Mets rally from 7 runs down to beat Bucs (and save manager's blood pressure)

A day after Mets manager Terry Collins ripped into his entire team following a pathetic 9-3 loss to the Pirates, it looked like his message had fallen on deaf ears.

The Amazins' found themselves in a 7-0 hole to Pittsburgh in the top of the third inning on Thursday and the thought on everyone's minds was whether or not Collins' head would actually explode in his post-game presser.

But instead of another Collins' coniption, the Mets rallied for a resounding 9-8 win, the team's biggest comeback since it erased an 8-1 deficit to beat the Braves back in 2000.

Behind Carlos Betran's big day at the plate (HR, four RBI) and Reuben Tejada, who chipped in with three RBI, the Mets got perhaps their most important win of the season.

Thank the Lord.

Had the Mets folded up after falling behind 7-0 early, the media and just about everyone else would seriously begin questioning Collins' methods and whether or not he can get through to this team.

While the comeback victory salvaged just a 2-2 split with the lowly Pirates and brought the team's record back to within four games of .500 (26-30), the win shows that this team has some serious gumption, in spite of all its current deficiencies.

Surely these types of comebacks are few and far between, but this one could not have come at a better time, as the wheels appeared to be falling off following two disappointing losses to the Pirates the previous two nights.

If nothing else, this win provides us Mets fans with the chance to come down from the ledge, forget about all that's wrong with the Mets, and feel good about our baseball team.

At least for the afternoon.