ground balls. One after the other. That sinker was working. Even with the three runs he gave up early, this was exactly what I was hoping for, because it should keep Pelfrey in the rotation and let him build on this.

Pelfrey put two on with one out in the seventh, failing to move fast enough to cover first on a nice stop by Delgado snagging Amezaga's sharply hit grounder. Diamond Joe Smith came in to clean up and, as is becoming routine for him, made like Winston Wolf. You have to wonder how long Heilman holds onto the eighth-inning role with Diamond Joe rolling and Heilman having some early trouble. Heilman heard boos, which is too bad. He got a pass for the homer that ended the NLCS, but I wonder if the pass will be retroactively revoked before too long. He's still my boy. Sometimes a rocky start is just a rocky start.

Notes:

• Ricky Nolasco, who the Mets lit up last season, had a terrific curveball working. Carlos Beltran was particularly flummoxed by it.

• Delgado ran us right out of what might have been the game-changing rally in the fourth. Not the first questionable send or hold from Sandy Alomar as third-base coach.

• Moises Alou was slated to get an MRI on his balky shoulder today. In the meantime, Lastings Milledge is out four to six weeks with sprained ligaments in his foot, and Ben Johnson is out with his own shoulder issues. This would leave Endy Chavez as the best option to start (no complaints here) replaced on the bench by Ricky Ledee. Or: start Endy, use David Newhan in the fourth outfielder role, and then replace the vacated bench spot with anyone who's hitting well, regardless of position. Apparently they've even tossed around the idea of calling on Carlos Gomez. For now Alou is day-to-day, and he made a nice diving grab tonight, so none of that might be necessary.

• Wright broke out of his funk in a big way, hitting his first home run of the season and adding a single and a deep double that almost found its way over the left-field wall (you could hear it in Gary Cohen's voice trying to will the ball over for Wright).

• Gary, I love you, you're the best. But you're turning into a homer. Just a little. I'm just saying.