For those of you who missed the West Coast final:
Phillies 1
DODGERS 3
The Phillies got themselves swept out of Chavez Ravine [1], 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 [2].
In 2006, they were party killers [3].
In 2007, they forced us to erase history [4].
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?