The worst thing about Cliff Lee going to the Phillies

It's bad enough that the Mets will have to face a powerhouse Phillies team the next few years. But what's even worse is that the Phillies have become the kind of team star players take less money to join.

Last year, Roy Halladay signed a three-year contract extension with Philadelphia for $60 million. Halladay could have been a free agent after the 2010 season. Imagine what his market would have been. But Halladay was willing to give up future tens of millions of dollars to go to the Phillies. Now Cliff Lee has also left tens of millions of dollars on the table for a chance to play with Shane Victorino.

Most free agents end up where the most money is. But one would hope that, the money being equal, some players would prefer the Mets over other clubs. Instead, the Mets have often had to overcome a star's reluctance to join them. Flushing was reportedly "Beirut" to Jason Bay. Carlos Beltran reportedly was willing to take less money to go the Yankees. Carlos Delgado turned down a chance to play for the Mets in 2005 before the Mets traded for him the following year.

Under the new regime, I have confidence that the Mets will soon become a place where stars want to play and that Sandy Alderson and company will spend money, but do so wisely. However, I still expect that the Mets, like just about every other team, will ultimately have to outbid other clubs to get the players they want.

But it's hard to imagine players taking less money to join the Mets.

Alderson may eventually close the talent gap with the Phillies, but now he must close the likeability gap as well. As with the Phillies, the Mets need to become the kind of club that players want to join for reasons besides money.

W.C. Fields must be turning over in his grave. Who would have thought that, on the whole, star pitchers would rather be in Philadelphia?

Dreading another Yankees-Phillies World Series

2009 was supposed to be a one-time thing - an annus horribilis in which the Yankees and Phillies reached the World Series while the Mets, decimated by injuries, won only 70 games. Yet here we are a year later, with the healthier Mets still likely to finish well below .500 while the Phillies and Yankees are back on track for a Fall Classic rematch.

The Phillies have won ten in a row and are 17-3 in September. They are six games better than anyone else in the National League. In a short series, nobody will be able to match their starting pitching. Roy Halladay is tied for first in the NL in wins and strikeouts and is third in ERA. Cole Hamels has a 1.89 ERA and 0.93 WHIP since the All-Star break. Roy Oswalt is 7-1 with a 1.96 ERA since joining the Phillies at the end of July.

Despite their own wave of injuries, with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino all missing time, the Phillies are third in the league in runs scored.

So the Phillies have a great shot at getting back to the World Series for the third year in a row. They are about to win the NL East for the fourth year in a row, which will be only one fewer division title than the Mets have won in their history.

The Yankees have had some ups and downs lately and there are no guarantees in the postseason, but is anyone really prepared at this point to predict Minnesota, Texas or Tampa Bay in the World Series?

And this year, the previous round could also be very unpleasant for Met fans if the NLCS matchup features the Phillies against old Mets nemesis Bobby Cox and the Atlanta Braves.

At least the Mets won't be completely forgotten during the postseason. On October 7, the second day of the playoffs, Francisco Rodriguez is due back in court.

Mets-Phillies: 27 up, 27 down!

I'm still waiting for that Met no-hitter, but last night almost felt like one. Throughout the game, Gary Cohen kept noting the growing total of consecutive scoreless innings. Once the Mets built a small cushion with Jose Reyes' two-run double extending the lead to 3-0, the countdown began. 25 innings down, two to go!

In the ninth inning, Francisco Rodriguez came in to face the heart of the Phillies' order - Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth. K-Rod had allowed one run in his last five appearances and had an ERA under two. The Phillie bats were ice cold. But just one home run from any of these three power hitters would end the streak. A home run with a man on base, and the Phillies were right back in the game.

As anyone who watched the 2007 and 2008 seasons can attest, the Phillies are no strangers to ruining things for the Mets at the last minute.

But not tonight. Instead, Cohen screamed out the time of the conclusion of the historic feat: at seven minutes before midnight, the Mets had shut out the Phillies three straight games!

In some ways, it was better than a no-hitter. As Metsblog noted, via Elias, it was only the third time since 1876 that a team swept three or more games from a first-place team without giving up any runs.

And best of all, it was against the Phillies.

Three shutouts, none started by Johan Santana, but two started by Hisanori Takahashi and R.A. Dickey.

So that's five out of six against the Yankees and Phillies. Amazing!

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But before anyone starts getting carried away, thinking the Mets are only a Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt away from the postseason, remember that this team is two games over .500 at 25-23 and still closer to last place than first. They're great at home and horrible on the road, and so far have played eight more games at home.

One year ago, the Mets actually had a better record, 26-20, and were in first place.

There's a lot to be excited about - Jose Reyes is back and Mike Pelfrey is pitching like an ace. Hisanori Takahashi looks like he could be for real as well.

Let's hope the Mets can keep it up on the road, which they are going to need to do before they can truly call themselves a contender.