The roles have certainly changed. The past two seasons, it has been the Marlins attempting to play the role of the spoiler. However with the injury ravaged Mets coming into town, these same Marlins look to take full advantage and keep pace in the NL East and Wild Card races. Meanwhile, our Mets are simply looking to keep respectability and avoid the cellar I suppose.

With Johan Santana now declared out for the rest of the 2009 season, it would not surprise me Vegas-wise if the Mets are underdogs in every game for the rest of the season (they have been in every non-Santana pitched game since after the All Star Break). Not only that, but now our rotation has been reduced to Mike Pelfrey (as our ace), Oliver Perez, Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa and Tim Redding. You have got to be kidding me. Our offense has also been dealt a blow with Jeff Francoeur tearing a ligament in his left thumb making a great diving stab on Sunday (ironically the next at-bat was that ridiculous triple-play). He says he's willing to play through the injury which is admirable...but in my opinion he just needs to sit down and avoid making the situation worse.

Of course, this series can go a way in playing role of spoiler. The Mets sort of did that by splitting the series vs. the San Francisco Giants before losing series to the contending Braves and Phillies. While the Mets didn't necessarily play bad during the 4-7 homestand (only getting taken to the shed twice), losses still sting the psyche of fans. I don't care how adamant you are saying you don't care...we still clearly do. And as I will always say- hearing other teams fans and the media letting us know of this time in and time out.

Pitching matchup-wise; the edge is clearly in favor of the Marlins in all three games.

Tonight: Nelson Figueroa (1-2 6.70 ERA) vs. Sean West (4-5 4.70 ERA). Figueroa in 6 career appearances vs. the Fish (2 starts) is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. He will be facing the majority of the Marlins' lineup for the first times. Meanwhile, West pitched well in his only start against the Mets going 7IP and allowing 1ER on May 29th...a game in which the Mets would go on to record a very rare walk-off victory 2-1 in 11 innings.

Wednesday: Mike Pelfrey (9-8 4.67 ERA) vs. Josh Johnson (12-3 2.99 ERA). Pelfrey has been shaky in the second half of the season, but got an important win his last time out vs. the Phillies and Cole Hamels. His last start vs. FLA was the aforementioned May 29th game where he pitched 7.2IP and allowed 1ER. However, the Fish have not been kind to him in 9 career starts. The Big Pelf is 1-5 with a 5.36 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. Meanwhile, Johnson has been the exact opposite in his career vs. the Mets, going 6-0 in 8 starts with a 2.05 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. His last start against the Mets on May 30th was a 7-3 victory in which he allowed 2 runs in 7IP.

Thursday: Tim Redding (1-4 6.10 ERA) vs. Anibel Sanchez (2-4 4.97 ERA). Redding has had nightmares against the Marlins in his career. In 12 career starts he sports a 4-5 record with a 5.70 ERA and 1.53 WHIP. He was rocked in his last start opposing Josh Johnson on May 30th allowing 7 ER in 4IP. Meanwhile, Sanchez in 5 career starts vs. the Mets is 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA and 1.45 WHIP. He was also rocked in his last start vs. the Mets on April 27th, allowing 6ER in 6IP in a 7-1 victory for us.

Taking 2/3 and making the Fish's life miserable would be a miracle on paper...but that's why they play the games on the field, right?