John Maine Congratulates the Phillies (Sort of)

While it may not hold the same "oomph" as calling a team a bunch of "choke artists", John Maine has fired back when asked about the Philadelphia Phillies and their propensity for being a bit mouthy.

"I don't really care, but I just don't get it," Maine said. "At the end of the year, they won the World Series. Congratulations! Let's focus on the things they accomplished. Don't worry about what's going on up in New York. I mean, I don't get it."

Yeah, it doesn't sound like much. But I'll tell you what it signifies: For the past two seasons, the budding Mets-Phillies rivalry has pretty much been contained to the fans. Yeah, Jimmy Rollins made the "team to beat" comment, and various Phillies have whined about the Mets and their dancing, but this has been a fans' rivalry more than anything. Now, you may start to see a shift in that from the stands to the actual rosters.

Up until now, the Mets really haven't responded with anything other than cliches such as "we can't control what they say" or similar vanilla. Maine's comment seems to reveal a little agitation. Part of that agitation might be the very fact that he was asked about Hamels and his "choke artists" comment, but I have to believe part of the agitation is genuinely directed toward the Phillies players. And why not? When was the last time a team has been as consistently liberal with their trash talk towards a division rival than these Phillies? Perhaps this foretells some fireworks on the field between the teams, and not just their fanbases.