http://www.hotstovenewyork.com/2009/06/12/the-mets-are-the-charlie-brown-of-baseball/ Hot Stove New York is the one-stop destination for New York sports fans. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 03:32:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 http://www.hotstovenewyork.com/2009/06/12/the-mets-are-the-charlie-brown-of-baseball/comment-page-1/#comment-3589 Jeff Zachowski Fri, 12 Jun 2009 15:39:22 +0000 http://www.hotstovenewyork.com/?p=12858#comment-3589 The Mets really need to fight against this perception because you hear it everywhere you turn, from the fans to the media. As you point out, the Mets have outplayed the Phils head-to-head for two years now. That stat is no substitute for a pennant, but it's reason enough to have confidence when facing these guys. While the Phillies have been this team's nemesis for three seasons now, the Mets have never been undone by an inability to beat their rival (*cough*yankees*) but rather by an inability to beat the rest of the division. The Mets can't afford to lose series to teams like the Nats and the Marlins and even the Braves. To me, losing 2 of 3 this week is disheartening, but it's not going to make me lose perspective. Overall, I'm still extremely confident when I see those red uniforms across the diamond. The Mets find themselves in a position now, however, where they really need a win tonight against a tough Yankee team, and <i>that</i>'s the worst part of losing these last two games - it makes this weekend's subway series even more pressurized than it is already. If the Mets take 2 in the Stadium and the Phils lose 2 to the Sox, then this week's series is suddenly a wash. Heck, the Mets could win just one game over the weekend and Boston could sweep the Phils in Philadelphia. Baseball's too crazy to predict what the standings will look like on Monday morning. The Mets really need to fight against this perception because you hear it everywhere you turn, from the fans to the media. As you point out, the Mets have outplayed the Phils head-to-head for two years now. That stat is no substitute for a pennant, but it’s reason enough to have confidence when facing these guys. While the Phillies have been this team’s nemesis for three seasons now, the Mets have never been undone by an inability to beat their rival (*cough*yankees*) but rather by an inability to beat the rest of the division. The Mets can’t afford to lose series to teams like the Nats and the Marlins and even the Braves. To me, losing 2 of 3 this week is disheartening, but it’s not going to make me lose perspective. Overall, I’m still extremely confident when I see those red uniforms across the diamond. The Mets find themselves in a position now, however, where they really need a win tonight against a tough Yankee team, and that’s the worst part of losing these last two games – it makes this weekend’s subway series even more pressurized than it is already. If the Mets take 2 in the Stadium and the Phils lose 2 to the Sox, then this week’s series is suddenly a wash. Heck, the Mets could win just one game over the weekend and Boston could sweep the Phils in Philadelphia. Baseball’s too crazy to predict what the standings will look like on Monday morning.

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