Everyone knows pitching gets a team to the playoffs.
That’s why the Phillies pried Roy Oswalt from the Astros, a move that significantly damages the Mets’ chances at a late-season surge.
By acquiring the Astros' ace, Philadelphia bolsters an already imposing rotation. Roy Halladay has thrown a no-hitter this year, and looks as if he could do it again before October. Oswalt likely will be the Phillies’ No. 2 starter, making Cole Hamels one heck of a third starter. Even better, the hapless Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.85 ERA in 16 starts) doesn’t need to make every fifth day a horrible struggle any longer.
The Phillies, who are only 3 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading Braves and 2 1/2 back of the Giants for the wild card, are following the old adage in hopes of getting to the World Series for the third straight year.
Where were the Mets in all this?
Oswalt wanted to stay in the NL –his preferred destination being St. Louis– but Astros owner Drayton McLane refused to send his star to a division rival. In the trade, Houston wanted a young, MLB-ready player now and a prospect or two for later. Oswalt was going to have to be more flexible with his $16 million option in 2012, and every team knew that, which is why the Phils are paying only $12 million of the $23 million Oswalt is owed through 2011.
So now Philadelphia owns the pitcher with the most wins since 2001 and should have a much easier time accelerating away from teams like the Mets, who are chasing that coveted division crown or wild card. Though the Mets' pitching staff has been very good this season, St. Louis, Atlanta and San Francisco all boast better ERAs. All three are ahead of New York in the standings. Not far behind are the Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers, both of whom hold a couple games on the Mets.
Wouldn’t it have been nice to bump Mike Pelfrey down a spot in the rotation? He’s 10-5, but his 4.00 ERA has been rising steadily, and he hasn’t won a game since June 25.
Wouldn’t it have been nice for the Mets to let Hisanori Takahashi rest his rookie arm in the bullpen for the rest of the year? He has had an admirable 2010 season, bouncing between the starting rotation and bullpen, but his inconsistency won’t help a club desperately in need of stable pitching. Takahashi has shown he can pitch, taking an undeserved loss in Los Angeles after seven innings of three-hit ball on July 22. But five days earlier, he lasted just 2 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs.
Wouldn’t it have been nice if the Mets at least had made a run at Roy Oswalt? They sure could have used his arm, but the month-long saga of where Oswalt would eventually land rarely mentioned Citi Field. He may not have come, but the Mets should have made a New York-sized pitch to Oswalt. The Mets needed him to make up ground in the final 60 games and create a dominant pitching duo of Johan Santana-Roy Oswalt for at least another year.
Instead, the Phillies swooped in, barely contested, and grabbed the best arm on the market.
It’s not written in stone, but because of Philly’s acquisition of Oswalt, there’s a great chance the Mets won’t be in the playoffs for a fourth straight October.
