View From Stands: The Showdown In Shea

Tonight the Marlins return to the scene of the crime. For the first time since the tense, emotional series that ended the 2007 season (for both teams), the Marlins travel to Shea Stadium to meet the Mets and, hopefully, once again, beat the Mets. Roles are reversed as the Marlins come in now as the division leaders and the Mets are trying to hold onto life for this season. This is a key series for both teams.

For the Marlins, they need to start this current road trip strong and set a tone of success. Winning 2 out of 3 will accomplish a lot towards this goal as they continue to bury the Mets’ hopes while continuing to show that they can beat all levels competition. A sweep can be an even bigger boost and go a long way towards suffocating the hopes of a potential strong competitor, who was voted as the Most Hated Rival by Marlins‘ fans (FSN-Florida).

This is also a chance for the Marlins to enter the spotlight that has been often placed on what is essentially one of the national media’s teacher’s pets. In this series, as a lot of focus is being placed on the chaos that is the New York Mets, the Marlins can put on display the many talents that go much deeper after Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla. It is a chance to get the nation curious about this exciting young team with the explosive offense. It is an opportunity for the lesser known talents to become household names or at least respected on a national level.

In regards to the Marlins chances for the playoffs and gaining national respect, this is a big series.

For the Mets, it is as simple as anything can be — this is about survival. While they have received the A+ level recognition of a teacher‘s pet, they have performed like a D- student who is slowly becoming the class clown. Starting the day in fourth place and 5 ½ games behind the first place Marlins, even though the season is still fairly young, this series can make things difficult for their hopes down the road. In fact, it can be the biggest blow to their current struggles, that can further send them down the road of not being a factor this year. If they can get things in order, they can position themselves right back into the pack at the top of the division. For the Mets, the long term effect of this series makes this the biggest point of their season, up to now.

Which team will step up? Will the Mets establish that they will be in the race for the long haul while dominating the Marlins? Will the Marlins do the damage needed to terminate the Mets’ hopes, make certain Mets’ players hide from the cameras and silencing the most obnoxious fan base among National League teams? No matter what the results are in this series, it does promise to be exciting and a big key to the 2008 season for both teams.

This is a view from the stands.