Quality Start: The Best Rivalry in Baseball

Good Morning Jerks! Day 2 of the Fetch 9000 is upon us. Hopefully it doesn’t let us down or fly off in some other direction. Don’t forget to check out all the fine wares being peddled by our humble and honest advertisers. If you see something you like make sure you check them out. Those ads have links to their sites if you maybe be looking for some sort of direction on how to find them.

I am writing this after watching a tough loss to the Phillies. The Mets lost 5-4 in 11 innings. They were up 4-1 but the Phillies came back. This was not like Tuesday night’s slug fest. This was a crisp, well played game. Singles, base running and defense decided it. Chase Utley did add two homers, including the game winner in the 11th. Jayson Werth made the one of the great plays this season. He extended out on a David Wright liner in the gap and if the ball gets past him , Fernando Martinez scores and the Mets win in the 10th. Really, it was a hell of a game. The Mets leaving 13 16 men on base and the bases loaded 3 times does not make me happy. They had 16 hits. 16! Really.

As I am watching this game and flicking over occasionally to the Red Sox/Yankee game I am beginning to realize Mets/Phillies may have take over as the best played rivalry in baseball. Now the history is not there. Yet. But it is growing. The Met collapses. The Phillies Championship. Yet, the Mets beat the Phillies in the season series, leading to a weird Philly under current that never lets the Mets out of their psyche. Each game is well played and there are rarely blowouts. The players do not like each other. The Yankees/Red Sox is no longer the same. The players have turned over so much that the history of the earlier part of the decade is not in their minds. They weren’t part of it. The Mets and Phillies core players have been going at it since 2006.

Before the Mets started choking every September away, the Phillies were the under achievers. In fact, if the Mets didn’t fold like a cheap suit in 2007, that season would have been another major Phillie disappointment. All that past is fresh in the minds of Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Rollins, Howard, Utley, Werth, Victorino and Hamels. Pedro Feliciano collects a Mets paycheck because he shuts down Utley and Howard. So does Oliver Perez. The Mets beat on Cole Hamels, where the rest of the world doesn’t. Jamie Moyer beats on the Mets, unlike the pounding he takes by the rest of baseball. Larry Wayne Jones Jr. is so jealous of this rivalry he won’t shut is old irrelevant ass up about either team.

Yankees/Red Sox is boring. Every game takes 5 hours. The Red Sox have been wiping the floor with the Yankees the last few years. There is very little sniping that doesn’t involve Joba Chamberlain, who has yet to live up to the talk. Mets/Phillies is the real deal. I am not saying this rivalry between the teams will stay this way. Eventually these players will go away and all that will be left is fan hatred. And it is starting to run deep. But watching Jimmy Rollins shush the crowd after a homer and then execute a textbook take out slide in the 9th inning insights the Mets fans and enlivens the Phillie fans. Mike Pelfrey yelling at Chase Utley to get his ass back in the batters box after taking time out twice before Pelfrey was to throw a pitch is great. The glare down after the Utley grounded out was great. Johan Santana yelling at his manager to stay in the game, even when he had nothing, because he knew it meant just a bit more to go further for his team against the Phillies. The Phillies acting like the etiquette police every time the Mets do some ridiculous handshake even though they are just as ridiculous and obnoxious in their celebrations and over dramatic gestures.

I hated losing this game. The Mets had it. But even up 4-1 I knew there was no cruising to victory. Not against the Phillies. Both teams bring out the best in each other. Both teams also exploit each teams biggest flaws.  It is what a rivalry is supposed to be. Both teams are playing to win the Division. Unlike the Red Sox/Yankees, the Wild Card is no given for the loser. The regular season, as of now, means everything. 19 games to try to swing the difference your way. It is a pleasure to have this rivalry in my life. It is also my greatest source of anxiety. I would not have it any other way.

Here are last night’s scores:

Red Sox 6 Yankees 5: Chien-Ming Wang once again sucked major balls and asshole. He let up 4 runs in 2 2/3. Tim Wakefield provided a Quality Start with 6 innings and 3 runs. The parade of homers in this game reads like a guest list at a douche bag convention. Damon, Posada, Teixeira, Youkilis and Lowell. That’s a lot of HGH right there. The Red Sox are now 7-0 over their rivals. These games are no longer fun to watch.

Royals 9 Indians 0: The Royals and Indians are doing a hell of a tap dance to demonstrate who’s worse. Last night, the Indians stepped to the plate getting shut out by Gil Meche. Meche let up 4 hits over 7 innings. He was terrific. Carl Pavano raped babies with 9 earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. I would tell you more about the Royals offense but they will most likely get shut out the next game. I have no use for useless information.

Rays 9 Angels 5: Last year, this match up was a battle of two of the AL’s elite. This year, it’s two middling teams with bullpen issues. Willy Aybar was the tits with going 2-3 with a homer and 3 RBI. Carlos Pena was 2-4 with a solo homer. Jeff Niemann was once again useless 4 ER in 3 2/3. John Lackey gave up 8 over 5. Way to perform in that contract year.

Pirates 3 Braves 2: The Pirates tried to show worth in the Nate McLouth trade by calling up Charlie Morton to start against his old team. He really show the Braves what they were missing by pulling a hammy in the first. Jeff Karstens came in and gave them 4 2/3 innings of solid relief. Former Brave Adam LaRoche looked like a douchebag while getting 2 RBI.

Tigers 2 Meth Sox 1: What a pitcher’s duel at U.S. Methular Field. Justin Verlander pitched a complete game six hitter. He had 9Ks. John Danks allowed 2 runs in 7 1/3. Jim Thome had a solo homer. Adam Everett had one as well.