Month: August 2015

What If?: 2006 NLCS Edition

Posted on by DylanHornik

The Mets are in a great position this year to make the postseason for the first time since 2006. That’s 9 years of futility and below-average baseball. The way that the NLCS ended all those years ago is aligned with how the team played for the next near-decade; playing well for small stretches, then surrendering blows that they could not come back from (thanks, Yadier Molina). With that being said, wouldn’t it be nice if we could get a do-over of that 7 game series? Imagine if Carlos Beltran had ripped a game-tying single with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth? Then Carlos Delgado, with 38 regular season homers that year, capped off a dramatic win with a 3-run walk-off homer? Welcome to the world of “what if?”

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David Wright after the Mets captured the 2006 NL East title.

The Mets enter as the odds-on favorite to win that World Series, even on the road against the Detroit Tigers. They beat up on rookie Justin Verlander in Game 1 due to his lack of playoff experience and poise in tough situations. Tom Glavine stifles the Tigers lineup just like he did to the Cardinals in the opener of the NLCS. John Maine can’t hold it together in Game 2, giving up homers to Magglio Ordonez and Sean Casey that serve as the big blows, while Kenny Rogers pitches 7 innings of one run ball. A slugfest ensues in Game 3, as neither Steve Trachsel nor Nate Robertson pitch well. The Mets’ bridge serves its team better than the Tigers’ does, as Wil Ledezma serves up a two-run double to Paul LoDuca to break the 6-6 tie. Darren Oliver, Guillermo Mota and Billy Wagner hold down the final 3 innings for the Mets.

From there, the Mets cruise to two wins as they beat up on Jeremy Bonderman and and Jeff Weaver to take their first World Series title since 1986. Carlos Beltran is named MVP, as he hits 3 homers and drives in upwards of 10 runs in an offensive-minded series. That offseason now becomes one for the ages for the Mets, who bolster their aging rotation by outbidding the Red Sox for Japanese star Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is drooling at the chance to play for a team with this kind of offense. They decide to hold onto Heath Bell and Royce Ring to keep the bullpen fresh for several years to come. Moises Alou comes over to replace Cliff Floyd, essentially getting a more consistent version of Floyd.

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The Mets, after they win the 2006 World Series. (Reality: their NLDS win).

The 2007 season then goes slightly more favorable for the Mets than it actually did. David Wright has an MVP-caliber season, surrounded by key role players like Alou, LoDuca, who hits just under .300. Beltran and Delgado hit 30 homers each, and Jose Reyes hits around .320 out of the leadoff spot. The pitching is now a 4-headed monster with Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez returning from injury, Tom Glavine, who wins his 300th game, John Maine, who learns from the older and more successful arms on the staff, and Matsuzaka, who benefits from pitching against weaker National League hitters and poses a good rookie campaign.

Instead of collapsing, the Mets roll to another NL East title with another 95+ win campaign, and they steamroll back into the NLCS, where they beat the Colorado Rockies, whose meager pitching staff is not match for the Mets’ high-powered offense. Tom Glavine and Matsuzaka thrive under the pressure of making it to another World Series.

From there, they face the Boston Red Sox, who are seeking to win their second World series title in 4 years. This series is a pitching duel, with Boston sending out Curt Schilling, Jon Lester, and Josh Beckett in the first three games, compared to New York’s Glavine, Martinez, and Hernandez. Matsuzaka pitches well against the team who just barely lost the bidding war for him as the Mets take a 3-1 series lead. It’s back to Glavine and Schilling in the decisive game 5, but neither of their aging arms hold up well from short rest. In an offensive show, the Mets pound on Schilling early, and score key insurance runs in the late innings off of Hideki Okajima in the 8th inning thanks to back-to-back homers by Beltran and Delgado. They take their second straight WS title.

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Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado celebrate their back-to-back homers in the late innings to seal their second straight WS title. (Reality: celebration after a comeback win.)

It is difficult to tell what can happen from there. Too many variables come into play, perhaps a managerial change, a revolving door of players coming and going that happened in real life but may not have been so in this scenario. Consider this: If the Mets did win consecutive titles, the nucleus of Reyes, Wright, and Beltran could have stayed together for at least another 6 or 7 years, when in actuality only Wright remains on the team.

It is great to think of “What If?”, but it’s even better to think of “What Will?”. The Mets have a good core again, this time of outstanding pitching, that can lead them to glory (maybe) like the old nucleus could not.

The 5 Best/Worst Sports Fights Ever

Posted on by DylanHornik

This season held so much promise for the New York Jets. A revamped defense, more talent on offense, and a new Head Coach/General Manager tandem with a refreshing philosophy. Then this week, the team announced that incumbent starting QB Geno Smith will miss up to 10 weeks with a broken jaw after a fight with linebacker IK Enemkpali. It was learned that the fight was over a $600 plane ticket, and that Geno Smith was being “smug” and “provoked” Enemkpali into delivering the ultimate Haymaker. The feisty linebacker was released, and Smith is scheduled to seek a second opinion before deciding on surgery.

This situation begs a lot of questions about the team and it’s leadership. Instead of answering those questions, I’m going to take on the subconscious inquiry that is “does this happen a lot?” The answer is yes, and some of them are as stupid as a plane ticket. However, some of them turn into career-ending and life-threatening situations. I ranked the 5 most headline-worthy scuffles between teammates in recent sports history. As Apollo Creed said to Rocky Balboa, “Ain’t gonna’ be no rematch.”

5. Tony Allen vs. OJ Mayo: Back in 2011, these two players, who are actually friends, were playing on the Memphis Grizzlies together. Mayo reportedly owed about $7,500 to Allen from a card game that the two played. Mayo refused to pay, and went on to berate Allen’s game and personal life. After teammate Zach Randolph (who appears on this list shortly) tried to settle the argument, Allen decided he had enough and hit Mayo several times in the face, head, and shoulder. The one hook that Mayo threw was avoided by Allen, who put in one more shot to Mayo’s eye for good measure. The result: A black eye and bruised face for Mayo and a hefty fine for Allen. All because of a card game.

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Allen (9) and Mayo (32) on the court for Memphis.

4. Ruben Patterson vs. Zach Randolph/Qyntel Woods: The early 200’s Trail Blazers are infamous for their run-ins with the law (earning the nickname “Jail Blazers”), but this fight is especially mettlesome because of the way it went down. Ruben Patterson, a registered sex offender and domestic abuser, was arguing with rookie Qyntel Woods. In steps Randolph as peacemaker again, but this time it didn’t turn out so well. Randolph ended up punching Patterson square in the face. The result: A $100,00 fine for Randolph, and just 4 more years of NBA ball for Patterson, who has been arrested 3 times since his departure.

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Randolph (center) and Patterson (right).

3. Michael Westbrook vs. Stephen Davis: When they were teammates on the 1997 Redskins, Westbrook and Davis were caught on TV scuffling. It ended with Westbrook beating the living daylights out Davis. Reports later said that Davis used a homophobic slur towards Westbrook, who acted out against it. This left the impression that Westbrook was gay, which he has denied since. In fact, in an interview with ESPN back in 2008, Westbrook claimed that the whole story has been misreported for years. The result: A successful MMA career for Westbrook, who has stated that he doesn’t like hitting people in the face, and a good NFL career for Davis, who was a 3-time Pro Bowler and the NFC rushing champion in 1999 and 2001.

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Footage of the altercation between Westbrook and Davis.

2. Marcus Williams vs. Bill Romanowski: This altercation ended in Williams retiring from the NFL at the age of 27. In a practice drill, Romanowski put Williams on the ground, ripped his helmet off, and punched him in the face. He shattered Williams’ orbital bone and injured his brain. This forced Williams to retire, and he sued Romanowski for $3.4 million. Williams claimed Romanowski was suffering from “roid rage”, and the judge awarded $340,000 on behalf of Williams. The result: A $7,500 fine for Romanowski, a dead dream for Williams, and a 2-year long lawsuit.

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The damage done to Williams.

1. Gilbert Arenas vs. Javaris Crittenton: It’s never good when teammates draw guns on each other in the locker room. The story goes like this: Crittenton was angry at Arenas, who refused to pay a gambling debt (the same card game that gave OJ Mayo a black eye courtesy of Tony Allen earlier in the list). This sparked a feud that continued for several days, when ultimately both sides drew unloaded pistols at each other in the locker room on Christmas Eve. Luckily, neither player shot and no one was hurt. The FBI got involved, and this whole situation turned into a huge mess for the Wizards. The result: Crittenton and Arenas were both suspended for the rest of the 2009-2010 season. Arenas “enjoyed” 3 more fruitless seasons in the NBA before going to China, and Crittenton was overseas the season after the incident.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ron Sachs/Rex / Rex USA ( 623635a ) Washington Wizards guards Javaris Crittenton (8) and Gilbert Arenas (0) Washington Wizards basketball team practice at the Verizon Center in Washington DC, America - 31 Dec 2009

Crittenton and Arenas. Photo by Ron Sachs

Chef Alderson: The Real Deadline Winners

Posted on by DylanHornik

Incredibly, the New York Mets actually made a big splash at this year’s Trade Deadline. General Manager Sandy Alderson pulled off three significant trades, including one with 10 minutes to go to acquire the stud outfielder Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers. The fan base has been imploring the front office for weeks to pull off trades to make the Mets serious contenders, and it looks like they have done just that. Kudos to Alderson, owner Fred Wilpon and COO Jeff Wilpon for digging into their pockets to help the team contend, hopefully, into September.

There were teams that made bigger moves, of course. The Toronto Blue Jays acquired the top shortstop in the game, Troy Tulowitzki and an ace starting pitcher in David Price, as well as speedy outfielder Ben Revere and shutdown reliever Mark Lowe. The Houston Astros landed top-flight pitcher Scott Kazmir and superstar outfielder Carlos Gomez (only after a potential deal with the Mets fell through). It’s clear that the Mets didn’t get the biggest names, but they are still the winners of the Trade Deadline.

Why? It’s not because of who they got, but rather what they did not give up.

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Fulmer and Cessa were traded for Cespedes, who won the Home Run Derby at Citi Field in 2013.

In the three deals that they made, the Mets got rid of of 5 young pitching prospects. While it’s never a good idea to get rid of young pitching, that’s certainly the deepest part of the Mets’ prospect base (have you seen the rotation this year?). These pitchers aren’t on the team’s radar as potential call-ups for several years, and are not ranked highly in the farm system. Only after a strong first half of the season did Michael Fulmer and Casey Meisner crack Amazin Avenue’s top 10. Fulmer, who started this season at high-A Port St. Lucie, is tearing up AA Binghamton, with a 1.88 ERA in 86 innings. He figures to be a back-end of the rotation start if and when he reaches the big leagues. Casey Meisner, who just turned 20, is pitching to the tune of a respectable, but not awe-inspiring, 2.83 ERA since his promotion to Port St. Lucie.

The other three prospects, headlined by Luis Cessa, are not ones to call home about. Cessa has an 8.51 ERA since being promoted to AAA Las Vegas, and has allowed 10.4 hits per 9 innings this season. Cessa is also one year older than current phenom Noah Syndergaard. The 21-year old Rob Whalen has not progressed past the high-A club, and has regressed from a 1.94 ERA last year to a 3.20 ERA this year. John Gant, who I’ve admittedly never heard of, has struggled at AA this year, with a 4.70 ERA in 11 starts before being traded.

They didn’t get rid of any of their top non-pitching prospects, including Michael Conforto, who has seen MLB time this season, and Amed Rosario, who is supposedly the shortstop of the future. None of the “big four”, meaning Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, or Noah Syndergaard, were traded either, so their core of starting pitching will remain intact for years to come.

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The Mets made big acquisitions and did not trade their nucleus of pitching, including (clockwise from top left): deGrom, Matz, Harvey, or Syndergaard. (Photos: Ray Stubbletine, Getty Images, AP)

Obviously, there was some consideration that a couple of current major-leaguers could be shipped off elsewhere. The speculation during the proposed Gomez deal was that Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores would be shipped to Milwaukee. When Gomez found out about the trade via the fans, he broke down and began to cry on-field (I chronicled his strange night here). It turn out that the trade fell through, and Flores is still here. Wheeler was still being shopped around as late as yesterday afternoon, when he called Alderson and pleaded his case. According to Alderson, the call “actually had quite an impact…He really expressed his desire to remain a Met, his excitement for being part of the organization and being part of what is happening here.”

All told, the Mets got to keep both Flores and Wheeler, and it is definitely for the better. These are two young pieces that have devoted their heart and soul to the organization. After this near life-changing experience, Wheeler and Flores will play with the passion and fire that they used to become two sought-after prospects. Flores got his chance as a 16 year-old in Venezuela, when the Mets signed him on his birthday. He started the season as the starting shortstop, but has moved over to second base and is having one of the better years for a Mets hitter,with a .251 average and 11 homers (he hit a walk-off homer just two days after the Gomez deal fell through). Wheeler was a 21-year old stud when he was traded from the Giants system to New York in the Carlos Beltran deal. He emerged last year as a reliable righty who can provide veteran leadership to the young staff when he returns from Tommy John surgery next year, even though he is still only 25.

New York Mets' Wilmer Flores (4) tosses his helmet aside as he heads for home after hitting a walk off solo home run during the twelfth inning of a baseball game to beat the Washington Nationals 2-1, Friday, July 31, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Wilmer Flores celebrates his walk-off home run, just days after being dangled as serious trade bait. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

The Mets added some key pieces for the stretch run, but it is those who remain Mets that will stay with the team that will have to most positive impact not only now, but for the next 3 or 4 years. Their window of opportunity is just beginning to open, and the pieces that are still in Flushing will be a part of the front office’s plan to become perennial contenders.