Let's do this thing.
No, I'm not finally standing up because the Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez. Everyone saw that coming.
Phillies fans, you deserve a couple months of celebration for your World Title. You capitalized on another monumental collapse to squeak into the playoffs, and you actually did something this year.
Congratulations.
Now for the reality check. The Phillies winning the title was the worst possible scenario for baseball.
Think about it:
Chicago Cubs: I won't waste space explaining.
Tampa Bay: Great story, rags to riches. Joe the Manager leads all his no-name players into battle, and they survive the toughest division in baseball, the AL East, to achieve ultimate glory.
Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles: First year with Joe Torre at the helm, put together with ex-rival Manny Ramirez to drive an 84-win squad to a championship.
Boston Red Sox: Yeah, I'm over them, too. But at least people would watch.
Milwaukee Brewers: Almost as bad of a story as the Phillies, but they fired their manager in September and they had the man with his own zip code throwing every four days. It's kind of endearing. America loves fat people.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: The plausible story. This team did everything. Run, hit, field, pitch. You name it. They survived a good chunk of the season without John Lackey, and the entire season without Kelvim Escobar. And who doesn't love watching Vlad?
Chicago White Sox: That's who won the Central, right? This is a pretty bland team, too, but we knew they weren't going anywhere.
So far I'm just sounding like a whiny Mets fan. Because it's true.
The Phillies? Seriously? The last thing the city of Philadelphia needs is bragging rights. Now they won't shut up for an entire year. They probably won't even shut up after the Mets win the World Series next year.
"WE WON IT FIRST!"
Okay, enough of this superficial stuff. Let's get down to nuts and bolts.
Each player on each team is a year older, Chase Utley is out until at least June, and both teams have to figure out what's going on with their starting rotations.
The Mets need to pony up the big bucks to keep Oliver Perez. The Phillies have to make a decision on Orlando Hernandez's high-school classmate, Jamie Moyer, who led the team in wins last season, and won some big games down the stretch.
The Phillies are probably losing Pat Burrell, and the Mets will either get a left-fielder or use the Fernando Tatis/Daniel Murphy platoon. This is all old news.
Onto the K-Rod signing. This doesn't quite solidify the Mets' bullpen next season, but it's a start. Rodriguez blew seven saves last season. To the city of Philadelphia, that's a ton, but to the Mets, that's winning the division by 22 games.
Realistically, since the 29 blown saves weren't only blown in the ninth inning, it's unfair to say the Mets will win the division by 20 games next season. But if they Mets' bullpen improves by 50 percent, 25 percent, or even 10 percent, it sounds like a division title to me.
Unfair to assume the Mets will perform the same in the other facets of the game?
Here's food for thought—the Mets are more likely to have similar numbers than the Phillies!
Phillies fans can get all high and mighty, but I've got a reality check for you. Brad Lidge is going to blow saves next season.
It's true. He won't be perfect again. He's going to blow some.
As I alluded to before, Chase Utley is out for almost half the season. Who's to say he'll be the same when he gets back?
J-Roll can't do worse next year than he did this year, so an upgrade can be expected there.
As for the Mets, we don't know what we'll get out of Carlos Delgado, but expectations aren't too high. Same with Luis Castillo. It's almost nice not expecting anything out of the second base position. Any production will be a nice surprise.
It's not too much to ask any of the other veterans to have similar seasons to their 2008 campaigns.
Oh, and our ace pitchers?
Cole Hamels 2008 vs. NYM: 0-2, 6.00 E.R.A.
Johan Santana 2008 vs. PHI: 2-0, 2.97 E.R.A.
So, Phillies fans, tell me what important information I left out, proving you're the favorite to win the division next year.
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