Ray Sanchez at Newsday writes about Steve Trachsel and the doubts with him in the post season:

For most of the Mets' magical season, it seemed Steve Trachsel could do no wrong, emerging as his team's most consistent starter and one of the National League's biggest winners with 14 victories.

But with the Mets' magic number to clinch a division title down to four, Trachsel (14-7, 5.17 ERA) appeared lost on the mound for his second straight start, unraveling in the third inning of yesterday's 9-1 loss to the Dodgers and raising questions about his effectiveness weeks before the playoffs.

"If you're going to discount May, June, July and August over two starts, that's up to you," he said. "I know I've had two bad starts. I had four good months and I had two bad starts. My main focus right now is to correct what has happened these last two starts."

Randolph agreed: "He's shown in the past that he can turn it around and put a gem up the next time out.

"The Mets followed Trachsel with four relievers, including Brian Bannister, who allowed six hits and five runs in three innings.

Trachsel, who said he would work on his breaking ball between starts, insisted he'll be fine for the postseason. "I'm not happy," he said, "but I'm not going to be overly concerned."