NL East

It was one year ago today that former Mets' skipper Willie Randolph was dismissed by GM Omar Minaya. Since then, the Mets are 87-67 under new manager and former bench coach Jerry Manuel.

Despite all of the criticism and negative publicity surrounding Manuel and the Mets, New York still finds themselves just four games out of first place and three games over .500 on the season.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that nearly half the team has been on the disabled list at one point or another during the season?

The Mets came into Friday night’s game with the Yankees in a tough spot. The Yankees had just been swept by the Red Sox and were now 0-8 on the season against them. They had to be hungry, and for the Mets, they had lost a couple of close games against the Phillies that many thought they should’ve won. It was going to be a true test, and until the bottom of the ninth inning, they had passed the test with flying colors.

If only Luis Castillo had used two hands.

It would be unbelievable if it wasn’t so believable.

When Luis Castillo dropped that pop-up on Friday, I was as stunned as every other Mets' fan. When Johan Santana got completely hammered today, I may have been just as stunned (well, not really – but do we actually need to start worrying about him now?). Listening to Tim McCarver sing on Saturday may have been the most stunning moment of all. If you thought the Phillies series was bad, that was a walk in the park compared to this weekend.

If you didn’t watch today’s game between the New York Mets and New York Yankees, I envy you. 

I am a baseball junkie, I love to just watch the game; Any two teams at any time.

However, today’s game was a painful one to sit through, and if it were not for the fact that it was a Mets game, the television would have been shut off after the fourth inning. 

Sorry for the editorializing.

Last night was about as grueling a game as you can play, and considering the offensive show that the Phillies put on, the Mets were fortunate to pull the game out. Johan Santana was not at his best, but he kept the team in the game, and a Ryan Church homer in the seventh made the difference.

Tonight is a new story. The Mets will go to battle with the Phillies’ cream of the crop, Cole Hamels. Hamels is coming off his best start of the season, when he five-hit the Manny-less Dodgers in a complete game shutout.

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It was destiny. There were few who suggested the Nats may pass on Strasburg but they mostly were trying to add suspense to the biggest no-brainer since LeBron James went first overall to the Cleveland Cav’s in 2003.

The Nationals selected the 6'5" righty out of San Diego State and in doing so may have marked a historic day, and perhaps a turning point in Washington Nationals history.

Strasburg comes to Washington after one of the most successful college career’s in history.

The Daniel Murphy/Fernando Tatis platoon perplexes me. It’s not just because Murphy already looks to be a better defensive first baseman, although that does help.

It seems Tatis hasn’t been solid defensively anywhere he’s played this year. He’s not a liability, but he’s not good either. Sometimes you have to look at the upside.

The best case scenario for Tatis is that he’s a solid guy off the bench, and can spot start at first or in the outfield a couple of times and contribute offensively.

The Mets offense exploded in the first inning this afternoon, scoring five runs before Livan Hernandez even threw a pitch. Hernandez took the ball and ran with it, shutting out the Nationals over seven innings in a 6—0 win at Nationals Park.

The Mets did exactly what they needed to do today, as they pummeled the Nationals by the score of 7-0. They immediately produced out of the box, and they were assisted by a couple of shotty plays by the Nationals’ defense. Livan Hernandez was excellent in his seven shutout innings, and the Mets tacked on.

This was certainly the statement that they needed to make with the Phillies coming into town on Tuesday.

What was the strength of last year's World Championship team is now the weakest link on the team.

Brad Lidge.

He was perfect in 2008.