Best Record ≠ Best Team

Game 36: Brewers 1, Mets 9
23-13 for the season

I had a bit of an argument (ok, not an argument-- a conversation) with a guy sitting next to us at the game on Saturday. toward the end, when we were losing miserably, this guy said aloud "well, what do you expect? the Brewers are the best team in baseball."

I try hard not to get into it with random people in the stands, but I'd had two beers and couldn't let that go.
So I said, "they have the best record in baseball. That doesn't make them the best team in baseball."
"They're 24 and 12! They're the best team in baseball!"
"They've been playing exclusively in the NL Central, the Dodgers and Washington. That they have that record against that kind of competition merely makes them a competent team, not the best."
"You can get to the playoffs without being the best team-- just by winning the most games," he pointed out.
"You're right-- but in that case they're the winningest team in baseball, still not necessarily the best."
"That's fair. I admire your passion."

oy. is it a good thing when a guy in the stands complements you on your passion? I'm not so sure. it may mean "you're an obsessive freak." you never know.

however, I think my point was well shown in this last game of the early-season series with Milwaukee. yes, the Brewers beat the hell out of the Mets on Saturday. but they lost on Friday, and the Mets came right back to win 9-1 (on another awesome performance from Oliver Perez) on Sunday. that's what happens when you're no longer playing the NL Central; simply being a good team isn't enough to win a series. and the Brewers, while on their way, are not much more at this point than a good team. it'll be fun to watch their kids develop, but for now-- no matter how many games they win, Milwaukee is not the best team in baseball.

I missed the majority of this game for tutoring, but caught good parts of it on the radio, and am reveling on Perez's ability to learn and come back from flameouts. I'm loving the Mets young pitchers, and enjoying watching them develop.

April is Over

Game 35: Brewers 12, Mets 3
22-13 for the season

LHJ and I went to today's game, and witnessed the Mets ravaged by the Brewers. A week ago, I would probably have been devastated. but it's not April anymore, and so every win and every loss doesn't have the same effect that it did even a week ag0; I am better able to recognize that the best teams have awful days, and the worst teams have great days (not that the Brewers are among the worst-- they're not), and getting worked up over any win or any loss in the regular season is a fool's game. we're all allowed to be fools in April, but once May comes, we need to wizen up.



ouch, ouch, and more ouch. I can't say I'm sad that Pelfrey was on his way back to New Orleans after this game.



ineffective offense will screw a team every time.

in happier news, I made a prediction that turned out to be right-- Jose Reyes had no more hair on Saturday. it didn't help him hit, but I'm happy to report that he is still adorable.

Toto, I don't think we're in the NL Central anymore

Game 34: Brewers 4, Mets 5
22-12 for the season

the Brewers came to Shea today with the best record in baseball, having won 24 and lost only 10. though the Mets had a good road trip (5 for 7 in Arizona and San Francisco), the Brewers just finished an even more impressive home stand (9 of 10), so I was not optimistic about our chances going into this game. Jeff Suppan, who killed the Mets in the NLCS last year, was on the mound for the Brewers, and though Jorge Sosa pitched well his last time out, he was hardly a sure thing against a red hot Milwaukee lineup. however, I failed to control for the fact that 17 of those 24 wins have come against the NL Central and that three more were against the Nationals. the Brewers were the ones who had something to prove at Shea tonight, and indeed they proved that they've played very well against mediocre teams.




though Sosa walked the Brewers lead-off man, LoDuca caught him stealing (he's got 10 of 16 runners, 63%. no one ran against him again for the rest of the game. I have to admit, with Paulie behind the plate and in the clubhouse, I don't miss Mike Piazza at all. ). Jorge retired the next 9 batters, and gave up just four hits in the 6 and 2/3 innings he pitched. Two of them were solo homers, but with only one walk (that very first batter) until the 7th inning, Sosa had a good outing, and the fans let him know it when he was replaced by Pedro Feliciano with two outs in the top of the 8th after giving up the second of two walks. Feliciano had a great strike-out against the pinch hitter Corey Hart, and was replaced on the mound by Aaron Heilman in the top of the 8th.

Aaron had a fantastic road trip, but looked like he'd left his arm in San Francisco, giving up an infield hit to Weeks and then a home run to Hardy, bringing the Brewers within a run of tying up the game. But Heilman battled back, striking out Prince Fielder (son of Cecil, with a duplicate of his father's body) and retiring the next two batters to end the inning. Billy Wagner pitched as brilliantly as he has all season, bringing his ERA down to an astounding 0.58 after 16 innings, and ending the game in less than 2.5 hours.




how about that 4th inning? though it can't change last October, it sure felt good to watch the Mets beat up Jeff Suppan (though in fairness, they could have done better-- Reyes stranded two at the end of the inning). Easley's homer in the 7th turned out to be necessary for the win, thanks to the homer Heilman gave up to Hardy in the top of the 8th. Both Wright and Delgado hit (which was especially nice to see, again, against Suppan, and because they're the guys who need to be getting the grove right about now), and LoDuca continued his hitting streak.