Finally, the New York Mets clinched the NL East last night. They had me somewhat concerned over the weekend, showing lackluster play against the Pirates. Now, the Pirates may be having a terrible season but they will be contenders in a year or two. Still, the Mets should have managed to avoid a sweep.As columnists have noted, the Mets have several issues to settle before beginning post-season play. To me, you go with the guys who got you there and win ugly or not, Steve Trachsel deserves to be there and to start if possible (after Pedro, Glavine and El Duque, of course). You bring two catchers and not three, so if Ramon Castro is healthy, he should get the nod, if not, Kelly Stinnett is your better choice over Mike DeFelice. The bullpen is the question mark since some starters are suited for relief work. That’s why Trachsel should start over John Maine. You need Darren Oliver, Chad Bradford, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano and Billy Wagner. After that, you need to be cautious because guys like Heath Bell, Royce Ring, and Guillermo Mota. This unfortunately means guys like Dave Williams, Brian Banister and John Maine get to watch from the stands.When you get to round two, though, you want more than one long guy, just in case. And here’s where Maine has earned his spot.Now it’s time to wait and see who they will face in round one of divisional playoffs. I’m personally hoping to see the Padres, Cardinals and Dodgers take the remaining spots. However, NL West and Wild Card remain up in the air and just may stay that way until the final weekend.The Mets instituted a lottery for tickets to Round One and I won!. A little while ago, I secured tickets to see Game 2, whenever that will be played, at Shea Stadium. It’s certainly nice to win something like this and Deb may be even more jazzed than me. Our seats aren’t even that bad, Mezzanine Reserve, section 10, putting us right over the visitor’s dugout.