Pelfrey Gets Some Runs For A Change

We shant belabour the point for long. After all, Manager Willie told everyone who was still willing to listen that the Ship Is Steady and maybe we should have listened. Panic is slowly receding.

But c'mon. Two in a row against the Braves? A 12-2 aggragate margin? Coming after four straight humiliations in Philly?

What's next, David Newhan hitting for the cycle?


Game's low point another DUMB UMP blown call that cost the Mets a run but fortunately not the game...

All season long they've said that Mike Pelfrey's primary problem was lack of run support from his teammates in New York and frankly, I have never really bought that argument for a guy with an ERA that is STILL 5.33 after this miraculous outing. Not unless he was expected a dozen runs in support every outing. Yes, the 2.78 runs per game was the worst support of any NL pitcher but oddly enough it would have been more than enough to see Pelfrey through.

Because Saturday, brill. Pelfrey had some extra juice in his mouthpiece apparently. Seven Ks, only one hit allowed, hitting Jeff Francoeur with a pitch, all adding up to one of the more successful outings he could have hoped for, all leading to his inaugural and long-awaited victory of the season. Ok, a beanball to Larry's head would have been funnier and more enjoyable but Francoeur is not a bad mark. He disagreed, of course. Despite all the bat-tossing and whingeing, Francoeur said afterwards he knew Pelfrey didn't hit him intentionally.

"To be honest, I was just trying to fire us up," he said.

No fire.

But then again, these aren't really the Braves of auld. The Braves of auld wouldn't have suffered their 11th loss in 16 games. They wouldn't have hit .171 over their last 6 games at the Turner Dump. These are the Braves Not To Be Feared, their ugly step-cousins from further on down South.

Of course, two or three days ago you might not have thought that. Two days or three ago you might have been bracing yourself for the killer tomahawk chop.

Now for a day anyway, you can look at the Phillies losing a game in the standings and giving up seven runs in the 1st inning against the Marlins and you can see some of the overcast of the future clearing. A sweep of the Braves in Atlanta followed by an inaugural Pedro start on Monday would send the message to the rest of the National League that the ugliness of earlier in the week was a Phillie Phluke, a mirage, a once-in-a-lifetime delusion of grandeur for The Team To Beat.

But we've still got to survive another Glavine v Smoltz HOF matchup. The pair have faced each other three times already this season. Smoltz is 2-0 in the head-to-head matchups and the Braves have won all three previous meetings.