As the World Series plays out, I find myself eagerly looking forward to what I hope will be a transformative Hot Stove season for the New York Mets.
I haven't written much for the blog this month. I lost interest years ago in any MLB playoffs that don't include the Mets. Unfortunately, that is an all too common occurrence in my lifetime. Since the Mets fell to the Dodgers in the 1988 NLCS, they've completed 35 seasons, including this one, and made the playoffs only six times. There was a time when I would have some interest in the playoffs, rooting against teams like the Braves and Phillies, but I no longer feel strongly enough about any other team to waste the energy it takes to hate-watch their playoff series.
I've reached a significant age milestone this month. As a result, I've become more contemplative than I used to be. I chuckled a bit at the overreaction in the normally sycophantic Braves media over another early dismissal in the playoffs. Still, it didn't make me feel better about how the Mets season went.
After beating Atlanta for the second consecutive time in the playoffs, the Phillies were anointed a team of destiny — until they weren't any longer. Twenty years ago, I would have watched them get bounced out of the playoffs with relish. But I didn't turn on game 7 of their NLDS series against the Diamondbacks or even check the score. However the Phillies or Braves feel about their seasons, they did better than the Mets did just by giving their fans a chance to watch their team play October baseball, even if they were ultimately left disappointed. I'll spend my energy hoping the Mets are part of the playoffs next fall.
Every year, as the cream of MLB's crop gets eliminated by clubs like the 84-win Diamondbacks or the Wild Card Rangers, there are a significant number of baseball scribes who either wring their hands over the upsets or give the upstart clubs like Arizona way too much credit. The Diamondbacks supplanted the Phillies as the team of destiny, but the Rangers have their own case to make in that regard. No matter how the World Series turns out, some team will be given a post-dated air of inevitability, as if the playoffs really couldn't have gone any other way. Meanwhile, other pundits will still bellyache about the MLB playoffs' "failure" in producing a matchup of great teams in its Fall Classic.
I wrote about this subject last October, and my feelings certainly haven't changed in the past year. When I was very young, I recall watching World Series games with my uncle. In those years, the best team in the American League played the best team in the National League. The World Series were the only playoffs that existed in Major League Baseball. The absolute best competing against the absolute best gave the Series a cachet that will never be matched by today's tournament-style competition. Hell, I remember the adults complaining when they split both Leagues into two Divisions to create an intermediate round of playoffs. This was blasphemy to the old-timers. But frankly, starting with four playoff teams still ensured that all of the included teams would be very good.
8 comments:
My hopes is they can put the Counsell thingy done before hoping a plane to Tokyo
I kept enough interest to watch the playoffs as they unfolded, and I am left feeling entirely disappointed. As a Mets fan, I was certainly disappointed that they did not even make a run at it, but that disappointment increased when I witnessed how low the bar was at the end of the season. 84 games?! Awful. The playoffs started with a bang - the Phillies/Braves series was very interesting to watch because of the power display. But after that, the remaining games proved just how diluted the MLB playoffs have become. Last night's yawner of a game showed an Arizona bullpen that looked no better than the 2023 Mets bullpen (including two of its former members) being shelled by a team that hits well. The Diamondbacks are not that good - they were just hot at the right time and now they have returned to mediocracy.
The Mets will begin to rebuild their pitching staff with the game's top closer and an all-star starter
That's a good start folks
Is Jake pitching in game 5, or are they holding him out for a possible game 7?
The Rangers have done a good job overcoming adversity this season, but they've also been incredibly lucky in many ways, too. I expect to see quite a few stories written about how much they've overcome. Doubt that anyone will write about the luck.
How about resigning Conforto if the Giants let him walk?
He'll be 31 and had an OPS+ of 99 with SF this season. I guess they could take a cheap flyer if they foresee some bounce back. Man, I have to think he wishes he signed any kind of contract with the Mets when he had a chance.
Ops of 99 is good for a Met. It was a come back year. Year 2 should be better. Might be a good signing.
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