No Grandy Finish For NLCS Game Turner on a Dime

In many ways, Game 2 of the NLCS was decided by a couple of former and well liked Mets.

In the top of the eighth, with the Dodgers down 3-2, Justin Turner hit a go-ahead two run homer off Jeremy Jeffress.

The Brewers would have their chance to respond in the bottom of the eighth.

With one on and two out, Dave Roberts pulled his left-handed reliever for Kenta Maeda, and Craig Counsell countered by sending Curtis Granderson to the plate. Granderson put a charge in one, but the ball would land harmlessly in Yasiel Puig‘s glove.

While there were many, many other factors which influenced the final score, when you boil down this game, the difference was Turner’s ball left the yard, and Granderson’s didn’t.

In some ways, it’s great to see some popular former Mets in the postseason, especially Granderson. In other ways, it is a reminder how the Mets once had the talent to be a World Series contender. That talent is still contributing in some fashion to teams on the cusp of going to the World Series.

It’s now incumbent on the Mets to find their next Turner and Granderson to get the franchise to the point where Turner and Granderson currently are.

MLBPA Applauds Domestic Violence

Similar to the Roberto Clemente Award, the MLBPA has the Marvin Miller Award. The Marvin Miller Award is given to the player their peers “most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.”

Each team gets to nominate a player, and we have seen upstanding players win this award including Curtis Granderson, who has won it twice. Unsurprisingly, he was nominated again for the award this year.

There will be some stiff competition for this award, but it will not include Steven Matz, who not only donates time a money to the FDNY Foundation, but he also takes an active role with the Special Olympics.

Now, the Mets candidate for the award will be Jose Reyes.

That’s not a joke.

The Mets really chose Reyes to be their candidate for this award. For those who forgot, which clearly includes the Mets players, Reyes is alleged to have grabbed his wife by the throat and shoved her into the sliding glass doors. After hotel security contacted police, Reyes’ wife was taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries to her neck, thighs, and wrists.

This is who Major League players “most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.”

Congrats to the players for taking their time to admit to us all they have no issue with domestic violence, and better yet, they believe players who commit violent acts against their wives need to be recognized as role models.

Well done.

Trivia Friday: Former Mets To Win NLCS MVP

With the Dodgers and Brewers beginning the NLCS, there is a chance, and in the case of Curtis Granderson, a remote one, that a former Mets player could take home the MVP award.  If Granderson does do this, he will be one of eight former Mets who have been the NLCS MVP.  Can you name them?  Good luck!


Justin Turner Daniel Murphy Marco Scutaro Mike Hampton Livan Hernandez Randy Myers Orel Hershiser Mike Scott

Mets May Have Better World Series Core Than The Yankees But It Doesn’t Really Matter

Starting with the obvious, as constructed today, the Yankees are a far superior team than the New York Mets.  With Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, and Luis Severino, this Yankees team is set up to win 90 plus games a year for the next decade.  Given the talent base and how the Yankees are willing to spend, the Yankees should be a fixture in the postseason, much like they were in the late 90s, and that is a prerequisite to winning a World Series.

However, as we saw with this Yankees team for the second straight season, they could not get through the postseason partially because they did not have the ace to help push them through to the World Series.

Last year, it was Justin Verlander, who helped stop the Yankees.  In many ways, Verlander has proved to be the Yankees kryptonite.  In three different postseasons, Verlander has faced the Yankees, and each time, Verlander’s teams advanced.  Last year, Verlander was the ALCS MVP going 2-0 with a 0.56 ERA.  What made the issue worse for the Yankees is they did not go out and get an eminently available Verlander.

This year, the Yankees were stopped by Chris Sale.  Not only did Sale beat the Yankees in Game 1, but he would stop the Yankees in Game 4 in his one inning of work.

With the Yankees window opening last year, they have failed to get an ace to go up against Verlander, Sale, or even Corey Kluber (who the Yankees beat in the 2017 ALDS).  Severino has not yet proven to be that guy.  Instead of utilizing Justus Sheffield and some other prospect to acquire that ace, they are hoping that he develops into that front line starter himself.

If neither of those things happen, it is hard to imagine how the Yankees can navigate their way through the American League portion of the postseason each and every year.  The Astros and Red Sox have every bit the position player talent the Yankees have, and they also have more starting pitching.  To that end, it’s difficult to see how exactly the Yankees win a World Series with this core.

Equally as difficult is seeing how the Mets even make the postseason.  While the Mets have talent, they are in a division with the upcoming Braves and Phillies teams.  Moreover, the Nationals are always ready, willing, and able to spend in free agency to address the deficiencies on their roster.  This creates a real uphill battle for a Mets franchise with ownership which continues to serve as an impediment to building a winner.

And yet, if the Mets ever do get to the postseason, they are a really dangerous team.  Back in 2015, we saw what Jacob deGrom can do in the postseason and that was before he emerged as the best pitcher in baseball.  Similarly, Noah Syndergaard has shown himself to be a big time postseason pitcher.  Aside from his strong 2015 rookie campaign, Syndergaard would go pitch-for-pitch with Madison Bumgarner, the best postseason pitcher of this generation, in the 2016 Wild Card Game.  What makes that postseason all the more impressive is the emergence of Zack Wheeler this season.

When you substitute Wheeler for 2015 Matt Harvey, you have the type of pitching rotation which can and should carry a team to the World Series.

When you surround this pitching staff with a young core which includes Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, and Amed Rosario, there is a core of players which can not just make the World Series but win it.  So yes, if we are talking about a core of players which can go through the postseason and win the World Series, the Mets have what it takes.

And yet, they don’t have the type of core which can carry them through the regular season.  This team is at least one bat short.  Maybe two.  And that is before you even consider the bullpen.

That’s the real shame of it all.  The Yankees have the talent but not the pitching, and that is partially the result of them getting gun shy when it came time to pull the trigger to obtain that ace which can carry a team through the postseason.  The Mets have the pitching, and they have that young core, but they have ownership which gets gun shy when it comes time to getting a player they need to win.

In the end, the Mets have a better core of players which can carry you to the World Series, but it doesn’t really matter because unless things change, the Mets will be sitting on the sidelines watching this Yankees core squander away without a legitimate ace.

Is Mickey Callaway The Right Manager?

When the Mets hire a new General Manager, one of his, or in the case of Kim Ng getting the job, her, first duties is to decide if they want to retain Mickey Callaway as the Mets manager.  Given how Callaway may come attached at the hip with Dave Eiland and seeing how this pitching rotation took off this year, you’d be inclined to keep Callaway on the job.

However, seeing Aaron Boone in Games 3 and 4 of the ALDS, we know a General Manager needs to look at much more than that.  Basically, the new General Manager needs to assess not just if Callaway is the guy who can bring the Mets to the postseason, but he needs to assess if Callaway would stand as an impediment to the Mets winning a World Series.

In the regular season, we have seen some really good and really terrible things from Callaway and his coaching staff.  The question is what is fixable and what are flaws which stand in the way.

The negatives have been oft discussed.  There was the lineup card incident.  Callaway had real difficulty handling the media.  We saw him exhaust the bullpen, especially Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman, early in the season.  He was also not above continuing to go back to that well even with them being overused.  At times, the lineups were outright baffling, and unlike some of his other issues, this was something which seemed to get worse (more traditional?) as the season progressed.

On the positive, the Mets players did progress.  According to wRC+, Brandon Nimmo was the second best hitter in the National League.  Michael Conforto returned to his All Star form.  Amed Rosario went from potential bust to improving young player.  Jeff McNeil emerged as an everyday second baseman.  Lugo became a dominant reliever.  As noted previously, the rotation improved.  Mostly, this team did not quit even after the season was over after a 5-21 June.

We have also seen Callaway use analytics to inform his decisions.  In April, he was started Juan Lagares because Jacob deGrom was a flyball pitcher, and the Cardinals starter, Michael Wacha, had reverse splits.  Essentially, he is well versed in analytics, and he’s able to use them to inform his decision making.

He’s also an aggressive manager.  On multiple occasions, he brought in a reliever to force the other managers hand.  Instead of being reactive to another manager’s pinch hitting choice, Callaway ensured he brought in his better pitcher to get a worse hitter up at the plate thereby ensuring himself of the better match-up.

Essentially, there’s enough here to suggest Callaway is the right guy for the job, but make no mistake, it is not a clear-cut decision.  While he was strong in motivating and developing players as well as being aggressive in his pitching decisions, his position player choices left something to be desired and arguably got worse as the season progressed.

In the end, if the Mets are going to keep him or replace him, they better be right.

Good Thing The Yankees Didn’t Open The Vault For deGrom

Things got so out of control in the Yankees 16-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the ALDS, Austin Romine would pitch the top of the ninth inning.  In that inning, he would surrender a two run homer to Brock Holt.  By allowing that homer, not only did Holt become the first ever player to have a postseason cycle (62 years to the day after Don Larsen threw the only perfect game in postseason history), but he would have an 18.00 ERA.

Coincidentally, with Luis Severino allowing six earned in his three innings of work yesterday, his ERA this postseason is also 18.00.  Now, even with his second half, no one could have really predicted Severino would be this bad in the ALDS.  However, everyone knew the Yankees needed more pitching heading if they were going to get through this postseason.

Instead of making the big game changing move, the Yankees instead decided to fill-in around the edges.  They traded for J.A. Happ and Lance Lynn.  The Happ moved seemed obvious as he has a history of beating the Red Sox, who then, were the Yankees most likely opponent in the ALDS.  Those good numbers against the Red Sox translated to five earned in two innings in the Yankees Game 1 loss.

Lynn relieved Happ in that Game 1, and he did provide the Yankees with two scoreless innings, which gave the team a chance to get back into that game.  Lynn was not up to the task yesterday.  Like Severino, he struggled mightily allowing three earned in one-third of an inning.  If the game wasn’t over by then, it was after Lynn’s appearance.

Now, with the season on the line, the Yankees are turning to CC Sabathia.  On the one hand, Sabathia is a savvy veteran who is going to give the Yankees a chance to win this game.  After all, he was 9-7 with a 3.65 ERA this season. On the other, Sabathia had a 5.40 ERA in September.  He also hasn’t pitched in almost two weeks.  You have to question how sharp he will be against a red hot Red Sox offense.

If you were the Yankees, wouldn’t you want a big time ace like, say, Jacob deGrom , take the mound today?

Now, it’s quite possible no deal between the Mets and Yankees could ever be made.  Certainly not one of this magnitude.  In the opinion of many, for the Mets to even begin considering such a deal, the Yankees would have to part with Gleyber Torres.  While Torres is hitting just .250 this postseason with no extra-base hits, he’s a 21 year old potential superstar.

If you are the Yankees, do you really want to part with that?  Even to raise the Yankees chances to win the World Series for the next three years?  The Yankees said no even if this was not how they would have operated two decades ago when they built a dynasty.

For the Yankees, they better hope Gleyber is exactly what they think he will be.  They also better hope Severino returns to his first half form and Justus Sheffield emerges as the ace they think he can be.  It has to break this way because the Yankees put all of their eggs in this basket.  Judging from this year, it may cost them a World Series this year.  Who knows what the long term ramifications will be from here?

Angel Hernandez Is A Terrible Umpire

For some reason, despite his being a horrendous umpire, Angel Hernandez was part of the umpiring crew for the Yankees-Red Sox ALDS.

In a pivotal Game 3, Hernandez was the first base umpire. Hilarity ensued:

As it turned out, Didi Gregorius was out, not safe:

https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/1049460885654306816?s=21

Gleyber Torres was safe, not out:

https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/1049470311702388738?s=21

There must be something about Didi because Hernandez was wrong again:

https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/1049483369569026049?s=21

Yes, Luke Voit was ruled safe on replay, but looking at it again, this was probably more due to this being too close to overturn than Hernandez being correct.

https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/1049483267777462274?s=21

In total, four calls were challenged, and three were overturned.

Aaron Boone, Luis Severino, and Lance Lynn do owe Hernandez a bit of gratitude as he has overshadowed how bad they were.

Hopefully, MLB just replays this game as Exhibit A as part of their defense against the discrimination lawsuit instituted by Hernandez against MLB. Really, how Hernandez can be permitted to continue being this terrible an umpire is beyond comprehension.

Certainly, in response to the very real threat Hernandez threats to the integrity of the game, Manfred is going to go out and push a pitch clock. That’ll just be great news to everyone – giving Hernandez ammunition to interfere more in the game and throw out more people who don’t deserve it.

Good luck to CC Sabathia and Rick Porcello tomorrow with Hernandez moving behind the plate.

Ron Darling Did Not Use a Racial Slur and The New York Daily News Is Pure Garbage

In the fourth inning of Game 2 of the ALDS Ron Darling said there was a “chink in the armor” referring to how Masahiro Tanaka was losing his control. Of course, this would lead the New York Daily News to say Darling “used a racial slur.”

This is completely dishonest reporting, and it is surprising a newspaper which trades in words, language, idioms, and common vernacular would stoop to such a level.

If you track the full etymology of the phrase, it is not a phrase with racial overtones, not is it used that way today.

As explained by various sites, including Writing Explained, the term was derived in the 15th century to explain a small opening in one’s armor. Since the 17th century, it has been used as an idiom to explain “refers to a weakness in one’s character or something that makes one vulnerable.”

For example, a pitcher losing control is a chink in their armor.

Now, if Darling used that to refer to Tanaka wearing his Yankees jersey? Well, obviously that would have been a racial slur. Clearly, he didn’t, and obviously, Darling would not even go there.

For those that forget, Darling is from Hawaii, is part Chinese, and has faced racial slurs all his life. No, this is not the rapper argument where they can use slurs other people can’t. No, it just serves to highlight how Darling might be sensitive to the issue and would not want to inflict upon someone the pain he has endured in his life.

Given how Darling has had to face real racial slurs in his life and the fact the term he used is not racist, calling Darling a racist here is callous and completely unwarranted. This is garbage “journalism” and it’s name smearing.

What the New York Daily News did to Darling is far worse than Darling using an appropriate term to describe an event. While Darling apologized, it is Darling himself who is owed the apology.

Braves Like Mets Can’t Score in NLDS

After Clayton Kershaw dominated for eight shutout innings where he allowed just two hits, the Atlanta Braves have scored exactly zero runs in the NLDS.

With that, the Mets have scored the same amount of runs as the Braves this postseason. Apparently, that’s where the 38-30 record the Mets and Braves had in the second half gets you.

This and the fact the Braves actually tabbed Anibal Sanchez to be their Game 2 starter should tell us all how much the Mets messed up the 2018 season.

It was the same mistakes they always make, and the end result was the Mets losing the division to a team whose second best pitcher is Anibal Sanchez.

Trivia Friday: Mets In The 2018 Postseaon

Last year, we saw most of the players the Mets traded at the deadline appear in the postseason.  Notably, Jay Bruce hit a couple of homers in the Indians ALDS loss to the Yankees.  Similarly, Addison Reed would not get out of the ALDS as the Red Sox lost to the Astros.  This year as the postseason has begun there are former Mets on all teams except the Rockies.  Can you name those players?  Good luck!


Jeurys Familia Lucas Duda Rene Rivera Alex Cora Neil Walker Joe Smith Collin McHugh Daniel Murphy Curtis Granderson Erik Goeddel Justin Turner Oliver Perez Neil Ramirez