(Mike Cameron, recovering from the laundry list of injuries suffered in his face to face collision with Carlos Beltran last month in San Diego, congratulates Ramon Castro)

At yesterday’s close of play there were 4 National League clubs with a total of 62 losses, each flawed in one way or another. Of those playoff hopefuls, the New York Mets’ resilience since the loss of their everyday right-fielder and catcher has been astonishing. Ramon Castro provided the heroics Tuesday night, hitting a 3 run HR off Philly’s Ugueth Urbina, to give New York a 6-4 win at Shea. Jae Seo, who came back to earth slightly sooner than Shawn Chacon, allowed first inning HR’s to Kenny Lofton and Met-killer Pat Burrell, but Carlos Beltran (described by Keith Hernandez as “tentative” early in the broadcast) would reply with a first inning solo HR, a subsequent RBI single and a crucial outfield assist, gunning down Lofton trying to score in the visitors’ 5th.

Of the clubs contending for the NL Wild Card, Houston have the easiest remaining schedule….and it is very hard to imagine the Mets continuing to get as much mileage from the bottom half of their batting order as they have during their recent surge. But not nearly as hard to envision, however, Beltran, Cliff Floyd and David Wright fashioning a deadly 3-4-5 combination over the season’s final month.

Apparently, it would take more than leaving Chicago for Joe Borowski to morph into Mariano Rivera. More than a dye job for Curt Schilling to morph into Curt Schilling, too.