Pedro Martinez Returns to the Spotlight

It is no secret among these parts of my love affair with Pedro Martinez. I can qualify that statement by the countless number of articles I have devoted to him in the past year on these very pages. I have been enormously critical of the Mets organization for their lack of foresight when it comes to this living legend.

I have said it more than once, that if Pedro were to have been resigned by the Mets, his buddy Manny Ramirez would have roamed left field this past year in Citi-Field. But those were pipe dreams, and the reality of another post season begins to today for Pedro when he takes the mound against another former Philadephia Pitcher Vincent Padilla, which excites me as a fan to get the opportunity to, once again, be in the presence of a true future Hall of Famer, and the best pitcher of this past generation.

I love it.

For Pedro Martinez, this is not just your everyday post season start. This is truly his homecoming. Traded to the Montreal Expos in 1993 for Delino DeShields in one of the worst trades in modern baseball history, Pedro gets to stand on the mound where it all started for him those many years ago.

I am always reminded that baseball is just a bunch of grownups playing a kids game, and because of the ridiculous amount of money they get, they really don’t care what team they play for, or who their opponent is. That very well may be so, but in the case of Pedro Martinez I highly doubt it.

When I listen to Pedro speak on any subject I find him not only to be articulate, but I sense a feeling of truthfulness and sincerity to his words.

I followed him very closely during his four, not that successful, years with the Mets. I was in the vast minority of those fans who felt that the Mets should have resigned him in the off season, simply because Pedro said he wasn’t finished accomplishing what he set out to do, and I hung on to every word he said, and took it as gospel.

Unfortunately, as for the Mets, we all know how 2009 turned out, and it may not have made one bit of difference whether Pedro was on the roster, or not as far as the results this past year for the Mets but we will never know.

Pedro is a student of baseball history. Not only does he know his place, he relishes in it. Over the years he has become what they say is a crafty veteran instead of a flame throwing throwback to the days of Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale.

He had the skills to make the adjustment and prolong his already Hall of Fame worthy career. Already documented as perhaps the best pitcher of his generation, like Sandy Koufax, there was a five year period while as a member of the Red Sox, that one could argue was not only the best five year period, ever, for a pitcher, but it would put in him among the greatest of all time.

His opponent today is another pitcher who gets to get a bit of revenge on his former team. Vincent Padilla was once a young gun on the Philadelphia staff. He had a blazing fastball that he couldn’t control, and just as he’s had problems in other clubhouses, Philadelphia was no exception.

Joe Torre is an amazing manager who knows how to handle players. I would venture to say that if you had a team with all the “bad boys” of baseball, and put them under Torre’s tutelage they would become a dynasty. What is his secret?

I think the answer is very simple. I thinks he let’s men revert back to their childhood, and play the game for the fun of it, and win, or lose you walk away from each game like it was the greatest day of your life.

Game Two—1:00PM PST. Prediction: My plan worked well for Game One, no need to change my formula for Game Two. The team that scores more than six runs wins Game Two. I think these runs will come after the seventh inning, and I give the edge to the Dodgers to even the series at two.

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Phillies-Dodgers Preview: NLCS Begins Today

When I think back to the 20 years I lived just across the Delaware River in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, I always felt like a big fish out of water trying desperately to catch my breath.

It’s not easy being a Mets fan in South Jersey when every living soul north to Trenton, east to the Jersey Shore, and south to the twin bridges into Delaware eats, breathes, and sleeps with never-ending Philadelphia sports talk.

Whether it is the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, or Sixers, these are some of the most passionate fans in the world.

I find it ironic now living in Las Vegas; when I get to games, they are usually in LA. The Dodger games start at 7:00PM, and at 8:30 they are still arriving. They start a wave by the third inning, and God forbid, if a beach ball finds its way into the crowd, the number of eyes watching the field is reduced dramatically. They are leaving by the seventh despite the score.

That’s not to say there aren’t any passionate Dodger fans. There are, and perhaps those are the fans who will attend the opening two games of the NLCS that begins today at Chavez Ravine. They also better hope that the Dodgers get out of the gate quickly, because if they do not, that place will be close to empty by the end of the seventh inning.

The Phillies are attempting to become the first National League team to repeat as World Champions since the Big Red Machine in 1975 and 1976. That Cincinnati team of Hall of Fame members began to slide in 1977 as the Dodgers and Phillies played each other twice, once that year and again in 1978, for the right to go to the World Series.

The Dodgers won both of those series, and it took 21 years for the Phillies to get a taste of revenge last year. They get to try it again tonight with Cole Hamels, last year’s NLCS and World Series MVP, against 21-year-old Clayton Kershaw for Joe Torre’s Dodgers.

The Dodgers are slight favorites here at the Vegas Sports Books, but after what I witnessed against the Colorado Rockies, I wouldn’t bet against the Phillies.

The Dodgers, with the best record in the National League, were actually underdogs to the St. Louis Cardinals. Many people felt with Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals would be hard to beat. However, the Dodgers swept the Cardinals like a hot knife through butter.

This will be a series decided by who can put up the most runs over six each game. Both teams can hit a ton. The Phillies own the long ball, and the Dodgers get on base with timely hitting. The Dodgers have the edge with a deeper bullpen, but I give the Phillies the nod on defense.

I see this series going quite a few games longer than last year. The Phillies won in five games last year and took five more games to wrap up the World Series. This year the task will definitely be more difficult. If they do get by the Dodgers, they will have the Yankees or Angels waiting in the wings.

My prediction: seven games for sure. I like the Phillies rotation, and they are never out of any game. Phillies four, Dodgers three.

Have fun! Key players: Dodgers—Russell Martin; Phillies—Jimmy Rollins.

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Preview Game Five NLDS: Phillies Vs. Rockies

I was reminded during last nights game that when the temperature dropped into the 20’s why I left South Jersey 15 years ago to come and live in Las Vegas. That’s just too darn cold for my blood.

Of course that didn’t stop the Phillies bats as they won a thrilling game four 6-5 to take a 2-1 lead in this years NLDS.

The Phillies core Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins all played a major role and Brad Lidge did the best imitation of the 2009 Brad Lidge as Philly fans at least those who were still awake on the East Coast at 3:00 AM held their breath in the bottom of the ninth as the Rockies had the tying and winning runs on the base-paths.

But Lidge held firm and the Phillies look to wrap up the series in less than an hour from now.

They go back to their Game One starter, Cliff Lee who has been nothing less than sensational since coming to the Phillies from Cleveland at the trade deadline. he has the chance to become a two time winner in this NDLS. I don’t think manager Charlie Manuel will not hesitate to pull Lee late in the game even if he has the lead. A complete game as he did in Game One would take a Superman effort in this cold temperature.

For the record, Lee is 2-0 vs. the Rockies this year sporting a 1.13 ERA. Having never pitched in a playoff game before, this will be his second one in a week.

The Rockies will counter with their Game One starter Ubaldo Jimenez who match Lee for the first four innings. Then the Phillies bats took over with two in the fifth and three in the sixth.

For the Rockies to win today they are going have to score early and often and Jimenez, who is 0-2 in three stars against the Phillies this year, must be on his game.

The most exciting player on the field has been Carlos Gonzales who hitting a rather hot.615 for the series and has 8 hits in 13 attempts. What he does today along with Troy Tulowitzki who barely missed a home run last night just may determine the rest of the Rockies playoffs chances.

Prediction: We are going back to Philadelphia as the Rockies bats come to life and take a 8-7 victory.

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Phillies-Rockies: NLDS Game 3 Preview

The Philadelphia Phillies—definitely benefiting from an extra day’s rest—send rookie 12-game winner J.A. Happ to the mound in what could be the coldest game played this postseason.

The Rockies will counter with Jason Hammel—a 10-game winner—who has pitched poorly at Coors Field this season. The Rockies evened the series by taking the second game in Philadelphia with an inconsistent performance by 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels.

Happ has been absolutely brilliant for the Phillies. He started in the bullpen early in the season, but when Chan Ho Park was ineffective, Happ went into the rotation and was the most consistent pitcher for the remainder of the season.

If he’s to be successful tonight he’s going to have shut down Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, and most important Troy Tulowitzki.

For the Phillies to be successful they must get production from the very top of their order. If Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino are kept off the bases, I like the Rockies chances.

Game 3 in a five game series is always the most pivotal because the winning team needs only one more win to advance.

The Rockies do not want to return to Philadelphia because the Phillies will have the momentum playing in front of their home crowd.

This should be a great game. Charlie Manuel may regret not starting the playoff savvy Pedro Martinez, but I see the Phillies bats carrying them to victory. 

Prediction: Phillies: 8 Rockies: 2.

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Phillies 5-Rockies 1: No Bullpen Needed Today

While the parade along Broad is not quite there yet, there is a quiet confidence that for the Phillies to repeat as world champions, the less we see of their bullpen the better off they will be. 

One game down 11 to go, and if Cliff Lee’s performance in the 5-1 Phillies victory is any indication that the Phillies are even a bit concerned about their bullpen it is way beyond me.

Acquiring Lee was undoubtedly the best in-season pickup in baseball this year. Some may disagree and point to Matt Holliday. But I believe when you can put your game on the line to a former CY Young Award and 20-plus game winner you should come out just fine.

There’s a baseball saying in truth that to get to these guys you better get to them early. As the game progresses they get stronger and meaner, and their desire to complete what they started reigns supreme.

The Rockies had their chances. They put a couple of guys on early and Jiminez was matching Lee pitch for pitch through the first four innings.

Lee was dominant. When you throw first pitch strikes to first hitters good results often happen. It’s when you walk people that the game falls apart, and that’s exactly what happened to the Rockies in the fifth.

The Phils got two in the fifth and added three more in the sixth and the Rockies went away in game one.

Lee pitched a complete game for his first postseason victory and put himself in position to a pitch game five if necessary.

Next up for the Phillies today is their version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Cole Hamels has the ability of repeating Lee’s performance and returning to the form that made him last year’s playoff and World Series MVP.

On other days he looks as hittable as Charlie Brown. Who is going to show up today?

After today here’s what we will have. An all out work force making plans for another Broad Street parade, or can the Phillies even get out of the first round in one piece?

Key game, today, wouldn’t you think?

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NLDS Preview: Phillies Vs. Rockies

Flashback to only two years ago, 2007, and these same two teams were to meet in the NL Division Series. The Philadelphia Phillies had overcome a seven game deficit with 17 games to play. Trying to erase some ghosts of their own, particularly the “Big Choke” of 1964 when the Phillies blew a six game lead with 10 games to go against the St. Louis Cardinals, this team came charging down the stretch led by their big three: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and NL MVP winner Jimmy Rollins.

However, the vast majority of the 2007 team—except Jamie Moyer—weren’t even born when that Phillies team gave away that pennant in 1964. This team had a terrific September and beat the highly favored New York Mets to win the crown on the last day of the season.

Their opponent, then as now, was the Colorado Rockies who stormed through September that year like Sherman marching through Georgia to win the wild card. They lost one game in their last 50 (only kidding), but it certainly felt that way. They had a momentum going for them that eventually swept through not only the Phillies in three straight, but then swept the Diamondbacks in four straight to head into a classic match up with the now powerful and World Series experienced Boston Red Sox.

Their luck ran out there and they have not forgotten that series just two years removed. Nothing less than a return trip and victory there will satisfy this hungry Rockies group.

They are managed by Jim Tracy who took over for the ever popular Clint Hurdle and were 10 games under.500 as the calendar turned to June. With brilliant pitching from Jason Marquis, Jason Hammel, Jorge De La Rosa, Ubaldo Jimenez, and Aaron Cook, these five starters combined for 67 wins and look to be strong going into the playoffs. The only question mark may be De La Rosa who has a mild groin injury, but with Aaron Cook’s excellent return the pitching rotation for round one is set.

With Todd Helton, Brad Hawpe, and Troy Tulowitzki all driving in more than 85 runs, the Rockies have the power to compete with the Phillies. The relief pitching is excellent as well with Houston Street successfully back from injury, closing 35 out of 37 save opportunities.

This is a very well rounded team that took the Dodgers down to the final weekend to determine the NL West crown.

Ubaldo Jimenez gets the call for Game One in Philadelphia.

These 2009 Phillies will be looking to be the first National League team to repeat as World Champions since the great “Big Red Machine” of the Cincinnati Reds in 1975 and 1976.

The road to get there will be a more difficult road then the one that got the Phillies here once again.

The regular season started off with Brad Lidge finally blowing a save in April. Considering he had perfect in 2008 including both the regular season and the playoffs through the World Series. It was no surprise that sooner or later that streak would be broken.

What was not expected was the implosion which Lidge and the Phillies have gone through since that first blown save. Over the course of this past season to look at Lidge’s numbers they are so ugly that it does surprise many how the Phillies got to this point again. It also speaks highly for the Phillies advancing beyond the Rockies, because if not Lidge, who else?

Lidge finished the season with a record of 0-8. He had 42 save opportunities but only converted 31. Eleven blown saves and eight losses certainly seems like a major concern come playoff time for Charlie Manuel and his Fightin’ Phil’s.

The rotation did struggle early but with the induction of J.A. Happ into the rotation and the acquisition of Cliff Lee, plus the year long solid performance by Joe Blanton, the Phillies pitching rotation seems to be in good shape.

I say seems because we don’t know which Cliff Lee and Cole Hammels will arrive on the scene. Both pitchers in the last two months have been both brilliant and tragic in back to back performances. It’s easy to say if the “good” pitchers show up the Phillies have the edge in the rotation but if the “bad” guys show up a repeat of the 2007 sweep would not surprise me at all.

With all that said, one must keep in mind that on any given day the Phillies are capable and have done it frequently enough this year for you to know it’s a reality, they can put a 10 spot on the board before your out of the third inning. This is a team that can flat out hit.

Despite the fact that Jimmy Rollins can hardly be found, the combination of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, and Jason Werth have been devastating to National League pitchers all year long. Those four sluggers combined for 146 home runs this year. Throw in an additional 52 from the other four starters and you know there will be no power outage on Broad Street this fall.

This is a very tough series to call. Lots of intangibles here, specifically the situation with the Phillies closer. A return to form from Brad Lidge and home field advantage in a short series certainly favors the Phillies. Obviously the longer the series stretches out the Rockies become the favorites.

Charlie Manuel has not yet named his opening game starter. That in of itself should tell you just how concerned the Phillies are with the pitching staff.

As a fan, I would personally love to see Pedro Martinez play a role not only in this division series but if the Phillies were to move on he would be a fantastic draw for baseball fans everywhere especially if it should turn out that the Phillies would make it to the World Series against either the Yankees or the Red Sox. Ah, one can dream.

I am a big believer in momentum and right now I believe the Rockies have more of that than the Phillies so therefore my prediction, the Rockies in four games and it’s going to be quite a few more years that the Big Red Machine’s back-to-back championships will be matched.

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NL East: Down the Stretch They Come

If anyone on Apr. 1 would have said to me that on Sep. 1 that the Phillies would be leading the NL East by seven or more games, I would have said, “Wow, I knew they were going to be good but ahead by 7, No way”.

If, on Apr. 1, someone said to me the Braves and Marlins would be battling it out for second in the east and fighting for a Wild Card spot, I would have said, “Wow, both their pitching staffs must have held up pretty well.”

Finally if someone told me that the Mets would be about 15 games below .500, in fourth place, and completely out of the race, I would have said, “What the frack, did everyone get injured?”

That brings us to Sep. 1 and, for the first time in a few years, there is little uncertainty about the National League East.

The Phillies have been nothing short of brilliant.  Despite early season struggles at home and much inconsistency on the part of their staring rotation, they have met each challenge and have come through like the champions they are.  (Boy, did that hurt)

The acquisitions of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez in August have been an outstanding moves.  All they’ve done is win six out of seven games and, with a month to go, they should probably win an additional six.

They have to be the favorites going into the postseason despite the Cardinals’ surge and the late heroics by the Giants and the Rockies.

Their biggest concern will be who will start Game 3 of the NLDS—Joe Blanton or J.A. Haap.

To me it looks like another parade on Broad Street, and me sending pictures of Vegas Rich draped in Phillies gear to every Phillies writer on the BR.  Oye.

The Atlanta Braves have surprised me more than any other team in the division.  I knew their pitching would be good, but I didn’t expect the consistency that they have shown.  I was not a huge Derek Lowe fan and I’m still not sure he deserved a four-year deal, but this year he has been vintage Lowe.

Their bats have kept them from getting any closer to the Phillies than they’re ever going to be.  They need a boomer and I was surprised that they didn’t try to get one before the trade deadline.

If they plan to be in the 2010 race, they certainly will need to address that concern.  I can certainly see them making a huge run at Matt Holiday.  That, in of itself, should tighten the race in 2010.

The Marlins are always an intriguing team.  They are like the David Copperfield of the MLB.  They are always in the race with a payroll somewhat less than the daily take by the Las Vegas casinos.

I don’t see the usual fire sale at the end of this year simply because, with a new stadium on the way, there will be more money available to keep their budding stars.  Their young staff is impressive and it certainly doesn’t hurt to have the number two player in all of baseball roaming the infield for the fish.

Watch out for the Washington Nationals.  Not this year for sure, and probably not for the next two years either, but expect an increase of wins over the next three years.  This is a franchise that has found it’s leadership and is definitely headed in the right direction.  Expect a playoff run from them by 2012.

Finally, my beloved Mets.  I have spent the entire season trying to look beyond the injuries because they are a part of the game.  But, what those injuries have done is expose this team’s vital organs and they are failing at an alarming rate.  Real, quick, drastic change needs to take place at the end of this season.

Omar and his sidekick Jerry need to go.  The Mets need to bring back Bobby Valentine and give him complete control over player selection.  I could go on for hours on this, but I’ve done it already often enough this year, and now all we can do is wait for next year.

 

The Strongest Division in MLB

With the 2009 MLB season reaching the one-third mark and everybody complaining about their sore hips and knees, I was wondering which division in each league was the best. So let’s take a look at the numbers. There will be some surprises and predictions.

Starting in the American League.

 

Best Overall Record

AL East 143-127

AL West 104-104

AL Central 125-139

AL East vs. AL Central  55-33   

AL EAST vs AL West  27-30

AL Central vs AL West  30-23

So the AL East has winning record against AL Central holds the advantage over the AL West, and the AL West has the advantage on the AL East. Advantage the AL East but only slightly. No big surprise yet. Here is where it gets interesting. There is no team in any division that has a winning record against all three divisions. That certainly tightens it up a little.

In the AL East only The Yankees Red Sox and Blue Jays have winning records against two out of the three divisions. In the AL Central only the Tigers, and the AL West has none. 

In the AL East, only the Yankees have a winning record on the road. They are joined by Texas. That’s it.

Conclusion: The beast still lives in the East. No surprise but I believe the gap is narrowing.

The races by the numbers should produce division winners amongst the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays,Tigers, Twins, White Sox, Rangers and Angels. The rest of the teams better start their selling early. The cream has obviously risen to the top.

The Twins must do a whole lot better on the road 6-16 if they expect to get there in the AL Central. I can’t see any other Division other than the AL East who can produce the Wild Card. I like the Rangers to hang in there to win the West. Right now they own it 13-3.

The Yankees or Red Sox? Who knows, anybody’s guess. My guess, still the Red Sox. Why? Deeper pitching plus they are murder at home 17-6.

 

Now to the National League.

 

Best Overall Record

NL East  153-134

NL Central  162-150

NL West  130-134

NL East vs NL Central  25-34  

NL East vs NL West  25-29

NL Central vs NL West 21-23

This is a hodgepodge. The NL West has a winning record against the NL East and the NL Central, while the NL Central holds the advantage against the NL East.

So how does the NL East have the best winning percentage. Easy enough, the Washington Nationals. Their record throws the best winning percentage totally out of whack. Washington sits at 14-36, 22 games below .500, but here’s the explanation. In their own division they are 5-25 against the NL East and 8-9 against the other two divisions.

The Phillies are the only team in the NL to have a winning record against each division. The Cardinals are next best with a winning record against two divisions and a tie 3-3 against the West. Back to the Phillies.

They are one of three teams along with the Dodgers and the Brewers to have a winning record on the road, which is an extremely important factor in winning a division crown. They are exceptional going 19-6. The Dodgers at 17-12 are not too shabby either. All three division leaders are those with winning records on the road.

The Pirates, interestingly enough, have a winning record against the two other divisions but are 9-19 against their own. The best record in the league within their own division, the Dodgers at 25-9. Good night. I heard they’re printing playoff tickets already.

The Brewers are 21-10 in the highly competitive NL Central, and nobody touches the Dodgers home record of 20-6.

On a very personal note I hope they spank the Phillies this weekend but when you have the best home record against the best road record a sweep by either team I would call extremely unlikely.

 

Conclusion: The NL Central is certainly the most balanced from top to bottom, with only seven games separating the top from the bottom. With that said, you can say goodnight to the Pirates and the Astros there, because they just can’t beat the other teams ahead of them, 20-40.

I like the Brewers and the Reds in the Central based on the numbers so far. They are both winning at home and on the road and in their division 40-23.

Putting my obvious prejudices aside. I still like the Mets over the Phillies because the Mets are starting to dominate at home 17-9 and 15-9 against the NL East. The Phillies are struggling at home and this is a definite disadvantage in a hitters park. Sure they will score a ton of runs there but so will the opposing team.

That race will, in my most humble opinion, come down to their head to head meetings. Right now and it’s early the Mets hold a 3-1 advantage with 3 games next week at Citi-Field.

There aren’t too many “crucial” series in June but this one might be an exception. If the Mets can sweep the Phillies watch out there just may a few Philly fans wearing Mets gear in October.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/93475-accept-the-phillies-mets-challenge

Mets-Phillies: The Second Best New York Rivalry Starts Tonight

Who says there aren’t any big series in May? Perhaps if you live in any other city in the world other than New York you may think that’s true. Not here, not now, not ever.

I begrudgingly admit that the greatest rivalry in all sports is the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox. Nothing else comes close. There are those rivalries that are older, even some that have played more games against each other, but none of them have captured the passion nationwide as those rivals have.

For me, a devoted Met fan for life, I like nothing better than to see the Sox maul the Yanks at every opportunity.

For the past three years or so a new heated rivalry has arisen on the New York sports scene. Just around 90 miles south on the New Jersey Turnpike you get off exit three and in a little less than 10 minutes you are in the parking lot at Citizens Bank Park, home of the yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know, so why repeat it, the Philadelphia Phillies.

This website has certainly heated up the rivalry, as fans on both sides have argued back and forth all winter and spring long who will wind up on top of the NL East in 2009. Did someone say the Marlins? Heaven forbid. That’s not good Hollywood, been there, seen that.

Tonight in the city of  brotherly love, yeah right, both teams off to a non spectacular start square off against each other in the first of 18 games this season.

Let the fun begin.

First up, the visiting New York Mets: What a mess. 9-12. Lackadaisical is the best way I can describe my team. The team first attitude which seemed so apparent in spring training seems to have disappeared, missing in action, or plain just hasn’t shown up. The boo birds are out in force and the blame is everywhere. Jerry did this, he didn’t do that. David can’t hit, cant throw, can’t stop striking out.

I could go on forever but in the sense of brevity, this team needs to find their identity fast or they might find themselves 10 games behind by the end of May.

Tonight, they put the ball in the hand of Mike Pelfrey against Chin Ho Park. On paper the matchup favors the Mets, and they need to get on the board early and often because two things are very apparent. One, the Mets don’t score late and two, the Phillies always score late.

Game One—a tossup. High scoring for sure; the last team to score wins. Bet the over.

Saturday pits definitely the two most extremes of each team. For the Phillies it’s the 46-year-old youngster Jamie Moyer, who has the best assortment of smoke and mirrors in baseball today. This guy taught David Copperfield his magic. I watch this guy in awe. Everybody should be hitting the crap out of the ball. Funny thing, nobody is.

Again, we had better get to him early. If not, and Ollie is being Ollie, this game will be over by the fourth inning.

Game Two—definite edge Phillies.

On to Sunday. John Maine vs. Joe Blanton. Off his last performance, Maine certainly looks like he has perhaps turned the corner from his surgery and rehabilitation, showing some of the stuff that made him a 15 game winner just a year and half ago. On the other side, we see Joe Blanton, whose herky jerky motion would make any batter beware in the box.

Game Three—slight edge again to the Mets.

Let’s take a look at the home team for just a moment. Remember they are, yeah, yeah, yeah, enough already. Listen Christian, Cody, Scmidtters, Bryn, Brian, Shay, and the rest of you guys, I already said you have the team to beat, but you haven’t scared anybody yet either.

11-9 isn’t all that bad but Cole is hurt, Myers is our Ollie, and Jimmy can’t hit his weight. The rotation is far from right so you have to be at least a little concerned.

However, as long as Chase is unconscious out there and Ryan is smacking the ball and Ibanez is the player I wanted in New York, these games are going to be a war, worthy of a rivalry to rival the rest.

Good luck, I think we’re both going to need it.

This article can also be found on The Mets Police, Dom D’s Mets Fan Blog, and Take the 7 Train.

 

 

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