He didn't actually say "Billy Joel concerts." Santana just referred to "stuff" going on at Shea. We'll just assume he meant the Piano Man. Weak.

After you read it, riddle me this: Does it bother you that The Franchise stayed away?

In other old pitcher news, Orlando Hernandez left his rehab start in Binghamton after one inning. No word yet, but the early money is on an injury of some sort.

Bottom 9: Billy Wagner now pitching. Encarnacion pops up. Votto grounds to third. Ross bunts and Wright throws him out. The Mets win 10 straight for the first time since 1991 and are tied with the Phillies for first place. Mets win, 10-8.

Top 9: Francisco Cordero in for the save. Reyes strikes out swinging at a splitter way outside. A. Reyes singles to center. Wright hits a two-run homer to rightfield to tie the score at 8. It is his 18th homer. Beltran singles to right. Easley singles to right with Beltran running on the pitch sending Beltran to third. Delgado singles to left. Beltran scores and Easley goes to third. Tatis hits an RBI double. Cordero is removed for Bray. Castro pinch hits for Schneider and strikes out looking. Evans grounds back to the pitcher. Mets 10, Reds 8

Bottom 8: Duaner Sanchez now pitching. Keppinger lines to third. Griffey doubles. Phillips pops up to second. Dunn strikes out. Reds 8, Mets 6

Top 8: David Weathers now pitching. Easley reaches on an infield single and goes to second on a throwing error by Phillips. Delgado strikes out. Tatis walks. Schneider strikes out looking. Evans grounds into a fielder's choice. Reds 8, Mets 6

Bottom 7: Heilman now pitching. Phillips grounds out to short. Dunn grounds out to second. Encarnacion doubles down the leftfield line. Votto is intentionally walked. Ross walks to load the bases. Scott Schoenweis replaces Heilman. Javier Valentin pinch hits and hits a three-run double to give the Reds the lead. Bruce strikes out. Reds 8, Mets 6

Top 7: Mike Lincoln now pitching for the Reds. Reyes grounds out. Marlon Anderson pinch hits and singles to left. Wright flies to right. Beltran grounds to second. Mets 6, Reds 5

Bottom 6:Ross strikes out looking. Andy Phillips pinch hits and singles up the middle. Pedro Feliciano comes into pitch. Bruce strikes out. Keppinger singles up the middle. Griffey flies to center. Mets 6, Reds 5

Top 6: Easley pops up to third. Delgado singles to right. Tatis hit a two-run homer. Cueto is out. Affeldt is in. Schneider lines out to first. Evans strikes out. Reds 5, Mets 4

Bottom 5: Carlos Muniz replaces Santana. Phillips singles to center. Dunn lines out to left. Phillips goes to second on an errant throw by Muniz to first base. Encarnacion grounds to short and Phillips gets tagged out in a run down. Votto strikes out. Reds 5, Mets 4

Top 5: Schneider walks on four pitches. Nick Evans pinch hits for Santana and singles to center. Reyes pops up to left. Chavez grounds out to first, advancing the runners. Wright hits a two-run single to left. Beltran fouls out to third. Reds 5, Mets 4

Bottom 4: Phillips pops up to second. Dunn hits a solo homer to right, his 27th of the season. Encarnacion hits a solo homer to left. Votto singles. Ross walks. Cueto bunts to Santana, who gets the force at third for the second out. Bruce lines a shot to rightfield for an RBI double. Keppinger hits a two-run triple. Griffey flies to right. Reds 5, Mets 2

Top 4: Wright pops up to second base. Beltran walks. Easley grounds out. Delgado hits a blast to rightfield, his 18th of the season, on a 3-and-1 pitch for a two-run homer. Tatis strikes out. Mets 2, Reds 0

Bottom 3: Bruce flies to center. Keppinger flies to center. Griffey lines to second. A much needed 1-2-3 inning for Santana. Mets 0, Reds 0

Top 3: Santana flies out to right. Reyes pops up to left. Chavez grounds out to first. Do the Mets like Santana? Mets 0, Reds 0

Bottom 2: Phillips flied out to right. Dunn walked. Encarnacion bloops a single to shallow center. Votto strikes out. Ross walks on Santana's 30th pitch of the inning. Cueto grounds out to first. Even though the Reds don't score, this was an awful inning that could have an impact later in the game. Santana threw 34 pitches. Mets 0, Reds 0

Top 2: Beltran strikes out. Easley strikes out. That's five outs, five strikeouts. Delgado walks on four pitches. Tatis singles to center, sending Delgado to third. Schneider flies to center. At least they finally made contact. Mets 0, Reds 0

Bottom 1: Bruce strikes out swinging. Keppinger lines out to left. Griffey Jr. grounds out to short. Strong start for Santana. Mets 0, Reds 0

Top 1: Reyes strikes out swinging. Chavez strikes out. Wright strikes out. Cueto looked great. He got ahead of the count, threw strikes that weren't hittable and cruised threw the inning. Johan Santana must be on the mound with that offensive effort. Oh wait, he is. Mets 0, Reds 0

Reyes SS
Chavez RF
Wright 3B
Beltran CF
Easley 2B
Delgado 1B
Tatis LF
Schneider C
Santana P

In case you missed it, Richie Sexson has agreed to sign with the Yankees.

Thu (7:10): RHP Johnny Cueto (7-9, 4.67) vs LHP Johan Santana (8-7, 2.84).
Fri (7:10):RHP Bronson Arroyo (7-7, 5.97) vs RHP John Maine (8-6, 3.99).
Sat (7:40):RHP Josh Fogg (1-2, 7.94) vs LHP Oliver Perez (6-5, 4.44).
Sun (1:15): RHP Edinson Volquez (12-3, 2.29) vs RHP Pedro Martinez (3-2, 6.25).

While it was nice of The Boss to invite one of his favorite players back, Randolph showed zero respect for any of the writers that covered him during his three-plus years in Flushing -- and more than a decade before that in the Bronx -- by completely ignoring them on his way into the building.

OK, so Randolph is still bitter over his firing. And maybe the fact that the Mets are in the middle of a nine-game winning streak that has them just a half-game out under the guidance of his former bench coach, Jerry Manuel. That's understandable.

But then why even bother showing up at the Stadium, where you know reporters will be waiting to talk to you. And perhaps the worst of it all was Randolph acting oblivious to the half-dozen reporters walking with him through the gate. Not even making eye contact. Simply pretending to hear or see nothing.

There was no "I'm not talking tonight, guys," or "I'm excited George invited me back." Nothing. I've been treated far better by Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and whoever else has been painted a villain in the media. Joe Torre was not thrilled by the way he was dumped by the Yankees at the end of last season, but his dealings with the media have never been affected. He may not always be overjoyed to speak with reporters, but he is always professional. Torre gets it.

Here's a news flash for Willie: None of the beat reporters fired you. I guess we'll all just have to wait for the book -- Randolph signed an exclusive deal last year with Daily News reporter Wayne Coffey -- to know if he enjoyed last night's All-Star tribute to Yankee Stadium.

The plan is for Hernandez to help out in the bullpen. But after Pedro Martinez complained of both groin and shoulder issues last Saturday, there could be an opening in the rotation before too long. Martinez is pencilled in to start Sunday in Cincinnati, but the Mets have raised the possibility that he could be skipped and Mike Pelfrey could step in.

"George emphasized that his friendship with Willie is a very important thing to him," Rubenstein said. "He's always looked at Willie as a friend and he is very pleased he'll be his guest at the Stadium."

Earlier this season, NL manager Clint Hurdle had named Randolph to be on his coaching staff for the final All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. But that announcement turned out to be premature when the Mets fired Randolph on June 17.

Billy Wagner ............. 22-for-28 ........ 2.31 ERA .............45 SO/39 IP
Brad Lidge ................ 20-for-20 ........ 1.13 ERA .............55 SO/40 IP
Brian Wilson ............. 25-for-27 .........4.58 ERA .............40 SO/37 1/3 IP
Carlos Marmol ........... 3-for-4 ..........4.13 ERA .............70 SO/52 1/3 IP

I'd go with Wagner. There's a very good chance that the decision could blow up in Hurdle's face and the AL takes its 12th in a row, as well as home-field advantage for the World Series. But Wagner's a Met, the game is in New York, and you can't beat that for drama.

For what it's worth, Wagner said yesterday he wants to the ball in a save situation tonight, so he can be a hero to "every Met fan in the world." We'll see about that.

This briefing is going to be, well, brief because I'm running late on my way downtown to the Grand Hyatt, where the All-Stars will be available all day. Billy Wagner was joking last night that all of the dumb questions would be turned over to his sons to answer. I think he was joking anyway.

As you can imagine, the Mets were in a great mood following the 7-0 smackdown of the Rockies, who had one foot out the door before Mike Pelfrey threw his first pitch. Regardless, that's nine straight heading into the break -- the best first-half finish in Mets' history -- and I've never seen players so anxious to get back to work. In a sense, they really didn't want this break right now. Not when they've been waiting nearly four months to play at this level.

My colleague Ken Davidoff checks in this morning with last night's lovefest at Shea, otherwise known as the Happiest Place on Earth. The crowd actually did the Wave last night. After seeing the bitterness earlier this year, I was shocked. Read Rod Boone on another outstanding job by Pelfrey -- manager Jerry Manuel suggested he could "leapfrog" other members of the rotation. I'm assuming he wasn't talking about Johan Santana, but Big Pelf, after six in a row, has been more like Huge Pelf lately. Even Fernando Martinez,who has yet to make it to Shea, grabbed some of the Futures spotlight over in the Bronx yesterday. Adam Ronis was there to chat with F-Mart.

Last but not least, it seems that Luis Castillo will be grabbing some pine when he returns from the DL. Manuel absolutely loves -- LOVES -- Damion Easley at second base and that double play he turned last night after picking that low throw from David Wright only reinforced that man-crush. Sorry, Luis.

Stat of the Day: The Mets relievers have allowed just two hits in 18 1/3 innings over the last five games.

Top 1st: Nice start to the game for Pelfrey, who issued a leadoff single to Podsednik, got Barmes to ground into a double play and struck out Holliday.

Bottom 1st: Great start for the Mets! Following a single by Evans and a walk by Wright, Beltran belted a 415 feet three-run homer. Mets 3, Rockies 0.

Top 2nd: 1-2-3 inning for Big Pelf!

Bottom 2nd: The Mets added a run on an RBI single by Reyes. Castro hit a one-out single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Pelfrey before scoring. Mets 4, Rockies 0.

Top 3rd: Pelfrey allowed a one-out double to Quintanilla, but nothing else.

Bottom 3rd: Not much for the Mets this inning. Beltran led off with a single, but was erased on an Easley’s fielder’s choice. Delgado then hit into a double play.

Top 4th: Nice turn by Easley on a double play ball as the Mets keep the Rockies off the score board. Following back-to-back singles by Holliday and Hawpe, Atkins grounded into the inning-ending double play.

Bottom 4th: Tatis and Castro led off the inning with singles. Following a sacrifice bunt by Pelfrey, Reyes was intentionally walked -- as Redman was relieved of his duties -- and Nick Evans connected on a sacrifice fly off Ryan Speier. Mets 5, Rockies 0.

Top 5th: Pelfrey benefited from his third double play of the evening as the Rockies continue to struggle.

Bottom 5th: The Mets add two more runs as Delgado belted a two-run homer following a single by Beltran. Mets 7, Rockies 0.

Top 6th: The Rockies go down in order. Pelfrey was hit on a come-backer off the bat of Podsednik, but he seems to be ok.

Bottom 6th: Big Pelf led off the inning with a single, but Reyes grounded into a rare double play and Evens popped out.

Top 7th: Pelfrey is looking great, another perfect inning for him!

Bottom 7th: The Mets go away quietly.

Top 8th: The only real question left in this game is if Pelfrey will go the distance and toss a shutout.

Bottom 8th: Delgado, Tatis and Castro are set down in order. One more inning to go and the Mets notch their ninth straight win!

Top 9th: Joe Smith came on for Pelfrey, who scattered six hits with five strikeouts in eight scoreless innings, allowed a single to Hawpe before getting Atkins to line out. Mets sweep the Rockies and head into the All-Star break as the hottest team in the majors! Final: Mets 7, Rockies 0.

Reyes (ss)
Evans (lf)
Wright (3b)
Beltran (cf)
Easley (2b)
Delgado (1b)
Tatis (rf)
Castro (c)
Pelfrey (rhp)

The Phillies eliminated that possibility this afternoon by coming back to beat the D-Backs, 6-3.

Oh well. They still have until Sept. 28 to get there.