Wow. What an ugly weekend. Thankfully, Craig already covered all of it yesterday, so I'll just try to pretend that it never happened.
Actually, that's not possible since the Fish fell well behind the Wild Card leading Astros over the weekend. Sure, it's only 2 1/2 games, but there are only 12 games left in the regular season. That's not a lot of games.
We cheated a little again this time; like what we did with the Phillies last week, we just let Mr. Met lay out some thoughts. I attempted to do the same.
Grover Talks about the Marlins
- Jeff Conine and Jack McKeon say the Marlins need to go 10-2 to win the Wild Card. If they're able to do that, it's hard to believe that they won't at least catch the Astros. But keep in mind that if the Marlins go 10-2, the Astros would have to go 8-4 (or worse) in order to be caught.
- The Marlins still have three games left with the Phillies, so at least in theory the Fish have the opportunity to get themselves ahead of the Phils.
- As sad as it is to see Alex Gonzalez and Damion Easley go down, their injuries give Robert Andino a real shot to prove himself at the major league level in games that count. In reality, the Marlins playoff chances are slim. Giving Andino some playing time now will help the Marlins decide about what to do with the shortstop position for next season. Andino will represent a minimum salary option, while Alex Gonzalez will (likely) be in the $5 - $8 million/year neighborhood (and for multiple years).
- I'm worried about what's going on in the clubhouse. Carlos Beltran (like Willie Randolph) has maintained a positive outlook and seems to be pushing for the playoffs - at least in what he says publicly. Doug Mientiewicz has been pretty much the opposite: for the past week or so, he's downplayed the Mets' playoff chances and has talked about how the Mets are a "last-place" team. The Mets may be a last-place team, technically speaking, but relative to the likes of the Royals and Rockies, they're in a completely different league. The Mets aren't going anywhere this year, but the parts are in place to be competitive for years to come.
- David Wright and Miguel Cabrera could keep each other from winning a slew of MVPs (oh - and that Pujols guy too).
- You guys are lucky that Braden Looper no longer wears teal. It amazes me that he still closes games for the Mets. Aaron Heilman would be a much better option - especially since he (apparently) can't be squeezed into the rotation.