One of the reasons The Natural is my favorite baseball movie is because it focuses on everything that makes baseball great. It showed baseball as a romantic, mythical, redemptive and magical sport. It also crushed the idea of jinxes in the sport.
If you remember the movie as well as I do, you remember Pop lamenting he was cursed. That’s why he never win the pennant. He should’ve gone into farming like his father said. Instead, he needed players to win. Players like the farmboy, Roy Hobbes, to get him that pennant. With one swing of the bat, Roy Hobbes showed jinxes aren’t real:
The Mets also showed there was no such thing as jinxes. You could argue they were tempting fate, but it really wasn’t the case. Whether it was the Mets website prematurely listing the Mets as the pennant winners . . .
. . . or Yoenis Cespedes prematurely ready to party . . .
. . . or Ruben Tejada pre-ordering special bottles of Johnny Walker Blue:
Despite all of that, this happened:
So no, I don’t believe in jinxes. Now, would anybody like to join me for some sesame chicken in Tuesday?
From the moment he arrived in 1998, Mike Piazza brought the Mets to another level. The Mets went from young and improving to a playoff team.
He was joined by some terrific Mets along the way. Edgardo Alfonzo, John Olerud, Robin Ventura, Al Leiter, etc. However, Piazza was the man. He was (and still is) the greatest hitting catcher in the history of the game. With some bad luck and some other factors, the Mets didn’t win the World Series when Piazza was with the Mets.
The Mets missed their shot. The Mets were beset with hard times and bad decisions after that. However, Piazza still had his moments:
However, he never got his chance to go back to the playoffs, to win a ring. I thought about that in 2006. I was hoping the Mets would bring him back like they did Lee Mazzilli in 1986. I understood why they didn’t.
Paul Lo Duca had a terrific year. Piazza was still a capable starting catcher with pop in his bat. You couldn’t ask either to sit on the bench. You also don’t want to invite the controversy. It still doesn’t mean I didn’t miss him, especially with Ramon Castro being the backup catcher.
For the first time since 2006, the Mets were in the playoffs. For the first time since 2000, the Mets are in the World Series. There was a time it was all because of Piazza. He’s retired now on the cusp of the Hall of Fame. It’s where he belongs.
I just wish he was here.
There are times when something is so obvious and compelling that it just had to happen. Right? This year it seems like the Mets and Blue Jays are destined to meet in the World Series. Here’s why:
1985 ALCS
Did you ever see those Abraham Lincoln-JFK assassination similarities lists? On face value, it’s eery, but at the end of the day, they’re an amazing set of coincidences. It reminds me of the 1985 and the 2015 ALCS:
The players are all different. The front offices and managers are different, and yet, so far, the 2015 ALCS is following a similar script. If this is omen rather than coincidence, the Blue Jays win.
The Daniel Murphy Factor
By and large, the NL Cy Young voting is predicted to have Zack Greinke–Clayton Kershaw–Jake Arrieta finish 1-3 in some order. Daniel Murphy has homered off of all of them. Between the Royals and the Blue Jays, there is only one Cy Young candidate: David Price.
With the way Murphy has been playing this Murphtober, doesn’t it seem like he’s destined to homer off of another Cy Young caliber pitcher?
Referendum on the R.A. Dickey Trade
Look, no matter how you slice or dice it, the R.A. Dickey trade has been enormously successful for the Mets. Two of the biggest parts of this Mets team have been Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud. That also doesn’t include Wullmer Becerra, who is starting to become a real prospect.
However, for the Blue Jays, the trade was always about winning the World Series. It doesn’t matter is he’s the fourth starter. It doesn’t matter if he hasn’t pitched well in the playoffs. It doesn’t matter if Thor is better now. All that matters now is if the Blue Jays win the World Series.
If they do meet up, it’ll be a great story. Just ask Dickey:
Dickey: “What a script… If I could face Syndergaard in Game 7, wouldn’t that be something? … Great narrative.”
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) October 19, 2015
Conclusion
Now that I’ve wasted all that time explaining why it’ll happen, we now know the Royals will win Game 6 or 7. It doesn’t matter to me who the Mets face so long as they win the World Series.
Good things have happened to the Mets since they called up Michael Conforto. He was called up on July 24, 2015. At that time, the Mets were 49-47, and they were three games back (four in the loss column) in the NL East.
After Conforto’s call-up, the Mets went 41-25. That’s a .621 clip or a 100 win pace. Sure, there were other moves, but he was the first move. With the Mets now in the World Series, he’s putting together a Miguel Cabrera type of rookie year. He’s also looking to have a Jason Varitek type of year:
Michael Conforto (@Beaver_Baseball): will be 3rd person to play in all 3 major World Series events (also LLWS/CWS)-Ed Vosberg/Jason Varitek
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 22, 2015
Varitek and Ed Vosberg were alone in that group until Tuesday when they were joined by Conforto. It should be noted that Varitek (2004 & 2009) and Vosberg (1997) won their World Series. It’s now Conforto’s chance to follow their lead. I like his chances. Conforto has been a winner all his life. He’s now helped make the Mets winners.
Mets pennants do not come around often. This has only been the fifth in Mets history. You know what comes around less frequently? Yes, no-hitters. Also, Mets NLCS MVPs. Can you name them? Good luck!
As everyone predicted, Matt Harvey was at the Rangers game tonight:
https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/657355376153767936/video/1
It’s great that he got a standing ovation. Not a boo to be heard. It seems now that everyone is a Mets fan in New York. Everywhere I was people were talking about it. There was a run on stuff at Modells. Dicks was limiting sales on hats and t-shirts to one per customer so they wouldn’t run out.
The main reason for all of this might be because the Mets are the only show in town for the first time since the 2006 NLCS, or the 1988 NLCS, depending on your perspective. It’s a sign the Mets could be taking back New York.
If they don’t, who cares? The only thing I really care about now is the World Series. If the Mets do win the World Series, you can only imagine the ovation Harvey will get at that game. With Game 7 of the Workd Series slated for November 4th, the next Rangers home game will be Tuesday, November 10th against Carolina. I can’t wait to see the video and hear the ovation then.
By the way, the Rangers won 4-1 with Rick Nash scoring an empty net goal without putting the puck in the net. Apparently, with the MLBAM/NHL deal, the NHL adopted the Chase Utley rule.
After the euphoria of last night, I’m all pumped up. I want to watch baseball. Nope. It an off day in the ALCS. There’s now a void at 8:00.
I have a suggestion. We should all watch Back to the Future, Part II. First off, any of the Back to the Future movies are terrific. My factory is the first one. It would be a desert island movie for me. I could talk about and quote that movie all day. The second one was a good movie. Surprisingly, the movie has now occurred in the past since Marty went to October 21, 2015.
Anyway, one of my favorite parts of this movie was when the headlines on the newspaper changed. When I throw it on tonight, I’m going to see if it automatically updated like we saw in the movies:
Vine provided courtesy of @lets86it.
Maybe we’ll see this:
If it does, I’ll be saying this all night:
My brother and I got into an argument before the season started. We were both optimistic about the Mets season. However, I thought the Mets were an 85 win team that could compete for the second Wild Card. He thought they could win the World Series.
I didn’t think this was possible. I thought there would be an innings limit problem with Matt Harvey (there was). I didn’t think the Mets would make a trade to go for it (they did). I thought 2016 was their year (it still might be). On the other hand, my brother knows nothing about baseball. Like nothing. He doesn’t even own a Mets jersey. He had to buy a hat for the playoffs. Why believe him?
Just kidding. My brother is a die hard fan too. He’s not as crazy as I am (who is?), but a diehard nonetheless. He was just more optimistic. I think he was more optimistic than most Mets fans out there. If most are being honest, they didn’t see this coming, especially with David Wright hurt and John Mayberry, Jr. batting cleanup.
By any measure, this season has been a complete success. Even if the Mets get swept in the World Series, it was a successful season. With all that said, I won’t be satisfied unless they win the World Series.
These chances come do infrequently, especially for a team like the Mets. Think about it. That loaded 80’s team won the only World Series they were in. The Mets went to back-to-back postseasons in 1999 and 2000, and they had no World Series to show for it. The 2006 Mets were built for the long term. All we saw was a Game 7 in the NLCS and two collapses.
Sure, with this young pitching, we can see an 80’s like run. It could be more successful because there’s now four extra playoff spots. However, we’ve seen this before. You need to seize the opportunity when it comes. If you don’t, you may never see it again.
I will always look fondly on this season like I do the 1999 and 2006 regular seasons. Now, I want to remember the 2015 season in its totality.
LETS GO METS!
In 2000, Mike Hampton became the first Met ever to win the NLCS MVP. He was 2-0 He didn’t allow a run. He pitched a complete game shutout in the clinching Game 5.
He was terrible in his only World Series start. He allowed four earned in six innings, and he wasn’t even that good. He was critical of Mike Piazza for not starting a brawl after the Roger Clemens bat throwing incident. He made this statement even though he tied the rubber in Game 2, and he never sought retaliation.
After the season, he left the Mets for Colorado due to the school system. I’m sure the eight year $121 million contract didn’t play a part. He warned every boo that would be rained upon him on every return trip to Shea Stadium. So why am I thanking him?
David Wright. Wright was the compensatory draft pick the Mets received when Hampton signed with the Rockies. Because Hampton left, we’ve had Wright’s terrific career. He’s been an All Star, MVP candidate, and the Captain. His career so far merits Hall of Fame consideration.
Now, he’s going to play in a World Series. It may be nine years after than we thought, but Wright has led the Mets to the World Series. It wouldn’t have been possible if Hampton didn’t do to Colorado.
So, thank you Mike Hampton for leaving town. We were better off for it.
When the Mets went to the 2000 World Series, I was jumping up and down alone in my dorm room. Not many Mets fans in Western New York.
When the Mets won the 2006 NLDS, I was at a bar down the road from my apartment. My brother and I ran down there after the end of the seventh inning. I remember the bar erupting, and people spraying beer all over like it was the locker room. It was awesome.
Last night, I woke my 22 month old so up to see the final out. I had a much ore romantic idea of what was going to happen. We were going to cheer and high five. We would then call my Dad and brother. Instead, he watched the last out and got really, really cranky. While I was over the moon, I was trying to get a cranky kid back to bed.
Once I accomplished that, I went downstairs, and I talked to my Dad and brother in hushed tones. They’re excited and talking loud. I’m talking in a loud whisper. I then went back to bed and watched all of the postgame coverage.
Side note: as I noted in an earlier post, my son has been on the money in his predictions. I’ve been keeping him up later with the playoffs. When Lucas Duda came up, he said, “Duda homerun!” We know what happened next:
Right after the homerun, my Dad texted me “J4 called that for Duda?” When I replied he did, his next text was, “Tell him to keep it up and speak for Wright.” I’m trying folks.
This morning, my son didn’t want to get out of bed. He was tired. I wonder why? When he woke up, he said to me, “Mets HOMERUN!” It certainly was. It was the celebration I was looking forward to last night. It’s okay that I had to wait for it.
Now, I just need to follow my Dad’s request and get him to predict a homerun for Wright.