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The Mets lost the division, the Phillies didnt win it. The Mets held the lead for the whole year, and if they would have beaten the marlins or nationals 2 more times, they still would have won the division. The mets collapse opened a door for the Phillies that they were not prepared to walk through. (for evidence see theyre playoff run). Truth be told if the phillies by any chance were actually better than the mets last year, it was by an extremely small margin. Here is my brief overview of these 2 teams for this upcoming season.
The Phillies offense is very solid, but to say that its easily head and shoulders better than the Mets is absurd. Cmon now. Obviously ill take Howard and Utley over Delgado and Castillo in a heart beat. But ill still argue that ill take reyes over rollins. Its a toss up, but ill take the speed and game changing ability of reyes over the conceited rollins. Wright over Feliz, easy one. Outfield goes to the Mets. Burrell besides when he plays the mets is garbage. I know that Alou is a huge injury concern, but healthy, ill take Alou. Centerfield goes to Beltran without discussion. Right field is a toss up again between Church and Werth/Jenkins. ill give it to the Philz though. Both catchers are subpar offensively so that goes to waste. When you compare them, there not that different. Ill take the phillies lineup, but not by the amount that some, not all, of the phillies fans are stating.
Starting rotation goes to the Mets. Sorry for making it straight forward, but thats just the way it is. Hamels is superb, and has a great career ahead of him. But in the here and now i dont see how you cant take Santana as the better ace. So what about the last 7 starts last year, Santana has more than proven over the course of his whole career that he is the best pitcher in baseball, and still will be. All the signs point to him having a great year this year: Pitching in the NL, weaker lineups, pitchers hit, better offense than in Minnesota, and pitchers ballpark. Pedro is a better pitcher than Myers. Flat out, thats a fact. Now whether Pedro can stay healthy is another question. But dont forget, Myers has had injury issues of his own too. When both are healthy Pedro is still an artist at the mound, so ill take him. Than the 3, 4, 5 pitchers can all be grouped together because i view them as being interchangable. Maine Perez and El Duque versus Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer and Adam Eaton. I dont want to sound like a homer, but i honestly believe that the Mets 3-5 will outperform the Phillies 3-5. So the rotation goes to the Mets.
The Bullpen is really a toss up. I like the middle relivers for the Phillies more than i do for the Mets. Too many times did i see Willie misuse that pathetic excuse for middle relievers and screw up the game. The phillies win that section. But then when you go to set-up man and closer, that fight gets closer. I view Tom Gordan and Aaron Heilman as equals, but if i had to chose id go with Heilman probably because i am a Mets fan. than for closer, it Billy Wagner against Brad Lidge. I know that some of you Phillies fans might have a sour taste in your mouth from Wagners tenure in Philly, but he is still much, much better than Lidge, who has still not gotten over that Pujols home run he game up. Put him in Citizens Bank Park, and forget about it. So the bullpen really is split even for me.
Ill give the bench to the Phillies. They have more depth across the board for most positions. I do have a soft spot for Marlon Anderson and Endy Chavez, but after that i could really care less about the Mets bench. Ramon Castro is an adequate backup, but really nothing more. The bench and depth goes to the Phillies.
So if you are keeping track at home, that leaves us at a 2-2 tie. As you can see, i believe it will be a close race between these 2 teams. (forget about the braves, theyre gonna do nothing). In the end i think that the Mets will be able to overcome last years embarresment and take back the NL East crown. Why? Its hard to really say right now, but i just have that gut instinct that Johan will improve this team so much, not only on the field but the demeanor of this club. So many of you guys talk about the character of this Mets team and question it. Why? Because they have the over-exaggerated handshakes? Because of the collapse? This is a team that really does care for each other and has a great clubhouse. I dont understand the people who refer to them as spoiled NY'ers or bad people. Those allegations are just ridiculous.
Anyway, i digress. Mets win the division by 4 games.
The Phillies offense is very solid, but to say that its easily head and shoulders better than the Mets is absurd. Cmon now. Obviously ill take Howard and Utley over Delgado and Castillo in a heart beat. But ill still argue that ill take reyes over rollins. Its a toss up, but ill take the speed and game changing ability of reyes over the conceited rollins. Wright over Feliz, easy one. Outfield goes to the Mets. Burrell besides when he plays the mets is garbage. I know that Alou is a huge injury concern, but healthy, ill take Alou. Centerfield goes to Beltran without discussion. Right field is a toss up again between Church and Werth/Jenkins. ill give it to the Philz though. Both catchers are subpar offensively so that goes to waste. When you compare them, there not that different. Ill take the phillies lineup, but not by the amount that some, not all, of the phillies fans are stating.
Starting rotation goes to the Mets. Sorry for making it straight forward, but thats just the way it is. Hamels is superb, and has a great career ahead of him. But in the here and now i dont see how you cant take Santana as the better ace. So what about the last 7 starts last year, Santana has more than proven over the course of his whole career that he is the best pitcher in baseball, and still will be. All the signs point to him having a great year this year: Pitching in the NL, weaker lineups, pitchers hit, better offense than in Minnesota, and pitchers ballpark. Pedro is a better pitcher than Myers. Flat out, thats a fact. Now whether Pedro can stay healthy is another question. But dont forget, Myers has had injury issues of his own too. When both are healthy Pedro is still an artist at the mound, so ill take him. Than the 3, 4, 5 pitchers can all be grouped together because i view them as being interchangable. Maine Perez and El Duque versus Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer and Adam Eaton. I dont want to sound like a homer, but i honestly believe that the Mets 3-5 will outperform the Phillies 3-5. So the rotation goes to the Mets.
The Bullpen is really a toss up. I like the middle relivers for the Phillies more than i do for the Mets. Too many times did i see Willie misuse that pathetic excuse for middle relievers and screw up the game. The phillies win that section. But then when you go to set-up man and closer, that fight gets closer. I view Tom Gordan and Aaron Heilman as equals, but if i had to chose id go with Heilman probably because i am a Mets fan. than for closer, it Billy Wagner against Brad Lidge. I know that some of you Phillies fans might have a sour taste in your mouth from Wagners tenure in Philly, but he is still much, much better than Lidge, who has still not gotten over that Pujols home run he game up. Put him in Citizens Bank Park, and forget about it. So the bullpen really is split even for me.
Ill give the bench to the Phillies. They have more depth across the board for most positions. I do have a soft spot for Marlon Anderson and Endy Chavez, but after that i could really care less about the Mets bench. Ramon Castro is an adequate backup, but really nothing more. The bench and depth goes to the Phillies.
So if you are keeping track at home, that leaves us at a 2-2 tie. As you can see, i believe it will be a close race between these 2 teams. (forget about the braves, theyre gonna do nothing). In the end i think that the Mets will be able to overcome last years embarresment and take back the NL East crown. Why? Its hard to really say right now, but i just have that gut instinct that Johan will improve this team so much, not only on the field but the demeanor of this club. So many of you guys talk about the character of this Mets team and question it. Why? Because they have the over-exaggerated handshakes? Because of the collapse? This is a team that really does care for each other and has a great clubhouse. I dont understand the people who refer to them as spoiled NY'ers or bad people. Those allegations are just ridiculous.
Anyway, i digress. Mets win the division by 4 games.
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