Results tagged “Mets” from The Southpaw

So, Zack Greinke won the Cy Young. But can he slay a gnome?
An interesting look at Omar Vizquel and where he could end up.

Historically, if you grew up a Philadelphia Phillies fan, you developed an inferiority complex along the way.
You looked to the north and saw the Yankees perennially winning pennants and the Mets occasionally pulling off the trick. You looked to the west and saw that the Pirates, until recently, were always in contention. Down south, the Orioles were always the class of the American League off the field and often on it.
You were surrounded by success. Just not a part of it.
The Braves, whether in Boston, Milwaukee or Atlanta, had plenty of reasons to cheer. They had Hank Aaron, Warren Spahn, Eddie Matthews, Dale Murphy, The Four Aces and division crowns in 14 straight seasons. Below them were the Marlins. They came around in 1993 and won it all four years later. It took your Phils 97 years to do that.
Then the Fish rubbed it in your face and won it all again in 2002. They'd done in 10 years what you hadn't been able to pull of in more than a century.
And let's not talk about the Cardinals or the Dodgers. But I guess we have to, at least to give the kiddos a lesson. In 64, the Cardinals did to the Phillies what the Phillies did to the Mets two years ago. The Dodgers beat the Phils in the playoffs twice in the 70s, giving Black Friday a totally different meaning in the City of Liberty.
The Phillies were't lovable losers like the Cubs or tragically cursed like the Red Sox.
Your team just lost in unlovable ways that meant they didn't even need a curse.
That's not the case now.

Who is the only player to win the All Star Game MVP and World Series MVP in the same season?

Roma Downey and Clarence are headed to the playoffs.
It's time to hit the panic button.

Oh, how we love Placido Polanco.
Oh, how we loathe Milton Bradley.

The Dodgers make some moves.
The Braves make a move.
Ryan Howard's in a groove.

Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Jay Marshall throws from way down low.
Why baseball shouldn't even come close to contracting.
We admit we were wrong.
And a late-summer reading list.

It was a night of grand slams for Russell Martin, Brian Roberts and Brendan Ryan.
For once, Brett Myers didn't get slammed.
And Derek Jeter is not the MVP.

The Dodgers didn't dodge the Padilla bullet.
The Phillies are in love with Cliff Lee.

Colby Rasmus tosses his helmet as he races home after walking off a win for the St. Louis Cardinals.
We've got a more believable story about Brett Myers' black eye.
Ryan Howard's heating up.
We hope David Wright is healing.

Sure the Nationals are irrelevant and the Phillies have a big lead, plus Cliff Lee.
However, if history repeats itself, big leads don't matter in the NL East.

Defending the Mets. Yes, you read that right, we're going to defend the Mets.
But not Melvin Mora.

Can Daniel Murphy and the Mets catch the World Champs? Or are the Phillies playing the Yankees to the Mets' Red Sox?
The Philadelphia Phillies, their fans and their city should be content with where they stand.
On top of the world.
Right now, they are the reigning World Series Champs. They hold back-to-back division titles. And they have crippled the egos new New York Mets fans.
It's kind of like how the Yankees used to be with the Boston Red Sox.
That's right, to the Metropolitans and their fans, the Phillies are the Evil Empire.
So, we can expect 86 years of dominance, right?
Come on, the Mets have more injured veterans than Walter Reed. The Phillies have a big lead. They need to be more concerned with the Marlins, not Willie Randolph, err, Jerry Manuel.
What could Phillies fans possibly worry about? Black Friday was more than 30 years ago.
They're World Champs. They got the rings. They got the glory. They got Cole Hamels.
But a bit of recent history looms over the Phillies. No, the shadow does not belong to Joe Carter, or the Ghosts of '64 for that matter.
It's the Ghosts of 2007.

Thinking about a Roy Halladay trade, one that would send him to the Phillies, is like thinking about Santa the night before Christmas.
Trust me, it is.
And how awesome is it that Alan Embree didn't even throw a pitch and he got the win.

The Southpaw is sick and tired of King Felix. He's barely a duke. Barely.
The Phillies opened up a can Monday.
And yes, we actually defend Derek Jeter.

The Orioles completed a sweep of the Phillies.
John Gonzalez takes on The Herd.
And CC says Seeya in the second.

Who was fighting in the outfield?
Yorvit Torrealba speaks out about his son's kidnapping.
And how come no one cares about Ivan Rodriguez anymore?

On Oct. 7, 1991, David Cone took the hill against Jim Fregosi's Philadelphia Phillies and already had a 3-run lead.
The Phillies were barely ahead of the Mets in the standings going into that final day, but both squads were 20 games back of first place.
No one expected anything special in this game.
Especially not with the Phillies starting lineup of shortstop Kim Batiste, second baseman Mickey Morandini, left fielder Wes Chamberlain, right fielder Dale Murphy, third baseman Dave Hollins, first baseman Ricky Jordan, center fielder Braulio Castio and catcher Doug Lindsey.
Then again, maybe fans should have expected something special. Dale Murphy was aging more quickly than an apple slice on an August day. Hollins and Morandini would each make all-star teams for weak National League squads in the future, but the Phillies' real offensive thunder of Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra and John Kruk were MIA.
David Cone, however, was concerned he was going to be arrested. He knew he was under investigation for rape. He didn't know, at the time, that the police would find the woman's allegations to be unfounded.
All David Cone could do on the mound that day was ecape from fear.
And he did.

Another stadium that should have been saved.

The draft seems to be on everybody's mind.
Who was the first player to get 3,000 hits?
Oh yeah, Ozzie Guillen went crazy again. That's always fun.
BREAKING: Mo won't go against the Bo Sox tonight.

Of course, we have to talk about Randy Johnson even if he once was called Rando Grando.
Cole Hamels was on. He owns L.A. more than Brangelina does.
And don't forget to drink your Melk. It does a Yankee good.
Is Carlos Beltran beginning to hate his teammates?