We can spend time unnecessarily complaining that the just completed series in Los Angeles should have ended in a Phillies sweep.

Yes, Brad Lidge’s struggles over the last couple of days are frustrating, and lost opportunities always hurt.

However, I am taking a glass half full approach to this weekend. For starters, prior to heading to LA after sweeping the Padres, I would have gladly taken a split against the Dodgers. Mission accomplished, at least based on my modest hopes for the Phillies in LA.

Plus, in a 162 game season, there are going to be good runs and bad runs that teams will go through. Consider the 2 game peak the Phils had on the road against the Florida Marlins on April 24th and 25th:

April 24th Phils shutout through 8, then drop 7 on the Marlins in the ninth to win.
April 25th Phils tie game in top of ninth. Win in the 10th.

Great teams never go 81-81. Awful teams never win 100 games. 2 fluky wins in April. 2 annoying losses in June. The Phils are 11 games over .500 and lead the division by 3 games.

The starting pitching looks great. The bullpen, with the exception of Brad Lidge, is solid, especially with the return of J.C. Romero. The offense has its off day, but they have had little in the way of extended futility with the bats.

Things are good if you’re a Phillies fan.

But they could be even better.

The Phillies 5-2 West Coast swing was sweet, but now they have additional challenges ahead, starting with the Mets in New York and then the Red Sox at home.

No less than 2 wins in New York is the order of the day for the Phillies this week. Not because the division is on the line. Heck, it’s still early June, and the division lead could change hands a couple of times before the season is over.

The Phillies need to win this series because they have struggled head to head with the Mets since the beginning of the 2008 season. I’d gladly lose every game to the Mets if we still won the division when it was all said and done, but the fact is that the Phillies, who are 1-3 so far in 2009 against the Mets, need to improve on 2008′s 7-11 record against the Mets, and no time better than now to get it started.

The Phillies lost both games at Citi Field in early May in their first trip to the Mets castly overrated new park. A pitcher’s duel in game 1 saw the Mets win by the slimmest of margins. In game 2, Jamie Moyer served up extra batting practice to the Mets, sending the Phillies to a second straight loss against our hated rivals.