Phillies-Mets Debate: Let's Settle This Now, Pt. 1

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Enough is enough. There have been as many Mets and Phillies articles as there are children of Brad and Angelina.

They multiply everyday (the kids and the articles).

So why don't we end this now? This rambling about who has the better bullpen, closer, infielders, fans, and clubhouse carpets has to stop.

I thought about how we could stop this finally came upon an idea sometime last week. What better way is there to end a disagreement, or clear some of the air up, than a debate?

I have decided to create a cross-community debate, as I call it. I selected two Phillies writers to debate alongside me, and Richard Marsh selected three for the Mets.

Richard was originally involved here in Part 1, but he will be in next week's debate (more on this later).

I created five questions and Richard came up with three of his own, and I compiled them all to send out to the writers we chose. They answered them, sent them back to me, and I put them together along with my own answers.

Now, as I hinted at above, this is not a one-week segment. There are two initial parts to this series.

This week, we will be debating pitching. Next week, we will focus on hitting. Different writers will be chosen for next week's debate.

This may come back during the season, depending on how things play out.

A trip to Spring Training delayed this piece, but I have finally grouped my ideas together to write this up.

Here it goes. Enjoy what you see. That is a command.

New York Mets Writers: David Marine, Lou Cappetta, and Wendy Adair.

Philadelphia Phillies Writers: Christian Karcole (myself), Bryn Swartz, and Cody Swartz.

1. Both the Mets and Phillies have top notch aces in Johan Santana and Cole Hamels, respectively. Yet, beyond those two, neither team has a stand-out pitcher that is known to bring the heat day in and day out. Evaluate the rest of the rotations and tell us team you believe has the upper hand in this area.

Mets Side

Wendy Adair: For the Mets, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and Livan Hernandez close out the starting rotation behind Johan Santana.

Maine and Perez both have a lot to prove this spring for various reasons and have not shown any established consistency as of yet, but there is still time before Opening Day to work out their mechanics.

Pelfrey has been battling leg problems, which could affect his mechanics and delivery greatly, but with proper conditioning, he will be fine.

Livan Hernandez is new to the team. replacing Pedro Martinez. The Mets organization, and the fans, are hoping Hernandez will give us more innings than Martinez to take the pressure off the bullpen.

For the Phillies, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, Brett Myers and either Chan Ho Park or J.A. Happ are the pitchers behind Cole Hamels.

Blanton was added to the rotation to replace Adam Eaton, Jamie Moyer is close to retirement, and Brett Myers is known to have problems with consistency.

Park and Happ are competing for the fifth starter slot, which may or not always be utilized, depending on the scheduled days off. But either picther can always provide long relief.

The two rotations are pretty well-matched, but I believe the Mets will have the upper hand because they are a hard-working, fairly young staff. With anticipated run support from their sluggers, they should all put up good numbers.

David Marine: Santana and Hamels are equally valuable to their teams, but after that, I think the edge has to go to the Mets as far as the remainder of the rotation.

The Phillies' rotation is straight out of The Dream Team, a movie back in the early 90's with Michael Keaton and Peter Boyle.

You've got your leader (Hamels), old guy (Moyer), your crazy guy (Myers), your young guy who's inexperienced (Kendrick), and the token fat guy (Blanton).

What the Phillies have here is as reliable as the CW program schedule.

The Mets rotation isn't exactly formidable, but there's definitely better potential, with two guys who won 15 games each just two seasons ago (Maine and Perez), a kid who's looking like he could be a future ace (Pelfrey), the journeyman with an elastic arm (Hernandez), and the best pitcher in baseball (Santana).

Advantage goes to the Mets.

Lou Cappetta: Both rotations have less-than-stellar starting rotations after their respective aces. Moyer, the Phils No. 2 starter, is probably the best of the bunch, so he gets a slight edge over Maine.

Moyer can still win games, but one has to wonder when his age will finally catch up to him.

Maine, who had an excellent season in 2007, took a step back in 2008 and will be trying to come back from offseason surgery.

Myers and Perez are very similar. One day they pitch lights out, the next they're getting stomped by the Nationals.

Pelfrey was a huge bright spot for the Mets last season and may eventually become the No. 2 starter, but he needs to prove 2008 wasn't a fluke.

Blanton was very good down the stretch for the Phils, going 4-0, but he too needs to show what he can do for a full season.

Both teams will mix and match starters at the five spot and are very similar overall.

I give a slight edge to Santana over Hamels, but as far as the rest of the starting staff, the advantage is Philadelphia's.

Phillies Side

Christian Karcole: It's the Phillies, and I can say that with complete confidence.

Myers had a terrible first half last season, but his 2.25 and 1.65 ERA's in July and August respectively showed us how well he can pitch at full strength.

Of course, those aren't the numbers Myers will put up every month, but he should be able to put up a 3.50 ERA and a decent WHIP.

Moyer is one of the best 46-year olds in the history of baseball, and his 16 wins last season showed that.

Blanton didn't lose a game with the Phillies last season. And both Happ and Park can be solid fifth starters.

Park used to be a high quality starter, but also fits well in the bullpen. If Happ ends up with the job, hopefully he can evolve into a good six-inning pitcher.

Pelfrey, Maine, Perez, and Hernandez all combine to make a solid group as well, but they can't match up to the standard set in Philadelphia.

Maine has not exactly proved himself in the majors, especially with his injuries and inconsistencies, and Perez is overrated, as I have written before.

Pelfrey could fall into the Kyle Kendrick factor, where batters finally figure him out, but he looks to be the best out of the Mets' starters not named Johan Santana.

Then there's Hernandez, who is nothing like what he used to be. He got killed last season, and shows no sign of recovering.

Bryn Swartz: This one is easy. The Phillies have a significant advantage in starting pitching. Just look at how their pitchers performed in the postseason last year.

Myers could turn into one of the 10 best pitchers in baseball if everything works out, and Blanton didn't lose a single game in the regular season last year (as a Philly).

Moyer is the greatest 46-year-old pitcher in the history of baseball and whoever wins the job as the fifth starter should be only a step below the other pitchers.

The Mets have decent starting pitching, but head-to-head, I think they go 0-for-4 here.

Cody Swartz: Hamels and Santana are about as good as it gets for major league pitchers.

Hamels posted a 1.80 ERA in the 35 biggest innings of his life, but Santana wasn't too shabby either, posting a sub-2.00 ERA in both August and September.

Myers can be very streaky, but he is a lethal hitter, known to foul off dozens of pitches in a single at-bat.

Moyer is aging but still as productive as always, coming off a solid World Series outing.

Blanton is a terrific fourth pitcher, and the innings-eater for the team.

The only question mark for the team is the fifth spot, which looks to be either Park or Happ.

Pelfrey, Perez, and Maine are very reliable starters for the Mets, who, like the Phillies, only have a question mark for their fifth starting spot.

Slight overall edge goes to the Phillies.

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