If you polled 100 Mets fans and asked them if they have players they liked and players they didn’t on the 2015 team, all 100 would say yes. You would also get unanimous support from all 100 if you asked if they would sign up for a World Series championship if one of the players they didn’t like was the hero. But let’s be honest. By far the preference would be for one of our favorite players to come through with the key performance to deliver the team’s first World Series title in 29 years.
With those thoughts in mind, here’s my script for the 2015 Mets.
The team’s first 26 games of the year feature 23 games against the NL East and three against the Yankees. Most everyone is preaching the need to get off to a fast start. In my imaginary world, they do the exact opposite. The tone is set early with three road games against the Nationals, the team that’s owned us the past few years. There’s a continuation of that trend with Washington opening up with a home sweep.
The Mets rebound in the net two series, winning two out of three against division doormats Atlanta and Philadelphia, including Matt Harvey authoring a masterpiece in his first game since 2013. But they proceed to drop three of their next four games against the Marlins, winning only when Zack Wheeler continues his mastery over Miami.
Losing ways continue against the Braves, as the Mets lose two out of three games, avoiding the sweep thanks to a bottom of the ninth grand slam by David Wright. Hopes for momentum are quickly dashed, as they travel to the Bronx and get humiliated by the Yankees, losing all three games, including two they had the lead in the late innings.
Reeling from those meltdowns, the Mets go 1-6 over their next seven games, dropping two to the Marlins and getting swept by the Nationals. After 26 games, the team that entered the year with expectations of finishing over .500 and dreams of making the playoffs sits with a 7-19 record. That’s a .269 winning percentage, one that would produce just 44 wins over a 162-game season.
The fans are more critical than they’ve ever been, with Citi Field featuring non-stop booing during the four-game sweep by the Nats. Even the amazingly docile press has gotten into the act, criticizing Sandy Alderson for not doing more during the offseason while finally, finally asking questions about the in-game tactics of Terry Collins.
The breaking point seemed to happen in Game 23, the first home game against the Nationals. One day after losing a winnable game because of his fixation for playing the matchups, Collins was at it again, bringing on Josh Edgin for a one-batter appearance against Denard Span, he of the .625 OPS. Edgin retired Span and was immediately replaced. When Bryce Harper came up later in the game with the go-ahead run on second base, Collins went to Sean Gilmartin for the fifth time in the last six games.
Gilmartin served up a gopher ball, the Mets lost the game and Collins lost his cool in the post-game press conference. When the media refused to swallow his “I did everything right, the players didn’t execute” line, Collins challenged anyone to do better with the roster he was given. When reminded that while that excuse might have flied in 2011, Collins himself had talked about this being a playoff squad, he abruptly walked away.
Unlike when he threw Jordany Valdespin under the bus and no one cared because he was obnoxious, the press and talk radio leaped to the defense of Gilmartin and openly wondered how Collins could do this to such a stand-up guy. Things only got worse the following day, when Alderson and Collins had a chat before the game and Collins emerged with critical words for his boss. And another loss didn’t help any.
Alderson silently fumed and the Mets lost two more games, including one where Jeurys Familia couldn’t execute a throw to second base, a continuation of a disturbing trend from a year ago. By then, Alderson had seen enough. Collins was removed from the dugout and Tim Teufel was announced as the interim manager.
Teufel immediately put his stamp on the team, announcing there were no sacred cows. His first order of business was to remove Michael Cuddyer from the starting lineup. Alderson’s one lone big move of the offseason had been a colossal disappointment, with his power hitting non-existent and his defense as bas as advertised.
Matt den Dekker was installed as the team’s leadoff hitter and right fielder. Many called for Teufel to replace the underperforming Wilmer Flores, but Teufel hoped to build confidence in his shortstop and gave him a vote of confidence, instead. The new manager also insisted that Gilmartin was removed when Bobby Parnell was finally activated from the DL. Finally, Teufel said that Mejia would remain as his closer as long as he did the job.
From that point on, the Mets were a different team. The relief pitching was bolstered with established roles and sensible usage patterns, in addition to no longer being burdened by chasing the platoon advantage. The new leadoff hitter picked up where he left off in 2014, getting on base at an excellent clip and scoring lots of runs, thanks in no small part to Wright and Lucas Duda breaking out of slow starts. And while Flores still struggled at the plate, he made all the plays in the field that he got to and the defense moved towards league average, especially with Cuddyer no longer doing his Duda imitation out in right.
By the All-Star break, the Mets had gotten over .500, as they stood with a 45-44 ledger. Harvey and Jacob deGrom developed into the best one-two punch in the league and the offense consistently scored four or five runs per game. The only negative in this 38-25 stretch was the performance of Bartolo Colon, who once again having great games and stinkers, the problem being the bad outings were happening twice as often.
During the break, Alderson shocked observers by designating Colon for assignment and calling up from Las Vegas Rafael Montero, who pitching coach Frank Viola put the finishing touches on by helping him to master the changeup. And if fans were caught off guard by that move, well their jaws hit the ground when Alderson landed his white whale by acquiring Troy Tulowitzki (and cash) for Noah Syndergaard, Wilmer Flores, Robert Gsellman and Champ Stuart.
The Mets returned from the All-Star break with a brutal 16-game stretch, with games against the Cardinals, Nationals, Dodgers and Padres. The turnaround once Teufel took over was called into question, since that 63-game span did not include one game against Washington, which was 7-0 against New York this season.
With six of the 16 games against contenders against the Nats, many viewed this as a good measuring stick for the resurgent Mets. The good news was that the Mets split with Washington, as they did in the entire stretch, going 8-8. The bad news was that they lost Gold Glove defender Juan Lagares, who injured himself while making a game-saving catch against the Nationals.
Cuddyer was given a second shot and took full advantage. While his defense was as bad as ever, Cuddyer went on a hot streak at the plate that even had his pal Wright shaking his head in admiration. From the point that Cuddyer was inserted into the lineup until the end of the season, the Mets had the best offense in the NL, thanks to a deep lineup that had Curtis Granderson and his .760 OPS as the weak link.
Harvey and deGrom were near guaranteed victories each time they took the hill, while Montero, Jon Niese and Wheeler gave the club a chance to win virtually every time out. Teufel provided a deft hand managing his relievers, utilizing everyone and burning out no one. It was the finest stretch of baseball seen in Queens since Davey Johnson ran things.
The Mets moved into first place with a three-game sweep in Washington, thanks to shut-down performances from Harvey and deGrom and a late comeback in the other game thanks to homers from Duda and Wright. Later in September, the Mets got revenge with a three-game sweep over the Yankees and they clinched the NL East with a win over the Phillies, making the final series of the year against the Nationals meaningless. They won two out of three anyway.
Unlike in 1986, the 2015 Mets cruised through the playoffs and they won it all in five games over the Indians, with Harvey capturing MVP honors with his 15 scoreless innings and two wins.
After the season, Harvey won the Cy Young Award, Wright was a unanimous selection for Comeback Player of the Year and Teufel was named as the NL’s top manager and had the interim label removed from his title.
Preposterous, but a very fun read. Thanks, Elvis.
An Academy Award screen play!
It’s truly awesome how much the THC levels in the “kind” bud has increased nearly exponentially year by year…jus’ sayin’…even blog writers apparently have become affected…I also have psychedelic visions from the purple hair and can stream of consciousness for hours…~grins mischiveously~
Whatever do you… Whoooaa, a rainbow!
That was a fun read. Thanks, Brian. I’d like to see an alternate version where they get off to a really good start. Might have to make that my next post!
From your text to God’s ears.
My friends? Welcome to Fantasy Island!
What a read! Interesting choice of putting Tim Teufel as manager instead of Pedro Lopez or Wally Backman- but almost anyone is better than Collins at this point.
Very entertaining read. Nice job Brian.
It’s ironic that you claim that Collins backstabs his boss because of the conflicting information one day to the next in St. Lucie and the day before Alderson specifically said that a slow start will not jeopardize jobs. But let’s face it, Collins stinks.
I think there’s a difference between “slow” and “dreadful.”
Killing off the Lagares character before the post season….a little too predictable Brian!!! And surely Montero would have pitched a perfect game in this story, no?!?!?!?
Someone had to get hurt and at least he went out making a game-winning catch instead of pulling muscles and breaking a rib chasing a slider out of strike zone.
I had so hoped he would have made the game 7, game winning catch stretch a la Swoboda with the winning run sitting at first base and a twisting line drive to the gap.
…ahhh, I guess that’s this Mets fan’s version of 2015. Gotta say, I like the part about Collins being replaced by Tuff.
Chris, what if it’s Geren instead of Tuefel? Is it at least a victory or not quite?
In 50 choices, Geren would not have been one of them, but I’m not sure he could be worse than Collins. I think it is time for a whole new voice in the dugout. I’m thinking someone like David Ross or perhaps even John Buck.
Chris, speaking of candidates outside the organization, I have always, always liked Tony Pena. He was smart as a player and although as a manager burned some bridges, he is very coy and not much gets by him. I would like to see him leading Lagares, Herrerra, Flores, and TDA, while probably leading a great bullpen. Don’t forget, Pena was an outstanding defensive catcher.
While Backman is a sentimental favorite, Pena would give me great hope.
I think we should have a post for two or three names everyone suggests as replacements for Collins so we can be prepared. 😉
I have been subtly harping on this all winter: TC’s managing is going to make a difference this year in regard to making the playoffs.
OMG did TC really say this “One of the things we saw last year, we saw Carlos Torres get left-handed hitters out,” Collins said. “What we’ve got to find is those seven guys down there that have got the best stuff to get outs.” Terry Collins said Saturday that while he would ideally prefer two lefties in the bullpen, it is not a necessity. 2/22/15 Rubin: ESPN
But then he has talked of revisiting Granderson as the platoon lead off instead of Murphy. I guess you just can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Nice fun read Brian and interesting that Teufel could be the manager.
Interesting how it all hinges on the slow start . . . and TC getting fired.
There was no word on how Tulo performed once he came over. And I think Wheeler will make that a 1,2,3 punch.
MMO is reporting (via Puma) that Collins says the SS position is an open competition between Flores and Tejada. Exactly how far have we come? Ike v Duda? When the does merry-go-round end?
My take is that Collins has always considered it a competition while Alderson views Flores as the starter.
Isn’t that, I don’t know, crazy?
There’s an old saying that if two people always agree, one of them is unnecessary.
Amongst equals…sure, but this sounds like insubordination.
TC interviews off the cuff and then has to backtrack after talking to Sandy. Examples: Parnell will close when he comes back changed to Mejia will close if he is doing well. We need two lefties philosophy changed yesterday to best seven relievers. Now he is talking that there is an open competition between Tejada and Flores. That will change also when Sandy talks to TC.
Exactly, Metsense called it. What Terry says is frightening because it shows us what is going on in his pathetic little mind. He still prefers Tejada over Flores, just as he prefers Ike over Duda. Then SA sits down with him and they talk it over and TC falls into line. He is not one to buck the system, fully understands he’s middle management, so damn grateful to have a job.
That said, I do see Tejada getting too much time at SS this year; bet you that TC plays a hunch and bats him leadoff for a while.
And yesterday “Matt Reynolds will get significant time in ST at SS”. Half the problem is that TC doesn’t know how to diplomatically skirt a question and the other half of the problem is the media taking his quotes out of context. In either case, it gives the perception that TC is not in line with Flores at short. Don’t worry, Sandy will clear it up at the 9 AM meeting.
Wonderfully fun read but it won’t happen. Mets need to get off strong and stay strong. They lack sufficient offense to come from the back of the pack. If Tulo is healthy I do expect the Mets to make a play for him at some point. I expect the Rockies to settle for less than Thor.
That story put a huge smike on my face as I could actually invision that story come to life. Thanks for a perfect dream. (:-)
Great post Brian, truly an enjoyable article that showcased a wonderful imagination. I think Mets fans, and even Indians fans will be happy about this prediction!