Baseball Thread Rated X -- Mature Audiences Only

Three things:

1.) I'm not a New York fan. (Didn't feel like quoting Jagtrader too) So save the "all NY fans boo" stuff for someone who is a NY fan.

2.) Maybe Charmin was overboard, particularly in light of the fact he made it back last year after the collission with Cameron. But there is no doubt, none at all, that Beltran takes a sweet-ass long time to get back from injuries that do not require DL stints. It happened last May and it happened this April. Fact. So if he's not Charmin, he's sure not going to make anyone forget Robin Ventura, either.

3.) The Mets are not making it out of the NL. Rank the contenders all you want, the Mets are...not...making...it...out...of...the...NL. This is a team that got absolutely smoked by a Red Sox team that's barely had a pulse for three months. They're not going anywhere in mid-October, except back to Queens to pack up their shit.

 

If the White Sox get swept by the Red Sox, they should be banished to the National League.

 

The Red Sox team that swept the Mets are a different team than the one that just played like dogshit from the All-Star Break to now. The Sox at the time had the 3rd best record in baseball, just wrapped up their 12th straight win, 20 games over 500.

 

As long as we're pointing out ways in which BYH is wrong, here's another one. Beltran did not take a sweet-ass long time to come back from an injury last year. As a matter of fact, he clearly came back too quickly from a quad injury. He probably should have gone on the DL and gotten healthy, but he tried to play through it.

As for the Mets' playoff chances, it's fair to say that they could get beat in a short series despite the season they've had. Obviously that's possible given their starting pitching. But to say there's no way they'll get out of the NL after they've beaten the shit out of everybody in the league all season? That's just silly. Nobody in the league can put together a five-game winning streak to take control of the wild-card, but suddenly when they get to the playoffs they're definitely going to whip a team that's going to be around 100 wins? BYH, your apparent hatred of the Mets is clouding your judgment.

 

KP: The Sox' 3rd-best record in baseball was heavily inflated by fattening up on the NL. They were already starting to free-fall against real teams.

Broadway: It's not an apparent hatred. It's the real thing. In addition to that, I always believe good pitching will beat good hitting in October. The Mets have beaten up on a lousy NL thanks to an AL-quality lineup. But let's project the NLDS pitching matchups for the Mets against the Cardinals, Dodgers, Padres and Reds:

METS-CARDS
Gm 1: Pedro vs. Carpenter
Gm 2: Glavine vs. Suppan
Gm 3: El Duque vs. Marquis
Gm 4: Trachsel vs. Reyes
Gm 5: Pedro vs. Carpenter

METS-DODGERS
Gm 1: Pedro vs. Lowe
Gm 2: Glavine vs. Maddux
Gm 3: El Duque vs. Penny
Gm 4: Trachsel vs. Billingsley
Gm 5: Pedro vs. Lowe

(man, that would be a fun series from a storyline viewpoint)

METS VS. PADRES
Gm 1: Pedro vs. Peavy
Gm 2: Glavine vs. Wells
Gm 3: El Duque vs. C. Young
Gm 4: Trachsel vs. W. Williams
Gm 5: Pedro vs. Peavy

METS VS. REDS
Gm 1: Pedro vs. Harang
Gm 2: Glavine vs. Arroyo
Gm 3: El Duque vs. Milton
Gm 4: Trachsel vs. Lohse
Gm 5: Pedro vs. Harang

Yeah, the Mets are the best team in the NL this year. But do you feel good with the Mets' rotation going into a best-of-5 series?

The Mets best hope to even get to the NLCS is either a.) the Reds win the wild card or b.) the Phillies win the wild card and the Dodgers finish with a better record than the Cardinals. Because they are not beating the Padres or Dodgers in a best-of-5.

 

The AL as a whole fattened-up on the NL. Only Colorado and SF had winning records against the AL. Even KC was 10-8.

Going into that stretch against the NL the Sox were floating along 5-8 games over 500.
Started June taking 2 of 3 at Detroit. Lose 2 of 3 in NY. Split 4 vs Texas. Then got swept at Minnesota which looked bad at the time (especially after a walkoff grand slam in the 11th or 12th inning with a 1-run lead in the opener) but who knew what kind of run the Twins were about to go on.

Plain and simple the Sox team that went through the NL with such ease was nothing like the one that just went 20-31 from the All-Star Break through Sunday. Early on the only injuries were Wells, Crisp, Foulke and Clement (Theo thought this was an upgrade of Derek Lowe, ouch).

Since July 30 the Sox lost Nixon, Varitek, Gonzalez, Ramirez (maybe because of a scoring decision and not a knee injury), Ortiz for significant time AT THE SAME TIME. Five starters just wiped out.

Comparing the hot Red Sox to the wounded Red Sox is apples and oranges.

 

$95 million for a last place club.

Fuckers.

 

You're right, BYH. I don't know how the Mets could ever hope to beat those scintillating rotations. Woody Williams and Chad Billingsley? Unhittable. Chris Young and Kyle Lohse? Cy Young candidates. The Mets will be lucky to win a game in the postseason.

Again, nobody's invincible in a short series, but you're into some serious wishful thinking if you believe the Mets should be shaking in their boots about any of these matchups. If the Padres, Dodgers or any of these other teams are so good, why can't any of them pull away in the godawful NL? Try taking an unbiased look at the entire teams, including bullpens and offenses, and tell me you really think -- think, not hope -- the Mets are doomed.

 

Yes, it's impossible for the Mets to take out either of those NL West powerhouses. They might as well not even show up.

 

Angola --

Santana's line against the Yankees in the 2004 postseason

2004 ALDS MIN NYY L 2 2 0.75 1-0 0 0 0 12.0 14 1 4 12

If you mean the 2003 postseason, the Yankees didn't fare particularly well then, either, save for one inning.

Santana threw 4.2 shutout innings in game one, a 3-1 Twins win, until leaving with a blister on this pitching hand.

He opened with three more shutout innings in game four before the Yankees shelled him and two relievers for six runs.

But I wouldn't be saying the Yankees have had success against him in the postseason with those numbers. He's 2-1 against them in four postseason starts, pitching for a team that was far worse than those Yankees clubs at the plate.

 

I have to agree with Broadway Joe here.

The Mets have been beating up on the entire NL all year, including a recent series against the Cardinals. When Carpenter's not on the mound, St. Louis is very beatable.

The only contender with a rotation that seems to have a big advantage against the Mets is maybe the Padres, but Jake Peavy is battling his latest injury (toe) and there are two very good reasons San Diego is fighting just to get in the playoffs -- their bullpen isn't as good as it was last year and the offense stinks.

The Mets' pitching is mediocre at best, but that team is still the favorite to make the World Series from the NL.

 

Angola, I love how you're making excuses now. You were on this thread gloating about the Yankees' 10-run inning against the Royals two days ago, but when Kansas City shuts your boys out the next day, it's just the funny ways of baseball?

And I'm not so sure you should be counting on Matsui or Sheffield in the playoffs. It is Sept. 6 and neither is back in the lineup. Is Sheffield even close to returning?