It was a dark night with a faint glow surrounding the crowd.  Then, from out of a dark cave emerged an old man.  On first glance, this old man seemed like a cheery old fellow, but once you looked deep into his eyes, you would discover he would have the most sinister of intentions.

With one scribble across his spell book and one gesture with his hand, he would take the young hero and cast him into a pit never to return.  With next, he would summon a bespectacled robot with the most dastardly of intentions.  The robot would open up his right arm and he would spread pestilence across the field spreading despair amongst the masses. 

By the time our new hero arrived it was too late.  He and his friends would be unable to curb the tide set forth by the sinister old man and his evil robot.  It was as if a spell was cast preventing them from doing the simplest of activities.  Soon, the heroes would be too outnumbered, and they would fall to defeat.  Soon, the dim glow that surrounded everyone would go out as the dejected masses fled hoping one day to return to this place and claim victory . . . victory that would never come.

Of course, this is an attempt at portraying Game 4 of the 2015 World Series in an eerie way.  In some ways, this fails because what happened was far more horrifying.

After a game with some puzzling decisions, including going too far with Steven Matz, Terry Collins would finally make the decision that would really alter the fate of the entire World Series.

Entering the top of the eighth, the Royals were down just one run, and they had the top of their lineup due up.  Considering how frequently Collins used Jeurys Familia for six out saves during the regular season, and considering how up to that point, Familia had allowed just three hits and one run that entire postseason, this was the spot for him.  The Mets needed six outs from Familia to ensure they would tie the series up 2-2.  With the Mets having Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard lined up after that, and with the Royals having lost Game 7 at home the prior year, it seemed like the Mets were in a good position to claim the World Series.

Instead, Collins would go to Tyler Clippard.  Up until that point, Clippard had a 5.06 ERA and a 1.411 WHIP in six postseason appearances.  This was the same Clippard who dealt with a back issue late in the season and would have a 6.14 ERA and 1.295 WHIP in the month of September.  More than that, batters were hitting him hard to the tune of a .268/.323/.536 batting line.

This was decidedly not the pitcher you wanted in this spot.  However, this was the direction Collins went.  The reason was two fold.  The first was this was the formula since the Mets obtained Clippard prior to the trade deadline.  Worse than that was the stated reason.  Collins said he didn’t want to use Familia for six outs because he appeared the night before in Game 3.

Instead of Hansel Robles, Sean Gilmartin, or really anyone else, Collins tabbed his closer to close out a six run lead.  As we watched in horror in Game 4, the ripple effect of that decision was too much to bear.

With that decision, Collins altered the outcome of the World Series, and quite possibly cost the Mets a chance at winning the 2015 World Series.  After that we have seen injury after injury after injury.  Quite possibly, this makes Game 4 of the World Series the scariest of all Halloween tales.

If you don’t believe me, try this.  Instead of putting on the scariest Halloween movie you can think of tonight, try re-watching Game 4 of the World Series.