Video killed the bullpen star

Only five days ago, the Mets lost a devastating game when the umps took the go-ahead run off the board after Ryan Chuch missed third base.

Tonight, the Mets won a thrilling game when the umps put the go-ahead runs on the board after video replay reversed the call on Omir Santos' ball that just cleared the Green Monster, turning it into an unlikely home run.

If this turns out to be a magical year for the Mets, tonight's game will be seen as one of the first signs. It still doesn't seem possible that the Mets actually won the game tonight. Look at all that had to go right:

Santos was a third-string catcher batting with two outs against star closer Jonathan Papelbon, who had not blown a save all year. If Jerry Manuel did not have a depleted bench, he might well have pinch hit for Santos.

Instant replay on disputed homers did not become a rule until late last season. Before that, Santos would be on second and Sheffield on third. And Papelbon very likely would have gotten out of it and the Red Sox would have won.

Even when the ball was called a homer, the Mets still had to contend with Francisco Rodriguez being unavailable. Every ball hit off of J.J. Putz was hard-hit. Two of them required great plays by the Mets' infield.

The infield of Daniel Murphy, Luis Castillo, Ramon Martinez and David Wright preserving the lead might have been the biggest miracle of all.

And this all came after Josh Beckett allowed no earned runs in eight innings.

Papelbon blowing the game came only hours after another top closer, Brad Lidge, blew a lead and the game against the Yankees. But as dramatic as that win was, Alex Rodriguez hitting a homer is slightly more expected than Santos belting one out in that spot.

The one dark cloud was yet another injury. K-Rod went to the hospital in an ambulance for back spasms. Sportsticker just reported that the Mets say he took an ambulance to avoid traffic.

So the week begins with Martinez rushing to Dodger Stadium with a police escort and ends with K-Rod rushing to the hospital in an ambulance. Let's hope K-Rod is OK - Mets magic can only overcome so many injuries.

I thought the Mets would get swept in Fenway and I'm glad to be wrong. But I still have a chance to be right about a sweep!

Mets' AAA team more like AARP

On Monday night, the injury-plagued Mets started three players just brought up from Triple-A Buffalo. One might think that would result in a younger lineup - maybe a couple of kids rushed to the majors. But the Mets, not a young team to start with, actually got older. Monday's lineup only had two players under 30.

When the Mets' top choice to fill in at shortstop Monday and second base Tuesday is 36-year-old retread Ramon Martinez, something is wrong. And a look at the Buffalo roster confirms it.

The Bisons roster contains ten players who are over 30 and three more who will turn 30 during the season. At least seven other players over 30 have already played for Buffalo this year - Martinez, Redding, 40-year-old Ken Takahashi, Nelson Figueroa, Casey Fossum, Freddy Garcia and Rob Mackowiak. It's mid-May, and at least 17 players over 30 have already appeared in a Bisons game.

All teams have some veterans sprinkled in among the prospects. The Yankees recently brought up 36-year-old Brett Tomko and signed Fossum to AAA Scranton-Wilkes-Barre after the Mets released him. But the Yankees only have five players on the current AAA roster who are over 30, as well as two who will turn 30 during the season.

Veterans in the minors can have value if they are recovering from injuries or AAAA types who aren't quite good enough to stay on the big league roster but can still serve as fill-ins. Signing a bunch of older pitchers and hoping to get lucky with one or two is a potentially workable strategy. Redding looks good after one start and Takahashi has an ERA of 3.12 after seven appearances.

The farm has also delivered Omir Santos and Angel Pagan this year. Santos is older than a typical rookie, but at 27, young enough to pinch-run, at least for Ramon Castro. Pagan is 28 and coming back from injury.

With cleanup hitter Carlos Delgado out indefinitely, the Mets need to increase their emphasis on defense and speed. After tonight's loss, the Mets now have only five runs scored in three games. And two of those runs were driven in by John Maine.

The Mets should be trying to get younger, but it won't be possible on the big league level until they figure out how to improve things at Buffalo.

The Buffalo Bisons, by the way, are 10-27, 15 games behind first-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.