Night Before The War

I know, it sounds ridiculous to call a mid-July a series a war, but with the Mets and Phillies, it's headed that way. The Mets and Phags have always had a chance to be a great rivalry given the proximity between the two cities and that they play in the same division, Phillies fans hate the Mets because they get more attention and win once in awhile and the Mets fAns hate the Phags because Philly is like the ugly middle step-child that nobody wantes to deal with, a poor man's Sox-Yanks if you will. Problem is, the teams were never good at the same time. The closest it ever came was in 1986 when the Phils came in 2nd, granted it was 20 games and again 2006 with Philly finishing 9 games back in a division that was never in doubt.

That all changed in 2007. It started with Jiminy Rollins proclamation that the Phillies were the team to beat in the N.L. East, it looked like nothing more than cheap talk when Rollins' error led to an Opening Day victory, got interesting when the Phags came in and punked the Mets at Shea in June, became big when the Phils dramatically swept 4 at Citizens Bank Park at the end of August. The final dagger coming September 14-16 when the Phags swept the good guys at Shea to begin The Collapse.

Given the Phags' swagger and the way last year ended, The Phags have long passed the Braves for the top spot on the shit list of Mets fans. Seeing the Rockies absolutely clean the Phags' clock in the NLDS barely eased the shock of what had happened a week before. The damage had already been done, sort of like putting the guy who killed your brother in the hospital.

Since Game 162, the Mets' only focus has not been about a championship, it's about reclaiming what should have been theirs and putting the Phags in their place.

Even a 2nd week matchup felt like a chance to exact revenge, not matter how small it was. Now with the two teams tied for first, for the first time since last September, it actually means something. Both teams have their off- and mid- season arms ready for the challenge, and the Phags are bringing The Wife Beater back for Wednesday.

I honestly don't know if I'm psyched for this series or terrified. Given that nothing ever comes easy for the Mets, and especially against the Phils over the past year, there's little reason to believe it'll change now. All I know is, bring it on.