Curtis Granderson
A large part of what happened in the second half of the season was the Mets obtaining Yoenis Cespedes. I’m not in the camp that the Mets wouldn’t have won the division without him. However, I do believe it prevented a dog fight for the division.
While it was a wild ride, it came at a cost. A huge cost. I remember being vilified for suggesting the Mets would not sign him. Now, it seems like after an awful World Series, fans are on board with the sentiment. There seems to be a multitude of reasons why people do or do not want Cespedes to come back to the Mets. For what it’s worth, it appears he will not return.
I know its academic, but it’s the right decision. There’s no room for him on the roster. Michael Conforto will be the everyday leftfielder. Curtis Granderson has two more years on his contract to be the rightfielder. The Mets are set at the corner outfield positions. As for centerfield, Cespedes isn’t a centerfielder. I know he played there for the Mets, but it wasn’t a great decision. It was a decision to increase offense.
Looking over his career, Cespedes has poor range in centerfield. His UZR in centerfield this year was a -3.2, which equates to being a below average centerfielder. It just wasn’t those lazy World Series plays, it was the entire second half. By the way, this was the worst he’s been in three years in centerfield. His prior UZRs were -1.3 and -1.7. It’s the reason three teams didn’t see him as a centerfielder. People didn’t notice it as much because he was impossibly hot at the plate.
Look at it this way, everyone jumped all over Juan Lagares for having a down year defensively. His UZR was 3.5, which equates to him being an above average centerfielder. So to get this straight, Lagares was bad, and Cespedes was good? No, Cespedes hit, and Lagares didn’t.
I do think Cespedes will continue to hit for power. In his four year career, his 162 game average is .271/.319/.486 with 30 homers and 106 RBI. Whether or not he’s a poor on base percentage player, he will continue to mash. That still doesn’t make him a CF. It makes him a terrific left fielder. The Mets have one of those.
So we should all thank Cespedes for what he’s done for this team because he won’t be back. It was a wild ride, and I wish him the best at his next stop.
Goumg into last year, the Mets thought they had sufficiently addressed the offense by signing Michael Cuddyer to play LF and John Mayberry, Jr. to bat against lefties and pinch hit.
Well Mayberry was so bad he was released, and Cuddyer had a disappointing season even before the knee injury. Cuddyer hit .259/.309/.391 this year. He looked old and slow during the postseason. He will enter the 2016 as a $12.5 million bench player. Just keep that in mind as you watch the Mets moves this offseason.
The reason Cuddyer will be a bench player is Michael Conforto. Due to Cuddyer’s knee injury and a historicall inept offense, Conforto was called up to the majors from AA in late July. He would play in 56 games hitting .270/.335/.506 with 14 doubles, 9 homers, and 26 RBIs. Also, he was much better than advertised defensively:
In the limited time Conforto was with the Mets, his UZR was 7.5, which means he is an above average to great defensive left fielder. As he learns the position, he could one day compete for a Gold Glove. With an accurate arm like his, he may very well replace Curtis Granderson in a few years.
At the plate, we saw the promise he has, and how he’s delivering on that promise. This upcoming year, the Mets will make him an everyday player and not just a platoon player. He’s shown he can handle lefties and righties in the minors. We saw him do it in the World Series:
All postseason he took good at bats even if the results weren’t there. He did have three homeruns. One was in his first postseason at bat against Zack Greinke of all people.
Conforto has what it takes to be just not just a great hitter but a great overall player. If you had Conforto for the whole year, his numbers would’ve averaged out to .270/.335/.506 with 41 doubles, 26 homers, and 75 RBI. Those are All Star numbers. If Conforto improves just a little next year, he will be a star in this league. He will be the best player on the Mets.
He’s the reason no matter what the Mets do in the offseason, the biggest upgrade they make is in left field.
There are many things I’m going to personally take away from the 2015 season. For a moment, I wanted to acknowledge that I went to a World Series game with my Dad and brother. It was a dream come true.
I’ve been going to Mets games with my Dad since 1983 when Darryl Strawberry. I wasn’t much older than my son is now. I’ve been going to Mets games with my brother not too long after that. We thought the moment was coming in 2006. We hoped it would happen in 2007 and 2008. It was getting to the point I would never be there to see this in person:
Friday night it finally happened. We made sure to commemorate the moment:
Note, I thought it was great my Dad and brother wore the hats I had picked up for them a while ago. I was wearing the same All Star Game hat my brother got me. It is the same hat I wore the day my son was born. I wore the Lucas Duda jersey my son got me.
Rare is it that you wait for something so long, and it’s even better than you imagined. There was an amazing energy in Citi Field that night. The place exploded when David Wright hit that homerun:
The three of us shared an embrace just celebrating something we thought we would never see (no, I don’t mean a Wright playoff homerun). We were high fiving strangers. It was pure joy. The place exploded again with the Curtis Granderson homerun:
When Wright broke the game open with a single in the sixth . . .
. . . it just became a surreal experience. I mean I was standing there doing the eighth inning “Piano Man” sing-a-long with Billy Joel:
Are you kidding me? I was there for Pratt’s All Folks and the Grand Slam Single games. I was there with my Dad and brother. This game meant much more than those. This was the World Series. THE METS WON A WORLD SERIES GAME WE ATTENDED!
After the last out, everybody was screaming and yelling. We just gave each other a big hug. We were in disbelief that we were even there. We were convinced the Mets were going to win the World Series. We stuck around a bit longer singing along to “Back in the New York Groove” before leaving. It was then time for one last picture:
We decided to take the left field ramps out of the ballpark. It was fitting that we took the ramps like we had so many times at Shea. We said our goodbyes and headed home. It won’t be the last game we go to together. I pray it won’t be the last World Series game.
On the way to my car, I broke my rule. I bought a World Series hat and fleece. I have 1999, 2000, and 2006 sweatshirts and hats that’ll never get worn again. I’ll wear these again. I will forever want to remember this moment.
So thank you to the Mets for allowing this to happen. Thank you to my Dad for making me a Mets fan. Thank you to my Dad for taking my brother and I to all those Mets games over the years. I still can’t believe the three of us got to be there on Friday night.
The Mets may have lost the World Series, but they won the game we attended. Losing the World Series will always hurt, but at least I got this moment 32 years in the making. It was amazin’.
The Mets lost the World Series 4-1. The Mets easily could’ve won the series in the reverse. The difference? The Royals executed in late innings. Terry Collins was terrible. The Royals got a little luck. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. Not this series. Not tonight.
This was the moment Matt Harvey we all imagined when he first came up and pitched against the Diamondbacks. This is the moment we anticipated when Harvey started the All Star Game at Citi Field. We were left dreaming of it when he missed all of 2014 while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
My God was he awesome. Awesome may be overused, but I can’t think of a better word. I’m not sure a word exists to describe how incredible Harvey was. He went 8+, five hits, two earned, two walks, nine strikeouts.
For all the narrative thrown his way during the innings limit drama, he promised he would be here when the time called for it. Terry Collins tried to take him out of the game before the ninth. Harvey heard the news from Dan Warthen, and he went over to Collins and told him he’s not coming out of the game. He then threw in a lipper and charged out to the mound. You don’t get more old school than that.
Unfortunately, it was the wrong decision. Harvey allowed a leadoff single to Lorenzo Cain followed by a stolen base and a Eric Hosmer double. Familia got a groundout sending Hosmer to third. Then the Mets late inning defense showed its ugly face again. Salvador Perez hit a groundball to David Wright. Wright looked back at Hosmer, but it wasn’t enough. Hosmer took off with Wright’s throw, and he scored on a poor Lucas Duda throw. Blown save. Tie game.
It certainly highlighted the fact that Terry Collins left Harvey in a better too long. It highlighted the poor offense with four double plays off of the grieving Edison Volquez. The only offense the Mets could muster was a Curtis Granderson leadoff homerun and a Duda sacrifice fly. The latter being the only run scored when the Mets had the bases loaded and no out. The first out of that inning came on a Yoenis Cespedes popout after he fouled a ball off his knee. He would have to leave the game after the AB.
For the second straight game Familia got hit with the blown save that wasn’t his doing. He got the groundball. He did buckle down, got out of the ninth, and shut down the Royals in the tenth. Jon Niese kept it tied. Addison Reed didn’t.
Perez leadoff with a single that dropped right on the right field line. Jarrod Dyson pinch tab and stole second. Travis d’Arnaud had no shot. With the way he’s throwing right now, he couldn’t throw out Sid Bream. Dyson would score on a Christian Colon single. Naturally, it was Colon’s first at bat in the playoffs.
Of course Daniel Murphy made another error. Of course Hansel Robles went unused again.of course Collins would wait for it to be 4-2 before lifting Reed. Of course Bartolo Colon would allow a bases clearing double to Lorenzo Cain. The game was out out of reach at 7-2.
Wade Davis came in, and the Mets went quietly into that good night. Duda struck out. d’Arnaud struck out. Michael Conforto singled leaving Wilmer Flores to make the last out. He struck out. Fittingly, it was his final at bat that left us all in tears.
Last night I was lucky enough to go to Game 3, but I wasn’t able to take my son. However, because he is a huge Mets fan, and he has an awesome Mommy, he watched the game.
Here is the Curtis Granderson homerun as shown as TV:
Here’s Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock’s reaction:
Here’s my son’s:
I couldn’t be more proud.
LETS GO METS!
Tonight is Halloween, and we’re saying goodbye to the incredible month of Murphtober. If this game goes into the late evening hours, it will be the second time the World Series will go into November (it will anyway).
After Daniel Murphy dominated October, it’s time for a Met to take up the mantle for November. Here are some suggestions:
Curtis Granderson – Grandvember
David Wright – Davember
Daniel Murphy – Murphvember
Yoenis Cespedes – Yovember
Travis d’Arnaud – Travember
Wilmer Flores – Wilvember or Flovember
Juan Lagares & Juan Uribe – Juanvember
Matt Harvey – Harvember
As usual, I’m open to any suggestions you may have.
Lets Go Mets
All I’ve heard everywhere today is the Mets need to get Juan Uribe in the lineup. People are starting to question at what point you sit David Wright. Do you rearrange the lineup? Stop.
Let’s start with Uribe. He’s not a good postseason player. You’re looking to substitute Wright’s .171/.320/.220 triple slash this offseason with Uribe’s career postseason stats of .204/.241/.338. It’s not exactly a massive upgrade especially when you consider Uribe hasn’t played in a month and the fact that he still may not be ready:
Terry Collins says his hesitancy to use Juan Uribe stemmed from chest injury. But #Mets expect Uribe to play a bigger role back at Citi.
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) October 28, 2015
Another consideration is defense. Wright is a much better defensive player. Yes, he made one error in Game 1, but he’s been very good in every game.
With respect to the lineup, what are you changing? Yes, I know Wright’s not hitting. However, go over the stats. The only Mets hitting this postseason are Curtis Granderson, Daniel Murphy, and only recently, Lucas Duda. You still want to go L-R-L in the lineup, so who’s the right that’s hitting? If anyone was tearing it up, if consider it, but they’re not.
David Wright is the captain. He waited a long time for this. He worked hard to get back here. What effect would have on the team if he’s benched or put lower in the lineup. It’s a real consideration.
I’m probably harder on Wright than anyone, but I respect him and his game. That probably goes a million times over for his teammates and the organization. I still hope he comes through in a game. He needs to be in there.
Lets Go Mets!
Remember when #PanicCity was a thing? I do too. It was justified then. When Sandy Alderson bestowed the moniker on Mets fans, here was the previous night’s starting lineup:
- Curtis Granderson
- Ruben Tejada
- Lucas Duda
- Michael Cuddyer
- Wilmer Flores
- Darrell Ceciliani
- Kevin Plawecki
- Jacob deGrom
- Dilson Herrera
Look at that lineup. The number two and five hitters rotate in the eighth spot, at least until Tejada went down. The number three hitter bats fifth. The cleanup hitter is on the bench. The seventh hitter is a backup. The sixth and ninth hitters are not on the playoff roster.
This is a different team than that one. This team was one out away from winning Game One. They had a bad game against an erratic pitcher, who has pitched well against the Mets in the past. Why must it be more than that?
We just watched our young pitchers now down an incredible Cubs offense. We know good pitching beats good hitting. It’s the reason the Mets are in the World Series. This isn’t the same old Mets offense. They can actually hit now.
The Mets are getting a needed day off to collect themselves. They’re going to set things straight. They’re going out tomorrow, and they’re going to play their best game of the year. Then they’ll go out in Game 4 and do the same thing, and so on and so on.
Ya Gotta Believe!
Coming into this game, neither the Mets nor the Royals had won the first game in the World Series. Last night into this morning, they turned it into an art form.
This is now the longest Game 1 (innings-wise) in #WorldSeries history. #NYMvsKC
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 28, 2015
Ultimately, the game came down to Chris Young and Bartolo Colon. One was as tall as the other one was wide. While Young was mowing down the Mets, Colon was on a tightrope. He finally fell through allowing a sac fly in the 14th. The winning runner was on base after a Wright error and no challenge. The game was just sheer torture. Prior to this, there was an actual baseball game.
The game did not start the way Matt Harvey and the Mets wanted. Yoenis Cespedes misplayed a fly ball out into an Alcides Escobar inside the park homerun. The first in the World Series since a player named Mule Haas in the 1929 World Series.
This would kill most teams, but these Mets have shown themselves to be resilient. Travis d’Arnaud singled in Daniel Murphy in the fourth. Curtis Granderson homered in the fifth. Conforto hit a sac fly scoring Cespedes in the sixth.
Harvey was good tonight. Not great. Not bad. Just good. He pitched six innings allowing five hits, three earned, two walks, and two strikeouts. He was handed a two run lead in the sixth and couldn’t hold it.
After one run scored, he had a chance to get out of it with Mike Moustakas at the plate. Harvey stuck with the offspeed pitches and was seemingly pitching around him to get to Salvador Perez with first base open. A changeup caught too much of the plate, and Moustakas got the RBI single an inning after he made a diving stop to prevent a possible RBI double. From the seventh inning on, it was a battle of the bullpens.
Remember, the biggest advantage the Royals had this series was the bullpen and team defense. Kelvin Herrera was lighting up the radar gun. He had two outs in the eight when Juan Lagares came to the plate. He was in the game as a defensive replacement for Michael Conforto. Mets fans collectively groaned.
Lagares had a terrific at bat fighting off everything Herrera had. He got a single. He then barely stole second, and then this happened:
Actually, no, but it was close.
Wilmer Flores hit a chopper towards Eric Hosmer, who tried to backhand it. It went through him, and the Mets grabbed a 4-3 lead. In a shock to everyone, Jeurys Familia blew the save on a Alex Gordon to homer in the ninth. It was a rare blown save:
Jeurys Familia had converted 21 straight save chances entering day
Last one came day before Mets trade for Cespedes (July 30 vs Padres)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 28, 2015
Jon Niese came on to pitch in the game he was born to pitch in. Niese was born the day the Mets won the World Series. Well, he pitched like he was born for the moment. He went three innings holding the Royals at bay.
As we know it wasn’t enough. After watching it part of me wishes the TV stayed off.
However, the Mets hung in there. They’re resilient, and they have Jacob deGrom tonight. All they need is a split. It’s still on the table. I just hope Collins is better. The Mets generally need to be better.
They will. They just need to show the same resiliency they’ve shown in this game and all year.
First pitch is slated for 8:07, which means the game will probably start around 9:00. It doesn’t matter the time because Mets fans have been waiting for that pitch seemingly all their lives. Stepping up to the plate will be Curtis Granderson.
It’s fitting that it’ll be Granderson. Granderson was the first offensive player to sign on. Yes, the Mets had David Wright, but he had not signed his extension yet. We didn’t know if Daniel Murphy would be traded or not. Lucas Duda had not yet wrestled first base away from Ike Davis. Seriously, all we knew at that time was Granderson was going to be the RF for four years.
Granderson was the first offensive player to really sign on for all of this. Except for Wright and Murphy, the team has changed all around him. He has been the Mets regular season MVP. He has been terrific this postseason. This year he’s been everything you could’ve asked him to be.
He’s going to step in the box and kick off the World Series for the Mets. It’s fitting since he was the first position player to sign on for this.