Last night, I was talking to one of my friends about baseball and how I was kind of running out of things to write about.  I said that I just needed something to happen.  About an hour later, I got my wish.

That win against the Braves is the type of win that can start something.  Everyone has been saying how this road trip, against Atlanta and Philadelphia, will determine the rest of the season for the Mets.  Last night, they showed us it might be a season worth sticking around for.  Jeff Francoeur has had a tough few weeks.  Not only has he been mired in a horrific slump, he essentially lost his job to Angel Pagan (only to get it back because Bay had to go on the DL), and has been the subject of trade rumors since the All-Star Break.  Francoeur the Baseball Player frustrates the hell out of me.  I love him for his arm in right field, I hate that other than that he is an average defender and potentially one of the streakiest hitters I've ever seen.  But Francoeur the Guy.... I feel badly for him.  I know that being a nice guy really has nothing to do with baseball, but it makes it harder to wish for him to just be traded already.

Anyway, my point here is that last night, Jeff Francoeur showed up to fight.  Apparently, he's been working with HoJo and Carlos Beltran in the cage to just find some sort of consistency at the plate.  It paid off because last night, HE DREW A WALK.  Jeff Francoeur does not walk.  He seems to be genetically programmed to swing at anything and everything...but last night, he got one.  Of course, this accomplishment would be forgotten by the end of the game because Francoeur came up big against Billy Wagner with a game winning solo shot in the top of the ninth.

Could that have been any more of a feel good story?  Or more dramatic?  The Mets are fighting for their season, Francoeur is fighting for everything... and he becomes the hero in a game that took place in his home town against the team that completely gave up on him last year.  Plus, I get the satisfaction of knowing that Wagner blew another game, since I have a running tally of his blown saves and losses in my head (I think rooting against Billy Wagner in every possible way is one of the few things Mets and Phillies fans can agree on, by the way).  With that kind of win under their belts, I want to see the Mets take that momentum and go for the jugular and the series win tonight.  Like I said, it's the kind of win that can start something... now we just have to wait and see what the Mets do with it.

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Mets Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Frank Cashen, Davey Johnson, Doc Gooden, and Darryl Strawberry. As I listened to these men give speeches of thanks and talk about their time spent with the Mets, it really struck me just how special that 1986 team was.  Since I was only 10 months old when the Mets won the World Series, everything I know about the '86 team has come from either my father, TV specials, or books.  The thing I found most interesting about this ceremony was the fact that the 1986 Mets loved the fans just as much as the fans loved them.  Gooden and Strawberry in particular made it clear that not only did the Mets have the most passionate fan base, but that there was nothing better than hearing the crowd when Gooden had 2 strikes on a batter or Strawberry stepped to the plate in a big moment.  Hearing the reception for these two men, the epitome of "should have, could have, would have" in sports, was unreal - there is just as much love for Doc and Darryl now as there was in 1986.  That team has a special place in every Mets fan's heart, even fans like me who were too young to see or remember the World Series run.

Unfortunately, the '86 magic didn't stick around for very long, as the Diamondbacks (and Adam LaRoche in particular) routed the Mets 14-1.  It was so bad that Oliver Perez came in to finish off the game.  It was ugly, and not the way we wanted the afternoon to end.  But the thing that made an impression on me was the crowd.  These same people who cheered and gave an uproarious welcome to Keith Hernandez, Ralph Kiner, and all the new Hall of Fame inductees were DEAD QUIET.  And the game wasn't always out of control.  Although Jon Niese was ineffective by the time he left the game, he started the day cruising through the first three innings - but you would have thought the Mets were already losing.  It was disheartening.

My point is that maybe there is a little bit of a cycle going on here.  Yes, as fans, we are frustrated with a team that was built to succeed and seems to continuously under perform... but at the end of the day, the Mets are still our team.  If the players feed off the crowd as much as Doc and Darryl claim to have done, don't we owe these guys some energy in the stands?  At the same time though, the kind of devotion that people had towards the 1986 team has to be earned somehow.  Are we all just waiting for the next 1986 instead of taking what we have and helping to create it?

Wins and losses of the day get pushed to the back burner when Ryan Howard twists his ankle in the first inning.  This is the text I received from a friend of mine and manager of the classiest establishment in Philadelphia:

YO! Howard just DESTROYED his ankle heading back to second.  It was ugly, he walked off, though... With help.  I'm guessing high ankle sprain.  3 weeks.

Granted it threw my wonderful beach vacation for a loop (although spending some time out in the sand can really help a guy forget).  Well XRays were negative and we can all breathe, but the ankle of a guy that big is already under enough pressure.  I'm not sure he can afford to take some time off, but he very well may have to.  Howard is far and away the best player on the Phillies right now and has been responsible for most of the offense while guys like Ibanez and Werth find their swings again.

Back to the stuff about the games.  Phillies gained another full game with a win and a Braves loss.  Not just any win, but another extra inning affair.  The Phillies took the lead in the 11th on Polanco and Werth hits, then Brad Lidge made quick work of the bottom half to seal it.  That's not normal, but we'll take it happily.

Jayson Werth's solid play continued with two doubles from the Wolfman and it looks like slowly he's making his way back to some normalcy and back into the hitter he was.  The situation requires monitoring but I have hope.

Decent outing for Hamels, 7 innings, 4 runs, one Adam Dunn bomb.  Not his best, but let's not dwell on that on a day where the Phillies gained a full game in the standings.

Every once in a while, we need to see what's going on around the rest of the NL East.  This post is that brainchild of one Brandon Martin.  Huge Braves fan, thusly a largely unintelligent man or else he wouldn't have been swayed so easily by TBS in the early 90's.  However, here's his take on the NL East as it is now and where it's going.

As we come into the last 2 months of the season, it’s fair to say that the Atlanta Braves have lived up to high expectations. In Bobby Cox’s farewell season, the team was assembled with a “win-now” mentality, even with a 20 year-old rookie filling in the missing piece of the last 5 seasons. That rookie, All-Star Jason Heyward, has become the link in the order that the Braves desperately needed and that experts predicted when he was ranked as the #1 prospect in all of baseball. But for the Mets and Phillies fans who have put the Braves in the back of your minds because of their inability to win the East or make the playoffs since 2005, there is one word why you are looking up at the Braves in August 2010…. DEPTH.

The two reasons why the Braves have been so good in 2010 is because Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox has had options with his lineup, and one of the best bullpens in the National League. A rotation that is as good as any in the league, can only win if supported by the bullpen and the Braves relievers rank T- 1^st in MLB with 21 wins and 2^nd in the NL with a 3.20 ERA. The depth of the bullpen is outstanding and showcases 4 lefties including rookie fire-baller Jonny Venters who has become another go to guy in the 8^th inning with veterans Peter Moylan and Takashi Saito. The Braves have 6 starting pitchers in the bigs with Kawakami the odd man out making important spot starts giving Cox even more options. The Braves roster offers tremendous flexibility as Chipper Jones, who used to be a SS and LF, may be the only position player who doesn’t play more than one position anymore. Having so much to choose from is very dangerous, especially in the hands of one of the best pitchers in baseball. Even when one of last years offensive leaders and annual 20/20 guy such as Nate McLouth can’t get the ball out of the infield, this team hasn’t slowed or skipped a beat because of the depth that they have.

Frank Wren has to be applauded for putting together an exciting, balanced roster full of experienced veterans and exciting young guys. Dating back to last season, trading hometown kid Jeff Franceour to a division rival didn’t seem like a popular or helpful move at the time, but with Frenchy off gone it not only cleared RF for Heyward, but got his $5 million dollar 2010 salary off the books which is being used on everyday guys like Eric Hinske ($1 mil), Melky Cabrera ($3.1 million) and team HR and RBI leader Troy Glaus ($1.75 million). He let young fan-favorites Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano leave and replaced them with experienced veterans Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner who is having a phenomenal season as the Braves closer. Now, a day after the deadline, Frank Wren was able to pick up some nice pieces to help the Braves down the stretch. The Alex Gonzalex-Yunel Escobar deal not only rid the Braves of a “problem” and kid who didn’t fit the mold of a “Braves type” player, but once again gives the Braves a shortstop who has shown above average power this year and who has been deep into the postseason before (Marlins World Series Champions 2003).

The acquisition of CF Rick Ankiel and RP Kyle Farnsworth at the deadline for CF Gregor Blanco, RP Jesse Chaves and prospect Tim Collins is right in line with Wren’s 2010 themes and the Braves came out way on top. Blanco was expendable as never reached his potential behind Nate McLouth, Jordan Schafer and Melky Cabrera and would have been buried in AAA Gwinnett with the acquisition of Ankiel.  Chavez, who is arguably the worst pitcher in the Braves bullpen and only acquired because the Braves had to get rid of Rafael Soriano’s contract, probably wouldn’t have made the playoff roster anyway if his ERA remained around 6. While Collins has had some success in his brief minor league career, he was just acquired in the Gonzalez deal from the Blue Jays and probably wasn’t in any of the Braves long term plans. In return, the Braves get a RP in Farnsworth who is having a phenomenal year and who thrived in Atlanta in 2005 when acquired mid-season from the Tigers when we converted 10/10 save opportunities with a sub-two ERA. Ankiel is a guy who has shown pop, and is a great defender with an excellent arm at a position where the Braves had defense first players in all year. With September call ups a few weeks away, it will be interesting to see how Cox mixes McLouth, Cabrera and Ankiel. Either way, he can choose from a gold-glover, a switch hitter, or a 25 hr-threat and one of the games best OF arms for the number 8 hitter in the lineup.

The only thing that Frank Wren and the Braves failed to do with the 2010 Braves is add speed. Chone Figgins was rumored in a deal to Atlanta and he would have given the club the only part of the game they are lacking. Speed never slumps and the Braves are limited to a conservative style of play as they rank 14^th out of 16 NL teams in Stolen Bases. However, there is an outstanding urgency to win in Atlanta, and the buzz is still circling from the Spring Training debut of 20 year old Heyward, to Cox’s last season, to a last second trade at 3:59 PM on July 31^st to beat the deadline. It’s all amounted in something special so far as the Braves still sport the best home record in all of baseball. With guys like Chipper Jones and Billy Wagner possibly playing their last seasons in the majors, everyone realizes there is a little bit more at stake. Hopefully the “Leprechaun” and good luck charm Eric Hinske, can take the Braves to his 5^th straight World Series appearance and all signs point to this being a very realistic possibility.

As the 2010 season for the Mets progresses, does anyone else get the feeling that they've seen this movie before?  I know I have.  The July 31st trade deadline has come and gone and what did the Mets do?  That's right, nothing.  And I get it - I didn't want to see our team give up Ike Davis, Jon Niese, Jenrry Mejia, etc. either.  In spite of that sentiment, I find it frustrating that the Mets don't seem to be committed to winning.  Recently, there has been some speculation that the Wilpons took a more severe financial hit in the Madoff scandal than was originally suspected, and that makes perfect sense to me.

It just seems like the Mets are never running on all cylinders.  We're either getting great pitching, or a productive offense - never both at the same time.  We've been seeing the ill effects of the way our bullpen was (ab)used during the first half of the season.  And honestly, that's not completely Jerry's fault.  What exactly was he supposed to do when we were lucky if our starters made it through the 5th inning for 2 months?

I'm just getting tired of the cycle:  the Mets start out the season badly and get everyone calling for the heads of management.  Then they go on a tear and make everyone believe they're going to really contend this year.... and after the All-Star Break, it all just falls apart.  In June, the Mets were one of the best teams in baseball with a record of 18-8.  In July, almost the exact opposite occurred as the Mets posted a record of 17-7 (not counting tonight's game which is currently tied in the 9th inning).  This is the scenario a lot of Mets fans feared before the 2010 season kicked off:  a team that was just good enough to keep Jerry and Dan Warthen, but just bad enough to miss being serious contenders.  And that's the thing - does anyone take the Mets seriously?  I don't think I can at this point, and that's sad to me.  What do you guys think?

Tough debut for the Phillies big acquisition. Started off the game giving up a lead off triple to Nyjer Morgan.  Left after six innings with four earned runs and the eventual loss.  Roy Oswalt leads the league with the worst run support around and last night was no different.  The Phillies lost 8-1 and Roy has plenty of room for improvement to say the least.  A loss is a loss, they happen, no reason to worry.

Bright spots?  Nice to see a Jayson Werth home run and nice to see Domonic Brown knock to more hits.  Werth, DoBro, and Ibanez were the only Phillies with hits (each had two a piece).

So the streak ends at 8 and the Phillies drop a full game in the standings, but there are two most in Washington to go.

Who'd have thunk that a Phillies extra inning win would come off the bat of Wilson Valdez in the eleventh.  Not only that, Ryan Howard -- one of the hottest hitters in baseball -- came up with the baseball loaded in the bottom of the tenth and a shot to win the game.  Also Valdez got it done with the glove and the Phillies won 3-2 in extras.  The eighth win in a row brings the Phillies to 2.5 game outs of the division and 1.5 games out of the wild card.  The are cruisin' right now.  Game notables:

• Cody Ransom had another strong night going 2-3
• Ryan Howard had another hitless day, 0-3, but that's fine save it for a game when we need it.
• Don't look now, but Raul Ibanez is starting to find it at the plate.  Added a big home run last night.
• A nice 6 innings out of Kyle Kendrick and good work at the finish from Lidge and Contreras.  Not so good out of Madson and Romero.

Final Update 3 p.m.: The deal is done, tweets Rosenthal.  Piecing this together, it appears the Astros send Oswalt and $11MM to the Phillies for Happ, Gose, and Villar, with the Phils potentially adding $1MM to Oswalt's buyout but not exercising his option.

Update 1:40 p.m.: Reports are that Roy will waive his no-trade clause and come to Philly.  Braves and Mets beware.

Update 11:45 a.m.: Looks as if Singleton isn't in the deal and that 12 million is overblown.  Love twitter.  Follow us.  If this is all true and Singleton isn't included I think it's a win for the Phillies.

Update 11:30 a.m.: It appears to be J.A. Happ plus two prospects.  Sources are unsure if Jonathon Singleton (considered the Phillies best hitting prospect) is part of the deal or not.  Both sides are adament about his inclusion/exclusion, so we'll see who ended up budging.  Also the Astros have agreed to pay approx. $12 million of the money owed to Roy through next season.

Breaking news regarding Roy Oswalt, the Phillies and Astros have reported agreed on a deal and the teams now await Roy's approval.  The deal is rumored to involved J.A. Happ, Vance Worley, and two other young pitchers.  Also the Astros are assumed to have agreed to eat some of the financial responsibility to aid the Phillies on the back end.

Stayed tuned for Roy Oswalt's "Decision" and for the final announcements of the deal including players and monies that will be exchanged.

This is something that shouldn't have to be said, but this is Philadelphia, so it must be said.  Bleacher Report has a great "Rules for Phillies Fans" article about Domonic Brown's arrival.  It's a must read to keep the kid's time with the big club in perspective.  He's the future, so we'd best not spoil him in the present.  Here are the rules, abide by them, or else:

1. Any references to Domonic Brown must be preceded or immediately followed by the descriptor “22-year old”.

Only six out of the 750 players on MLB rosters are younger than the Phillies much anticipated call-up.

2. Phillies fans may not proclaim the beginning of “The Domonic Brown era”.

If a Phillie with 548 home runs does not have an era named for him, perhaps it is premature to assign this tag (and the expectations that it carries) to a player with one career extra-base hit. And by the way, included in the rule against “era” references is an edict prohibiting anyone from designating Dom Brown as a savior

3. Fans absolutely may not boo, grumble, or otherwise voice displeasure toward Domonic Brown at any time this season.

Whether this is a two-week stay or a potential post-season call-up, the absolute longest that you would have to exercise restraint will be approximately three months. You can do it, Philly fans!

4. Do not create, or even consider any Domonic Brown Fan Groups.

There are to be no Dom’s Bombs, Brown’s Clowns, or any other groups based on first grade rhyming patterns [at this point in his young career].

Normally I'm completely against the first name syllable, last name nicknames, but it works in such harmony for Domonic Brown.  DoBro just rolls so nicely together and is a great fit from the "bro" times that we're living in.  Officially, I'm a huge fan of traditional baseball nicknames like:

• Bob "The Heater from Van Meeter" Feller
  
• Pud "The Little Steam Engine" Galvin
  
• Willie "Hit 'Em Where They Ain't" Keeler
  
• Ted "The Splendid Splinter" Williams