David Wright

Mets Perform Better With Republican Presidents

There are many factors to consider when voting for a candidate today.  At this point, they have all be regurgitated and discussed at length, and hopefully, you have made your decision based upon sound criteria.  However, if you are looking for a reason to change your mind or reason to have your mind made up for you, or you really want to base this important decision on how the Mets have fared with a Republican or a Democrat in office, you are in luck.  Here is how the Mets have performed under each President in their 54 year history:

President Seasons Record Win %
John F. Kennedy 1962 – 1963 91 – 231 0.283
Lyndon B. Johnson 1964 – 1968 303 – 506 0.375
Richard M Nixon 1969 – 1974* 478 – 433 0.525
Gerald R. Ford 1974* – 1976 263 – 277 0.487
Jimmy Carter 1977 – 1980 260 – 388 0.401
Ronald Reagan 1981 – 1988 662 – 573 0.536
George H.W. Bush 1989 – 1992 386 – 423 0.477
William Jefferson Clinton 1993 – 2000 562 – 506 0.526
George W. Bush 2001 – 2008 651 – 643 0.503
Barack Obama 2009 – 2016 630-666 0.486

* Nixon resigned from office August 9, 1974

Here are the cumulative results:

Party Record Win%
Democrat 1,846 – 2,297 0.446
Republican 2,440 – 2,349 0.510

Here are some interesting Mets postseason facts when there was a Democrat or Republican in the White House.

Democrat Postseason Facts

  • The two times the Mets have been to back-to-back postseasons was when there was a Democrat in the White House (1999 & 2000 – Clinton; 2015 & 2016 – Obama)
  • The Mets have only had an NLCS MVP when there was a Democrat in the White House (Mike Hampton – 2000; Daniel Murphy – 2015)
  • The Mets have only won the division once (2015) with a Democrat in office.  The other three postseason appearances were as the Wild Card.
  • The Mets have appeared in four total postseasons and two World Series.  The Mets are 21-17 in postseason games with the following records per round:
    Wild Card Game 0 – 1
    NLDS 9 – 4
    NLCS 10 – 4
    World Series 2 – 8

Republican Postseason Facts

  • The Mets have won their only two World Series with a Republican in office (1969 – Nixon; 1986 – Reagan)
  • In all five of their appearances in the postseason with a Republican in office, the Mets were the National Leauge East champions.
  • In three of the five appearances, the Mets won 100+ games with the high water mark coming in 1986 with 108 wins
  • In four of the five seasons the Mets appeared in the postseason with a Republican in office, the Mets had the best record in the National League (1973 is the exception).  In two of those seasons (1986 & 2006), the Mets had the best record in baseball.
  • In total, the Mets have appeared in five postseason and three World Series.  The Mets are 30-20 in those postseason games with the following records per round:
    NLDS 3 – 0
    NLCS 16 – 12
    World Series 11 – 8

If you wish to mainly focus on player performance over how the team has fared during each administration, Mets players have received more awards during Republican leadership:

Cy Young Award

Rookie of the Year

Rolaids Relief Man

Sports Illustrated Man of the Year

  • Republican 1 (Seaver 1969)
  • Democrat 0

Gold Gloves

Silver Sluggers

Roberto Clemente Award

From the Front Office side, Republicans have a 2-1 edge in executive of the year with Johnny Murphy winning in 1969, Frank Cashen winning in 1986, and Sandy Alderson winning in 2015.  Baseball America named the Mets the top organization in baseball once in a Republican (1984) and once in a Democratic (1995) term.

As a general rule of thumb, the Mets and their players have performed better with a Republican in office.  As you enter the voting booths today, take that as you will.  Hopefully, you have more sound criteria for choosing your candidate.

Travis d’Arnaud Should Be the Mets Catcher in 2017

This offseason, the Mets have a number of important decisions to make.  How far should they go to re-sign Yoenis Cespedes?  Should they re-sign Neil Walker to play second base, or do you stick with what you have in Wilmer Flores, T.J. Rivera, Gavin Cecchini, and/or Jose Reyes?  How do you properly prepare for how to deal with the David Wright situation?  Once you pick up Jay Bruce‘s option, what do you do with him?  Do you move Bruce or Michael Conforto to first base, or do you stick with Lucas Duda, who has now had lower back injuries in consecutive seasons?  Do you bring back Bartolo Colon to be the fifth starter again, or do you fully trust one of Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo to take over that role?  Overall, there are many questions on how the Mets should build the 2017 roster.

However, one avenue they don’t have to address is the catcher position.

Let’s start with the one player people will have near unanimous agreement.  Rene Rivera should return as the Mets backup catcher.  Rivera certainly earned his reputation as not only a good defensive catcher, but also one that serves as a mentor for young starting pitching.  Much of the unexpected success both Gsellman and Lugo had were partially the result of them working with Rivera.  More importantly, Rivera developed a rapport with Noah Syndergaard.  He became the ace’s personal catcher, and we saw Rivera catch seven brilliant innings from Syndergaard in the Wild Card Game.  With Rivera being arbitration eligible, he should be a lock to return in his role.

By the way, that role was the backup catcher to Travis d’Arnaud.

There is no sugar-coating it.  The 2016 season was a disaster for d’Arnaud at the plate.  In 75 games, d’Arnaud hit .247/.307/.323 with only four homers and 15 RBI.  He didn’t have one extra base hit or an RBI off of a left-handed pitcher the entire season.  It was as bad as you can possibly imagine.  In fact, his numbers were almost as bad as they were in his 2014 rookie season.  That year, the Mets had to send him down to the minors to let him fix his issues at the plate.  The Mets couldn’t afford to do that this season.

Making everything all the more frustrating was d’Arnaud regressed in his ability to throw out base runners.  In 2015, he was actually league average in that department.  That is all the more impressive when you consider how the Mets starting pitchers generally do not hold on runners well.  This season d’Arnaud went back to only throwing out 22% of base runners.

Part of his offensive and throwing issues are related to mechanics.  Part of them may be related to the rotator cuff strain he had in his  throwing shoulder.  Another factor was with d’Arnaud struggling, he began to receive irregular playing time.  It could be any combination of the three.  In any event, d’Arnaud had a poor year offensively and a poor year throwing.

However, d’Arnaud was still good behind the plate.  He’s always been good at fielding a throw and getting the tag down without violating baseball’s blocking the plate rules.  He still calls a good game.  He was yet again one of the best pitch framers in baseball.  In fact, his teammate. Addison Reed, said, “There’s been a couple of times just this season that I’ve went back and looked at video just because I wanted to see how low the ball was, and how good of a strike (d’Arnaud) made it look.  He’s the best I’ve ever thrown to at doing that. Just the way he frames the ball, it’s unbelievable. He makes balls that are four or five inches below the zone look like they’re almost right down the middle by just the way he flicks his wrist. I couldn’t even tell you how he does it.”  (ESPN.com).  Judging from Reed’s words, you can tell he also has the confidence of his pitching staff.

With d’Arnaud still excelling behind the plate, and there being valid reasons for his poor performance, it might just be in the Mets best interests to bet on d’Arnaud rebounding in 2017.  Remember, d’Arnaud was the same player who hit .268/.340/.485 with 12 homers and 41 RBI in 67 games.  Arguably, d’Arnaud was one of the top offensive catchers in the game.  With his skills behind the plate, he has the rare ability to be able to hit and catch well.  With him turning 28 years old and still being a player with multiple years of control, the Mets would be best suited to count on him getting healthy in the offseason (not always a given with d’Arnaud) and letting him reclaim his 2015 form.

Another reason to bet on d’Arnaud is the weak free agent class.  Looking at the list of possible free agents, there does not exist one catcher who is definitively better than d’Arnaud.

The first catcher most people will point to is Wilson Ramos.  Even if you buy into his career year being a new norm for him, Ramos isn’t even sure he will be able to play next season after tearing his ACL.  As Ramos said himself, “Unfortunately this injury… may affect whether I am able to stay with a NL team.”  (cbssports.com).  That rules out Ramos entirely.

The next catcher that is consistently mentioned is Matt Wieters.  In 2016, despite hitting in a hitter’s park like Camden Yards, Wieters hit .243/.302/.409 with 17 homers and 66 RBI.  These numbers are partially why he had an 87 OPS+ meaning he was a subpar offensive player.  Even if you are willing to overlook some of these stats because he is a switch hitter, he hit .231/.304/.346 with three homers and 15 RBI off lefties this year.

Moreoever, Wieters is nowhere near the pitch framer d’Arnaud is.  Wieters is not only unable to steal his staff a strike here or there, he is also unable to ensure that strikes thrown will be called strikes.  Another consideration is Wieters is a fairly injury prone player.  While he was healthy in 2016, he was not for the previous couple of years.  If one of the reasons you are looking to move on from d’Arnaud is health, Wieters is not your guy.

Another factor the Mets should not pursue Wieters, or whoever else you believe should be a target, is money.  Ultimately, players like Wieters are going to cost more than d’Arnaud.  That’s important when you consider Jacob deGrom is heading to his first arbitration year, and the Mets still have to find the money to re-sign Cespedes.  Any money spent this offseason is presumably less money available for the Mets to give Cespedes.  Therefore, if you sign a player, you better make sure that both is both a player of need and/or a definite upgrade over what the Mets already have.

There is no one out there who is definitively better than d’Arnaud.  In fact, they are probably not as good as him.  Worse yet, they are going to be more expensive.  With that in mind, the Mets best move would be to let d’Arnaud get healthy so he can contribute to the Mets like he did in 2015.

If he doesn’t, the Mets still have Kevin Plawecki . . . .

Editor’s Note: this was first published on Mets Merized Online

The Cubs World Series Win Was Painful to Watch

If you are a diehard Mets fan, or if you are a Mets fan well versed in the history of the team, you know how the Cubs were the Mets first real rival.  You know the stories about how Ron Santo clicked his heels taunting the Mets, and you warmly remember the black cat crossing Santo’s path.  From there, the Mets overtook the Cubs to win the National League East en route to winning the 1969 World Series.

In 1984, the Cubs obtained Rick Sutcliffe, and the team went on an incredible run to win the National League East over the upstart New York Mets who went from 68 to 90 wins with their first full season with Keith Hernandez and Darryl Strawberry.  By the way, it was also the rookie year for phenom Dwight Gooden.

Then there was the NLCS last year that saw Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, and Jacob deGrom dominate a terrific Cubs lineup.  We all knew the Cubs were a great team, but the Mets were their kryptonite.  As a Mets fan, a large part of you had to wonder if the Cubs even make the World Series if the Mets pitching was healthy.

But the angst goes well beyond that.  There was Ben Zobrist as the World Series MVP.  Mets fans watched him be a major contributor to a Kansas City Royals team who beat the Mets in the World Series last year.  In the offseason, he was seemingly all but assured to join the Mets to replace Daniel Murphy.  Instead, literally at the 11th hour, he spurned the Mets, and he signed with the Cubs.  Part of you had to wonder how different the 2016 season would have been had Zobrist signed with the Mets.

The Cubs also overcame a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series.  The Mets were in the same position last year, and like the Cubs, the Mets had their starting pitching aligned.  It all seemed to be going according to plan as Harvey carried a shutout into the ninth inning.  As we remember, Terry Collins went against his better instinct, and he sent Harvey out there instead of Jeurys Familia.  Harvey allowed a walk and a double to narrow the gap to 2-1.  Familia then did his job getting the ground ball to get out of the game only for David Wright to cut off a ball he shouldn’t have played allowing Eric Hosmer an extra jump rounding third.  That was important as it gave Hosmer the ability to break for home, and he scored with Lucas Duda making the worst throw of his life.

Watching the 10th inning reminded me of that 12th inning game of that ill fated Game 5.  Watching a cold and tired Joe Shaw helplessly trying to get out of the jam reminded me of an overworked and tired Addison Reed getting hit left and right by the Royals in what was a devastating seven run inning.

In many respects, as a Mets fan it was tough to watch.  It was even tougher to watch when you consider Theo Epstein got his Cubs team to win the World Series before the Mets could win one despite Sandy Alderson having been on the job a year longer than Epstein.  It is all the more frustrating when you consider the Cubs beat out the Mets for Zobrist, and the Cubs spent a lot of money in the past offseason.

The one solace to take out of all of this is the fact that the Mets are built to win not just next year, but in the ensuing years.  And yes, the Mets are built to contend with or without Yoenis Cespedes.  Not only do the Mets have the pitching, but they also have players like Dominic Smith and Amed Rosario on the way.  There is still hope for Michael Conforto and Travis d’Arnaud to rebound in 2017 to recapture their 2015 form.  Duda can put together a healthy contract year season.  There is still a lot of hope for the Mets to be World Series contenders the next couple of seasons.  There are also the seeds for a real rivalry between the Mets and the Cubs over the next few seasons.

However, as of right now, all that is left behind is a World Series victory for the Cubs, and the Mets wondering both “what if” and “how do we get back there.”  That is what stings most of all.

Making Sense of Cecchini the Shortstop

It is highly doubtful that 30 games played in an Instructional League in the month of October will have a far reaching impact on a player’s career. Still, Gavin Cecchini‘s time in the Arizona Fall League appears to be a bit of a missed opportunity.

It became very apparent this year that Cecchini’s future with the New York Mets will be at second base.

That first became apparent because Cecchini has struggled defensively at the position. While fielding percentage can be an overrated and flawed stat, Cecchini’s .933 fielding percentage in AAA, and his minor league career .944 fielding percentage cannot be ignored.  His stats show he’s not capable of playing short. It is strange because he has the tools to be a good defender there, but he just can’t put it together.

This begs the question why do the Mets want him to put it together?  With Amed Rosario having established himself as the much better defensive shortstop, the much better prospect, and arguably the better offensive player, Rosario, not Cecchini, is the shortstop of the future. If you still like Cecchini as a player, and you believe he is a major league caliber player, he needs to transition to second base.

And the process has begun. He worked on second base on the side during the AAA season. He even got into two games there before being called-up to the Mets. Given the fact that the transition presumably began, it has been surprising to see Cecchini play so much shortstop in the Arizona Fall League. It’s shocking when Mets first base coach, Tom Goodwin, is Cecchini’s manager.  It’s downright stupefying when the Scorpions are carrying one second baseman and three shortstops on their roster.

It leads one to search for some logic behind what seems to be an illogical decision.  Upon further review, there appears to be a couple of good reasons why the Mets have Cecchini playing a lot of shortstop in the Arizona Fall League.

The first and obvious answer is this is all much ado about nothing. While it would be preferable for Cecchini to play second base, it is more important for him to play everyday to see how he stacks up against the best prospects in the game.  The Mets may just want him to focus on his hitting to see if his bat could translate against some of the better pitching prospects in baseball.  Note, in a 30 game context, this does not just mean results, it also is his approach and whether or not he appears over-matched.  If Cecchini does prove he can hit better pitching, his future would be further solidified with the Mets.

Second, there may be a real issue going forward with Asdrubal Cabrera and his knees (even with him not needing knee surgery). While Terry Collins’ first choice would be to move Jose Reyes to short in Cabrera’s absence, he may not have that luxury as Reyes may be playing third base for David Wright, or Reyes could start next season as the starting second baseman depending on what the Mets are able to do this offseason.  Also keep in mind that Reyes has proven himself to be an injury prone player at times in his career.

If any of the aforementioned players are injured, the options at short would be Cecchini or Matt Reynolds. In the short term, the Mets may go to Reynolds who has played in the major leagues, is the better defender, and has had some success at the big league level.  Moreover, Reynolds has been transitioning to being a utility player meaning he may be more accustomed to not playing everyday.  In the event there is an injury that will require someone to take over for a month or so, Cecchini might get the call.  While the Mets may be loathed to use him for a two week stretch, they may be inclined to run him out there everyday for a month or so to see how the better regarded prospect can handle being an everyday player.

Finally, the Mets may not be moving Cecchini from shortstop because you can never have too much depth.  Rosario could regress, suffer an injury, or the Mets could be presented with a trade offer where they would include their untouchable prospect. In any of these scenarios, the Mets are going to need another shortstop.  That shortstop should be Cecchini as he is currently the best non-Rosario middle infield prospect.

There may be other reasons why the Mets are playing Cecchini at shortstop in the Arizona Fall League rather than capitalizing on an opportunity to transition one of their best prospects to the position he is destined to play.  Whatever the case, the hope needs to be the Mets are making decisions based upon sound principles that are in both their own and Cecchini’s best interests.

Editor’s Note: Cecchini left last week’s Arizona Fall League game after fouling a ball off his foot.  Despite the injury, he is hitting .258/.359/.419 with two doubles, a homer, and six RBI in nine games.  He is part of fan voting to select the final two players for the Arizona Fall League roster.

Where Have You Gone Juan Uribe?

Unless you want to wax poetic about Indians First Base Coach Sandy Alomar, Jr.‘s eight game stint in 2007 with the Mets to close out his career, there is no real connection for Mets fans to the players and coaches from either team.  There isn’t much of a connection between these two teams because Juan Uribe was released by the Indians on August 5th of this year.

It is a shame too because Uribe was a fun player to watch.  He was the rare player that seemingly brought more to the table than just his statistics.  He was a clubhouse leader from the moment he stepped foot in Flushing, and he knew how to keep a team loose.  It was one thing he has prided himself on with him saying, “The one thing I can do is be a good teammate.  Players are your family. I just try to be the same guy every day. You play good, you play bad, be the same guy.”  (northjersey.com).

There were great stories with him joking around with David Wright about when he was going to come back to the Mets.  There were stories of him breaking out the cigars after a win.  He was the guy who was blasting Backstreet Boys in the clubhouse to the amusement of his teammates.  He was also the guy who chided teammates for watching football over baseball in the clubhouse.  Uribe was a guy that keeps baseball fun for everyone around him.

Still, Uribe was more than a character, he was a baseball player, who had a positive impact on the field.  Right from the beginning, Uribe made an impression with the Mets.  In his third at-bat with the team, he had a walkoff single off the left-center field wall to get the Mets a split with the Dodgers:

Overall, he did a great job filling in for the injured Wright, and he accepted his part as a bench player down the stretch.  Unfortunately for him, he would have a cartilage issue with his chest that would prevent him from playing in the NLDS or the NLCS.  He worked hard to be able to play again, and Uribe would actually make his way onto the World Series roster.  The reward for his hard work was a pinch hit RBI single in his only World Series plate appearance:

Uribe earned that chance, and he made the most of it.  In many ways, it is hard to believe the Mets would have even been in that position without his leadership and play on the field.

Even with him being cut by the Indians, his fingerprints are all over that team as well.

Jose Ramirez, the player who took over third base from Urib said, “I always mess around with him and call him Dad.  I respect him a lot.  (cleveland.com).  Like the proud Dad Uribe was purported to be, he was always generous with the younger players as Ramirez said, “He has so much experience and he wants to transmit that to the younger players.”

On of the longest tenured Indians, Carlos Santana, said, “Uribe is good to have around. He gives the team good energy.”

Francona noted despite Uribe’s histrionics, he’s a “calming influence” in the clubhouse saying, “He’s always smiling.  He goes, ‘Hey, play me when you want. Just tell me where to go.’ He’s been there and done it many times. I know that when he talks, they listen. Everybody enjoys him. I mean, how could you not?”

Certainly, the Mets and Mets fans enjoyed Uribe when he was in New York.  Even when Uribe is not around, you can see the effect he has had on another team that is playing for the World Series.  Even though he will get a ring with an Indians World Series victory, it is a shame he will not be on the field or in the dugout to celebrate with a team he left an indelible impression.  It is a shame Uribe never caught on with another team at the end of the 2016 season.

Baseball is better when Uribe is around, and his presence alone makes teams better.  Even if it is not as a player, we should all hope that Uribe finds his way into an organization in some capacity in 2017.  Hopefully, that will be with the Mets.

Cubs and Indians Haven’t Won Anything Yet

With Yasiel Puig grounding into the game and series ending double play, the National League Pennant was once again won on the grounds of Wrigley Field. 

Understandably, there was pure euphoria. How could you not when you are one step closer to the World Series? That’s the thing – it’s only a step closer. It’s a big and important step, but it’s only a step. 

Everything is different in the World Series. What once worked is not a guarantee. 

Anthony Rizzo and Francisco Lindor are swinging hot bats?  Neither was as hot as Daniel Murphy who was 3-20 in the World Series. 

Andrew Miller and Cody Allen are unhittable?  Jeurys Familia was just as good as them, and he blew three World Series saves thanks to Alex Gordon and the right side of the Mets infield. 

Javier Baez can do no wrong?  Yoenis Cespedes misplayed fly ball out into an inside the park home run on the first pitch Matt Harvey threw. To boot, Cespedes was 3-20 in the World Series. 
Believe your team is the feel good story that is the team of destiny?

What could be better than David Wright not only coming back from spinal stenosis, but also fighting back the ghosts of 2006, 2007, and 2008 to homer in his first home World Seriesat-bat?  Apparently, it was a Royals team that just missed out the year prior who showed a ton a heart, hustle, and determination in a very closely contested five game series. 

The World Series is a reminder that no one has won anything yet. The euphoria of the pennant will soon fade away. What is left is either the true euphoria associated with winning the World Series or the bitter taste of losing the World Series. The loser is left wondering, “What if?”

Getting there is great, but no one has won anything yet. 

Happy Anniversary Endy Chavez

Ten years ago today, Scott Rolen what appeared to be a home run off Oliver Perez, and then Endy Chavez did this:

Impressively, like Willie Mays after “The Catch”, Chavez was aware of the game situation, he made a strong relay to Jose Valentin, who then got it over to a fired up Carlos Delgado to nail Jim Edmonds at first to complete the inning ending double play.

As we know with the American League having won the All Star Game, the Mets wouldn’t have a home game until Game 3 of the World Series.  In his first World Series at bat at home, David Wright, the same man who had an RBI single to open the scoring in Game 7 of the NLCS, would do this:

Yes, those events happened in the same October. You cannot convince me otherwise.

Carlos Beltran Adam Wainwright

McDonalds Halloween Pails Are Back

One of the best things about being a parent is you get the opportunity to remedy the perceived wrongs from your childhood.  No matter how small or childish they may seem, we all have ones that linger.  One of my lingering issues was my parents not going out and getting the Halloween Pail Happy Meals when my brother and I were children.

You see the Mets winning the World Series wasn’t the only major event of October 1986.  I’ve never confirmed this, but I’m pretty sure Mookie Wilson got one of these for his stepson and nephew Preston Wilson.  Much like the Mets hopes of winning the World Series the following year, my hopes of getting a McDonald’s Halloween Pail were dashed in 1987.  My chances of obtaining one in 1989 were as much as nonstarter as the Mets chances were that year.  In 1990, Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter were closer to New York than I was to getting my Halloween Pail.  In 1992, there were no hopes for me or the Mets.  From there, the Halloween Pails all but disappeared.

That was up until last year when the Halloween Pails re-emerged.  Despite Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard not being alive in 1986, these trio of arms led the Mets to the World Series in the same year the Halloween Pails returned.  Never underestimate the power of the pails.  Like the good Mets fan and father (or petulant child) that I am, I made sure to get all four of them for my son who really had no clue who the Minions were or why he needed four of these pails.  That changes this year.

My son loves Peanuts.  He has loved them since we took him to see The Peanuts Movie, his first ever movie, for his birthday last year, and since he saw A Charlie Brown Christmas last year.  Like any child, he loves Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the whole Peanuts gang:

  
With that, we have now found the intersection where my son’s love of Peanuts and my need to get these Halloween Pails have met in the parenting Venn diagram.  With that, I have checked one thing off my parenting bucket list, and I will now seek out curing other perceived wrongs like never getting the chance to attend a Mets World Series victory parade.  I guess that one will just have to wait until next year.

To ensure that will happen, I think McDonalds will need to roll out an Avengers Halloween Pail featuring Thor, Captain America (David Wright), Iron Man (Steven Matz), and The Incredible Hulk (Lucas Duda).

By the way, the Great Pumpkin is on tonight:

Where’s Brad Emaus?

The first real playoff team Terry Collins managed with the Mets was in his first season with the team.  It is hard to believe now, but that team was full of players that are now members, if not significant contributors, to teams that reached the postseason this year:

Reading the names on that list, the two that immediately jump off the page are Murphy and Turner.  They jump off the page for a myriad of reasons. The first reason is the two players are currently facing off against one another in the NLDS between the Dodgers and the Nationals.  The series is tied at 1-1 in large part because Turner and Murphy have continued to be terrific postseason player.

Last year, Turner hit .526/.550/.842 with six doubles and four RBI against the Mets in the NLDS last year.  Overall, in Turner’s postseason career, he is a .500/.538/.875 hitter with six doubles, one homer, and six RBI.

Murphy was the bat that helped carried the Mets to the World Series last year.  In consecutive games, he hit homers off of Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, and Kyle Hendricks.  He would also homer off Fernando Rodney in what was a stretch of six straight games with a home run.  In addtion to the homers, Murphy’s going from first to third on a walk in Game Five of the NLDS helped changed the complexion of that game.  Additionally, up until the World Series, he had played exceptional defense (which admittedly is a rarity for him).  So far in the NLDS, Murphy is 4-6 with a walk and two RBI.  The first of the two RBI was the go-ahead RBI in Game 2 of the NLDS.

Between Turner and Murphy, the Mets had at one time two second baseman who have established themselves to be extraordinarily clutch and terrific postseason players.  They were also two players the Mets were eager to replace.

Turner was surprisingly non-tendered a contract after a 2013 season where he seemed to solidify himself as a utility or platoon player (at a minimum).  Instead, the Mets let him go with rumors circulating that he was a me-first player that didn’t hustle.  He was also characterized as a player that wasn’t progressing because he liked the night scene a little too much.  He would go to Los Angeles and blossom as a player.  The Mets internal replacement?  Eric Campbell.

When Murphy became a free agent, the Mets first aggressively pursued Ben Zobrist.  After failing to land him, the Mets quickly moved to trade for Neil Walker.  At no time did the Mets even make Murphy an offer.  Unlike Turner, Walker was an actual replacement with Walker having a great year for the Mets before needing season ending back surgery.  However, despite how good Walker’s year was, he still wasn’t anywhere near was good as Murphy was for the Nationals.

It should never have come as a surprise that both of these players were gone because the Mets, under Sandy Alderson’s reign as General Manager, never really wanted either player.  If you go back to that 2011 season, the Opening Day second baseman was Rule 5 Draft pick, Brad Emaus.  After a couple of weeks of him struggling, the Mets moved on and finally went to Murphy and Turner at second base.  Murphy would get the bulk of the playing time there until Ike Davis‘ ankle injury that allowed them to play side-by-side.  With Davis’ healing up and being ready for the 2012 season, the Mets proceeded with Murphy as the second baseman and Turner as the utility player.  As we know, that lasted just two year.

Ultimately, the Mets made the postseason this year without either player.  And yes, both players got their first chance with the Mets.  Quite possibly, neither player would be in the position they are in now without the Mets giving them a chance to prove they are major league players.  However, the Mets also made clear they didn’t want either player starting all the way back in 2011 when they anointed Emaus the everyday second baseman.  Eventually, the Mets would get their chance to move on, and they took advantage of that opportunity.

With that, Murphy and Turner are in the NLDS after the Mets lost the Wild Card Game with T.J. Rivera starting at second base.  One of those two will be in the NLCS with a chance to go to the World Series, a position the Mets thought they were going to be in as the season started.  With all that in mind, it begs the question: how much differently would the Mets season have gone if they had kept either Turner or Murphy?

 

Lucas Duda Is Our Bill Buckner

Did you ever watch a compilation of the greatest moments in Major Leauge history?  If you have, you usually come across Mookie Wilson‘s little roller up the first base line, and as a Mets fan it brings you a smile.  If you’re a Red Sox fan, you cringe each and every time you see the ball roll through Bill Buckner‘s legs and watch a delirious Ray Knight cross home plate.

As I learned yesterday, the Mets now have their Buckner moment.

In Game Three of the ALDS between the Rangers and the Blue Jays, the score was tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 10th inning.  The Blue Jays had runners at first and second with one out.  Russell Martin hit a ball to the third base hole that seemed too slow to turn the double play.  That didn’t deter Rougned Odor.  After received the throw from Elvis Andrus, he made an offline throw to the first baseman Mitch Moreland, who was unable to handle the ball.  While this was occurring reigning AL MVP, Josh Donaldson, did not stop running.  He rounded third and headed home.  By the time Moreland would pick the ball up and throw home, it was too late.  It was just a brutal way for the Rangers to lose the ALDS.

Sure enough, everyone started comparing Donaldson to Eric Hosmer.  MLB even did a Vine comparing the two plays:

And now we know that every time a player hustles to make a play, invariably there is going to be a comparison to the infamous Lucas Duda throw home in Game Five of the 2015 World Series.

Duda deserves a better fate that this, as did Buckner.  The Mets don’t go to the 2015 World Series without him.  As we saw this past season, when Duda suffered a stress fracture in his lower back, the team missed his presence in the lineup, and yes, the team missed his defense at first base.  One throw doesn’t change what he has accomplished in his career, nor does it change how much the Mets need him back on the field in 2017.

However, that throw does define him.  Years later, all people outside of New York will know about him is he is the guy that made the poor throw.  Assuredly, someone is going to invariably blame him for blowing not just the game, but the entire World Series.  It’ll be nonsense.

As we saw in 1986, it wasn’t just Buckner.  It was Gary Carter, Kevin Mitchell, and Knight not willing to go down without a fight.  It was Rich Gedman just missing a pitch, that was somehow ruled a Bob Stanley wild pitch that allowed the tying run to score.  Furthermore, it was the Red Sox who blew a 3-0 lead in Game Seven of the World Series.  Buckner’s error didn’t help things, but it wasn’t the reason why the Red Sox lost.

Last year, it was Terry Collins allowing Matt Harvey to talk him into pitching another inning.  It was then Collins sticking with Harvey too long in that ninth inning before turning to Jeurys Familia.  It was David Wright cutting in front of Wilmer Flores, to not only make a weak throw to get the out at first, but also to allow Hosmer to aggressively round an abandoned third base.  It was also the Mets offense that didn’t score any runs in the bottom of the ninth or extra innings to lead to that loss.

Like Buckner, Duda didn’t help matters, and he will be forever blamed for the loss.  Worse yet, people will forget two pretty good careers by letting their worst moments define them.  They’ll have that opportunity because their respective errors will be replayed time and time again.  In that sense, Duda has now become the Mets version of Buckner.