One of the most challenging components of my job is determining what each game means. Is it a turning point? A mirage? Or just a forgettable one of 162?
This very week last year, the Mets visited Philadelphia and were swept in four games. The series proved to mean everything. While the Mets rebounded by boosting their NL East lead from two games all the way back up to seven, the Phillies had gotten in their heads, and a three-game sweep of the Mets at Shea Sept. 14-16 kicked off The Collapse. Had the Mets just won one of those four games in Philly, the last two of which were decided by one run, they might have held onto win the division.
This very week last year, the Yankees welcomed the Red Sox to the Bronx and swept them in three games. The series proved to mean nothing. While the Yankees later closed within a game and a half of the Sawx in the American League East _ the sweep got them within five _ they never took over the division. And they went down relatively quietly against Cleveland in the AL Division Series, while the Red Sox won it all.
Today, we kick off those same rivalries in the same locales _ Mets at Philly for two days, and Yankees playing host to the Red Sox for three. The beauty of both matchups is that it's likely the clubs are fighting for one playoff spot. The Mets and Phillies are trailing Milwaukee by four games in the loss column in the National League wild-card race. It's NL East or bust.
While in the American League, neither the Red Sox (4 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay) nor the Yankees (9 1/2) seem like they can catch the incredible Rays in the American League East. It's wild card or bust for the game's two super powers.
The Mets, after last night's victory, have to be feeling somewhat good about themselves. They have gone 15-6 since putting Billy Wagner on the disabled list. But tonight kicks off an extremely challenging, 11-game stretch: Two in Philly, three in Miami, three in Milwaukee and three at home against the Phillies. With the way they're hitting, and the way they seem to handle adversity, I'll say they pull through all right
The Yankees, meanwhile, are coming off a three-game sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore. Can they build on that, in a way they have rarely been able to put together momentum this season? I'm sticking to my "Yankees won't make the playoffs" prediction, but they deserve credit for assuring the relevance of this series, after their season seemed in tatters last week.
Everything, or nothing, in these next three days for our two teams? I guess I'm copping out and saying, "Something, but neither everything nor nothing." Your thoughts?
Okay, here's one to get the debate going: What did you think about Mike Pelfrey throwing a second straight complete game last night? I was horrified, and I made it the focus of my column.
The Mets are going to be pushing Pelfrey into the 200-innings stratosphere, after Pelfrey totaled 152 2/3 innings in the minors and majors in 2007. Once the game became 7-0 in the seventh last night, why not let the bullpen take over for the eighth and ninth? Yes, the bullpen is somewhat fried, but two low-leverage innings shouldn't have killed them. Besides, the bullpen will be getting reinforcements next Monday when the rosters expand to 40. But there are just four healthy, reliable starting pitchers, so why not give them a breather _ especially the youngest pitcher _ when possible?
Omar Minaya politely disagreed with me when I asked him about this post-game, and hey, Omar has been on a roll lately. So maybe my concern will prove meaningless.
The highly respected Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated has written extensively about what he calls the Year After Effect, or what happens when teams let pitchers make a huge jump in innings pitched from one season to the next. Here is one such column by Tom.
My family is still in the Hamptons, and as a Manhattan family, we own just one car. Since I'm working this week, and my family needs our car, I've rented a second car, and that car has XM.
Why am I sharing such boring details with you? Because having XM is allowing me to listen to out-of-town games, which I'm loving. So driving from Shea back to the Hamptons last night, I listened to Twins-Mariners, and wow. What a tough loss for the Twins. Joe Nathan blowing a save is not much different than Mariano Rivera blowing a save. It's a shocker. And Nathan might have survived giving up a leadoff double to Adrian Beltre, if Nick Punto hadn't bobbled a Jose Lopez grounder in the ninth, which prolonged the inning and allowed the tying run to come home.
It's the kind of game that makes you wonder, "Will this be a turning point for the Twins? Or will they come right back tonight? Will it mean everything, or nothing?"
And yes, live chat at noon today. I'll step out of the pool, where I'll be working on my Triple Lindy, at 11:55 to make it happen.
Thanks to the IMDb for the photo.
Nice 
Back to work today, and for the past seven days, I didn't watch much baseball.