The New York Mets remember the greatest comeback in baseball history. They remember their great collapse of 2007 to the Philadelphia Phillies. One could say that now they are "believers"!
My question though, why do they remind their fans of their epic collapse on their 2010 ticket brochure?
The Phillies believe in comebacks too! The difference is, we actually come back while the Mets choke! Happy 2010 Mets fans! Hope you enjoy fourth place!
Here is to another season of New York Mets Mediocrity!
I am a die hard Philadelphia Phillies fan. The other author on this site Mike is a die hard New York Mets fan. Mike and I are very close friends and part of our friendship has been trash talking each others teams. I mean give me a break, Mike also likes the Giants, Rangers, and Knicks. I love the guy but he is brain damaged. Wait a minute, I am trash talking him again. Heck, MyTeamRivals.com came into existence from our love of debating sports and trash talking.
The rivalry between the Phillies and Mets has been a long time coming. The Phillies stunk when the Mets were good in 1969 through 1973. The Mets couldn't buy a win against the Phillies from 1974 to 1983 when the Phillies were in their hay day. It turned back to the Mets in the late 80's while 1993 saw the return of the Phils and the Mets fall off. Now here we are in the 21 century and finally, finally, these two teams that reside some 60 miles apart are both good at the same time and a great rivalry called the Turnpike Series is finally on.
The fans go at each other as neighbors and sometimes even family members are on different sides. The players have gotten into it with Jimmy Rollins starting it calling the Phillies the team to beat and more recently Cole Hamels calling the Mets chokers while Fransisco Rodriguez called the Mets the team
to beat in 2009.
Baseball is fun in Philadelphia and New York and people are hungry for these two great teams to face off. It is the off season but it might as well be July when we hear sound bites from our players. Unfortunately, "Little Larry" Chipper Jones does not like the trash talking.
Jones said, "We won for 14 consecutive years, and you never, ever saw any bulletin board material. And now that these two teams are on top of the division, they can't keep their mouths shut. Just go play baseball. It's Cole Hamels now. It was Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Beltran the past couple of springs. These two teams are constantly going at each other verbally. You know, win with class, lose with class. Just keep your mouth shut and go play your game."
Maybe that is because they could only win 1 World Series in all of those playoff runs. Maybe it was because their teams did not have the leadership to step up and show confidence, or maybe Jones is just saying it because he is on the downward side of his career and his team stinks. Perhaps it is because he has no shot of going back to the playoffs this season.
Whatever the reason, shut your mouth Little Larry. We really don't care what you have to say unless you want to have some guts and declare your team a contender. Phillies and Mets fans, keep the talking going. Not only is it fun, but it is good for our teams. Ever wonder why the Yankees and Red Sox have payrolls, players, and success like they do? Because they can not stomach losing to each other. That type of rivalry between the Phillies and Mets could bring us all a bunch of pennant flags. I'll take it as long as the Phillies have more!
For full coverage of the rivalry between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, be sure to check out Phightin' Phils Phorum and Mr Mets Daily.
Happy New Year from the Turnpike Series! As the Phillies contributor on this site, I enjoyed some great moments of the Phillies Mets games this year. My favorite moment was being at Shea Stadium for the day game of the day night double header in September when the Phillies beat the Mets and moved (temporarily) a game behind the Mets in the standings.
The energy is always electric when these two teams play and I look forward to more great action in 2009. Can the Phillies get the best of the Mets 3 years in a row?
What were your favorite rivalry moments in 2008? Share them in the comments section.
Here were some of my favorite pictures from the year!
Cole Hamels said what everyone that watches baseball has been thinking. Hamels called New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes a showboat on WFAN, a New York sports talk radio station. Hosts Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno baited Hamels but Cole stood by his words. He said, I'm hoping I don't hurt too many people right here with this ... When Jose Reyes hits home runs, he points his finger up like he won the game. And he might have hit it only in the first inning or the third inning. Well, when Shane did it, he did the same, exact thing. So we were 'Hey Shane, this doesn't win the game. We still have a lot of game to play.' Ya know, why are you trying to be like Jose Reyes? And so that was kind of where it came from was. Even though you hit the big home run, you don't need to pimp it. You just need to run around the bases and just kind of get the game started."
Reyes is a showboat and as much as he showboats he is also a pouter when things do not go his way. This is why he and other members of the Mets can not put it together to win. Hamels said as much was asked if he thought the Mets were chokers.
"Last year and this year, I think we did believe that. Three years ago [2006] we didn't because they smoked everybody. I really thought that was the year they were going to the World Series. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. That's kind of what we believe. I think we're always going to believe it till they prove us wrong." He went on to say later, "For the past two years they've been choke artists."
Whether you think the Mets are chokers or if you just think they do not have the hearts of winners, there is an even bigger and better story here. The Turnpike Series is getting bitter and better. The rivalry continues to grow and the fans and media are making it bigger then ever. What is good about this is if these teams continue to compete with each other, especially when building their teams, they will both get better and continue to be the best in the National League. It will also attract more fans which will produce more revenue allowing the teams to spend more on players. The Turnpike Series may not be the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry, but it is on its way to becoming one of the best rivalries in all of sports!
Great job stoking the coals Cole! Round one of the offseason jousts have begun!
For full coverage of the rivalry between the Philadephia Phillies and New York Mets, be sure to check out Phightin' Phils Phorum and Mr Mets Daily.
Listen to the entire interview from WFAN.
