It took every fiber in my being not to call every Phillie fan I know on Friday night. I know better, believe me. When the final Out was made, I went into my basement, yelled a couple of obscenities toward the Phillies  and returned upstairs to my living room. I refused to get excited, I refused to gloat. I simply marked a W on my Met Calendar and enjoyed the moment with a silent beer. I thought about the game and how everything looked so right for the Mets and how everything looked so wrong for the Philllies.  I also reminded myself that it’s only last day in May and a lot could happen….like Saturday. But at least I went to bed smiling and little more excited for the Met Season. (I also said a little prayer for Frenchy, he’s just making so much of a difference on this team)
As much as I hate to say it, I expected yesterday to happen. The Phillies were embarrassed and you know that had to come out fighting with their ace on the mound. They traded for him just for that game and he came though exactly like they planned. To me, Saturday was like playing with House Money. With one game in the bag, if the Mets were to lose, it wouldn’t be that bad. I wasn’t being a pessimist, I was being a realist. Roy Halladay, at home, with motivation to win is a tough game to win….for any team.
Well now the Phillies have to worry about tonight- Our ace vs. Jamie, The Oldest Pitcher Alive, Moyer. A nice position to be in I have to admit.Â
On Friday, I told my fellow Met fans that I would sign a piece a paper right then and there if they guaranteed me one win this weekend. After seeing the Friday nights dominant win by the Mets, I would like to tear that paper up to little pieces. Winning 2 out of 3 games this weekend would be nice to begin this little road trip.
But let’s add the perspective here, regardless of who wins tonight, the Mets are now meaningful. How long that lasts is a question I’ll not dare to answer.  But right now, the Mets have a season and THAT”S worth getting exciting about.Â
As some side notes, watching the Phillies- I don’t see a flawless team….not by a long shot. I see a team that has a very bad bullpen(if you didn’t love Lidge giving up that homerun that someone must check your pulse) and some extremely delicate pitching (except for Halladay) Â
I know all this could change on one road trip or winning streak for the Phillies.
Lord knows it did for the Mets.
But right now, let’s enjoy the moment and relish tonight. Let’s root for this team and get excited. Â
It’s been a long time since we felt this way.
15 comments
ceetar
5/2/2010-10:43am at 10:43 am (UTC -4)
Of course anything can happen tonight too. But Manuel (c) moved Halladay up so he didn’t face Johan, and it almost seems like he did so to guarantee that they’d win at least one game. Their Ace dominated, so now it’s our turn.
Really you just don’t want tonight to be embarrassing. If the Mets lose in catastrophic fashion, it can undo all that good will. If they let the Phillies come back in the late innings, it wouldn’t be good.
It doesn’t have to be a blowout though. Just hit Moyer for 4 runs in 5, tack on 1-2 and go from there. Win this game, keep first place, and make Morgan and Miller have to say ‘first place Mets’ more and more.
stickguy
5/2/2010-10:57am at 10:57 am (UTC -4)
agreed that any win you take and move on to CInci. But a horrific defeat could get messy. I just don’t really see that happening with Johan on the mound, and it is unlikely Moyer can replicate what Halladay did yesterday.
They also did not move Halladay up. They just kept him on normal rest, skipping the journeyman retread rotation filler guy (Figgy) since they had a day off this time through the rotation. It would have been much more telling if they had say skipped Hamels or Blanton to get this matchup.
ceetar
5/2/2010-11:10am at 11:10 am (UTC -4)
true, but still, the status quo of the rotation has Halladay today against Santana.
GravediggerHebner
5/2/2010-11:15am at 11:15 am (UTC -4)
I’m not so sure. Weren’t the Mets going Santana/Maine/Niese/Pelfrey/Perez, and if so shouldn’t today be Halladay vs. Perez if the status quo were being maintained by both teams?
stickguy
5/2/2010-11:28am at 11:28 am (UTC -4)
every team skips the fill in guy to keep their ace on regular rotation.
If today was Johans 5th day, but due to a day off it was Stoner’s “turn” in the rotation, would you expect the Mets to not skip him?
ceetar
5/2/2010-11:32am at 11:32 am (UTC -4)
luckily, we don’t have stoner in the rotation.
Yeah, the Mets swapped the guys too. But there is a difference between pitching your ace against the rival and not, and skipping a guy. Is Moyer vs. Santana instead of Figgy vs. Pelfrey.
metsfan4decades
5/2/2010-11:41am at 11:41 am (UTC -4)
Agree with all your comments here.
Gonzo summed up very nicely my mindset about the Mets at the moment.
I checked into a few Philly blogs Friday night after the game. What struck me is there were very, very few Met ‘trolls’ gloating. There were a few comments from fellow Met fans more in the realistic mindset of it’s too early yet, anything can happen, and looking forward to the dog fight in the NL east.
That tells me that yeah, 2009 is still in our heads and after the way 2007 and 2008 ended, don’t think any Met fan is of the opinion right now that ‘we’re the team to beat’. IMO, as well it should be here on 2 May.
stickguy
5/2/2010-10:47am at 10:47 am (UTC -4)
quite the reversal of fortune frm game 1 to game 2, that is for sure. But again, just goes to prove, it is all about the pitching.
And I was rpetty much expecting Halladay to be dealing. But, he is the only pitcher ontehPhils that is, so unless he can start every game, no biggee! As long as the crapitude the Mets put up (pelf in the 4th, bad D, etc.) is out of their system, just move on.
Frankly, the Mets did not look any worse yesterday than the Phils did on Friday, so it is a wash.
If johan comes up big, and they smack around the old man, then all will be right with the world. I imagine that the players have already shaken the game off, and are ready to move on.
I really like the quote from Francona, about the players seeing the year as a 162 game season (IOW, a long grind), but fans see it as 162 individual seasons.
GravediggerHebner
5/2/2010-11:00am at 11:00 am (UTC -4)
Reminder, Bisons vs. Bats on SNY today at 1:00pm
Honestly I’m not quite as interested without FMart (and Ike Davis) in the lineup, and who’s Chris Cater?
stickguy
5/2/2010-11:29am at 11:29 am (UTC -4)
actually, F Mart came back yesterday, and hit a HR.
And Chris Carter is the dude that should be on the Mets bench all year!
Murphy is back though. Maybe you can see him trying his hand at 2B!
metsfan4decades
5/2/2010-11:43am at 11:43 am (UTC -4)
Ha! Who’s Chris Cater….
njstuckintx
5/2/2010-1:00pm at 1:00 pm (UTC -4)
He was a WR of some success.
stickguy
5/2/2010-11:42am at 11:42 am (UTC -4)
not to steal Prismos “thunder” (weatherman joke, get it?), but could be interesting tonight. Thunderstorms will be moving into the Philly area around dinner time, and lingering through the night.
Supposed to be isoloated, but some severe. So who knows hwat happens. Just hope it doesn’t cause a rain delay early in the game, causing them to pull Santana. Moyer will pitch no matter what, since he barely throws at a playing catch velocity.
gonzowill
5/2/2010-12:02pm at 12:02 pm (UTC -4)
Hey maybe Figgy will get some work tonight. With Schnieder behind the plate.
stickguy
5/2/2010-12:04pm at 12:04 pm (UTC -4)
interesting (but of course, it’s still early) stat on the Phils: the Phillies are 8-9 in games not started by their ace Roy Halladay.
Now, let’s see the Mets make that 8-10 tonight!