Mets Win !! A March Tale

I have to admit I’m psyched. The greatest American game is a month away. And this could be a magic year for the Mets. I’m starting to feel it.

Imagine…Imagine a team with broke owners and no bigtime pitchers going on to win 90 games to eke out a playoff spot. Imagine a team that’s close at the All-Star break being lifted by the return of its star pitcher from injury.

Imagine a team whose second-year guys play like seasoned veterans. Imagine a team whose bargain- basement pitching acquisitions go on to win 30 games. Imagine a team whose hard-luck pitchers of the year before suddenly start to win the games they lost the previous year.

Imagine a healthy Jose Reyes in his contract year stealing 60 bases and scoring 130 runs. Imagine a Carlos Beltran limping along to get big hit after big hit in key spots down the stretch. Imagine a Jason Bay totally turning around his miserable performance of his first year in New York.

Yeah, I know. That’s a lot of imagining. But why not us? Maybe the bad luck has gone the way of Omar and Jerry. Maybe the Mets will be as lucky as their owners are not. Maybe this season will be the lucky one, the rabbit’s foot year.

Ya gotta believe. Tug McGraw had it right.

I was in the stands for Games 2 and 5 of the 1969 World Series. The Mets beat the Orioles in five games. But that team wasn’t expected to win. Their lineup was pretty suspect. Their pitchers were young, even if they had names like Seaver and Koosman and Gentry et al.

That ’86 team was expected to win but even they had to get lucky to even make it to the Series, getting by a Houston team in startling fashion. They won it all only after an easy ground ball got by a first baseman who had manned his position very adequately until that very moment. His name is legend, of course, and Bill Buckner will always be remembered in baseball lore because of it.

Yeah, I know….what about the Phillies? Well, what about them? Pitching, pitching and more pitching is what they have. But I tell you to ask any fantasy player about the reliability of pitching, especially those coming off a big year, a year in which those arms gobbled up a lot of innings.

Let’s take a closer look. Halladay will be 34 in May. In his last five years, he’s thrown way over 200 innings each year, and last year he threw an incredible 250 innings. It’s a similar story for Cliff Lee whose innings pitched for the last three years have been at around 220. He’ll be 33 in August. Roy Oswalt will be 34 in August. He’s been a horse too over the years but ask any horseman about the dependability of horses.

Cole Hamels is their number 4 pitcher and he’s younger than the big three at 27 but also logged over 200 innings last year. But, for anyone with any memory of 2009, fragility thy name is Hamels. Surely he could be good this year, but then again so could Mike Pelfrey.

Their number 5 Blanton isn’t in the same class as the others but is still a pretty fair arm, but his ERA last year was 4.82. Kyle Kendrick is listed in the Phils depth chart as a number 6 starter who sported a 4.73 ERA in 2010, not too shabby but not too far removed from average either.

An injury to any one of the big three (and to put Oswalt in the same class as Lee and Halladay is sort of specious to begin with) puts the Phillies well within striking distance. And, even discounting the possibility of injury, what about a good guy just having a bad year? It happens all the time. Ask Jason Bay.

And what about just having bad luck on the mound? Ask Johan Santana about that. Santana had more no-decisions and losses last year than just about any hurler in the league, never mind one who sported an ERA under 3.00.

An injury, some bad luck, a loss of form (ask A.J. Burnett about that), or some bad luck brings the Phils right back to the pack. And it’s a pretty good pack of pitchers in New York. Pelfrey’s ERA was 3.66 and he went 15-9 despite one truly bad month. Niese was at 4.20, Dickey was at 2.84 and had almost as bad luck as Santana when it came down to runs scored for him.

The probable number 4 pitcher will be Chris Young, still a relative youngster in terms of innings pitched but a solid veteran nevertheless with a career ERA of 3.66. Dillon Gee is an unknown quantity at Number 5 but did manage to sport a 2.18 ERA in limited action last year. Pat Misch is a possible number 6 and managed a 3.82 ERA in limited action as a starter and reliever.

The numbers aren’t all that bad. If the pitching holds up, as it did all last year, the Mets could be formidable this year. They’ll almost undoubtedly score a lot more runs. With Beltran returning and Reyes playing more games, with Wright just being himself and Bay returning to form, the Mets have at least four very dangerous guys in the lineup.

And that’s not even counting centerfielder Pagan, Ike Davis and Josh Thole, the first baseman and catcher respectively, who figure to improve off some pretty fair results last year.

Jose Reyes could have a monster year. He lights up at the mere mention of his upcoming free agency. Wright could too after bouncing back last year from his disastrous 2009. With Beltran back, opponents will have to pitch to David.

The team with no money and no pitching but with a solid lineup, good team speed and a sound defense could just go a long way. Ask Tug McGraw.

A Fine Night for Baseball and Takahashi

The Mets took two out of three from the Yankees, took the first game of the series from the Phillies and all I hear on radio and TV is that Manuel will be fired but has been given a reprieve. I hear ridiculous proposals too. What about picking up Roy Oswalt? Even more ridiculous….what about Carlos Lee? What about Cliff Lee?

The Mets are at .500. The dropping of the pouter Maine and the maniacal Ollie Perez seems to have given our Metsies a new lease on life. Now if they could just keep Darryl Strawberry out of the clubhouse, I could see the Mets going on a nice long run.

I’ve only asked one time for Manuel’s removal. That was when he benched his regulars a couple of weeks ago in a game against these same Phillies with first place on the line. Facing the Phillies with the horrendous Gary Matthews replacing Francoeur and Mr. Uppercut #1 Fernando Tatis replacing Ike Davis was just a little bit too stupid for me to take lying down.

Manuel had his reasons, of course, but they were ridiculous tactical moves that ignored what could have been and should have been a real war for first place. Manuel is prone to errors such as these because his mind is always going and he is a deep thinker. Sometimes he loses the obvious; losing the forest for the trees.

But, I still think, all things considered, Manuel is the perfect manager for this Mets team. He stays too long with non-performing veterans, he has almost no faith in rookies, and to be frank, he doesn’t seem to believe in his team. I know he didn’t believe in his relief staff at the start of the season and that has been one of the team’s strong points.

But that thinking may be changing. Bringing up Ike Davis, Chris Carter, Jenry Mejia, and then the knuckleballer Dickey, and at the same time finally putting the kibosh on Maine and Perez, seems to be portending an old dog looking forward to learning some new tricks.

We don’t see too much of Matthews and Tatis anymore. We do see Carter and Davis. We also will be seeing some more of Hisanori Takahashi and A. J. Dickey, who are now officially listed on the depth chart as the number 3 and number 4 starters. Takahashi goes tonight again, followed by Pelfrey ans Santana. After that, some resourcefulness will be needed as Niese isn’t scheduled to return until June 1st.

Now watching the Mets put another whoopin’ on the Phils, I’m struck with how good the Mets look when they get the pitching and are in the game. Takahashi was nothing short of masterful and Reyes just kept chuggin’. Rod Barajas, meanwhile, just keeps tearing it up. When there’re men on base, Barajas just gets tougher. He’s not locked in unless he sees some of his same uniform out there on the basepaths.

You can’t compare the Mets telecasts with any other. They are just too good. While this may seem like “homey” thinking, the MLB Network, that uses the local broadcast team on its live feeds and replays most of the time, has allowed me to see how it’s done in other cities. These other broadcast teams range from poor to passable. There’s just no chemistry that you get with Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling.

Mejia’s out there now in the top of the 7th and the Mets leading 4-0. There are 2 outs and a man on third. Raul Ibanez is at the plate, and why can’t I find myself worrying? It would be logical to worry. But then Ibanez hits a weak grounder that that youngster Jenry just pounces and makes the play at first himself. Ibanez looked old and feeble in comparison.

But you do wonder how long this can last. How will Niese perform after his layoff? How will the relief corps be affected by the removal of Takahashi and Valdez from their ranks? How will Valdez fare as a starter?

The anxiety goes on the back burner though when the Mets win. All those concerns take a seat on the bench. Almost every Mets player now is contributing. It’s very often different guys each and every night. Even Francoeur is chipping in which is very important for this team as Frenchie seems to be one of those positive forces everywhere, except when he’s slumping.

The other Japanese pitcher, Igarashi, is now pitching the Phillies eighth. I’m still not worried. This guy, who I’d been watching since spring training, was really very impressive in spots and was just pretty good the rest of the time. In fact, for most of the beginning of the season, Takahashi was “the other Japanese import.”

Utley’s up. I should be worried. Curiously, I’m not. Maybe the Phillies just aren’t that scary anymore. Utley gets a high hard one and swings through it. Then he pops up. Ho-hum, it’s just another Phillies out. Now Ryan Howard, he’s been looking silly all night long. I still have no worries, even with a man on first, even though Howard just took a vicious cut at what looked like a slider in. Sure enough, he swings and misses at a beautiful low and outside pitch. I’m not sure what the pitch was but it was headed down, a lot like the Phillies.

You know the Phils are killing time when they insert Nelson Figueroa, another journeyman former-Met who left the team under less than optimal circumstances. He gets Francoeur, but Frenchie hit it hard. Darling, Keith and Cohen discuss the disparity between the box score and a player’s actual performance and effect on the team. Perfect timing , as usual.

It’s over in Yankee-land. Pettite gave them eight innings. He and his cutter were magnificent and the Yanks went on to win. Nick Swisher belted a homer in the 9th to win it. Mariano got three weak groundouts to close it out.

Santana Bad butJerry Manuel Worse

I couldn’t be more disappointed.

The Mets lost to the Phillies 11-5 last night after Johan Santana handed in the worst performance of his career, looking more like Jamie Moyer than did Jamie Moyer. Santana’s fastball had nothing, his changeup wasn’t much different from his fastball, and his control was non-existent.

I had a bad feeling about this game after I saw the lineup. In the biggest game of this season, the Mets played it as if it mattered not at all. The energy-sucking guys were back in the lineup, Tatis and Matthews, replacing the hot rookie Ike Davis and Angel Pagan, who had just begun to hit. It was as if Manager Jerry Manuel was letting Philadelphia know that this game just wasn’t that important.

It’s really a shame.

No matter how bad Santana was , I’m putting this loss squarely on Jerry Manuel. The lineup he put together was stupid, especially given the situation. He didn’t seem to care if his team lost and his players followed his lead. Wright hit a 3-run shot and Barajas homered too but it only mattered for an inning or so as Santana and Manuel quickly gave it all back.

I’m tired of watching Tatis and that infuriating uppercut swing of his. Matthews is just horrible. He doesn’t look right in a uniform. He doesn’t look like an athlete. He doesn’t perform like an athlete. He’s batting .139. Tatis is batting .212.

There’s a word for the way Manuel approached that game last night….chicken. Manuel played it like a gentle mother, having her boy avoid those big guys on the block. Just walk the other way. Don’t go near those people.

I know that Matthews supposedly plays better defense than Pagan. I know Tatis has more experience than Davis, but what about the feeling of the team? What about combativeness?

I want a fighter leading my team. Billy Martin wouldn’t have played Matthews or Tatis last night. He would have played his starting lineup. So would Piniella. So would Leland. So would Girardi. So would Randolph. (And it kills me to say so).

I’m disgusted with Manuel’s over-thinking in critical situations. There must’ve been a reason to leave Santana in the game last night, after he walked a 47-year-old pitcher. Nine out of ten managers would have taken Santana out immediately…..do not pass go….do not collect $200.

Manuel didn’t want to embarrass his ace. He embarrassed him more by leaving him in. Of course, there was nobody warming up so there really was no alternative. After a double, two singles and two walks, there was still no action in the Mets bullpen.

Once again, it was a gentle motherly type of decision. Most managers act more like fathers, fathers who understand the importance of winning over the niceties of saving face for your starting pitcher, fathers who’d have recognized that it was a big game, one for which you put in your best lineup.

Before this series even started, I maintained that the Mets were the more balanced team. And they are. But Jerry Manuel, in his infinite wisdom, didn’t take advantage.

His counterpart in the Phillies dugout, Charlie Manuel, acknowledged his weaknesses, avoiding his thin bullpen, allowing his 47-year old pitcher to hit with the bases loaded in that incredible fourth inning. If the pitcher made an out, the Phils would still have been down by two runs. But Charlie Manuel avoided that bullpen of his, at all costs, even that of losing the chance to take the lead.

That the Mets were playing their second team made Charlie’s decision easier. Moyer had been mowing them down. Surely Moyer was a good choice to face that weakened lineup until his arm fell off, or until his fastball dipped below 70, whichever came first.

You can pitch around a National League lineup, especially one with only six hitters in it. Taking Davis and Pagan out of the lineup left the Mets with only 3 real power threats, Wright, Bay and Francoeur. Pitching carefully to just three batters beats having to do so against five.

That was a bad loss, any way you look at it. Santana was awful. He’s the ace. He walked a 47-year old pitcher with the bases jammed. Even after that, the Mets still led by one. Santana was obviously rattled.

The Mets bullpen had shown that it was one of the best in the league. Just about any choice from that bullpen would have been a better one than that of leaving your rattled ace on the rubber in that raucous atmosphere of Citizens Bank Park.

As bad as Santana was though, Jerry Manuel was worse. He had no pitchers warming up. So that fantastic bullpen, with strikeout pitchers in it like Takahashi didn’t get an opportunity to face Victorino, whose grand slam put the Mets down by three, or Polanco, who singled before Utley’s two-run shot to right that put the final nail in the Mets coffin, a coffin designed and meticulously constructed by Jerry Manuel.

It’s a shame too because this was a key game. The Mets playing the importance of the game down doesn’t make it so. Manuel’s bad decisions both before and during the game cost them dearly, and the Mets may lose a few more games due to the letdown.

It was a huge loss. It was a 2-game swing in the standings. Instead of being 1 ½ games up, in first place in the NL East, they are now ½ game behind. All the good things about this season were largely erased last night, the holding together of Maine and Perez, the outstanding performances of Pelfrey and Niese and the bullpen, the sparkling play of Francoeur and newbie Ike Davis.

Jerry Manuel played his backups and made a bad pitching situation much worse. Never has a Mets manager been so thoroughly out-managed, not that I can recall.

Sometimes good things can come from a loss. This is not one of those times.

A Question of Balance

Global warming, a giant oil slick and nobody seems to care while we pick on the banks for a while. Meanwhile, the seas go to hell. But set against all that is the Mets winning 7 in a row, and John Maine striking out nine Dodgers while going into the seventh inning. The Mets are in first place after stinking it up for the first dozen games.

The combined runs total for and against during the win stretch is 35-13. Averaged over 7 games, the Mets won each game by a score of 5-2. Not too shabby.

But it’s all very curious. Their luck went from horrible to undeniably terrific, or indescribably delicious. The Cubs, Braves and Dodgers looked awful. Or was that just the Mets making those teams look so bad?

All I know is that, all things considered, things have turned out remarkably well. The promotion of Ike Davis, batting Reyes third, keeping crazy Ollie and Maine in the rotation, the pickup of Jason Bay and Barajas, and the pickup of Jeff Francoeur before that, all those things have worked out. And that’s not to mention the relievers.

You may have read here that, from spring training on, the relievers looked much better than Manuel was making them out to be. Down in Florida, I thought they all looked pretty good. Yeah, it was the spring, but I was still very hopeful. If anything, I was very concerned at that time about the starters.

But the targets of my biggest concern, Maine especially but Oliver Perez too, have managed to just hang in, like that poster with the little kitten hangin’ on for dear life. And Jonathon Niese, for whom I had been optimistic, has been even better than I’d expected, as has Mike Pelfrey. Santana is still Santana, if perhaps just a kinder, gentler Santana.

I had been concerned about the lineup too, of course, what with the likes of Mike Jacobs batting cleanup. I didn’t have much hope for Gary Matthews (and still don’t) and Rod Barajas. It was a lineup even I could pitch around…arguably. But the call-up of Ike Davis meant we wouldn’t be seeing Mike Jacobs around any longer. It meant, too, we’d see less of Fernando Tatis. Both these players seemed to suck energy from the lineup, and for that matter, from the entire team.

It’s amazing what a little tweaking can do. Ike Davis infused the team with as much energy as had formerly been drained by Jacobs and Tatis. Reyes looks as if he enjoys playing in the 3-hole. Bay looks as if he likes batting just behind him. One could say exactly the same for Wright following Bay and Davis following Wright. Francoeur may be a little farther down than I or he would like but he’s not a complainer. He’s been as instrumental as anyone in their team success, even when he hasn’t been hitting. As for Barajas, he either hits it into the seats or flies out, it seems, but at least he’s doing it from the 8-hole.

But it’s mostly been about pitching, and who’s to say Barajas and Blanco, who spells Barajas, haven’t been keys to the pitching success. I don’t see many shake-offs and, more importantly, I don’t see many stupid calls. Opposing runners respect both catchers’ arms too, as Barajas reminded me just yesterday by throwing behind the runner at first to keep him closer to the bag.

As bad as things looked a couple of weeks ago, that’s as good as things seem now. Even Citi Field, which seemed to just add to Mets woes then, now seems to embrace those frequent line drives hit by Bay, Wright and Francoeur. And, as exciting as those dingers can be, there’s nothing quite like a triple in the gap, especially with runners on, and Citi Field has nothing but gaps, and huge ones too.

Going to Philly just at this time, though, wouldn’t be my choice. Homers come easy in Philly, and the Phils have just the guys to hit them. Howard, Utley, Werth, Rollins, Ibanez, on and on, the Phils just scare the hell out of me. All those fly balls a pitcher such as Maine induces at Citi Field become homers in that bandbox that is Citizens Bank Park.

But it’ll be Niese against Kyle Kendrick in the opener Friday night, which, all things considered, should be an edge for Niese, who, besides being a lefty, has good control and keeps the ball down in the zone. Pelfrey goes next against Halladay, and it would be impossible to wax poetic about that matchup. Santana will close it out though, and, against anyone, I like Santana.

Those pitching matchups make the opener of the Series a pivotal one as far as winning another series is concerned. I’m hoping Niese can go deep into the game too, as I’m a little concerned about the number of innings some of these relievers have pitched. Especially with Igarashi’s hamstring putting him out for the next couple of weeks, it seems as if Nieve, Feliciano and Takahachi could get more work than could be considered optimal.

Balance is now what the Mets exhibit now though, and balance is hard to beat in baseball over the long run. The Mets are getting output from the entire lineup, and both starters and relievers are pitching well. That combination will be hard to beat on any field, in any venue, and, theoretically, against any team, even the Phillies.

The only starter performing well for the Phils is Halladay. Hamels, Kendrick and Moyer have been decidedly mediocre. Former Met Nelson Figueroa, listed as their fifth starter, has a better ERA at this point than any of the other starters, excepting Halladay of course.

Their closer is Madsen while Lidge is out, making them thinner in relief overall. Rollins is out, Juan Castro is in. All in all, the Mets on paper are better than this Phillies team, at least right now.

A Feeling for Seven

Thank your lucky stars, if you’re not too disappointed with your particular election results, for Game 6 finally arriving. Since the end of Game 5, since Jeter hit that double play groundball and Teixeira struck out, we’ve been hearing about the starting pitching, and how bad they’re going to be. That’s led to insane discussions of relief pitching, and pleas to bring Mariano Rivera into the game at the earliest possible opportunity.

Seldom in life, or elections for that matter, do things turn out exactly as we thought they might. I think it’s entirely likely that both Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez will be great. One’s a super-Yankee and one’s a super Hall of Famer. They should both be relieved of an awful lot of pressure, being that everyone’s expectations of them are so low.

They both have long histories of successes and they both have the hearts of baseball fans firmly in their uniform pockets. Pedro is 219-100 in his career. He’s pitching to put a fine shiny cap on an almost unbelievable career. Pettitte is 229-135 for his career. He’s pitching to go down in Yankee lore as one of their best, alongside names such as Ford and Guidry.

So they both have all the incentive in the world to pitch the greatest game of their career. There’s really no pressure on either of them.

Pettitte is pitching on three days rest. If he fails, it was Girardi’s mistake. He’s 37 years old and has pitched for the Yankees, except for a 3-year stint with Houston, since 1995. So his arm has lots of miles on it. Besides, even if he loses, the Yanks can still pull out a Game 7.

Pedro cares more about his reputation than he does about a Phillies win. That he’s with the Phils at all is entirely a matter of money and opportunity. He looks great. Pedro just turned 38 on October 25th. He can still throw pretty hard and his ball moves like crazy. He changes speeds with every pitch. And of course, he works in and out, up and down, and all the other things a great pitcher does.

Pettitte won’t go more than 6 regardless of the game circumstances. The Yanks are too concerned with pitch counts, and even at this ridiculously late date, their behavior is too ingrained to stop now. Pedro could go the whole nine. If he’s having success out there, they’ll let him pitch himself into the ground. The Phillies relievers haven’t had enough success this Series to warrant any other decision-making process.

I fully expect them to shut down those heavy-hitters on both sides. Pettitte has a couple of other things going for him. He’s a lefty and lefties have been particularly successful in this Series. He’s also great with men on base. Almost nobody is able to sustain a running game against Andy Pettitte. His move to first base is the best in the game and probably illegal.

I figure the game to be even at between two and three runs after 6 innings. That will be where the real fun starts. Pedro will go out there for the 7th and beyond. The Yanks, in an even game, will go to Joba or Marte, depending upon the lefty-righty matchups. It’ll still be an even match after 7, a tired Pedro vs either Yankee is no better than even.

The Yanks will go to Rivera for the eighth. The Phils will stay with Pedro if they’re still even. And then we’ll see the real reason pitchers blow up. It’s not pitch counts that finishes pitchers. It’s pressure. It’s confidence. How many times can a team expect a 4-out, 5-out, 6-out save or hold from a guy who’ll be 40 on November 29th? My guess is not too many times, maybe not even one time.

It’s hard to imagine Pedro going more than 7 unscathed by all that Yankee lumber. But they do have this Madsen guy and he hasn’t been too bad. He throws hard and he’s got a nice breaking ball. Lidge does too for that matter, and I think these Phillies relievers may be primed to shut up all those Yankee nay-sayers.

That’s one scenario, and maybe a more likely scenario could be imagined too. Maybe the years will show on both old reliables and they’ll both be gone early. In that event, the Phillies have some nice answers, either Happ or Myers or anybody wearing a red uniform in the pen. The Yanks have less reliable alternatives to my mind. Hughes has been inconstant, and he’s their most likely long guy, I would think. Of course, there’s Aceves and Coke and all the rest but nobody who really inspires confidence.

In the latter event, the failure of the starters, the Phils have the advantage but it’s probably a slim one. One thing’s for sure though. The attention in this Series will quickly shift to the hitters and then the story will shift to Arod or Utley, the big hitters in this Series, or it could turn to somebody nobody expected, like Scottie Brosius in one of those Yankee stories of yesteryear.

I can’t say as I’d mind if the hero were someone totally unexpected. I’d love to see Shane Victorino have a big game, he of the smashed fingers from Game 5. Both teams have a bevy of secondary stars, if you will, hitters all.

And both teams have legitimate stars who have not yet produced in this Series. Ryan Howard and Mark Teixeira could be having a futility contest. Certainly more could be expected from Rollins in this Series, or for the Yanks, Cano and Swisher, who will be starting tonight. And what about Matsui, who’s been limited only by opportunity?

I’m rooting for a Game 7 though. And, as a long-time Mets fan, I’d like to see a National League team take the whole shebang. This Series deserves to go 7. And I have a feeling that it will.

Pulling Out All The Stops

A lot was made of two big NY-Philly games occurring on the same day in the same venue. But there was only one game that was played like a big game. Only that terrific World Series Game 4 will be remembered. The Yankees won it 7-4 and they took it from a very determined Phillies team that in the end were only one relief pitcher short of tying the Series at 2’s.

To get it out of the way, let me first say the football Giants were awful in the afternoon game. They have no pass defense. They have no cover guys, they have no defensive line and they have no Steve Spagnuolo anymore. They do have a defensive coordinator with not much nerve and not much imagination. So the Giants lost. The score doesn’t even matter. The Eagles scored at will.

The first intriguing thing about the Yanks-Phils Game 4 was the starting pitching matchup. The Yanks pitched their ace, C.C. Sabathia, on 3 days rest. The Phillies pitched Joe Blanton, their regular guy in the rotation. Phils Manager Charlie Manuel can’t be faulted for not starting his ace, Cliff Lee, as he had never pitched on just 3 days rest before. And the Phillies had beaten Sabathia in the past.

And, if the Phils had managed to survive Game 4, they’d have had their ace going on normal rest in a Game 5, and they’d have likely been up 3-2 in the Series 9 innings later. So the move made sense, I guess. But while it made sense, it seemed to me the game meant more to the Yankees. They were going all out to win. They were pulling out all the stops. The Phillies were doing business as usual.

As things turned out, of course, the game didn’t hinge on the starters. Blanton wasn’t as tough as was Sabathia but he managed to give up just four runs after six full innings. And, when C.C. left in the seventh, immediately after Chase Utley banged a long solo home run to right, the Yanks were still up 4-3.

Damaso Marte managed to get the Yanks out of the seventh and Joba struck out the side in the eighth. There was just one problem. Before he struck out the side, he gave up a tying dinger to Phils 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz. So the game rested on those ninth inning pitchers. The Phils selection was their closer, Brad Lidge, even though Ryan Madsen had just finished pitching a very nice eighth.

Lidge looked just terrific for 2/3 of an inning. It was Johnny Damon who did him in. After taking some pitches and fouling off some pitches and pretty much wearing Lidge out, Damon stroked a single to left. It was an at-bat that a few players mentioned after the game, one that will probably be remembered fifty years from now when youngsters in the stands today discuss the 2009 World Series. Lidge was never the same after Damon.

Lidge then had to face Mark Teixeira, which would have been bad enough. But then Damon stole second, and, as the Phillies had shifted their defense to the right hand side for Teixeira, Damon popped up from the keystone and stole third too, as nobody was covering the bag.

Lidge was a mess now because he couldn’t really use that slider of his that bounces in the dirt with a runner on third. So he proceeds to hit Teixeira with a pitch. Of course, with the Yankees lineup, things never seem to get any easier. Now he just had to face Arod, he of the many post-season homers and rbi’s.

Arod didn’t disappoint either, smacking a double to left that scored Damon with the eventual game-winning run and a hustling Teixeira went first to third. It was academic after that, but Posada drove in both Teixeira and Arod anyway. The game was all but over as they handed a 3-run lead to Mariano Rivera.

But it was a classic World Series game. Jeter and Damon were workmanlike in putting the Yanks ahead and Joe Blanton was cool as he managed the Yankees through the first six. Utley’s at-bat versus Sabathia in the 7th was a beauty and his homer seemed to give the Phils momentum even though they were still down a run. Then Feliz’s shot to left off Joba in the 8th to tie the game at last could have spelled the end for the Bombers.

But even before that, there were unusual things. I mean, how often do you see Ryan Howard steal a base? How often do you see any quick pitches, not just one but two for strikeouts? How about all those meetings on the mound with Sabathia? What gamesmanship was employed by both sides, and Posada and Sabathia were definitely playing with Werth’s mind when they struck him out with two men on. Once again, it was the Yankees who were pulling out all the stops, even the psychological ones.

Charlie Manuel’s supposed reliance on hunches wasn’t so evident for this game. He seemed to be doing everything strictly by the book. He pulled Blanton after six for no particular reason. The move to Chan Ho Park didn’t seem particularly wise as Joe had been pretty much coasting. That Park got them through the seventh isn’t really my point.

Ryan Madsen was pretty good in the 8th too, but that didn’t stop Charlie from pulling him for Lidge in the 9th, probably his last disastrous and fateful move in this Series. Lidge couldn’t handle the adversity Damon threw his way. No, I didn’t see many hunches being played by Manuel last night.

The Yanks go with Burnett on 3 days rest now and, even with Lee going for the Phillies, I expect the Yanks now to finish this one off in 5. The Yanks are playing to win, pulling out all the stops. The Phillies, with as much talent as they possess, are playing by the book.

Pay Attention, Baseball Fans

Yeah, they’re worried…bigtime. CC getting beat, Arod slumping, Teixeira showing nothing at all and Jeter striking out 3 times yesterday. But, even after watching Burnett throw a gem last night, they still don’t trust him to throw another. Life is good for a Mets fan and Yankee-hater.

I love seeing Yankees fans torture themselves. Is there anything better than watching them agonize? Unfortunately, they survived Game 2. The joy I had anticipated of witnessing their total unraveling as they went down 2-zip to Pedro can’t happen now. I’ll have to live with them still thinking their Bronx bumblers have a chance against the World Champion Phillies. They’ll be a little less frantic now. Too bad.

What a melodrama! First it was CC this and CC that and how the big guy was unhittable. Nine innings later, it was their anxiety over A.J. Burnett, how inconsistent he’s been, how big his contract was. It went something like this, “He got the big money to win in the post-season. He’d better show that he’s the pitcher the Yanks thought they were getting when they plunked down the 82 million.”

Those crazed fans were actually starting to turn back the clock, to turn back to the times when Joba was dominant out there, before Cashman and Girardi started playing with his innings. Joba would save them, Joba would show that fight and determination he displayed in his early outings, Joba would mow down the Phillies and take his rightful place amongst all those great Yankee arms of yesteryear.

Imagine if they had lost again and Arod’s 3 strikeouts had been staring them in the face. Not to mention Teixeira’s lackluster performance so far. And let’s not even talk about middle-relief! Do you want to give them a heart attack? They’ve totally dumped on Hughes and Joba as a middle reliever. They are now actually thinking that Damaso Marte will somehow save them.

But A.J. really was magnificent last night. Too bad! Looking at the bright side though, their agony will be more prolonged this way. If they had been 2-zip down, Yankee fans may have just given up early and waited for the sweep. Now they can feel they’re still in it.

They can look forward to their hero Pettitte somehow regaining his old late-Nineties form. And, even though their hero-worship of CC seems done (there was talk of giving Sabathia his 4 days rest), they can still hope for a reincarnation from the big man and a less masterful performance from Yankee-killer Cliff Lee.

But, to be honest, it’s hard for me to root against some of these Yankees. This team reminds me of those Nineties Yankees of Tino and Paul O’Neill, Bernie Williams and Scottie Brosius, all hustlers, all team guys, and yes, even Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada too. And of course Mariano, who saved their butts last night with his six-out save. And Girardi, who managed a perfect game last night but had been Posada’s backup then.

How can you root against Mark Teixeira? I still recall his winning that infamous Mets-Yanks Castillo-drop game. Yes, Luis lost the game but Teixeira won it too, by running out that apparent routine fly ball, all the way from first to home so that when Castillo picked the ball up, there was no chance to get Teixeira. And just last week he covered second base because that’s what he was supposed to do.

How can you root against Godzilla? So tough in the clutch, seemingly always, and once again last night. Or Swisher, who’s been castigated far and wide in Yankee-Land for his recent troubles at the plate. Or Johnny Damon, who may be playing his last World Series in New York, but so ably led the Red Sox over the Yanks in that fateful 2004 ALCS.

So it’s not the individuals a Yankee-hater hates. It’s just the fact that the Yankees have all these great players at all. But, even with all the furious buying activity over the years, they’ve not been past an ALCS since 2004, watching other teams take the AL crown, the Tigers or the Red Sox or even the Tampa Bay Rays.

So I wouldn’t be heartbroken if the Yanks won this Series because they have a great team. Great teams should win the World Series. And they should have to beat another great team to be able to call themselves champions.

And the Phillies are a great team. As fearsome as the Yanks lineup is, the Phillies can match them overall, both in the lineup, on the field, on the mound and in the bullpen. Before last night, the Phillies seemed to think the Series would be a walk-over, a 5-game affair as per Jimmy Rollins, their mercurially-mouthed shortstop.

We can all look forward to Game 3 now as each game seems to have its own little storyline. Game 1 will be memorable for CC and Lee, for Game 2 it will be Burnett emerging as a bigtime playoffs and Series pitcher besting crafty old Pedro Martinez, who was gallant for a full six and even went out there for a 7th.

Yeah, the story has been pitching so far but you know that with the sheer numbers of hitters on both these worthy Series opponents, the bats won’t be so silent much longer. Game 3 goes deeper into those pitching rotations, pitting what has this year been a very hittable Hamel against another old Nineties Yankee in Andy Pettitte.

The younger fellow, Burnett, outpitched his older counterpart last night and I suspect that that scenario will repeat itself tomorrow night. But then it’ll be CC-Lee II and one wonders whether the replay will yield quite different results. And how things will go from there.

That’s all you could want in a Series really. This is the Series I wanted and it’s playing out as I had imagined. Pay attention, baseball fans, because you may not be seeing a Series like this again for quite some time.

Just Too Much

Well, what can you say? The Phillies were just too much for the Dodgers. Too much pitching and especially too much hitting, too much confidence, too much ability, too much faith, in one another and spiritually too for some.

That lineup is pretty awesome. In fact, it was awesome last year before they added Ibanez and then Werth got that much better with more opportunities to play. But adding SP Cliff Lee was probably the clincher.

If any team matches up with the Yankees, who will probably clinch tonight against the Angels, who looked thoroughly beaten in Game 4 of their series, it’s these Phillies.

So far, two position players have dominated. Arod and Ryan Howard. Two pitchers have dominated as well. That would be Sabathia and Lee. You could say the Yanks have the better relievers, I suppose, but the Phils’ Lidge has looked much better lately while the middle relief Yankees pitchers have let down somewhat. Neither Joba nor Phil Hughes have been very good lately.

If there’s an edge, it’s in the home Stadium. Because the American League won the All-Star game, the Yankees will have the home field edge. But with two cities just about 90 miles apart, I’d be surprised if every player didn’t just sleep in their own beds for the entire Series. (Whether that would help whatsoever is another question, but it’d be pretty impossible to answer).

All we’ve heard lately from the Yankee media is Arod, Arod ad nauseum, of course, but at least he finally deserves it. What is it now, 5 homers and 11 or 12 rbi’s? Sabathia’s been unhittable. Rest? He don’t need no STINKING rest.

The Phillies don’t get as much press but Ryan Howard is a beast. He’s one of those rare animals who actually love getting up in those pressure situations, confident that he can end the proceedings with one swing of the bat. Arod has been Howard-like in this post-season but there is only one Howard.

Anyway, an outstanding Series it promises to be. Can ANYBODY hit Sabathia? Can ANYBODY hit Lee? The most likely scenario will be that the two or three games between those two aces will be decided in the late innings by relievers, another impossible situation to really predict. I’m assuming they’ll face each other but that may not be the case, given Girardi’s strangeness. Or is it Cashman’s nonsense? It’s hard to tell with the Yankees.

Then there’s Burnett and Hamels, Blanton and Pettite, and maybe even Joba and Pedro. How great would that be? All I know for sure is that it’ll be a World Series I’ll enjoy thoroughly, and probably a seven-game affair. (If it ends in four, I’ll be inconsolable).

This is all premature, right? The Angels can still come back? I don’t think so.

All About Expectations

What a gigantic lull in the sports schedule! It’s almost unprecedented. No baseball, no football since Monday, basketball a distant event on the horizon. If you’re not a soccer enthusiast or fanatic enough to enjoy “NFL Replay” past games, you could go absolutely bonkers.

Or maybe you’re one of those held spellbound by the side stories, Rush Limbaugh assigned to NFL limbo and Jon Gruden being considered for a couple of NFL head coaching spots. And then, of course, there’re all the side stories associated with the MLB Playoffs, the cold weather, the rain, the pitching assignments, and Mariano, Mariano, Mariano….makes a Mets fan sick!

Wasn’t it Mariano who blew the series with Boston back in 2004, a date that marked the resurgence of the Red Sox? He’s not infallible, Yankee fans. And maybe we’ll find out in this Angels series. We might find out a couple of other things too, like how stupid it was to get rid of Bobby Abreu. (A Mets fan can only hope).

The prospect of the first Yankee game Friday night seems to be casting a large shadow over the Phils-Dodgers series in the National League. There the story is, as you might expect, mostly about Manny Ramirez and Joe Torre, although you could make a case for the failures of Brad Lidge. The media loves failure, especially after a skein of successes.

So there’s really nothing happening but expectations. I had expected the Dodgers to be gone already, blown away by the Cards pitchers, Wainwright and Carpenter. That didn’t happen. Then the Phils dispatched the Rockies pretty handily, easier than I had expected given the Rockies newfound prowess in the starting pitching and relief categories.

It looked bad for the Phils in Colorado in that top of the ninth inning. Huston Street was just rolling along, striking out one batter and then getting a fielders choice grounder after a Jimmy Rollins infield base hit. He and the Rockies then just needed one more out to send the series back to Philadelphia.

Street just needed to deal with Chase Utley. Yeah, it was righty vs. lefty but still….and my recollection is that the count went to 3-2, but, in any event, Street walked Utley and then you knew he had to face big Ryan Howard, another lefty, and you started to feel a little nervous, and then, before you knew it, Howard put a big swing on a ball left out over the plate and the game was tied.

And then, just to put a punctuation point on the proceedings, Jayson Werth knocked in the winning run. Those Phillies were still the reigning World Champions, not the Yankees, not the Dodgers, but those tough guys from Philadelphia, and there were no tougher Philly batters than the ones Street faced in that fateful 9th inning.

But you don’t hear much about the Phillies. Expectations again. I guess the thinking goes, “well, the Yanks picked up Teixeira and Sabathia and Burnett and they still had Arod and Jeter and Damon and Posada and yada yada.yanka”. And for the Dodgers, it would be “their young guys like Kemp and Ethier and Loney have all picked it up in Manny’s absence and they’ve got all that relief pitching.”

Yeah, I guess so, but those Phillies sure looked pretty tough to me in that ninth inning in Denver. So I’ve changed my expectations. Until somebody knocks them out, my money (if I had any money) would be on the defending champions.

Yankee fans are probably saying that their team did the same thing against the Twins. Yeah, they did, and it was very impressive, Arod tying it up and Teixeira delivering the clincher. And they’d be right, but…..

Well, I know if I were a Yankee fan, I’d be getting just a little bit nervous about all this conjecture about the starting rotation for the next series. I mean, can they make it any more obvious that they only trust three of their starters? I guess that means they may have only three playoff-ready starters.

That’s Sabathia, Burnett and Pettite, of course. With Joba now a reliever, that leaves them with Chad Gaudin as the fourth starter. He’s been really pretty good this year too, with a respectable ERA and strong overall outings. But that brain trust is working overtime trying to figure out what the rain will do.

The rain may push back the opener but that will probably be the extent of it. The Yanks will still have to deal with using Sabathia on three days rest. Only the most optimistic Yankee forecast could expect better. You’re still left with facts. The Yanks only have three starters they trust, which means they only have three starters.

Hmm. The Angels have at least four. I say at least four, because a fella named Ervin Santana is listed at five, and he’s probably better than Chad Gaudin. The others are very respectable, John Lackey, Jered Weaver, Joe Saunders and Scott Kazmir. And those last two are lefties, just to change things up a little. Oh, and Brian Fuentes, their closer, is a lefty too.

Even knowing that the Yanks have right-handed batters, and guys who can be turned around, like Teixeira and Posada, it will still be helpful to throw a different look at your opponent. And Posada may not be catching all the time either. That’s another vaguely troubling thing for a Yankee fan, I would imagine. (even though I can’t really imagine the sheer horror of being one myself).

Another net difference from last year to this year is in the Yankee right field. And it’s a net loss, from Bobby Abreu to Nick Swisher. Bobby was one of those perennial .300 hitters with a hundred each year in both runs and ribbies. One thing he didn’t do in the Bronx was run into the outfield wall. Nick loves doing that, but that’s his only baseball advantage over Abreu.

You can expect a hell of a series, folks.

On Playoffs and Bad Football

The playoffs in both leagues start today without the Mets. Groan. I can’t help but wonder whether they could have taken the measure of the Phils or the Dodgers, Cards or Rockies, if they had remained healthy. Maybe, who knows, who’ll ever know?

These NL teams are really stacked though. It would have been tough. I think the Cards are the strongest overall with a powerful lineup and pitching to die for, especially in a five-game series with Carpenter and Wainwright sporting ERA’s of 2.24 and 2.76 respectively. L.A.’s Wolf was just 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA. Kershaw had a great 2.79 ERA but was just 8-8.

Then there’s Pujols and Holliday and a bunch of .300 hitters facing a nice lineup but not an exceptional one, not unless Manny Ramirez should suddenly catch fire. And that’s just not that likely.

In the other series, the Phillies against the Rockies, I know everybody likes the defending champion Phillies, but not me. Even if you forget about the Brad Lidge closer failures, their lineup just hasn’t performed as they did last year, when magic seemed to bloom out of their butts. They may wind up prevailing, with Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels providing a powerful 1-2 punch, but I just don’t think it’s their year.

The Rockies aren’t that impressive either really but were hotter for sure down the stretch and I like their Tulowitzki, Helton and Hawpe in the middle. The Rocks have Ubaldo Jiminez and Jorge De La Rosa too, and possess a better closer in Huston Street. Although it’s tough to pick against the World Champs, they just haven’t clicked as has that hot Denver team. Besides, my nephew likes them and he’s pretty lucky.

Over in the American League, the Yanks are just loaded. It seems almost ridiculous to even go through any analysis. They kill the Twins all the time too. So kiss it goodbye, Minnesota, maybe you should have picked up Favre. They’ll be lucky to take one game.

The other AL matchup should be a classic and I don’t even want to pick a winner as I like both teams. The Red Sox have dominated in their matchups in the past. But it’ll be a new series and, if Lester and Beckett should falter, the Angels have a shot. I love their lineup with real battlers like Figgins and Abreu at the top.

The Yanks can take everybody in either league except for maybe the Angels. So naturally I’m hoping the Angels can make it through Boston. If Figgins and the rest of the speed they’ve got can get on base, they’ll be murderous on either Varitek or Victor Martinez to stop.

So I’m hoping for Rockies-Cards and Angels-Yanks. I have to think the Cards can take the Rockies and hope for a miracle that the Angels will take the Yanks. Actually, come to think of it, maybe it would be pretty neat for the Yanks to get by. Then I can root against them in the World Series once again.

The Cards would have a shot against anybody.

Okay, that’s enough baseball for now. It’s high time to pick on the Jets. No, not really. It’s hard not to like Sanchez and he had a rough, rough day in New Orleans. The offensive line of the Jets took some hits this week and then the Jets picked up Braylon Edwards for Chansi Stuckey and some picks.

I sure hope it’ll be one of those trades that benefit both parties but Edwards can’t catch, a sure-fire weakness in a wideout. I see lots of dropped balls in their future. He sure does get open though.

Then Eli getting hurt in the Chiefs game was decidedly inconvenient. That injury sounds as if it’ll be hanging around for some time too. We have to hope it doesn’t affect Eli’s accuracy. He was having one of his better years in that respect, or is it just that his receivers are better at finding spaces and understanding the offense?

It’d be tough to get on Coughlin’s charges for anything. They didn’t miss a beat against the Chiefs, a game I expected them to win but not cover the spread. I thought they’d let down. They didn’t. With Steve Smith and Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks to throw to, you have to wonder if they just might run the table.

They seem as loaded as the Yankees are in baseball. There just aren’t any weaknesses. Of course, I said that about the Mets early this year before every Met of any consequence got hurt. I can only hope it won’t happen to the Giants. Eli’s going down, even for a little time, is not a good sign.

One vaguely upsetting thing in the NFL going forward is the weakness, especially defensively, in at least ten teams. The Chargers are one of those teams for sure after seeing their Sunday night exhibition against the Steelers, who became a great running team seemingly overnight. Then we got to witness a Packers team on Monday that couldn’t block and couldn’t rush the passer. That the passer was my least favorite person in the entire world did not make for a pleasant night, I assure you.

It was good to see that Favre is still a hot dog though, and still looks out for his interests more so than for his team’s. His stupid long pass attempt down the sideline kept Green Bay in the game, and a better team may have been able to capitalize on the opportunity.

Tampa Bay and Washington are both horrible though, Tampa on the defense and the Skins on offense. The Bills once again seem pathetic. The Rams got slaughtered by the 49ers. The Raiders are horrible under a fat and lousy Jamarcus Russell. There’s hope for the Browns as they showed against the tough Bengals but can Mangini really be expected to turn that club around?

Well, it’s just Week Five and hopefully, things only get better.

So How Bad Is It?

How bad is it? As the fat guy Clemenza said in The Godfather, “pretty damn bad”. I say this because the Mets are opening a 3-game set against the Dodgers and they’re still banged up as bad as ever. That doesn’t bode well against Joe Torre’s crew. Pitching and batting, they’ve got it all, and Manny too. Some teams have all the luck.

An analysis of the at-bats for the two teams leading the NL East, the Phillies and the Mets, points to how bad things have really been for our locals. The Mets have only one guy with 300 or more at-bats, David Wright. The Phils have three, Rollins, Victorino and Howard, and four more of their players have 250 or more at-bats. That would be Werth with 289, Feliz and Utley with 282, and Ibanez, who hit the disabled list a couple of weeks ago, with 250.

For the Mets, after David Wright, Carlos Beltran, who hasn’t played in a very long time, seemingly forever if you’re a Mets fan, has a comparatively measly 241 at-bats. Just three other Mets have over 200 at-bats. That would be Castillo, Murphy and Church, not exactly a Murderers Row.

Surprisingly enough, it’s bargain pick-up Gary Sheffield with the next highest number of plate appearances with 185. The other comparative workhorses are Alex Cora, Fernando Tatis, Jose Reyes (in just 36 games) and Omir Santos, all of whom have 142 to 162 at-bats and have appeared in from 36 to 54 games out of the 80 games in which Wright has played. So, all in all, the only regular has been Wright.

And thank the good Lord for that. Wright’s batting .326 with production numbers to match. But of the steadier healthier players this year, only Church and Sheffield have been even somewhat productive with a .290 BA for Church and a remarkable10 homers and 31 ribbies for the dour Sheffield.

The good news is that, in one of those ridiculous statistical anomalies, this banged-up Mets team currently ranks second in the National League in batting average. Their .270 is exceeded only by the Dodgers who collectively bat .272.

The bad news is that it’s a noticeably unproductive .270. The Metsies have scored only 355 runs, ranked 20th among all major league teams. That basically means that not only do the teams with higher batting averages score more than our lovable locals but even the thirteen teams with lower averages all score more than do the Mets.

I would have assumed that it has been the Mets pitching that has kept them respectable. That’s not necessarily the case however. Although their collective team ERA is 4.26, that ranks just seventh in the National League. An even more interesting stat is that their team WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) ranks 14th in the National League. That means that they’ve either been lucky or very good defensively or that their pitchers on average are better in the clutch.

It also means they have more heart-rending moments than just about any other team in baseball, with runners always on base and either strikeouts or double plays required to take them out of troublesome situations.

Without even looking it up, we know the Mets haven’t been very good defensively, or has it just been Murphy? A glance at the actual figures shows the Mets in the middle of the pack defensively but in runners left on base, they rank third, behind only Boston and Philadelphia. And when you think about individual pitchers, Pelfrey’s seemingly always getting out of trouble, Hernandez, Maine and Santana too. So the Mets do seem to have something going for them.

And looking ahead they could get better. Beltran, Reyes and even Delgado will probably return. Oliver Perez, the flaky starter who can dazzle at times, will probably be back. I won’t belabor the point but things can’t really get worse for the Mets and they’ve managed to at least nominally stay in the hunt thus far.

The schedule doesn’t look that intimidating either. In the National League, the only really threatening team is the Dodgers. After this coming series with them, the Mets will face the Reds for 3 games. Then there is the long awaited All-Star Break. Immediately after the break, all their opponents are beatable, especially with a rejuvenated team.

The likes of Atlanta, Washington, Houston, Colorado….these are beatable teams, infinitely beatable. So is San Diego, likewise Arizona. It looks like the Mets could have clear sailing for 33 games before having to face the Phillies again, then the Marlins and the Cubs, who’ll probably be leading their division by then.

But if the Mets can take 22 out of those 33, they should be 18 games above .500 with all of September still left to play, with their regulars rested, with their bench having gained experience, including all those AAA guys playing like AAA guys right now but not necessarily later.

The full complement of the Mets should be very hard to beat. After all, Omar did fill all the holes. He got the depth he needed and he picked up the required relief pitching. He and this Mets team just ran into an incredible string of bad luck. Judging from the schedule, that luck could turn the other way in an awful hurry.

So how bad is it really? It’s easy to despair when the Phillies just kicked your butt and you’re off to face the best team in the league. But if the Mets can play tough headed into the break and not totally lose heart, the post-break picture looks exceedingly nicer.

So as bad as it looks, things are looking up. Could things go the other way and even get worse? Sure. It’s possible but it sure as hell isn’t likely. This could be the year the Mets rise from the ashes after years of coasting through regular seasons only to lose in the end.

And it’s just around the corner, Mets fans.

Chase Utley - The Keystone Difference

Well, as I had predicted, it was the Phillies, but easier than I had thought, the Phils prevailing in five, not seven, games. But it couldn't have been more exciting. And today, as callers to the FAN's Mike Francesa discussed who the MVP of the Series should have been, nobody mentioned Chase Utley. And that's just plain wrong.

Just to recap, Cole Hamels was voted the MVP. He won Game 1 and was the starting pitcher in Game 5, that the Phils went on to win. But, as Francesa pointed out, he was really just 1-0 for the Series. And, as he reviewed the batting stats for Phillies in the Series, he basically said, "well, there really was nobody else".

Spoken like a Yankee fan. Yankee fans are all about home runs. That's all they know, except perhaps for batting average. Those were the categories Francesa reviewed. And I had to wonder whether he even watched the Series. He mentioned Carlos Ruiz, the Phils catcher, and he mentioned Howard's production in Game 4. He pointed out a few others and totally ignored Chase Utley, except to point out that he did make an excellent play in Game 5 when he faked a throw to first and threw a runner out at home.

What he neglected to point out was that that play kept the score tied. Utley had made the game-changing play and Francesa missed it totally. Fielding doesn't count to Yankees fans. Nor does running for that matter. And they love the designated hitter. Idiots.

I probably shouldn't let this bother me so much. After all, Utley was only 3 for 18 in the Series. But let's review. Utley scored five runs, walked five times, stole 3 bases and made the game-deciding fielding play in the final.
His 4 rbi's won two games, Game 1 and Game 3, which were both won by just one run. Of the four Phillies victories, I figure Utley was the key player in three of them. In the 10-2 laugher in Game 4, Utley really didn't do that much. But then, he didn't really have to.

In Game 1, the opener in Tampa Bay, when a tone needed to be set, if ever there was to be a tone, Utley stepped up to the plate in the first inning against the Rays top pitcher, Scott Kazmir and promptly smacked a two-run homer. Those two runs held up for the entire game until Ruiz plated the winning run on a ground ball late in the game.

In the pivotal Game 3, back in Philadelphia, Utley set the tone once again. He drove in Jimmy Rollins in the first inning and then he and Ryan Howard hit back to back solo homers in the bottom of the 6th to extend a 2-1 lead to 4-1. Those runs prevented the Rays from ever taking the lead when they came back in the 7th and 8th to tie the game.

Game 4 was the laugher, of course, the Phils winning it 10-2. But, before it was a laugher, Utley scored the run that extended a 1-0 lead to 2-0 in the third. And he was on base for Howard's drive in the Phillies 8th that ensured the Phillies win.

In the all-important Game 5, a game that had to be won lest the Series go back to Tampa, Utley followed Werth's walk in the first inning by getting hit with a pitch. He was therefore on base when Victorino singled both him and Werth home to take the critical 2-0 lead, once again in the first inning, once again helping to break the Rays back before things really even got started. The Rays would finally tie the game in the top of the sixth to make it 2-2, which, of course, allowed the game to be suspended, setting up its dramatic resumption.

Of course, in the resumed game, Jenkins and Werth put the Phils immediately ahead in the bottom of the sixth, and Utley struck out in that inning against the tough Rays lefty J.P. Howell. Things looked bad in the 7th after Baldelli's homer tied the game, only to be followed by still another Rays hit and a sacrifice that put the winning run on 2nd base in the person of the pesky Rays shortstop James Bartlett.

If Utley had been looking for an opportunity to change the momentum, he found it almost immediately. His counterpart at second base for the Rays, Akinori Iwamura, whose misplay of Werth's Texas Leaguer had put the Phils ahead an inning earlier, hit a hard ground ball to Utley's right. Utley, sensing that he had no play on the speedy Iwamura at first, nevertheless faked the throw to first, inducing Bartlett to break hard for home. Utley then made a very nice throw to Ruiz to nail the runner and end the inning still tied at 3-3.

Pat Burrell's double and then Pedro Feliz's single later put the Phillies ahead again, of course, and the Phillies wouldn't relinquish that lead. J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge made sure of that with some fine pitching.

But Utley tried his utmost to extend that Phillies lead once again in the eighth, drawing a walk off the tough Rays lefty reliever Price with two outs. Utley then stole second base to put himself in scoring position for Howard once again. That Howard struck out isn’t really the point. Utley put himself in position to make sure the Phillies would prevail.

There's no doubt in my mind that Utley played a key role in this Series. As did Ruiz and Werth and Howard and Feliz, and all those tough Phillies pitchers. But all those momentum swingers by Utley were hard to miss. Not to mention all those double plays that more often than not cut down the Rays tough B.J. Upton.
Second base is called the keystone for good reason. Chase Utley drove home that point. It was the keystone difference in this 2008 World Series.

Doctor's Trust 468X60

Red Hot Phillies May Only Need Five

Wow. What can you say? The Phillies continued their drive towards the World Championship last night by embarrassing the stumblin' bumblin' Rays in Game 4 by a score of 10-2 to take a 3-1 lead in the Series. After eking out just a 1-run victory in Game 3, it seemed the guys in the home reds might just finish these hotshot Rays in five games.

Over the weekend, the Phils hurlers Moyer and Blanton outdueled the Rays Garza and Sonnanstine while a little-known guy named Carlos Ruiz showed why he can be added to the list of nobodies to star in a World Series. And Ryan Howard showed everybody why he's Ryan Howard.

But last night it was all about Joe Blanton. He was friggin' magnificent. It's so good to see a guy come up big in the World Series. He not only pitches great, he hits a home run too. Now, this shouldn't have come as so much a surprise as it was. Joe had actually helped win 9 of the 13 games he pitched for the Phils since he was acquired from the A's in July. And any fantasy player knew how good he was.

But Joe was lost in the whoop-de-doo over the Rays starters and the Phils ace, Cole Hamels. And he was only the fourth starter behind Hamels and Myers and Jamie Moyer, who is about a hundred and three years old. So big Joe looked like he meant business last night as he pitched 6 strong innings for the NL Champs, surrendering just two solo home runs. Oh, and he cranked a low fastball over the fence in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2 Phillies. The place became electric.

This self-proclaimed pundit thought it would be the Phillies in seven when this whole thing started. But I didn't count on Jamie Moyer coming up quite so large in Game 3. I figured that game for the Rays. And I thought either Myers or Blanton could come up big. But it seems like everything is going the Phillies way.

The Rays are having some trouble in the field as of late. When had that last happened to the sure-handed Rays? When they do make a play, the umpires miss it. But between Longoria and Iwamura, they've produced adventure to rival some Indiana Jones movie. And then Ryan Howard came to life with two dingers, and Jayson Werth came back to life too.

And then there's a guy like Carlos Ruiz behind the plate for the Phillies. Ruiz just took over a large part of this Series from Game 2 on. Just when the Rays have finished with the likes of Rollins, Utley, Werth and Howard, here comes Carlos Ruiz. It's really been kind of comical. The Phils catcher got the game-winning ground ball the other night and has been just a real pest since Game 2.

But, here's the funny part about baseball. The worm could turn at any time. Now the Rays are up against the wall. And the Phillies have been riding high. And , while the Phils have their ace Hamels going one more time, the Rays Scott Kazmir ain't exactly chopped liver. And, if the Rays get Game 5, it's back to that monstrosity of a ball field in Florida for Games Six and Seven. The Rays would like that.

Would they ever. Then it would be just a matter of winning two straight at home. With Shields and Garza on the mound. They would have to like their chances.

So the real key is tonight. If the Phils can't win this one tonight, they might have to wait another twenty years or so to win a World Series. Not that they can't beat Shields and Garza in Tampa but can guys like Moyer and Myers do it again? I don't even want to think about it.

But it would make this Series one for the ages rather than just a footnote in Red Sox history. In five games, it’ll just be the year the Rays shocked the world but fell apart against a veteran Phillies team. In seven games, it’s something else entirely, and maybe guys like Longoria and Upton and Pena make more of a mark on this Series.
<>If the Phillies really are a smart veteran team, they’ll realize that Game 5 might be the now or never game. They’re hot now and have the Rays on the run. Let the team that beat the Red Sox live one more day at their peril. <>

I’d still like the Phillies to win this thing, even if they do lose tonight. I sense that they’re a team that’s ready now. The Rays have too many excuses for a breakdown with that much youth on their squad, no matter who’s on the mound. And the Phillies do have Utley and Rolo and big Ryan Howard. And that little sparkplug of a Victorino whose “I Got It I Got IT I Got It” is the loudest in either league. <>

But for a New York fan, even a rabid National League and Mets fan, who’d like nothing better than a World Series victory for the team that knocked off his team, yesterday wasn’t all about the baseball. There was a whole lot of football being played in Pittsburgh by the defending champion Giants. And the Jets managed to play a bit more football than the lowly Chiefs.

As well as the Giants played down the stretch, I did see the single ugliest play I’ve ever seen by a secondary man in safety James Butler’s horrible coverage on Roethlisberger’s long pass to Nate Washington. Not only did he appear to just let his man run by him, but when he caught up, he pirouetted away from his man.
<>The Jets are just awful. But not as awful as a Herman Edwards team that ran three into the line when they desperately needed a first down. Count your blessings, Jets fans.

Doctor's Trust 468X60

Phillies (and Determination) In Seven!

Life must go on. Despite America having been sold, despite billions and billions of dollars that we don't have bailing out a few cheating, incompetent, greedy financial companies (and campaign contributors to both Presidential candidates), despite all those homes in foreclosure remaining closed to the foolish families that bought them with money they didn't have and couldn't hope to have. Despite the macabre choice that faces all Americans on November 4th, life will go on, at least for a short time. And a large part of life for any real sports fan is the World Series.

This is an event that remains unsullied. Best four out of seven . Sure, the games may start a little later than in the past, but what the heck, it's still the two best teams in baseball facing off for the World Championship. And this should be a great World Series. Both teams have pitching and defense and both teams are undeniably tough.

The NL Champion Phillies were tough enough to outlast my Mets for the NL East Division and tough enough to make short work of the Brewers and Dodgers, the latter a team that had beaten the best team in the National League for the entire regular season. The upstart Rays only beat out the Red Sox and Yankees for the AL East lead, then redefined "tough" by outlasting the Red Sox in seven games.

The oversimplifications surrounding this Series have been amazing. The Rays have the best starting pitching so they'll win it all. Tampa Bay teams have beaten Philadelphia teams in hockey and football playoffs so Tampa Bay will win it all. Tampa Bay beat the best teams in baseball so they'll win it all. The Phillies have the better lineup so they'll win it all. The Phillies have the best relief staff so they'll win it all.

But that's okay, I love all the speculation, even the stupid stuff, for isn't that part and parcel of a World Series? Hasn't it been part of every World Series that I can remember, never mind those Series before my time? It'll still be the World Series. Sure, there'll be a designated hitter this year, and that's quite different from back in 1954, the first Series that I can really recall. And the Rays will get the home field advantage because the American League once again won the All-Star Game. But it's still fundamentally the same game of baseball, the same series of games, even the same format of two-three-two.

The Rays seem to be favored by most pundits and probably in Vegas, although I have too little respect for Vegas to even check the actual odds there. And for good reason, I suppose, with that corps (and core) of starting pitchers. Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Sonnenstein, geez! Except for the Phils Cole Hamels, who might be the best pitcher of them all, the Rays would seem to have the advantage there.

But there's so much more to baseball than just the starting pitching. These Phillies seem to be able to hit good pitching. Didn't the Mets have good pitching, at least starting pitching? Didn't the Brewers have good pitching? the Dodgers? What a lineup these Phillies have! Rollins, Utley, Burrell and Howard come first to mind, but there's also guys like Jayson Werth, who only seem to kill the opponents at the most critical junctures. I don't care to search for the stats with runners in scoring position but I just know what I've seen all season from these Phillies.

And, most frightening of all, maybe, is that if the Phillies take a lead late into the game, that lead ain't going nowhere. And if they hold the lead going into the ninth, they've been unbeatable. But, in the final analysis, baseball is more than all of these things too. It's the pesky guys, like Victorino, the Phils centerfielder, who just seems to run everything down and steal a base at the most opportune moments. It's the moves made by the manager, Charlie Manuel, who seems to have his finger on the very pulse of his charges.

Of course, the Rays are no slouches either. And they seem to be playing better in the post-season than they did during the regular season, a very scary proposition indeed. Their centerfielder, B.J. Upton, didn't really hit for power during the regular season, but he's really turned his game up a notch now. Carlos Pena can drive them a long way too. And then there's Longoria and Baldelli and Crawford. And their own set of pests in that shortstop Bartlett and that quicker than a bunny kid from New Jersey and Columbia University.
So what makes me think the Phillies can really win this thing? Experience, particularly the experience of having lost in the post-season before, particularly the experience of losing to the Colorado Rockies just a year ago. Determination, the resolve to win it all.

That can mean a lot, and I think it will spell the difference in this World Series. <>For determination plays itself out in all aspects of the game, at the plate, in the field and on the mound. In my heart of hearts, I don’t see the same determination in the Rays. Didn’t they seem awfully happy to have survived that Red Sox Series?

Make no mistake about it, the pressure will be squarely on the Rays right now. For the first time really this year. They’ve handled whatever pressure there has been, of course, the pressure of playing without Longoria and Crawford and Baldelli for long periods of time, the pressure of having lost a seven-run lead to the Red Sox in Game 5 and having to win it in that fateful Game 7.

But I think the Rays have been locked in all along on winning the AL pennant. On beating the all-powerful Yankees and Red Sox, on making it to the biggest stage of them all, the World Series.

Did their dreams extend beyond this point? I don’t think so.

Phillies in Seven.

Great Game - Bad Result

What a game ! Forget about the Red Sox-Yankees; last night was all about the Mets and the Phillies. It pains me to say the Phillies were just better, but I really think they were. The Phillies endured the slow start, the Phillies fought back, the Phillies got the big hits and the Phillies had the better relief pitching. And of course they won it by a score of 8-7 in 13 terrific innings of baseball.

The things that'll stay in the mind's eye of this Mets fan are as follows:

1.Brian Schneider, the catcher acquired for defensive purposes, totally misplaying a very good relay throw by Damion Easley in the bottom of the 9th. That was the game right there.
2. Delgado and Beltran looking silly against Brad Lidge
3. the brilliant relief pitching of Aaron Heilman in the 10th through the 12th
4. great plays on ground balls by Delgado and Reyes

But the worst thing about last night's game was that every time a Phillies batter came to the plate, I worried a lot. For every Mets batter that came up in those late innings, I expected nothing. And got it.

Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and even guys like Jayson Werth are big-time players. When the game is on the line, they seem to come through. The same can't really be said for these Mets, as much as I hate to think it.

As good as Delgado has been since Manuel took the reins, he hits mistakes. If a pitcher can get a good breaking ball over the plate for strikes, he can take Delgado out. The same goes for the other Carlos, Beltran.

In that bottom of the ninth against Lidge, they weren't just ineffective, they were pitiful. Beltran, as he does way too often, took two breaking balls for strikes, then missed by a foot on a ball in the dirt. Delgado at least took a few swings, even if he missed by quite a bit on every one.

The Mets still have the edge in starting pitching though, and hopefully Johan Santana will continue his hot streak tomorrow. If the game is decided by the bullpens, the Mets will be in bad shape.

Even though Aaron Heilman was magnificent last night, he won’t be able to throw tomorrow. I have no faith in Schoeneweis whatsoever. He looks as if he doesn’t care. I don’t think he does. I’d like to see the Mets just drop him.

Smith and Feliciano can be good in spots. Luis Ayala should have picked up another save last night, but he was done in by his catcher. The Phillies had made the big mistake, sending the slow-footed Jayson Werth home on a hard shot to right. Church gunned it to Easley. Easley gunned it to Schneider.

If Schneider steps up to take the throw, the runner is out by a mile. Instead, Schneider backed up and made an easy play difficult. The game hinged on that play.

The great players look forward to those opportunities and step up. The lesser ones back down. Schneider backed away and the game was lost. The Phillies had tied it. I waited to see whether Schneider would redeem himself at the plate later on. That sometimes happens with good players. Schneider showed nothing.

While it’s not impossible that the Mets can still win this division, I have to say it doesn’t look good. The Mets seem to have taken a step back with the “additions” of Church and Castillo. John Maine’s injury looks ominous at this juncture. And Pedro looked his age last night.

Negatives, I’m full of them, I guess. There are some positives. Baseball is such a weird game and the season is such a long one. Players who look bad one night can look great the very next day. But the chemistry the Mets had seems lost for now, and the Phillies should just get stronger, what with last night’s big win and Rollins playing better.

But Reyes and Wright are great players. Wright made a big play on a hard ground ball to his right to save the game last night, even though he did look a little clumsy in doing it. He gets the hits when they’re needed more often than not. He looks confident in big situations.

Reyes is just a great player in all aspects of the game, a guy you love to watch and a guy who loves to have you watch him. He does it all, at the plate and in the field, on the basepaths and even in the dugout.

The Mets need more players like them. Too often, the two Carlos’s can’t overcome good pitching. They feed on the pedestrian guys, but there aren’t too many of them on teams like Philadelphia, or Houston for that matter.

And I really liked the chemistry they had there for a while, with Argenis Reyes at second, Murphy and Evans platooning in left field and Tatis in right. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with a player such as Church, his return to the lineup hasn’t added anything yet.

I’m certainly hoping these Mets can come back still one more time from a hugely disappointing loss. They certainly have the right guy on the mound today to do just that. And then there are Perez and Pelfrey and Pedro too, when he’s feeling it. But Maine’s loss looms large, and then there’s this bullpen.

Is any lead too large? Is any ballpark large enough to hold the ball in the park against this team of relievers? Will Jerry Manuel’s head bust wide open one day after still another exercise in juggling totally inconsistent relievers? It’s like doing the Sunday Times crossword on a daily basis.

Whatever happens down the stretch, one gets the feeling that it’ll be exciting. And I guess that’s just about all we can realistically hope for, great baseball, good pitching, good hitting, plays at the plate and extra innings.

Overthinking the Easy Ones

How many times have we seen it before, with other teams, with other middle-relief guys who try on the closer's hat? They don't have a prayer. So it was with the Mets last night as they wasted a fine performance by Johan Santana and a 3-run lead to lose the opener of their three-game set with the Phils, 8-6.

What I don't understand is why Santana came out of the game at all. He was doing quite well, thank you. I can understand saving your starter when you have your closer in the bullpen, but when you don't, bite the bullet and have your starter try to finish the game, especially if it's one of the biggest games of the year.

But Jerry Manuel didn't do that. He decided to see what he had in his pen. He found out. He thought Duaner Sanchez could be a closer. Wrong! After three straight hits off Duaner, he went to Joe Smith, who did manage to induce a harmless ground ball that Reyes flubbed.

Why he took Smith out is another mystery because his replacement, Pedro Feliciano, did worse. In fact, nothing Manuel did last night worked out in any way, shape or form. Except for starting Santana, it was all down hill from there.

The handwriting was all over the wall, even before that sad ninth inning. They sent Endy Chavez home twice to get thrown out, one time with nobody out. It just didn't make sense. It seemed as if they were tempting fate, asking themselves "what can we do to turn a ridiculously easy victory into a damaging and embarrassing loss?"

Once again I’m left to contemplate what a strange game is baseball. A team that seemingly had everything going for it entering a series, a team that pretty much had its way with the Phils for eight full innings, loses it in the ninth in spectacularly horrid fashion, thus losing not only THIS game but also any momentum it had going in.

Okay, I’m done now. Coulda shoulda woulda. So Jerry Manuel blew a game. He’s won way more than he’s lost, and maybe he had this one coming. Who knows what Santana said to him after his eight innings on another hot, humid night at Shea? Who knows why he took out Smith, the only guy in that ninth inning who did anything right?

Last night Manuel lost much of the faith I had in him. The biggest game of the year was in the bag. He gave it back. Santana had thrown 105 pitches. He felt fine. Wagner was hurt. Sanchez had pitched two big innings on Sunday. I don’t understand what he was thinking. No thinking was required.

I can’t even discuss it anymore. A team as stupid as this one doesn’t deserve to win anything. Manuel thinks wins are cheap. He’s never heard the old saw “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”.

So the game that was in hand is now lost. Now the Mets face the Phils with lesser starters, less confidence and still no closer. The Phillies now have the edge in this all-important series. The Phillies delivered the big hits. The Phillies made the plays in the field. The Phillies have everything but the manager who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

There must have been an old Willie handbook in the dugout, that one entitled “How to Lose Games with the Better Team”.

How many games can a team give back over the course of a season and still win? This team has given back about 20 games on the season. And counting.

Can they turn it around? Yeah, sure they can. With Delgado scorching the horsehide off the ball, and with horses like Beltran and Wright in the lineup, anything is possible. They have the best starters in the league. But it’s less likely for sure. It’ll take a little time to get over such a bad loss.

That Reyes reverted to making the big mistake doesn’t bode well either. His decision to reach for the second base bag when a flip to Easley would have done nicely kept the rally going strong. Instead of being up two with two men on and one man out, it became bases loaded once again with nobody out.

Although I understand the switch to Smith when Sanchez wasn’t doing the job, I don’t comprehend at all the switch to Feliciano. Smith had done his job. He got a ground ball when he needed it. Why switch to Feliciano? And then Heilman once the game was irretrievably lost.

But it was really all over much earlier. That would be when Santana came out of the game, much to the Phillies delight. The guy who had frustrated those heavy-hitters all night long would be on the bench. Wagner wasn’t a possibility. The Phillies licked their lips in anticipation. They could win this game after all. And did.

Of course there is a flip-side to all this. All Manuel really did was put the game in the hands of his relievers. It didn’t work out, but many would say he made the right move, all those pitch-count people, all those folks with fresh pitchers at the end of the season, for teams that will have lost way more than they will have won.

I’m already regretting all the nasty things I’ve said. Manuel hasn’t made many mistakes since he’s assumed the reins from the dead team he took over from Willie, a team with tired veterans, with a shortstop always looking over his shoulder, and with cleanup hitters gone bad.

So we Mets fans have to be patient with a mistake, even if it did come at the worst possible moment, against the worst possible opponent. For once, Manuel overthought the situation, and was caught counting chickens down the road, saving his ace for some game in October.

He just forgot that you first have to get to October.