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Maybe The Phillies Should Just Concede Now. Or Not.
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With everything I’m hearing from the so-called experts about the mighty Mets, the defending NL East champion Phillies should just stay home. Some pundits even predict the Phillies can’t keep up with the Braves.
Yes, the Mets added Johan Santana, the best starting pitcher in baseball. News flash: While this move will surely improve the Mets, it was an act of desperation by a GM who realizes the window is quickly closing on this aging, fragile team’s chance to win a World Series.
Besides Santana, the Mets added Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. Think the fans in Flushing would like to see Lastings Milledge, the formerly untouchable prospect who once could have been traded for top flight starting pitching, manning one of the corner outfield positions right about now?
Meanwhile, the Phillies made a huge upgrade offensively and defensively at third base with Pedro Feliz. They’ll replace Aaron Rowand's career year on offense with Geoff Jenkins and Jayson Werth, while Shane Victorino has a better arm and more range in centerfield.
Say what you want about the Phillies rotation, but the Mets have nothing but question marks after Johan Santana. The Phillies didn't have the prospects or resources to acquire and sign Santana, so they traded for Brad Lidge and put Brett Myers, who is better than any free agent pitcher that was available, back in the rotation. With Cole Hamels, the Phillies now have two young studs forming a formidable 1-2 punch that every playoff team has at the top of the rotation, while Pedro Martinez is a six-inning pitcher and a lock to miss at least five starts.
Kyle Kendrick went 10-4 with a 3.84 ERA over 20 starts, including many at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. Jamie Moyer is still very steady, he pitched a gem in the playoffs when it mattered most, and he’s valuable off the field as a mentor to the younger pitchers. I'll take that kind of consistency over John Maine and Oliver Perez, who pitch like Tom Seaver one day and Mike Seaver (Growing Pains) five days later.
The Mets are as durable as a wet tissue. Moises Alou gets his mail at the hospital. Carlos Delgado became old overnight. Luis Castillo has two bad knees. Even Carlos Beltran had offseason surgery on both knees and hasn’t batted over .276 in the last four seasons. Brad Lidge is the only injured Phillies player and he’s being temporarily held back as a precaution.
By the way, the Phillies offense is downright scary. The only people scared by the Mets offense are Mets lovers, and not in a good way.
Finally, people who say team chemistry is overrated must be blind. The Phillies wouldn’t have finished above .500 last season without the chemistry that developed after the All-Star break, and the Mets wouldn’t have collapsed if they had an ounce of it. I’ll always remember the Phillies coming back from injury after injury, and Jose Reyes getting reamed for not running out a ground ball.
I could go on and on, but I’ll take Broad Street over Broadway this season and for the next five seasons as the Phillies again use their underdog status as extra motivation. Keep reading your press clippings, Mets fans.
1. Santana will be a bust. Just like every other recent overpaid spoiled ballplayer throwing on a Mets jersey.
2. Pedro has squandered his God given pitching talent because he cannot push his fat ass away from the kitchen table soon enough.
3. Your argument supporting Perez is just plain stupid. You are defending a player that absolutely sucked when games mattered most which contributed mightily to this team's collapse.
4. John Maine? So what?
I could care less about either the Mets or Phillies. In a perfect world, NEITHER win this division just shut a few people up around here.
Cubs vs Blue Jays.
Fall Classic '08