No Maddux v. Glavine

According to Matthew Cerrone @ Mets Blog the dodgers will opt to pitch Hong-Chih Kuo in game 2 instead of Greg Maddux.

...Maddux will be their game 3 starter at home.

So thats a Tom Glavine vs. Hong-Chih Kuo...
and...
Steve Trachsel?? vs. Greg Maddux...

...im going to miss the Glav/Maddux matchup.
Hopefully Kuo (Lefty) doesnt kill us like all the lefties have been doing lately and waste a playoff start from Glav...

'The Wright Flight'

this is an odd one...

So Delta Airlines has nicknamed one of its planes "The Wright Flight" after 3B David Wright...
ok...?

"This is our way of congratulating the team, by dedicating one of our aircraft to its All-Star third baseman," said Tim Mapes, managing director of marketing for Delta.

It will have the number 5 and David's signature near the door, so everyone boarding will be able to know they are taking "The Wright Flight"...
haha

Postseason Roster...

Matt Cerrone at MetsBlog is saying that this is the post season roster...

Catchers�

Paul Lo Duca, Ramon Castro and Mike DiFelice�

Infielders�

Carlos Delgado, Jose Valentin, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Julio Franco and Chris Woodward�

Outfielders�

Carlos Beltran, Cliff Floyd, Shawn Green, Endy Chavez and Michael Tucker�

Pitchers�

Orlando Hernandez, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel, John Maine, Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Chad Bradford, Pedro Feliciano, Guillermo Mota, Darren Oliver and Roberto Hernandez�

...sorry lastings...

Position and Pitching Breakdown

Tom Singer does a nice breakdown onf the position players and the pitching...

Heres how i see it...

Catcher -- Mets
Lo Duca has Russel Martin beat. Sure Paul's never seen the postseason but either has Martin. Lo Duca is the grizzled vet with the dream in sight...he'll fight harder than anyone out there...

First Base -- Mets
Nomar was the comeback story of the first half, and has only come on recently. Delgado hasnt seen the posteason yet, but his big bat has been hot. Carlos wins this one.

Second -- Dodgers
Stupid Jeff Kent. Hes been at 2nd base longer. They have similar stats, with Kent having a better average, Valentin is clutch...he's already a cult hero in NY...but i have to give this one to LA

Third -- Mets
Wilson Betimit is no match for David Wright. Wright is so hungry for a ring...i dont think Betimit's speed can match up to the power of Wright.

SS -- Draw
Furcal and Reyes seem pretty similar to me...Furcal is a bit more stable, but Reyes is a wildcard...you never know what Jose will do

Left Field -- Dodgers
Ethier may beat Floyd (who will probably start 1&2) Chavez is another wildcard...he can pop one off you, made great plays in the field and so on...Ethier does not beat Chavez...but overall...Dodgers have the advantage...

Center Field -- Mets
Carlos Beltran is hurting a bit (he says he's at 80%) but thats still better than 100% of Kenny Lofton. Sure theyre different hitters...but overall Beltrans a much better hitter...and could be the new Mr. October (remember '04?)

Right -- Draw
JD Drew vs. Shawn Green...theyre very similar players, hitters, fielders...I might have to give it to Drew just because his hat stays on more...

Bullpen -- Mets
This was easy...without Gagne theyre not scary at all...
and we have one if, if not the best pen in the mlb.
Easy one for the Mets.

Bench -- Dodgers
Lugo, Kemp, Hall and ex-met-bench-phenom Marlon Anderson beat out "Ice Cold" Woodward, "Old Man" Franco, "Journeyman" Tucker, "Speedy" Chavez and maybe "The Rook" Milledge.

Pitching -- Draw
You never know with pitching...
El Duque is always good, and Glav has started more postseason games than almost anyone. The Dodgers have a more set rotation but will be missing Penny.

Manager -- Mets
Willie has learned. He knows when to pull pitchers now...he is def. a different manager from the start of this year.

Intangibles? -- Mets
There is so much going on in NY. the guys on this team are mostly friends, been through alot, and are HUNGRY!
LA just barely squeaked in...they dont look as hungry.

The Final Tally
Mets -- 7
Dodgers -- 3
Draw -- 3

Playoff Predictions from Yahoo

NLDS

Tony Gwynn -- Mets in four.

Jeff Passan -- Mets in four.

Mark Pesavento -- Mets in for.

...nice! now lets just hope our mets stick to this plan...i too see the mets winning it in 4...

NLCS

Gwynn -- Padres in seven

Passan -- Padres in six

Pesavento -- Mets in six

...meh...i dont think the padres are that good...the way we saw them play at shea in mid August is who they are...i think we take this in six...

WS

Gwynn -- Yanks in six

Passan -- Yanks in six

Pesavento -- Twins in six

...i agree with Pesavento here...i just dont think we can stack up to the twins...theyre really a great team and theyre been so hot for so long...im really scared of this team...

end of the reg. season...

Los Mets put on a nice run at the end of the season, trying to get some momentum heading into the postseason...

They won 7-4 @ Atl.
4-3
13-0
and 6-2 @ Wash.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

first three games...
Game One: RHP Derek Lowe vs. RHP Orlando Hernandez (Wed. @ 4:19pm)
Game Two: LHP Hong-Chih Kuo vs. LHP Tom Glavine (Thurs @ 8pm)
Game Three: RHP Greg Maddux vs. RHP Steve Trachsel / John Maine ?? (TBA)

Pedro worst than thought...

SNY is reporting Pedro Martinez will have rotator cuff surgery sometime next week...

They're reporting that recovery time will be about 8 months...

...oh my...watching the mets classics...and it flashes up on the bottom...i dont know what to think. boyyy oh boyy pedro. just wow.

AP report.

Pedro done for this year.

Pedro done for year.

Pedro Martinez has a tear in his LEFT calf...he will be out 4-6 weeks (done for the year)

yes...his left calf, not the one that has been giving him all the trouble.

so mr John Maine...welcome to the postseason starting job!

...i like maine, sure hes never pitched the postseason...but hes a calm and collected guy so i dont think that the playoff pressure will really get to him...

Reyes vs. Jeter

Reyes vs. Jeter

...who will win?!
short ESPN article on who is more valuable to the team...

and a poll...
go vote!

update:: jeter won. 60% to 40%

Slump??

i hate to say it...but are we in a slump?
i mean, i know we're resting some players, and taking it a bit easy before the playoffs...but...am i the only one a little scared??

our last ten games we are 3-7.
in the last 12 games weve scored 35 runs to our opponents 47. that doesnt seem like a huge difference but compared to how were used to winning games. and how our offense has looked most of the year..now is not the time to "slump"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so if the season ended today, we would be playing the Dodgers.
but...who knows who is going to make the playoffs as the Card's are falling apart.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and a great article on SI.com from Pete McEntegart on the top10 reasons he hates the yankees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So Pedro goes tonight�sort of with the playoff game 1 starter on the line.
it all depends how he feels�

El Duque would probably pitch game 1 if Pedro cant go�
7:35. ATL.
pedro v. hudson