NEW YORK

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning at Shea Stadium Monday, Derek Bell walked to the plate to face San Diego's Donnie Wall.

"C'mon, Derek," the guy behind me said, "Pop one here."

Next thing we knew, Wall's inbound pitch became an outbound missle, a line drive barely rising 50 feet off the ground as it headed for the left-field fence. Left fielder Al Martin turned ... and ran. With two feet on the wall, he had a perfect view of the ball smashing the front of the Pepsi Picnic Area.

2-1 Mets.

The fans called Bell out of the dugout for a curtain call, already finding a place in their hearts for the "throw-in" to the Mike Hampton trade.

As he trotted out to right field for the top of the ninth, the cheers along the first-base line grew. (The attention shifted momentarily when Armando Benitez emerged from the bullpen to shut the Padres down in the ninth.) But when Bell took his warmup throws in right field, that corner of Shea broke out in a chorus of "DE-rek ... DE-rek ... DE-rek," bestowing upon him a cadence in his first home game as a Met.

It marked the fifth straight victory the Mets have won in their last at bat, dating back to the playoffs and Todd Pratt's division-series winning home run against the Diamondbacks last October -- a highlight that appeared on the Shea Stadium DiamondVision screen in more than one montage.

It was an electric day at Shea, from the pregame introductions (during which Benny Agbayani received the loudest ovation) to Benitez's final out (a ground ball sucked up by the radioactive orange glove of shortstop Rey Ordonez), tempered only by the confusing choice of "hit 90s recording artists Boyz II Men" singing the National Anthem. The Atlanta Braves were on all fans' minds -- and not just the wild card and a playoff series victory this time. (Some fans were thinking in the nearer future -- June 29 to be exact. Two men walked around the mezzanine carrying a sign reminding everyone, "89 days 'til Rocker!") Another guy wore a Mets jersey, number 99, with "F ROCKER" stitched in place of the name above the number on the back.

There's a feeling at Shea that this team is built to compete.

This year -- put all the slogans together -- the Amazin' Mets will be performing miracles again. You gotta believe.