What an interesting homestand it was for the Marlins. A ten game set that started with a three game sweep of the Rays. Then came another three game set, and two more wins, against the Phillies. The homestand concluded with four games against the Mets. That brought three straight losses (in the series - four overall) and a near sweep. Avoiding the sweep on Sunday allowed the Marlins to wrap things up with a 6-4 homestand.
Before we move on to the next series, let's talk about the Marlins and the Mets. This is turning into something of a rivalry. Last week, one of the things that I harped on was that the Marlins are generally winning the games they're supposed to win. That's true - if you throw out the results against the Mets. After the conclusion of this weekend's four game set (where the Marlins went 1-3, the season series between the Mets and Marlins stands at 6-2 - in favor of the Mets. Somehow the Marlins were fortunate enough to maintain a tie for the division lead despite this weekend's results. They'll more than likely need to even up their record against the Mets in the season series in order to win the division or otherwise find their way into the post-season. If the Marlins had split their eight game with the Mets so far, they'd be up 2 games over the Braves at this point.
Aside from the won-loss record, there were a number of other interesting side stories to this weekend's series. It started on Thursday night with Lenny Harris getting upset at Pedro Martinez and Mets coach Sandy Alomar (the dad, not the current player) when they taunted Lenny about bunting while he batted. It continued on Friday when Jack McKeon spoke to umpires and asked them to require Pedro Martinez to wear an undershirt with sleeves of the same length. Normally mild-mannered Juan Encarnacion was ejected from Friday night's game. The Mets roster is littered with former Marlins - including Cliff Floyd, Ramon Castro, and Braden Looper.
Where I am going with all of this? Well, nowhere really. Except to remind you that the next time the Mets and the Marlins get together, it will be 4th of July weekend. If you haven't decided already, start thinking about the trip we have planned out to Shea Stadium. More details will be coming soon. Reserve your space in the suite while we still have it.