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.
You might remember September of 2007.
The Mets were reigning division champs. They held a huge, seemingly insurmountable lead over the Phillies.
Way back when, just 20 months ago, the Phightin' were the walking wounded. Chase Utley missed a chunk of the season. Cole Hamels was hurt. Ryan Howard was striking out at will.
But one All Star just kept plugging along.
He was Jimmy Rollins. He eventually won the MVP as he propelled Philadelphia to a monumental comeback and division crown.
This season David Wright has been plugging along while teammates Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado.
During the 2007 season, the Phillies tinkered with their roster. They brought up a prospect no one had ever heard of named Kyle Kendrick. He proceeded to win 10 games against four losses.
The Mets have several plums in their farm system, but a young man named Bobby Parnell has helped solidify the bullpen, while the future stars are sitting in the minors or scuffling along in the bigs.
Now, the Mets have done something the Phillies didn't do that season. They've tried to catch lightning in a bottle by trading for former Braves star Jeff Francouer. The right fielder was once a big-time bat for the Bravos. However, he is in a funk that has lasted for more than a season.
Could a change of scenery do him well? It's possible.
While the Mets have some similarities with the 2007 Phillies, the World Champs now have a similarity with the 2007 Mets: Pedro Martinez.
How about the game pitched last night by J-MO? Alot of my Philly friends want to give up on him.He will be a key figure down the stretch, although the Phillies will win the division by at least 8 games.Bank it!!!