December 3, 2008
Schmidt inspires Phillies while dissing Mets
The message stood for all to see, although no one claimed
much knowledge of it afterward. Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, the greatest player in Phillies history, sent an e-mail devised to inspire his modern-day successors. And to tweak their opponents.
"The Mets know you're better than they are," read the juiciest part of the message, which was posted on the Phillies' clubhouse door. "They remember last year."
That the Phillies went out and shut out the Mets, 3-0, at Shea Stadium, behind a brilliant pitching effort by Brett Myers, probably had nothing to do with Schmidt's pep talk. But the modern-day Phillie whom Mets fans most love to hate, Mr. "Team to Beat" himself, agrees with his fellow National League Most Valuable Player.
Jimmy Rollins claimed to have read only the first few words of Schmidt's e-mail. Yet when he was asked about the "Mets know you're better than they are," he smiled and said, "Well, that part's true."
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And when he heard the 2007 reference, Rollins agreed once more.
"I think it's only natural, if we win all three games," Rollins said. "If not, then they'll take a deep breath and probably regather themselves. If we win all three games, then naturally, you're going to think back to that. It's human nature."
In a vacuum, it's hard for the Mets and their fans to get particularly worked up over this one loss, even if it enabled the Phillies to close within two games of the Mets and kept alive the possibility of a division-tying, series sweep. Myers has been terrific since returning from his July demotion to the minor leagues. Losing pitcher Mike Pelfrey contributed another strong outing, just not strong enough to counter the zero runs he received in support of his effort.
The loss, however, carried greater implications. When you combine Friday night's result with Saturday's weather forecast, it means that the National League East isn't close to being settled.
Tropical storm Hanna likely will show up in our area Saturday and bang the Mets-Phillies game, creating a day-night doubleheader for Sunday. There have been 15 twin bills played this season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Eight have resulted in sweeps, seven in splits. So a sweep is achievable, but not simple by any means.
Even if the Mets were to win these next two, the Phillies already served a reminder that they won't be going away easily.
The Mets, to their credit, aren't pretending that they can close their eyes and make 2007 go away. That's how Willie Randolph professed to think, and he's out of a job now. No, Jerry Manuel is all about acknowledging the elephant in the room, and many of his players are on board.
"Nothing's going to take that away until you win. Until it's over and you win the division," rehabilitating closer Billy Wagner said before the game. "We've got a long road ahead, and we have to continue to go out there and win series."
Their eradication of a seven-game deficit with 17 games to go last year gives the Phillies "more knowledge than confidence," Rollins said. "You get confidence by the way you play a season. You get knowledge that it takes 162 games to win a season.
"So you don't get too up when you're ahead, don't get too down when you're behind. Especially when you get a chance to play the team right in front of you, anything's possible. When you leave here, you take care of business and hope something good happens for you."
The Phillies won their final eight games against the Mets last season, and the Mets responded by winning 10 of the first 15 this year.
Yet the opportunity passed Friday night to deliver what could have been a considerable blow.
"This is the one we definitely had to have," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said.
Myers, the closer turned starter, said he didn't read Schmidt's message and didn't think about '07. "Last year is behind us," Myers said. "The only thing we've got to do is keep playing hard. We're two games back now, but still have a long way to go."
So do the Mets. The Phillies' chatty shortstop and his pesky team intend to make this exorcism as painful as possible.
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Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
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