Post Mortem

[Frayed Knot]

Speaking strictly for the World Series

Familia wasn't good enough
Clippard certainly wasn't good enough
Murphy wasn't good enough - either with the bat OR with the glove
Cespedes was near good enough
d'Arnaud wasn't good enough
Flores wasn't good enough

Basically no one with the possible exceptions of Grandson & Conforto were good enough this past week.
I still don't believe they were overmatched but they certainly were in this series.
KC was a good team in the second year of their best run in three decades, plus they got every conceivable break -- both ones they created and ones that fell into their laps.

[Guest cooby classic]

I hope Cespedes' knee is okay

[metsmarathon]

Swing for fences bad. Swinging for hits good. Swinging with a non-functional knee preposterous

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

No game tomorrow.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

It's very disappointing to have lost 3 games that were well within our grasp, but the Mets failed to execute in the late innings. The Mets committed too many errors (physica and mental) in the late innings and the KC bullpen out pitched ours when the game was on the line. The ability of the Royals to play small ball and manufacture runs with speed seeme to rattle the Mets defense.

Still, it was a very good season for the Mets. Far better than I ever imagined at the start of the season. Even after the Mets acquired Cespedes at the trade deadline, I never envisioned such a successful season. It wasn't until therir unstoppable run through the month of August that I suddenly felt they had a team capable of winning the World Series. With a fine, young starting pitching staff to keep the team in virtually every game the future looks bright going forward. Now Sandy needs to plug a few holes in the offense and get a reliable lefty for the pen and the Mets should have a strong team capable of returning to the World Series again next year.

Thank you to the team for a wonderful season and for the first time in several seasons, I expect o have high expectations next spring.

[Zvon]

I said to my bros, right after we lost Tejada, that either Murphy or Flores would do something either miraculous with their gloves, or something horribly awful. Possibly both. Flores held his own. But Muffy...
After that run of out of this world hitting in the postseason, this is so sad. If I was Flores I would cry. But I'm not and that's baseball.

But it wasn't just Muffy. A number of things lead to this depressing moment. Look at the hitting tonight! Shit happened, mistakes were made, we sucked.
And those Royals, they were a fuckin' pain in the ass.

Still, what a great season. I'm always bummed out when the Mets season ends, which usually would be a month ago. And I also get bummed when the series is over (no matter who's in it) and there's no more baseball. So for that reason I'm doubly bummed. But we had some great moments. Some great moments to take away. The Captain's homer was just perfect. Conforto, our Super-Rook, hit two dingers, one a colossal blast. IN A WORLD SERIES GAME! Thors mighty hammer. What Harvey did tonight. And more.

Right now this sucks, but this was awesome. We were in the World Series.

This team could go on a run the next few years. Should go on a run. Just needs some tinkering. This is a good time to be a lifelong Mets fan.

Edited November 2, 2015 by Guest

[Frayed Knot]

metsmarathon wrote: Swing for fences bad. Swinging for hits good.

It's not that simple really.

Over the course of a full season the Royals scored more runs than the Mets, but not by a big margin (724 vs 683 - or basically 1/4 R/G) and did so in a league that always scores more often due to the DH.
They also had to deal with far fewer injuries - every starter on their post-season lineup (which was the same every single night through all three series) was the same as their opening day lineup with the exception of Zobrist at 2B. Only Gordon in LF and Rios in RF missed any time during the season and both for only short stretches. Every one of their starting eight started over 100 games and six of the eight over 140.
And of course there's the whole Mets 1st half/2nd half thing. After August 1st the Mets out-scored KC 318 to 284

As I said in another thread, there's definitely room for a conversation about whether this KC model of aggressive swinging yet low-K's/low-walks is an undervalued skill-set, but I don't think it's a slam dunk that it is and I think it works in their case only with help from their home park and because those players also run well for the most part and play excellent defense.

[Guest El Segundo Escupidor]

Abuse your closer in the early rounds of the playoffs, pay the price later.

[metsmarathon]

Frayed Knot wrote: metsmarathon wrote: Swing for fences bad. Swinging for hits good. It's not that simple really.

No. It's not. But I think that as a strategy against unhittable opposition pitching, like kc's bullpen, it's the one to go to. Especially for all of our damned hitters that were ice cold.

Earlier this series, Duda was hitting well, and against the shift. Today, he was trying to end the game each time out. Except when he got the rib sac fly. In extras... Sheesh. Everybody trying to end it in one go.

[Edgy MD]

El Segundo Escupidor wrote: Abuse your closer in the early rounds of the playoffs, pay the price later.

Much as I could argue with Terry's bullpen usage, I don't think this particular choice is what did the team in. I mean, wasn't Familia pitching well to the last? Sunk to blown-save purgatory, sure, but mostly by dinks and doinks and errors and being brought into emergencies not of his making.

Familia's main disgrace, the Game One homer, wasn't on Terry at all, at least not in that way. It was just a poorly executed pitch that was attempted while trying a trick play � a quick pitch. That he resorted to that suggested to me his confidence wasn't where it should have been � in his stuff � and so he put his faith in knavery instead. And perhaps that lack of confidence can be placed in part on Collins.

I totally believe this team was capable of winning. Just not capable, so much, of dominating. That's for next year.

[Fman99]

I thought, also, when the Mets had pounded the Cubs and the KC/Toronto series was still going on, that the Royals were a far worse match up for us, because the Jays reminded me of the Cubs - a power team swinging from their heels, that you could just pump fastballs right by them. The Royals were going to be a steal bases, first-to-third type team, and nickel and dime us to death. And I was right. I didn't think they'd foul off 500 good pitches per game, but it's an extension of that.

It was an awesome run. I just wish they had been able to shut the door better this last week.

[bmfc1]

I wonder what the six day layoff did to Murphy. All of those interviews, the SI cover--maybe it was simply him cooling off from the incredible hot streak but the contrast between the NLDS/NCLS and the Series was incredible.

[Guest Rotblatt]

As I said in another thread, there's definitely room for a conversation about whether this KC model of aggressive swinging yet low-K's/low-walks is an undervalued skill-set, but I don't think it's a slam dunk that it is and I think it works in their case only with help from their home park and because those players also run well for the most part and play excellent defense.

I think their particular MO was our particular kryptonite, because our catcher can't catch runners, we have a weak middle infield defense, and it helps minimize our one true strength: deep, excellent starting pitching.

In general, I think we had the tools to beat the Royals, we just needed one of: better consistency in the late innings, better hitting from the heart of our order, or a few more breaks going our way.

No doubt, the Royals were good, but we could have beaten them.

At any rate, it was an amazing second half to the season, and a better post-season run than I expected. I'm excited for next year.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

We had a tremendous edge in starting pitching, and stating pitching depth, but never realized it because we didn't hit or field adequately.

[dgwphotography]

For me, the postmortem is that I'm looking at the off-season with optimism for the first time in a long time

[bmfc1]

Agreed dgwphotography. I've already checked to see if the 2016 Spring Training schedule is available (it is not).

[Guest cooby classic]

My son just texted to send his condolences (Indians fan, not Mets) and said he's been having flashbacks to Franco and Benitez.

[Guest cooby classic]

All in all with the Royals' small ball and the Mets' cold bats, it was not an exciting World Series

[soupcan]

Defense, defense, defense.

THAT was the story of this Series for me. They make the plays they should have made, they win the whole thing last night.

I would really like to think that these Mets are beginning a very successful 5 year roll.

[Chad ochoseis]

I thought Familia was more than good enough. The three BS's were mostly, well, BS. Other than the Game 1 HR to Gordon, he was done in by bad defense and the fact that a team that can get bat on ball is going to be good at scoring with a runner on second and no outs.

I'm glad it's going to be five months before I hear anyone say "the Royals put the ball in play" again.

This team could go on a run the next few years.�Should go on a run.�Just needs some tinkering. This is a good time to be a lifelong Mets fan.

Yes, definitely. And I think a lot of people became lifelong Mets fans in the past couple of weeks.

[Frayed Knot]

So if we sweep next season's opening series do we get to claim a split of the eight-game series and half of a WS crown?

[batmagadanleadoff]

cooby wrote: My son just texted to send his condolences (Indians fan, not Mets) and said he's been having flashbacks to Franco and Benitez.

Now I know why you like Chief Wahoo.

[fimg=433]http://beltmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Screen-Shot-2014-06-19-at-5.25.24-PM-640x767.png[/fimg]

[Guest cooby classic]

Yep

[MFS62]

Every baseball fan wishes their team played with the focus and intensity of the Royals. They do all the little things, as well as the big things, to beat you, and they don't beat themselves.
Congrats to them.
They're damn good.

Later

[Edgy MD]

Whether it's in the official narrative (and I suspect it's going to be) or just in the narrative in Terry's head, is that Terry twice backed down before the hubris of one of his athletes, and the team paid badly. That's gonna be tough to live with.

If pride doesn't always come before a fall, it certainly did last night.

[Chad ochoseis]

I sure hope not, at least regarding Harvey. Leaving him in was the right move (or non-move). He didn't appear to be tiring, even after the walk. Sometimes the right move doesn't work.

[Lefty Specialist]

Like everyone else, I'm energized that they got this far. Those 109 days or so until Spring Training are going to be interminable.

The Royals showed us what needs to be done. Do the basics well and be opportunistic.

KC exposed every flaw in this team. Tip of the cap to them and I hope Sandy was taking notes.

Next year, with Thor and Matz getting another season under their belt, and Wheeler coming back, the starting pitching will be incredible. But as we saw this week, that's not enough and that's where Sandy is going to have to earn his paycheck this winter.

No one's going to take the Mets lightly next year. And I'd expect the Nats to re-load and be on a mission. So while we may be coming into a golden era, they can't just coast. Flaws need to be addressed if we want to have fun again in 2016.

[m.e.t.b.o.t.]

in game 1 of the earth baseball championship games, the new york metropolitans had a 90.1% probability of winning.

in game 4 of the earth baseball championship games, the new york metropolitans had an 84.6% probability of winning.

in game 5 of the earth baseball championship games, the new york metropolitans had a 95.6% probability of winning.

the cumulative probability of losing all three of those games is 0.07%.

m.e.t.b.o.t. is curious, yet unwilling to perform the necessary research, if any other team which failed to be victorious in the earth baseball championship games had such a high probability of winning.

it took a long time last night for m.e.t.b.o.t. to finally unwind after the game. the plastic gears in old video cassette recorders are not manufactured to withstand so such high levels of stress.

[Edgy MD]

Chad Ochoseis wrote: I sure hope not, at least regarding Harvey. Leaving him in was the right move (or non-move). He didn't appear to be tiring, even after the walk. Sometimes the right move doesn't work.

It's easy enough to say, "It's your ball, but you get one baserunner, and then I'm coming to get you."

If he does that, Harvey feels he got his chance, that his fate was left in his own hands, and he gets to walk off to the thundering cheers of a still largely positive crowd. Familia enters in that environment with his fate still in his own hands, not with the somebody else's tying-run baserunner on second and no outs, and the energy leaking out of the crowd.

Beyond whether it's the right move or not, Terry's got to live with it being the move he allowed himself to be talked into by the athlete.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I'm not one to place a whole lot of blame on Terry -- the guys gotta execute, and they didn't -- but I will say his moves may have contributed to what looked to be a crisis of confidence infecting the club for the whole series.

I suspect at some level it all boiled down to whether our cleanup hitter was in any shape to play any of the games.

Just a theory of mine, but his indifferent play in this series, perhaps related to his mysterious shoulder injury, was an open secret that undermined the whole club.