Crazy Friday Night and Team Updates

Between a rain delay that actually lasted one minute longer than the entire Mets/Phillies game, and a near no-hitter broken up by the opposing pitcher, the New York teams had themselves quite a night last night.

Dustin Moseley gave up a tie breaking solo homerun to Billy Butler just a minute or so before the rain came, for the second rain delay of the night. The Yanks had overcome a 3-0 deficet by scoring 3 times in the 3rd, but Butler’s shot was the end of the scoring for the night as the bullpens for both teams pitched well after the game resumed. The Yanks had a chance to tie it in the 9th with runners at 1st and 3rd, but Royals closer Joakim Soria was able to get out of the jam for the save.

Over in Queens, R.A. Dickey threw a gem of a game, giving up only one hit to opposing pitcher Cole Hamels in a 1-0 win. It was the 2nd straight complete game shut out for the Mets, who lead the Lajor Leagues with 18 shutouts on the season. The Phillies haven’t scored a run in Citifield this year as of yet and are 0-4 in Queens. The lack of offense continued with only back to back doubles from David Wright and Carlos Beltran accounting for the only run of the game. The Mets string of bad luck continued as an apparent home run by 1st baseman Mike Hessman was overruled as fan interferance after a lengthy video review delay. After viewing the replay a number of times myself, it’s hard to see if the fan touched the ball, but the ball really would have been a home run anyway. However, the umpires overturned the homerun and granted Hessman a triple. He would eventually be stranded there.

So the Mets have won two games in a row for the first time since June 23rd. It seems they’ve stumbled on a wnning formula: just keep the starter in the game.

In the last four games, the Mets starting pitchers have been brilliant. Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey have thrown wonderfully. The only belemish in those games what the bullpen blowing Neise’s 7 innings of one run ball on Wednesday.

The Yankees have had a little patch where they’ve stumbled a bit, but a huge comeback win against Texas the other night, and the Tampa Bay Rays inability to hit lately and take advantage of the Yanks mini struggles keep the Bronx Bombers two games ahead in the AL East.

Andy Pettite suffered a setback while pitching in a simulated game in Tampa and it seems that the veteran is nowhere near ready to return to the mound for the first time since July 19. Before suffering a left groin strain in the third inning of a start against the Rays last month at Yankee Stadium, Pettitte was have the best start of an impressive career with an 11-2 record and an ERA of 2.88. He was selected (rightfully so despite my problems with Yankee Skipper Joe Giradi’s Yankee bias in All-Star Team selections) for the all-star team this year and the Yanks will certainly need him if them make (which is pretty much expected, if not a given a this point in the season) the postseason.

Today, The Mets will try and continue their dominance of Philadelphia at Citifield, but it’s going to be a tall order as Rookie Pat Misch will face off against Phillie’s ace Roy Halladay with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 PM. The Yankees will look for revenge in Kansas City tonight when they send Phil Hughes to face off against RHP Sean O’Sullivan for a 7:10 start also.

You See… The Phillies are Just Jerks

So what do you call a team that cheats, and when called out about it, tries to deflect things to bitch about a division rival… one that your team has basically ridiculed for three years?

You call that team the Two Time Defending National League Champions apparently.

So a number of news outlets (including Yahoo Sports, MetsBlog.com, ESPN and CBS Sports) have reported that The Colorado Rockies accused the Phillies bullpen coach, Mick Billmeyer, of using binoculars to steal signs from their catcher during monday’s game (a 9 – 5 win for Philadelphia). This follows other complaints about the Phillies including both the LA Dodgers and NY Yankees making the same claims during the playoffs last year.

After viewing some videotape, the Commisioner’s Office informed the Phillies that they would not be allowed to use binoculars during games. No one from the Commisioner’s office actually used the word “cheating” or “stealing signs” or “stealing sequences”, but the general concensus seems to be the Phillies have a reputation for this sort of thing.

So, of course, what does Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel do when asked about it?

Why… he attacks the Mets of course. Manuel was quoted saying: “Somebody maybe ought to check the Mets if they did that. Their [bleeping] home record is out of this world and they’re losing on the road. Sometimes that’s a good indicator of getting signs and [crap]. I see somebody sitting there at 17-2 at home and 4-12 on the road, I’d get concerned about that. That kind of crosses my mind… I’m not accusing them, but you look at that and – damn. We’re about the same home and road. I’m just saying their record is much better at home and they hit better… (The Rockies complained) because we beat them… Keep crying. I’m sure if they can steal signs, they’ll steal them. And believe we will, too, if we can get them. Yeah, we will. Legally. If you’re dumb enough to let us get them, then that’s your fault. That’s been in the game for a long time.”

Manuel went on to say that his coach was only using binoculars to check out the positioning of his own catcher during Colorado at-bats. Right… despite the fact that the cameras showed Billmeyer using the binoculars during Phillies at-bats… NOT during the time his catcher would have been on the field playing defense.

Even if you ignore that bit of info and try and forget the fact that television cameras captured outfielder Shane Victorino chatting to someone on the bullpen phone in the Phillies dugout… it doesn’t change the fact that the Phillies manager totally used a baseless accusation towards a division rival to deflect the glare from his own team’s wrongdoing. A runner at 2nd basebase trying to see a catcher’s sign and relay it to the batter is one thing… that happens. A coach using some sort of equipment, be it binoculars or a camera of sorts is plain cheating.

Amazingly yet, there Metsblog.com reported that there were whispers of the Phillies doing the same thing against the Mets in the early season series this year when facing Mets’ ace Johan Santana who strangely enough had his worst outing of the year by far that night. “Some people were talking, amongst us, the bullpen coach would come out and hang over the fence when they were hitting,” Rod Barajas said yesterday, according to The Associated Press, regarding Santana’s start. “And then when we were hitting they were sitting back.”

There were complaints about the Phillies using a camera in centerfield and trying to catch signs back in 2007 by the Mets and The Boston Red Sox also.

Ok… so am I the only one who sees a pattern here? Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, Victorino… they all seem to be obsessed with the Mets… which makes no sense seeing that the Phillies have won the damn division the last three years. Two of those years the Mets handed them the division on a platter… so maybe they realize they WOULDN’T have won them without the Mets collapse and that bothers them… but in any case… to constantly bring up the Mets in a negative light every time there’s something to be talked about is just plain being a team of jerks.

Hamels has called the Mets “choke artists” and said “we think they always will until they prove us wrong”.

Victorino threw an elbow into Jose Reyes’ chest during a rundown while on the basepaths during a game early last season that should have resulted in Victorino being out at the end of the play. Somehow the ump blew it and called Reyes for obstruction. He was called safe (when he was actually out). Victorino would then score when the inning continued (when it should have been over) and the next hitter hit a homerun. Not only was the bush play bad enough, but after the game Victorino snickered about it and called the Mets whiners.

This from a team that complained non-stop about Jose Reyes “over-celebrating” in 2006 and 2007.

Fact is, the Phillies are a bunch of unlikeable schmucks. They brag, they insult, they seemingly cheat, and when things don’t go their way they whine. Yet, people are supposed to believe the Mets are the “bad guys” and the Phillies are the blue-collar heroes.

Please. Enough is enough. The Mets need to make a stand against this team of idiots. In my opinion, their leadoff hitter needs a plunking in the first inning of the first game the two teams next play. Hopefully Victorino will be leading off.

Rivalry is one thing. Being a fricking ass is quite another. Time to shut the damn Phillies up.