I'm pretty sure the New York Mets will be a little ornery this weekend at Shea Stadium.
Not just because they have to spend a weekend at Shea, which is one of the worst ballparks in baseball. (RFK Stadium and Dolphin Stadium are up there, too, which makes me wonder why the NL East gets the terrible parks?) No, the Mets will be ornery because they will be looking for revenge on the Phillies after they swept them in dramatic fashion late last month at Citizens Bank Park.
Everybody remembers The Sweep.
It put the Phillies within two games of first place in the National League East. It got everybody in Philadelphia excited. But since The Sweep, the Phillies are 6-7 to put them 6 1/2 games behind the Mets in the East.
Even if the Phillies would sweep the Mets at Shea this weekend, they would be 3 1/2 games back with 13 games to play. And even if the Mets went 6-8 the rest of the way -- highly unlikely considering they play 13 of their 14 remaining games against the Marlins and Nationals -- the Phillies would need to play 9-4 the rest of the way just to tie them.
It's still wild card or bust.
Regardless, Charlie Manuel thinks the Phillies need to play the Mets this weekend.
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The latest Philliescast is up.
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The Phillies split their series against the Rockies with last night's 12-4 victory. It looks like J.D. Durbin will be bumped from the rotation to make room for Cole Hamels Tuesday in St. Louis, which means three more starts for Adam Eaton. It's pick your poison, isn't it? Eaton has a 6.31 ERA, the worst in baseball. Durbin has been terrible with a 20.25 ERA in his last three starts.
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Bob Ford writes about that funny feeling you get with the Phillies: they're down and out and expectations are low, so they just might stumble into something good this weekend at Shea. That's their pattern, isn' it? Get everybody excited and crash to Earth? Then again, maybe the Mets just bury them and end the postseason talk.
It's up to Jamie Moyer to make sure that doesn't happen.
Moyer has a 6.72 ERA since June.
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Pitching match ups for this weekend's series at Shea.
Comments (6)
The Six-Toed Sloth trying to put a baseball in Todd Helton's ear was a rare sign of late season fight in the Phils. I don't recall anything similar in the last two years' march to the Wild Card. So Alfonseca gets a fine and suspended for a few games. He can rest and keep his sky-high ERA and BAA.
This weekend series should be fun. Going on the road could help the team focus on what they need to do.
Posted by Joe in Haddonfield | September 14, 2007 11:32 AM
Posted on September 14, 2007 11:32
Wow, could those pitching matchups be any more one-sided? They've got three starters with a sub 4.00 ERA and a combined record of 29-15 vs. our three starters all having above a 4.00 ERA and a combined record of 30-32. Hope the bats are alive this weekend...
Posted by SD | September 14, 2007 11:49 AM
Posted on September 14, 2007 11:49
Everybody remembers The Sweep.
Which one?? :D (Just kidding.) (Not really.)
After Adam Eaton (I'm convinced THIS is the game the Mets finally figure him out) I'm most worried about Pedro on Saturday. He might not be Vintage Pedro, but he's still Pedro.
Posted by Clare | September 14, 2007 12:30 PM
Posted on September 14, 2007 12:30
On your point about worst ballparks being NL East, the Mets' Citifield will be ready for '08 and a new Nats' stadium is in the works, too. That said, the Marlins seem least likely to get a new stadium...ever. The empty vibe in that place even kills the TV broadcasts, reminding me of the nationally televised Braves games on 1980s TBS. Plus the audio was weird last series against the Phillies, making certain crowd voices crystal clear, even louder that Harry's.
Go Phils.
Posted by cgm | September 14, 2007 12:43 PM
Posted on September 14, 2007 12:43
After the Mets sweep away your boys this weekend, the Phils will again be able to start planning their early winter vacations!! Any predictions on the division from Rollins lately? Lets Go Mets!
Posted by Phils again NL East Chumps | September 14, 2007 1:58 PM
Posted on September 14, 2007 13:58
Rather interesting that both RFK (1962) and Shea (1964) opened in same period. My first five years of going to games (age 7-11) were in RFK till the Senators left for Texas. I will tell you this. No one called RFK Stadium "cavernous" when the Senators played there. They did describe Fenway and Wrigley as "band boxes."
Posted by MTM | September 14, 2007 3:10 PM
Posted on September 14, 2007 15:10