The Mets Foreshadowed a Potential World Series Matchup

Back in June, the Mets played a four-game series at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, losing three out of the four affairs.  But they did manage to win one game, taking the June 28 day game by the final score of 5-3.

The Mets failed to get swept by winning once in Pittsburgh, but they may have succeeded in something else.  They may have inadvertently predicted which teams were going to play each other in the World Series.

Let's go Royal Giants!  Let's go Royal Giants! (Getty Images)

Wearing throwback uniforms to commemorate Brooklyn's Negro League team from the 1920s, the Mets proudly displayed the team's name on their chests.  For one day, players like Eric Young, Jr., Curtis Granderson and Lucas Duda were members of the Brooklyn Royal Giants, honoring their Negro League counterparts with a victory.

Four months later, the Kansas City Royals and the San Francisco Giants are leading their respective league championship series, with Kansas City two wins away from its first pennant in 29 years and San Francisco three victories shy of its third World Series appearance in five seasons.

The Mets will need some breakout seasons from their young players and a return to form for several of their veterans in order to reach a Fall Classic of their own.  Until they do, it appears as if last June's game against the Pirates will be as close as they will come to wearing a jersey that displays the team name of a potential World Series participant.

If only it were as easy to predict the Mets making it to the World Series next year as it was to foreshadow this year's possible World Series teams.
 

Eric Young, Jr. Sets An Incredible Mets Record

Forever Young does what had never been done.  (AP Photo)

On Thursday, the Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves, 6-4, giving them just their fifth series win at Turner Field in their last 19 series there.  As rare as a series victory has been for New York in the house that Ted built, the Mets had won four series there since 2008 prior to Thursday's win.  But something else happened Thursday night that was even rarer than the Mets taking two-of-three in Atlanta.  And it made Eric Young, Jr. the answer to a fascinating trivia question.

Young was a true tablesetter in the series finale, going 3-for-5 and reaching base a fourth time on a fielder's choice.  Young stole three bases for the Mets and scored all four times he reached base, becoming the first player in team history to score four runs and steal three bases in the same game.

Prior to Thursday, the only Mets with as many as four hits and two steals in a single game were Bob Bailor, who accomplished the feat on September 8, 1982 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and Luis Castillo, who scored five runs and stole two bases on June 27, 2008 versus the Yankees.  That was also the game Carlos Delgado produced a club-record nine RBI.

The only time an opposing player ever manufactured a four-run, three-steal game against the Mets was on July 1, 1998, when Toronto's Shannon Stewart turned the trick in a 15-10 shootout lost by the Mets at the Skydome.

Congratulations to Eric Young, Jr. on defining what a tablesetter does.  He stole three bases to set up run-scoring opportunities and he crossed the plate four times, almost single-handedly defeating the Braves.  In doing so, Young became the first Met in history to put up those numbers in the same game.

In the words of the late, great Mel Allen, "How about that?"

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Hi, everyone!  We're your favorite bloggers, Joey and Iggy Beartran, and we have some great news to report.  After a long, cold winter that made us long for peanuts, cracker jacks and chicken nachos, the day we've been waiting for has finally arrived.  Our Mets season tickets have arrived!

As you can see by the photo above, our package included more than just our tickets to every home game.

Iggy is holding a lovely DVD of the Mike Piazza Mets Hall of Fame induction from last season.  According to the small print that really hurt our eyes to read, the DVD was made exclusively for plan and season ticket holders, so you're not going to find it in the Mets team store.

In front of us, you'll also notice a spiffy bag in the traditional Mets colors of black and gray.  This bag has many compartments, which can come in handy when you want to keep your business documents away from your Mex Burger.

The photos below are of the tickets themselves.  The tickets feature various Mets players in action, as well as manager Terry Collins.  You've got your newcomers in Chris Young, Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon (who must have gotten some Photoshop work done in order to fit on a single ticket).  You've also got the four remaining players from the Shea Stadium era in David Wright, Daniel Murphy, Jonathon Niese and Bobby Parnell.  The tickets even feature last year's standout rookies Zack Wheeler, Travis d'Arnaud and Juan Lagares.  (And we're not forgetting about you, Dillon Gee.  How could we after you were so cool to us last year?)

Looking at the photos, you may notice that Ike Davis, Lucas Duda and Ruben Tejada did not make the cut, which is somewhat understandable, considering their various levels of suckitude in 2013.  But how can you leave off Matt Harvey, even if he's not pitching this year?  His presence on the ticket would sell that ticket!  And we're sorry, but did the Mets really forget about defending National League stolen base champion Eric Young, Jr.?  Or was he just too fast to capture with a camera for the ticket photo?

Opening Day is just two weeks away.  We'll be there using our Game 1 David Wright tickets.  We might even bring that colorful Mets bag we received.

After a seemingly interminable winter, spring is finally in the air.  Without question, it's the most wonderful time of the year!

Fool's Gold For Juan Lagares

Earlier today, Rawlings announced their nominees for this year's Gold Glove Awards at each position.  Two Mets were nominated for the prestigious defensive excellence award.  Two-time winner David Wright will compete with Colorado's Nolan Arenado and Los Angeles' Juan Uribe for the prize at third base, while Eric Young, Jr. will go up against fellow left field nominees Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies) and Starling Marte (Pittsburgh).

But perhaps the Mets' best defensive player was mysteriously left off the list of nominees.  Hey, Rawlings!  Where in the world is Juan Lagares?

One of these Mets outfielders was nominated for a Gold Glove Award.  It's not the one you think.

The three finalists for the Gold Glove in center field are Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers, Andrew McCutchen of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Denard Span of the Washington Nationals - all worthy candidates.  But Juan Lagares may have the better defensive numbers, especially when considering the sabermetric stats, which are now part of the voting process.

Juan Lagares was second in the league behind Gomez with 26 defensive runs saved (DRS).  Meanwhile, McCutchen and Span combined to save just ten runs defensively.  (A.J. Pollock saved 15 runs for the Diamondbacks in center field and he was also snubbed as a nominee.)

Another stat used to measure a player's defensive value is UZR (ultimate zone rating).  Once again, Gomez led the league in that category with a 24.4 UZR, just slightly ahead of Lagares, who posted a 21.5 UZR.  And yup, McCutchen and Span together couldn't match what Lagares produced, as their UZR added up to 17.1.

Have you ever heard of ARM?  That's another sabermetric stat which measures the amount of runs above average an outfielder saves with his arm by preventing the advancement of base runners.  (This factors into the calculation of UZR.)  In common English, it shows how much opposing runners are afraid of running on an outfielder's arm.  Juan Lagares had a 12.3 ARM.  The three center field Gold Glove nominees (Gomez, McCutchen, Span) combined for a 9.0 ARM.

What else did Juan Lagares lead the league in?  Let's see.  There was Range Factor/9Inn, which measures putouts and assists per nine innings.  Lagares led the league with a 2.98 Range Factor/9Inn as a centerfielder.  He also led all outfielders, regardless of position, in that category.  There was also that handy, dandy assists thing.  Lagares led all centerfielders with 14 outfield assists, and added another one as a rightfielder.  His 15 total assists set a new Mets rookie record.

Not bad for a player who didn't become the team's regular centerfielder until the Rick Ankiel experiment was deemed a failure in early June.

I don't disagree that Carlos Gomez, Andrew McCutchen and Denard Span are all excellent defensive players.  But how can a list of the top three centerfielders in the National League in 2013 not include Juan Lagares?  The kid will win a Gold Glove or ten before his career is over.  He should have been considered for his first this year.

Band On The Run

AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

Since Jose Reyes left town to be part of the Marlins' semi-annual fire sale, the Mets have not been very dependent on the stolen base.  The team stole just 79 bases in 2012.  It was the first time since 2003 (the year Reyes was called up to the big leagues) that the Mets failed to steal 100 bases in a season.

Over the first two and a half months of the 2013 campaign, the Mets' lethargy on the bases continued, as the team stole 29 bases in their first 67 games - a 70-steal pace over 162 games.  But then the Mets acquired Eric Young, Jr. from the Colorado Rockies in mid-June, and the team became a band on the run.

Since Young played his first game for the Mets on June 19, the team has stolen 25 bases in 26 games.  Not only are the Mets stealing more bases, they're doing it with an incredible success rate.  Through June 18 (the pre-Young days), the Mets stole 29 bases in 43 attempts for a 67.4% success rate.  The last time the Mets had a lower stolen base success rate was in 2001, when utility player Desi Relaford led the team with 13 steals.  (The team stole 66 bases in 114 attempts in 2001 - a 57.9% success rate.)

Once Young donned a Mets jersey for the first time, the team was off and running (and smarter, too).  In 26 games since June 19, New York has stolen 25 bases in 35 attempts for a 71.4% success rate.  Today marked the sixth time in the last ten games that the Mets stole at least two bases.  Prior to Young's arrival, the Mets had six games with two or more steals all year.

Young himself has swiped ten bags since he became a Met, but the rest of team has followed in his speedy footsteps, specifically Daniel Murphy, who is 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts since June 19.

The focus on stolen bases as an offensive weapon has given the Mets a new dimension to their game.  Not coincidentally, it has also given them a few more wins.  Including today's 5-4 win over the Phillies, the Mets have gone 15-11 since Eric Young, Jr. joined the Mets.  Without question, his arrival has helped invigorate a moribund team.

Prior to June 19, the Mets were a station-to-station team who depended mostly on the long ball to score runs.  (Remember the team-record 12-game homer streak to start the season?)  They still hit home runs (14 homers in their last 14 games), but now they can beat you with their legs as well.

After a 25-40 start, the Mets have used their wings to fly from base to base, making them a true band on the run.  Let's see if their new offensive weapon can take them running up the NL East standings as well.
 

Daniel Murphy's Fielding Cycle and Kirk Nieuwenhuis' Offensive Outburst

On Friday night, the Mets hammered the Milwaukee Brewers, defeating them by the final score of 12-5.  The Bad News Brewers committed three errors on the field and a number of mental errors on the bases.  Despite the Brew Crew's valiant effort to become the butt of David Letterman's next Top Ten list, it was two Mets players who really stood out.  One went 0-for-6 but took part in a fielding oddity, while the other reached base all six times he came up to the plate, something very few Mets had ever accomplished.

Daniel Murphy did not have a good night at the dish, going hitless in six plate appearances on a night the Mets collected 14 hits.  But he did make up for it on the field, especially after committing what appeared to be a costly error in the first inning.

In the second inning, with the Mets holding a 5-2 lead, pitcher Zack Wheeler got his Brewers' counterpart Johnny Hellweg to hit a ground ball to Murphy.  Murphy threw out Hellweg at first base to end the inning.

One inning later, Murphy was involved in a huge play, one that helped the Mets maintain their three-run lead.  With Norichika Aoki on third base and Carlos Gomez on first, the Brewers attempted a double steal.  But Murphy wisely cut off catcher John Buck's throw to second and fired a strike back to Buck, who tagged out Aoki as he was trying to score.  Murphy's heads-up assist kept the Brewers off the scoreboard in the third.

Murphy's defensive acumen was showcased in the seventh inning, when he participated in two consecutive key plays.  With the Mets holding on to an 8-4 lead, Aoki led off the inning with a single off reliever Greg Burke.  The next batter, Jean Segura, then hit a grounder to Murphy, who threw out Aoki at second base.  Carlos Gomez then followed with a long fly ball to deep center that bounced off the wall.  Segura scored easily to cut the Mets' lead to three.  But Murphy, after taking the relay throw from centerfielder Juan Lagares, threw a laser to third baseman David Wright, who placed the tag on the sliding Gomez for the second out of the inning.

So did you notice what Murphy did?  He threw out Johnny Hellweg at first base, Norichika Aoki at home plate, Aoki again at second base, and Carlos Gomez at third base.  Murphy may not have gotten a hit at the plate, but he was a big hit on the field, collecting a rare "fielding cycle" by throwing out runners at every base.  No records on fielding cycles are kept (after all, I just created the term), but it must be a rarity and is certainly an oddity.

Speaking of rarities, Mets' rightfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis also had a wonderful game at the plate.  Nieuwenhuis had six plate appearances and reached base in every one of them, collecting four hits and two walks.  He also stole a base, scored three runs and had a career-high five RBI.

In reaching base six times, Nieuwenhuis accomplished a feat that hadn't been done by a Met in 13 seasons.  The last Met to reach base six times in a nine-inning game was Mike Piazza, who went 2-for-6 with four walks in a 12-8 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on May 27, 2000.  That came less than a year after Edgardo Alfonzo also reached base six times in a nine-inning game against the Houston Astros, although Alfonzo collected six hits in his special game.

Prior to last night, only three Mets had ever had a game in which they collected four hits, three runs, five RBI and a stolen base.  The first Met to do so was Claudell Washington, who went 4-for-5 with three runs, five RBI and a steal against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 22, 1980.  Seven years later, Darryl Strawberry torched the Chicago Cubs for four hits, five runs, five RBI and threw in a stolen base for good measure on August 16, 1987 - the same game in which the Mets scored a team record 23 runs.  Finally, David Wright joined the club on August 10, 2005, when he lit up Padres pitchers for four hits, three runs, six RBI and a steal.  But none of those players reached base six times in their memorable games.  Washington and Wright reached base four times, while Strawberry was a baserunner five times.  Nieuwenhuis is now the fourth player in this exclusive club, and the only one who reached base six times in his club-making effort.

The Mets had a number of contributors in Friday night's 12-5 victory over the Brewers.  Zack Wheeler got out of a one-out, bases loaded jam in the fifth inning to qualify for the victory.  Ike Davis, in his first game back from his one-month Vegas vacation, went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI.  Eric Young, Jr. collected two hits, scored three runs and stole a base as the Mets' table setter.  And Juan Lagares continued to contribute defensively while recording his first three-RBI game in the majors.

All of those players had outstanding games against Milwaukee.  But Daniel Murphy and Kirk Nieuwenhuis had performances that had rarely, if ever, been seen before by a player wearing a Mets uniform.  As the old saying goes, if you watch this game long enough, you may see something you've never seen before.  With their performances on the field last night, Daniel Murphy and Kirk Nieuwenhuis certainly did their part to make that statement true.