In 1986, the Mets made the World Series for the first time in thirteen years. In 2000, the Mets made the World Series for the first time in fourteen years. And now the Mets are in the World Series for the first time in fifteen years. My friend and fellow Met fan Dina compared the Mets to cicadas and their 17-year (sometimes 13-year) life cycle. Indeed, today the whole town is, uh, buzzing - the Mets are in the World Series!
This is the tenth season of Subway Squawkers, and being a Met fan during the time has often been more comparable to a plague of locusts. Things looked promising when Subway Squawkers began in 2006 as part of the New York Daily News website. The Mets were coming off an 83-79 season. They won 97 games, only to be upset in the NLCS.
As disappointing as the end of the 2006 season was, it was largely downhill for Met fans in the following years. Chokes in September 2007 and 2008. And then things really got bad. Bernie Madoff. Luis Castillo. The Yankees go to the World Series and you're not even sure if you should root against them because they are playing the Phillies.
Even when the Mets had a chance to celebrate something, it was always short-lived. Jose Reyes wins a batting title but leaves the last game of the season in the first inning, sparking criticism from media and fans. (Personally, I thought Reyes got a raw deal here for all the criticism about him not "playing the game the right way," particularly with what would later happen with the player he beat out for the batting title, Ryan Braun.) And then it turned out to be Reyes' last game as a Met.
The Mets finally get a no-hitter, but Johan Santana throws 134 pitches and his career craters soon afterward.
R.A. Dickey becomes one of the most unexpected Cy Young award winners ever and is promptly traded away.
It seemed that whenever the Mets finally had someone to root for, he was soon off the team. When Dickey was traded, I wrote the following:
I hope Dickey proves all the doubters wrong. With Jose Reyes also
joining the Blue Jays, I now have a new team to root for in the AL East.
That said, with the current state of the Mets' franchise, trading Dickey
for the haul of prospects the Mets got could be the right move
long-term. Citi Field could even become a more interesting place if the
team appears to be building for the future instead of treading water and
denying they are in rebuilding mode.
At that point, all I wanted was a little hope. Who would have thought that Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard would be integral parts of a pennant winner within three years?
Now it's the Mets who are upsetting the 97-win team in the NLCS. Now it's the other team with the ludicrous fielding displays (I'd still take Kyle Schwarber's bat on my team, though). Now, instead of trading away a Cy Young winner, the Met mow down Cy Young candidates Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta.
When Santana and his huge contract went down with a serious injury, he could not successfully come back. When David Wright and his huge contract went down with a serious injury, he made it back in time for the homestretch and postseason. In Game 4, Wright's leaping grab of a Starlin Castro liner with the bases loaded and none out in the fourth prevented the Cubs from getting back in the game.
Now, instead of having to wait a cicada life cycle for another Mets World Series, Met fans only have to wait a few days. Amazing!
Showing posts with label Chicago Cubs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago Cubs. Show all posts
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
NLCS Mets-Cubs Game 3: Things are going great, and they're only getting better
It was 2-2 in the sixth inning with two outs when Trevor Cahill struck out Michael Conforto. The inning was over and the Cubs were still in good position to win and cut the series lead to 2-1. Except for one thing - the Cubs are cursed. The strikeout pitch got away from catcher Miguel Montero and Conforto ran to first while Yoenis Cespdes raced home from third with what would prove to be the winning run. Now the Cubs are down, 3-0, and only one team has ever come back from that deficit (Squawker Lisa, I'm drawing a blank - can you help me out here?).
As if to underscore how cursed the Cubs are, on the very next play right fielder Jorge Soler fell flat on his face failing to field a single by Wilmer Flores. Conforto raced around to apparently score an insurance run, but had to go back to third when the ball was ruled dead after rolling into the ivy covering the outfield wall. At the time, it was a big break for the Cubs, but it only underscored the cruelty of their curse by giving them false hope. Instead, Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber continued the Cubs' shaky defensive play in the seventh, giving the Mets two more runs and a 5-2 win.
Bryant, Schwarber and Soler are three of the Cubs' rising young hitters. Before the series, the debate was the Cubs' young position players vs. the Mets' young pitchers. As Casey Stengel said, good pitching will always stop good hitting, and vice versa. But there's no vice versa here. The Mets pitching staff has a 1.67 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and a 29-5 K/BB ratio in 27 innings. The Cubs are hitting .158 with a .492 OPS.
And good hitting is not going to have a chance against good pitching when those good hitters are fielding as poorly as the Cubs were last night.
Today is "Back to the Future Day." In the second movie, made in 1989, Marty McFly traveled to October 21, 2015. In the movie, the Cubs win the 2015 World Series, a fact frequently mentioned recently as a potential good omen for the long-suffering franchise.
Naturally, what could now happen is that Back to the Future Day will mark the Cubs' latest elimination and heartbreak.
Speaking of "future" references in popular culture, "The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)" came out in 1986, a year in which the Mets' future never looked brighter. The song was meant to be cynical, not inspirational, but in the 2015 NLCS, I'm taking the lyrics at face value: "Things are going great, and they're only getting better." Indeed they are!
Tonight or soon after, the 2015 Mets will be able to sing "The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Goggles to Keep the Champagne Out of My Eyes). Let's Go Mets!
As if to underscore how cursed the Cubs are, on the very next play right fielder Jorge Soler fell flat on his face failing to field a single by Wilmer Flores. Conforto raced around to apparently score an insurance run, but had to go back to third when the ball was ruled dead after rolling into the ivy covering the outfield wall. At the time, it was a big break for the Cubs, but it only underscored the cruelty of their curse by giving them false hope. Instead, Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber continued the Cubs' shaky defensive play in the seventh, giving the Mets two more runs and a 5-2 win.
Bryant, Schwarber and Soler are three of the Cubs' rising young hitters. Before the series, the debate was the Cubs' young position players vs. the Mets' young pitchers. As Casey Stengel said, good pitching will always stop good hitting, and vice versa. But there's no vice versa here. The Mets pitching staff has a 1.67 ERA, 0.74 WHIP and a 29-5 K/BB ratio in 27 innings. The Cubs are hitting .158 with a .492 OPS.
And good hitting is not going to have a chance against good pitching when those good hitters are fielding as poorly as the Cubs were last night.
Today is "Back to the Future Day." In the second movie, made in 1989, Marty McFly traveled to October 21, 2015. In the movie, the Cubs win the 2015 World Series, a fact frequently mentioned recently as a potential good omen for the long-suffering franchise.
Naturally, what could now happen is that Back to the Future Day will mark the Cubs' latest elimination and heartbreak.
Speaking of "future" references in popular culture, "The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades)" came out in 1986, a year in which the Mets' future never looked brighter. The song was meant to be cynical, not inspirational, but in the 2015 NLCS, I'm taking the lyrics at face value: "Things are going great, and they're only getting better." Indeed they are!
Tonight or soon after, the 2015 Mets will be able to sing "The Future's So Bright (I Gotta Wear Goggles to Keep the Champagne Out of My Eyes). Let's Go Mets!
Monday, October 19, 2015
NLCS Mets-Cubs Game 2: Daniel Murphy and the One Hot Hitter Theory
So much for being Eeyore - I thought Game 2 was over in the first inning when the Mets scored three times off of Jake Arrieta, who had not allowed a first-inning run in his previous 25 starts. But Arrieta now had to contend with the October version of Daniel Murphy.
Before the playoffs, which scenario would seem less likely - Murphy homering off Arrieta, Clayton Kershaw (twice), Zack Greinke and Jon Lester in a span of seven playoff games, or Murphy being walked intentionally in favor of pitching to Yoenis Cespedes, which happened last night? And now people are starting to argue over who is more important to re-sign - Murphy or Cespedes.
(In the interest of keeping Eeyore banished for now, I am refraining from commenting on the Mets' likelihood of increasing payroll next season, though I did pause the 2016 season-ticket ad to try to determine which Mets depicted in the promotion are certain to actually be on the team next season.)
Cespedes has cooled off after his torrid few weeks and Lucas Duda has been ice cold after a couple of hot streaks of his own. But with the Mets' amazing starting pitching, which continued with Noah Syndergaard striking out nine and allowing one earned run in 5 2/3 innings, the Mets seem to need only one hot hitter to carry the lineup while the starting pitching does the rest.
Murphy isn't doing it all by himself - Curtis Granderson is hitting .357 in the postseason with 7 RBI and started the first-inning rally with a single. Juan Lagares has five hits in 11 at bats with five runs scored. But Murphy has been the difference maker, while Cespedes is now hitting .214 and Lucas Duda (.095) and David Wright (.087) are not even on the interstate.
If the Cubs do start pitching around Murphy, someone else will need to step up. Since this has been such a magical run, why not Wilmer Flores?
Obviously, anything can still happen (see Murphy, Daniel). But with the Mets up 2-0 and deGrom pitching Game 3, the magic certainly looks back. Let's Go Mets!
Before the playoffs, which scenario would seem less likely - Murphy homering off Arrieta, Clayton Kershaw (twice), Zack Greinke and Jon Lester in a span of seven playoff games, or Murphy being walked intentionally in favor of pitching to Yoenis Cespedes, which happened last night? And now people are starting to argue over who is more important to re-sign - Murphy or Cespedes.
(In the interest of keeping Eeyore banished for now, I am refraining from commenting on the Mets' likelihood of increasing payroll next season, though I did pause the 2016 season-ticket ad to try to determine which Mets depicted in the promotion are certain to actually be on the team next season.)
Cespedes has cooled off after his torrid few weeks and Lucas Duda has been ice cold after a couple of hot streaks of his own. But with the Mets' amazing starting pitching, which continued with Noah Syndergaard striking out nine and allowing one earned run in 5 2/3 innings, the Mets seem to need only one hot hitter to carry the lineup while the starting pitching does the rest.
Murphy isn't doing it all by himself - Curtis Granderson is hitting .357 in the postseason with 7 RBI and started the first-inning rally with a single. Juan Lagares has five hits in 11 at bats with five runs scored. But Murphy has been the difference maker, while Cespedes is now hitting .214 and Lucas Duda (.095) and David Wright (.087) are not even on the interstate.
If the Cubs do start pitching around Murphy, someone else will need to step up. Since this has been such a magical run, why not Wilmer Flores?
Obviously, anything can still happen (see Murphy, Daniel). But with the Mets up 2-0 and deGrom pitching Game 3, the magic certainly looks back. Let's Go Mets!
Sunday, October 18, 2015
NLCS Mets-Cubs Game 1: Dark Knight for Chicago
Turns out the Mets made a great addition to their postseason roster - an All-Star caliber pitcher. He replaced that guy who seemed more concerned about innings counts and preserving his arm for a future free-agent contract. Welcome back, Dark Knight!
As if it weren't enough that Matt Harvey blew away the Cubs in Game 1, he even took a line drive off his pitching shoulder in the sixth inning and waved it off. I half expected to see Scott Boras storm onto the field wheeling an MRI machine. But Harvey did not even throw a warmup pitch to make sure he was all right (Boras would have included that pitch in his pitch count).
Like many Met fans, I got fed up with Harvey in the later part of the season. Wilmer Flores cried when it looked like he was leaving the Mets. Harvey and Boras whined when it looked like Harvey would have to keep pitching for the Mets past what Boras claimed was his innings limit.
As I've said before, Harvey has every right to worry about his arm and Boras is just doing his job, though Boras did his client a disservice by making the dispute public. And I'm glad that Harvey ended up throwing under 100 pitches (97) on a cold night when his tricep swelled up from getting hit.
But this is the playoffs, and fortunately there is no debate from anyone on going all out. With all due respect to Steven Matz, who has great future potential, the Mets have a big three that needs to start the first three games of the NLCS so they all have the possibility of pitching again. That's why it's so important that Noah Syndergaard is pitching tonight in Game 2, even though he pitched in relief Thursday and warmed up four times.
I do hope, though, that Collins is eventually willing to go to someone besides Jeurys Familia in relief. Let the starters pitch deep into the games if they are doing well, not just because you are afraid to go to a middle reliever. Bartolo Colon has pitched reasonably well and no other reliever besides Eric Goeddel (who is not on the NLCS roster) has pitched poorly enough to rule them out. It's reasonable to expect that Syndergaard might not have a long outing tonight, and if so, it's a chance to determine who can be trusted in middle relief.
After picking the Dodgers in the first series because of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, I am not making that same mistake again. Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester? Big deal! Actually, it is a big deal for the Cubs to win tonight with the usually unhittable Arrieta on the mound. But even if they don't, this series is looking a lot brighter for the Mets than the tossup it appeared to be before it started. Lester was beatable in Game 1. And when the Mets turned on the bat signal. the Dark Knight rose to the occasion. Let's Go Mets!
As if it weren't enough that Matt Harvey blew away the Cubs in Game 1, he even took a line drive off his pitching shoulder in the sixth inning and waved it off. I half expected to see Scott Boras storm onto the field wheeling an MRI machine. But Harvey did not even throw a warmup pitch to make sure he was all right (Boras would have included that pitch in his pitch count).
Like many Met fans, I got fed up with Harvey in the later part of the season. Wilmer Flores cried when it looked like he was leaving the Mets. Harvey and Boras whined when it looked like Harvey would have to keep pitching for the Mets past what Boras claimed was his innings limit.
As I've said before, Harvey has every right to worry about his arm and Boras is just doing his job, though Boras did his client a disservice by making the dispute public. And I'm glad that Harvey ended up throwing under 100 pitches (97) on a cold night when his tricep swelled up from getting hit.
But this is the playoffs, and fortunately there is no debate from anyone on going all out. With all due respect to Steven Matz, who has great future potential, the Mets have a big three that needs to start the first three games of the NLCS so they all have the possibility of pitching again. That's why it's so important that Noah Syndergaard is pitching tonight in Game 2, even though he pitched in relief Thursday and warmed up four times.
I do hope, though, that Collins is eventually willing to go to someone besides Jeurys Familia in relief. Let the starters pitch deep into the games if they are doing well, not just because you are afraid to go to a middle reliever. Bartolo Colon has pitched reasonably well and no other reliever besides Eric Goeddel (who is not on the NLCS roster) has pitched poorly enough to rule them out. It's reasonable to expect that Syndergaard might not have a long outing tonight, and if so, it's a chance to determine who can be trusted in middle relief.
After picking the Dodgers in the first series because of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, I am not making that same mistake again. Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester? Big deal! Actually, it is a big deal for the Cubs to win tonight with the usually unhittable Arrieta on the mound. But even if they don't, this series is looking a lot brighter for the Mets than the tossup it appeared to be before it started. Lester was beatable in Game 1. And when the Mets turned on the bat signal. the Dark Knight rose to the occasion. Let's Go Mets!
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