Ceetar

Centerfield wrote: It wasn't until they got a real cleanup hitter that they became NL Champions. Now he's likely gone. Yoenis Cespedes was 1/8 with a walk and a -.0038 WPA in his first two games with the Mets against the Nats. That was the only time the Mets weren't in first place with Cespedes. He certainly helped put them away, especially in the next series, but he was merely a part of a bigger picture, one that included Wright and d'Arnauds return.

El Segundo Escupidor wrote: Ceetar wrote: to me the Mets biggest strength advantage was starting pitching, and the Royals stepped up in that department. The Royals made mistakes too, they just came at better times. They bunched their hits better. Mets home runs came before walks instead of after them. Yep. Facing a team that doesn't whiff was always going to nullify the Mets greatest strength. I posted about this in the TOR-KC IST. Actually evidence suggests it was fatigue that nullified the strength, the Royals just were best situated to take advantage of it. I meant that the Royals pitchers performed better than expected.

to me the Mets biggest strength advantage was starting pitching, and the Royals stepped up in that department. The Royals made mistakes too, they just came at better times. They bunched their hits better. Mets home runs came before walks instead of after them. Take the last game, plenty of people were all "3 hits doesn't get it done" forgetting that they'd had a few more baserunners than the Royals to that point. It happens. They didn't play well but I think a lot of that gets compounded by some bad timing too. Their gambles worked out, ours didn't. Royals are pretty good. Pirates and Blue Jays might've been better. It's really hard to say for sure, but yeah, it's not like they lost to some 87 win team that backed into the playoffs and had just enough to get to the WS and have their guys perform in that small 5 game sample.

Lefty Specialist wrote: 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. Well, the base revenue and expected 2016 returns is significantly higher now. I still don't expect them to exceed that though.

d'Kong76 wrote: Ceetar wrote: .250/278/.478 for a .757 in nearly 100 Sept/Oct plate appearances. And that's a very slugging-heavy OPS which isn't as ideal. That's still somehow a 108 wRC+ though, which is surprising to me. There was always talk about sending him back down it just never materialized. I don't think anything that's happened has ruled out him starting in Vegas. Sometimes I don't know how your ying and yang doesn't make your head explode. Always talk? Always? If he's not the starting left fielder next year it will be because he was part of a big trade. You could go back to every roster move that happened in August and find a reference to Conforto being sent back down. (and in fact he was for Cespedes) He avoided it by actually hitting in August, something that he didn't do in September or October.

Mets � Willets Point wrote: 2006 featured a lot of experienced vets who began showing their age in ensuing years. 2015 featured a lot of hot young players. They could just be getting started (yay!) or they may have peaked early (boo!). Time will tell. I think a lot of that is hindsight. The 2006 Mets were pretty well positioned to at least be competitive for a few more years and it took some absurd things for it not to happen. I do think this team is _better_ positioned, but hell, over a short 5 or 7 game series you could run into anything. Even if the Mets were to sign Tulowitski and Giancarlo Stanton it's still a safer bet that they DON'T make it as far as they did this year. I'll enjoy 2016 for 2016 and hope and promise don't alter my feelings about 2015.

Frayed Knot wrote: So apparently the Nationals didn't say they were hiring Black, man. What they meant is that they're hiring the black man. Amid rumors of not being able to come to terms with presumed managerial hire Bud Black (lousy cheap-ass owners!) those talks ended and the team is apparently confirming the story making the rounds that they will take on Dusty Baker as their next dugout skipper. I'm all good with LolNats being the thing instead of LolMets. Hell, let's hit other points from the template. Sandy Alderson was "forced" on the Mets. Let's say Dusty Baker was forced on the Nationals. Certainly there were stories this past month about how the number of minority managers in MLB was unacceptably low.

Frayed Knot wrote: DL time counts as service time as far as contract status and all of that. But I believe rookie status is determined by active roster time and the prospect ratings orgs usually follow that. it's specifically an inning/PA count. Conforto was 60 over or so.

Lefty Specialist wrote: Zobrist is a FA, just a rental by the Royals. But he's not the droid we're looking for. I like Zobrist as a nice multi-use guy, probably probably not a great fit plus his habit of bouncing up and down before the pitch got on my nerves.

Centerfield wrote: Conforto? "Iffy in September"? If .813 OPS means iffy, I'll sign on for iffy. .250/278/.478 for a .757 in nearly 100 Sept/Oct plate appearances. And that's a very slugging-heavy OPS which isn't as ideal. That's still somehow a 108 wRC+ though, which is surprising to me. There was always talk about sending him back down it just never materialized. I don't think anything that's happened has ruled out him starting in Vegas.

TransMonk wrote: I worry about his streaky nature, his defense and the back-end of his contract. His career stats are nowhere near what he was giving in August. Also, what do we do with Cuddyer and Lagares? Hard to see the Mets being OK with that kind of dollar commitment riding the bench for the majority of a full season. I have NO problem letting Cespedes walk. Someone else will overpay for him. Cespedes is a solid overall player and a nice player and kinda fun too. But I'm not overpaying for that. 3 years is probably the max I'd go with, but there are various other factors here. Lagares: Will he be ready for Opening Day (presuming he does actually have arm surgery)? Lagares played pretty well down the stretch and in the playoffs. If his defense/arm is back then he's a really nice piece to mix in there, but you start getting a little bit of crunch problem. Conforto: Granted, he hit a couple of bombs in game 4, but he was pretty bad for most of the postseason and was pretty iffy in September too. Excited for him, but he's not a lock for Opening Day. Cuddyer: I know 90% of Mets fans think he's done, but that seems unlikely to me. Had some decent second half stretches post-DL. If he's healthy I suspect he'll play and I suspect he'll be alright too if he does play. Granderson is obviously a lock, so that's already 4 guys vying for time in two spots, while we have holes in the middle infield offensively. I really like Curtis, but you could make a strong case for trying to sell high on him, especially if you keep Cespedes.

cooby wrote: d'Kong76 wrote: Edgy MD wrote: Cool. I usually squat this IGT. I wasn't thinking, I'm all irrationally exuberant for 2016. Ha! Still have to get through winter holidays, 40 inches of snow, and the threat of Donald Trump. But still, it's good to be exuberant! funny thing is, the threat of Donald Trump isn't until after the NEXT World Series.

Centerfield wrote: Lineup: 1. Granderson RF 2. Herrera 2B 3. Conforto LF 4. Wright 3B 5. Duda 1B 6. d'Arnaud C 7. Flores SS 8. Lagares CF 9. Harvey P Too early to re-beat the STOP BATTING GRANDERSON LEADOFF drum? I mean, if he was batting BEHIND Duda and his walks last night, bigger cushion?

d'Kong76 wrote: Only 154 days away... but who's counting? not me. Need a couple of weeks. Mets came out and swept their conquerors in 2007. Will they do the same in 2016? Will, when the 2017 schedule comes out in July or whatever, bet on the team the Mets open against for the World Series?

cooby wrote: Okay dicks, get off the field so our guys can come out and say goodbye FOX/MLB wasn't gonna let them get off the field too fast. too much going on for that, a car, gatorade, MLB had a stage.. I stuck around for 5. Too many cops for the Mets to get back out anyway. They had to make sure the Royals didn't bring champagne onto the field after all.

d'Arnaud has to have an arm injury right?

Like i've been run over by a truck, but physically not mentally. picked up a cold somewhere this weekend, and now running on 4.5ish staccato'd hours of sleep. bleh. Mentally I could actually use a few weeks off from baseball now. This has been a full month of extremely important games and I haven't even had time to process it all yet.

d'Kong76 wrote: Is there anything worse than watching the season end with the visiting team humping each other on your infield? #UnfinishedBusiness This was much better than 2006.

There was a lot that went wrong all around, but to me the real factor is that the Royals starting pitching stepped up and overperformed, and the Mets didn't have anyone raise their game to match. There are dozens of things you could nitpick with, but it's impossible to say that _that_ would've done it, or that even just one of them would've. Bottom line is the Royals played better over 5 games than the Mets. They got the breaks, make the plays, threw the pitches, and made the errors and mistakes in less critical moments.

Ceetar wrote: themetfairy wrote: We're tailgating tomorrow and Sunday - come join us! I will try my best to get there and park and still have time! usual/Opening Day spot? (looked like it from the pictures)

I will not be at two consecutive postseason elimination games. IT WON'T HAPPEN. Mets are undefeated in November.

TONIGHT�S FINANCIAL FIGURES Attendance Net Receipts Players Pool Commissioner�s Office Each Club 44,781 $9,122,555.55 $5,473,533.33 $1,368,383.33 $684,191.66 Attendance Net Receipts Players Pool Commissioner�s Office Each Club 125,511 $25,768,286.71 $15,460,972.02 $3,865,243.00 $1,932,621.49 CUMULATIVE 2015 WORLD SERIES FINANCIAL FIGURES

El Segundo Escupidor wrote: Unfortunate this is. And unexpected. not really unexpected. Simmons left months ago and ESPN is a dumpster fire.

Elster88 wrote: Rios: "I thought it was very weak. I thought it was unprofessional." I'm sensing free baserunners tomorrow. #OBP

themetfairy wrote: We're tailgating tomorrow and Sunday - come join us! I will try my best to get there and park and still have time!