On April 17, 1964 the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets faced off in the first ever opening day contest at Shea Stadium. 48,736 fans saw the Pirates beat the Mets that opening day in Queens, and in the 44 seasons since many millions more have made their way through the turnstiles to see the Mets play baseball.

On April 8, 2008, Shea Stadium will host it's 45th and final home opener, as the Mets welcome the defending National League East Champion Philadelphia Phillies into town. The Mets enter the game with a 2-3 record after receiving a two game punch in the gut from the Atlanta Braves this weekend. The Mets big bats didn't come through in clutch situations, and the pitching was wildly erratic (save Mr. Santana). The Phillies enter the series with a 3-4 record, and seem to have just as many question marks as the Mets do in the early parts of the season. They are coming off of a four game split with Cincinnati, in which many holes in their bullpen were exploited.

The Phillies won the season series twelve games to six on their way to winning the NL East last season. That's all I have to say about that.

In game one of the series the Mets will send out Oliver Perez (1-0) who looked awesome in his first start of the season. Perez went six innings, struck out eight, and left a zero on the scoreboard, as the Mets dismantled the Florida Marlins last Wednesday 13-0. This game was the last we have seen of the Mets, as they have gone missing since. The Phillies counter with the ageless Jamie Moyer (0-0). Just to let you know how old Jamie Moyer is, let it be known that I have a baseball card of his from Fleer '87. He was a member of the Texas Rangers. At that point, Juan Gonzalez and Nolan Ryan hadn't joined the team yet, and they still played their home games in Arlington Stadium. That's how old Jamie Moyer is. Not too mention Moyer looked sluggish in his first start as he couldn't get past the fourth inning. This game will start at 1:10 PM, and can be seen on SNY. For those of us Mets fans in the Philadelphia market (moia) the game will be broadcast on CSN.

Game two of the series will start at 7:10 on Wednesday. The Mets send out Mike Pelfrey (0-0) for his first start of the season. With the subtraction of Pedro Martinez from the Mets rotation, big things are now expected from Big Mike. Pelfrey needs to make a statement more than any other pitcher in this series. His value is diminishing rapidly, and so is the patience of Mets fans. I really want to like this guy, but in the past year or so he hasn't given me much to like. This is a big chance for him. Kyle Kendrick (1-0) goes to the mound for the Phillies in this game. The Phillies are big on this kid, but he no doubt escaped with a win last Friday against Cincy. In five innings Kendrick gave up four runs and only struck out one. Those numbers won't get it done on most days against the Mets. Then again most days Mike Pelfrey doesn't pitch. This game can be seen on SNY in New York and CN8 in Philadelphia. It is also ESPN2's Wednesday Night Game of the Week.

At 7:10 PM on Thursday night, the Mets and Phillies will close out the first round of their 2008 season. The Mets will send Nelson Figueroa (0-0) out for his first start of the season. Figueroa has seen some bullpen work so far this season, but this is his first start of the season. Figueroa steps into the rotation in place of Martinez who pulled something or other (does it really matter at this point). Figueroa was day and night in his two appearances so far this season. He threw a scoreless inning against Florida last Wednesday, and then looked horrible in giving up two runs against Atlanta on Saturday. Figueroa will go up against Adam Eaton (0-0). Eaton looked solid in his first start of the season last Saturday against Cincinnati. In going seven and two thirds innings, he gave up three earned and six hits, while striking out two. He was awarded a no decision after Phillies closer Tom Gordon pulled a Braden Looper and gave the game to Cincinnati in the ninth. This game can be viewed on SNY in New York and CSN in Philadelphia.

The Mets and Phillies have both started 2008 off on the wrong foot. The Mets are most in need of a statement against a division team, as they were tossed around like a rag doll by Atlanta. The Phillies didn't look horrible against Cincinnati, and if not for Gordon's blow up they would have won three out of those four games. Both of these teams know that this series could set the tone for the whole season for each team. There is no love loss between these two rivals, and the crowd at Shea will most likely be more hostile than usual. Look for an exciting series with most every game being well contested. With that being said, I hope we murder them.

PS: Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks for winning the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. A title well deserved. Also, the Stanley Cup playoffs start on Wednesday, go Devils, Rangers Suck. JD