Musings
Somewhere, someday, someone is going to give me a rationale explanation why Tim McCarver was succeeded by Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci. If we went according to who was actually best qualified to do the job, it should’ve gone to Rob Darling.
Instead, he’s stuck in a three man booth. I’m not referring to the Gary, Keith, and Ron booth. That booth is the best announcing in baseball. I’m referring to the booth Darling shares with Ernie Johnson and Cal Ripken, Jr. Now, I will never say a bad word about Ernie Johnson after watching this:
However, I will say Ripken is terrible. Darling is being a pro. He’s breaking down the HBP. He’s discussing how it takes one hothead like Sean Rodriguez to get the brawl going. He discusses the history of the teams and how Jake Arrieta hit two batters. Ripken’s response was he wasn’t listening because he was trying to read lips. He had nothing to report on what he read.
In any event, Darling’s going to Los Angeles to be part of the NLDS broadcast team. I’m excited he’s there because he’s the best color analyst in baseball. I’m excited because he’s a Met. I’m hoping Ripken will take a backseat to let not only the better analyst speak more, but also to let the more informed analyst speak more.
Anyway, I’ve been dying for Mets baseball since Sunday night. Hearing Darling’s voice tonight helped scratch that itch a little. He was terrific as usual. I know he’ll be terrific during the NLDS. I hope Darling gets a chance to shine in front of what might be the largest audiences he will have as a broadcaster.
More importantly, I hope the Mets win the NLDS.
For the first time in seven years, I’m excited about the Mets in October. It used to be the Mets were home, and I had to wait and wait for Rangers hockey. This year, to my surprise, tonight is Opening Night in the NHL.
One of my favorite Rangers traditions, albeit a relatively new one, is the team salute to the fans after a win:
It’s a tradition I wish the Mets and MLB as a whole would adopt. It was great to see the Mets do it on the last game of the season:
I just wish they did it after every win. It would be great if after they do the handshake line after a win, the team would face the crowd and tip their caps to the crowd. It’s not a complaint. It’s only a suggestion.
In any event, I’m excited for another Rangers season. Anytime they have Henrik Lundqvist in between the pipes, they are a contender to win the Stanley Cup. However, I can wait until November to get excited.
There’s another championship run I’m more interested in now. Lets Go Mets!
One of the first ever blog posts I wrote, not for this site, was about CC Sabathia. Honestly, I never thought I would write another post about him again until I read about him going into rehab:
Statement from CC Sabathia: pic.twitter.com/B3BjaOSblD
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 5, 2015
Whenever something like this happens it’s always hard to tell if it’s a good or bad day. Yes, it’s a good thing that he admits there is a problem. It’s a good thing he is getting the help he needs. It’s a good thing he’s not risking his health for a playoff run. However, it’s always sad when someone needs the help.
You know Sabathia wants to go out there. You know he wants to be there for his teammates. However, he’s finally come to the point where he realizes he’s of no use to anyone right now; at least not until he’s sober. This is why I won’t question the timing. There’s always an excuse why it’s not a good time. The truth is the best time to start rehab is immediately.
You’re not going to get better until you start. He’s started. He’s now facing the biggest opponent he’s ever faced. He’s not fighting for a Cy Young, to make the playoffs, or a World Series. He’s fighting for his career. He’s fighting for his team. He’s fighting for his life. He’s fighting for his family.
I don’t make it a point to root for Yankees, but I’ll make an exception here. I’m rooting for him. If he comes back and bests the Mets next year, I won’t be happy with the loss, but I’ll be thrilled he’s still on the road to recovery.
Good luck CC.
Last night, I was reflecting on past Mets playoff performances. The first ever Mets playoff game I attended was Pratts’ All Folks. I can still remember Steve Finley‘s whole body sag when he realized he didn’t rob the homerun. I remember once that happened, Shea Stadium erupted immediately.
The following year, I again went to Game Four of the NLDS. This time it was Bobby Jones‘ moment in the sun. Actually, it was a pretty miserable day like it is today, but I digress. Jones would pitch a one-hitter sending the Mets to the NLCS.
After recalling those moments, something occurred to me that caused me to spend some time on Baseball Almanac. Here’s what I saw:
Diamondbacks 2 – Mets 9
October 9, 1999
Diamondbacks 3 – Mets 4 (10 innings)
October 7, 2000
Giants 2 – Mets 3 (13 innings)
October 8, 2000
Giants 0 – Mets 4
October 4, 2006
Mets 6 – Dodgers 5
October 5, 2006
Mets 4 – Dodgers 1
That’s right. Since the inception of the Wild Card, the Mets have never lost an NLDS home game. They’re 6-0. Looking over the Mets history, they’ve never lost a five game series, and they’ve only lost one home game (1973) in a five game series.
Some other interesting five game series facts:
- The Mets have only played in one fifth and deciding game, which was a 7-2 victory in Cincinnati.
- The Mets have had homefield advantage only once in a best of five series (2006).
- In each division series, the Mets have faced a former Mets player: Kelly Stinnett (1999), Jeff Kent (2000 & 2006), Justin Turner (2015).
- The Mets have a 3-2 record in road NLDS games and 7-3 overall road record in best of five road games.
- Edgardo Alfonzo has hit four homeruns in the NLDS, making him the Mets All-Time NLDS leader.
What does this all mean for the 2015 NLDS? To quote Dark Helmet, “Absolutely nothing!” With that said, I’m hoping history will repeat itself.
Lets Go Mets!
After last night’s rainout, the Mets are scheduled for double header today. This could be tricky for a team that has a number of banged up players but still wants to fight for homefield advantage.
At the same time, the Mets also need to figure out their postseason roster. There are easy decisions to make like Travis d’Arnaud catches one game and Kevin Plawecki catches the other. There are more difficult decisions to be made especially if the field is sloppy. Ultimately, while making these decisions, the Mets to keep in mind the priority is not homefield but winning the World Series. Here’s how I would handle it:
- David Wright does not step in the field unless they pull Pete Flynn out of retirement and get his go-ahead;
- Jon Niese pitches today [and tomorrow];
- If Dilson Herrera has a chance to make the playoff roster, he needs to play in both games, and preferably, he plays a position other than 2B;
- Anyone who is on the playoff roster bubble must start one game and at least pinch hit in the other game; and
- At bats shouldn’t be wasted on players who can’t make the roster.
The Mets must keep in mind the goal is to win a World Series. The best way to help that is to make sure the team is healthy and primed to win. I don’t care if the Mets lose both games so long as they do what is needed to get ready for the NLDS.
I was there for Game Seven of the 2006 NLCS. It was painful. However, I was able to finally get some sleep by thinking the Mets would be back.
One of the things I could hang my hat on was that most of the players were in their prime and returning. On top of that, Jose Reyes and David Wright were still young and improving.
I was wrong about the Mets returning to the playoffs. I would watch in horror in 2007 and 2008 as the Mets would collapse in back-to-back years. Then, the Mets were in for six years of just terrible baseball. Finally, the Mets turned it around this year, and they finally returned to the playoffs.
A lot is different now. The Mets changed ballparks. The core of the team changed from in their prime sluggers to young power arms. The only thing the two teams have in common is David Wright, but not even he is the same. In 2006, he was a 23 year old on the verge of superstardom. This year he’s a 32 year old veteran dealing with a serious back issue.
In any event, Wright and the Mets are back in the playoffs. They’re just eight years behind schedule. We don’t know if the Mets will start the NLDS in New York or Los Angeles. We don’t know the start time of the game. All we know right now is the Mets will be playing a playoff game next week.
After waiting nine years, I’m more than happy to wait a week. I just hope I won’t have to wait more than 33 days for the Mets to win a World Series.
In 2013, Michael Wacha burst on the scene in the playoffs, and it was declared “Wachtober.” If the Mets go far in the postseason, here are some suggestions for the new Wachtober:
Matt Harvey – Mattober or Dark Knightober
Jacob deGrom -Jaketober
Noah Syndergaard – Thortober
Steven Matz – Matztober
Bartolo Colon – Bartober
Curtis Granderson – Curtober
Daniel Murphy – Murphtober
David Wright – Wrightober
Michael Conforto – Confortober
Yoenis Cespedes – Yotober
Of course, this is dependent on the Mets making a deep run and one, or more of these guys being a major contributor. I hope I get to use these.
If you have a suggestion (even to an existing one), please pass it along. If I like it, I will update the list and credit your Twitter handle.
It was no secret the Mets were looking for an OF at the trade deadline. At first, it seemed they were close to acquiring Carlos Gomez. Then the Jay Bruce deal fell apart. After those deals, the Mets finally obtained Yoenis Cespedes, who has been amongst the best players this year.
I thought about this whirlwind when the Mets clinched the NL East. The final play was Bruce striking out. When he struck out, I thought about the saying “the best trades are the ones you don’t make.” That certainly applied to Bruce. Bruce ultimately stayed with the Reds and floundered. In August, he hit .150/.185/.292. He’s been a little better in September hitting .206/.257/.443.
Gomez, on the other hand, wound up getting traded. He joined an Astros team that was in first place and was 13 games over .500. Houston is now in second place, only eight games over .500, and in a dog fight just to make the playoffs. In fact, if the season ended today, they would miss the playoffs. While it has been a team effort, Gomez certainly hasn’t helped with his .234/.282/.379 line with the Astros.
Instead, the Mets got Cespedes, who has hit .294/.338/.624. This is the best stretch of his career. The Mets went from second place and only three games over .500 to a easy ride to winning the NL East. Maybe the Mets still win the NL East with Bruce or Gomez, but I doubt it would’ve been as easy.
The Mets got lucky the first two trades fell through because they wound up getting the right player. As a result, the Mets are now both lucky and good.
Look, this is Sandy Alderson’s team. He decided to keep the players he kept and trade the players he traded. He pulled off the trades and signed the free agents. However, he was able to do a lot of what he did because he was left with good players after Omar Minaya was terminated.
Here are the players in the 40 man roster who have a link to Omar Minaya (asterisked players are players obtained with players combined by Minaya and Alderson):
Jerry Blevins – obtained for 2010 draft pick Matt den Dekker.
Eric Campbell – 2008 draft pick.
Darrell Ceciliani – 2009 draft pick.
Travis d’Arnaud – part of the R.A. Dickey trade. Dickey was a free agent signing. Josh Thole was a 2005 draft pick. Mike Nickeas was initially obtained by trade in 2006.
Jacob deGrom – 2010 draft pick.
Lucas Duda – 2007 draft pick.
Jeurys Familia – 2007 amateur free agent signing.
Wilmer Flores – 2007 amateur free agent signing.
Erik Goeddel – 2010 draft pick.
Matt Harvey – 2010 draft pick
Dilson Herrera* – part of Marlon Byrd/John Buck trade. Buck was part of the Dickey trade (see d’Arnaud).
Juan Lagares – 2006 amateur free agent signing.
Steven Matz – 2009 draft pick.
Jenrry Mejia – 2007 amateur free agent signing.
Akeel Morris -2010 draft pick.
Daniel Murphy – 2006 draft pick.
Bobby Parnell – 2005 draft pick.
Addison Reed* – obtained in exchange for Matt Koch and Miller Diaz (signed by Mets in 2009).
Hansel Robles – 2008 amateur free agent.
Noah Syndergaard – part of Dickey trade (see d’Arnaud).
Ruben Tejada – 2006 amateur free agent.
Again, these players are in the roster because Alderson kept them. The decision of who to keep and trade is important. That is what makes them Alderson’s players and team. Additionally, while It was Alderson that hired Terry Collins, it was Minaya who brought him into the Mets organization.
However, it is important to truly acknowledge Minaya’s role, especially when he has been unfairlyand wrongly marginalized.
You see I was on the same Jet Blue flight as Omar Minaya. The photo with this post was Minaya and me in the terminal before the flight. He was accessible to Mets fans who wanted to shake his hand and take a picture. No one, and I mean no one, had the “courage” to mock him on the flight.
Additionally, this should dispel the notion that Minaya left the Mets with a depleted farm system. On the contrary, he built a strong farm system that helped make up this team. Minaya had his faults, and he probably deserved to be fired when he was. That doesn’t mean we should ignore his work.
It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t extend our gratitude to him for what he left behind.
After clinching the NL East, the Mets celebrated and partied. They deserved it. However, there are nine guys that are going to have to play today, including starter Jacob deGrom.
I remember when the Mets clinched in 2096, the next day’s lineup was a mess. It’s going to be worse with a day game. I’m assuming some players will be arriving at the ballpark straight from the club. With that in mind, here’s my guess on who’s in the starting lineup today:
- Eric Young, Jr. CF
- Ruben Tejada SS
- Michael Conforto LF
- Kelly Johnson 1B
- Kevin Plawecki C
- Kirk Nieuwenhuis RF
- Eric Campbell 3B
- Dilson Herrera 2B
- Jacob deGrom P
The lineup may be different, and I could see some changes. This looks like a lineup from the aggravating first half. The difference is this time this lineup stays in Cincinnati as opposed to traveling with them.
It should be fun. Lets Go Mets!