For those parents who have not had the time to carve their pumpkins with their children, today is really the last day for you to do so.
One of the great things about having a boy is that they are ready, willing, and eager to get in there and participate in the entire process that is carving the pumpkin. If your son is anything like mine, he wants the knife to do the carving. Naturally, you cannot give a toddler a knife and expect good things to happen. With that said, you are going to have to do some preparation. Last year, I carved the top part out of the pumpkin and then allowed my son outside to help scoop out the seeds and the pulp:
After that, it is time to use some of those really dull pumpkin carving knives so your child can participate. Given a toddler’s dexterity coupled with their hand and arm strength, it is better to go with the traditional triangle eyes and a pretty wide open mouth, if you are going to carve the rest of the pumpkin with them:
For lights, you obviously don’t want your toddler playing with matches or a lighter. That’s just plain dumb. You also don’t want to light something and stick it in the pumpkin. They are going to get curious, and sooner or later, they are going to get burned. Moreover, they are probably going to want to light the pumpkin each and every night because that’s what children do – they want to do the same thing over and over and over and over again. With that in mind, it is probably best for you to get battery operated tea lights. They are everywhere, are reasonably priced, and they can be used over and over again unlike a match. Moreover, you can actually let your child turn the light on and off. As you will notice, the battery operated tea light has the same effect as a regular candle.
For those people who are more adventurous, or have older children, you can attempt to make your own Mets themed pumpkins this year:
Happy #NationalPumpkinDay ?
Download your very own #Mets Pumpkin stencils ➡️ https://t.co/UyAAFjfQOx pic.twitter.com/wOSWnU9x5u
— New York Mets (@Mets) October 26, 2016
For those interested, you can even make your own Noah Syndergaard or Thor O’Lantern.
No matter what path you choose, good luck, and Happy Halloween.
While baseball had its first ever night game on May 24, 1935, there would not be a night game played at Wrigley Field until August 8, 1988. Until this day, the Cubs still play a majority of their home games at night. Day games have been as much a part of Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs as the ivy that adorns the brick outfield wall, the center field bleachers, the rooftop seats, Harry Caray and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” or Ernie Banks saying, “Lets play two!”
These day games are part of the romanticism that is the Chicago Cubs. It is part of the romanticism that has swept up much of the country looking on to see if the Cubs can win their first World Series since 1908. If we are all tuning in to watch the Cubs win the World Series, shouldn’t we be watching games at Wrigley Field the way they were intended to be seen?
Note, this isn’t the typical plea for earlier start times because East Coast fans don’t like having to stay up past midnight for long postseason games. It also isn’t a plea for earlier start times to permit younger fans to actually watch the game. While both of these instances would be beneficial to those groups, they also ignore the reality of the modern world. Ultimately, ratings and revenues are what drives start times for baseball games. Still, as we saw with Game 2 of the World Series, a start time could be moved up if it is deemed to be in everyone’s best interest.
The argument for it being in everyone’s best interest is it is quite possible playing World Series day games at Wrigley Field could actually draw in more viewers. Fans may very well be more interested in seeing day games at a park that day games were meant to be played. It would also be interesting to see if baseball can continue to get higher ratings than the NFL. But therein lies the problem.
Fox has football contracts with both the NCAA and the NFL. On the NCAA front, Fox would rather air the Big 12 games during the day and play the World Series game at night. Obviously, Fox is going to show its 1:00 and 4:00 NFL games on Sunday while hoping the World Series can outdraw NBC’s Sunday Night Game. Overall, it is better for Fox to have football on during the day and the World Series on during the night. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but it still remains a missed opportunity for Major League Baseball.
It is a shame because day games are supposed to be played at Wrigley, and as it turns out the Cubs make the World Series seemingly once a century. This year would’ve been a great time for an exception to 8:00 start times for World Series games; at least for the two weekend games. Unfortunately, we aren’t going to get it, and for that, the baseball fans are worse off.
Back in the 1998 offseason, neither the Mets nor Mike Piazza were messing around. Before the end of the World Series, which is the time players could file for free agency, the Mets made the 30 year old Piazza the highest paid player in the sport by giving him a seven year $91 million contract. With that Piazza got to stay in the place he wanted to play, and the Mets got their superstar who would lead them to consecutive postseason appearances and would become the team’s second Hall of Famer.
This is the stage the Mets and Yoenis Cespedes are at right now.
Cespedes has until three days after the end of the World Series to opt out of the remaining two years of his contract. Given the terrific, yet injured plagued, season he just had, he is widely expected to opt out to seek a more lucrative contract in the free agent market. Unlike last season where players like Justin Upton and Jason Heyward were free agents, Cespedes stands alone as the top free agent target for any team that needs to add an outfielder, a bat, and a superstar.
There have been conflicting reports about Cespedes’ desire to remain with the Mets. However, if the last year and a half have been any measure, Cespedes has enjoyed being a Met, and he has blossomed as a player playing in New York. He has worked well with Kevin Long to improve his approach at the plate getting on base more often and hitting for more power. He has an organization that allows him to be the person he is by letting him play golf and show off his car collection. He also has a fan base that adores him and pleads for him to stay with the team day and night.
The Mets have also greatly benefited from Cespedes’ duration in New York. Cespedes and Piazza are the only two superstars who have led the Mets to consecutive postseason appearances. The fans love of Cespedes helps increase the gate and merchandise sales. More importantly, Cespedes presence in the lineup and the Mets outfield give the Mets the best possible chance to win a World Series.
Given that, the time between the end of the Wild Card Game and the end of the World Series should be spent with the Mets and Cespedes’ agents, Roc Nation, trying to reach an agreement to keep Cespedes on a contract that pays him commensurate value. Most likely, Cespedes has a a price he would agree to right now in order to stay. Similarly, there is most likely a price the Mets would be willing to offer Cespedes to entice him to stay. If there is a will, there can be a meeting of the minds before any other team is able to make an offer to Cespedes.
If a deal is not reached it means one of three things: (1) Cespedes wanted to hit the free agent market; (2) the Mets are not willing to pay what it takes to keep Cespedes; or (3) both sides failed to put forth their best efforts to get this done. If any of these are the case, it is a shame, and it may be a decision both sides will rue for years to come.
For what it’s worth, the Mets appear willing to take that risk.
Editor’s Note: this article first appeared on Mets Merized Online
With the Cubs facing the daunting task of heading back home down 0-2 in the World Series, Jake Arrieta stepped up and pitched the most important game of his life. Arrieta pitched 5.1 no-hit innings to help the Cubs even the series at 1-1 and to capture home field advantage. Arrieta was the pitcher to carry a no-hitter that deep into the World Series since Jerry Koosman pitched six no-hit innings against the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 of the 1969 World Series.
Koosman’s performance was much more dominating and important than Arrieta’s. Whereas the Cubs are favored in this year’s World Series, the 1969 were about as big of underdogs as you get. The Orioles lineup featured two Hall of Famers in Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson. They had a rotation featuring Mike Cuellar, Dave McNally, and future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer. This was about as tough a team you could face. This was a team so tough, they beat Tom Seaver 4-1 in Game 1 of the World Series. Going into the World Series, you presumption was the Mets needed Seaver to win each and every single one of his starts to even have a chance, and not even that happened.
With the Game 1 victory, the Orioles appeared as if they were going to steamroll through the Mets much in the same fashion they had done to the Los Angeles Dodgers three years before and would do the following year to the Cincinnati Reds. Koosman’s 8.2 innings two hit masterpiece changed all of that. It completely changed the tone of the World Series and the momentum. Without this performance, the Mets may not have had the same energy and belief in themselves. It’s quite possible we don’t see either of Tommie Agee‘s catches or Ron Swoboda‘s for that matter.
While Koosman was not named the MVP of the series, that honor would go to Donn Clendenon, his performance was the most important factor in the Mets changing the script and winning the World Series in five games. In that World Series, Koosman not only established himself as a great Met, he also established himself as the first big game pitcher in the franchise’s history. Without him the Mets never win the 1969 World Series.
Coincidentally, without Koosman, the Mets also don’t win the 1986 World Series.
On December 8, 1978, the Mets traded Koosman to his hometown Minnesota Twins in exchange for Greg Field and a left-handed pitcher named Jesse Orosco. Today is the 30th Anniversary of the Mets winning their second World Series. The Mets would not have been able to win that World Series without Orosco’s three wins, and his gutsy win in Game 6, of the NLCS. They would not have won without his standing on the mound to close out Game 7.
Neither the 1969 or the 1986 World Series would have been possible without Koosman. With it being the 30th Anniversary of the 1986 World Series victory and with Arrieta’s peformance, we were again reminded of that.
Everywhere you turned last night, the major discussion was Home Plate Larry Vanover’s strike zone. As it appeared by the fan watching at home on television, it seemed like Corey Kluber was getting a more favorable strike zone than the one Jon Lester was getting. The critique wasn’t limited to just fans. Lester had his own problems with the strike zone himself.
It was actually the same refrain Mets fans had in the Wild Card Game. It appeared Madison Bumgarner was getting a larger strike zone than Noah Syndergaard was. This was one of the reasons Bumgarner was able to go deeper into the game and help the Giants advance to the NLDS. In the World Series, it was one of the reasons why Kluber dominated the Cubs and why Lester left the game down 3-0.
In both cases, it appears the viewers and the teams were correct. One team was not getting the calls the other team was getting. It is not because the umpiring crew likes one pitcher better than another. It is not because umpires put bets down on both games. It is because of the art of pitch framing.
In the Wild Card Game, Rene Rivera struggled in that department while Buster Posey, the best at it in the game, was on top of that aspect of his game. It made a big difference in the game. It was also a big difference last night.
During the 2016 season, both Roberto Perez and David Ross were exceptional pitch framers. As it turns out, Perez was not only better during the regular season, he was also better last night. Perez’s pitch framing makes such a huge difference in getting those borderline pitches for his staff. It allows them to get an advantage in the count and to get that called third strike. Indians backup catcher Chris Gimenez said it best when he said:
He is phenomenal. Blocking, receiving — he’s elite, in my opinion. His game-calling has gone through the roof just from the beginning of this year. And he is literally an elite pitch framer. Even [Andrew Miller] today was like, “It’s so nice having him back there. He makes those 50-50 balls look so good, in the umpire’s eye, that’s a strike.”
If that quote sounds familiar, it should. Here is what Addison Reed had to say about Travis d’Arnaud:
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.
While many choose to discount pitch framing, and the importance it has, teams and pitching staffs don’t. There’s good reason for it. As we saw in Game 1 of the World Series, it was the difference between Kluber throwing six shutout innings with nine strikeouts and no walks and Lester walking three and barking at the umpire.
With the Mets, it was the difference between Bumgarner going nine, and Syndergaard going seven. It was also the difference between Reed being a pitcher with a career 4.20 ERA and a 1.275 WHIP to a dominant eighth inning reliever who has a 1.84 ERA and a 0.957 WHIP as a Met. In total, it helps the entire Mets pitching staff.
Fact is pitch framing matters, and it has a huge impact on the game. It was a big factor why the Indians won Game 1 of the World Series, and it was a factor in the Mets run to the World Series in 2015. It will be a big factor in 2017 when a healthy d’Arnaud is able to catch a healthy Mets staff.
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.
When your team is not in the World Series, the one thing you really want is a memorable World Series. Even if a team you hates wins the World Series, you want to be rewarded for the time you invest watching the World Series. In my lifetime, here are some of the World Series I found to be absolutely riveting:
1991 World Series
As for as World Series go, this one could very well be the gold standard. Five of the seven games were decided by one run. Three of the games went into extra innings including Games 6 and 7. With Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Steve Avery, Kevin Tapani, and of course Jack Morris, there was great pitching that led to tense innings and rallies. In six of the seven games, both teams scored five runs or less. However, what truly made this series great was two all time games to close out the series.
In Game 6, Kirby Puckett put the Twins on his back. He made that leaping catch snatching Ron Gant‘s home run from clearing that plexiglass, and then he hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning that included a classic call:
Then in Game 7, Morris went the distance in a 1-0 10 inning game that featured rookie Chuck Knoblauch deking 13 year veteran Lonnie Smith from scoring the go-ahead run in the eighth inning that probably would have been the game winner. Then in the 10th inning Gene Larkin became the unlikeliest of heroes by getting the World Series walk-off single.
1993 World Series
Generally speaking, this would have been an average World Series as most six game World Series are. However, there was a lot in this World Series.
Lenny Dykstra turned into Babe Ruth during the series. Roberto Alomar hit .480 in the series, and he wasn’t even the best hitter. That honor goes to Paul Molitor who hit .500 in the series. Game 4 saw the Blue Jays mount a frantic eighth inning come from behind rally to win by a score of 15-14. And as if this wasn’t enough, in Game 6 Joe Carter did something only Bill Mazeroski had done:
1997 World Series
This series wasn’t particularly memorable despite a couple of slugfests in Games 3 and 5. No, what made this series was an epic Game 7. The Indians were seeking to win their first World Series since 1948. They had their closer Jose Mesa on the mound and a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
The Marlins first scratched in a run in the bottom of the ninth with a Craig Counsell sacrifice fly scoring Moises Alou. The Marlins started the game winning rally in the bottom of the 11th with a Bobby Bonillia single off Charles Nagy. Eventually, the Marlins loaded the bases with one out. Devon White, who won the World Series with the aforementioned Blue Jays, grounded into a force play with Tony Fernandez nailing Bonilla at the plate. Then with two outs, rookie Edgar Renteria singled home Counsell to win the World Series.
Note, this would’ve been rated much higher if not for the MVP mysteriously being given to Livan Hernandez (5.27 ERA) over Alou, and for Bonilla having such a huge Game 7.
2001 World Series
This World Series had it all. Curt Schilling did the old fashioned 1-4-7 you want your ace to do in the biggest series of the year. Randy Johnson was better than that shutting out the Yankees in Game 2, shutting them down in Game 6, and pitching on no days rest to keep the Yankees at bay in Game 7.
Game 7 was an epic back-and-forth matchup. Alfonso Soriano broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the eighth to set the stage for the great Mariano Rivera who is the greatest postseaon closer, if not pitcher, of all time. This would be the one World Series blown save in his career. He was uncharacteristically frazzled making an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Still, he recovered, and the Yankees got the forceout at third on the next bunt attempt. Tony Womack would then shock everyone by hitting a game tying double. After Counsell (him again) was hit by a pitch, Luis Gonzalez would bloop a walk-off World Series winning single over the head of Derek Jeter.
However, that World Series was not memorable for Game 7. It was memorable because those games were played post-9/11, and they were memorable due to what happened at Yankee Stadium. Before Game 3, President Bush threw a curveball for a strike off the mound before a hard fought Yankees win. In Game 4, the Yankees were on the verge of falling behind 3-1 in the series before Tino Martinez hit an improbably two out home run off Byung-hyun Kim to tie the game, and Jeter hit a walk-off home run in the 10th to become “Mr. November.” In Game 5, the Yankees were again down two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. This time it was Scott Brosius who did the impossible hitting a game tying two run home run to send the game into extras with Soriano getting the walk-off hit in the 12th.
Overall, baseball does not get better than that three game set in the Bronx, especially in the backdrop those games were played.
2002 World Series
This World Series was memorable for a few reasons: (1) The Angels not being able to get Barry Bonds out; (2) J.T. Snow saving Dusty Baker‘s son at home plate; and (3) that Rally Monkey.
That Rally Monkey was all the more prevalent in Game 6. In that game, Baker made the fateful decision to lift Russ Ortiz with a 5-0 lead, two on, and one out in the seventh inning. Scott Spiezio greeted Felix Rodriguez with a three run homer. Darin Erstad then led off the seventh inning with a solo shot off Todd Worrell. Worrell made matters worse by allowing back-to-back singles thereby putting closer Robb Nen in a precarious situation. Nen would allow a go-ahead two run double to World Series MVP Troy Glaus giving the Angels a 6-5 win. In Game 7, rookie John Lackey took care of business and shut down a Giants team that should have won the World Series in Game 6.
2011 World Series
For the most part, this was a well played if not memorable World Series through the first five games. In the seventh inning, Adrian Beltre broke a 4-4 tie that sparked a three run inning that seemingly was going to deliver the first ever World Series title to the Rangers franchise. The World Series title was going to be even sweeter for a Rangers team that had their doors blown off in the 2010 World Series.
In the eighth, Allen Craig hit a solo shot to draw the Cardinals within two. There was still a large enough lead for the excellent Rangers closer, Neftali Feliz to put the game to rest. The game was there to win even after a Albert Pujols double and a Lance Berkman walk. Then with two outs, David Freese unleashed a two RBI game tying double to keep the World Series alive. If that wasn’t painful enough, the Rangers were in for more pain.
Josh Hamilton would hit a two run homer in the top of the 10th to give the Rangers the lead. At this point, victory was almost assured. The Cardinals were undeterred putting the first two on against Darren Oliver. After a sacrifice bunt, Ryan Theriot plated a run with an RBI groundout, and Berkman brought home the tying run with an RBI single.
The Rangers would have no response in either Game 6 or Game 7. In the bottom of the 11th, Freese, the World Series MVP, would hit a walk-off home run that not only sealed Game 6, but also demoralized a Rangers team heading into Game 7.
2014 World Series
Of note, five of the first six games were terrible. Absolutely terrible. Through the first six games, the average margin of victory was six runs per game, and that includes a one run game in Game 3. Taking aside Game 3, the average margin of victory was seven runs per game. This is really the type of series you expect with some truly terrible starting pitching on both sides. In fact, the only starter who was actually good was Madison Bumgarner.
That’s an understatement. Bumgarner made Morris look like a Little Leaguer with his World Series performance. In his World Series MVP performance, he appeared in three games going 2-0 with one save, a 0.43 ERA and a 0.476 WHIP. He came out of the bullpen in the fifth inning in Game 7 with the Giants having a 3-2 lead. Watching him pitch on two days rest, you kept waiting for him to falter, and then this happened:
Alex Gordon‘s two out single almost became a Little League home run with Gregor Blanco letting the ball bounce past him and Juan Perez nearly booting the ball away. The debate would rage for days as to whether he should have gone home (he shouldn’t have) with Bumgarner being Bumgarner. Those that believed he should have gone only intensified their arguments when Salvador Perez fouled out to Pablo Sandoval to end the World Series.
2017 World Series
There is enough here for a classic World Series with two great teams, and two great storylines. Honestly, the Indians fans deserve this more as they are far more tortured than the Cubs fan. Ideally, this series goes seven with the Indians pulling it out in classic fashion. Hopefully, a majority of the games are close. No matter what happens, all we need is one or two games or moments to make this a series for the ages. That’s all we can realistically hope to get.
Things are already off to a good start with Dexter Fowler being the first ever black man to play for the Chicago Cubs in a World Series game.
Last year, Ben Zobrist was one of the driving forces for a Royals team that beat the Mets in the World Series. This year, he was more of the same for a Cubs team that is on the verge of winning their first World Series since 1908. As luck would have it, Zobrist was one of the many “what if” decisions from the 2015 offseason that leads us to where the Mets are today.
Zobrist choosing the Cubs over the Mets led to a series of dominos falling. It led to the Mets choosing to trade Jon Niese for Neil Walker instead of looking to re-sign Daniel Murphy. That, coupled with Brandon Phillips rejected a trade, led Murphy to the Washington Nationals. Murphy would go on to have an MVP caliber season. Murphy’s season was more than enough to compensate for Bryce Harper having a down year, by his standards, and for Stephen Strasburg having yet another injury plagued year.
There were strange decisions along the way like the Mets initially passing on Yoenis Cespedes and signing Alejandro De Aza to platoon in center field with Juan Lagares. There was the multi-year deal with Antonio Bastardo despite him being an every other year reliever and Sandy Alderson’s poor history signing relievers to a multi-year deal with the Mets. Despite all of that, Cespedes re-signed, and the Mets once again looked like they were primed to return to the World Series in 2017.
Even with Cespedes’ return, the real hope was with the pitching. Now one could compete with Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard. If Steven Matz could join his teammates as an ace all the better. Even with this embarrassment of riches, the Mets still had Zack Wheeler returning from Tommy John surgery. By the way, waiting to close out those games was Jeurys Familia, who had already established himself as a great closer. As they said pitching wins championships, and the Mets had pitching in spades.
Early in the season, it worked out. Even with Harvey struggling, deGrom’s velocity not returning, and Wheeler’s return getting pushed back, the Mets were winning. Part of the reason why was Syndergaard taking the next step, Matz proving he belonged in the ace discussion, and deGrom adapting well to a lower velocity.
In April, the Mets took two out of three from the Indians in Cleveland. In a re-match of the NLCS, with a hot Cubs team looking for revenge, the Mets swept them out of Citi Field. Against this year’s World Series teams, the Mets were 7-3. This showed the Mets, with their pitching staff in tact, could beat the best of the best.
As we know, the pitching staff never did stay in tact. Furthermore, despite Walker having a good year, the Mets really missed Zobrist or Murphy as the offense was just one bat short to help carry a dinged up rotation to the finish line. Still, with Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman performing better than anyone could’ve anticipated, the Mets made the Wild Card Game. In reality, the Mets lost that game because Madison Bumgarner was able to go deeper into that game than Syndergaard was.
As we saw in the NLDS, the Giants put a scare into the Cubs by almost sending it back to Wrigley Field for a Game 5. With the Mets having Addison Reed and Familia, who knows if a Mets-Cubs series would have gone much differently.
Really, that is one of many “what if” situations from the 2016 season that was just disappointing to Mets fans who were dreaming of a World Series this year. As we saw last year, this Mets pitching staff can beat anybody. In fact, this Mets pitching staff can demoralize even the best offensive clubs. When the Mets staff was healthy and in tact this year, which was only a brief snapshot in time (if it really ever was the case), the Mets once again proved that this year. And with that, there is hope for 2017. As of the moment, the Mets can expect, Syndergaard, deGrom, Harvey, and Matz in the Opening Day rotation. There’s no team in baseball that can match that.
So while Mets fans are sitting there melancholy and wondering “what if” during what should prove to be a great World Series, just remember the Mets have the pitching to win in 2017. Hopefully, that thought will keep you warm throughout the winter.