Fourteen Runs?!?

With 8,000 other Mets blogs out there surely you’ve read a riveting recap of the Mets 14-5 win by now. So, as always, I’ll take no part in that.

Anyway, the 14 run outburst had me wondering just how good the Mets offense is. Naturally I consulted the Midwestropolitan Research staff, and let’s just say I was surprised to find that the Mets are the highest scoring team in the division.

Ok, Atlanta, Washington and Florida are all pretty bad offensively. But I figured at least Philadelphia would be ahead of New York (the Mets hold a 12-run advantage, 329-317).

The difference? The Phillies lead the NL in ERA and the Mets are 12th, almost a full run higher. That’s why the Mets only (slim) shot is the Wild Card…unless another one of the fantastic four goes down to injury…

So who is to blame?

Well, the Mets team ERA of 3.99 would be pretty awesome any other year, but it is the year of the pitcher. Clearly Mike Pelfrey (4.78 ERA) is the one dragging down the starting staff. Capuano has picked it up, Gee has been great, Dickey gets no run support and Niese is solid.

Four names have really messed up any chance of the team having a lower ERA though – Carrasco, Misch, Boyer, and Acosta. All of them have 5 or more games pitched and an ERA ranging from 6 point something to 11 point something.

The Point?

There is none!

Phlibity Phlew. Not The Phillies

The good news is the Mets are now in Queens for a ten game home stand.  The bad news is it starts off with the Phreakin’ Phillies.

Depending on how the weekend goes, we will be pretty jazzed up that somehow, someway, the Mets found a way to end their two game series skid against their bitter enemy.

OR

All of Met Land will be very, very, melancholy.  Which usually leads to outlandish statements and ideas on how to fix this team.

Using My Head Not My Heart

I want desperately to believe that the Mets can take two of three this weekend against the kings of the NL East.  The fan in me is still hanging on to that notion.

The realist in me thinks winning this series is a tall order.  Especially when considering how the Mets have performed in their last six games, particularly on the pitching front.  I also don’t like how the pitching match ups (see below) play out, even though we are spared from seeing Roy Halladay.

So let the record show that the realistic expectation for this series is one win for the Amazin’s.

The fan in me just kicked the realist in me square on the shin.  Twice.  Once on each shin.

Friday: LHP Chris Capuano (3-5, 5.36) vs. RHP Roy Oswalt (3-2, 2.77)

Saturday: RHP Mike Pelfrey (3-4, 5.37) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (6-2, 3.06)

Sunday: LHP Jon Niese (3-5, 4.33) vs. RHP Vance Worley (2-0, 2.14)

Looking For  A Chink In The Armor From The Bitchin’ Internet

I routinely reference the crack research staff we have here at Midwestropolitan.  Let me give you a peek behind the curtain in terms of what they are looking for.  Our tireless crew is sifting through a vast amount of information to find something about the Mets’ next opponent to make light of.

Let me tell you, that’s a tough nut to crack after digging into the Phillies.  Even other team’s injuries seem to help the Phillies.  Their fans were rejoicing about Buster Posey’s nasty injury because they now believe the Giants won’t make the playoffs.  They believe this is better for them because the Giants give them fits (see 2010 NLCS).

Editor’s Note:  I may or may not have taken the liberty to exaggerate a bit when I chose to use the word “rejoicing” in an attempt to get you to hate the Phillies even more.  The statement about Posey’s injury may or may not have been just that, a statement, rather than rejoicing.

I’ll Keep It Simple Tonight

There are more important things in life than baseball. Put rivalry aside. This is awesome.

Update: A Quote I Like

“I don’t like to give Philadelphia fans too much credit, but they got this one right,” – David Wright

They Don’t Give A Phuck About Us

When the Mets visited Philadelphia earlier this month, Wall Street Journal ran an article that dubbed Citizens Bank Park a “safe haven” for Mets fans:

“If you’re looking for a measure of how far the Mets have fallen these past few years, here’s a new one: Phillies fans, who have a reputation for their rowdy behavior in the stands, don’t even seem to find pleasure in heckling their rivals anymore.”

And

“We don’t really care about them enough to give them a hard time anymore,” said Russell Holman, a 28-year-old sanitation worker from Verona, N.J. “They don’t win often, and even when they do, it doesn’t change anything. They’re not relevant.”

Anyhow, you get the gist and if you desire to read the rest of the article it is linked above.

None of this is surprising to me. It’s going to take a whole lot more than winning this series to change the perception. It’s going to take months of solid, competitive baseball from a Mets team that’s legitimately in contention. Even so, the Phillies will probably be so far ahead in the division that they still might not care.

I’m not really sure I care either. By the time the Mets are really good again the Phillies will probably be on the decline. Matter of fact, I can’t think of any time aside from 07-08 when both teams were really competing against one another for something big. The history of both clubs has peaks and lots of valleys – and the peaks never seem to coincide.

As for the series, 2 of 3 is ideal. 1 of 3 is realistic. Being swept would take all of the good feelings from the 6-game win streak away. Time to find out what this team is made of during a brutal stretch in the schedule that starts Friday.

Cole Hamels Is Almost As Awesome As Chris Young

A Reminder – If you’re looking for a recap of the Mets win in Philly last night, tough luck finding it here. The internet is pretty bitchin’, so you’ll be alright.

Shameless Plugs – If you want updates on what’s happening here, check out Midwestropolitan on Twitter. If you want to read my super awesome commentary and life changing revelations you can find me here. Lastly, if you want to Twitter stalk (or follow, if you prefer) the founder of Midwestropolitan, here you go.

On the Mets 7-1 win…

As I’m sure you’re aware, the Mets did a number on Cole Hamels last night. You probably know that he is 2-9 lifetime against the Mets. You probably know he was bounced early. On and on we go.

But what I find interesting is that the Mets might have helped create the perception that the media overdramatized the Philly staff’s overall brilliance. Cole Hamels just does not fit into the Phantastic Four, or whatever you want to call them. He is really, really good. No question about that. But in my opinion, Oswalt, Halladay, and Lee are on another level entirely. I get that he’s a World Series MVP and that’s freaking impressive. Yet, looking at the big picture, I have no choice but to form the opinion that he is the weakest link of the four. Too inconsistent, too vulnerable. He’s to the Phantastic Four what Chris Bosh is to the Big 3.

Other Observations

• If Hamels struggles this year, the Phillies could be a little closer to earth than some think
• The David Wright for MVP campaign will probably be underway shortly
• Chris Young really is that awesome, and I’ll take this opportunity to say I told you so

Don’t get too excited…

A long season lies ahead and the Mets need to do more than win a couple of ballgames against the Phillies. Last year they went 9-9 against Philadelphia, but one team was playing in the NLCS and the other was out of contention in August. Let’s see the Mets put together a good stretch of baseball against everyone before we get too crazy.

Phillies Phans Don’t Care About the Mets

Side note:

I wonder how many Phillies fans substitute the letters ph for the letter f when they write.  It seemed to be prevalent as I did some quick research for this post.

Back to the original reason for this post:

I had this great idea for a post this afternoon.  Many Mets fans feel that Phillies’ fans are obnoxious.  I’ve never met one in person so I figured I would visit a few Phillies Blogs and see what their fans were saying about the 2011 Mets.  I was then going to copy some of the comments on to this site and type “witty” responses all Al Jaffee style.

In my mind I was convinced I would find a bunch of poorly written sentences about how awful the Mets are and how the Phightin Phils were going to kick their ass.

Not the case my friends.  I couldn’t find a single sentence in any of the comment sections on one of the four blogs I visited that even mentioned the Mets.  Apparently they could care less about the 2011 Amazin’s.

After a little more thought it makes sense.  Why would they spend any time degrading the Mets at this point of the season?  It is way too early in the season and its not like the Mets have been very competitive lately.

Oh well.  A for effort right?