I Still Believe

[Guest El Segundo Escupidor]

"When you're down 3-1 in the World Series, you have to remind yourself that the other team still needs to win another game."
--Joe Morgan

[Guest d'Kong76]

Things I believe:

Conforto has some more boom in him
Harvester will have a major statement game
Cespedes has booted his last baseball as a Met
Flores ain't crying tonight
A twelve-pack isn't going to cut it today/tonight

[Benjamin Grimm]

I believe they have a chance. Being certain of eventual victory would require a level of self delusion that's beyond my capability.

[MFS62]

OK, so I didn't clap for Tinker Bell.
But of course I believe... in the Mets.

Let's go kick some ass, guys.
Kill KILL KILL.

Later

[Guest cooby classic]

• Conforto has some more boom in him
  Harvester will have a major statement game
  Cespedes has booted his last baseball as a Met
  Flores ain't crying tonight
  A twelve-pack isn't going to cut it today/tonight

Things I believe:

Speaking of which I CAN'T believe that Cespedes didn't get an error on that play

[ashie62]

I believe the Mets will win tonight.

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Ashie62 wrote: I believe the Mets will win tonight.

Me too.

[Gwreck]

Same here.

[Lefty Specialist]

One at a time.

[Guest Rotblatt]

I believe they have a chance. Being certain of eventual victory would require a level of self delusion that's beyond my capability.

This. I've learned that I am a pessimist at heart when it comes to the Mets, but I always believe we've got a chance.

[seawolf17]

You bet your ass I believe.

Just give me tonight. We'll worry about Tuesday on Tuesday.

[Edgy MD]

You tell 'em, Bob Seger.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Perfect time for the Mets young guns to make their bones by shutting down KC the rest of the way to win three straight elimination games.

[Frayed Knot]

Be nice if the bats woke up too.
Especially since, for all the talk about KC's contact rates and aggressive approach that exploits every chance they get, this 'talent' of theirs still just netted them runs at a rate barely above league average over the course of the season. It's actually their pitching which ranked much closer to the league leading levels (more due to the pen than the starters but we're not exactly busting up their starters either).
Bottom line: it would be nice if the offense tonight consisted of more than just two solo HRs and a combination passed ball/brain fart by Rios out in RF.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Oh man, the clock is slowwww...
[youtube:2la77th4]qAZaazPORSk[/youtube:2la77th4]

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: Be nice if the bats woke up too. Especially since, for all the talk about KC's contact rates and aggressive approach that exploits every chance they get, this 'talent' of theirs still just netted them runs at a rate barely above league average over the course of the season. It's actually their pitching which ranked much closer to the league leading levels (more due to the pen than the starters but we're not exactly busting up their starters either). Bottom line: it would be nice if the offense tonight consisted of more than just two solo HRs and a combination passed ball/brain fart by Rios out in RF.

I know what you mean. At the risk of overanalyzing just four WS games, and with the usual disclaimers and qualifiers about short series, randomness, small sample sizes and blah blah blah -- each team won one decisive game, a blow-out essentially -- while the Royals won the two squeakers. Skill? Close calls? Luck? Anybody's game? I'll take mostly all of the above except for skill when it comes to those two close games. The Royals won those two games on a collection of dinks and dunks and nicks and broken bat singles. The key play so far, Murphy's error, where Hosmer hit a slow squib, a mistake, a batted ball that he had no intention of hitting and no intention of hitting it where it went -- to the infield lip. And on a tough pitch from Familia. Hosmer's series turning shot was a fucking accident and there's no doubt that at the precise micorfraction of an instant that Hosmer hit that ball, he wished that he could take it back. It's luck. And I'm more than tired from reading about the great fucking Royals, because if they were as great as everyone's making them out to be, if they were truly so much better than the Mets, they would've already swept the damn thing and outscored the Mets by 20. I'll take the Mets HR power any day of the week over a team that has to string together a half a dozen unbelievable you'll never see that again for the rest of your life plays just to score two or three runs.

[Centerfield]

I think they will win tonight.

In fact, I think we blow them out tonight. Fuck the Royals.

[Fman99]

I believe more now than I did at the start of this thread.

[Frayed Knot]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: And I'm more than tired from reading about the great fucking Royals, because if they were as great as everyone's making them out to be, if they were truly so much better than the Mets, they would've already swept the damn thing and outscored the Mets by 20. I'll take the Mets HR power any day of the week over a team that has to string together a half a dozen unbelievable you'll never see that again for the rest of your life plays just to score two or three runs.

The thing is, there IS a legitimate discussion to be had about whether KC's method of building a team through high-contact / low-K / speed & defense is a good 'Moneyball' style of under-valued approach in this day where power is king and damn the strikeouts (didn't have the money to buy power sez GM Moore - so went with gloves & speed instead) and I'm sure we're going to hear a lot of off-season opining of how this is the wave of the future that Sandy & Cashman MUST!!! capitalize on immediately. Copy the winner articles are the easiest column idea ever.

But, yeah, if you listen to enough people it's like the Royals have built one of the great offensive machines ever seen instead of one which, because of their below average power AND OBP, were only slightly above average when it came to scoring runs this season [6th best 4.47 R/G vs 4.39 AL AVG]. And I suppose it's natural to look at it that way if you are merely one of the 'drop-in' types who's paying attention for the first time and witnessed how they came up off the mat vs Houston [scoring 7 times in the 8th & 9th innings down 2 games to 1] and again against Toronto [scored 4 times late after a botched pop-fly, etc.], plus the two late rallies vs the Mets. One of the talking heads quoted a stat last night about how often they had scored (and not been scored ON) in the late innings as if that was some sort of intentional skill or strategy. Except that the larger size, one known quaintly as the 162 game regular season, shows that the Royals score a lower pct of their runs in late (7-9) innings as compared to the league as a whole. And it also ignores that their arms held those mighty Jays bats to 3 runs or fewer in 4 of the 6 games during the ALCS and are holding the middle of the Mets lineup down as well.

But, you know how it is, bending the facts to fit the story is usually easier than the other way around.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Frayed Knot wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: And I'm more than tired from reading about the great fucking Royals, because if they were as great as everyone's making them out to be, if they were truly so much better than the Mets, they would've already swept the damn thing and outscored the Mets by 20. I'll take the Mets HR power any day of the week over a team that has to string together a half a dozen unbelievable you'll never see that again for the rest of your life plays just to score two or three runs. The thing is, there IS a legitimate discussion to be had about whether KC's method of building a team through high-contact / low-K / speed & defense is a good 'Moneyball' style of under-valued approach in this day where power is king and damn the strikeouts....

Definitely. So long as that discussion's not disproportionately based on what's happened in just these past four WS games. Which brings up another big peeve of mine that I raise every year around this time. Why can't the networks show the players' regular season stats? And when they do, why is it so supertiny? Why do they think that the 20 or 30 AB's these players accumulated in the post-season mean more than a full regular season's worth? Who are they catering to when they decide on the graphics? The casual fan who probably doesn't watch one entire regular season game from first to last pitch?

[Guest cooby classic]

[video:2aia5vmm]

[/video:2aia5vmm]

Syrupy, but sweet. This is for you, Mets.


Geez, I really wish they could see what we are saying

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

My son & his best friend both celebrated their birthday today. His buddy's last name is Duda, so we gave him a Lucas Duda t-shirt. Hoping that means big things for Lucas tonight.

[Edgy MD]

I like.

[Frayed Knot]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Who are they catering to when they decide on the graphics? The casual fan who probably doesn't watch one entire regular season game from first to last pitch?

That's exactly who networks are aiming at in post-season games or even GoTW type of broadcasts.