When you're a New York Mets fan (or at this point, a member of the organization) you've learned to take whatever happens in stride. So when the good news came down that the Wilpons had sold a $200 million minor stake in the club, you just had to know that something bad was in store for this team. Thursday afternoon R.A. Dickey left with a heel injury and was in a protective boot afterward (DL stint hasn't been decided upon yet) and the Mets lost another game in rather embarrassing fashion 9-3 to the Chicago Cubs.
Life doesn't get any easier this weekend for the Mets as they'll face the MLB's best team in the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field. Philadelphia has won six of its last nine games after looking like a mortal team for much of the year, mostly due to injuries. While Shane Victorino is on the DL, their driving force has returned at second base in Chase Utley. Even with the knee injury and concerns this year, Utley and Ryan Howard figure to pose a very lethal threat in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the lineup.
Chris Capuano, who is 3-5 on the year, will have the like-handed advantage tonight and the spacious ballpark as well, but is still in for a tough task. After giving up four home runs (six earned runs) against the New York Yankees, you can really see just how important the confines of Citi Field can be for a soft-tosser and fly-ball guy like Capuano.
The Mets get lucky in that they won't have to face Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels this series, but they do have to face a very dominant pitcher in Roy Oswalt tonight. Oswalt has a 3.33 ERA and a 6-5 record in his career against the Mets and is 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this season. Maybe this is the game Jason Bay gets going as he has the most hits of any Met against Oswalt -- he's 11-for -31, with a .351/.429/.419.