Silly Philly

It was bound to happen. It was definitely bound to happen. We hear it all the time. As a matter of fact, we were doing it prior to last season.
What is "it" you may ask? "It" refers to the proclamation of one teams yet to be determined success.
And who opened their big mouth this spring training? Jimmy Rollins, shortstop, Philadelphia Phillies. This from the guy who plays on a team in a city that has not had a major championship since the Sixers in '83.
So it should come as no surprise that for cities like Philadelphia the term "hope springs eternal" has more than just a metaphorical meaning, it has a literal meaning as well. Apparently delusions spring eternal there as well.
Granted, I applaud Jimmy Rollins for standing up and making a bold proclamation there are only two outcomes that can result from his statement:
1. They rally around him and go on a tear.
2. They hide their heads in shame and revert to their old ways.

Now Jimmy, I know where you are coming from. I've been a Met fan since 92 and we've been chasing the Braves for so long that we still havent gotten used to the fact that we are the defending division champs heading into 2007. Every year we all made bold statements and talked about how big and bad we were too, only to hear the snickers of Braves fans and their team waiting to shove it in our faces.
But for the first time in a while, the Braves are looking up at the Mets and so is everyone else. Not only do the Mets sport an AL type of offense, their team has a very good bullpen and a ::cough:: experienced ::cough:: rotation. No matter what you may believe of the Mets pitching woes, they sport a very good group of relievers that will allow Willie to put his pitchers into better spots and in more limited duty.
While the postseason may be won by pitching, the regular season is won by offense. The Mets are clearly ahead of the Phillies in that respect.
The Phillies sport a very good and deep pitching rotation but their bullpen has more questions surrounding it than Anna Nicole's death. Cole Hamels is a superstar in waiting but is too inconsistent and must turn it around. Brett Myers is the type of guy that can win 20 games but he plays in a hitters park and barring any sidetracks this season can fullfill some of that potential people see in him. Freddy Garcia is an innings eater and nothing more. He has excellent stuff but has never put it together for a lengthy stretch for teams to invest the big dollars in him. But as we all know from Gil Meche's deal, sometimes potential is enough to warrant millions of dollars.
Their offense is good from 1-4, probably number 2 to the Mets, but no matter what, Pat Burrel is a superstar fading faster than Charles Barkley's chips at a casino. The back end of the lineup can be had and exploited. The Mets don't offer that luxury to opposing teams.
I might sound a bit bias, but let's not forget, we're talking about Philly here. This is sorry sports town number 2 just behind Chicago in the annals of sorry sports towns. They live for preseason hype and getting caught up in it, just enough to buy tickets. But by the trading deadline they will be sellers. Mets will get a rejuvenated Pedro and won't force their rotation to carry them through the regular season. By October those 40 something year old arms will still be fresh whereas Philly and everyone else's rotation will be running on fumes.
I dont possess the ability to read the future. But from what Jimmy Rollins is saying, you can be assured that it is a whole lot of nothing but talk. That is until he shuts up everyone. But we won't know a thing until October.