Putting all the hype in type

Having been a baseball writer for a good part of the last 23 years, I know better than to hype things so early. When you do, they rarely pan out. But I'm willing to take that chance again, because the Red Sox' next three games at Fenway Park against the New York Mets are as close to a prelude to the 2006 World Series as you're probably going to get.

You have to at least acknowledge that the Sox and Mets could be the best teams in baseball in late October because they are deep, stacked with good everyday players, and have top-of-the-line rotations and bullpens.

The Red Sox will have plenty of competition from the White Sox, Tigers, A's, Rangers, Yankees, and Blue Jays, while the Mets have the Cardinals, Reds, Dodgers, and Astros as teams capable of unseating them. There's lots of baseball left, as is often said. But the storyline is inescapable -- it would be the 20th anniversary of the 1986 World Series between the Sox and Mets.

Seems plausible, doesn't it?

The Mets come to town as the latest interleague foe for the Red Sox, who have massacred the NL East to the tune of 11-1, including yesterday's 8-7 win over the Phillies on David Ortiz's walkoff single in the 12th inning.

The Mets are for real at 47-28, with the best record in the National League and a 12-game lead over the Phils in the East.

``It's amazing, and it's kind of eerie that it could happen again, couldn't it?" said Wade Boggs, who was at Fenway last night for the 20th reunion of the Sox' 1986 team. ``The Red Sox and Mets have great teams. It's funny, 20 years later and to do that all over again. I hope it has a different ending."

Both the Sox and the Mets have much talent that has come from other organizations.

Both have some home-grown talent, too -- the Mets have talented outfielder Lastings Milledge and the Sox have closer Jonathan Papelbon.

But this is still a far cry from 20 years ago, when both squads were primarily home-grown (ex-Sox general manager Lou Gorman had much to do with the development of both '86 teams, having been a Mets executive two years earlier).

The '86 Mets had lots of everyday young talent such as Darryl Strawberry and Lenny Dykstra. On the mound, the Mets had Dwight Gooden; the Sox' answer, of course, was Roger Clemens. Now both teams have their share of grizzled veterans. For instance, the Sox have Curt Schilling and the Mets Tom Glavine. Those two will square off in the series finale Thursday.

``It's always fun to go home and pitch," said Billerica's Glavine, who leads the major leagues with 11 wins. ``But to have the teams both playing well in first place, it's just going to add to the aura. I know more than anyone growing up there that Fenway isn't a fun place for a pitcher. I've seen great Red Sox lineups do some damage there, and this lineup is very dangerous from top to bottom."

The pitching matchups alone have intrigue.

Tonight: Alay Soler vs. Jon Lester:

Lester is Boston's lefthanded phenom, the best lefty Sox prospect since Bruce Hurst (who also was in town with the '86ers and who was eager to watch Lester tonight). Lester is 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA while the Cuban-born Soler is 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA in June after a shaky start in May, when he was 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA. Soler has allowed one home run in his last 27 innings and has a 0.56 road ERA. Lester struck out 10 Nationals last Wednesday.

Tomorrow: Pedro Martínez vs. Josh Beckett:

As colleague Bob Ryan says, ``If you boo Pedro Martínez, you're a fool!" Martínez has spoken all week about how tough it is to face the Red Sox, many of whom were his teammates on the '04 championship team, but he'll get over it. Martínez has battled a sore hip of late, so it's not out of the realm of possibility he won't have his `A' stuff. But don't bet against it, either. Adrenaline has always been Pedro's choice of performance enhancement, and it will be flowing. Beckett has been less consistent than the Red Sox would like, but when he's on, and he was in his last start against the Phillies, he can be as good as anyone. Beckett has a chance to carve quite a niche by beating Martínez.

Thursday: Glavine vs. Schilling:

One of those classic matchups. One guy is closing in on 300 wins and is a surefire Hall of Famer, while the other is making his mark as one of the best money pitchers in the modern era. I've said for a while now that if Schilling does, indeed, retire after next season, and if he leads the Sox to another championship, giving him three all told, he must be considered a legitimate candidate for the Hall of Fame.

Elsewhere, Mets third baseman David Wright is an NL MVP candidate capable of the big hit, while the Sox' Ortiz is the most clutch hitter in the game. ``Just make a tape of Ortiz and replay it," Boggs said. ``The guy is amazing."

There's the Mets' Carlos Beltran and the Sox' Manny Ramírez, who was once rumored to be headed to the Mets in a trade. You can watch exciting young New York shortstop Jose Reyes, who leads the NL with 67 runs and recently improved his average from .246 to .302 during a 13-game hitting streak that included hitting for the cycle last Wednesday. Old veteran Carlos Delgado is still a dangerous batter.

I'm not a big fan of interleague play, because a strong AL team can beat a good NL team anytime. The Nationals, Phillies, and Braves were awful.

But the Mets will provide some serious competition.

These are three games in which the Red Sox can make a statement, games in which they can go head-to-head with the best the other league has to offer and possibly gain a psychological advantage if they meet again in October.

``I think they're a very athletic team," Sox second baseman Mark Loretta said of the Mets. ``I think we can match up well against them. Maybe it can happen [a Sox-Mets World Series]. That would mean we were in it. That would be great."

MEET THE METS: Why have the Mets had so much success this season? We break it down in a photo gallery at www.boston.com/redsox