I know I've been horrible at updating the site so far during the playoffs, and I can't promise it's going to get any better, because I have the most beautiful daughter in the world, and for me to update the site I would have to leave her for a few minutes, and I just don't want to do that. So I watch the games with her, and I forego the site.
So far, in her brief life, the Mets are 3-0. Which is very exciting. I'm telling you, it's been quite a week. I wish I had written earlier in the week, just because what I suspected has come true - despite the Mets' pitching issues (El Duque going down the day before Game 1, coupled with Pedro*'s rotator cuff), they have the power to outhit the National League teams. And that's what they've done. But the pitching hasn't been bad.
John Maine gave the Mets what they needed (considering such short notice, it was a very good start), the bullpen was awesome in Game 1 and Game 2, Tom Glavine gave the Mets the type of start they've expected from him in the post-season since they signed him, hoping they'd be able to use him in the post-season, and in Game 3, it was the bats that came through when the pitching was less than stellar. Billy Wagner slamming the door shut at the end of all three games is fun to watch, too.
David Wright talked in a post-game interview in Game 1 about how the Mets have a knack for scoring runs right after a team comes back on them to take the lead - and the Mets did that in Games 1 and 3 in this series, just like they've been doing all season long. A very nice, clean 3-game sweep for the Mets. Losing Cliff Floyd isn't great (although he's day-to-day, which isn't as serious-sounding as the injury looked) - but that just means more playing time for Endy Chavez, which is a good thing.
Now, hopefully San Diego can force a 5th game against St. Louis, just so both of those teams have their pitching stretched to the limit in the first round. That will allow the Mets to set their rotation up as best they can, and force the Cardinals or Padres to be mismatched. As much as I hate the fact that St. Louis made the playoffs, I'm loving the possibility, with them ahead 2 games to 1, that the Mets will face them in the NLCS. There's two ways to look at this - the negative opinion is that the Cardinals are now hitting their stride in the post-season. The positive side (as a Mets fan) is that the Mets can kill the Cardinals. Which I think will be the case.
I honestly felt there were just two teams that could beat the Mets in the post-season, and neither of those teams was in the National League. They were both American League teams, and now they are both eliminated. I thought the two biggest threats to a Mets World Championship were the Yankees and the Twins, and surprise of surprises, they were the first two teams to bow out. I'd rather the Mets face the Cardinals in the NLCS, but the Padres don't scare the heck out of me (they'd push the Mets more in the series), and I think the Mets match up better against the Tigers and/or A's than the Yanks and Twins. But that's looking too far ahead for now.
Game 1 of the NLCS is Wednesday - I hope to post before then. Maybe a preview. SNY is doing its post-game celebration coverage now - Tim Tuefel and Todd Zeile are now a part of the SNY team. Interesting choices there.
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