I won't be at today's Mets home opener, but I'll be at Shea tomorrow and Thursday. This is a rare case when I put significant value in an early series. Given the way the Phillies slapped the Mets around last year, winning the final eight games of the season series, I'm wondering if Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard and company will still have that swagger.
This reminds me of when the Mets played the Cardinals early in the 1986 season, after the Cardinals topped the Mets in a 1985 dogfight. The Mets swept a four-game series in St. Louis, April 24-27, and the tone was set for the entire year.
UPDATE: Colleague Jim Baumbach notified me that A-Rod played shortstop three times in 2005. So it has been three years, not four, since that occurred. In any case, it sounds like Betemit will play there today.
The Indians proceeded to score three runs in the top of the ninth off Francisco Rodriguez and Scot Shields, and K-Rod left with an apparent injury, to boot. "Wow," I thought, "I'm watching history, albeit minor."
But I passed out, and imagine my surprise this morning when I saw this. So now the Angels have won their last 162 games when they take a lead into the ninth.
It sounds like K-Rod will need some time on the disabled list, which means the top two AL West contenders will be missing their closers; Seattle's J.J. Putz went down last week with a rib injury.
The baseball season sure moves quickly, doesn't it?
Comments (14)
Good pieces of information to consider today.
It will also be interesting to see if the Royals can compete with the Yankees this week and perhaps duplicate the brief period of competence they experienced when Tony Pena managed the club.
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I am still stunned that the departure of Murray Chass from the NYT has received no comments other than those of the bloggers he despised.
Whatever you think about Murray, he worked in the business for 40 years, is in the writer's section of the Hall of Fame, was one of the few writers that didn't spout baseball management's line on economics -- and now he has become a non-person in the tradition of May Day photographs from Moscow.
And Murray (unlike Bonds - or Marv Albert) did nothing wrong.
Ken, I am a fantasy geek and I drafted Putz/Valverde/Jenks. In the 32nd round I finally took Borowski because no one else would. When Putz went down I cringed because I had to put Borowski in. When I saw that score, just the score not the boxscore, I knew it was Borowski. I dont know why he's still the closer.
As for this being a big series...I dont see it. I think the Mets are too good to let a three game sweep this early ruin their season. And I think if the Mets do sweep the Phils, then after last season, there's no way at this stage we can deem it big.
But for the record...I hate that this series and the RedSox/Yanks are played in April. It's too early for such good rivalry games to be played.
rmt I am with you on Murray Chass. I found his columns interesting and liked the fact he didn't spout the line of the commissioner/owners. Personally, I also liked his writing about Torre's departure and his defense of the Yankees. Murray was a giant in his profession and earned a spot in the writer's wing of the Hall of Fame. It's a little scary how his "departure" has been handled in the industry.
I think this is a big series for the Mets. I think they could go down the drain fairly early with a few bad series. If they do, Willie will obviously be gone by Memorial Day.
Nice to see Mussina pitch well last night. The Yankees have enough pros in the lineup to keep things interesting this year.
Ken:
re MLB Extra Innings: if you can't sneak the $159 on your Newsday expense report (I'm sure the new boss is scrutinizing them) you can definetly write it off on your taxes!
For less than $200 - extra innings and baseballprospectus - you'll be farther ahead of the pack than you usually are.
rmt/Jim:
re: Murray Chass...geez it's over. He would NEVER leave the job voluntarily (who would? I wouldn't!). I agree his labor stuff was good, but that's not nearly that big an issue in baseball now as it was several years ago. If you can't get the fact that OBP is better than batting average, then it's time to go! And better for him to get a buyout now than to turn into Furman Bisher later...
Joba 101 - sounds like an intro bible study class. Imagine trying to hit this guy!
JoeNunz, you're always urging me to spend, spend, spend ;)
I'll continue to reserve comment on Murray.
By the way, I actually exchanged emails with Murray on a regular basis on labor/political/business issues, so he can function on-line.
Oh well, back to watching the Mets bullpen implode and destroy a good outing by Perez. Hopefully the Phils pen can be equally ghastly today.
Ken, The Mets are soft, especially against the Phillies. When they going gets tough, the Mets crumble and fell down.
If we were in downtown Paris, the phrase of the day would be de jas vu.
Many of the predictions of the Mets doing lots of winning this year were based on their division not being particularly strong. However, a close look up and down their roster reveals lots of mediocrity. Oh sure, there are some marquee players, but many others that could result in a sub-par year. I have serious doubts about the Mets.
Jim, they have only played six games. Can we reserve judgment until at least a quarter of the season has been played?
I had serious doubts about the Mets before they played any games. I wouldn't be surprised if they win the division. I also wouldn't be surprised if they disintegrate. That's all I am saying. Yeh, they are probably too good to completely fall apart, but I see the potential for at least some unraveling.
The Mets are a SOFT team period! When things fell apart fo the Mets, they crumble like crums. The Tigers are a SOFT team also. They are 0-7 going on 0-9 with 2 more games against the Red Sox which they will lose. How about those statements Ken?
How about those statements, Dennis? I dunno. You're right so far. As Gary can attest, I always stick to my preseason predictions, which means that I still think the Mets and Tigers will win their respective divisions.