With playoff baseball coming, it becomes difficult to get that thunderous applause with gloves on. Here’s an alternative (I guess) for when Wilmer Flores is announced.
So there was no movement in the magic number for the second straight day. While I’m enjoying the series, but I’m not ready to move on to Shingo Takatsu as of yet, especially with the potential that the number may hold until Friday night.
I could discuss the managers who have worn the number, but that would limit me to Terry Collins and Jeff Torborg. With respect to Collins, I’ve written a lot about him, so I wouldn’t be breaking any new ground. With Torborg, his teams were terrible, but it’s not like his firing was a positive. If you don’t believe me, go ask Generation K.
The reason I’m moving on is because:
https://twitter.com/bbtn/status/644363763299303424
No, it’s not seven with 17 remaining, but it could be with a Nationals win tomorrow. There are enough Mets fans needlessly panicking that this is the 2007 season all over again. I guess a loss to the Marlins can do that, especially two straight losses. As a symbolic gesture, I’m not picking another 10 as I think it’s time to move on. Not just from the Takatsu’s of the world, but from the concept of another collapse.
This is not the same team. This is a different season. I’ve been just as harmed as the next Mets fan by that season, but I don’t see the need to make it my focus. I’m more concerned about the playoff roster. You should be as well. I’m more concerned as to pick for the remaining magic numbers as I’m confident the Mets will get it done.
With that said, I’m moving on. I hope you will too.
Look, I can write a big long post about all the Mets failures tonight from the all righty lineup to being shut out to losing 2 of 3 to the Marlins again. I’m not going to do that.
It was a 6-0 loss. Just because you lose to the Marlins, it doesn’t mean it’s 2007 all over again. I know Mets fans were upset over Eric Campbell playing. The lefties need a day off. It’s the benefit of having a large lead.
If you want to find something to be upset about, be upset about the regulars not contributing against a left-handed pitcher. The lineup still had David Wright, Yoenis Cespedes, Travis d’Arnaud, and Wilmer Flores [standing ovation]. The lineup accumulated three hits. Two from Wright and one from Michael Cuddyer. In the NLDS, the Mets will see better lefties than Adam Conley in Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood.
So yes, Bartolo Colon gave up two solo homeruns (and one other earned run) and Tyler Clippard gave up one homerun himself. The rest of the bullpen, Hansel Robles aside, was ineffective. All of this creates a loss, not a collapse.
The Mets play quasi-meaningful games against the Yankees this weekend. If the Mets throw out some clunkers then, I’ll consider getting nervous. Right now, I’m just happy the Mets are getting the slumps out if the way against the Marlins in games that do not matter.
Mets fans seemingly want to “Take Back New York.” Now that it seems to be on the verge of happening, Mets fans seem displeased. They’re complaining about the wave or the fact these bandwagon fans have the same shot the diehard fan has at getting postseason tickets.
I don’t care about bandwagon fans per se. These people are the ones who help create sellout crowds. They buy the new gear. They visit the blogs (hello!). They care about the Mets . . . just not as much as diehard fans do. That doesn’t mean they’re not on our side [now], and it doesn’t mean we can dictate how much they are allowed to enjoy all of this. It also doesn’t mean we need to give them a crash course on how to be a Mets fan.
They’ve been fans on their own terms, and we’re not going to change that. The only ones who can are the Mets. With the way the Mets are playing, who knows? Maybe they get swept up I all of this, and they become diehard fans.
If they do become diehards, they can make their seats on the bandwagon permanent.
There has been a lot of discussion for Yoenis Cespedes as an NL MVP candidate. I understand the discussion even if I do not believe there is much merit to these discussions. The reason is Cespedes will have only played 36% of the season in the National League. Furthermore, with an NL MVP, you can only take his NL stats into consideration.
However, Cespedes is neck and neck with Josh Donaldson for the MLB MVP Award right now. The reason why Cespedes’ candidacy improves here is you can now look at the totality of his stats, which are impressive. He is hitting .296/.332/.558. This includes 35 homeruns and 103 RBIs (he’s Top 10 in both categories). His 6.9 WAR ranks fifth in MLB. He’s a viable candidate.
The only problem is the award doesn’t exist. While there were predecessors to the MVP award, the awards as we know them now started in 1931. At that time, there was a separate award given for the NL and the AL. This has continued until the present day despite the fact that Interleague Play started in 1997. With Bud Selig forcing the Astros into the AL, Interleague Play runs throughout the schedule, by necessity.
Right now, MLB is the only sport that doesn’t have one unified MVP. In the NFL, a team plays 25% of its schedule against the other conference. In the NBA, a team plays 34% of its games against the other conference. In the NHL, a team plays 34% of its games against the other league. In MLB, it’s only 12% of their games.
So yes, the other sports play a larger percentage of their games against the other league. However, that’s not the reason why there won’t be one unified MLB MVP. The reason mostly boils down to the fact that there are contract incentives tied to MVP vote results. There is no way the Player’s Association would ever permit fewer awards because that means less bonus money available to its players.
Honestly, I like the idea of baseball having two separate leagues with their own rules. I’m not a fan of the DH, but it does create a separation between the NL and AL. That separation is a key reason why I believe MLB can justify having two MVPs. Unfortunately, that means Cespedes won’t win an award he may very well could have earned.
I remember Opening Day in 2006. The Mets fans entered this season with a lot of hope, more hope than they’ve had in a long time. Much of it was fueled by their budding young stars, Jose Reyes and David Wright.
When Wright hit a sixth inning homerun, I remember the fans starting an MVP chant. I joined in on it. It wasn’t serious. It was just fun. I remember chuckling afterwards. I also remember Mike & Dog blowing a gasket over that and Billy Wagner‘s entrance music. I was reminded of that day when I saw this last night:
Guess who leads off the bottom of the 3rd? #Mets ??? pic.twitter.com/Kz2K2nmyGL
— New York Mets (@Mets) September 15, 2015
These fans seem to be having the same fun we did in 2006. If it’s all in fun, I’m on board. If it’s to show Yoenis Cespedes some love, I’m on board. If the fans are serious, you’ve lost me.
Look, I love things that are fun for the fans. However, if this is a real push, you’ve lost me. He’s not the MVP of the National League or the Mets. Instead, he’s an amazing story that can lead the Mets to more amazing stories in the playoffs.
Maybe then I’ll agree with the MVP sentiments.
With the Mets losing and the Nationals winning, there is no change in the Mets magic number. However, I’ve been having some fun doing these, so I figured I would take another crack at 10. Today, I’m looking at the 2004 season and Joe Hieptas:
During the Mets 2004 season, when they finished 71-91, they would call up Hieptas in September to become the Mets third string catcher. On October 3, 2004, his dreams would come true, and he would play in a big league game catching one inning in an 8-1 win over the Montreal Expos. Unfortunately, Hieptas did not get a chance to bat making him a modern day Moonlight Graham.
Hieptas tried all he could to get back to the majors. He would convert to a pitcher at the Mets suggestion in 2007, but he would never make it back to the big leagues. Much like the 2004 Mets, he never really had a chance, but he still went out there anyway. I know at times it must be frustrating for him, but he can sleep at night knowing he gave it his all.
Hieptas’ story reminded me of Mets fans’ favorite punching bag, Eric Campbell. I’ve seen a number of things written about him. I believe most of it is unfair and sometimes just wrong.
He’s a guy who plays hard and hits the ball hard. He’s doing everything he can do to be a big leaguer. It’s just ironic that Campbell sees his salvation in a position Hieptas had to leave to get another shot. Hieptas and Campbell are both reminders that whether a team is good or bad, there is always someone out there trying to make the most of their talent and opportunity.
So with that lets tip our hats to Joe Hieptas.
Let me start with the preface that the Mets are going to win the NL East, and they may still get homefield advantage in the NLDS against the Dodgers. However, doesn’t September losses to the Marlins just seem bigger?
It just seemed like this was another poor start for Jacob deGrom in what not too long ago seemed like a potential cyGrom season. Tonight, he gave up 10 hits and six earned in only five innings. deGrom is the key to a Mets possible World Series run, and it appears like he’s falling apart at the seams. I checked Twitter during the game, and I found out he really wasn’t:
First time deGrom has allowed double-digit hits this season and just the second time in his career. (12 last year vs. Cardinals).
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) September 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/bbtn/status/643948706375561217
However, I still felt like Chicken Little, so I checked Baseball Reference. Aha! deGrom has been worse in the second half. He was a superhuman deGrominator going 9-6 with a 2.14 ERA, 0.924 WHIP, and 8.9 K/9 in the first half. Coming into tonight, he was 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA, 1.043 WHIP, and a 10.4 K/9 in the second half. So yeah, he’s been pretty much the same pitcher in both halves of the season.
That’s the thing with losses like tonight. You tend to overreact. You make deGrom’s outing out to be worse than it was. You focus on another poor Eric O’Flaherty outing. You miss things like David Wright hitting an RBI double and going 1-2 with two walks, a run scored, and an RBI. You miss Michael Conforto going 2-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored. You grumbled when Bobby Parnell came into the game while neglecting the fact that he had a good, scoreless inning.
The Mets won eight straight. They were due for a clunker. That was tonight. It seemed like they could do nothing right, including but not limited to Erik Goeddel pulling a Shawn Estes when he seemingly was trying to plunk Tom Koehler as retaliation for him plunking Yoenis Cespedes. This was further compounded with my man, Dario Alvarez limping off the field after allowing a Dee Gordon homerun.
The Mets just need to put this ugly 9-3 loss behind them. I know I’ll forget about it by tomorrow morning.
I’m a card carrying member of the IBWAA, which means I have the opportunity to vote on the following year end awards:
- NL & AL MVP
- NL & AL Cy Young
- NL & AL Rookie of the Year
- NL & AL Manager of the Year
- NL & AL Reliever
Now, this blog is about two things: the Mets and being a father. With the NL categories, I haven’t made my mind up, but I suspect the Mets could be featured in any of the above categories. With the AL, there obviously will be no Mets featured unless I vote for Yoenis Cespedes for AL MVP. I’m kidding of course.
I’m going to publish all of my votes and my reasons for my vote, whether I voted for a Met or not in any particular catergory. The reason why is that I obviously have opinions, and I try to back them up. I now have an opportunity to vote my convictions. It’s one thing for me to say Cespedes isn’t the MVP, it’s another for me not to pick him as an MVP.
As you know, I have a son. I want to tell him to stand behind his convictions. If I can’t do it here, how can I convince him to do it in the future? Seriously, if I can’t back up my vote for something relatively meaningless like an MVP vote, how can I have that conviction when it’s truly needed?
So with all that in mind, I will make my votes available on the site. Thank you for reading.