Yanks Up, Mets Down. If that Team Can't Swim, It's Gonna Drizzown.

Nothing gets my juices going quite like a Yankees sweep of the Red Sox combined with the Mets getting swept 4 games by their closest division rival!
First the Yankees...

• Aside from my world class bladder control (honestly I don't know anyone who can comfortably hold more liquid in their body), complaining is my single greatest strength. I say this because, with Mussina out of the rotation, even I am running out of things to complain about.
• Joba Chamberlain has some of the most electric stuff the world has ever seen. Equally important is that he seems to be incredibly poised on the mound. As long as he stays healthy, which is admittedly hardly a given with young pitchers, the dude is as can't miss as it gets. With a
• I'm glad to see Joe Torre has moved Jason Giambi back to first base. This means Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui play every day and Andy Phillips sits the bench awaiting the defensive replacement assignment. Phillips seems like a swell guy, but he can't hit enough to be a Major League first baseman.
• For the first time since late April, I can say I will be genuinely surprised if the Yankees don't make the postseason. Seattle is struggling and they close the season with a brutal schedule. The Tigers will be without Gary Sheffield for another 10 or 12 games and their pitchers are wearing down late in the season following a World Series runs. And all things being equal, the Yankees are the best team in baseball.

On to the Mets...

• Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and the odious Phillies bullpen tried their damnedest to give today's game away, but the Mets wouldn't take it. Had they won 1 game this series, the Mets would have been in great shape. Instead they lost 4 straight, putting their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. I have always thought/hoped that the Mets were a little overrated and lucky over the past year and a half. Even I never thought the walls would cave in like this.
• Jose Reyes: 1 for the 4 game series. The 1 hit; a bunt. If A-Rod did this against the Red Sox, he would be labelled a choke artist. By the way, Reyes has taken a half-step back as a ballplayer this season. I know its near heresy, but MAYBE he is not as good as we thought he was.
• It took the better part of the season, but once again Oliver Perez doesn't seem to have a clue where his pitches are going. He had actually started to win me over until his terribly shaky performances in his last 7 starts. Perez seems to completely lose his cool at the first sign of adversity. I think he has a bit of Jeff George in him with the proverbial "million dollar arm but a ten cent head". Not that the Pirates made the right move, but I'm starting to see what they were thinking by giving up on Perez.
• If the Mets make the playoffs, who exactly pitches Game 1 for this team? Who pitches Game 2 for that matter? Unless Pedro comes back like gangbusters (not gonna happen), they have a bunch of 3rd and 4th starters.