Thursday, August 31, 2006
Mets are best
The Mets are "the best team in baseball," Ben Shpigel writes in today's New York Times. That's because, with the Mets' 11-3 victory over the Rockies last night, they now have the top record in all of Major League Baseball.
They overtook the Tigers, who split a doubleheader with the Yankees, by two percentage points. The Mets, .626. The Tigers, .624. The Tigers, at 83-50, have one more win and loss than the Mets (82-49). Until yesterday, they had the best record in baseball virtually all season.
The Mets have won 11 out of 12 games, and lead their division by 15.5 games, the widest margin in baseball.
Meanwhile, the Yankees (78-53, .595) extended their AL East lead over the Red Sox to 8 games, sparking talk of another Subway Series in New York (the last one was in 2000 when the Yankees beat the Mets in 5 games). In Wednesday's New York Times, Mike Bauman contended, "It could happen. In fact, the chances of this occurring have gone, in less than one month, from truly remote to distinctly possible.
"Presuming that both Martinez and Glavine are healthy for the postseason, it would be highly difficult to project any other National League team beating [the Mets]. The only possibility would be a team whose pitching gets on a roll at precisely the right time. Maybe the Dodgers of recent weeks suggest themselves in that area. The Astros still have this theoretical possibility. But over time this season, nobody else's pitching in the National League has reminded you of an October success story."
Regarding the likelihood of the Yankees playing in their first World Series since 2003, Bauman states: "What looks more difficult are [their] potential postseason opponents. Oakland will likely come out of the West and two of three should hail from the Central: Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago. All have better pitching on paper than the Yanks. But then, this is an American League year in all other ways, so its eventual champion should be severely tested by somebody."
The Mets go for the sweep against the Rockies today in Colorado.
PHOTO OF JOSE VALENTIN COURTESY OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
They overtook the Tigers, who split a doubleheader with the Yankees, by two percentage points. The Mets, .626. The Tigers, .624. The Tigers, at 83-50, have one more win and loss than the Mets (82-49). Until yesterday, they had the best record in baseball virtually all season.
The Mets have won 11 out of 12 games, and lead their division by 15.5 games, the widest margin in baseball. Meanwhile, the Yankees (78-53, .595) extended their AL East lead over the Red Sox to 8 games, sparking talk of another Subway Series in New York (the last one was in 2000 when the Yankees beat the Mets in 5 games). In Wednesday's New York Times, Mike Bauman contended, "It could happen. In fact, the chances of this occurring have gone, in less than one month, from truly remote to distinctly possible.
"Presuming that both Martinez and Glavine are healthy for the postseason, it would be highly difficult to project any other National League team beating [the Mets]. The only possibility would be a team whose pitching gets on a roll at precisely the right time. Maybe the Dodgers of recent weeks suggest themselves in that area. The Astros still have this theoretical possibility. But over time this season, nobody else's pitching in the National League has reminded you of an October success story."
Regarding the likelihood of the Yankees playing in their first World Series since 2003, Bauman states: "What looks more difficult are [their] potential postseason opponents. Oakland will likely come out of the West and two of three should hail from the Central: Detroit, Minnesota and Chicago. All have better pitching on paper than the Yanks. But then, this is an American League year in all other ways, so its eventual champion should be severely tested by somebody."
The Mets go for the sweep against the Rockies today in Colorado.
PHOTO OF JOSE VALENTIN COURTESY OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
