Manny & Dodgers Come To N.Y. To Put Mets Out To Pasture

If the Mets season didn't end a few weeks ago when the team got swept away by the New York Yankees in a dismal display of baseball fundamentals, and if it didn't end when they were beaten by the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies this past weekend, then it is sure to end this week.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, the best team in baseball with a 52-30 record, come waltzing into town looking to put the kabash on the bumbling, stumbling, and fumbling Metropolitans.

The Mets now stand at 39-42.

The smoke and mirrors that got them through the month of May came crashing down throughout the month of June, and now, less than a week into the month of July, the Mets continue to stumble. Whenever Johan Santana, Livan Hernandez, or any other pitcher for that matter takes the ball for the Mets, they better throw either a perfect game or come close to it if the Mets are to have any shot of winning.

The offense is well ... offensive! Nick Evans, Dan Murphy, Fernando Martinez, Alex Cora; need I say more? The Mets clearly miss Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. Those three players were the catalysts of this team and without them the Mets are sack of muscle, flesh, and blood without any skeletal system.

The Dodgers come in a confident bunch. Former Yankee manager Joe Torre has truly left his stamp on a club that a few years ago was a team budding with potential -- now they are achieveing it.

Manny Ramirez is the headline for the Dodgers. On the field, Ramirez has not missed a step since being suspended 50 games in late April for steroid use. He has seven homers and 21 RBI this year and is hitting .333. With Ramirez back in the lineup, L.A. fields one of the most potent lineups in baseball.

Why? Andre Ethier Orlando Hudson and Casey Blake have led the charge for the Dodgers all season long. Ethier is quickly turning into one of the game's next big stars. This season alone the left fielder leads all Dodgers with 16 homers and 54 RBI; he even has three homers in one game just a few weeks ago and is the owner of four walk off homer victories this year. Ethier was an All Star snub this year -- damn shame; the NL doesn't know what it is missing.

As for Orlando Hudson, this is the man many Met fans wanted the front office to pursue in the off-season to replace Luis Castillo. In fact, Hudson wanted to become a Met and was willing to give them a home-team discount for his services. But the Mets turned Hudson down, and all the second baseman has done is bat around .300, blast five home runs and drive in 41. He has been a God-send to the Dodgers who desperatly needed a consistent bat at the top of the lineup, as well as a leader in the clubhouse. Gee, a leader in the clubhouse! I think the Mets are still looking for one.

Blake is one of Torre's favorite players. He was blown away by Blake when he helped defeat Torre and the Yankees in the 2007 ALDS as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Torre worked Dodgers management to bring Blake into LA last season, and it has worked out extremely well. Blake has 12 homers and 51 RBI this year and is now a mainstay at third base, a position that used to be stagnant for the Dodgers.

But this game is about one thing: pitching; in this series, the Dodgers have a huge edge over the Mets. Clayton Kershaw pitches tonight against Mike Pelfrey. Kershaw has the potential to become a great pitcher, but he is still very raw. At only 5-5 this year, Kershaw is still learning the ropes of a major league pitcher. If the Mets win one game in this series, it could be this game, if the Mets learn how to hit again.

Game two is a joke. Oliver Perez and his 9.97 ERA return to Flushing to square off against Dodgers ace Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda missed most of May and June due to an arm injury and stands at only 3-4 but owns a 3.91 ERA and has struck out 37 batters while walking only 9. He is brilliant and should easily beat the inconsistent Perez.

Finally, Randy Wolf pitches against Livan Hernandez; this game features the only fair pitching matchup. Hernandez has been great for the Mets all season long but never gets enough run support. He stands at 5-4 on the year but could easily be 9-2, if he were on a decent team; that is how good Livan has been this year for the Metropolitans.

As for Wolf, he owns the Mets with a capital O. Wolf is 11-5 with a 3.30 ERA all time against the Mets. It doesn't matter how bad a season Wolf is having, when he faces the Mets, he becomes Cy Young. This year Wolf has had a decent year, 3-3 with a 3.49 ERA and 82 strikeouts. With the Mets small lineup, Wolf could be staring at his 12th career victory against the Mets by 10 o' clock that evening.

PREDICTION: DODGERS WIN SERIES 3-0.