Mets taking a page from the '07 Phillies

It's been several weeks since a new article has been posted on this site. Since then, Jimmy Rollins has called all of the philly faithful front runners, the Phillies were swept in Los Angeles by the Dodgers, the Phillies in turn swept the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park, and the team pulled off one of the most stunning and unlikely wins in recent memory against the hated New York Mets. The Phillies were so motivated by this dramatic come from behind victory that they proceeded to blow the next three games in typical vintage Phillies fashion. All three defeats occurred at the hands of the team's increasingly ineffective bullpen, who have now blown leads in the last three games. To say that this team is consistently inconsistent is the understatement of the year. One minute the team wins five in a row, with one of the wins a seemingly insormountable comeback against their division rivals, then they proceed to blow three of the biggest games of the year. I don't get it, and I'm done trying to figure it out.

So before anyone wants to complain about Charlie Manual's decision to pitch to Carlos Delgado on Wednesday, taking Cole Hammels out of last night's game, or complain how the potential go-ahead run would have scored today if the umpiring crew hadn't called Ryan Howard out at first base, just remember that the Phillies bullpen was considered one of the best (if not the the best) in MLB until a week ago. And as for today, Chase Utley (who clearly has a free pass in this town) was called safe at first on the potential ending inning double play prior to Howard's at bat. Also make note that the Phillies, despite being able to finally figure out new Cubs starter Rich Harden, characteristically left ten runners on base in this afternoon's contest. If Major League Baseball presented yearly awards concerning the aforementioned category, then the Philadelphia Phillies would have more championship hardware than the New York Yankees. And that is a lot of hardware.

Meanwhile, just when it seemed that the Phillies wouldn't lose any ground to the Mets in the standings, the philly fans get the traditional double whammy when Carlos Beltran launched a dramatic two out, ninth inning grand slam to pull out a stunning 5-4 victory over the Marlins tonight in Miami.

So just like that, what was once a half game lead after Tuesday night's 13 inning marathon has now turned into a 2 game deficit in the National League East. Whether it is securing the division lead, or holding an eight inning lead, the Phillies once again show their inability to put teams away when it counts the most. Tuesday's thriller should have made every Phillie on that team feel invincible, that this division truly belongs to them and they were never going to relinquish the division lead from this point on. A win Wednesday could have made it very tough for the Mets to regain first place. Two wins against the best team in baseball would have further proven this. Yes it's true that a two game defecit is much easier to take than last year's seven game defecit at an even later point in the season, but if it's not obvious by this point, take close notice that the New York Mets are now playing the roll of the 2007 Phillies, and the 2008 Phillies may be headed for the roll of last year's Mets.

It may sound crazy, but one must take note some glaring similarities: at one point last June, the Mets had a three and a half game lead on the Phillies. In June of 2008,the Phillies had a three and a half game lead on the Mets. The Mets are without the services of their closer for an extended period of time this season and their bullpen is in shambles. Last season, the Phillies were without their closer for several months, and until the arrival of J.C. Romero, their bullpen was in shambles. When the Mets' position players weren't hitting, they were saved by their resurgent left fielder. The same can be said last year for Pat Burrell, whose dynamic second half energized the Phillies. The Mets have won every important game against the Phillies in 2008. Despite several heartbreaking losses that would have sent many teams into a tragic downward spiral, the Mets seem to come back from these losses even stronger with dramatic, late-inning, come from behind victories. In 2007, the Phillies seemed to be left for dead by the Mets in early July, until they turned a corner with a vevy of improbable victories when it seemed that all hope was lost. Last summer, the Phillies got confident. This year, the Mets are getting confident. This is shown every time Carlos Delgado pumps his fist in triumph after another unlikely Mets victory. At the same time, we are all reminded of Delgado's refusal to stand during our National Anthem. Let's try to see him make $120 million in any other country, but I digress.

At the present time, the Phillies may still have a chance to win this division. In all likelihood however, any team who wins the NL East will probably have a short stay in the October playoffs. Before people send me emails citing the 2006 Cardinals as the exception to the rule, I offer this observation: for every 2006 Cardinals, 1988 Dodgers, or even the 2003 Marlins, there are decades of 1984-ish Tigers, 1998-ish Yankees, or 2007-ish Red Sox that seek and destroy their opponents. If you don't appreciate the analogy, at least admire the Metallica reference. Simply put, things like that do not happen in Philadelphia. This is spoken from a true fan like everybody reading this. Trust me on this one, there is a difference between having faith in your team, and being a homer. Don't be the latter. Nobody on this planet wants to see this team win a World Series more than yours truly, but you will only set yourself up again for more heartache at the expense of an ownership who are counting their money while you are crying in your beer.

In the end, if I were a betting man, one should put their money on the team that looks and acts like winners despite all of their shortcomings. That was last years Phillies team. Sometimes, drive and a will to win can compensate for a lot of things. And right now, that team is not the Phillies. I hope I'm wrong on this one. To paraphrase the late, great John Belushi from Animal House: "What the $%@# happened to the Phillies that I used to know? Where's the spirit? Where's the guts, huh?"

Meet the new boss. NOT the same as the old boss.

Philly fans no longer fooled.....almost.

If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Big series for the fightin' Phils. If they take two out of three, they'll be in good shape. Well guess what? The result this time is no different. Having just dropped two out of three at home in one of the biggest series of the year to the Marlins in front of the biggest home crowd of the season, the Phillies once again came up short. A win today would not have exactly eliminated Florida from playoff contention. There are still two long months left in the season, but it definitely would have put the club on the ropes. The Phillies, despite remaining in first place for all but a few days of this summer, have time and time again failed to put away opponents when it has truly mattered. As a result, this division remains wide open with the Mets having won today as well. In the end, the Phillies may still win this division, but just expect a repeat of last years NLDS. Just getting to the playoffs gives you more of a chance to win than you are at home watching the games on the couch, but you can count the underdog champion story lines on one hand during the last 15 years.

The other night, one of the local radio talk show hosts presented callers with the question as to why Philadelphia fans have not rallied around this Phillies team? Despite 36 sellouts in 56 home games this season, the basic consensus form the general public is not one of strong faith regarding the Phillies chances to do anything past the first round of the playoffs. Why is this? I'll tell you why: This team is as maddening as hell. The failure once again to land an impact player at the deadline just further reassures fans that the Phillies brass may want to win, but on their terms (which everyone knows will never work). Yours truly has even sated in the previous article that I will watch the Phillies, but will never get my hopes up for them. Call it cynicism, I call it reality.

The main problem with this team is not their pitching, which is not the 1965 Dodgers staff, but nonetheless is given a raw deal by the "experts." The culprit is the offense, who has more mood swings than a pregnant woman. So inconsistent to the point that whomever our newly appointed puppet (general manager) will be during this winter, he will almost have to shake up this inconsistent lineup to find a righthanded bat who can hit to all fields and doesn't have 130 strikeouts a year. This lineup is way too predictable, full of vanilla hitters with absolutely no plate discipline. Sure the Phillies help opposing pitchers more often than not, but there have been some rumblings that NL scouts have finally found a way to get the Phillies hitters out when it counts.

Then there's the Philadelphia Eagles. It's no secret that the Lehigh camp has not exactly been an attendence magnet this year. No matter how far they jam Lorenzo Booker down our throats, how improved the defense is, or how Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown are the second coming of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, Eagles fans are simply fed up with the all talk and no action approach by Joe Banner and "Mr. Lurie" to finally get this team to the top. Eagles fans have been to the tip of the summit: four consecutive NFC Championship Games, and a Superbowl that should have been theirs, regardless of Spygate, Vomitgate, or the total of 26 rushing yards in the game by the offense. Simply put, what Eagles fans feel is a lack of committment coupled by the Brian Westbrook and Lito Sheppard soap opera storylines have finally convinced fans that enough is enough. Have you ever seen more drama surrounding a football team that hasn't won ONE SINGLE CHAMPIONSHIP?! Of course you haven't. Who would have thought the king of controversy, Donovan McNabb, would go through camp unscathed and under the radar. I guess it's Philly, so you should expect the unexpected at all times. On a side note, if Shawn Andrews is indeed not well, I wish him luck and hope he gets the help he needs.

Well that's about it with the two teams in town whose ownership "always knows what they are doing", yet the results are still the same year after year. One team consisting of total jackasses, the other team who went from The Gold Standard to Fools Gold. Let's be optimistic however, the two teams most likely to win titles in this town will be starting soon. And you know what, those owners are actually tolerable. Instead of selling a bill of goods, they usually deliver the goods. And though sometimes it might not work out, they don't try and fool you: they leave that to the other guys.


On a side note, when Lurie takes some of his Eagles players to the NBA Finals games aboard his private jet, do you ever wonder if any of those guys after a few cocktails says "Jeff, we really appreciate you doing this for us, but when the heck are you going to get us that wide receiver?!!!!"