But once again, Santana, the ace will not finish the season. The two-time CY Young Award winner has been shut down after an MRI exam result showed a torn antenor on the front and bottom of his pitching shoulder. It was last September 1st when he was shut down to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

“I just hope to recover and hope this will be the end of it,” he said prior to the Mets 8-4 loss to the first place Phillies at Citi Field Friday night. “Get everything fixed,” he would say.  But this was not what the Mets envisioned when GM Omar Minaya signed him to a six-year $137.5 million dollar contract.

It is baseball, the aspects of injuries and a definite risk when signing players to the long term and lucrative deal. However there is that definite opinion that the Mets organization is beset with a hex and not a miracle. All based of course on a recurring string of injuries, last season and now.

Santana again, Jose Reyes more than once, John Maine shut down, and of course the concussion symptoms that may or may not have ended the season for Jason Bay.

In the case of Santana, blame medical personnel of the Mets organization? Perhaps, or it is the case of a pitcher who had thrown too many innings in Minnesota before coming to New York. Whatever the reason, Santana is done and the Mets once again move on to next year.

“I feel he will fulfill those next three years,” said Minaya about the contract. He observed Santana speaking to the media at the pre game press conference.  Again it is another dismal September for Minaya, the Mets and their fans at Citi Field.” Hopefully, we’ll have him back sooner than later,” said Minaya.

Santana will have surgery soon and hopes to recover by January. That may be pushing the button. He will get a second opinion from famed orthopedist Dr. James Andrews.  But we should have known that there was more trouble for the Mets ace when he was lifted after five innings in Atlanta last week because of stiffness.

The Mets said later it was a strained pectoral muscle and Santana would be listed as day-to-day.  Sounds familiar? Have we not heard and seen this before from Mets brass when it comes to the extent of an injury, more so to one of their high profiled players?

So in September again the Mets will show off their home grown talent on the field, and on the mound. In place of Santana is Dillon Gee who made his Major League debut down in Washington D.C. this week and flirted with a no-hitter.

Rookie pitcher Jenrry Mejia (0-4) failed once again to get his first Major League win Friday evening. He remains in the rotation, for the remainder of the string in the stretch of September. A lot to learn and minimal pressure without a pennant race to be concerned about.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel said he has no other options now that Santana has thrown his last pitch in 2010. “At this point we’ll see how he does,” he said about Mejia who observed there needs to be adjustments made when he faces a lineup the second time around.

And for the Mets, adjustments once again in September as they plan for next year with or without Santana on the mound.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

But Jose Reyes of the Mets connected on the second pitch of the game, a home run to right field off Hughes, The Yankees would even things up in their half of the first on a ground ball double play hit by Mark Teixeira.  In the end though, Hughes was better and Pelfrey struggled.  The Yankees would take game two of the Subway Series in the Bronx 5-3.

Reyes would connect again in the third after Henry Blanco the ninth man in the order walked. It was the sixth multihomer game for Reyes, his fifth homer of the season that was almost hit in the same spot as the first one. The ball was flying out of the ballpark at Yankee Stadium on a sunny and warm afternoon, but Pelfrey could not keep the Yankees quiet, a team that struggled to score runs the past few games.

“I didn’t have a fastball today,” admitted Pelfrey (9-2) who let the leadoff hitter reach base in five of his seven innings pitched. He allowed five runs the most since allowing six to the Phillies on May 1^. “I ended up getting behind guys,” he said. “They gave me a lead, I just couldn’t hold it. We’re playing well. I just feel bad.”

Mets manager Jerry Manuel has seen the development of Pelfrey, who has become one of the premier pitchers in the National League. And he realizes that sometimes he is still young and prone to mistakes.

“I think that he’s been elevating a few of his pitches,” said Manuel. “He is still a young pitcher who over the course of a season and in his career will hit small bumps. He just has to look back on them and get better.”

A reason the Mets have been playing well is because of Reyes and number two hitter Angel Pagan. Also the Mets starting pitching coming into the game was 18-3 with a 2.49 ERA over their last 29 games dating back to May 17. Pagan went 2-for-3 with a walk, single and double extending his hitting streak to eight games, batting .352

Reyes, 2-for-4 extended his hitting streak to 11 games and is batting .438 in that stretch, and with his day has now hit safely in 10 straight road games at the Yankees. “Some stadiums you feel comfortable hitting, I feel comfortable here,” said Reyes about his streak at the old and new stadiums in the Bronx.

“I feel at home,” said Reyes with a smile about once again being comfortable in the leadoff spot.  Mets batters though, after the Reyes one-out home run in the third, had just three hits and two walks

The Mets had a few opportunities against Hughes but failed to capitalize. As hot as they have been, there was still that confidence they could get to Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera who pitched the eighth and ninth innings to close the door

Rivera got his 16^th save of the season when he got Ike Davis swinging, Jason Bay on a ground out to second and Chris Carter on a ground out in the ninth “He throws hard and can challenge you,” said the rookie Davis about Rivera.

As for the missed opportunities, the Mets leaving runners on second base in the sixth with Hughes on the mound, and in the eighth Manuel said, “Their guy (Hughes) made some good pitches at the right time or was able to get a double-play or pop up when he needed to,”

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

The confidence also attributed to K-Rod, who got the win for starter Mike Pelfrey, now 4-0. And Rodriguez got his fourth consecutive save in as many nights, perfect nine times now coming in a game as he retired Jimmy Rollins and stranded Matt Stairs at second who had walked.

The confidence that has Carlos Beltran, batting .382, leading the National League in hitting and fourth highest in baseball, also hitting his fifth home run of the season in the first inning. A two-run homer that led to a Mets four run first inning that went along with a two-run homer from David Wright.

“We had a little bump early and the confidence has always been there,” said Wright who went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Two home runs over the past nine games from Wright, including two doubles and a triple, a .406 average over that span certainly builds confidence.

It was the second time this season Beltran and Wright hit two-run home runs in the first inning. Wright has also found the fences at Citi Field. His third long ball of the season, Pelfrey winning his second game against Philadelphia this month, and of course K-Rod staying perfect certainly helps/

This is something the Mets need to overtake the Phillies in the NL East race.  The past two seasons, those September collapses were attributed to the big bats of Beltran and Wright going cold.  The bullpen failed to have a closer like Rodriguez who is on pace to save 62 more games this season.

But can K-Rod continue to come out of the pen so often in order to keep this confidence building for the Mets?  “I am not going to change my routine,” K-Rod responded when asked if he could come and save a fifth straight Friday evening at Citi Field when the Mets open a three game series with Pittsburgh.

“Mentally after the seventh inning,” he said, “I always make sure I’m doing my routine. You have to be prepared when that phone rings; make sure you’re prepared,” he said also commenting that every game counts at the end.

And indeed every game does count, and these Mets know how important it is to have a guy like K-Rod that can be depended on to get the win. It builds confidence that certainly was lacking for Manager Jerry Manuel last September. Now he has K-Rod and doesn’t have to mix and match out of the pen to preserve a win.

“The more he pitches the better he feels,” said Manuel who also sounds more and more like a confident manager. Because he has a closer that can do it, Pelfrey continues to make adjustments and has improved, and of course the confidence of calling on K-Rod that makes a starting pitcher that much better at the end.

“Don’t think you can get 62 Saves without throwing a lot,” added Pelfrey about his closer. And the Mets offense getting six or more runs for Pelfrey while he was on the mound added more confidence.

Said Beltran, “There’s no better feeling than how you feel at the plate.”  And no better feeling for the Mets right now. They are confident and go for five straight and perhaps five straight saves from K-Rod Friday evening.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring 786@aol.com