Wait's over: Valentin homers twice as Mets clinch East

NEW YORK (AP) -- They soaked themselves in wine and beer, then ran out of their clubhouse to go back on the field, jump up and down some more and share the glee with their fans.

Ending nearly two decades of disappointment in their division and days of delay, the New York Mets brought the NL East title back to Shea Stadium for the first time since 1988 with a 4-0 victory over the Florida Marlins on Monday night.

Clinch doesn't clinch
Since divisional play began in 1969, ten teams that were the first in baseball to clinch their division went on to win the World Series. World Series winners in bold.
'06 Mets	'87 Twins
'05 Cardinals	'87 Giants (same day)
'04 Cardinals	'86 Mets
'03 Giants	'85 Dodgers
'02 Braves	'84 Tigers
'01 Mariners	'83 White Sox
'00 Cardinals	'82 Cardinals
'99 Indians	'80 Royals
'98 Yankees	'79 Orioles
'97 Braves	'78 Dodgers
'97 Indians (same day)	'77 Dodgers
'96 Indians	'76 Reds
'95 Indians	'75 Reds
'93 Blue Jays	'74 Athletics
'93 White Sox (same day)	'73 Orioles
'92 Pirates	'72 Pirates
'91 Pirates	'71 A's
'90 A's	'70 Orioles
'89 Cubs	'70 Reds (same day)
'88 A's	'69 Orioles
Note: '94 was strike year and '81 strike/split year.

Then they celebrated as if they had won the World Series.

"If this is what playoff baseball in New York is like, to me it's the best," David Wright said before sticking a cigar in his mouth and high-fiving fans in the first row during the 90-minute postgame celebration.

Jose Valentin, one of their unexpected stars, homered twice. Steve Trachsel, their longest-tenured player, combined with Guillermo Mota, Aaron Heilman and Billy Wagner on a four-hitter.

Fireworks shot off from behind the center-field wall when Cliff Floyd caught Josh Willingham's fly ball to left for the final out. The Mets rushed to the center of the diamond for a bouncing group hug near shortstop.

"I got that ball in my back pocket. For a small fee, I might give it up," Floyd said, laughing.

They are New York's "other team," often obscured by the crosstown Yankees, whose 26 World Series titles' dwarf the Mets' two. When the Yankees celebrate division titles -- they're closing in on their ninth straight -- they resemble corporate executives closing a deal with handshakes. For them, only World Series titles satisfy.

When the Mets win anything, it's time to let loose.

"If we win the World Series this year, it's not going to erase the Yankee mystique," Tom Glavine said. "They've done it year after year, and they deserve all the attention they get. We're just trying to play well and take some of that attention. But sure, we want our piece of the pie."

The Mets had hoped to clinch last week during a trip to Florida and Pittsburgh. But the 280 or so bottles of Freixenet Cordon Negro Extra Dry sparkling wine that had been flown from city to city were neatly arrayed in four trays outside the clubhouse before the game, as if to tantalize passing players.

Elias Says
Trachsel Steve Trachsel improved his record to 15-7 and lowered his ERA to 4.96 in the Mets division-clinching win Monday. Only one pitcher in major league history has won more than two-thirds of his decisions while posting an ERA as high as Trachsel's (minimum: 20 decisions). Roxie Lawson went 18-7 for the 1937 Tigers despite a 5.27 ERA. • For more Elias Says, click here

By the fifth inning, when the Mets were up 3-0, Pedro Martinez was sitting on the edge of the dugout, wearing goggles -- perhaps in anticipation of sprayed sting in the celebration ahead. Possibly remembering the wild celebrations of 1969 and 1986, police deployed four mounted officers on watch behind the right-field fence.

"We accomplished the first step," Martinez said. "Now we have a big job to do and a great responsibility."

Led by the power of Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, the pitching of Martinez and Glavine, the spark of Jose Reyes and Wright, and the closing of Wagner, the Mets took over the NL East lead for good with a 2-1 record on April 6 and put together the best record in the major leagues (91-58).

"It was a little bit frustrating because I wanted the guys to experience it right away," said manager Willie Randolph, a veteran of six World Series titles as a Yankees player and coach.

"It's that adrenaline that you get. It's that real euphoric feeling you get knowing that you accomplished something. Having said that, I've been through this many times. We have a lot to do, man. We've just scratched the surface of how good this team can be."

Just two years removed from a 71-91 finish that led to the hirings of Randolph and general manager Omar Minaya, the Mets ended the reign of the Atlanta Braves, who had won 14 straight division titles, including 11 in a row since their move to the NL East.

The Mets became the first team this season to clinch a playoff berth and can prepare for their first postseason appearance since 2000, when they won the wild card for the second straight season and lost to the Yankees in the World Series. The Mets are likely to meet St. Louis, Los Angeles or San Diego in the first round, starting in the first week of October.

A giddy crowd of 46,729 chanted, clapped and sang at festive Shea -- about 10,000 tickets were sold after Sunday's loss completed a three-game Pirates' sweep. Many arrived for batting practice, and fans already were on their feet cheering during the first inning.

Trachsel felt the buzz when he drove into the parking lot.

"Security guards and construction workers were screaming walking in: 'Get this thing done!'" he said.

Trachsel (15-7), who signed with the Mets in December 2000, allowed three hits in 6 1/3 innings and joined Gary Gentry (1969), Tom Seaver (1973), Dwight Gooden (1986) and Ron Darling (1988) as the only pitchers to win division clinchers for the Mets. Darling was on hand Monday night as a member of the team's broadcast crew.

Valentin, who took away the second-base job from Kaz Matsui early in the season, hit a two-run homer in the third inning off Brian Moehler (7-9), then earned his second curtain call of the night with a solo shot in the fifth. Floyd added an RBI single in the sixth.

"That was something," Valentin said, recalling the fan reaction. "That was a great feeling."

For Florida, though, the playoff picture grows more dire by the day. The Marlins fell 4½ games back in the wild-card race.

"We're in a tough position," manager Joe Girardi said. "We've got 12 games to go, and we got to win most of them."

Game notes
Delgado has the most games (1,703) among active players without a postseason appearance. ... When the Mets clinched their first division title in 1969, the game ended when the Cardinals' Joe Torre grounded into a double play -- Randolph's former mentor on the Yankees.