[EmpireWF]

The New York Mets return to the post-season for the first time in six years when they host the wild card Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon at 4pm eastern (early start for those west coasters). Game two will be Thursday evening at 8pm eastern. Game three will revert to LA on Saturday I assume.

The Mets were the long-running favorites to sweep through the NL but the Dodgers have become one of the darlings among fans (and MJHMarc around these parts). They have some nice starting pitching and especially those evil lefty's the Mets have seemingly struggled against.

Can El Duque, Tom Glavine and Steve Trachsel keep the Mets close? Will Carlos Beltran's bat revert to his amazing former Astro playoff run? And remember how Grady Little left the playoffs as manager of the Red Sox, he has to be looking for some redemption.

This should be a great series.

Metsblog gives the expected probable pitchers

Game 1: Derek Lowe vs. Orlando El Duque Hernandez
Game 2: Greg Maddux vs. Tom Glavine
Game 3: Hong-Chih Kuo vs. Steve Trachsel (Mets.com says Maddux starts game 2)

My pick: Mets in five. (I'm not overly optimistic, but the Mets HAVE to win)

[MVB]

The Mets are gonna have to play like the Yanks this postseason.

HIT THE BALL.

Their pitching is in shambles, but their offense is better then any other NL teams'.

Derek Lowe beat the Mets in his only career start against them ( 6IP, 2 ER).

I LOVE game 2's matchup.

Wow, Kuo for game 3?? What happened to Penny? Has his back gotten that bad?

[EmpireWF]

Originally Posted by MVB

Wow, Kuo for game 3?? What happened to Penny? Has his back gotten that bad?

Pretty much. This is from a Dodgers Thoughts blog...

"Little was relatively satisfied that Brad Penny's back will allow him to pitch, but revealed that Penny could be a reliever instead of a starter."

[ThePundit]

I say the Mets win it in 4 games...That is a classic game 2 match up ...600 wins between Glavine and Maddux. This is a chance for Glavine to cement his legacy with Met fans...

[EmpireWF]

...And the Mets take a quick 2-0 series lead with a win in game two. Another great pitching performance for the Mets, this time by Tom Glavine.

Now the series heads to Los Angeles for a Saturday evening (eastern time) game. LETS GO METS!

Originally Posted by EmpireWF

Pretty much. This is from a Dodgers Thoughts blog...

"Little was relatively satisfied that Brad Penny's back will allow him to pitch, but revealed that Penny could be a reliever instead of a starter."

Well penny he might not of been up to par toward the end of the season but look who is the best pitcher in the NL pitcher penny and i am sure he will be the starter for the NL all star team. You just can't beat penny right now.