Are the Mets the Only Team with Nemeses?

The Mets appear to be perpetually haunted by the ghosts of the past. Are the Mets the only team in baseball to have multiple nemeses? Why is it that when players get dumped by the Mets they came back to destroy them? Is this organization cursed?

I've been a Mets fan all my life, but having talked to friends who are Yankees, Phillies, Braves and Dodgers fans none of them could name more than one player who they would classify as a nemesis to their team. And in most cases their response was simply that this particular player has hurt them in the past year or two, but not throughout their career.

I realize my sampling is small and potentially myopic, but it made me question whether the Mets are the only team to have not just one nemesis, but sever Lex Luthor's out there.

Off the top of my head I'm sure any Mets fan can tell you that the archenemies of this team include Jimmy Rollins, Hanley Ramirez, Pat Burrell, Josh Johnson, Willy Harris, and Chipper Jones. These guys always seem to come through for their teams against the Mets. They may not have averages over .400 against the Mets, but they damage us at just the right time.

How many diving catches can Willy Harris make at Citi Field? Pat Burrell has more home runs against the Mets than Daniel Murphy has as a Met. Josh Johnson has enough scoreless innings against the Mets to total 4 shutouts.

If you know of other players that just destroy other teams, please share them because I'd like to know that the Mets aren't the only ones in this plight. But at this current it appears that the Mets may soon have a nemesis on each of the teams in the National League before this season is out.

The Phillies As Characters from Rocky

Our friends over at Bugs and Cranks have outdone themselves this time. In honor of the Phillies making the World Series, Rays writer, Dave, put together his list of Phillies that best fit various characters from the Rocky movies. Pat Burrell as Thunderlips is my personal favorite, although Cole Hamels as Mrs. Drago is pretty hilarious.

And I never realized just how much Shane Victorino and Rocky (from Rocky & Bullwinkle) look alike. It's actually quite creepy.

Head over to Bugs and Cranks to check out the full list or just click here.

An Unlikely First Place

I never thought we'd be in this position this year. Not after the April and May this team had.

But here we are in sole possession of first place. And who were the heroes of the game? Carlos Delgado and Oliver Perez. Two guys who's inconsistency and failures earlier in the season drove many a Mets Lifer insane.

Oliver Perez continues to show that he's a gamer. 12 strikeouts across 8+ innings and he didn't walk a single batter. The only walk of the game was an intentional one to Pat Burrell. Carlos Delgado who was 2 for 10 in this series got the one hit the Mets needed in the bottom of the 8th driving in Robinson Cancel and David Wright.

Although Perez will get much of the accolades, how cool under pressure was Aaron Heilman? He comes in with the bases loaded and calmly puts Jayson Werth to bed. Wagner might be sharing the "Sandman" intro in the near future.

Now I fully realize we're only 1 game up in the standings. This is hardly a reason to celebrate, but it's a nice feeling. The fact that the Mets are in this position after Tuesday's debacle makes it even sweeter.

Welcom Back (Not) Chase Utley

I heard the news driving home from work last night on the Willie Randolph Report with Ed Coleman. Chase Utley was returning to the lineup for the Phils. I knew this wasn’t good.

Utley is the new Mets killer, firmly supplanting the still dangerous, but aging, Chipper Jones. I know Pat Burrell has hit a home run in like every game he’s played against the Mets in his career, but that still doesn’t compare to what Utley can do. Every time he comes to the plate, I brace myself for the damage he’s about to cause. I remember two years ago in early September when the Mets were 2 games out of the Wild Card behind Philly, Utley hit 2 home runs off Pedro and the Mets never recovered from that blow.

I am as confident in him to rip the ball as I am in Scott Blowenweis to give up runs. In other words, he’s scares me more than any other player in the National League. And it doesn’t matter who you bring in to face him, righty, lefty, he smacks the ball to all parts of the field, and with power, which is another reason why I hate when he’s hitting. There is really no way to pitch to him. With Burrell, you can at least get him to swing at some bad pitches. His home run last night was a bomb, and the double was no cheapie either. And to think, he just came off a broken hand injury. You’d think it would take a little time to get back into the swing of things. Not Utley, not against the Mets.

For me, he is my most feared hitter. Chase Utley is that good