Series Two in the books

They didn't manage to put the Phillies away, but sometimes you're 4^th/5^th starter isn't going to be great, and the bullpen isn't always going to be spotless. They came back immediately after Utley's three run home run (And more people need to pitch this guy inside and hit him) to tie the game, which was nice.

They've been playing better now, and while a week ago people were prematurely screaming about how bad this team is, suddenly they don't look so bad. They got five games in a row, which is something they struggled to do last year, and it means that everyone in the rotation was able to keep them in the game. The bullpen has been much better than expected, the only concern I have is that it's kind of being overworked. But so far it's got a depth that was it's biggest weakness last year. If they can keep Schoeneweis and Sosa well rested, I think they'll be able to squeeze a little bit of consistency out of them, which would be nice.

So what if the Phillies didn't have Jimmy Rollins? We didn't have Pedro. Or Alou. Or El Duque. The injury card isn't valid, we beat the best they could throw at us.

The Mets recalled some of 2006 with a nice streak of scoring in the first inning. This fits well with their style of aggressiveness and putting pressure on the opposition, and it has a lot to do with Reyes getting on base. Now that we're a couple of weeks in, it's time to settle in and see how they do over a long period of time, let the slow starters catch up and the guys that are going to be carrying the team continue to step up and produce.

On a side note, I wish I had gotten to go down to Philly with the Metsblog crowd among all the others who made the trip, but I did get to visit Cooperstown for the first time this week.