For those of you who missed the West Coast final:
Phillies 1
DODGERS 3
The Phillies got themselves swept out of Chavez Ravine, enabling the Mets, who for once treated a last-place team like dirt, to retake first place all by their splendid lonesomes.
Question then: Are the Phillies that lame? 'Cause I suspect we ain't quite that good.
Oh, we're all right, all right. We're capable. We pitch with confidence for seven or so innings most nights. But we're also coming off a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, a unit so bereft at this time they should be demoted to Regionals. Last time we played a non-National entity, we gave back a 5-1 lead — and we're playing that bunch all over again. Yes, the Pirates are technically underwhelming, but we know better, don't we? We know what happens when the Mets go to Pittsburgh. We play our worst baseball in the league's best setting.
In 2005, they left us hospitalized.
In 2006, they were party killers.
In 2007, they forced us to erase history.
I love PNC Park. I hate the Mets playing there.
Meanwhile, the talented Phillies of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell and Shane Victorino (among others, though few of the others are pitchers) drag their tails to San Diego. The Padres are about as dismal as the Nats, yet that didn't stop the Pads from brooming us in June, which is to say anything good or bad could happen to anybody in the N.L. from here on out. I would choose to get comfortable alone in first place but I wouldn't necessarily plan on it.
Since when does that work?
In a strange way I think blowing the game Monday against the Pirates will help us in this series , a timely reminder that you can't let up against any team.
Go Mets – WooHoo.
I've been saying that the Phillies are that lame since the season started. There _only_ worthwhile claim over the last dozen or so years is that the Mets collapsed last year, something they had little to do with.
The Phillies routinely act like they don't belong in, and don't know what to do with, first place. Even when they stumble back into it, they drop it again. The only reason they won last year is Tom and the Mets collapsing. If the season had been 3 days longer, I suspect they would've faltered again.
Compare the anemic Mets offense to the powerhouse Phillies. The Mets have more runs scored. The Phillies are all hype.
The last time the Dodgers swept four from the Phillies was back in 1962.
That's just so right.
Well, they did go 12-6 vs the Mets last year, including a 3 game sweep during the infamous 17 games.
Much like the Mets' record vs the Phils this year is why the Phils are in 2nd now.
The Phillies routinely act like they don't belong in, and don't know what to do with, first place. Even when they stumble back into it, they drop it again.
Days in first place, 2008: Mets 13, Phils 67. Who stumbles and drops, really?
The Phillies have lost the series against the Mets this year, despite getting the first game. They generally have a let down and lose the game after the series too. They've been alone in first place twice and failed to gain a lead when the Mets struggled or keep first place when the Mets played well.
Last year, every time they had a big series against the Mets, they lost afterwards, failing to gain much ground.
When they finally got first place on the last saturday of the season, they lost it.
Once the Mets ran out of time to take the division back, the Phillies failed to even put up a fight against the Rockies.