For those of you playing at home, this would mean the Mets pretty much have to go 9-3 while the Braves go 4-8 in the next 12 games. Quite the hill to climb…..
For What Its Worth
I expect the Mets to take 2 of 3 from the Cards this week.
Why
1. Jose Reyes is back, duh.
2. Carlos is back too.
3. This team’s resiliency is due to kick in right about now.
“We just need to beat them..”-Terry Collins on playing the Phillies and Braves
I’m with you Terry. Pull no punches, no sugar-coating, no excuses. I am raising the ante and expect the Mets to take two of three this weekend.
WHY
To put it in the most simplest terms….because they have to. .500 ball is no longer good enough to compete in 2011.
The Mets will miss Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee this weekend. Normally, I breathe a sigh of relief when they miss one of these annoying buggers. Missing both is like leaving your wallet in a bar and finding all of your credit cards and cash inside when you retrieve it the next day.
Dickey, Niese, and Pelfrey (at home mind you) will need to pitch gems. They have the potential to do so with the much-needed rest and home field advantage.
The Phillies are hurting too. Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco will not be available this weekend.
I think this is the time the Mets move above .500 and start making a bit of a move. I like the pitching matchups in this series in two of the three games; Dickey over Porcello, Capuano over Coke and Verlander over anybody.
Meanwhile, our friends in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Mariners, will take the next two games against Atlanta behind their two studs, Pineda and King Felix.
And voila! The Mets will move to within 3.5 games in a very mediocre Wild Card race 81 games into the schedule.
Or maybe I’ll make an ass out of myself. Probably the latter.
But I think to myself, how many times have the Mets done exactly the opposite of what conventional wisdom dictates? So if conventional wisdom dictates that they should drop 2 of 3, maybe they’ll save my ass.
That probably made no sense. But I stand by my pick.
I have to admit, it didn’t take me very long to determine what my expectations would be for the Rangers series. I’ve got the Mets dropping two of three.
Why?
1. It’s kind of obvious isn’t it?
2. The Rangers’ offense is flat-out scary.
3. Their starting pitching is solid.
I see the Rangers building multiple run leads in their two wins and their weak bullpen barely hanging on. The sole Mets win will come from a dominating start from either Pelfrey, Niese, or Gee.
Why Not?
1. The Mets get two dominating starts from Pelfrey, Niese, or Gee.
2. The offense displays an uncharacteristic display of power in the hot and muggy Texas nights.
3. The Rangers get so focused on the Mets stealing of their signature “Claw” hand gesture that they lose concentration during the series.
Speaking Of The Claw
I’ve been meaning to bring this up. Does it bother anyone that the Mets have adopted a version of the Claw when they get a hit?
As far as I’m concerned, I don’t lose sleep over it, but I will admit the first time I saw Jose and crew throw up their long distance high-five I felt a twinge of disappointment that the guys didn’t come up with something more original.
I did ask the Midwestropolitan Research Staff to look into this matter. They informed me that the claw has actually been adopted by multiple teams including the San Francisco Giants. Keep that in mind as this will inevitably come up on message boards this weekend.
I enjoyed the following comment regarding this little issue:
“The Rangers stole their uniform and name form a hockey team, so they shouldn’t complain.”-Machinehead 4 Hart
The way I see it, the Rangers should be honored that other teams have copied their style. Too bad they didn’t trademark it.
You Kiss Your Mother With That Mouth?
This may come as a shock to you but there are many in the Midwest that believe that people on the East Coast, particularly those in The Big Apple, have potty mouths. During our in-depth research on the Bitchin’ Internet we have discovered that it is possible that Texas Ranger fans may take the cake in terms of their love of expletives.
Yesterday, Tom questioned my prognostication skills as he mercilessly made fun of the expectations I published about the Angels’ series.
“I’m questioning your prognostication skills. Don’t screw up the Oakland series or we’ll have to find a replacement.“- Tom
This coming from the same person who picked the A’s to win the AL West interestingly enough.
In my defense, they are my expectations, not predictions. It is a fine line that even confuses me sometimes. Basically, I am saying here’s what should happen realistically, but combining how squirrely the game of baseball is with how unreliable the Mets are, I wouldn’t put money on what I say.
Well, Tom wasn’t buying it. After hours of crying uncontrollably and begging for my job, I started working on my expectations for the series against Oakland.
Here we go:
Even though everything is telling me this probably won’t happen, I still expect the Mets to take the series.
Why?
1. At some point, the Mets should win a home series right? Especially against sub .500 teams.
2. I like the pitching match ups. The Amazin’s have All World Dillon Gee going tonight followed by R.A. Dickey and Chris Capuano. Surely that’s two of three. Unless of course, R.A.’s last start is a sign of a string of games in which he scuffles and Chris Capuano comes back down to Earth.
3. The Mets are coming off a day off after 13 straight games and the A’s had to travel across country so jet lag may be a factor.
Why Not?
1. The A’s are on a roll right now as they are riding a five game winning streak.
2. The Mets haven’t been that stellar at home in 2011 for some reason.
3. There is a conspiracy that involves every MLB club and the sole purpose is to make me look silly when my expectations are not met.
I Think They Smoke A Lot Of Dope in Oakland
Check out this post by an A’s fan named Robert (last name withheld to protect the innocent…or until you read his post). The Midwestropolitan Research Staff assures me this isn’t taken out of context, but Robby actually believes that Jose Canseco could still contribute something to the Oakland Athletics.
“I have 1 name that can help all 3 of these problems. You LOVE him and you HATE him. His name is Jose. And you know exactly who i’m talking about. Go to youtube and search Jose’s videos of him destroying softballs over 500 feet. We could do much worst as a hitting coach AND he could be a late inning Pinch hitter.”- Delusional A’s Fan Robert
All I can say is WOW, and you gotta love this guy’s moxy. It is out of the box thinking. I’ll give him that. That’s like asking Mex to come down from the SNY booth to be our left-handed bench threat (secretly I do believe he could still out hit Willie Harris or Jason Bay).
I’m going to cut to the chase here. The Mets should win their upcoming series against the Angels. The Angels are struggling lately, and the Mets continue to show the league that they are a tough team to defeat.
I’ve got the Mets favored in two of the three pitching match ups as I am giving an edge to the Angels in the Haren vs. Pelfrey game. Big Pelf should have a good showing but I would be silly not to give Haren and his 2.54 ERA the nod.
What To Watch For
How will Francisco Rodriguez and D.J. Carrasco react to last night’s melt down?
Depending how you look at it, fortunately or unfortunately, KRod has been here before. We all know full well he has the ability to bounce back mentally from dramatic blown saves.
Carrasco’s case is a little more interesting. Balking in a winning run isn’t exactly a run of the mill way to lose a ball game. I am not sure how that will affect his psyche considering the fact that he has been fighting for his roster spot all season long. He is a veteran pitcher so you would think he has the mental game to put this behind him.
Is Jason Bay Breaking Out of His Slump?
Lost in last night’s drama was Bay’s second consecutive multi-hit game. He even drove in a run last night. It is crazy to thing about what the Mets can do if he starts producing.
The Reyes Watch Continues
Jose is now batting a robust .348 after his 3 for 6 performance last night. That is nutty and for some it might even make them cringe as they worry about his value increasing with every hit. I don’t buy into the Jose is unaffordable talk. People tend to forget that the Mets have quite a bit of salary coming off the books next season. They can afford him. The issue then becomes what can they afford after they pay him.
The only thing that annoys me is reading about every other team salivating over him. Check out this postto see what kind of package the Angels Fans feel they could put together to obtain Jose’s service. The fact that other teams covet one of our players isn’t the annoying part. Picturing him in that team’s uniform is what gets me.
How Long Will Tom Continue To Use The Term Brah?
Tom has found a new favorite term. Check out the comment sectionin my last post. I have to admit, it is quite fun to use. And it is one of those phrases that you can stick on the end of every sentence so it has multiple uses. For example: Why do the Angels seem to be in love with over the hill center fielders Brah?
Well here we are. The Mets are two games under .500 having established themselves as an opponent not to be taken lightly. That’s a place very few would have placed the Amazin’s a few weeks ago.
So what’s next?
Visiting the Braves in Atlanta has the potential to swing old Uncle Mo one way or the other. The Mets have never played well there traditionally. A three game sweep would all but kill the little bit of momentum they have been able to obtain.
On the other hand, if they are able to find a way to take two of three it would do a world of good for their confidence heading into a 15 game stretch of inter league play.
What To Expect
Unfortunately, I don’t have a whole lot to make light of this time around. The Mets will be facing Jair Jurrjens and Tim Hudson again accompanied by Mike Minor. However, the Mets will be throwing their top three starters right now in Jonathon Niese, Dillon Gee, and R.A. Dickey.
I am actually giving the Mets the slightest edge on the starting pitching front.
The offense of the Braves has started to heat up which scares me, especially when they get to the bullpen. Expecting complete games out of Niese, Gee, and Dickey is unrealistic and insane.
Using this logic, this means the Mets success will boil down to the lineup trying to build a big enough lead for the pen to hold on. A big enough lead in my opinion would be a minimum of three runs as I don’t know how you can’t expect the bullpen to give up at least two runs each game.
Based on this reasoning and the fact that the games are being played in Atlanta I am expecting to see the Mets drop the series 1-2.
Who knows? Maybe Fredi Gonzalez may figure out a way to screw up a game or two with his poor game management skills. It’s happened in the first two series against the Braves. That may be the X factor in helping the Mets steal one. It’s not something I like to rely on however.
Sorry. That never gets old. Plus, I failed to do it in the last series.
Before you read my words of wisdom, scroll down to the next post and warmup with Tom’s thoughts on the Bucs. If your ability to scroll is hampered by an injury or an abnormally fat thumb, here’s a sample:
“I kind of wish they would just go away. They’ll probably end up with 70 wins like always, but of course the Mets have to face them twice when they’re playing good ball.” -Tom
Gotta love Tom’s forthrightness.
The funny thing is, it really seems as if Bob Nutting has been secretly trying to make this club disappear the entire time he has been the owner. I’m not a gabillionaire, so maybe he is employing some sort of strategy by fielding a horrible team year after year which will increase the value of his franchise in some sort of way.
Or, maybe he really is trying to make them disappear because he wanted to be a magician as a kid.
Seriously though, the Pirates appear to be heading in the right direction so this will be another tough series. I guess it is fair to say that every series is going to be tough for the Mets based on their current roster situation.
In Their Own Words
The Midwestropolitan Research staff decided to provide us with information directly from Pirate fans. Here are a few comments accompanied by my retorts.
“Mets are coming to town. Let’s take 3 of 4!”
This seems to be be the prevailing attitude of every team which doesn’t bother me at all. This is a direct result of the media focus on the Madoff Mess and the current injury plague. Not a whole lot of people realize the Mets are actually playing teams tough every series.
I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is ten times better to be below the radar in my opinion.
“I’m just shocked by the idea the we can now even think about winning 80 games.”
I got a chuckle out of this one. My perception is that the Pirates fan base is extremely cautious in letting themselves believe things are getting better. I completely understand that attitude.
We spend a great deal of time whining about our travails as New York Mets fans. Every time we play the Pirates it reminds me that things could be worse. Although I hope for Pirate fans that won’t always be the case.
“Think the 3rd games are the ones that show our lack of depth the most. Its pretty much a quad A lineup with the injuries we have.”
Maybe this is one of the reasons why they think they should take 3 of 4. Their injuries can’t possibly compete with the injuries the Mets have had to deal with this season. Man that sounds so pathetic for me to say.
My Expectations
Call me Captain Conservative, but I still don’t think its wise to expect the Mets to win very many road series. That being said, I don’t expect them to lose this one either. I am going to completely frustrate you and call for another split.
It makes sense doesn’t it? They split at Citi about a week ago and not much has changed on either front. So why should we expect a series win on the road?
The upcoming series with the Brewers will be a challenge. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
As much as I want to believe the Mets will take this series, realistically speaking I feel they have too much working against them. Unfortunately, I am going to go on the record as expecting the Mets to drop the series 1-2.
My logic:
1. The Brewers are one of the hottest teams in baseball in their last ten games (7-3). They just completed a four game sweep of the Marlins and seem to be rolling.
2. Winning on the road isn’t easy. So I always give a slight edge to the home team and look for other factors when formulating my expectations to see if the Mets can overcome the home field advantage.
3. The pitching matchups favor the Brew Crew in my humble opinion. Granted, the Mets miss Zack Greinke, but the Brewers miss Gee and Dickey, our number one and two guys based on my assessment of the rotation yesterday.
4. I can’t find anything to make fun of the Brewers with the exception of their movable roof at Miller Park doesn’t seal properly. At least it didn’t back in 2002 when I was there for the All-Star Home Run Derby. It started storming and the roof leaked noticeably where the two sections met. I found that unfortunate based on the fact that it cost $50 million just for that feature o f the 400 million dollar Miller Park.
The Draft
I’ll be upfront with you. Normally, I don’t pay a whole lot of attention to the MLB draft each year. It’s not like the NBA or the NFL drafts in which you are looking at the potential of adding players that can help you immediately.
This year is a little different for me. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t slave over potential picks and their scouting reports. I did read up on the two players that have been selected so far, Brandon Nimmo and Michael Fulmer.
Memo to fellow Bloggers and Writers:
I implore you to refrain from using any more Finding Nemo references for Brandon Nimmo. It was cute yesterday, but it has the ability to over take the “Gee Thing” references in terms of annoyance rather rapidly. At least the “Gee Thing” genesis is from a gangster rap song. There’s something about using a Disney movie when referring to one of our players that doesn’t sell toughness for me.
So what’s the difference this year? This is the first draft for Mr. Alderson and the Dream Team. In the past, I didn’t have the feeling that the front office put a lot of emphasis on the draft. It seems to me that this has changed so I’m very curious to see how these guys pan out.
The only problem with this is that we won’t be able to gauge the impact of this year’s drafts for a few years yet.
I am faced with another heart versus head battle in terms of what we should expect against the Braves this weekend.
The Mets draw Derek Lowe, Jair Jurrjens, and Tim Hudson which certainly poses a challenge for Mets’ hitters. Obviously, the Mets injury situation would give an edge to Atlanta when comparing the lineups on paper.
The Mets are at home, and they are coming off one of their most exciting wins of the year. So they have that going for them, which is nice. I also like Dillon Gee matching up against Jurrjens. Maybe he helps the Mets get a win against a guy that they have had trouble against historically. Regardless, it looks like it will be a low scoring affair.
There is one thing that pushed me over in my final determination. Apparently, the Braves like to dress up like girls. That has to be a boost of confidence for the Mets as this has to take away any intimidation factor the third place Braves may have possessed.
I originally posted photo evidence but couldn’t bare to look at it. Hideous. You’ll have to click the link provided. I do have some standards.
Once again the Midwestropolitan crack research staff comes through.
Midwestropolitan is the view of two life long New York Mets fans that like to laugh:
Tom Greenhalgh
Jason Adamowicz
We share in the same misery and joys that our brothers and sisters from the homeland (NYC) do, but are faced with different challenges as out of market fans.
This unique perspective is far removed from the ever present New York media.
Midwestropolitan 