Armageddon It!

By Tom "Mr Star" Starita
Posted Thursday, June 28, 2007

Before I begin this week’s column I want to play a little game I like to call

Here are the stats…

5 games
23.2 innings pitched
27 hits
14 runs
4 HRs allowed
8 BB
22 K
1-3
5.32 ERA
28 million dollars

Now Name That Bust!

Is it:
A) Ed Whitson
B) Hideki Irabu
C) Roger Clemens
D) Carl Pavano

This weekend is a big one….

Right now we’re in a rain delay which has no interest in ending any time soon. If they wash the game out, Tom Glavine gets win number 297 and we get the cheap win. Conversely, in Philadelphia right now they are in a rain delay as well. The difference is they are trailing the Reds 7-6, bottom of the 8th with the tying run on third and two outs. If both games end the Mets will be up 3.5 games on the Phillies with one more to play before Armageddon aka the weekend series in Philly.

Make no mistake about it, these are four HUGE games.

The pitching match ups look like this:

Game 1 of the doubleheader
Maine vs Durbin

Game 2 of the doubleheader
Pelfrey vs Hamels

Saturday
Sosa vs Happ

Sunday
Perez vs undecided

It looks like the Phillies will be throwing at the very least two rookies against us. They will be bringing the talk and swagger of Jimmy Rollins, the bat of Ryan Howard and the obnoxiousness of the Phillies fans. We in turn will be packing as many Mets fans into that ballpark as humanly possible. Sadly, I will not be in attendance this weekend. My favorite place to watch a game is ironically in Philadelphia, mainly because there is NOTHING better than chanting LETS GO METS from the first pitch to the last out and watching their fans get more and more frustrated. How I haven’t been punched in the face by now is a bigger mystery than Loch Ness, Bigfoot and Jimmy Fallon’s career combined!

After seeing them destroy our bullpen in pulling out all three games late, we have to send a message back. Let’s say we enter Friday up 3.5 games. The last thing me you or the late Doris from Rego Park would want to see is the Phillies chopping two games off the lead and gaining more confidence – God FORBID a sweep. Instead we have to do what we did last year – throw the hammer down. We entered the series last year in first place by 6.5 games. We left three days later up 9.5 and had basically wrapped up the division.

Fortunately for us, the boys in blue and orange LOVE hitting in Philadelphia. There is no better cure for slumping bats than the short porches in left and right. Reyes, Beltran, Delgado and Wright have all made it a habit of wearing out Phillies pitching in this park. Hopefully the trend continues this weekend.

The one thing I like is how the two potential aces are going in this series – Maine and Perez. Maine begins the series and Perez closes it out. Considering Pelfrey is coming back up for the first time and has to pitch in that park against their ace, it is very important John Maine has a W next to his name in the boxscore come 4pm.

It might be greedy, might be unreasonable but I want thousands of Mets fans on Sunday to be chanting and holding brooms. It’s time to finally make a statement. It’s time to assert our dominance in a division that is wide open.

Prediction: At the end of the year, when baseball writers are making out their MVP ballots they point to this series as the time Jose Reyes declared his candidacy.

And before I end this week I have to give the Happy Birthday shoutout to a great American – my cousin Matt. Happy 26th – way to keep breathing!
 

Tom Starita very much wanted to make the subject of this week’s column Roger Clemens and all his troubles, from the high ERA to pussing out when facing Barry Bonds in relief on Sunday. If you would like to write him expressing your joy in Roger’s failures, the Mets chances this weekend or to send a friendly picture email him at MrStarita@yahoo.com. As always, feel free to comment on the column in our easy to use forums found below!