Rights and Wrongs about 2015

Evaluating where I was right and wrong in my opinions about the 2015 Mets:

I was wrong about one major thing: I thought the Nationals were good. They sucked.

Here's what I was right about:
Getting Cespedes was a good trade. He was exactly what the Mets needed at that time.
Every other trade was bad. Yes Juan Uribe did well in certain spots. Kelly Johnson was awful. Tyler Clippard and Addison Reed helped in the regular season but were generally too unreliable to be trusted. Eric O'Flaherty sucked.
The Flores and Wheeler for Gomez trade would have been a disaster.

And most of all, it was way too early in the cycle for the Mets to go that hard after a title.
Remember, mathematically, after the July 30th disaster the Mets had only a 22% chance of making the playoffs. Even if Cespedes put them even with the Nats, they were still a huge dog to win the World Series, not the kind of odds you should max out for.
And before you say most of the players given up (except for Clippard and Cespedes) were useless, remember, if they could bring back something of value this year, they could do the same next year.
The Mets gave up 11 or so pitching prospects this season. That will surely come back to bite them at some point down the road.

Also remember, what happened after July 31st was the absolute peak of what could have been expected, it wasn't a fait accompli, get Cespedes make the World Series.
If the Nats hadn't folded the Mets might not have even made the playoffs. And if not for a few breaks against the Dodgers, they could have been out in the first round.

The Mets have followed the formula for sustained excellence: draft and develop good young players, especially pitchers.
They should not have sacrificed all that for a <50% chance to make the playoffs. Hopefully, this magical run to the World Series will be the beginning of a long sustained period of success, not a momentary glimpse of fleeting happiness.

Weekly Picks

Another lousy week as a good season is going downhill in a hurry.

CAROLINA -7 washington
I can't believe I am doing this again. Picking against the Redskins for the third week in a row. But I really think the Redskins are very bad and can't believe people actually think they have a chance to knock off the undefeated Panthers.

green bay +1 MINNESOTA
Can the Packers really have become this bad this quickly?

tampa bay +6 PHILADELPHIA
Same rationale as last week. The Eagles are too bad to give up this many points.

denver -1 CHICAGO
Backup QB theory. Everyone is freaking out about Brock Osweiler. I think he will do better than most people think.

BEST BET
NEW ENGLAND -7 buffalo
The Patriots are the best team in the NFL. They had a squeaker last week. That won't happen again.

Last week: 2-3 (1 point)
Season: 26-24 (24 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (4-6)
Home Favorites: 0-2 (9-10)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-1)
Road Favorites: 1-1 (11-11)
Road Underdogs: 1-0 (5-2)

Where Was Michael Vick?

Pennsylvania authorities say Oakland Raiders linebacker Ray-Ray Armstrong did not act maliciously when he confronted a police dog just before the start of a Nov. 8 game in Pittsburgh against the Steelers.

Investigators had been trying to determine whether the player's conduct constituted taunting of a police dog, a third-degree felony.

The sheriff's office has said the player lifted his shirt, beat his chest and barked at the explosive-detecting dog before telling a deputy to release the animal, which she did not.

The sheriff and prosecutor have agreed that the player's behavior was not a malicious act but still created an unnecessary security risk. The dog had to be taken out of service after the incident.

Poor Diesel

A French police dog named Diesel was killed in the raid on an apartment in a suburb north of Paris.

Diesel is a 7-year-old Belgian Mallinois. The breed is similar to German Shepherd but more athletic. It is the preferred police dog throughout Europe and a breed I would love to own someday.

Song of the Week

"The Fire" - The Roots featuring John Legend

Not Doing Anything To Disprove the Stereotypes

Some Jewish women are protesting Nordstrom's zany Hanukkah sweater that says "chai maintenance" and "Hanukkah J.A.P." forcing the store to stop selling it.

With all the more important things going on in the world, shouldn't we stop being outraged over mostly accurate stereotypes?

Weekly Picks

Only my beloved Redskins kept me from going -1 last week. A promising start to the season has turned sour in the last two weeks, let's see if we can turn it around.

carolina -5 TENNESSEE
Mariota is going to have his good games, he's going to have his bad games. I really don't see the Titans being the team to knock off the Panthers.

new orleans -1 WASHINGTON
I really hate doing this but the Redskins are very bad. Especially their pass defense. I expect Drew Brees to light up their secondary.

miami +6 PHILADELPHIA
So the Dolphins went from being terrible, to being great and totally remade by a new coach whose hard-nosed attitude turned the team around. Apparently Campbell's act has already worn thin. I'm not sure what to make of the Dolphins but I just think the Eagles are too bad to be giving this many points.

OAKLAND -3 minnesota
I've been skeptical about the Raiders and fully on the Vikings bandwagon, but I just feel like the Raiders coming off a loss and the Vikings coming in with a winning streak, this could be a game when things turn around.

BEST BET
GREEN BAY -10 1/2 detroit
I hate best bets giving this many points because of the crazy shit that can happen. But I love best bets that are good teams coming off losses. The Packers don't suck. Aaron Rodgers isn't bad all of the sudden. They just hit a rough spot and faced two undefeated really good teams in a row and lost them both, totally understandable. They will bounce back. They will win this game. But can they win by enough, that's the only question.

Last week: 1-4 (0 points)
Season: 24-21 (23 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (4-5)
Home Favorites: 1-3 (9-8)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-1)
Road Favorites: 0-0 (10-10)
Road Underdogs: 0-1 (4-2)

Song of the Week

"On My Way" - Axwell Λ Ingrosso
"No time to pretend
Dust off and try again."

If you watched ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event you've heard this song a couple (hundred) times.

Great Way to Spend a Saturday

And if I took a picture now, 24 hours later, it would be back to what it looked like "before"

Weekly Picks

I've been in this weird run lately where I've been winning or losing all my 1pm games, and then I do the opposite in the later games. Had a good start, then lost 3 in a row. Maybe having too much confidence in the Jets. Well if you think I have too much confidence in the Jets...keep reading.

NEW ENGLAND -13 1/2 washington
I hate to do this. I really do. But I think the Patriots are just pounding people and I think the Redskins are really that bad, and likely to get pounded. The only problem with doing this, is there is probably a good chance of double misery, the Redskins losing, but by less than 13 and a half.

PITTSBURGH -4 1/2 oakland
Maybe the Raiders really are as good as everyone says. But I don't think so, not yet. I think the Steelers with Roethlisberger will score enough to beat the Raiders.

miami +3 BUFFALO
Apparently all the excitement about Dan Campbell wore off thanks to one ass-whupping from the Patriots. But the Bills aren't the Patriots and the Dolphins do seem to be much improved.

SAN DIEGO -4 chicago
I know both of these teams are horrible underachievers, and even though the Chargers lost last week, they hung tough and won against-the-spread. I expect Philip Rivers to put a lot of points on the board.

BEST BET
NEW YORK JETS -7 1/2 jacksonville
Ok, so I blew it with the Jets last week. But it's possible my thesis is still correct: The Jets are a decent team with a strong running game. But they need Ryan Fitzpatrick. Once he got hurt and Geno Smith came in I knew my hopes were done for. The Jags are not a good team and Jets should pound them easily.

Last week: 2-3 (1 point)
Season: 23-17 (23 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (4-4)
Home Favorites: 0-0 (8-5)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-1)
Road Favorites: 1-3 (10-10)
Road Underdogs: 1-0 (4-1)

Not Judging But...

I don't know what Modigliani was into, but it looks like this chick has an Adam's apple.

This painting, called "Paulette Jourdain", sold for $42.8m at auction.

Song of the Week

"Planes" - Jeremih featuring J. Cole
I like this song but hate J. Cole's dumb verse. Would much prefer it as a straight R&B jam./br>/br>

My Favorite Posts

Can you believe it has been ten years since I started the Poop? I'm still enjoying doing it, though with much less frequency. I've cut back on how often I post of course, but I hope I still give you reason to come back and visit at least once a week.
I don't post as much current events because by the time I get around to doing it, they're no longer current.
But it's been a great way to catalog my life experiences and pictures, and stay in touch and share thoughts with friends.
Out of nearly 7,000 posts here are some of my favorites.

My favorite soups

My favorite song

My favorite gruesome sports injury

The funniest moment of Chase's life

An important moment in Chase's life

A funny moment on home shopping networks, two moments actually

My defense of the Charlie Brown Halloween special

The post that really started it all

My favorite tag/label

The most popular post ever

And of course this one that we all look forward to every year

If I stick with this for 10 more years, there will be a post about dropping Chase off at college.
Marinate on that.

Wait Til Next Year

At the end of the year, one team wins, every other team loses. In the world of professional sports there are no moral victories or nice tries. You either accomplished the goal and won the title, or you failed in your quest.
That's one way of looking at the 2015 New York Mets.
But there's also another side to this team.
This team took us on an incredible ride from July 31st (which should be remembered as the day Wilmer hit a walkoff home run, not the day we got Cespedes) until Game 4 of the NLCS.
It's unfortunate the car ran out of gas before the journey ended, but it was still a fun journey.

The enduring memory of 2015 for most fans will be how Wilmer went from weeping to winning in the span of two days.

And I will always remember the game two days later when the Mets blasted three home runs in one inning to sweep the Nationals and take control of the division.

2015 should also be the season when the Big 3 came together and began to dominate the National League. If Harvey, deGrom and Syndergaard stay healthy and stay together, the Mets will have a powerful rotation for many years to come.

And when I look back at 2015, I want to remember the Daniel Murphy who dominated the first two rounds

Not the Daniel Murphy who helped blow the World Series

If you have any other great memories of the 2015 Mets please share them in the comments section.

Unhappy Recap: Royals 7 Mets 2

Congratulations to the Kansas City Royals, 2015 World Series Champions.

The Royals are a great team and a very deserving champion.

As good as the Royals are, the Mets played horribly in this series. Three blown leads, in the 8th or 9th inning. Errors and otherwise dumb plays in every single game, leading directly to Royals runs. And a complete and total lack of hitting by the Mets lineup.

As good as the Royals are, they are incredibly lucky. Every bloop and bleeder fell in, every bounce went their way.

As good as the Royals are, Terry Collins gifted them this series. How did he lose Game 3? He took out a pitcher who just had an easy inning (Reed) for another guy out of the pen (Clippard). He left in a pitcher after a walk (Clippard), making it tougher for Familia.

Does that sound familiar?

I do not blame Terry for letting Harvey start the 9th. But there is absolutely no way he can leave him in after that leadoff walk. He's seen how Familia has been going, why risk putting more runners on. And why take out Niese after a strong inning for Reed who has pitched in every game?

What a great game by Harvey. He deserved a better fate. After all those asshole Mets fans criticized him and wanted to trade him. The guy was a horse in the playoffs. Now we need to pray that this ill-advised workload doesn't cause injury. Even so, we should call Scott Boras, ask his highest offer, add 10 million to that and sign him up for 8 years.

Very selfish of Cespedes to ask to stay in when he could barely walk. A pinch hitter with two good legs could have gotten the Mets an extra run there. And of course stupid of Terry to leave him in.

The 2015 Mets had a great season and a thrilling run through the playoffs but somehow it all just evaporated in the World Series.

Some of it has to do with the Royals, maybe there is something about the whole layoff things (now 8 of 9 LCS sweepers have been World Series weepers), but 3 Mets had good World Series (Harvey, Syndergaard and Granderson). Some others did ok (Conforto, Lagares, Matz). Everyone else was far below their expected performance, including playoff hero Murphy who couldn't hit or field the ball.

Obviously, I'm tremendously disappointed with losing in the World Series, especially in this manner, when it could have just as easily been the Mets winning in 5 games, but I will also remember the great 2 1/2 months from August to mid-October that this team gave us.

Weekly Picks

We keep on trucking along with decent weeks and alternating best bets, but now is the time to string together a bunch of best bets in a row. We're having a decent season, but not getting enough of those crucial key picks.

minnesota -1 CHICAGO
I guess he will keep riding the Vikings until they start getting some respect from the oddsmakers.

san diego +3 1/2 BALTIMORE
I don't pick enough underdogs. The Ravens are bad. I had the Falcons but then realized they've really fallen off in the past few weeks and the ECPs are improving. Plus I like that extra half point on the spread.

green bay -3 DENVER
Aaron Rodgers is just better than Peyton Manning right now, at this stage in their careers.

seattle -4 1/2 DALLAS
The Seahawks have been losing to good teams (their 4 losses are to teams with a combined 21-3 record) and beating the bad ones. Hopefully that holds true here.

BEST BET
ny jets -3 OAKLAND
I can't believe I am doing this. In the history of this blog, I wonder how many times I have made the Jets my best bet. I would suppose it's been very few. Two main reasons behind this: 1) Once I started hearing everyone talk about how great the Raiders are, I immediately thought they hype had gone too far. 2) The Jets are a good team when Chris Ivory is carrying the football.

Last week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 21-14 (22 points)
Best Bets: 1-0 (4-3)
Home Favorites: 2-1 (8-5)
Home Underdogs: 0-0 (1-1)
Road Favorites: 1-1 (9-7)
Road Underdogs: 0-0 (3-1)

Unhappy Recap: Royals 5 Mets 3

Starting pitching is important. Timely hitting is essential. Defense is imperative. But relief pitching is the most important thing in the playoffs.

And the Mets bullpen has not done the job. And of course Terry Collins makes it work with his mishandling of the pen. I do not know why he insists on going to Tyler Clippard. Reed was going well. Why not let him start the 8th and if someone gets on bring in Familia.

I cannot stand guys who come into games and walk guys. That's why hard throwers are so important. Clippard is afraid to let guys hit his pitches, so he's too fine, and he walks guys.

Also, why the fuck did he bring in Familia last night? Knowing he might need him tonight.

You absolutely, positively cannot blow games, and the Mets blew a 9th inning lead in Game 1 and an 8th run lead in Game 4. And that is why they will not win the World Series.

That, and an absolutely choke job by the two biggest reason (offensively) that the Mets have even gotten this far, Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes.

And if their horrible hitting weren't enough both of them made horrible, inexcusable mistakes, Murphy's error, Cespedes's bone-headed base-running that probably bought each of them a ticket out of town.

The Mets had their chance to retake control of this series, and they blew it.

Congrats to the Royals. They are just an incredible team that capitalizes on your mistakes and gets hits in bunches when the need to. And their bullpen doesn't blow leads.

Happy Recap: Mets 9 Royals 3

The Mets bats finally woke up!

Huge home runs by Wright and Granderson.

This game started like the others ended with the Mets making mistakes and the Royals slapping hits all over the field.

Then Syndergaard finally got some swinging strikeouts and cruised for long enough for the Mets hitters to get some hits and the Royals to make a mistake the Mets had been making.

Franklin Morales gets the ground ball he needs, but has no idea what to do with it. Funny thing is, they ruled it a fielder's choice. If he had made that bad throw to second right away, it would have been an error. But because he waited and then made a bad throw, it's not an error?

Conforto throwing out Gordon in the second inning was a huge out as it turned out. The Royals could really have broken the game open.

But Conforto has been hitting so poorly and Lagares so well, I think Lagares needs to start, even against right-handers. Also, this is just a really awesome picture of Lagares sliding in with the 6th run of the game.

Funny thing is, even with a 9-3 win, two of the Royals runs were still gifts, the botched double play by the two giants (Syndergaard and Duda) and then a wild pitch that d'Arnaud couldn't find.

The opening pitch by Alcides Escobar is not nearly as big a deal as everyone is making it out to be. I'm sure the Mets just knew he had been jumping on every first pitch and Noah wanted to make him uncomfortable. And Harold Reynolds is dumb as shit for saying it "woke the Royals up." First of all, it's the World Series. They don't need to be woken up. Second, they did exactly what they did for the first two games. I hate dumb "analysis" like that. Just words that mean nothing but are so abstract they can't be disproven. And people actually buy into it.

I don't agree with pitching Familia in the 9th. The next two games are must wins for the Mets. And using him for an inning with a 6-run lead could possibly limit his effectiveness or ability to pitch two innings in one or both of the next two games.

While this was a good first step, the Mets are still along way from having a real shot to win this series. They must win both of the remaining games and CitiField.

And they are not going to do it if Cespedes, Conforto and Wilmer don't get some hits. And postseason hero, Murphy has joined them in having a horrible World Series.

How Tall This Fall

2015:

2014:

2013:

2012:

2011:



2010:



2009:



2008:



2007:

Unhappy Recap: Royals 7 Mets 1

Maybe there is something to this thing about the long layoff. The curse of sweeping the LCS, or just too many days off, but this is not the same Mets team that swept the Cubs.

It has a lot to do with the Royals of course. deGrom just couldn't strike those fuckin guys out. And even though he sailed through four innings (mostly, barring a couple bad/unlucky defensive plays) once they got hits, they came in bunches and put the game away.

And the Mets hitting has just been atrocious. Cespdes, Wright and d'Arnaud all of them, awful. Conforto seems to have a huge hole in his swing.
He's got a big loop and is popping everything up. If he even makes contact, and doesn't just swing at bad pitches. The Royals have an entire lineup of guys hitting singles. The Mets have half a lineup of automatic outs.

There were no dramatics, no subtleties, just one big inning and a team that just cannot hit.

This series is starting to remind me of the 2000 World Series where the Mets had a lead going into the 9th and their closer blew it. They lost in extra innings, lost in Game 2 and were basically not a threat for the rest of the Series.