- Lefty Gomez (Yankees pitcher 1930-1943)

The only way to settle any argument here is on the field, as we are T minus 3 days until liftoff.  Should be a great season and intense rivalry as now WE are the ones looking down on the Mutts fans with a World Championship in our hands.

I do not put a great deal of merit into spring training stats, so while Park might have gaudy numbers to this point, my reasoning would be its probably because batters are like, “wow that dude looks like Chan Ho Park, the dude that once threw a karate kick during a brawl in 1999″ and by the time they are done laughing to themselves at the fact that ANY team would give him a uniform they happen to be out. I read or heard somewhere, and for the life of me I can’t remember where, maybe ESPN Fantasy Baseball Podcast, that the Park situation was spring hitters making him look good in hopes the Phils were dumb enough to give him a slot every fifth day so they could just tee off. And they were only half joking. I dont think either Park or Hernandez is gonna be any good, Hernandez will give you innings at the very least and keep the slot warm until Tim Redding (a better pitcher then either) or Niese is ready to take it. I would agree with you Happ is better then Niese to this point, as well. As to your final point, the Phils won the division by, what, 3 games? Against a team who lost their closer and missed the playoffs by a game – a team that blew late game leads 9 or 10 times just during the final stretch. Wagner was no sure thing, but I think even the most ardent Wagner hater would give him 4 saves in 10 chances. The Phils didnt have that disaster injury in a spot you can’t fill late in the year, they got hot at the right time, and they won it. But the Mets beat the Phils head to head last season, pretty well if I remember correctly, and if not for the injury at the back end of the pen, I think we all know the story is a little different. A year more of seasoning and experience for Pelfrey, Perez & Maine is to me, only a benefit…and that’s not even playing the “championship hangover/karmic breaks that went for you last year but against you this year” card with regards to Myers, Blanton and Moyer. I know you can play the “if” game until you’re blue in the face, but my point of contention is the line, “No matter which way you do it, the Phillies are at the top” – I think that’s wishful thinking right there. Before a game that matters has been played, 1-4 I think the Mets are the better staff and that it isnt even particularly close. 5 & 6 can be debated, sure. But as we all know games aren’t played on paper, so we’ll see how it all shakes out. Certainly, as always, enjoyed and appreciated reading all the hard work you guys put in here and the discussion as a whole - it’s a tremendous site and I’m a big fan. Well done, gents.

just kidding, its good to have both sides….here are some counter points…

• Mike Pelfrey is a textbook example of a player who overachieved last year. Since 2000, 17 pitchers have pitched 200+ innings, with a sub-4 ERA, and a K/9 rate under 5 (Pelfrey was 4.93 last year). Of those 17, only 2 have repeated the feat… Tom Glavine and Kenny Rogers, both soft-tossing lefties who rely on help from umpires. Pelfrey would set the precident. Pelfrey had the 2nd lowest K/9 rate among all pitchers that pitched 200+ innings last year. This is the same exact logic I used to predict Kyle Kendrick and Brian Bannister’s demise last year. He’s better than both those guys (far better than Kendrick), but unless he sets a new precident, his numbers will rise. As for Myers, he was 7-4 with a 3.05 ERA and a 7.64 K/9 rate after he got himself fixed in the minors. As I said, I don’t really trust him, but the fact that he is pitching for the biggest contract he’s ever going to get is usually enough to get anyone focused. 
• You are right about the ace stuff with Perez, which makes it all the more crazy he had the 65th best WHIP in baseball last year. If he was that good, he would have had a 2nd contract offer this off-season. That being said, there wasn’t a whole lot separating the top-3 there. 
• Agree on Maine and Moyer
• You obviously haven’t seen Park pitch this spring. Dude is throwing 93 mph with a new change-up. He’s made people look stupid all spring. Not saying he’s going to be amazing, but he’s not throwing 60 mph curveballs or anything up there. Hernandez will start the year off with a couple good starts and then fall off a cliff like he did with the Twins last year. Since 2006… Hernandez (5.23 ERA, 1.58 WHIP), Park (4.40 ERA, 1.40 WHIP). Livan has the highest WHIP in all of baseball during that time for any pitcher who pitched over 550 IP. 
• Are you really saying that the Mets are better at every single pitching slot than the Phillies? I mean we won the World Series last year with the same staff, who were fantastic after the all-star break, and led us through the playoffs, not our offense. The starters had a 3.36 ERA after the all-star break (would have been good for 12th in NL as an individual, let alone a unit) and a 3.70 ERA and 1.19 WHIP during the playoffs. Don’t mis-underestimate them. 
• Looking forward to your thoughts on the hitters. 

Mike also said Johan was probably the best pitcher in baseball right now, so he’d agree with your #1 pitcher rank.   Mike thinks the Mets problems are with #2, #3 and #4 all three are very shaky.