2015 NLDS

2015 Playoff Gear

As I noted before, it was not a good idea to spend your money on any 2015 postseason gear. Right now, it’s all on sale:

The reason?  It’s because the Mets lost the World Series. It’s because typically no one wants gear from the time their team lost. Right now when I look at postseason stuff, I think more about the Mets blowing three World Series games instead of Murphtober. 

It’s why you don’t see Mets fans wearing 1999, 2000, or 2006 gear. It’s why the gear is on sale now. By the end of next season you will no longer see 2015 postseason gear. In the smallest of consolations, at least the World Series gear is terrible. 

Hopefully, it will be much better next year when the Mets win the World Series. I guarantee it won’t go on sale right after the World Series ends. People will want to wear those forever. 

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Another Press Conference Please

My favorite part of the postseason so far has been the Mets on the verge of going to the World Series. My favorite off the field part has been the David Wright–Jacob deGrom–Daniel Murphy postgame press conferences. 

After Game One of the NLDS, we got “Yowsa!”

They were put together again last night and more hijinx ensued:

There were more, but not all have been screen capped. I love seeing this team loose when they’re on the verge of the World Series. The pressures not getting to them and that’s why they’re winning. 

I can’t wait to see another press conference with these three because it’s been fun. More importantly, it means something good has happened again. 

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The Murphy Game

Baseball is special. While it’s been characterized as an individual sport with players seeking their own stats, it truly is a team game. You can’t have one player carry a game, even a hot pitcher. The offense needs to score for him. 

However, sometimes you get a player in a game that throws that premise out the window.  I’ve seen it once before with David Freese. I was it again with Daniel Murphy last night. It was the type of game that will launch the #Murphtober meme. That’s great and all, but what we saw last night can only be described as “The Daniel Murphy Game.”

The Mets are facing the probable NL Cy Young in Zack Greinke. Murphy gets a big hit knocking in Curtis Granderson to get the Mets a 1-0 lead. If you were on Twitter, you saw many Mets fans thought the game was over. Jacob deGrom seemingly didn’t have it, and Greinke was dominating. It really did appear that it was going to end 2-1.

Murphy then gets a base hit off of Greinke, who had retired eight in a row. Yoenis Cespedes flies out, and then the momentum of the game would change. Lucas Duda, who’s been lost at the plate, battled in his at bat earn a walk. Because Duda was at the plate, the Dodgers had the shift on with no one on the left side of the infield. Murphy lulled the Dodgers to sleep by trotting to second before taking off and stealing third. This set up Travis d’Arnaud‘s sac fly, scoring Murphy, to tie the game.

At this point, it was apparent nothing was going to happen unless Murphy did it, and he did:

Murphy was directly responsible for all three runs. However, the man refused to take full credit for the win:

Overall, how does this happen?  False presumptions aside, you wouldn’t expect Murphy to carry the Mets offensively. He’s never done it before. He’s not a power hitter. He doesn’t have a high OBP. However, he’s hot, and he has a belief in himself. That leads to incredible things:

Game Five of the NLDS will always be known as The Daniel Murphy Game. And yes, as the postseason goes on, it may become known as Murphtober. 

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Murphy Wins the NLDS

I’m still not sure how the Mets did it. Jacob deGrom had nothing. Zack Greinke had his best stuff. Everyone not named Daniel Murphy had a bad day at the plate. 

However, Murphy was all it took. In the first, after a successful challenge awarding Curtis Granderson an infield single, Murphy came up with one out:

It was later changed to a double and an error, but it was a huge RBI hit nevertheless. He would be stranded.

In the bottom of the first deGrom was hit HARD. He couldn’t locate at all. The 1-0 lead quickly became a 2-1 deficit. Every inning thereafter deGrom was in trouble. Deep trouble. I still don’t know how he kept rope-a-doping the Dodgers, but he did. His final line was:

The stat line is so misleading because deGrom was not good at all, and yet, he was brilliant. He summoned everything he had and somehow fought through six innings in the biggest game of his life. Sure, Game One was incredible, but I was more impressed by this. He won this game by sheer will.

He got the win because of Murphy’s help. With the Mets down 2-1 in the fourth, Murphy singled. With one out, Lucas Duda worked out a walk. However, with the extreme shift and Greinke failing to cover third, Murphy stole third:

He would score on a Travis d’Arnaud sac fly, but with the Mets sputtering offense, the inning would soon be over. 

Murphy would come up again in the sixth, and did this:

He gave the Mets a 3-2 lead almost single-handedly. He went 3-4 with two runs, two RBIs, a stolen base, a double, and a homer. 

After deGrom’s final inning, Noah Syndergaard, who had been up and down all game long (not an exaggeration) entered in the seventh. He Thortuted the Dodgers. He was seemingly the only Met to get doubles machine Justin Turner out in this series. 

Jeurys Familia came in for the six out save. He zipped through the eighth. He got Jimmy Rollins to ground out to end the inning. He faced Chase Utley to start the ninth. He got perfect revenge by getting the coward to fly out to right on his way to saving this 3-2 game giving the Mets a 3-2 series win. The answer to your trivia question is Familia struck out Howie Kendrick for the final out.
This game was a microcosm of the Mets season. They struggled to score runs, but they got enough. They relied on their young pitching to take them home. It was very impressive. The Mets have now slayed the demons of 1988, 2007, and 2008. 

This game was gravy as the NLCS will be. Lets Go Mets!

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Fan Rituals 

Last Friday, I dressed my son in a Mets shirt as part of #MetsFriday. I wore my Gary Carter t-shirt under my work shirt. For lunch, I had a sesame chicken lunch combination plate. The Mets won. 

I didn’t do any of that on Saturday. Mets lost. On Monday, I wore the Carter shirt under my work shirt. I put my son in his Mets shirt. Without thinking about it, I again ordered sesame chicken for lunch. The Mets won again. On Tuesday, my son didn’t wear his Mets shirt, and I didn’t have sesame chicken. The Mets lost again. 

It’s funny. I should know that what I wear and what my son wears has no impact on the game. I should know my lunch choices have no impact on the game. And yet, I do it anyway. I remember in 2006, I brought a chicken salad sandwich with me every game I attended. A co-worker surprisingly had an extra ticket to Game 7. I didn’t have a chance to go home and make my chicken salad sandwich. 

When Carlos Beltran struck out, it was in the back of my mind that I didn’t have my chicken salad sandwich. It was a mistake I didn’t make on the final game of the 2007 season. I enjoyed my chicken salad sandwich. However, the Mets lost anyway. I’m nine years older now. I can see that’s there is proof my dietary choices have no impact on a game. I didn’t want Chinese food for lunch. I wasn’t that hungry. 

Naturally, I had sesame chicken for lunch while wearing my Carter t-shirt under my work shirt. My son is wearing his Mets shirt today. You’re all welcome. Now . . . 

LETS GO METS!

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Disregard History Tonight

I remember thinking to myself we got this. There’s no way the Rangers lose this game. We have Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers have never lost a Game 7 in MSG. The Rangers were going to get another chance at the Stanley Cup. 

Nope, they lost to the Lightning. The season was over. Just like that. All the numbers I’ve seen and heard meant nothing. NOTHING!  The reason?  The 1994 Rangers had nothing to do with the 2014 Rangers. These games are decided by the players that are on the field. 

So, tonight you may hear the Dodgers have not lost a winner take all games since they’ve moved to Los Angeles. You’ll hear that the Mets are 0-2 in road winner take all games. It doesn’t matter. The Dodgers don’t have Sandy Koufax pitching. Orel Hershiser is only throwing out the first pitch. These Dodgers don’t have a hitter in the league of Reggie Jackson. 

Tonight is about Jacob deGrom. It’s about David Wright and Yoenis Cespedes. It’s about Terry Collins. It’s about the 25 men in the Mets dugout. It’s about the 24 men and one coward in the Dodgers dugout. So ignore whatever stat you’re going to hear tonight. They don’t matter. The only thing that matters is tonight. 

Lets Go Mets!

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Why I’m Confident Tonight

Since the end of Game 4, I’ve been talking to other Mets fans. The general consensus seems to be the fans are nervous, but they think the Mets can win this game. I’m oddly confident.

I think it’s because Jacob deGrom is pitching. I think it’s because Bartolo Colon has pitched well out of the bullpen. I think it’s because the Mets have Jeurys Familia in the bullpen, and Terry Collins isn’t afraid to deploy him for more than three outs. I think it’s because the Mets best hitters have hit well against Zack Greinke. 

Overall, it’s because the Mets are just a better team. They’ve scored more runs in this series. They’re young pitching has been just as good as the Dodgers pitching, if not better. Finally, the Dodgers just aren’t hitting:

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That’s the Dodgers boxscore from Game 4 (from Baseball Reference). If you look over the list, they’re top four hitters are the only ones getting any hits. The first, Kike Hernandez, didn’t play in Game One, and he’s hitting .234/.262/.311 against righties this year.  Howie Kendrick may have gone 1-3 against deGrom in Game One, but that means he’s now 1-6 lifetime off of him.  Adrian Gonzalez went 0-3 against deGrom in Game 1. Justin Turner has gone 2-8 lifetime (including Game One) against deGrom, and he’s dealing with a knee injury, which forced him out of Game Four. 

If there are only four Dodgers hitting, and two of them may not be in the lineup, I’m going to feel confident. If I have deGrom tonight, I’m going to feel confident. After seeing everything we’ve seen this year, and the Mets having fought through it, I’m going to feel confident. 

First pitch can’t get here soon enough. 

Lets Go Mets!

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Who’s Getting the Big Hit?

In order for the Mets to win tonight, Jacob deGrom needs to be great, and he will be. However, at some point, the Mets will need to get a big hit. Anyone is possible. Here’s why everyone on this roster is capable of it:

Yoenis Cespedes because he’s already homered off of Zack Greinke in this series

Michael Conforto because like Cespedes he has too. 

David Wright because he already has a big hit in this series. 

Curtis Granderson because he’s been the best Mets hitter in this series

Wilmer Flores because it’s an emotional game, and he’s at his best when he’s emotional 

Lucas Duda because he’s due, he’s hit Greinke, and because he knows how to clinch things

Daniel Murphy because he’s clutch, and he knows how to give deGrom run support in this series 

Travis d’Arnaud because he’s had one big game in this series and is due for another

Kirk Nieuwenhuis because he already has a huge pinch hit homerun in a big spot this year

Juan Lagares because he’s more than a glove, and he’s already hit a homerun in Dodger Stadium

Michael Cuddyer because he still has something up his sleeve

Kelly Johnson because we knew the Mets were onto bigger and better things when he homered in his first game as a Met (against the Dodgers)

Kevin Plawecki and/or Matt Reynolds because you never know who’s going to get the big hit

It’ll happen tonight. If you need more inspiration to believe it’s true just remember what happened 19 years ago today:

LETS GO METS!

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Time to Slay Some Demons

Of course the Dodgers are having Orel Hershiser throw out the first pitch tonight. Hershiser was the main reason for the first time I was ever scarred by sports. The presence of Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley make it even worse. 

As a sports fan, I carry a lot of pain from these three men. As a child, I was crushed by 1988. As an adult, I was left flabbergasted by 2007 and 2008. It meant that I couldn’t take my father to a World Series game. Once again, the Dodgers, Rollins, and that coward Utley stand in the way. 

I’m not sure Mets fans can take another loss here, not psychologically. All the euphoria that ensued after the Yoenis Cespedes trade would be gone. The anger would return. The same anger we saw prior to the trade deadline. Initially, it would be directed at Utley. Then Terry Collins. From there, who knows?  

That’s why this is the biggest game the Mets have played in nine years. It’s not so much advancing to the NLCS as it is who they’re playing. Under different circumstsnces, winning the NL East might’ve been enough. Not now. The Mets have to win tonight. They have to stay those demons. 

I have to take my Dad to a World Series game. 

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Jake Will Be Great

Sure I could’ve gone with deGrominant or some other meme. They’re childish (in a good way) and fun. However, this is a serious time. It’s a time for men. 

This is Jacob deGrom‘s time. He was supposed to be a reliever, but he forced his way into the starting rotation. He became the Rookie of the Year. He became an All Star. He was THE STORY of the All Star Game. He earned the right to be the Game One starter. He was deGrominant in that game (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). 

You know what else?  He’s been a stopper this year:

He has given the Mets a chance to win whenever they needed it most. That’s tonight. If all of this doesn’t show you he has an advantage tonight, there’s this:

https://twitter.com/jareddiamond/status/654462405716504577

There is every reason to believe he will be great tonight. There are legitimate reasons to believe deGrom will be better than Zack Greinke. Seriously, you have to invent reasons why deGrom and the Mets won’t be great tonight. 

The Mets have a huge game tonight. I’m confident they can win tonight because they have deGrom on the mound, and he will be great.

Lets Go Mets!

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