Final Observations of the 2015 Mets Season
Dateline: Centaurus 25, 0003ND

Ah, the Irony:

1. How ironic and fitting was the ending of the season? There it was right in front of all our eyes and the entire baseball world. Harvey, Warthen, and Collins standing in the dugout arguing over whether Harvey should pitch one more inning. Can it get any more ironic than that? The entire season hinging upon whether he could/should go one more inning. Collins and Warthen in total confusion. Harvey arguing with them. No one sure what to do. Didn’t we see that coming? Didn’t they? After all, the entire season was based upon Harvey’s innings. It started in Spring Training. It blew up in August/September, and then the Yankee Game with the six innings. And, it ended with that dugout argument. The season with Harvey was like a Mozart Symphony.

It couldn’t have ended any other way. So ironic, and so perfectly fitting. Of course, all Mets fans wanted the fairytale Disney ending (Wilmer Flores being named MVP and crying in front of the whole world as he accepts the trophy), but the clock struck 12:00 for Cinderella and that fairy tale.

I (ND) felt Harvey shouldn’t pitch the ninth after he completed the eighth. My reasoning was two fold. He hasn’t completed a game all year, and he’s only completed one game in his entire career (in 2013). I also felt he was way too pumped up after the 7th and 8th when he was banging his glove and acting like the Incredible Hulk walking off the mound. I just felt he would be like a guy trying to complete a perfect game or no hitter. Like Max Scherzer was twice this year. Scherzer had trouble with his control in the 9th both times. He was trying too hard throwing the ball 4-5 feet over the batter’s head. I felt Harvey would do the same, and I was right. He threw 3 fastballs to Cain that were at least 3-5 feet over his head. It was a clear sign. At least to Nostradennis.

Secondly, I felt the formula all year was Familia in the 9th. He was all warmed up and ready to go. He had been pitching well. He is most successful when he starts an inning (except for Game 1, which really set the tone in this World Series.). I just felt you have to go with what got you there. That got the Mets there, and Harvey did his job and won back everyone’s hearts. My daughter (Nostradonna), who is very astute, noticed something right away. When Harvey started arguing with Warthen, she yelled out, “He’s Showboating.” He was. He knew he was on the grandest stage. He knew the entire baseball world was watching him. He did quite an acting job there and overplayed it on purpose, we believe. It was like a Shakespearean play. He was Hamlet.

Warthen was like a deer in the headlights. Totally lost. Did you see his face when Harvey was yelling at him and afterwards? Collins played his hand wrong. He wimped out. No conviction at all. He had made the decision. He should have told Harvey himself. You don’t have Dan Warthen do your dirty work in that situation. Not in Game 5 of the World Series, especially after all the mishigas from August on. Then he changed his mind. He has no conviction. They should have talked about that scenario for a few innings before hand. How could they not? I have changed my mind on Terry Collins after years of dislike. Most Mets fans have, and I do still love him (yes folks, Nostradennis is a life long Mets fan). After all, he took a picture with my daughter and took the time to speak to her right after he won the pennant. He’s a really nice guy. Very nice man. But, what did Leo Durocher say? Yes, it’s true. Nice Guys Finish Last.

This time, however, his demeanor cost him and all Mets fans. Our feeling about Harvey was simple. His showboating; his grandstanding, was very selfish and didn’t account for 24 other players (his teammates) and all the people who waited this long for this moment and to get the Mets back to KC for Game 6. I don’t understand the fans. They were screaming for him to come out for the 9th. Why? Aren’t these the same fans that hated him and wanted him traded a month ago?

I guess they just got caught up in the moment. Everyone did. He was Tom Terrific those first 8 innings. But, in the end, he’s not Seaver; he’s not Gooden; and he’s not Pedro. Yogi tried to save Seaver for Game 7 of the 1973 WS. Seaver talked him out of it and we lost Game 6 and the series to Reggie and Oakland. Davey had Randy Myers all warmed up in the bullpen of the 1988 NLCS to pitch to Mike Scioscia, but changed his mind and let Gooden pitch to him even after a leadoff walk, and it cost us the NLCS. Grady Little left Pedro in and lost his job. But, all of those pitchers were better than Harvey is. Harvey wants to be those guys, and maybe one day he will be, but he wasn’t Sunday night. He should have let Familia save the game. He would have been a hero and back in the good graces of all fans. I think he still may be now, but not in mine. I think, and my daughter thinks, it was a very selfish act, and not an act of The Dark Knight, which led to the Dark Night!!!

2. Can the Irony Get Any Better? The answer is YES, it can. I don’t know if the schedule maker is Nostradamus, or Nostradennis, or Penn and Teller, but how ironic and amazing is it that the Mets open the 2016 season in Kansas City? Are you kidding me? Their next game is at the same place Game 6 should have been at? But, that game they will be hoisting the flag and giving out their World Series rings. Will the Royals give rings out to Harvey, Terry, Murphy, Duda, Cespedes, d’Arnaud, Clippard, and Wright? They should, because those guys helped them win it. And, the most ironic question of all. Who starts that opening day game for the Mets? deGrom, who would have pitched Game 6, or Harvey again, who’s last inning gave them their rings? Amazing irony. It’s just hard to believe the Mets play them there on opening day and that schedule was made well before the WS. Incredible. How are Mets fans going to get excited about and actually watch Opening Day? And, if they win or sweep the Royals will it even mean one goddamn thing? Crazy, huh?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:

While the entire season had it’s share of Good, Bad, and Ugly, overall it was a very good year for the Mets, and a very fun, exciting and Amazing run. Here are my thoughts about the year and the playoffs, in a way only Nostradennis can explain it:

1. Murphy goes from Babe Ruth to Bill Buckner in one week! Was it the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx? Most likely.

2. The goat was named Murphy, and then Murphy actually became the goat.

3. Cespedes got the sport wrong. He must have had a miscommunication with his interpreter and/or Fidel Castro and his brother. He thought this was the World Cup instead of the World Series the way he was kicking around the ball. Where was Cespedes when they (knee)ded him?

Speaking of these two guys, and their fickle fans, I find it amazing that so many fans turned on these two guys so fast. They were calling into NY Sports radio station WFAN to trash them and say they don’t want to see them ever again on this team. Aren’t these the exact same people that wanted a statue of Murphy built in front of the stadium and to give Cespedes and Murphy huge long term contracts and a percentage of ownership just weeks ago?

I don’t get it. People are insane. How can they even call themselves Mets fans? It’s funny, but that’s what makes baseball great. The long season always shows a player’s true value and stats. That’s why they play 162 games and another possible 19 afterwards. Over that time period you will always see what a player’s true value and stats are. Whether they hit 20 homers in April, or strikeout 15 times in the playoffs, their numbers always even out over 162 games and are usually very accurate and similar for their career.

Cespedes and Murphy just didn’t adjust. I think the NL pitchers just didn’t really know Cespedes that well at first and he took advantage of it. Once they did, they gave him nothing but curveballs in the dirt and low and away. And, after Murphy hit all those homers, KC fed him nothing but inside heat. They noticed how close he stands to the plate. He even admitted that moving closer to the plate changed everything. So, they fed him inside heat and a lot of fastballs that moved from inside to just over the corner of the plate. He struck out a number of times looking at those pitches. Perhaps if he just adjusted his stance to move back six inches or so, those pitches could have been hit out of the park.

Give KC a lot of credit. As for the fans? Well, they’ll always be fickle. I think Murphy should stay with the Mets. He certainly is good insurance for Wright (who cannot play a full season any more), and he can play a number of positions and hit like the wind. He’s a valuable guy to have, so Mets fans should hope they can come to an agreement. But, there is always someone out there to overpay an October hero. Look at the Red Sox and Sandoval.

4. Where was the No-Double’s Defense? Not one person mentioned this, but as soon as the ball was hit, I did. After Cain walked and stole second, Hosmer hit a ball that should have been caught if the Mets were in the right defense. Why was Conforto playing so shallow? Even in every regular season game in that scenario a team goes into a No-Double’s defense. Why? Because Cain’s run didn’t matter. Hosmer was the tying run. You can’t let him hit a double or get to second with no outs. He’s not even fast. He doesn’t usually steal, so they had to play No-Double’s defense, but they didn’t. And, no one even discussed it. Not one analyst. No one. That was a routine out if Conforto was a few feet back where he should have been. He didn’t hit it that far. Absurd. Perhaps Collins and Geren and Warthen were still talking about Harvey and too focused on Harvey to even notice it. But, what about the other coaches like Timmy Teufel, or Tom Goodwin? They set the defense. Why didn’t anyone pay attention?

5. Worst Infield Defense Since the ’62 Mets. Remember when the Mets had Olerud, Alfonzo, Ordonez, and Ventura? Well, these guys don’t exactly resemble those guys at all, do they? If you add d’Arnaud to the infield, this may have been the worst infield defensive unit since Marvelous Marv Throneberry, Don Zimmer, and Choo Choo Coleman were out there for Casey Stengel. “Can’t anyone here play this game?” But, the irony of it all is, the one guy who we all expected to be the problem was the only bright spot. Flores played great and made some fantastic plays, while Murphy, Wright, Duda, and d’Arnaud looked like Kyle Schwarber preparing meat at the Butcher Shop!!! Incredibly bad, and it cost the Mets 3 games. Pathetic actually.

6. Lucas made a big Duda at Shittyfield. Oy Veh. What a throw! Nothing more needs to be said. Choke!!!

7. David “I’m Not” W(right). When you sum up the playoffs, you have to believe Wright played too much when he probably shouldn’t have or couldn’t really do it. The entire organization went with loyalty over speed and defense, and a roster that could have been better prepared to beat KC.

8. Where’s Uribe? Why was Uribe even on the roster if he wasn’t going to use him? The guy had one at bat, got a clutch single in a big moment after not swinging a bat for a month, and then they don’t use him again. Why was he there then?

And, all year Terry Collins used Kelly Johnson, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Juan Legares and others for late inning defense (although he waited a month to finally put Tejada in the 9th for Flores, which boggled my mind all year), but in the World Series he seemed to be way too loyal to his players instead of trying to win. He used Wright too much when it was obvious he needed a rest. They created a roster filled with loyalty instead of guys with speed like Eric Young or anyone.

Ned Yost, on the other hand, took out Salvador Perez after a leadoff single in the 12th inning for a pinch runner. They had two guys (Orlando and Dyson) who were just on the roster to pinch run and play late inning defense. They are speedsters. Yost even said after the game he wanted Perez to be on the field to jump into the pitcher’s arms and get the final out, but he needed to win the game first and foremost. Now that’s good managing unlike Collins who acted like John McNamara in 1986 when he wanted Buckner on the field to celebrate the last out instead of sticking with his usual 9th inning defensive replacement.

I guess that’s what pressure can do to you. But, isn’t this a business? Isn’t winning the World Series worth the tough choices you gotta make as a manager? Isn’t that what he really gets paid to do? Aren’t millions of people’s heart’s and minds riding on these decisions? Loyalty is nice, but Nice Guys Finish Last. Ned Yost is no dummy. You gotta give that guy a lot of credit because just a little over a year ago they were saying he’s the dumbest manager in the game. If he was, at least he learns quickly. Mets fans hope Terry does too and that next year he manages a lot differently. He needs to. Especially now that they’ve had a taste of the champagne.

9. Travis “Can’t Throw” d’Arnaud. That name has a nice rhyme to it doesn’t it? He didn’t throw out one guy, and he didn’t even get the ball close to second base, but he did get a nice interference call on Ben Zobrist, so he didn’t get shut out completely. His throws looked like Duda’s throw. They just both choked up in big moments. Their arms locked up. Maybe the Mets pitchers didn’t hold the runners on that well, but even if they did, Can’t Throw d’Arnaud was not going to get one guy out with those terrible throws. It was embarrassing. Is he hurt? Can he really be a catcher long term, or is he going to be just another guy they don’t have a position for?

10. All the Analysts Were Right: The most shocking thing to me was that everyone who analyzed the World Series was right. It not only came down to the Mets starters vs. the Royal’s relievers, but also they all said the Mets must win the games early because KC knows how to come back, has done it a million times, puts the bat on the ball, forces the defense to make plays, is very determined to win this World Series because of last year, and has all the experience. And, while all of this was very obvious to anyone who knows and follows baseball, it was quite surprising that it actually turned out exactly that way. The Royals outscored us 15-1 from the 6th inning on. They made us look terrible out there on defense by forcing the action. They put the ball in play. They deserved to win, but we really gave it to them. Those 3 losses were so close and ours for the taking. It was just inexperience vs. experience to me instead of them being that much better. Maybe next year the Mets will be this year’s Royals. All Mets fans certainly hope so and that the team learned a lot from being there.

11. Monday Morning Quarterbacks: I couldn’t stand listening to Joe Buckles and Harold Reynolds saying over and over and over again what a great play Hosmer made. To me it was a terrible play that should have ended the game. He would have been out by a mile if Duda had just gotten d’Arnaud the ball like he should have. So, it’s a really great play because Duda choked? Give me a break. Are they saying it’s a really great play if he’s out by 10 feet like he should have been?

It happens every day in every game in every sport. The manager’s decision, or the Quarterback’s throw, or anyone’s play is always a great play. But, only if it works or they win because of it!!! Eli’s throw was great. Why? Because David Tyree made a great catch. McNamara’s decision was horrendous. Why? Because the ball went through Buckner’s legs. And, on and on and on. But, give me a break Joe Buckles and Harold Reynolds. It wasn’t a great play at all. In fact, it was a really dumb play that they just got lucky with. Running and forcing us to make a play wasn’t the reason it was great. It was a simple play. Duda has to make it. They practice that play and his throw a million times in spring training and all year. He never screwed up a throw like that before. He just choked big time. He made a Duda on Shittyfield. What a bummer for Mets fans.

12. Aroid was giving me Hemorrhoids: Was Fox really serious? Aroid not only on the panel, but giving us his moronic analysis for an entire inning every game? Are they kidding? Can’t this guy just go away like Clemens, and Bonds, and Palmeiro, and Sosa? Now he’s some lovable character that has a second career as an analyst? We have to see and hear this guy for the next 20 years? Are they joking? Only Fox could do that. Why didn’t they just get Donald Trump to ruin the game for us? What a farce.

I literally jammed my fingers into my ears when he came on in the 6th or 7th inning of every game. I tried so very hard to not listen to one word he was saying, but the damn TV in the bar was so loud I couldn’t drown him out. Why do we have to get this? Is Fox blaming it on Obama? I’m sure they would if they could. He’s America’s darling now? Aroid is a lovable guy now and someone we must hear? Oy Veh. Where was Tim McCarver when we needed him?

13. Kevin Burkhardt’s Missed Opportunity: It’s really great that Kevin Burkhardt has risen so fast to be the top host at Fox and doing the World Series and the NFL playoffs, but he really missed out on one of the greatest opportunities ever in sports history. Pete (give me a ridiculous bow-tie to wear) Rose predicted that the Royals will win in 5 games. This was it. The opportunity of a lifetime for our Kevin. The question everyone wanted him to ask Pete, but he totally blew it. “Did you bet on it, Pete?”

That was the billion dollar question he should have, could have, and had to ask Pete. But, I guess even if Kevin thought of it, he probably was too afraid to risk his phenomenal job and go back to being a field reporter for the Mets. He was a great field reporter. Mets fans miss him, but I hate guys that are just so happy to be there that they suck up so much to guys like Aroid and Pete Rose when they should be doing a much better job reporting. I’m sure it would have been politically incorrect to ask Pete that question, but isn’t that the question everyone wanted him to ask at that moment? And, is Pete Rose politically correct? It had to be asked. He had the opportunity of a lifetime. It would have been a big win for Kevin in my opinion. And, it would have been very funny and all over the news because Pete would have cracked some joke about it. Bill Maher would have asked him that. So would have Michael Moore who was sitting at the game right next to Bill Maher (an owner of the Mets). You blew it Kevin. You blew it big time.

14. Final Test Question: Multiple Choice.

Which one of these guys made you the sickest listening to him during the World Series:

A. Aroid
B. Joe Buck
C. Harold Reynolds
D. Mike Moustakas (for Mets fans)
E. All of the Above

15. Thank You New York Mets for a Great, Exciting, and Amazing Season. It was so totally unexpected. It was totally shocking, rocking, and popping. All (most) of us Mets fans even forgive you Wilponzie’s, and Sandy, but you better not cheap out this winter because you have no more excuses left after all the money you just made. And, please do not raise the absurd $14 parking fee at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie this coming March or the ridiculous $8 Hot Dog fee simply because you made it to the World Series. If you do, and you haven’t signed Cespedes, Justin Upton, Murphy, and/or some other good players the Mets need, then we will know the truth once and for all. That you are really a bunch of cheap bastards instead of good people who want to thank your really loyal fans. So, DO THE RIGHT THING FRED! Then we can finally end the chapter and move on.

And, finally; Congratulations to the 2015 World Series Champions: The Kansas City Royals. Well Done!