Man. From 7 games back with only 14 to go, the Phillies have won and the Mets have lost. The Phillies are playoff-bound, and the Mets go home. This is not going to be a pleasant offseason in Queens.
Posted by Linkmeister at September 30, 2007 10:50 AM | TrackBackHeh, and double heh!
Yes, oph course I've written a very brieph post about the Phils.
Posted by: N in Seattle at September 30, 2007 05:20 PMAs you know, I now root for the Dodgers, but I started out life as a Mets fan in the 1960s.
This collapse is entirely in keeping with the Mets' history. They are not "lovable losers" like the Cubs. They are the team weird things happen to. Sometimes good ('69, '73, '86), sometimes bad. This was bad.
I think the lesson for the Mets is: Don't try to be the Yankees. There is only one U.S. Steel-type franchise. The Mets should never be a team that can mow you down with imported offensive talent. Their DNA is to be a team that develops great pitchers and then builds just enough offense around them to win every few years. This Met team is lacking in those great pitching discoveries, but is overloaded with highpriced but fragile position players of the kind G. Steinbrenner likes to stockpile.
Omar needs to establish his own identity as a GM by putting his focus on the minor league system and drafts to restore the Met pitching tradition.
Posted by: John Stodder at October 2, 2007 09:50 AMSame thing the Dodgers should do, John. They used to be great at home-grown talent and got away from it for a long time; now they're returning to it (I hope).
Posted by: Linkmeister at October 2, 2007 10:16 AMI think you're right about the Dodgers, Linky.
Loney, Martin, Kemp, and Billingsley, with potential help from the likes of Abreu, LaRoche, Young, Hu, and others still in the minors ... that's a pretty nice nucleus.
Posted by: N in Seattle at October 2, 2007 12:18 PM