Driving home from High Point Solutions Stadium last week, it became obvious to many fans like myself that a change needed to be made. After another deflating defeat from another Big 10 team, there was a sense of hitting rock bottom.
It's funny, going into this season, there was some optimism. Rutgers had a successful 8-5 first season in the Big 10 and went to another bowl game. Things were on the upswing. But this season spiraled out of control before a game was even played. Legal trouble, arrests, misconduct by the Head Coach all put a dark cloud over the program. Combine all that with several blowout losses, in which the team was just over matched, and we are left with a program in need of a new direction.
For one thing, I am very happy that a quick decision was made to fire both Kyle Flood and athletic director Julie Herman, Overall I think flood did a nice job as head coach. He kept alive many of the mantras of the Greg Schiano era. He made bowl games. He won a share of a league title. And he was well liked by both former and current players.
After, the firing, rumors swirled about possible replacements, and one of the first reports had Greg Schiano coming back to coach the team. While this wouldn't have been the worst idea (he probably had the best resume of any candidate), it wouldn't have made the program any different. They would have been moving backwards when they really needed to turn the page to a new chapter.
I see the Flood era as just an extension of the Schiano era, a great growth period for Rutgers football.
But sometimes change is necessary. Sometimes a new coach is what a team or program needs to continue to move forward and to get to that next level.
I don't know much about Chris Ash. but after hearing his press conference, I like what he is about.
He is an accomplished assistant coach that comes from winning programs in the Big 10. He seems to have a sense of positive energy and drive about him. Even at his press conference, he told the people in the room that he wanted to see more smiles in the place. I like that.
I hope he can infuse positive thinking into this program and it's players, recruits, and fans.
That is what this team and University needs to do to move forward and grow as a program.
-BNolan
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Monday, December 7, 2015
Mets at the Winter Meetings
Tomorrow is the start of baseball's winter meetings. This is usually when a lot of major moves and free agent signings start to come to fruition.
Last week, we saw two big free agents come off the board as Zach Greinke and David Price signed with new teams. Greinke signed with the Diamondbacks and Price with the Red Sox. Each pitcher got north of $30 million dollars per year, setting the bar high. So all remaining starting pitchers on the market should have a smile on their face and dollar signs in their eyes.
Starting pitching, is one area where the Mets do not need any help. Every team needs depth, so hopefully the Mets can keep Bartolo Colon to be a reliever/spot starter. And they do have Zack Wheeler coming back sometime mid season. Barring injury, the Met rotation is set with their young guns.
The Mets have several needs : both middle infield positions, an outfielder who can play all three outfield positions, bullpen, and bench.
After the season ended the big question was do they re-sign Daniel Murphy. Right now, it is looking like the answer is no. Murphy had a wonderful playoff run, despite cooling off in the World Series.
But according to all reports, the Mets are all in on Ben Zobrist. Zobrist can play more positions than Murphy and can play them better defensively as well. He can serve as a second baseman/insurance policy at third base in case David Wright gets hurt, and he can play the outfield. Offensively, I feel Murphy and Zobrist are very similar with Zobrist getting the edge in on base percentage.
My personal choice would be to bring Murphy back. He definitely does not solve the defensive issues up the middle that this team has but I think it's worth it bringing a long tenured Met back.
I don't think this will happen. If the Mets get Zobrist, he will likely get a 4 year deal and that is why I would rather have Murphy because he is younger. Zobrist will be 35 this year and as we all know in recent years, baseball is not kind to older guys at the end of multi year contracts.
But more than likely, we will see Zobrist play mostly second base and some other positions, and some combination of Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada, and Dilson Herrera in the middle infield.
The other Met glaring hole will be the void left by free agent Yoenis Cespedes. Despite his struggles in the postseason, no one can discount what he did for the Mets down the stretch. And despite the cons of bringing him back, he is probably the best fit for the Mets because he can play center field and he possesses middle of the lineup power that is very hard to come by in today's game. But the Mets will probably let him walk. They do not want to get burned by giving this guy a lot of money or giving him a long term deal, and I don't blame them. They do need to save some money to pay their pitchers in a few years. But if I were the Mets, I would consider bringing Cespedes back if the market for him comes down.
One thing I hope the Mets don't cheap out on is the bench. I would love to bring back both Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. Bottom line, a good team that wants to contend, needs a strong Major League bench. We saw last year, when players got injured early in the season, the Mets did not have Major League talent on the bench and it showed. So if the Mets want to contend and capitilize on having a strong pitching staff, they need to have solid reinforcements on the roster.
I won't get too into the bullpen. I like having Addison Reed back. Familia is a stud closer. Relievers are very much "lightning in bottle" type players so I hope they can go to Spring Training with enough guys to find the right combination of pitchers in the pen.
We will see what happens this week and in this offseason. I don't expect a big splash from the Mets unless they do sign Ben Zobrist. I think the front office will do similar to what they did last year.
Try to win with what they have and win behind their starting rotation, then try to improve mid-season via trade to make another run at the postseason.
But if they really want to contend again, they need to improve because other teams will be better. It is so hard to win year in and year out as we all know...
Last week, we saw two big free agents come off the board as Zach Greinke and David Price signed with new teams. Greinke signed with the Diamondbacks and Price with the Red Sox. Each pitcher got north of $30 million dollars per year, setting the bar high. So all remaining starting pitchers on the market should have a smile on their face and dollar signs in their eyes.
Starting pitching, is one area where the Mets do not need any help. Every team needs depth, so hopefully the Mets can keep Bartolo Colon to be a reliever/spot starter. And they do have Zack Wheeler coming back sometime mid season. Barring injury, the Met rotation is set with their young guns.
The Mets have several needs : both middle infield positions, an outfielder who can play all three outfield positions, bullpen, and bench.
After the season ended the big question was do they re-sign Daniel Murphy. Right now, it is looking like the answer is no. Murphy had a wonderful playoff run, despite cooling off in the World Series.
But according to all reports, the Mets are all in on Ben Zobrist. Zobrist can play more positions than Murphy and can play them better defensively as well. He can serve as a second baseman/insurance policy at third base in case David Wright gets hurt, and he can play the outfield. Offensively, I feel Murphy and Zobrist are very similar with Zobrist getting the edge in on base percentage.
My personal choice would be to bring Murphy back. He definitely does not solve the defensive issues up the middle that this team has but I think it's worth it bringing a long tenured Met back.
I don't think this will happen. If the Mets get Zobrist, he will likely get a 4 year deal and that is why I would rather have Murphy because he is younger. Zobrist will be 35 this year and as we all know in recent years, baseball is not kind to older guys at the end of multi year contracts.
But more than likely, we will see Zobrist play mostly second base and some other positions, and some combination of Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada, and Dilson Herrera in the middle infield.
The other Met glaring hole will be the void left by free agent Yoenis Cespedes. Despite his struggles in the postseason, no one can discount what he did for the Mets down the stretch. And despite the cons of bringing him back, he is probably the best fit for the Mets because he can play center field and he possesses middle of the lineup power that is very hard to come by in today's game. But the Mets will probably let him walk. They do not want to get burned by giving this guy a lot of money or giving him a long term deal, and I don't blame them. They do need to save some money to pay their pitchers in a few years. But if I were the Mets, I would consider bringing Cespedes back if the market for him comes down.
One thing I hope the Mets don't cheap out on is the bench. I would love to bring back both Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe. Bottom line, a good team that wants to contend, needs a strong Major League bench. We saw last year, when players got injured early in the season, the Mets did not have Major League talent on the bench and it showed. So if the Mets want to contend and capitilize on having a strong pitching staff, they need to have solid reinforcements on the roster.
I won't get too into the bullpen. I like having Addison Reed back. Familia is a stud closer. Relievers are very much "lightning in bottle" type players so I hope they can go to Spring Training with enough guys to find the right combination of pitchers in the pen.
We will see what happens this week and in this offseason. I don't expect a big splash from the Mets unless they do sign Ben Zobrist. I think the front office will do similar to what they did last year.
Try to win with what they have and win behind their starting rotation, then try to improve mid-season via trade to make another run at the postseason.
But if they really want to contend again, they need to improve because other teams will be better. It is so hard to win year in and year out as we all know...
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
World Series Recap
The 2015 World Series had all the elements of a fantastic world series....
We saw blown saves, late inning home runs, come from behind victories, crucial errors that lead to game changing runs. We even had a little bad blood between the two benches as a result of a high and tight fastball to lead off Game 3.
I must say that after watching not just the World Series, but all of the Mets' postseason games, I am emotionally and mentally drained. The Dodgers series went the full five games and each game was tight. There was the drama with the whole Chase Utley slide...was it dirty? Was it just a bang bang play? Who knows? Bottom line, the Mets faced the Dodgers' aces four times and still won the series.
For as quick and easy as it may have seemed (the Mets swept the Cubs in the NLCS), I never got the feel that they fully dominated. None of the games were a blowout. They definitely out pitched the Cubs but outside of Daniel Murphy, who played out of his mind in the NLDS and NLCS, and Curtis Granderson, I never really saw any of the other Met bats get hot. The cold bats became a trend in the World Series.
A major statement was made on the very first play in Game 1 of the World Series. It was a foreshadowing of what was to come in the rest of the series. Matt Harvey gave up a long long fly ball to left-center to Alcides Escobar. It was a tough play but definitely should have been caught by center fielder Yoenis Cespedes. Instead it dropped between Cespedes and Michael Conforto and Escobar rounded the bases for an inside the park home run, the first of this kind in World Series history. This, along with many plays in the series showed the Mets deficiencies in the field.
The Royals are a young, athletic team. They get a lot of base hits. They run the bases well and play great defense, though in this series they did make some errors. But anytime the Mets made an error or a mistake, the Royals took advantage of it. It was unbelievable to watch. No matter the score, the Royals were never out of the game. Not as if the Mets had any huge lead, but they did have the lead in all four of their losses, and three leads in the 9th inning.
The Mets just could not conjure up any consistent offense. Murphy went cold. Cespedes cooled off considerable since the end of September and seemed to look worse each at bat, swinging at countless balls in the dirt. David Wright, while he had strong at bats hitting in the two hole, batted less than .200 throughout the postseason. Wright did however have a huge first inning home run in Game 3 that seemed to set the tone for the team's only win of the series. With the way the Mets swung the bats, they were lucky to have the leads they had. The only consistent bat was Curtis Granderson, who also played a great right field in the series. Even shut down closer Jeurys Familia had three blown saves in the series. The stat line doesn't look good for Familia but his Game 1 blown save, which he gave up the tying home run to Alex Gordon in the ninth, was the only game that was exclusively his fault. The other two probably had more to do with defensive miscues, in particular by Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda.
But their were some positives in the series. Noah Syndergaard showed us the type of player he is in Game 1. His first pitch of the game was high and tight, and knocked Alcides Excobar to the gournd. The Royals dugout definitely did not like it but it showed them that he wasn't afraid to throw inside and it took away their agressiveness.
The other positive was Matt Harvey. Yes. Matt Harvey. Who else?? The guy who always seems to have some sort of drama or controversy surrounding him.
Matt Harvey was dominant on Sunday night. In an elimination game, with zero room for error and only 2 runs of support on the board, Harvey delivered the game all Met fans have been waiting for. He was the ace. He was the bulldog. He was Orel Hershiser in 1988. He was Curt Schilling vs the Yankees with the bloody sock.....at least through 8 innings. With the manager ready to go to his closer, Harvey demanded the ball for the ninth inning and Terry Collins obliged.
I had no problem at all with that move. If Harvey gets 3 outs there, it goes down as one of the best World Series pitching performances of all time. We all know what happened next. Harvey gave up some baserunners, Terry Collins was a batter too late going to his closer, a bad Lucas Duda throwing error, and all of a sudden the game is going to extras.
At that point, the Mets were done. The Royals were so good at playing from behind this series that once the game was tied, I had no confidence the Mets would win the game.
Much credit is due to the Kansas City Royals. They play the game the right way. They are clutch. And they were very much the superior team in this series.
We'll see what the future holds for this Met team. They gave the fans and the people of this city a great ride. The future is bright with our young starting pitchers. There are a lot of decisions to be made in free agency but I do like the young core of this Mets team. It's not easy to return to the postseason or the World Series. We'll see if the Mets can build on their success from 2015 and move forward in 2016.
BNolan
We saw blown saves, late inning home runs, come from behind victories, crucial errors that lead to game changing runs. We even had a little bad blood between the two benches as a result of a high and tight fastball to lead off Game 3.
I must say that after watching not just the World Series, but all of the Mets' postseason games, I am emotionally and mentally drained. The Dodgers series went the full five games and each game was tight. There was the drama with the whole Chase Utley slide...was it dirty? Was it just a bang bang play? Who knows? Bottom line, the Mets faced the Dodgers' aces four times and still won the series.
For as quick and easy as it may have seemed (the Mets swept the Cubs in the NLCS), I never got the feel that they fully dominated. None of the games were a blowout. They definitely out pitched the Cubs but outside of Daniel Murphy, who played out of his mind in the NLDS and NLCS, and Curtis Granderson, I never really saw any of the other Met bats get hot. The cold bats became a trend in the World Series.
A major statement was made on the very first play in Game 1 of the World Series. It was a foreshadowing of what was to come in the rest of the series. Matt Harvey gave up a long long fly ball to left-center to Alcides Escobar. It was a tough play but definitely should have been caught by center fielder Yoenis Cespedes. Instead it dropped between Cespedes and Michael Conforto and Escobar rounded the bases for an inside the park home run, the first of this kind in World Series history. This, along with many plays in the series showed the Mets deficiencies in the field.
The Royals are a young, athletic team. They get a lot of base hits. They run the bases well and play great defense, though in this series they did make some errors. But anytime the Mets made an error or a mistake, the Royals took advantage of it. It was unbelievable to watch. No matter the score, the Royals were never out of the game. Not as if the Mets had any huge lead, but they did have the lead in all four of their losses, and three leads in the 9th inning.
The Mets just could not conjure up any consistent offense. Murphy went cold. Cespedes cooled off considerable since the end of September and seemed to look worse each at bat, swinging at countless balls in the dirt. David Wright, while he had strong at bats hitting in the two hole, batted less than .200 throughout the postseason. Wright did however have a huge first inning home run in Game 3 that seemed to set the tone for the team's only win of the series. With the way the Mets swung the bats, they were lucky to have the leads they had. The only consistent bat was Curtis Granderson, who also played a great right field in the series. Even shut down closer Jeurys Familia had three blown saves in the series. The stat line doesn't look good for Familia but his Game 1 blown save, which he gave up the tying home run to Alex Gordon in the ninth, was the only game that was exclusively his fault. The other two probably had more to do with defensive miscues, in particular by Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda.
But their were some positives in the series. Noah Syndergaard showed us the type of player he is in Game 1. His first pitch of the game was high and tight, and knocked Alcides Excobar to the gournd. The Royals dugout definitely did not like it but it showed them that he wasn't afraid to throw inside and it took away their agressiveness.
The other positive was Matt Harvey. Yes. Matt Harvey. Who else?? The guy who always seems to have some sort of drama or controversy surrounding him.
Matt Harvey was dominant on Sunday night. In an elimination game, with zero room for error and only 2 runs of support on the board, Harvey delivered the game all Met fans have been waiting for. He was the ace. He was the bulldog. He was Orel Hershiser in 1988. He was Curt Schilling vs the Yankees with the bloody sock.....at least through 8 innings. With the manager ready to go to his closer, Harvey demanded the ball for the ninth inning and Terry Collins obliged.
I had no problem at all with that move. If Harvey gets 3 outs there, it goes down as one of the best World Series pitching performances of all time. We all know what happened next. Harvey gave up some baserunners, Terry Collins was a batter too late going to his closer, a bad Lucas Duda throwing error, and all of a sudden the game is going to extras.
At that point, the Mets were done. The Royals were so good at playing from behind this series that once the game was tied, I had no confidence the Mets would win the game.
Much credit is due to the Kansas City Royals. They play the game the right way. They are clutch. And they were very much the superior team in this series.
We'll see what the future holds for this Met team. They gave the fans and the people of this city a great ride. The future is bright with our young starting pitchers. There are a lot of decisions to be made in free agency but I do like the young core of this Mets team. It's not easy to return to the postseason or the World Series. We'll see if the Mets can build on their success from 2015 and move forward in 2016.
BNolan
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
2015 World Series
Growing up, there was nothing more important than sports. I would say that from the ages of 9 to 16, my summers consisted of watching the Mets game at night, waking up and watching Sportscenter like seven times, then watching the replay of the Mets game, and then finally going outside to enjoy my summer. And then at night I would watch that night's game. I loved all sports, but baseball was my passion.
Back then, events like the All-Star game seemed special. Before the free agent frenzy and inter-league play, it was a novelty to see your favorite players go up against other players from the opposing league. You could see Randy Johnson vs. Barry Bonds or Greg Maddux vs. Ken Griffey Jr. and it was special because the only other way to see these match-ups would be in the World Series.
That is why I think this year's World Series match-up is intriguing.
The Mets and Royals just do not have a lot history together. Prior to this year's Fall Classic, they have only met 9 times in the regular season, in 2002, 2004, and 2013.
I think the All Star Game and the World Series lose their luster a bit when we see teams and players
that we've seen face off before. This year will be a throwback year because the Royals young lineup and the Mets young pitching have not seen a lot of each other.
The Royals have a young, athletic lineup. They can run and they play good defense. They might not have one guy that jumps out at you but when you look up and down their lineup, they are all solid major league hitters. Eric Hosmer is a middle of the lineup First Baseman, Lorenzo Cain seems to do everything well. Kendrys Morales is the prototypical DH, which will make playing in a National League ballpark interesting. Do they sit their DH and RBI guy???
The Royals, as we saw last year in the playoffs have a strong bullpen, but can their rotation hang with the Mets' young guns. Johnny Cueto has struggled since coming over from the Reds in a deadline deal. Edinson Volquez and Chris Young had solid years, but they are the definition of journeyman pitchers. Yordano Ventura is their young ace and has been a big part of the Royal resurgence of the last two years.
For the Mets, as we all know, it will all come down to their young pitching staff and their ability to get the ball to Jeurys Familia as soon as possible. The Met rotation and their ability to conjure up offense from many different players should put them in a solid position to win games.
As a Met fan, two things terrify me going into the series. One, is the Royals running game against Travis d'Arnaud. d'Arnaud is a wonderful offensive player and a great leader of the pitching staff but he does not have a great arm and I am positive the Royals know that and will try to take advantage. My other worry is the Royals' professional hitters versus the Mets pitchers. Mets pitchers throw a lot of strikes, which is a good thing. But the Royals have a lot of good hitters who like to play small ball, get base hits, and run the bases. I can see the Royals hitters jumping on pitches around the strike zone and killing us with base hits.
These Mets had a surprisingly easy time defeating the Cubs. I don't think the Royals will be as easy a task.
No predictions here though. I can't jinx myself. All I can do this series is wear the same Met jersey I've been wearing for all the playoff games so far and root like I'm a twelve year old fan again.
-BNolan
Back then, events like the All-Star game seemed special. Before the free agent frenzy and inter-league play, it was a novelty to see your favorite players go up against other players from the opposing league. You could see Randy Johnson vs. Barry Bonds or Greg Maddux vs. Ken Griffey Jr. and it was special because the only other way to see these match-ups would be in the World Series.
That is why I think this year's World Series match-up is intriguing.
The Mets and Royals just do not have a lot history together. Prior to this year's Fall Classic, they have only met 9 times in the regular season, in 2002, 2004, and 2013.
I think the All Star Game and the World Series lose their luster a bit when we see teams and players
that we've seen face off before. This year will be a throwback year because the Royals young lineup and the Mets young pitching have not seen a lot of each other.
The Royals have a young, athletic lineup. They can run and they play good defense. They might not have one guy that jumps out at you but when you look up and down their lineup, they are all solid major league hitters. Eric Hosmer is a middle of the lineup First Baseman, Lorenzo Cain seems to do everything well. Kendrys Morales is the prototypical DH, which will make playing in a National League ballpark interesting. Do they sit their DH and RBI guy???
The Royals, as we saw last year in the playoffs have a strong bullpen, but can their rotation hang with the Mets' young guns. Johnny Cueto has struggled since coming over from the Reds in a deadline deal. Edinson Volquez and Chris Young had solid years, but they are the definition of journeyman pitchers. Yordano Ventura is their young ace and has been a big part of the Royal resurgence of the last two years.
For the Mets, as we all know, it will all come down to their young pitching staff and their ability to get the ball to Jeurys Familia as soon as possible. The Met rotation and their ability to conjure up offense from many different players should put them in a solid position to win games.
As a Met fan, two things terrify me going into the series. One, is the Royals running game against Travis d'Arnaud. d'Arnaud is a wonderful offensive player and a great leader of the pitching staff but he does not have a great arm and I am positive the Royals know that and will try to take advantage. My other worry is the Royals' professional hitters versus the Mets pitchers. Mets pitchers throw a lot of strikes, which is a good thing. But the Royals have a lot of good hitters who like to play small ball, get base hits, and run the bases. I can see the Royals hitters jumping on pitches around the strike zone and killing us with base hits.
These Mets had a surprisingly easy time defeating the Cubs. I don't think the Royals will be as easy a task.
No predictions here though. I can't jinx myself. All I can do this series is wear the same Met jersey I've been wearing for all the playoff games so far and root like I'm a twelve year old fan again.
-BNolan
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Mets-Dodgers NLDS Preview
When thinking about what to write for this blog, I was going to do a position by position breakdown or maybe look at a bunch of statistics to try and compare the two teams. But I am going to keep it fairly simple.
The Mets and Dodgers make for an intriguing match up.
East Coast vs. West Coast
Original New York National League Team vs Replacement National League Team.
Memorable playoff moments between the 2 clubs (1988)
Both teams with elite starting pitching staffs.
A veteran playoff team (Dodgers) vs. a team with not a lot of playoff experience (Mets).
Big Market club that spends a lot of money vs. Big Market team that does not.
First thing I think of when I think of the Dodgers is their two top starters. Zach Greinke and Clayton Kershaw might be the two best pitchers in all of baseball. Next thing I think of is their extremely large payroll. As high as that payroll is and as good as their top two pitchers are, I just don't think the rest of the team is that good. The only player that might instill a bit of fear is Adrian Gonzalez, a proven run producer and RBI guy over his career. I am certainly not scared of Jimmy Rollins, Carl Crawford, or Chase Utley (maybe the 2008 versions but not the 2015 version). Yasiel Puig has kind of turned out to be bust. He came into MLB like a lightning bolt but lacks fundamentals that even Yoenis Cespedes possesses.
But pitching wins in the playoffs and the only way the Mets have a shot is if they win at least one of the first two games. They have to beat Greinke or Kershaw, or hopefully both.
Now, not one of the Mets pitchers expected to start in this series has thrown a pitch in the postseason.
But while everyone is talking up the Dodgers two aces, the Mets have a staff that can pitch with anybody. Degrom, Syndergard, Harvey, and Matz all have the ability to dominate. Only question is can the do it on a national stage under the spotlight.
Another question is whether their new found offensive prowess will continue in the playoffs. As hot as the Mets were in August and most of September, their bats dried up the last few weeks of the season.
Can David Wright, making his return to the playoffs for the first time in nine years, avenge his dreadful 2006 postseason?
Can Terry Collins pull the right strings in his first playoff trip?
I am excited to see who will step up, especially against the two aces from L.A.
Should be an interesting series. No predictions here...too many unknowns. I just want to see a good series and hopefully be able to see the Mets advance.
-BNolan
The Mets and Dodgers make for an intriguing match up.
East Coast vs. West Coast
Original New York National League Team vs Replacement National League Team.
Memorable playoff moments between the 2 clubs (1988)
Both teams with elite starting pitching staffs.
A veteran playoff team (Dodgers) vs. a team with not a lot of playoff experience (Mets).
Big Market club that spends a lot of money vs. Big Market team that does not.
First thing I think of when I think of the Dodgers is their two top starters. Zach Greinke and Clayton Kershaw might be the two best pitchers in all of baseball. Next thing I think of is their extremely large payroll. As high as that payroll is and as good as their top two pitchers are, I just don't think the rest of the team is that good. The only player that might instill a bit of fear is Adrian Gonzalez, a proven run producer and RBI guy over his career. I am certainly not scared of Jimmy Rollins, Carl Crawford, or Chase Utley (maybe the 2008 versions but not the 2015 version). Yasiel Puig has kind of turned out to be bust. He came into MLB like a lightning bolt but lacks fundamentals that even Yoenis Cespedes possesses.
But pitching wins in the playoffs and the only way the Mets have a shot is if they win at least one of the first two games. They have to beat Greinke or Kershaw, or hopefully both.
Now, not one of the Mets pitchers expected to start in this series has thrown a pitch in the postseason.
But while everyone is talking up the Dodgers two aces, the Mets have a staff that can pitch with anybody. Degrom, Syndergard, Harvey, and Matz all have the ability to dominate. Only question is can the do it on a national stage under the spotlight.
Another question is whether their new found offensive prowess will continue in the playoffs. As hot as the Mets were in August and most of September, their bats dried up the last few weeks of the season.
Can David Wright, making his return to the playoffs for the first time in nine years, avenge his dreadful 2006 postseason?
Can Terry Collins pull the right strings in his first playoff trip?
I am excited to see who will step up, especially against the two aces from L.A.
Should be an interesting series. No predictions here...too many unknowns. I just want to see a good series and hopefully be able to see the Mets advance.
-BNolan
Sunday, October 4, 2015
MLB Playoff Preview
Today was they final day of the 2015 Major League Baseball regular season.
Today we found out exactly who was going to make the postseason,
Some teams we already knew, the teams that have clinched over the last couple of weeks.
National League Division Series match ups include the NL East winning Mets versus the NL West winning Dodgers. The Central winning Cardinals will face the winner of the Wild Card game, either the Pirates or the Cubs.
Over in the American League, we have the Toronto Blue Jays, making their first postseason appearance since 1993,versus the Texas Rangers who made a hard charge in the second half of the season to win the AL West, Defending AL champs, The Royals will face the winner of the AL Wild card game, either the Yankees or the Astros, who are making their first postseason appearance since 2005.
These series should make for some exciting baseball.
There are some teams who haven't played a lot of postseason baseball lately (Mets, Blue Jays, Astros).
Even the Yankees are making their first playoff appearance, if playing in the Wild Card game is considered making the playoffs, since 2012.
You have teams like the Cardinals and the Royals, who were basically in control of their division the vast majority of the season. The Cardinals are the team that is always in contention and always seem to win year in and year out. The Royals made a tremendous run to the AL Pennant last year and lost to the Giants in the seventh game of the World Series.
There are teams like the Mets, Rangers, and Blue Jays, who all made significant deals at the trade deadline to improve their teams. The Mets were a borderline Wild Card contender, in a good spot because the division favorite Nationals were having a down year. Then in late July, they called up top hitting prospect Michael Conforto, and traded for Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and of course the blockbuster, Yoenis Cespedes. They got hot in August and September and won their first division crown in almost a decade.
In late July, the Rangers weren't even thought of as a playoff team. When they traded for ace Cole Hammels of the Phillies, many baseball people saw it as a move for the future. Turns out that that trade combined with guys like Prince Fielder having a bounce back year, propelled them to an unlikely division title.
The Blue Jays, a team that always seems to be filled with talent, found their missing piece when they traded for certified ace David Price. They also swapped All Star shortstops with the Colorado Rockies, acquiring Troy Tulowitzki for Jose Reyes.
The Yankees, who lost the division lead to the Blue Jays, were having a pretty impressive year.
Injuries to Mark Teixeira and Nathan Eovaldi late in the year hurt the club. Injuries throughout the season to Jacoby Elsbury and Masahiro Tanaka definitely affected their season as well. But for the Yankees, it was the old veterans, like A-Rod, Carlos Beltran, and Teixeira, and the bullpen combo of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller that carried them to the one game playoff. Boy I would love to see another postseason run for guys like Beltran and Alex Rodriguez.
The Yankees' opponent, the Houston Astros, are the young guns of the playoffs. Not far removed from 3 consecutive 100 loss seasons, The Astros were in first place most of the year. They are stocked with young talent, like Carlos Correia, and they have potential Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel along with 19 game winner Colin McHugh.
The NL Central is the best division in baseball. They are sending 3 teams to the postseason.
The perennial winning Cardinals, the Pirates and their recent success, and the Cubs backed by a much improved roster and every player's favorite manager, Joe Maddon, will all play playoff baseball.
There is a lot of excitement and a lot of cool story-lines for this year's edition of the MLB playoffs.
I hope it turns into a great postseason for America's past time. Should be fun to watch.
Stay tuned later in the week. Should the Yankees win on Tuesday, I will do a preview of their Division Series matchup and I will also do a Mets-Dodgers preview.
-BNolan
Today we found out exactly who was going to make the postseason,
Some teams we already knew, the teams that have clinched over the last couple of weeks.
National League Division Series match ups include the NL East winning Mets versus the NL West winning Dodgers. The Central winning Cardinals will face the winner of the Wild Card game, either the Pirates or the Cubs.
Over in the American League, we have the Toronto Blue Jays, making their first postseason appearance since 1993,versus the Texas Rangers who made a hard charge in the second half of the season to win the AL West, Defending AL champs, The Royals will face the winner of the AL Wild card game, either the Yankees or the Astros, who are making their first postseason appearance since 2005.
These series should make for some exciting baseball.
There are some teams who haven't played a lot of postseason baseball lately (Mets, Blue Jays, Astros).
Even the Yankees are making their first playoff appearance, if playing in the Wild Card game is considered making the playoffs, since 2012.
You have teams like the Cardinals and the Royals, who were basically in control of their division the vast majority of the season. The Cardinals are the team that is always in contention and always seem to win year in and year out. The Royals made a tremendous run to the AL Pennant last year and lost to the Giants in the seventh game of the World Series.
There are teams like the Mets, Rangers, and Blue Jays, who all made significant deals at the trade deadline to improve their teams. The Mets were a borderline Wild Card contender, in a good spot because the division favorite Nationals were having a down year. Then in late July, they called up top hitting prospect Michael Conforto, and traded for Kelly Johnson, Juan Uribe and of course the blockbuster, Yoenis Cespedes. They got hot in August and September and won their first division crown in almost a decade.
In late July, the Rangers weren't even thought of as a playoff team. When they traded for ace Cole Hammels of the Phillies, many baseball people saw it as a move for the future. Turns out that that trade combined with guys like Prince Fielder having a bounce back year, propelled them to an unlikely division title.
The Blue Jays, a team that always seems to be filled with talent, found their missing piece when they traded for certified ace David Price. They also swapped All Star shortstops with the Colorado Rockies, acquiring Troy Tulowitzki for Jose Reyes.
The Yankees, who lost the division lead to the Blue Jays, were having a pretty impressive year.
Injuries to Mark Teixeira and Nathan Eovaldi late in the year hurt the club. Injuries throughout the season to Jacoby Elsbury and Masahiro Tanaka definitely affected their season as well. But for the Yankees, it was the old veterans, like A-Rod, Carlos Beltran, and Teixeira, and the bullpen combo of Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller that carried them to the one game playoff. Boy I would love to see another postseason run for guys like Beltran and Alex Rodriguez.
The Yankees' opponent, the Houston Astros, are the young guns of the playoffs. Not far removed from 3 consecutive 100 loss seasons, The Astros were in first place most of the year. They are stocked with young talent, like Carlos Correia, and they have potential Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel along with 19 game winner Colin McHugh.
The NL Central is the best division in baseball. They are sending 3 teams to the postseason.
The perennial winning Cardinals, the Pirates and their recent success, and the Cubs backed by a much improved roster and every player's favorite manager, Joe Maddon, will all play playoff baseball.
There is a lot of excitement and a lot of cool story-lines for this year's edition of the MLB playoffs.
I hope it turns into a great postseason for America's past time. Should be fun to watch.
Stay tuned later in the week. Should the Yankees win on Tuesday, I will do a preview of their Division Series matchup and I will also do a Mets-Dodgers preview.
-BNolan
Sunday, September 27, 2015
NL East Champs
Yesterday, as I was watching the 2015 Mets celebrate winning the NL East, I started to think that maybe they were celebrating a little too much. Maybe it was a bit overboard. I mean it's nice to win a division and get in the playoffs, but it is all meaningless if the don't at least get past the division round.
Maybe I, like many fans in New York, have become too accustomed to the Yankee way of not really celebrating big until they at least win a pennant. But that was Jeter's team and for about 10-15 years, they were basically a given to at least win the Wild Card.
But yesterday was indeed something to be proud of.
It is not something that happens very often.
Since the Mets became the Mets in 1962, they've only made the playoffs seven times.
They've won five division titles and won the Wild Card twice.
In their 64 years, they've won 90 or more games 10 times.
I will not list the number of years where they've had finishes in the lower level of the N.L. East.
This year was and hopefully will continue to be very special.
It was nice to see the young guys celebrate.
This ball club has a lot of rookies and younger players. These guys have never won like this at the Major League level. I heard Michael Cuddyer, who won 6 division titles in Minnesota with the Twins, say how some of his teammates were asking him how they should celebrate. They didn't want to show up the home team.
They deserve to celebrate and take it all in.
Winning the division should also be meaningful for the guys who have been through the recent down years, like Daniel Murphy and Jon Niese.
And no player deserves this more than David Wright. He got a taste of the postseason early in his career. Now nine years later, the Captain will guide his team back to the playoffs. It's been a rough year for him too, after missing 4 months of the season with spinal stenosis.
But no one should be more happy than Terry Collins. The oldest manager in baseball, who has managed almost 1700 games at the Major League level, will be going into the postseason for the very first time.
So there is plenty to be happy about as a Met fan, player, coach, front office, etc.
They hung around, with the help of their young pitching, until some players got healthy and the front office added some reinforcements. They then went on an eight week tear to win the N.L. East.
It's been a nice season. A season worth celebrating.
But there is a lot more work to be done...and hopefully 11 more games to be won.
BNOLAN
Maybe I, like many fans in New York, have become too accustomed to the Yankee way of not really celebrating big until they at least win a pennant. But that was Jeter's team and for about 10-15 years, they were basically a given to at least win the Wild Card.
But yesterday was indeed something to be proud of.
It is not something that happens very often.
Since the Mets became the Mets in 1962, they've only made the playoffs seven times.
They've won five division titles and won the Wild Card twice.
In their 64 years, they've won 90 or more games 10 times.
I will not list the number of years where they've had finishes in the lower level of the N.L. East.
This year was and hopefully will continue to be very special.
It was nice to see the young guys celebrate.
This ball club has a lot of rookies and younger players. These guys have never won like this at the Major League level. I heard Michael Cuddyer, who won 6 division titles in Minnesota with the Twins, say how some of his teammates were asking him how they should celebrate. They didn't want to show up the home team.
They deserve to celebrate and take it all in.
Winning the division should also be meaningful for the guys who have been through the recent down years, like Daniel Murphy and Jon Niese.
And no player deserves this more than David Wright. He got a taste of the postseason early in his career. Now nine years later, the Captain will guide his team back to the playoffs. It's been a rough year for him too, after missing 4 months of the season with spinal stenosis.
But no one should be more happy than Terry Collins. The oldest manager in baseball, who has managed almost 1700 games at the Major League level, will be going into the postseason for the very first time.
So there is plenty to be happy about as a Met fan, player, coach, front office, etc.
They hung around, with the help of their young pitching, until some players got healthy and the front office added some reinforcements. They then went on an eight week tear to win the N.L. East.
It's been a nice season. A season worth celebrating.
But there is a lot more work to be done...and hopefully 11 more games to be won.
BNOLAN
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)