We're the Team to Beat - a Mets and Phillies Rivalry Blog
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21 June 2010
"Somebody ought to check on the Mets if they did [complain], because their f*cking home record is out of this world and they're losing on the road," Manuel told MLB.com today. "That's a good indication sometimes, if you want to know about signs and [stuff].
"When I see somebody is 17-2 at home and 4-12 on the road I kind of get concerned about that. That kind of crosses my mind."
Thats Charlie Manuel after getting bitch-slapped by MLB for using binoculars to spy on opposing teams catchers desperately trying to rationalize that it must be the Mets that are cheating due to the discrepancy of the Mets home/away record.
Everybody and their mother knew then that Charlie's weak display was infantile at best, and trying to redirect the scent of his cheating-ass team at worst--it carried no weight regardless. But after the Mets 7-2 road trip which featured two consecutive sweeps of the Orioles and Indians brought their road record to a respectable 15-20, it only makes Manuel look all the more stupid.
I've heard and seen all the Phillies Phans rationalizations. No need to recount them. However, one final observation for you Phans to think about before you cry yourselves to sleep each night: Don't you find it interesting that the putrid brand of sub-.500 baseball the Phillies have been displaying is directly correlated with the the warning MLB issued for Binocular-gate? In other words, once you guys got caught, the losses started piling up. Here's to hoping it continues. Got any other theories Charlie?
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19 June 2010
I was in attendance last night, but because I got the tickets so late in the day I ended up being a little late to the game. I walked into the stadium after the first inning and a half and I'm cursing myself for missing three runs and Ryan Howard triple. The team hasn't been scoring much so missing a three run inning was like missing the whole game. Wrong.
Not a second after I found my seat (nine row behind the visiting dugout, who knew) Chase and Ryan went back-to-back jacks. It was just what I needed. It's been such a shitty couple weeks of Phillies baseball and my first game in attendance since the skid, they start dropping bombs. Howard ended up with 4 hits: 2 HRs, a triple and a double. The big man was MURDERING Twin pitching. It was a sight to see the team back in action and rolling offensively again.
Gotta love Joe Blanton getting the job done. Fat Joe just went out there and got hit around but without letting up any runs until Nick Punto (!) went yard off of him. The Twins fans in my section had a conversation in all seriousness that they weren't sure if Nick Punto had ever hit one before. For those wondering at home, it was the 12th of his career.
The Phils are 3.5 back in the division right now, a series sweep over the Twins would be just what the doc ordered.
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17 June 2010
This Jamie Moyer season is getting ridiculous. Most of the time he looks like he's got one foot in the baseball grave. Then out of no where he does something like this (8 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 5 K's) and completely shuts down the Yankees. Robinson Cano hit possibly the farthest ball he'll ever hit, but other than that it was all pop ups and ground balls for the Bronx Bombers. Moyer became the oldest picture ever to beat the Yankees and with performances like this he apparently can pitch forever. How you get A-Rod out with an 83 mph fastball, I will never know.
Offensively, it was a party early and with Moyer cruising it was plenty. In the second inning, Shane Victorino came up with the bases loaded and didn't disappoint lacing a tripling into right center clearing the bases. After that it was 4-0 (Dobbs had singled off the wall to score Raul), the only remaining scoring coming from Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth's back-to-back jacks. Somehow this is the first time that the Phillies have done that this season.
One last note, Brad Lidge came in and got the Brad Lidge save with ease. It may have looked wild and nerve-racking to you, however it followed completely along the blueprint: two quick strike outs, a walk, an RBI double, a single (putting the tying run at the plate), then striking him out. It wouldn't be a Lidge save if the tying run didn't come to the plate no matter the score or situation. Great win. These are fun let's get some more of these.
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16 June 2010
Another day, another one dropped. This time the Yankees opened their home to us and promptly smack the living hell out of us. The normally stingy Doc Halladay allowed 3 homers and 6 earned -- not his best day. The offense was decent at best, but again you can't expect to win everyday only putting up three runs against teams like the Yankees.
Not sure why Polanco batted third even though he's the only Phillies batting above .300. I'm sure Charlie wanted to switch things up and/or fell asleep while making the lineup card. Neither makes much sense, but I guess sometimes you make a change just for the sake of doing so. One of these days something is going to reignite the offense, but sadly we didn't find that thing today.
The offense might not have a choice but to wake up with Moyer and Kendrick throwing the two remaining games in New York. The Phils might need 12 in each to come out on top so somebody wake up the bats, they're going to have to be active to avoid getting swept.
And no, my picture is not from the game, it's just generic Yankees > Phillies.
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14 June 2010
For the first time in this Phillies-Red Sox series, Boston failed to score double digits runs and wouldn't you know it, the Phillies finally got a win. Hamels did what Moyer and Blanton couldn't do before him; he went 7 strong, allowing one earned on five hits and striking out 8 -- you can't ask for much more out of the lefty. It's great to get an effort like that out of our young ace(ish) because while he no longer is our true ace, he's young enough where he can easily regain that role in the future and throwing like that when the team is struggling is a big part of leading a pitching staff. And wouldn't you know it there was a Brad Lidge sighting! One hit, one K, one save -- well done.
Offensively, production came from all around the lineup. RBIs were sent in from the top and bottom and only Polanco had multiple hits. Tim Wakefield threw well, but the four he allowed tonight simply were too much. It was good to see Raul get loose on one and even better to see Jayson Werth smack a hit before him. Those two need to wake up and we can get back to killing people again.
Well if that Red Sox series wasn't fun, in come the Yankees on Tuesday and it's Sabathia v. Halladay in game one. Must-see TV and it should be a fun one.
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12 June 2010
I honestly couldn't tell you how tonight's game against the Red Sox played out because I joined the masses in changing the channel to something less painful and embarrassing (Men In Black was on so I actually ended up winning in the long run. Agent J, you are the man).
Obviously, after giving up a completely pathetic 12 runs in the first three innings, largely thanks to Mr. Jamie Moyer, the Phillies lost. But how they managed to earn two runs at all kind of baffles me after such awful play in the beginning (like I said, I couldn't bear to watch after the third inning). Anyone that has ever met me can tell you that I utterly hate the city of Boston and any team that comes out of it, so watching the bases continuously fill up with sahhwwwwwx playahhhhs (wow, what an atrocious accent) without any effort from our bullpen drove me absolutely insane. At least I didn't have to watch Youkilis score another home run on us with his stupid Fred Flinstone swing like he did in May, I might have ran to Boston and beat up Moyer myself.
Every year around this time I find myself in the same position: I watch the Phillies get dealt loss after embarrassing loss for a few weeks while I sit there, insulting every player that has ever stepped out in the red pinstripes. I mope around all June, complaining about how the team is falling apart and how the players need to step up and grow a pair or go join a softball league somewhere. Then the month wraps up and summer gets underway, and every year the Phillies seem to snap out of their awful funk and do work, while I try and deny the four weeks of hostility I had just experienced.
It's all pretty frustrating, but I guess it comes with being a fan. Until things pick up I'll just grind my teeth and distract myself with some fine quality World Cup Soccer. USA!
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09 June 2010
No game. Rain everywhere. Back to back wins for the Phils is postponed until Thursday at 7.
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09 June 2010
No chance you didn't see the highlights already, but a quick note for you on Stephen Strasburg's debut:
7 innings, 14 K's, 0 walks, 2 earned (on a home run), pumping mid-high 90s
Strasburg and Harper can be a combo murdering the NL East for years to come if things pan out the way they're projected to do so. Funny thing about projections though, they are often completely wrong -- so keep your fingers crossed guys Strasburg's debut might just be a sign of things to come for the Nats.
Or maybe their front office will continue to struggle to find solid players to fill that roster and they'll waste two incredible players...
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09 June 2010
Ah classic Phillies baseball. Tonight, even if it's only for a night things were back to normal. The offense was relentless. The starting pitcher only went five. We gave up a late inning lead. Only to come back in the bottom of the eighth. Then our closer made things reeeeeally interesting. And we still won. This is the Phillies baseball I've been used to.
Hardly a perfect win, but these days we'll take what we can get. This series against San Diego could easily have been a win for the Phillies but time and time again they fell short. Not tonight -- it was only a matter of time until we ended up on the right end of one of these tight ones.
Guess what, but Ryan Howard is starting to swing the hot bat again and if the past is indication when he heats up, he can carry the whole squad for weeks at a time. That's exactly the type of thing that we need right now. Our million-million-million.... dollar man carrying us through hard times. Then a nice July win streak regaining the division lead. Okay, let's take it one game at a time -- how strange is this feeling after wins where it's an event to come out on top? I feel like a Mets fan.
As nice as this win was, it would've been much better if that was Jayson Werth smacking hits and taking a bag instead of Ben Francisco. Our resident Wolfman lost his swagger, hopefully Charlie gave him a day off so that he could go out and find it.
That was quintessential Brad Lidge, you have got to love it. I don't care how he does it, he just needs a few saves under his belt to get him going. If he's crazy as cat shit, oh well we're just going have to deal with his ups and downs he can still pitch.
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09 June 2010
So, Mets select UNC power pitcher Matt Harvey and the Phillies draft local lefty Jesse Biddle from Germantown Friends HS in the first round of the MLB draft yesterday. With Stephan Strasburg set to make his major league debut tonight it makes us wonder when some of yesterday’s names will be wearing a major league uniform.
Let’s take a look back at how the draft’s first round has gone for the “teams to beat” for the first 5 years of this decade……
2000
Mets take lefty pitcher Billy Traber who was never heard from again….., Phils take a UCLA second baseman with the weird name of Chase Utley. Wonder what ever happened to him???
Adrian Gonzalez goes first overall. You may remember him from circling the bases a few times in the last few days…
Michael Vick was drafted by the
2001
Phils take Gavin DeGraw Floyd right before Mark Texieria. OUCH. Mets take Aaron Heilman who had a good year or two but is best remembered for making Mets fans very happy when he was dealt to the Cubs. Now a possible CLOSER possibility in
Mets later get David Wright number 38 overall in the supplemental round.
We are only looking at first round picks here, but it should be noted that in the 5th round Phillies hit it big with Ryan Howard.
2002
The locals both go with skinny lefties in the first round of the 2002 draft. Scott Kazmir is taken 15th and Cole Hamels is taken number 17. Nick Swisher is sandwiched in at 16. Two sons of slugging first basemen are taken in the first round also. John Mayberry Jr. who has yet to fulfill his promise and the son of Big John Mayberry who played with the Royals is selected by the Mariners and Prince Fielder, son of Cecil, is taken by the Brewers. This draft was also heavily covered in the book MONEYBALL by Michael Lewis.
2003
Delmon Young goes number one to the DEVIL RAYS. Phils have no first round draft pick, Mets select Lastings Milledge, now the worst of the Pirates dreadlocked outfielders.
2004
This draft is topped off by one of the biggest bush league decisions in recent years. Matt Bush goes number one to the Padres, who pass on Justin Verlander and Stephen Drew. Phil Humber, a big hard thrower from Rice goes number 3 to the Mets, one of 3 Rice right handed pitchers drafted in the top 8 slots.
Matt Cassell was also drafted in the 34th round by the A’s but he had other plans….
