The Mets should have a billy goat in the bullpen for good luck.
Cubs fan. Win or lose, this is better than the presidential race.
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I agree Cubs fan. It's America at its best. The presidential race is America at its worst.
Well, the Cubs may be cursed by a goat, but the Mets have been fated to win: I consulted a numerologist who revealed this tantalizing analysis: If you add the digits of 1969, the year of the Met's first world series win you get 25. Add the digits of 1986, their second win, you get 24. Add the digits of 2015, you get 17. BUT, if you take 2015 and add to it the sum of the digits 1 and 7 you get 24! Since the Mets win when the digits of the year add to 24 or 25, it is irrefutable that the Mets will win the World Series this year!
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Wait. They've won only two World Series. And the digits of the years add up to two different numbers. Forget that they are consecutive. They are different numbers. If 2015 added up to 23, them maybe you have a pattern albeit silly. But you got nothing.
Frailty, thy name is Mets fan.
Frailty, thy name is Mets fan.
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The Cubs are a monster. Just look at their numbers this season-ten players with double digit home runs, at every position. Most of the players are young and/or under control for a number of years.
Beating the Cubs in these two games is huge, but they won't just roll over. Hendricks has actually pitched well in the last month, and he's only given up one run in two starts against the Mets. Hammel also beat the Mets this year. The Cubs have the offense to take advantage if these pitchers have big games against the Mets.
Most importantly, the Cubs could very well win 100+ next year, and several more after. They have a more promising future than the Cardinals, who they have overthrown in the NL Central.
So now is definitely not the time to get cocky regarding the Cubs. Finish them as soon as you can!
Beating the Cubs in these two games is huge, but they won't just roll over. Hendricks has actually pitched well in the last month, and he's only given up one run in two starts against the Mets. Hammel also beat the Mets this year. The Cubs have the offense to take advantage if these pitchers have big games against the Mets.
Most importantly, the Cubs could very well win 100+ next year, and several more after. They have a more promising future than the Cardinals, who they have overthrown in the NL Central.
So now is definitely not the time to get cocky regarding the Cubs. Finish them as soon as you can!
Reminder: There are still, potentially, three more games.
Interesting battle of two cute little teams.
Some of my Met-fan friends say 'I really want the Mets to win. But if not, it would 'wonderful' to see Cubs win. Really?
I can't imagine a Yankees fan saying that about the Red Sox at any time and especially in 2004.
Of course, the Cubs and Mets are not nearly the rivals the Yanks and Red Sox are. To a Mets fan that is. Some Cub fans remember 1969 when, in the first year the leagues were separated into divisions, the Cubs were a 'fait accompli' to win the NL East to face the Braves. But then, a miracle happened and Ernie Banks et al got their hearts broken.
The Mets are a very good team and, like most very good teams, rebounded nicely when 'given up for dead' at mid-season. (See Yankees' 2010 season.)
The Metropolitans have three good starting pitchers, each of whom can legitimately claim ace status. They give support to the observation that good pitching beats good hitting.
We'll see.
Some of my Met-fan friends say 'I really want the Mets to win. But if not, it would 'wonderful' to see Cubs win. Really?
I can't imagine a Yankees fan saying that about the Red Sox at any time and especially in 2004.
Of course, the Cubs and Mets are not nearly the rivals the Yanks and Red Sox are. To a Mets fan that is. Some Cub fans remember 1969 when, in the first year the leagues were separated into divisions, the Cubs were a 'fait accompli' to win the NL East to face the Braves. But then, a miracle happened and Ernie Banks et al got their hearts broken.
The Mets are a very good team and, like most very good teams, rebounded nicely when 'given up for dead' at mid-season. (See Yankees' 2010 season.)
The Metropolitans have three good starting pitchers, each of whom can legitimately claim ace status. They give support to the observation that good pitching beats good hitting.
We'll see.
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While not a power pitcher, don't forget Bartolo Colon tied for the most team regular season wins with the lowest walks per 9 innings. Not too shabby for a spot starter or long reliever if someone falters. I would start him over Matz.
Robert Dana: So you're the classic, entitled Yankee fan who simply cannot stand to see anyone else do well. I suspect you picked up your character flaw early on in life, which made you a perfect recruit into the Yankee cult of front-runners and make-believe baseball fans. No one today could care less about what Yankees fans thought about the Red Sox 11 years ago. No one cares what Yankees fans think, period.
It's going to be a long while before the Yanks are relevant again. Enjoy the wait!
LET'S GO METS!
It's going to be a long while before the Yanks are relevant again. Enjoy the wait!
LET'S GO METS!
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The truth is. Both home teams won their series at home and played better. Curses are for myths to propagate the reason for a team losing. The Cubs have a great team. They beat Pittsburgh at their home turf and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets might have momentum but it's unfortunate that to have the better record and yet be the away team in the LCS. Let's see what happens in Wrigley Field and then you can talk about curses again. When your team is not hitting, you can't win games. See Cardinals/Pittsburgh series. GO CUBS! If only to beat the NY METS and their fans who are already trying on their World Champion t-shirts and caps. It ain't over until it's over. - former Yankee great - Yogi Berra. RIP
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I am a Yankee fan, but I want the Mets to win it all. GO METS!
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I'm more of a White Sox fan, but I want the Cubs to win this series.
Hasn't been a pitching staff this good and this deep since the 1971 Orioles, who nevertheless lost the World Series 3-4. Pittsburgh had some good pitching, too, and some guy named Clemente (MVP) who homered in the game 7, 2-1 Pirates win. No Clementes on the World Series horizon this year, though.
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I respectfully disagree with the comparison to the 1971 Orioles' pitching staff, which beat the Reds in the World Series the year before. It's simply too soon to tell.
As to Clemente, my boyhood idol, in the 1971 Series he threw an Oriole baserunner out going from first to third. Bobby threw it on a line from right field - at least that's how I remember it. Incredible (and quirky) ball player.
The 2006 biography by Dave Maranas [sp?] is great.
As to Clemente, my boyhood idol, in the 1971 Series he threw an Oriole baserunner out going from first to third. Bobby threw it on a line from right field - at least that's how I remember it. Incredible (and quirky) ball player.
The 2006 biography by Dave Maranas [sp?] is great.
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I remember Clemente throwing runners out at third, too. It's one of the most powerful baseball memories I have, even though I've hated the Pirates ever since Mazeroski hit the homerun. Regardless of who you root for you have to respect greatness. Clemente may have had the best outfield arm the game has ever seen... in addition to the 3000 hits, #1 in RF assists and #2 RF putouts.
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Too early to gloat; after all, my Mets have their own miserable history shadowing them. But, I like our chances being two-up, playing on the road (where Mets hitters have, of late, done better than at home) and having solid starting pitchers all the way out to here. The Cubs certainly have good hitters throughout their lineup, but good pitching inevitably beats good hitting in the postseason. You can look it up.
True, it's not as tho they're hitting the cover off the ball, only 5 hits last nite but at least Wright and Cespedes made a bit of contact. Ya gotta believe!
That's what struggling hitters should be going for - contact. Are you listening Lucas???
Lee Elia said it profanely and he said it best: "That's baseball, fellas."
There's a tendency, in evaluating a time, to focus on the three or four best position players and the two or three best pitchers. What the Mets are showing is that the remaining pitchers, and the less famous position players, are no less important. It's a lesson easily forgotten, but it can come back to haunt you.
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no, they are less important
Pitching wins pennants.
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"Pitching wins pennants."
That is my religion.
That is my religion.
Obviously the Cubs' curse has nothing to do with any livestock. They haven't won a World Series since the year Johnny Evers robbed the Giants of their rightly-earned NL crown. It worked for that year (1908), as Evers obviously had an "in" with Satan. But since then, nothing.
The arc of the universe is long, and it bends towards Cubbian futility.
The arc of the universe is long, and it bends towards Cubbian futility.
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Regardless of whatever happens-the Cubs have exceeded everyone's expectations this year and have a great young team going forward. Having a great "young" team that'll be making the playoffs for year to come is something Cubs fans haven't seen in decades. The Cubs will be in the playoffs for years to come-which is all any baseball fan can ask for.
I whole-heartedly encourage you in your focus on next year and the years beyond.
and just think: it's only just beginning.
The Mets have been the better team with good pitching and timely hitting
The resemble the SF Gaints with their recent World Cup victories
The resemble the SF Gaints with their recent World Cup victories
It's like a dream come true for the legions of fans who've rooted for the under-dog for lo these many seasons. To see these guys do so well...we're just not accustomed to it, it's such a new thing. I can't watch or listen to the games because it hurts too much when they don't do well. But I do read about them religiously online in The Times, every morning, whether they win or lose. When you know the names of all the players it's an amazing high you get when they do well, reading about it.
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Damn those goats!
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2015 is the year of the goat/sheep/ram in the Chinese calendar; however, the Cubs can still win it. Believe!
As a long suffering Met Fan, as yogi said," It's not over till it's over ".Hold the Champaign.
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It's champagne. Champaign is "open, rolling countryside," or a city in Illinois. So "hold the Champaign" would mean "don't put them out to pasture yet." If that's what you meant, you're channeling either Yogi or Groucho and it's a stroke of genius.
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Cubs always choke curse of the goat .
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Illustrates the difference between performance expectancy/reputation and performance in the moment. Mets are 4-2 against Kershaw, Greinke, Lester and Arrieta, with four Cy Youngs on board and another added after this season.
In each game, except Kershaw's game 4 win, the Mets starter was just better than the opponent, and that includes the Syndegaard loss against Greinke, where if Utley had been properly called for interference with a resultant DP, Syndegaard would have departed that game in position to win.
Now is no time to read the press clippings, though. Just go do the same in Chicago as here.
In each game, except Kershaw's game 4 win, the Mets starter was just better than the opponent, and that includes the Syndegaard loss against Greinke, where if Utley had been properly called for interference with a resultant DP, Syndegaard would have departed that game in position to win.
Now is no time to read the press clippings, though. Just go do the same in Chicago as here.
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Baseball wasn't supposed to be played in this weather. The World Series used to be played in the daytime and was done by October 15th. Now it's played at night in November - a temperature difference of 30 degrees.
You can shorten the season or schedule more double headers, or here's a crazy solution. Start the regular season ( the first week or two ) at the Spring Training facilities.
You can shorten the season or schedule more double headers, or here's a crazy solution. Start the regular season ( the first week or two ) at the Spring Training facilities.
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Yes, but with artificial lighting and global warming, a night game now is equivalent to a day game two weeks earlier on the calendar back whenever the World Series was done by October 15. And now, many of the playoff games are played out west in warmer climates by teams that did not exist out there back then. So it all comes out in the wash.
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Global warming? It was 40 degrees at game time last night.
MRod: Really, global warming? A night game is equivalent to a day game two weeks earlier? What's in the water up there in Oregon?
I kind of like the idea of playing the first two weeks in FL or AZ, starting about mid March, to allow the World Series to end by mid October. It's too cold, and going into November is just idiotic.
I kind of like the idea of playing the first two weeks in FL or AZ, starting about mid March, to allow the World Series to end by mid October. It's too cold, and going into November is just idiotic.
Wasn't it Joe McCarthy or Casey Stengel, who said "good pitching beats good hitting".
2003 was the year of goat, so is 2015 as the cycle of 12 years.
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Yeah, Murphy is kicking like a mule (not a goat!), but let us pause an consider Curtis Granderson. Scored in the first, manufactured a run in the third with two gutsy steals (a Mets steal ?-- fuhgeddaboudit), and stole a home run with a perfectly timed balletic leap. And that was just Sunday. He has been doing this stuff all year.
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I'm trying. To not be disappointed. If my darling Chicago Cubs. Don't make it to the World Series. Instead, I'm trying to be happy. And grateful. And appreciative. If the Cubs come close. By having won 97 regular season games. Thereby qualifying for the playoffs. A season after finishing in last place. That's amazing. Really, a blessing. Beyond my expectations. When the season began last April. If you had told me then, that in October, the Cubs would be vying in a 7-game playoff for the right to advance to the World Series -- well, I'd have said that's a bit preposterous. But a dream come true. And I'd still be happy. If the Cubs came ever so close. But still failed to make the final hurdle to the World Series. Yes, I don't need everything. I can settle for the Cubs being competitive. Being second or third best team in baseball. Rather than the worst. Indeed, that's remarkable improvement. That ain't bad. Furthermore, it's a darn good way to look at baseball. And life, too.
Just two more, please. Let them suffer if they root for the Cubs, it is good for them.
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I know what you're thinking. "Did he hit five home runs or only four?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a 2015 Murphy the most surprising home run hitter in the world, and would blow this series wide open, you've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, Met fan?
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A nice, long article about the Cubs. Would've enjoyed reading something more about the Mets, though. More than just the obligatory piece about their win.
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Why are the Mets winning and the Cubs losing? I hear, a lot, that it's just that the Mets are hot. But there is a much-maligned statistic that may go a long way in explaining why the Mets starters are doing so well. These are the regular season innings pitched by the Mets starters: deGrom, 191, Harvey, 189, Syndegaard 150. These are the figures for the Cubs: Arrieta, 229, Lester 205, Hendricks, 180. And while we're at it, these were the figures for the Dodgers: Kershaw, 232; Greinke, 222; Anderson 180.
For those who want pitchers to eat up innings like Nolan Ryan, it may be time to rethink that view. It might not be that the Mets are hot as much as it is that their rotation is better rested.
For those who want pitchers to eat up innings like Nolan Ryan, it may be time to rethink that view. It might not be that the Mets are hot as much as it is that their rotation is better rested.
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I think overall pitch count would be a better metric to convey rest than innings pitched (since pitchers could pitch more innings with less pitches per inning and wind up pitching less), so I checked it out and your reasoning still holds.
Cubs pitchers threw significantly more pitches.
Cubs pitchers threw significantly more pitches.
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Maybe. Or just maybe there's truth in an old baseball maxim that's been around since before anyone counted innings: good pitching beats good hitting.
So deGrom vs. Hendricks = Advantage Cubs?
We don't have Mr. Fusion either.
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1st 1969...and now 2015.
Can't an honest Cub fan catch a break once in a while ?
Oh the humanity....oh the horror.
What a phenomenal pitching staff those Mets have.
Let's Go Mets !
Can't an honest Cub fan catch a break once in a while ?
Oh the humanity....oh the horror.
What a phenomenal pitching staff those Mets have.
Let's Go Mets !
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What a wonderfully written article.
Let's go, Mets!
Let's go, Mets!
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