Lefty Specialist

After careful consideration, I have decided that Curtis Granderson does not suck. Three homers in a 5-game World Series with a torn thumb ligament will do that. Yup, I'd buy a used car from him.

Matt Harvey Named Comeback Player of the Year in the Bedroom, Too

Shoulda torn Duda's ligament, too.

I think that he said, "Yes, we're going to see a significant bump in payroll next year", while across the room Fred Wilpon was in a Darth Vader suit staring at him very intently when suddenly.....HE COLLAPSED!!!!!

Don't forget the Putitinthe Books.

Colon's shutout of the Marlins, complete with the behind-the-back flip. Play of the year.

and more people buying $6 beers and $5 sodas, and $20 hats Clearly this person has never set foot inside Citi Field.

Arb isn't the same as free agency. People are now competing for your services.

Daniel may be a good Christian boy, and he may love playing in New York, but he also has an agent. He'll never accept 3/$40 or even less. Daniel's got to strike while the iron is hot and I'd expect him to be somewhere in the 5/$70 range. Someone will pay it, and it won't be the Mets. Hell, he was making $8 mil this year and he had no leverage. He won't sign up to be Duda's and David's caddy either. He's gone, even if they give him the QO. I honestly don't see any scenario where he stays. Move on; there are other options.

"Mets Playoff Expectations Put Collins on Hot Seat" Guess that seat cooled down considerably.

I would not want to be a journalist in the current climate. Just too uncertain.

Of that bunch I like Parra best. Span is too fragile. Fowler played over his head with the Cubbies. DeAza/Jackson/Sweeney/Venable, meh.

I'd rather have him than Dusty Baker. I'm OK with the 2-year deal. It's all he wants anyway since he's talking about retiring after that. He's the manager of the National League champions; of course he's going to get an extension.

I picked them to be 82-80. So I was in 'gravy mode' from mid-September on. I know it's hard to get to the World Series but this year was a genie you can't stuff back into the bottle. The front office made moves that resulted in a National League championship. Next year, when moves need to be made, they won't be able to sit on their hands as they did from 2009-14. The eye level has been raised. That said, Wilpons cheap, yada,yada,yada. They could tighten the purse strings, but the Madoff excuse no longer applies. You did it once, you can do it again.

Absolutely zero chance Conforto stars in Vegas. You're set in left and right (unless Grandy gets traded). Lagares is a question mark with his elbow. I think Duda needs to be replaced with someone more reliable. We need more consistent production out of first base. So if there's a trade that can be made, they should do it. I'd like to see Dilson Herrera at second and leave him there. He's done all he can do at Vegas. Wilmer Flores is not a shortstop. No more fitting square pegs into round holes. Trade him (but dear god, not to Milwaukee)- won't see him cry in the offseason. Has value, but he vanished offensively down the stretch and in the playoffs. Tejada's a good backup but they need a real full-time shortstop with range and the skills to lead off. Tall order, but that's why Sandy gets the big money. Middle relief is needed, but that's always a matter of finding diamonds in the rough. The variability from season to season means it's always a crap shoot. One of the best relievers for KC was Ryan Freaking Madsen, who was completely out of baseball for 2 years. So there's no perfect formula. First four starters are Harvey/deGrom/Syndergaard/Matz. I hear these guys are pretty good. Niese is your number 5, and Wheeler comes back in the second half. If Niese can be traded (and he should), you can either give the job to Logan Verrett or sign Colon cheaply. Montero is still out there, too, if he can ever get his act together. So there are options. Lotta work to do.

One other thing. David Wright hit a home run in the World Series. That's the closest I came to crying the whole season.

WASHINGTON -- Dusty Baker agreed to a multiyear deal to become the Nationals' new manager on Tuesday. "We were looking for a manager to help us achieve our ultimate goal of competing for a World Series championship," said Nationals owner Ted Lerner. "During our broad search process, we met with many qualified candidates, and ultimately, it was clear that Dusty's deep experience was the best fit for our ballclub." Last week, sources said that Bud Black was the club's choice to replace Matt Williams. But multiple reports on Monday night indicated that negotiations between Washington and Black had either cooled or broken off entirely. Heavens to Mergatroid. He will demolish that pitching staff.

The people I work with tiptoed around me yesterday morning and when they did talk to me it was in the hushed tones of talking to someone whose close relative had died. They really didn't have to, but I appreciated the understanding. Even the Yankee fans were respectful for the day. Given a little distance, I'm grateful for a hell of a year. The Mets played in the World Series. The entire country was talking about the Mets for the better part of a month. I mean, who wouldn't have signed up for that on April 1st? They lost, but they lost to a clearly better team. The easy demolition of the Cubs kind of hid the flaws we all knew this team had. The Royals exposed every single one of those flaws and beat the Mets fair and square. There weren't bad calls or disputed plays that turned the tide, they just played better. But from July 31st to November 1st, we were treated to some of the best baseball in Mets history. Won the division and two playoff series. Played on the national stage and weren't embarrassed. Had some pretty awesome moments, too. So while it still hurts a bit, there's lots of good stuff to take away from this. But yeah, I wish there was a game tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that. The good thing is, I'm saying that a month later than I usually do.

Zobrist is a FA, just a rental by the Royals. But he's not the droid we're looking for.

No, no, no. We saw what non-peak Cespedes looks like, and it's not pretty. Pass. He'll want a long deal that will just get uglier as time passes. Murphy, it was fine while it lasted, but we have options at second. I have a different take, though. Yes, they have to replace 3 and 4 in the order. Well, I'm comfortable with Conforto as my 3. He did pretty well this year and he'll only get better playing every day. One of those homers he hit was off a lefty, too. I like his makeup and Keith likes his swing. As for a 4 hitter, well this is where Sandy gets creative. There are many things that he can package. They need a Paul Goldschmidt type at first. They also need a shortstop who can both hit and field in the same body. They need a Juan Uribe type (or even Juan Uribe himself) who can spell David at times or replace him if/when he's injured. This is a very important thing, as David is probably a 120-game guy now. Wouldn't surprise me if Lagares has surgery planned, so Sandy better be looking for a ballhawk for center. And they need middle relief. That was made pretty obvious this past week. But middle relievers are a crapshoot. I think Robles and Reed are keepers, Familia is obvious, after that it's sayonara. They have pieces to trade. Here's where Sandy earns his money.

RealityChuck wrote: In the past few days, we saw how the team would play without Murphy and Cespedis in the lineup. Well, essentially, those guys turned into Eric Campbell and John Mayberry Jr. during the World Series. And we know how that turns out. They'll be replaced. Not sure how, and it may lead to a different construction of the lineup, but Sandy will replace them.

I guess what I should have said was "Pretend to help needy veterans by buying green lightbulbs from Wal-Mart". Guess they ran out of yellow magnetic ribbons.

The wound's still a bit fresh, but yeah. First time in a long time that there's no embarrassment attached to being a Mets fan. And that's a good thing. Thanks for the opportunity to share this with fellow diehards.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I was okay with Harvey taking the mound in the ninth. I assumed the deal was, okay Matt, go get them, but as soon as there's a baserunner we're going to Familia. I was surprised that Harvey stayed in to pitch to Hosmer. That's the way I felt. You're out there with a short leash, and after the walk you're done. But they still didn't execute when they had to, and that's not on Terry. A good throw from Duda and you're back to KC for game 6. Oh well, woulda, coulda, shoulda.

Help needy veterans by buying green lightbulbs from Wal-Mart.