SHaM-WOW 2014

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

New season for the SHaMs begins tonight. How will they do?

[Guest d'Kong76]

Can you refresh my mammary and tell us what SHaM
stands for again?

[Frayed Knot]

Second Half Mets -- and if those second half Mets do well, then WOW!!


67 games remaining, btw, if that helps anyone do the math.

[Guest d'Kong76]

THaNks!

[Ceetar]

I picked 86 wins, and I also pick 86 wins as the number of wins needed to win the division.

There are always teams going crazy the second half

Last year, Dodgers were 47-47 at the break. Went 45-23 (.662)

2012 OAK was 43-43 went 51-25(.671)
2012 BAL 45-40, went 48-29 (.623)
2011 DET 49-43 went 46-24 (.643)
2011 MIL 49-43 went 47-23 (.671)
2011 LAD 41-51 went 41-28 (.594)

tons of examples of teams playing at over .600 from the ASG on.

[seawolf17]

Ya. Gotta. Believe.

SHaM-WOO.

[TransMonk]

I took 30 and see I'm the only one going that low so far.

Where is all of the second half improvement going to come from?

[Ceetar]

TransMonk wrote: I took 30 and see I'm the only one going that low so far. Where is all of the second half improvement going to come from?

Wright, d'Arnaud, Wheeler, Syndergaard, LF trade/promotion, some run differential regression

[Guest d'Kong76]

TransMonk wrote: Where is all of the second half improvement going to come from?

From shootin' the SHaM-WOW Kewl-aid, man!

[Guest themetfairy]

This should be the SHaM-Wow Theme Song!

(Directed to our opponents, of course....)

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Love that we have 10 votes and 10 different predictions so far.

I went with 88 hoping that if that doesn;t get us a playoff spot outright, it gets us a playoff to get a playoff to get a playin.

[Edgy MD]

Ceetar wrote: I took 30 and see I'm the only one going that low so far. Where is all of the second half improvement going to come from? Wright, d'Arnaud, Wheeler, Syndergaard, LF trade/promotion, some run differential regression

• Pitchers hitting, if only hitting like pitchers, on average, instead of like wind machines.
  
• A performance at short that, even if Tejada doesn't maintain his current pace, won't include his sluggish start or anything from Quintanilla.
  
• A performance from Granderson that also does not include any extension of his mudslogged start.
  
• The glorious promotion of a man called Reynolds.
  
• Familia and Mejia and Black turning the last three innings into a dark, lifeless room that opponents dread being locked in, and do not emerge from.
  
• A heretofore unheard-of fight song rising seemingly spontaneously from the zeitgeist that gives zeal to the fans and wings to the players' heels.
  
• Terry Collins, tasting second-half competitiveness for the first time as Met manager, reverting to the fiery maniac that led his teams to rousing initial success in the American league, before becoming tiresome and burning them out in year three. Terry Collins, spirited commander and strategic genius.
  
• Spontaneous fan clubs rising up in a Yankee-weary world. Manhattan, Kansas? Met fans. Canberra, Australia? Met fans. Quito? Phnom Penh? Dakar? Suddenly crawling with screaming Mets fans. Many of them dancing to a remix of that fight song I was telling you about, too.
  
• You, you, you, you, and me. Believing.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Syndergaard looks like he's primed to explode, maybe. Most every ounce of the lucky-bounce statstuff says we're primed for a bounce.

I'm a pessimist. But I have eyes. Gimme a little over .500 on the season, and a whole lot of excitement going into the offseason.

[G-Fafif]

For consistency of prediction's sake, went with 33 SHaM wins to bring the total to 78, or what I went with in the preseason poll. I'd be happy if they won 34, representing a winning record for an entire "second half," but wanting to be happy and predicting I'll be happy are two entirely different things.

Go 1-0 tonight and take it from there.

[Centerfield]

I took 30 and see I'm the only one going that low so far. Where is all of the second half improvement going to come from? Wright, d'Arnaud, Wheeler, Syndergaard, LF trade/promotion, some run differential regression Pitchers hitting. A performance at short that, even if Tejada doesn't maintain his current pace, won't include his sluggish start or anything from Quintanilla. A performance from Granderson that also does not include any extension of his mudslogged start. The glorious promotion of a man called Reynolds. Familia and Mejia and Black turning the last three innings into a dark, lifeless room that opponents dread being locked in, and do not emerge from. A heretofore unheard-of fight song rising seemingly spontaneously from the zeitgeist that gives zeal to the fans and wings to the players' heels. Terry Collins, tasting second-half competitiveness for the first time as Met manager, reverting to the fiery maniac that led his teams to rousing initial success in the American league, before becoming tiresome and burning them out in year three. Terry Collins, spirited commander and strategic genius. Spontaneous fan clubs rising up in a Yankee-weary world. Manhattan, Kansas? Met fans. Canberra, Australia? Met fans. Quito? Phnom Penh? Dakar? Suddenly crawling with screaming Mets fans. Many of them dancing to a remix of that fight song I was telling you about, too. You, you, you, you, and me. Believing.

There is going to be that phenom named Timo Jefferies that comes up and lights the world on fire this second half. He will continue his success in the post-season and become an October legend. Sure, the rest of his Major League career won't amount to much, but when the 2014 Championship team comes back for reunions, Timo Jefferies will get some of the biggest ovations.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

This kid, he'd have been nothing without all those running-hard-all-the-way-from-first drills his dad made him do in their backyard pool.

[Zvon]

Well, I want them over .500 and 41 is the most Metly number in the area.

[ashie62]

Just feels like 38...

[Guest d'Kong76]

Ok, who's the other nut that took 45 wins?

[Chad ochoseis]

35. Improvement based on Wheeler becoming more consistent, d'Arnaud getting over most of his Early Career Sucks, and Wright returning to form. Not counting on anything Syndegaardy until 2015.

[Fman99]

Sham-WoW. Maximum amount of wins. Playoffs. Book that shit.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Can I amend my vote?

[Frayed Knot]

Too much Sham, not enough Wow!

[Theoldmole]

Total optimism.

[TransMonk]

This may be premature...but I was wrong about this thread. I hadn't seen the Mets too many times in the weeks before the AS break, but I've caught nearly every game since.

Their offense is still mostly shitty and I'm still not sure they'll break .500 this year, but they are better than I thought they were coming out of the break.

Best of all, the fans at Citi are showing some life in support of the team and the youngsters (Duda, d'Arnaud, etc.) are starting to believe in themselves and their teammates.

[youtube:2pw63old]8qrriKcwvlY[/youtube:2pw63old]

[Frayed Knot]

The SHaMs are off to an 8-7 start, on pace for 36 (35.73) 2nd-half wins.