It’s all relative in the NL East.
Just as there’s frustration in Philadelphia over a swoon that means the Phillies can’t go wire-to-wire as NL East champs, the Mets are rejoicing over the six-game winning streak they took into last night’s game at Washington. It’s under those circumstances that the two rivals will meet in Philadelphia for a three-game series starting Friday.
“I still think the Phillies are the best team in the National League and if it’s determined Chase Utley cannot play, I would think they would go out and get a bat to help Ryan Howard,” said John Kruk, an analyst for ESPN’s “Baseball Tonight.” “The people in the front office look at me like I’m nuts and say, ‘We don’t have any more money.’
“They better, I’m a season-ticket holder and I am going to relinquish those season tickets if it continues. This losing in the playoffs isn’t cutting it for me,” Kruk, who played with the Phillies from 1989-94, added only half jokingly.
If the Phillies think they are broke, they should take a glance at the Mets’ financial records. It’s how one team adds Cliff Lee and the other signs Chris Young and Chris Capuano. Lee and Young will square off Sunday night in the ESPN national game.
Phillies fifth starter Joe Blanton will go against Mets ace Mike Pelfrey in Friday’s series opener. The problem for the Mets is that the better pitcher in that matchup is debatable.
“The Mets are counting on a guy who would be the fifth starter in the Phillies’ rotation, if that,” Kruk said. “He has the stuff to be a No. 1 starter, but he doesn’t have the consistency. Pelfrey has to be the guy who wins games for them, otherwise they would be sunk. He is their best pitcher, so he has to perform like he is a No. 1 guy.”
He hasn’t so far, with an ERA that was lowered to 7.23 after seven innings of one-run ball against the Diamondbacks on Saturday. Though the Phillies clearly boast the better pitching staff, the Mets bring in the hotter lineup to hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. Jason Bay’s return to the lineup has sparked the recent run that revitalized the team after a dreadful 5-13 start.
“Offensively, they can be as good on anyone in the division,” Kruk said. “Getting Jason Bay back adds some credibility to the middle of their lineup; [Carlos] Beltran hit a triple the other night and looks like he’s running well; [Jose] Reyes keeps getting on base.”
They will need it with Roy Halladay preceding Lee on Saturday.
Despite the gulf in expectations and talent for the two teams, Kruk said the matchup always will be a rivalry.
“The fans demand that you get up to play the Mets, that they beat the Mets,” Kruk said. “The proximity adds to the rivalry no matter if one team is bad and the other is good. It’s always going to be there, there’s always going to be a hatred of each other.”
justin.terranova@nypost.com