You can count me among the tweetin’ Twitterers (or is that the Twitterin’ tweeters?) now: http://twitter.com/MikeVacc

*******

It is the All-Star Break, which means lots of idle time, lots of idle hands, and a boon for the devil’s workshop. So today and tomorrow, we’ll take a look at what the Mets and Yankees both have to do, very specifically, to reach their goals in the second half of the season.

Today, the Metsies, who are at 42-45 at the break, have 75 more games left, and know that they need to win precisely two-thirds of them to get to 92 wins, which should at least keep them in play for the postseason. Is that a daunting task? Well, consider this: 50-25 would put the Mets at exactly the pace as the ’86 team that went 108-54, a year they seemed to win every day. And the Mets, recently, have been fortunate to win once or twice every week.

No matter: here, a series-by-series breakdown of what the Mets desperately need to happen. And as an added help, and asterisk (*) will be added to those series when Johan Santana will likely pitch,

At Atlanta for 4*: Need to take three out of four, as much to send a message as anything else, as well as to leap-frog the Braves. 45-46. At Washington for 3: As the Yankees found out last month, it’s always foolish to expect a sweep, no matter how awful the opponent. The Mets will need to sweep the Nats, but it likely won’t happen in D.C. Still, two out of three is an absolute must, and gets them to .500. 47-47. At Astros for 3*: Is it a lot to ask to win two out of three in Houston? It is. Is it a lot to ask to win 50 out of 75? It is. Plus, the Astros are a team the Mets need to bypass in the wild-card. Has to happen. And gets them over .500. 49-48.

Rockies for 4*: It’s right around here that the cavalry should start coming back. And right around here even hot teams lose games they shouldn’t. Split. 51-50. Diamondbacks for 4:* Bad team. Three out of four is a must. 54-51. Cardinals for 2: The first hard task. The only team the Mets beat the past few weeks fully depleted were Albert and the Adjuncts. They need both of these. 56-51.

At San Diego for 4*: By this point, post-trade deadline, the Padres may be a shell of a major league team and by this point Mets might be fully restocked. Three out of four is an absolute must. 59-52. At Arizona for 4: Mets usually play well in Phoenix, but a 6-2 western swing is rough. Need a split. 61-53.

Giants for 4:* And now we reach the first truly interesting part of the season. If Mets have proceeded close to this pace (19-8, for those keeping score), the Giants, ahead of them in the wild card by six in the loss column right now, ought to be in their cross-hairs. Which means winning the series is a must. Three out of four. 64-54. Braves for 3:* No one said this would be easy, and you know the Braves will hurt the Mets at some point. One out of three. 65-56. Phillies for 4*: Put it this way: there are two four-game series with the Phils left; the Mets better not be in a position where they need to sweep one of them to salvage the season. But they’d better be ready to take at least three out of four at Citi here, ending this incredibly critical homestand. 68-57.

At Florida for 3: You have to assume the Fish will still be in it, making this the first-ever Mets-Marlins series in which both teams will have a stake. Mets will need a statement, especially with two difficult series ahead on the trip. Two of three. 70-58. At Chicago for 3: Cubs will be just as desperate as the Mets by this point and there could be serious wild-card ramifications. Still, Mets will do well to take one out of three at Wrigley. 71-60. At Colorado for 3: Mets never play well here. They’d better play well for at least one of the games, since it’s now September. 72-62.

Cubs for 3:* Mets will need to turn tables on Cubbies. Two out of three. 74-63. Marlins for 3*: Same deal applies. Take two out of three if you’re serious about things. 76-64.

At Philadelphia for 4: Can they win three out of four again? They’d better be able to. 79-65. At Atlanta for 3*: Again: do you think the Braves will make things easy for the Mets? Ryan Church goes 10-for-13 over three games. Mets salvage one. 80-67.

Nationals for 3*: Remember when I said you can’t rely on sweeps? Mets will need a sweep here, to help the Nats along toward their ’62 cousins. Imperative. 83-67. Braves for 3: It’s hard, sure. But you’d better be ready to win two out of three against them now. 85-68.

At Florida for 3*: what a wonderful opportunity to reverse karma, taking two out of three. 87-69. At Washington for 3: Mets better be in sweep mode against a lousy team playing out the string. 90-69.

Astros for 3*: It’s a little daunting having to win two out of three at home on the final weekend when it was impossible to do that either of the last two years against a worse team. But, hey, this whole second half is going to be daunting. Two out of three gets you to 92-70, with maybe a chance to play on. Maybe.