The Zo Zone

Man this should make for an interesting rivalry if both teams play up to their capabilities...Someone needs to ask Carlos when the last time the Mets beat the Phils? I'm rolling with JRoll baby!!! GO PHILS

A bold statement from the best CF'er in the NL!

Who's Carlos Beltran?

Why was he quiet last spring? Why didn't he say this before the Santana deal if he felt that way? Grow a pair or shut up!

Where's all my slug friends? jimmymack, isn't jroll overpaid at $7 million? Imagine how much we could save if he made less. All you WaWa employees, shouldn't we be paying the Phils on your payscale? Then we can save money.

Why is it that baseball is the only professional sport not to have a salary cap? Ask our geniuses. It must be that they are not making any money at all. Hold the line. Howard isn't worth the money. Pay somebody less, a lot less and of course we will win and make money.

As it is now, the Phillies are broke. You people are sheer as*holes. Wake up in time to see you fortunes going down the drain.

Baseball Prospectus have unveiled their PECOTA projected standings for the 2008 season.

They predict the Mets to finish first in the NL East with a 96-66 record, while the Braves (86-76) and Phillies (84-78) are projected to finish second and third, respectively.

oh how very New York of Carlos... that's not a genuine statement. he only said that to one-up Rollins. well Carlos, it's not saying that that is the hard part, it's backing it up. good luck with that, choker.

Can we be any more in the Mets head? :-)

All of you Phillie Fans are in for a long year. Carlos can say what ever he wants because unlike Rollins talking last year, This guy has actually one a playoff game. Philadelphia is the City of LOSERS. 08 is NY'S year Baby! First Big Blue, now the Metropolitans. Somebody tell Brett Myers wives arent their to be beat. lol. PHILLY SUCKS. LOSERS!

It doesn't really work as well as Rollins' statement because it isn't original. But it's good - it definitely jazzes things up. With Bonds gone the Bank needs another whipping boy.

(And... Dare I say it... Uh, the guy just MIGHT have a point there... They replaced Tom Glavine with Johan Santana... Rollins made his statement after the Phils acquired Garcia and Eaton)

I don't mind the Phils coming in with a little less pressure.

And don't forget the Braves boys, don't forget the Braves.

(Maybe keep an eye on the Nationals too.)

The NL East should be GREAT this year.

the nl east still goes thru philly carlos..

Do you remember Carlos misplaying Jimmy's line-drive into a Triple at Shea? I do!!!

Myers will put one by his chin, mark it down!

Case:
I wouldn't get into a bean ball contest against a team with Pedro Martinez on their staff. That wouldn't be a very smart move. He's drilled the best of them.

WHAT THE F/UCK IS A J-ROLL?
IS THAT A JELLY ROLL OR IS HE SO GAY HE WANTED A NAME THAT SOUNDED LIKE J-LO?
LMAO...SCREW OFF PHILLY...WE CAN'T WAIT TO HIT AGAINST BRAD LIDGE AND LAUGH WHEN KO 10 TIMES AGAINST THE BEST PITCHER IN THE GAME!

Hey Philly fans..
Let's remember something..u didn't win, the Mets choked..there's a big f/ing difference.
Case in point? You're performance in the playoffs proved you are nothing but a second division club that didn't belong there in the first place...
You don't really believe in that gay little team w/ Ps on their hats do u? lmao...i can't wait to beat your asses down.

Hey Pete I think in order to have won the NL East last year the Phils had to win...It's funny how all u Mets Fans like to blow off your big choke and now claim you're the best in division because of one player a pitcher none the less!!! I'll take my starting 8 all day over your old, poorly managed, METS...By the way JROLL stands for MVP!!! Again I ask when was the last time the Mets beat the Phils?
As far as our performance in the playoffs were the Mets there? Enough Said

When was the last time the Phillies won a playoff game? OUCH, Joe Carter anyone.

Hey Met fans, even if Santana is healthy and wins his 20 games. Remember this, El Duque and Pedro (El Duque may be older than Moyer with those Cuban "Certificates") quite likely will have 10 fewer wins between the 2 of them to negate the Santana wins. One pitcher doesn't make a world of difference over a 162 game season. Philly has more punch,youth and most importantly, durability on offense. Randolph clearly let those chokers self destruct in September. In a loss to the Nationals on MSG network in September, half the Mets were throwing things in the dugout and the other half were catatonic. What did Willie do to rally? "Well, the slump is what it is." Santana scares me a bit in a 5 game series, however, fortunately we'd only meet them in a best of 7 and the other starters don't scare me a bit. John Mayne? Average 10-12 win guy. Perez? (shaky as a condo on the San Andreas) El Duque (broken down and 42...according to those Castro certificates) Pedro...(Jackson Browne's got "Running on Empty" playing).Philly doesn't have Santana but I'd take our 2-5 ANYDAY. Myers as a starter is huge with the Lidge signing. Basically a 2 for 1. The winner will need more than 92 wins IMO. Phillies 93-69 is my crystal ball.

Hey...would somebody translate beltran's statement into spanish so his teammates can understand and be inspired? wright better get a tan if he wants minaya not to trade him for miguel cabrera....rooting for the mets is like rooting for the dominican republic's national team....what a joke.

i can't understand all these mets fans' posts....all i'm hearing is a strange choking noise....

One more thing Beltran....I remember you were the sucker striking out looking to allow the Cards to win the pennant with runners on base. You should be the last person talking bravado. Your 2006 NLCS performance and 2007 fall performance makes you up there with Mama Cass for biggest chokes.....you and Arod would make great condo co-owners up there in NYC. Your postseasons in NY are equally infamous.

everyone is missing the key element to his quote...he didnt even say the mets will win the division...he said "we will win IN the division...of course you will spicarella....the marlins are in our division.

Leaders? Do the Mets have any leaders? Wright and Reyes couldn't handle it last year. LoDuca is apologizing left and right for all kinds of generic things, Pedro will be hurt by May and out for the season. Santana will tank again as the season goes on and almost be a .500 pitcher. Maybe those perrenial winners the got from Washington (Church and that other borderline talent) will be the leaders. Hmmm, sounds like they pretty much have the title wrapped up.

Chris.....Question...What was the only NL team to have two 15 game winners on their staff last year (John Maine, Oliver Perez), both of whom are just 26 and getting better, and are ONLY the #3 and #4 starters this year...thats how good this staff is. Santana and a now healthy Pedro are the best 1-2 starters in MLB. And you would take your 2-5 starters over the Mets staff? LOL. You don't even know WHO your starters are after Hamels and Myers. What a joke. The Fillies team ERA will be one of the worst in the NL this year...I guarantee it. Especially in that little league like hitters park they play in.

Blah, Blah , Blah, who gives two flying loads of crap what Carlos "Belly Up" Beltran has to say. Must be a contract year or something if he is gonna play good this year.

John Maine and Oliver Perez won a good part of their games vs many of the weak NL teams. The NL is a crapshoot with Arizona's 90 wins being the highest over 162 games. How many games did Mets pitchers win vs Philly in August and September? John Maine IMO is about as intimidating and Kenny Maine. I won't dispute your statistics of the two in 07', however, Maine has 10-12 win talent if you average a few years moving forward IMO. Jamie Moyer IMO is the pitcher I'd want in a key spot over anyone on the Phils or Mets. He would've won 9 out of 10 games the way he pitched in game 3 vs the Rockies, admittedly, Phils offense took a #2 at the worst time. Pedro is a shell of his former self until proven otherwise. Do you trust Wagner? Blew a ton of games vs the Phils and Braves these last 2 years (especially his NLCS vs Cards). I trust Wagner about as much as George Bush.You haven't addressed your bullpen AT ALL. Your starters will seldomly go 9 and your bullpen is atrocious.

must be a slow night on the mets fan sites. all 4 of them are on a phillies site. so if the logic is the phils didn't win the division, the mets blew it....then how can anyone say the giants won anything, looks like the patsjust choked it........... spin spin mets fans, you need whatever help you can to get you thru that choke job.

OK Chris. You can have your 45 yr old Moyer. I'll stick with Maine. LOL. The Mets bullpen of the returning Sanchez, Heilman, Feliciano, Schoenweiss, and Wagner should be OK. Remember, EVERY team is looking for bullpen help. There's a real shortage of quality relievers in MLB today.
I can guarantee you the Mets team ERA will be a hell of a lot less than the Fillies. Your pitching sucked last year... it was the second highest team ERA of a playoff team in history. And it won't be any better this year.

Garbage Mets fans from a garbage city always talking smack. Such GARBAGE - mets fans get over the fact that you are an expansion GARBAGE club and will never have NY's love and attention.

GARBAGE GARBAGE GARBAGE

Mets = GARBAGE

Their fans and their team and their players. All overrated all hype all GARBAGE

To Pete who said the phillies didnt win, the mets choked. Were you watching different teams than everyone else was? HELLOOOOOOOOO! The Mets DID choke but the Phillies destroyed the Mets in head to head games so despite the choke if the head to head games against each other is what did them in. We won 8 straight games against the Mets!! GET A CLUE! We swept a 4 game series and a 3 game series during the last month when it really counted. Just admit you were beaten. Stop coming up with excuses why we made it to the playoffs and you didnt. And yeah we havent won a playoff game since 1993. So whats your point?? Typical response from a person that has no defense so they have to bring up the past and go back 14yrs. No one cares about what happened then. We live in the present. And if you want to go there when was the last time the mets won anything. 1986. So its been a while for them too. Sure you've been to the playoffs and even the world series since then but who cares. If you havent won the world series you havent won anything so you can brag about your playoff game wins all you want because they are meaningless since you still came up short so i wouldnt be talking.

PECOTA picked the Mets last year, Braves the year before, Mets year before that, Phillies twice before that. Has gone 0 for 5 last 5 seasons.

Here's what we learn from Mets fans:

Everyone on the Mets will do as well or better as last year.

Everyone on the Phils will be lucky to do as well as last season but most likely will be worse.

Season's over, Mets win!

(And, oh yeah, WE CHOKED LAST YEAR! So your division crown doesn't count! Never heard a fanbase brag so much about choking.)

wow -- they save they have great team chemistry now. Where was that chemistry during the most prolific skid of the modern baseball era. Oh, wait, they added a pitcher ... plan the parade now! Typical NY braggadocio

This guy has actually one a playoff game.

justin

I'm going to guess you were trying to say Beltran has "won" a playoff game, right?

Yes, the Mets did choke last season but if the Phillies hadn't beaten the Mets the way they did, it wouldn't have mattered, would it?

I would guess last September tortured the Mets players all winter and the memory of it will never leave them. Every time they have a losing streak, every time they fail to produce in the clutch, every time someone rallies in the late innings, the Mets will start to get flop sweat and I wouldn't be surprised to see the team broken up after this season because of it.

Beltran's boast is one made of fear, not confidence. Whistling past the graveyard.

Mark, FillyKev, Fallowfield, and the rest of you Filly fans. Philadelphia will always take a back seat to NYC when it comes to baseball. Always has, always will. Everyone knows about the success of the Yankees. But even the Mets have won more WS's since their maiden season in 1962 than the lowly Fillies.
NYC is rich in history when it comes to MLB. MLB teams from NYC: 70 Pennants, 37 WS's. MLB teams from Philadelphia: 14 Pennants, 6 WS's. I think Philly should stick to football. Wait a minute, that's no good either. NYC 15 NFL/NFC Titles, 3 SB wins. Phily: 5 NFL/NFC Titles ZERO SB wins.
What sport are you guys good at?LOL

Whoops..forgot the Jets: add to NYC 1 AFL Title, and one more SB win. That's one more SB than the Eagles too. LOL

Paul W. should attend an english class. Beltran has already WON (not one you moron) and wives aren't THERE (not their) to be beat. At least philly folks can read and write. This is from a typical NY illiterate.

AJ- bravo! that was some really great smack talking there! not only did you cite football statistics completely irrelevant to the topic of baseball, but then you managed to aggrandize your clubs accomplishments by lauding, of all things, the NY Yankees' success.

you've praised the Yanks to slight the Phils. well done. you've violated the cardinal rule of Met fandom. big brother Jeter thanks you!

Now that the Giants have won the superbowl, maybe Eli can afford to buy the missing chromosome he lacks What a retard.

New York is the cesspool of the world. Thanks Mets for the gift last year......What will it be this year suckers.....................

Hi.. i am Carlos Beltran, when the going got tough last season, i misplayed balls in the outfield and couldnt get the big hit when i needed it. Jimmy Rollins opened his mouth last year, and just rolled his way into the history books as well as won the MVP. I hope i dont get that pork chop stuck in my throat and choke like last year. Well, anyway, i am overrated and am paid too much money. Maybe i can spend that money on fielding lessons.

How funny will it be when Santana has to deal with awful run support this year. Let's just what until the year ends and see how many Mets fan are as arrogant then as they are now.

CubeHostage...OK, take the Yanks out of the equation and it's still NYC 28 pennants and 11 WS wins. Still not even close to pitiful record of the Philly teams.
Philadelphia is just a poor sports town when it comes to successful teams.

7 up, 17 to play.

The Years May Change, The Mets Do Not.

Same Old Mets.

The Mets aren't even the best baseball team in New York. Also, I heard that Carlos Beltran loves dudes.

Also, this is a day late but to my man Justin who said that at least Carlos Beltran "one" a game: don't quit your day job. Internet troll certainly isn't your strong suit.

Hey, Mets fans. Jimmy Rollins said we where the team to beat. The Phillies proceded to sweep the Mets in September and won the division. Then my man Jimmy Rollins won the MVP. He predicted the Phils would win and they did and he rubbed the Mets faces in it by winning the MVP. How good was that? Whoa, that must of tasted good, huh?

The Mets signed Santana to a goofy contract to wash out the taste of last years debacle. Guess what? The Mets still need pitching. They could really use Glavin. What odds would you give on Pedro lasting the entire season? He has about a 50/50 chance if that of lasting the entire season.

The Phils had more injuries then any team in any sport I can remember. The only starting pitcher not to go on the DL was Jamie Moyer and yet the Phils still won the division.

My prediction for this year? I'm going with Rollins who said the Phils could win 100 games. After this year, Minaya and Randolph will be fired. You can book it. Minaya has let the farm system degrade and spends all that money and what has he got to show for it? Alou and Delgado are very old and Alou breaks down every year.

Everything is resting on Santana's shoulders. Man, you talk about pressure. Everyone's saying he's a given to be great and will deliver the Mets to the promised land. He's the best pitcher in baseball and getting him makes the Mets a lock to go to the World Series. But what if he can't do it? What if he struggles?

The Phils are the team on the rise. They have been since Pat Gillick became their GM. Minaya had to further strip the farm system and pay a silly contract just to keep up. The Mets where embarrased to keep trailing the Braves so they decided to hire Minaya and gave him an unlimited payroll. He bought players like a fan would. Beltran, Wagner, Glavin, Delgado, LoDuca, Alou, Green, Pedro. The two best players are homegrown, Wright and Reyes. All that money and nothing to show for it but a huge collapse. What does he do? Spend more money, of course. The trouble is he doesn't have the talent to pick up the less obvious guys who really help your team win.

It's gonna be a great season. I can't wait. This is why baseball is still the greatest game there is.

Go Phils - 1st to 11K Losses!!

Haha - New York fans are priceless...Especially the guy whose idea of smack talk is to say at least the Mets have "ONE" a playoff game. Maybe we haven't "WON" a playoff game in a while, but nothing will compare to that feeling of watching that last pitch in Mcfadden's last year, AFTER watching the Mets lose "ONE" last game to accomplish the biggest breakdown in MLB history.

Nevertheless, I agree that talking smack is pointless at this time of the year. Beltran's proclamation will definitely add to the NL East excitement this year.

That's the problem with you DOPES from the "Rotten Apple", you guys are the biggest frauds on this side of the country. (I.e. East Coast, for you idiots from NY that don't understand geography) Most of you are nothing but a bunch of front running morons with an accent. I guarantee that if the Mets start off slow you same idiot's will jump off the Mets bandwagon and hope that the Yankees will win. Also, just in case for all you New Yorkers don't follow statistics, your boy Santana had a 3.57 ERA last year. Also, chirp all you want about choking, I do believe that the Phillies beat you 8 straight down the stretch. And as for the Super Bowl's mentioned by the previous knucklehead, it's true. However, you same fickle, frauds will revert back to saying Coughlin must go and Eli stinks if they don't have the same success next year.

All you Mets fans that plan to come to Citizen Bank Park this year are going to have a long ride home. Your pitching may be a little better but the Phillies positional players are better from top top bottom without a doubt. If last year didn't prove that the Mets are a bunch of losers with the worse collapse in MLB history then all NY fans are dummer than I thought. Phillies world champions in 08!!!!

All other issues aside - the last time I saw Beltran in the playoffs he was at Shea looking at a called third strike with runners on base to end the 2006 NLCS.

It is always better to tell the story on the field. As of now, Carlos should have nothing to say.

Talk is cheap, it's what you do on the field that matters. Such as, oh, hypothetically, blowing a 7 game lead with 17 games to play. The Mets dropped faster than Roger Clemens' pants when he was ready to get a HGH shot in his ass.

AJ- are you retarded? I'm not talking about Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry after smoking a tom of killer weed slow, I'm talking about a cleaning the tables at McDonald's retard. There are nine professional sports teams in the NY area, four in Phila. Perhaps having more teams gives you a better chance to win? Did they teach you that on the short bus?

The thing I'm trying to figure out is why so many people are trying to same our team sucks, but we have had back to back mvp's, went to the playoffs last year, and lost to the Rockies who lost what 1 game in the playoffs and won the last 16 of the regular season? Our playoffs meant nothing other than us losing to a good team, we will have back to back to back MVP's this year once Chase gets his. We have a younger, more powerful line up than the Mets and when Santana chokes against the Phils line up he will regret it because we have very few if any weak spots in our roster at the plate.

I don't know what is more pathetic. The fact that I read that exact same post by Justin on another message board, or the fact that he is combing through Philadelphia-related websites just looking to talk trash. What are you, 13? Get a life!

I have news for the Mets. One pitcher is not going to be the answer to all of your prayers. John Maine and Oliver Perez are inconsistent and Pedro is old. Plus there is still that ragtag of scrubs the Mets call a bullpen with Philadelphia's favorite overpaid baby serving as a closer. Or was it...Pat Burrell's batting practice coach? I don't remember.

Either way, Mets fans can try to say that the Phillies got lucky last year, but it takes two win. One to lose, and one to win. The Mets lost, and in historic fashion nonetheless but the Phillies still had to win all those games against the Mets and down the stretch or we wouldn't even be having this discussion right now. That goes the other way too. If the Phillies weren't winning, the Mets would have won the division anyway. Give the Phillies their props, they played well and ran into a runaway locomotive that was the Colorado Rockies. Mets fans, you can piss and moan all you want about how it was obtained. But at the end of the day, Jimmy Rollins backed up his words with his play, won the MVP and sent the Phillies to the playoffs while the Mets sat back and Shea and tried not to go deaf from the planes flying overhead.

"Chris.....Question...What was the only NL team to have two 15 game winners on their staff last year (John Maine, Oliver Perez), both of whom are just 26 and getting better, and are ONLY the #3 and #4 starters this year...thats how good this staff is. Santana and a now healthy Pedro are the best 1-2 starters in MLB. And you would take your 2-5 starters over the Mets staff? LOL. You don't even know WHO your starters are after Hamels and Myers. What a joke. The Fillies team ERA will be one of the worst in the NL this year...I guarantee it. Especially in that little league like hitters park they play in."

ya its a shame oliver will either be overpaid or leavin the mets, its almost garunteed with boras as his agent!

Mike Z/Truth/KMg - great stuff! New Yawkers, like the famous line said in "A Bronx Tale", what do you care about Mickey Mantle? He doesn't pay your rent. Forget the past. You lost last year, end of story.

To PaulW. Hey pal! Did your dyslexic butt mean to say that Beltran "won" a playoff game instead of "one" a playoff game as you wrote it? Obviously, you're dumb. And wht are you blogging on a Philly site? Interested in what's going on with the Phils? I don't blame you. You guys always want to throw the word "losers" out there whenever you talk about Philly. One fool had the nerve to say that the Phils didn't win it last year the Mets choked. You've gotta be a real idiot. Just think about what you said for a minute...let it sink in...that's right...you're a dope!

I just think it's funny how the phillies celebrated like they won the world series after winning the division. The city is so starved for a chance at a championship, just making it to the playoffs feels like the penultimate accomplishment.

Philly plays third fiddle to NY and Boston on the east coast....and it kills them!