Florida Marlins

The Mets don’t look like a winning team customarily looks. It seems impossible to imagine that a team with a bullpen so unreliable, and utterly devoid of quality performers, could manage to make the playoffs, let alone contend for a championship.

But as the Mets showed again Thursday night in a 7-2 victory over the Nationals, good starting pitching and good hitting can often overcome even a horrible bullpen. And unlike 2007, when the Mets had intermittently effective offense and thin starting pitching, this group excels in both areas. The fact that they trail the division-Phillies by just half a game, and lead the Brewers by 1 ½ games for the wild card with ten games left is no fluke.  read more »

Last September, the Mets hosted the Marlins at Shea Stadium, but the cellar-dwelling Marlins could do little besides play spoiler to New York’s season. The 2008 Marlins began a three-game series at Shea Friday night fresh off of taking two of three from the Phillies, and very much in the hunt for a National League East title.

While the Marlins lost two of three to New York this weekend, Florida still stands just ½ game behind New York and 2 ½ games behind division-leading Philadelphia. But the only major change from 2007 to 2008 was dealing Miguel Cabrera, one of the finest hitters in baseball, for a package that has delivered little to the big league club.  read more »