Mets, Phils, forging fierce rivalry
Posted: Monday, February 23, 2009 4:11 PM
They have never been good at the same time, or for any extended period of time. Thus, the Mets and Phillies have never been real rivals.
Odd because their stadiums are 100 miles apart, closer than Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium, and the teams have had almost 50 years to breed some solid contempt for each other.
Finally, it seems that contempt has been born, courtesy of today's generation of players bred on talking smack, and not taking it personally when they are the targets.
The war of words between the Mets and Phillies started with Jimmy Rollins three years ago, but the Mets prevailed and won the division. The last two Septembers, and the last two NL East titles, however, have belonged to the Phillies after the Mets had done the brash spring talking.
Now, both teams are wagging winter tongues. Cole Hamels called out the Mets as choke artists, forcing Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez to respond.
The Phillies could become the arch rival the Mets have never had since they entered the league in 1962. When two National League teams left New York, and five years later, they were replaced by one team, a historic rivalry (Dodgers-Giants) shifted to California, and there was none to replace it in New York.
For years, the Mets and Cubs tangled. Then a decade ago, it was the Mets and Braves. But neither matchup developed into a long-lasting, emotional rivalry that engaged fans.
And that is the ultimate test that the Mets and Phillies must pass. Can their fans generate the heat that identifies the rivalries between the Yankees and Red Sox, and the Dodgers and Giants? Yes, the contrived Mets-Yankees and White Sox-Cubs games can be over the top, but those aren't rivalries. Rather they are convenient business engagements.
When the new Citizens Bank Park opened in 2004 in Philadelphia, I remember John Franco of the Mets, well versed on the subject, commenting that the bullpen hecklers in the City of Brotherly Love were the loudest and crudest he had ever heard.
So the Philly fans hate the Mets. And now they are gloating over their World Championship. Mets fans are bitter and depressed over two horrid September collapses. Nothing matters for the Mets until September. Legitimacy is theirs only when they conquer the Phillies, and make the playoffs.
The Mets and Phillies are the two best teams in the NL East, which is good news for a rivalry. Florida could threaten if its young pitching advances quickly enough. But Atlanta struck out on most of its offseason targets (see below), and doesn't seem to have enough for the long haul.
So bet (recreational only) that the Phillies and Mets battle to the wire for the NL East. Oh, wait a moment, sorry I erred. I assumed that the schedule-makers use logic. I guess not. It turns out the LAST games between the Phillies and Mets in New York are August 21-24. Their lone series in the final five weeks will be September 11-13 in Philadelphia. Great way to build a rivalry, don't you think?
FIVE MORE SWINGS:
1. JERRY MANUEL…is making his presence felt as the manager of the Mets. Sunday, he anointed Daniel Murphy, who has played all of 49 games in the majors, the full-time left fielder.
Of far more significance is Manuel considering tinkering with the batting order. He’s contemplating Jose Reyes moving from the top of the order to third with Luis Castillo taking over as the leadoff hitter.
I saw first hand how Reyes reacted the last time the Mets tinkered with him. In 2004, he was shifted to second base upon the signing of Kaz Matsui. Suddenly, Reyes had chronic hamstring problems, and missed most of the first half of that season.
In their eagerness to cater to Matsui, the Mets completely misread Reyes. His identity as a young Dominican baseball player of note was, and still is, as a shortstop. The move to second base was an insult to Reyes. Since his return to shortstop the following spring, the Mets have received four injury-free years from him. See the pattern?
I am no longer around the Mets on a daily basis, but I wonder how this move impacts Reyes' mindset. Does he see himself, a premier base-stealer, as a leadoff man? Will batting third bother him? If the Mets are serious about overtaking the Phillies, they need a happy, motivated Reyes. For better or worse, they cannot risk losing Reyes in the faint hope of salvaging a struggling Castillo.
2. MONEY CANT BUY EVERYTHING…but with a payroll of over $200 million, do you think Hank and Hal Steinbrenner enjoyed reading the admission last week of Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to the New York Times that CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett were important signings because, "We are a bad defensive team so a guy that prevents the ball from being put into play is a good thing for us." Or then again, does defense matter anymore?
3. SPEAKING OF THINGS THAT MATTER…next month there is the second World Baseball Classic. In Japan, top-flight players who were not invited to tryout for the team were upset. The top five U.S. pitchers from 2008, (Brandon Webb, Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Tim Lincecum, and Mike Mussina), have one thing in common: none will pitch for Team USA.
The WBC is a noble idea, particularly in light of baseball's departure from the Olympics. But no event has legitimacy without the best players, the WBC included. One thing to keep in mind is that drug testing at the WBC is administered by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which means it's the Olympic testing model.
Eighty players will be tested at random before competition, and two players from each team will be tested after each game. When you see players withdraw for various reasons (Vernon Wells saying insurance costs got in the way of him joining the team is my personal favorite), how can we not consider the testing as a possible reason for all the no-shows?
4. HAS ANY TEAM BEEN JILTED MORE…in an offseason than Atlanta? The last-minute turn by Ken Griffey Jr., spurning the Braves, and heading to finish his career where it started in Seattle, ended a miserable run for the proud Braves.
The Braves were stung by Rafael Furcal after they thought they had a deal. They also swung hard and missed on A.J. Burnett. They tried every way imaginable to trade for Jake Peavy. They lost John Smoltz to the Red Sox. And finally, Griffey rejected them. They did come away with Garret Anderson, a wise one-year signing, who will have to make an adjustment to the NL. What's hard to figure is the origin of this disconnect between a proud franchise and players it seeks.
5. AS IF WASHINGTON NEEDED FURTHER EMBARRASSMENT…its best prospect, shortstop Esmailyn Gonzalez, is a fake. He is really Carlos Lugo, age 23 instead of 19. Word is that team president Stan Kasten has been prevented in making a change at general manager by ownership. How long can general manager Jim Bowden survive these setbacks for an organization that is close to losing an astounding amount of goodwill and fan support in a short time?
