Tough Enough?
Obviously, Mets fans have to be encouraged most of all by the weekend sweep of the A's, but the Braves' tough week has to rank a close second. It seems as though the Braves, swept by the Tigers over the weekend and losers of five straight overall, simply don't have the horses to hang in this NL East race.
Put aside the mythology that the Braves always figure out a way to prevail; that died last year. Atlanta is lacking in both starting pitching and offense, especially, having been shut out in four of its last five games. The Braves may own the Mets this year, but they aren't anyone else's daddy.
The reality might be that the Mets, their flaws notwithstanding, could simply outlast their NL East competitors. As always, I'll stick to my preseason prediction of the Phillies winning, because that's the sort of guy I am. But the Phillies have just been crushed by injuries, with Jon Lieber joining Freddy Garcia, Tom Gordon and Brett Myers on the disabled list. Their pitching surplus has turned into a big-time shortage. As it is, the Phillies are overachieving with a 39-36 record. Given their 382-389 run differential, they should have a losing mark right now.
So the Mets might be able to stay disciplined and not give up Lastings Milledge for Mark Buehrle, and still make the playoffs. And once you get in, as last year's terrible Cardinals team displayed, anything is possible.
Shout-out to Matthew Schweber: Are you the Matthew Schweber from J.P. Stevens High School? It looks and sounds like you. I just don't remember you being such a huge baseball fan.
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Comments (1)
Yep, it's me. Kudos to you for graduating from Hawkeye sports correspondent to Yankee beat reporter, columnist, and occasional guest on "Yankees Hot Stove"
(Hey, where does Verducci buy those suits? Wow!)
I always was a zealous Yankee fan, even in HS. But Kenny, remember, when we were at JPS in the mid to late 80's, being a Yankee was a painful, masochistic allegiance.
Remember the Doug Drabek for Rick Rhoden trade that was supposed to catapult us past the Jays, Tigers, and Sox? How about Ricky Henderson for Jose Rijo, Stan Javier, Jay Howell, and Tim Birtsas? (I recall vehement arguments with Rabois over that one.)
In fact, the only way I found I could cope with the 1986 World Series, for example, was to avert my eyes from the sport entirely.
I find this season, alas, keeps calling to mind memories of that wretched Yankee past. Albeit with one obvious difference. As much as I rebuke Cashman for Will Nieves; for opting for two middling first-baseman instead of offering Bernie a guaranteed contract; for Jeff Weaver, Kevin Brown, Javier Vasquez, etc, I applaud him for recognizing the importance of cultivating young pitching and refusing to mortgage the Yankees' future by trading the likes of Hughes, Chamberlain, Kennedy, Tabata, Horne, et. al.
Much success with the rest of the season. And if you ever need a contribution from the vox populi.... well then feel free to redeem a bored lawyer from his daily drudgery.