[n00b on demand]

After all the talk of how great the mets are from everyone else, I just wanted to look at how these two teams stand right now:

TOP FOUR SLUGGERS:

Mets -- Carlos Delgado, Cliff Floyd, David Wright, Carlos Beltran
Phillies -- Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley

EDGE: I'd lean toward the Phillies, unless Beltran returns to 2004 form

-----------------------------

OTHER FOUR EVERYDAY PLAYERS:

Mets -- Paul LoDuca, Kaz Matsui, Jose Reyes, Xavier Nady
Phillies -- Mike Lieberthal, Jimmy Rollins, David Bell, Aaron Rowand

EDGE: I think you have to say Phillies, by a good bit

------------------------------

ROTATION

Mets -- Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Kris Benson, Steve Trachsel, Jae-Weong Seo/Victor Zambrano
Phillies -- Brett Myers, Jon Lieber, Cory Lidle, Vicente Padilla, Ryan Madson/Robinson Tejeda

EDGE: Slight edge to Mets at the moment. Both rotations clearly have big questions. Both teams sure to make at least one big addition, which will be crucial to whether either team can separate from the NL East pack

-------------------------------

BULLPEN

Mets-- Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Juan Padilla, Heath Bell
Phillies -- Tom Gordon, Aaron Fultz, Rheal Cormier, Geoff Geary, Julio Santana

EDGE: Again, two works in progress here. ... At this moment, I'd give the edge to the Mets. ... But the eventual winner in this area will be determined by which team lands the better setup men.

--------------------------------

In summary, for all the talk up in Shea, at this moment in time, it's really hard to say the Mets have a better team than the Phillies yet.

The rest of the winter will decide the NL East. It's still ours to grab.