What didn't the Mets do in their three-game sweep of the Cardinals in the season-opening series, capped by a 10-0 drubbing of the hosts on Wednesday in St. Loo? They didn't cure cancer, they didn't save Gina from the ax and they didn't broker a peace deal between Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers. But they did most everything else:

-- Stellar pitching. From ace Tom Glavine to 25th man Aaron Sele, the staff was terrific, allowing just two runs over 27 frames, capped by John Maine's seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball Wednesday.

-- Tight defense. They made the easy plays, a few highlight reel plays, turned timely DPs and showed great range.

-- Explosive hitting. On paper, they're the best offense in the National League. And either the Busch Stadium turf is made of fine stationary, or these guys really can hit. Before the 10 runs Wednesday, they merely were clutch, scoring "only" six and four runs, respectively, in the first two games.

What does it all mean? It certainly doesn't take away any of the awful memories of the end of the '06 NLCS. But it serves a terrific warning shot across the bow in 2007 -- not to the Cardinals, but to the loudmouth Phillies and the Braves (and, I suppose, the Marlins) -- reminding everyone who the best team in the NL is, and the thought of the club not being quite up to snuff this year compared to last is merely fiction.

There's a lot of ballgames left to be played (and thankfully, we now know we'll be watching it on our TVs, not computers), but it's certainly worth noting that after three games played, the Mets' magic number has tumbled to ...

160.

That's over the Braves, who the Mets play next.

Incidentally, after watching the Cardinals up-close for three straight games, this team has the capacity to finish in fourth place. The outfield defense is utterly atrocious, the offense is littered with holes, the 'pen is shaky and the manager is a drunk.

The Mets are crisp like a cracker (or, matzoh), from the pitching to the defense to the timely-enough hitting. El Duque was terrific, making one wonder if it would be the Mets receiving their championship rings today and not the Cards if he weren't so fragile last October. And the rest of the team came to play, too, as the Mets handed the Cardinals their second consecutive defeat in as many games this season on Tuesday, a nice 4-1 win in which El Duque showed his worth from the plate, too.

It all adds up to a magic number that's just ...
161.

Mets baseball, how I missed you so. We had more than 162 games last year, but, boy, did I feel like we should have had another four to seven games. Alas, the 2006 NL East champions will go down as one of the franchise's best, but shy of elite.

That takes us to this year. Tom Glavine was terrific, as he has been for the last two or so years, the defense was spectacular, which isn't something quite so common for recent Mets clubs, and the hitting was what we've come to expect out of this club.

Does the Mets' 6-1 dowsing of the Cardinals on Sunday's season opener make up for Game 7 of the NLCS last year? **** no. But it sure starts '07 off on the right foot.

Because now, after one game played, the first-place Mets are 1-0 after one game played, lowering their magic number to a mere ...

162

Lets go Mets! And don't believe what everyone says about the pitching staff. They'll be fine.