Series Preview: Brewers (24-10) at Mets (21-12)

After a homestand full of lightweights, now things are getting interesting.  The Mets probably have the strongest offense in the league and so far they've had enough pitching to get plenty of wins out of it.  It remains to be seen whether the Mets have played a harder schedule than the Brewers have, but however you slice it, this series is between two of the best teams in the National League.  

BP's postseason odds report gives the Mets an even better shot at the playoffs than the Brewers: 74% to 66%.  Their third-order winning percentage is a staggering .572, best in the league and second in baseball only to the Red Sox.  All this, and the Mets are still a half-game behind the Braves in the East.

Here are your pitching matchups for the weekend:

• Friday, 6:05 CT: Jeff Suppan vs Jorge Sosa
  
  
• Saturday, 12:10 CT: Ben Sheets vs Mike Pelfrey
  
  
• Sunday, 12:10 CT: Chris Capuano vs Oliver Perez

Given what we've seen so far this year from Tom Glavine and John Maine, the Brewers appear to have gotten lucky this time around.  In an injury-free world, the Mets might not be relying on any of those three guys except to win some games in New Orleans.  That isn't to say it's going to be easy: Sosa and Perez have proven capable of throwing a good game now and then, and Pelfrey is a highly-touted prospect (despite his not very highly-touted ERA of 6.39).

So far, the Mets offense looks a lot like ours: plenty of guys hitting well without many black holes in the lineup.  Only two players (Carlos Beltran and Shawn Green) have more than three home runs, but every starter except for Carlos Delgado is getting on base at a .345 clip or better.  (And you know Delgado's struggles aren't going to last.)  All those on-base skills means the Mets are leading the league in runs scored.  (The Brewers are third, behind, believe it or not, the Marlins.)

Here is some supplementary reading:

• Amazin' Avenue has a WPA recap of the entire last series.
  
  
• Mets Today thinks MLB shouldn't have suspended Matt Capps for hitting Fielder.  I like Joe, the blogger there, but I'm throwing him to the dogs on this one.  (That'd be you.)
  
  
• Flushing University has a mancrush on Willie Randolph.
  
  
• Metstradamus comments on the team haircut, and reminds us of some Mets haircutting in the past.

I say we take two out of three.  It's not impossible that we sweep.  If in-person rooting does any good, I know I'll be doing my part :).