SURGING METS TAKE DOWN YANKEES

There is little remaining evidence to support the notion that the Mets are somehow still not legitimate, somehow still not worthy of praise. By now, they have stated their case in full -- against the good teams, against the bad teams, against the teams in between. And also against the Yankees. This incarnation of the defending World Series champs may not be as mighty as those that have come before, but no matter. They are still the Yankees. And they still represented an obstacle in the cyclonic path of the Mets. Rather than fold on Friday, however, Hisanori Takahashi and the Mets won their eighth straight game -- a complete, convincing and almost clinical 4-0 dispatching of their interborough rivals. Then they patted each other on the back, ever so cautiously. "You can go around the locker room and look, and everybody's playing good together," right fielder Jeff Francoeur said. "This is a great team. We might not have 100 guys putting up 20 home runs and 60 home runs, but we've got a great team and a great group of guys in here. And if we keep playing like that, I think it will be a good summer." Taken in context, the Mets' eighth straight victory came not without warning signs: They have still done most of their recent damage against some of the worst teams in baseball, and they have yet to bridge the gap between streakiness and consistency. And then there's that bullpen, which had to endure a furious Yankees rally in the ninth. But those are worries for another day. Right now, the Mets are streaking. Streaks are fun. And the Mets are having a blast. "We believe in our team," Angel Pagan said. "There's no doubt that we believe in the talent we have right now. Everybody's pumped. Everybody is doing their job. We're playing great baseball, so what else can you ask for? It's fun when you win." It was Takahashi who silenced the Yankees for most of the evening, Pedro Feliciano who preserved the most critical outs and Francisco Rodriguez who -- a bit begrudgingly -- climbed upon his tightrope to save it. Perhaps looking over his shoulder just a bit, Takahashi entered Friday knowing that the closer John Maine edges to a return from the disabled list, the more tenuous his rotation spot becomes. But Takahashi displayed none of the shakiness that undermined him earlier this month, submitting his second six-inning shutout against the Yankees. Only in the sixth, when the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs, did Takahashi need to sweat. But on his 103rd and final pitch of the evening, the 35-year-old rookie induced a groundout from Yankees catcher Jorge Posada to end the threat. "He's shown us that he can handle any situation," catcher Rod Barajas said. "He's been an unbelievable asset for us to have." "His fastball gets on you kind of quick, and he mixes in his changeup," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "He doesn't throw too many balls over the plate." The Mets at the time were clinging to a 1-0 lead, courtesy Ike Davis' RBI single in the first. That was all they could -- and would -- do against Javier Vazquez, who pitched seven innings of one-run ball before departing. Later, in the eighth, Pagan provided some critical insurance with a two-run double off Chan Ho Park that should have sealed the game. But after Feliciano's brilliant two innings of relief, Mets manager Jerry Manuel -- citing his desire to give his closer a night off -- asked Raul Valdes to protect a four-run lead in the ninth. Valdes promptly put two Yankees on base with one out in the ninth, forcing Rodriguez -- who had been prepared to start the ninth inning -- to warm for a second time, this time in haste. A 12-pitch battle with Brett Gardner led to a bases-loading walk, before Rodriguez struck out Jeter and got Nick Swisher to pop out to third baseman David Wright. Though he later admitted his displeasure with the way Manuel had used him -- "I want the ball every day if it's up to me," he said -- Rodriguez nonetheless did what he was supposed to do. And the Mets did what they weren't supposed to: keep on streaking in the Bronx, oblivious of their opponent. Now, the Mets have won eight straight, matching the season-high streak they enjoyed back in April. Following that stretch, the Mets proceeded to lose four out of their next five games. But they insist that they are a better team now, a more consistent team, perhaps even a smarter team. They aim to become a more accomplished team as well. And they're accelerating -- or is it streaking? -- toward that goal. "We're playing the game the right way," Francoeur said. "And that's the key."