You kinda almost gotta believe

The heretofore laughingstocks of the big leagues, the guys whose owner was pictured in the New York Post wearing nothing but a barrel and holding a begging cup, are now the architects of a six-game winning streak, their latest triumph coming after a four-run rally in the ninth inning. Holy Tug McGraw! After an endless list of last-place predictions, are we in for an unexpected Amazin' season from our lovable Mets?

Probably not. While I would love to push forward such an agenda and pull my Keith Hernandez T-shirt out from the bottom of my closet, we need to check in with our good friend, reality.

After a 5-13 start that had the Mets speeding reckelessly toward oblivion and irrelevancy by May Day, they're suddenly 11-13, and even out of last place in the National League East. But we must point out the Amazin's have put some meat back on their bones at the expense of the Diamondbacks and Nationals, with combined records of 20-26. That, after losing two of three to the mighty Astros, they of the 9-15 mark.

It gets significantly more difficult, very quickly. After they finish up with the Nats, the Mets will play three games each against the pitching-rich Phillies (16-8), then the Giants (11-12) and McCourt-distracted Dodgers (13-13), both better clubs than their records reflect, before a three-game set with the Rockieds (16-7), who throttled the Mets in a recent four-game sweep at Citi Field. those four clubs have a combined mark of 56-40.

There are a few glimmers of hope. Ike Davis is batting .345 and Jose Reyes is batting .311 (though few expect him to remain a Met past the trade deadline). Carlos Beltran appears to be healthy, and Jason Bay is showing the kind of pop since coming off the DL to make you think maybe signing him wasn't such a bad idea.

But let's see where things stand after the next two weeks before we can legitimately get excited.

***

Following up on a recent blog post, I saw that Peter King of Sports Illustrated paid a recent visit to NFL Films president Steve Sabol, who is back to work while undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Sabol, 68, doesn't know his prognosis ("I never asked, I don't want to know," he told King), but is driven to "make it" until August, when his father, Ed Sabol, the founder of NFL Films, will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It's an inspiring read about one of the really good guys in sports. Here's the link:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/04/17/mmqb/index.html

Diving into "The Pacific"

As a huge fan of the genre of war movies, I eagerly restored my HBO service in advance of Sunday, when the premiere of the Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks miniseries "The Pacific" begins. If this is half as good as the last Spielberg/Hanks production on HBO -- 2001's "Band of Brothers" -- then we're in for something to remember.

Quick aside: This is the first time since "The Sopranos" that I've felt there was something on HBO to be a must-see, and I'm not expecting to be disappointed.

Just saw a report on CNN previewing the series. Hanks was asked if he feels the project will be a fitting tribute for the ever-dwindling numbers of surviving vets of the Pacific theater, and he said he hopes it will, given the authenticity the producers are vowing to convey to the audience.

Let's hope so. A brief preview of the series published in the March issue of Esquire warned of excessive dramatic music and a barrage of cliches.

"Band of Brothers" (a stepchild of 1998's "Saving Private Ryan") certainly did not lack for realism, taking us into the wartime lives of an entire company from their stateside training to V-E Day and beyond. "The Pacific" narrows the approach, focusing on three real-life soldiers. One is Eugene Sledge, played by Joe Mazzello (pictured above).

If you're a fan of military documentaries, Sledge's name will sound familiar -- his story was featured in Ken Burns' "The War." A native of Mobile, Ala. -- one of the four American towns on which Burns based his film -- Sledge's wartime memoirs, With the Old Breed, was part of the basis for "The Pacific." His harrowing and haunting memories of the savage and inhuman conditions at Peleliu and Okinawa -- in particular the gruesome fate of many Marines that fell into the hands of the Japanese -- are too graphic to be recounted here; we'll soon find out how authentic the producers were willing to go to tell a story that to a large degree has been historically overshadowed by films featuring the war in Europe.

Comparison to "Band of Brothers" are inevitable, but perhaps a fairer one would be to Clint Eastwood's 2006 "Letters from Iwo Jima" (a far-superior "sister film" to Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," based on the outstanding book by James Bradley). "Letters" told the horrific story of that battle from the Japanese perspective and showed the hopelessness of their soldiers, who lived their last days in tunnels and caves knowing they were expected to die with honor for the Emperor.

Sixty-five years later, that war will enter our living rooms again beginning Sunday night. I'm feeling pretty good that Spielberg and Hanks will do it justice. The remaining Marines who did the fighting hope so, too.

***

An odd segue, I know, but the Mets just found out that shortstop Jose Reyes will be sidelined somewhere between two and eight weeks with an overactive thyroid gland. In all likelihood, Reyes will be on the disabled list along with Carlos Beltran when the Amazin's open the 2010 season April 5 against the Marlins at Citi Field. Not exactly a great way to turn the page following the forgettable end to last season. Doctors say the long-range prognosis is good, that Reyes' thyroid levels should return to normal with rest and diet (he isn't able to eat seafood, which contains iodine, which in turn affects the thyroid).

Let's hope the Mets aren't 10 games out by the time Reyes returns.

Meet the Mess

Being a Mets fan can be a nasty business these days. As a transplanted New Yorker (OK, New Jerseyite -- or is it Jerseyan?) living in the Boston area, at least folks allow me into the conversation when I let them know I back the Metropolitans instead of the reviled Yankees.

It's been a rough several years for those of us who don orange and blue (and reluctantly black) and worship a mascot with a giant baseball head. In 2006, the Mets came within one game of the World Series, but have not even made the playoffs since, thanks to unthinkable collapses in each of the next two seasons. Then came the disaster of 2009, when the less-than-Amazin's seemingly lost their entire team to injuries and came up on the wrong side of the box score a mind-boggling 92 times. Clearly, there was nowhere to go but up.

I was actually starting to feel good about the prospects for the upcoming season. The core of the team looked to be healthy again (Carlos Beltran's knee surgery notwithstanding), and I had just finished Lee Jenkins' piece on David Wright in the latest issue of SI, which honed in on Wright's determination to rediscover the power missing from his swing last season, and the admission he was often trying to hit to the opposite field, as per the mantra from the Mets' misguided coaching staff. I even read that the outfield fences in cavernous Citi Field will be shortened from 16 feet to 8 feet, which can only help Wright and the Mets make that ancient apple rise a lot more often this season. After only 10 dingers last season (after 27, 26, 30 and 33 in his previous four campaigns), there was nowhere to go but up. I thought I could wear my Mets camp without listening to snickers -- particularly after Wright belted a homer in his first spring training game this week. Springtime, when a young man's fancy can turn to thoughts of a pennant race.

Or so I thought.

Then came the news yesterday that shortstop Jose Reyes, who missed all but 36 games last year with a hamstring that refused to heal, was heading back to New York for tests after he was found to have a thyroid imbalance.

The fact Reyes was cleared to play by doctors on Friday was encouraging, but a major concern nevertheless, considering how much Reyes means to this team when he isn't nursing an injury or being "retaught how to run," as he was during the woeful tenure of Art Howe.

Perhaps the tests will confirm something minor that can be controlled with medication. For Reyes' sake -- and the sake of springtime -- let's hope so. Or else football season could arrive a lot sooner than Mets fans want it to.