Recently, I asked the writers at the site – Patrick Albanesius, David Groveman, Charlie Hangley, Mike Koehler, Dan Kolton, Julian McCarthy, Matt Netter, James Newman, Doug Parker, Rob Rogan and Larry Smith – to answer a few questions about the 2015 Mets. Here are the results:
1. What was your favorite moment of the 2015 regular season?
PA: My favorite moment was seeing Wilmer Flores coming into home after hitting the walk-off.
LS: The series sweep in Washington in early September that put them away.
MK: Not sure what my favorite moment was, but my favorite 24 hours were when Sandy called up Conforto and then traded for Uribe and Johnson. It was the first signs of life in years with a talented pitching staff going to waste.
DG: Best moment was when the Carlos Gomez trade fell through. God, was that trade awful
CH: Wilmer Flores’ 7/31 walkoff winner vs. Washington. The name on the front of the shirt truly meant more than the name on the back.
DP: A bit cliched, I know, but the clincher was my favorite moment. Called my kids into the room to watch the champagne spray…
MN: The last out of the clinching game. I couldn’t believe or accept it until it was final.
RR: Mets clinching in Cincinnati, then the whole team and staff going back out on the field to celebrate with the Mets fans that made the trip. Pretty incredible.
DK: Best moment of the season was by far the August series against the Nationals at Citi Field with the fans chanting “we want first place!”
JN: Wilmer Flores’ walk-off homer was a magical moment. Writers in Hollywood could not have scripted Flores’ story any better.
JM: 15-2 outburst against the Dodgers.
Joura – My favorite moment was when the Mets came from behind to win the first Nationals game in September, foiling the Nats’ matchup strategy that saw them use four pitchers in the comeback inning. The day before was a crushing loss and the Mets had the lead in this game and then lost it. If they don’t win this game, Matt Williams might still have a job.
2. Whose performance surprised you the most, in a positive way?
PA: I think I’m tied on surprised positive performances between Curtis Granderson and Yoenis Cespedes.
LS: Familia as a top grade closer
MK: The most surprising moment of the regular season had to be the 11-game winning streak. It proved what could happen with stellar pitching, plus enough hitting and defense.
DG: Curtis Granderson, who looks like a real player again.
CH: Curtis Granderson. I didn’t think he’d bounce back as well as he did.
DP: Curtis Granderson was a difference maker this year, and I didn’t see that coming.
MN: Niese. I know he had his ups and downs but I was surprised he stayed healthy all year.
RR: Curtis Granderson’s resurgence. I did hope for somewhat of a bounce-back, but he pretty much held the offense up for the better part of the early summer.
DK: After a terrible season, Curtis Granderson really turned himself around after the first month of 2015.
JN: Sandy Alderson’s performance at the deadline surprised me. Who knew how much money he had to play with, and who knew that Cespedes would be a midseason acquisition?
JM: Noah Syndergaard. Coming into the season, I thought he was going to be a major bust.
Joura – Without a doubt it was Jeurys Familia
3. What was the most disappointing moment of 2015?
PA: Maybe back-to-back shutouts of 1-0. Or maybe just April and May.
LS: The past week when the team made close to no effort to secure home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
MK: Jenrry Mejia, what an idiot.
DG: The loss to the Padres right before the team starting making trades.
CH: This is a tie: April 19, losing Jerry Blevins and Travis d’Arnaud to busted hands in consecutive innings & Jenrry Mejia being a freakin’ knucklehead.
DP: Tie between the whole flirtation with Gomez/jilting of Flores thing and the attempts by Scott Boras to undermine the Mets at a critical juncture in the season. (And yes, I’m acknowledging it — I think this was a Boras-led conspiracy to weaken the Mets. When I go through the looking glass completely, I believe the other intention was to strengthen the Nats, given the number of high-profile Boras clients on their roster.)
MN: The Harvey pitch count saga. The timing of that drama was like someone peed in the punch bowl.
RR: The second injury to d’Arnaud was pretty deflating. With the uncertainty with Wright and Wheeler out and Murphy on the shelf for a bit, etc., it kind of seemed like it was quickly devolving into one of those seasons.
DK: Not trading for a quality shortstop as the deadline came and passed.
JN: The Mets former closers. Jenrry Mejia did it to himself, so there is not much sympathy being given to him. As for Bobby Parnell, it was upsetting to see someone who has had been with the Mets for so long to struggle, and inevitably get cut from the postseason roster.
JM: Max Scherzer’s no-hitter, which was part of the 5-game losing streak. It hurt to watch my nightmare over again.
Joura – Trading Matt den Dekker – who recovered from a brutal start to post an .800 OPS – for a flippin’ LOOGY
4. What was one thing you felt you predicted about the Mets this year?
PA: I did believe this team could be very good. I didn’t think they would get someone like Cespedes, but I think he pushed them into greatness.
LS: I originally in a blog article predicted an 83 win season. After the long early winning streak I revised it to 87 wins. They finished with 90 so I was pretty close.
Had someone told me they would add a blistering hot Yoenis Cespedes at the trade deadline I probably would have upped the expectation to 90 or more.
MK: I wasn’t expecting the NL East pennant, but I did predict a .500 or better season.
DG: I was confident that Steven Matz would be as good as he is both pitching and with his bat.
CH: Noah Syndergaard making a big contribution his rookie year.
DP: Michael Cuddyer lived down to my expectations/predictions.
MN: I was shouting from the rooftops about the weak bench and lack of depth before the season started. Had we had a decent 4th outfielder and backup infielder from the start we’d have had a much better first half.
RR: My Flores projection was pretty dang close
DK: Despite my pessimism, I did predict the standings in the East to fall exactly the way they did
JN: I knew Noah Syndergaard was going to have a big year. I did not know to what extent, but he had to be a key contributor for the pitching staff to be complete.
JM: My main prediction that came true was Curtis Granderson’s rebound, I thought that he would find his way back- and he did.
Joura – My prediction of Jacob deGrom making the All-Star team turned out
5. What one thing caught you completely surprised (positive or negative) this year?
PA: The thing that surprised me the most was the severity of David Wright‘s injury.
LS: How egregiously terrible the entire bench was until Uribe and Kelly Johnson came aboard. Expected much more from John Mayberry Jr.
MK: I’ll admit it, I’m still a little taken aback just how good a closer Jeurys Familia can be.
DG: Matt Harvey‘s innings limit kerfuffle.
CH: Negative: David Wright’s spinal stenosis. Positive: the trade for Yoenis Cespedes. I didn’t think Sandy Alderson had the guts, nor the Wilpons the money to pull it off.
DP: I expected this team to finish 72-90, and they flipped the script on me completely.
MN: Michael Conforto. I expected no more than maybe a cup of coffee.
RR: How much emotion and fire this team played with (at least until the last few weeks….). After so many not only mediocre but boring Mets teams over the last few years, this is a very likable team that is fun to root for.
DK: I was positively surprised by the fact that Alderson actually made in season trades to help the New York Mets during the season
JN: The impact Travis d’Arnaud has on this team. He is becoming one of the best catchers in the MLB from both an offensive standpoint and a defensive standpoint.
JM: Sandy Alderson was actually active at the deadline, which was an absolute shock to me.
Joura – I was shocked that Cespedes played CF as well as he did
6. What one thing do you wish had been different?
PA: I wish things had been different with Matt Harvey a few weeks ago. Other than that, it was a fun year to watch.
LS: That Terry Collins would not have destroyed Alex Torres by forcing him into the role of LOOGY when his whole career screamed that he was not capable of being that.
MK: I wish the “established” bullpen arms like Black, Parnell and Mejia actually panned out like we thought they would.
DG: Wish we could have ended the season on a high note.
CH: I wish Mejia hadn’t been an idiot. If he’s around, they don’t have to trade for Tyler Clippard or Addison Reed.
DP: It’s more challenging to be a fan now than it was in days of yore, due to the easy and omnipresent access to opinions, conjecture, etc. In 1986, my experience of the experience was colored by my own perceptions and those of my friends and the print/broadcast media. Mind you, I’m not pining for those days– I love having access to both data and a broader community of opinions. I just need to find a way to allow myself more moments of unmitigated joy amid the noise.
MN: I wish the front office did a better job of addressing the bench in the offseason.
RR: I wish the bullpen situation was better so that the team didn’t absolutely have to trade chips for rental relievers. But I mean, Black went south, Parnell wasn’t any good, Mejia is an idiot. Even Blevins got hurt.
DK: I wish that the Mets clinched at home instead of in Cincinnati.
JN: I wish Parnell and David Wright were healthy and played to their abilities throughout the entire season. It is not fun being on a team that struggles to play .500, only to watch the team begin to have success.
JM: I wish the Jenrry Mejia was not suspended. I really enjoyed watching him pitch, but now he doesn’t deserve to be on a major league mound again.
Joura – The time, manpower, and trade assets spent on acquiring and creating guys to perform in sub-optimal bullpen roles
7. Prediction for LA series
Mets in Four – Smith, Koehler, Hangley, Netter, Rogan, Kolton, McCarthy
Mets in Five – Albanesius, Groveman, Netter
Dodgers in Five – Parker, Joura
I don’t believe you actually looked at Mdd’s stats…
Only 19 games started, absolutely terrible before Sep, sucked in the minors too… what rebound are you talking about?
FWIW, the defensive metrics thought Cespedes was terrible in CF. Small sample this year, but throughout his career he’s always rated very poorly in CF
The den Dekker comment actually made me laugh. Trading him was the most disappointing part of the entire season? Wow, just wow.
He got 99 ABs in DC. Nice guy, but easily replaceable, with no role on the NY Mets.
Meanwhile, Blevins was perfect, then got hurt, and the Mets tried to fill his shoes for the remainder of the season without success. They looked and couldn’t find a guy who could perform that role.
You act like the idea of having a good lefty in the pen is a criminal idea, instead of an asset. What’s criminal is misuse, or taking any lefty and trying to squeeze him into that specialized role. Blevins was actually good at it. If healthy, he’d have a role on this postseason roster.
I mean, you obviously have a thing for MdD, but it’s wild to me that in a season when David Wright faced a career-threatening injury, when the feeble Mets batted Mayberry cleanup against Kershaw, when Mejia went down again for PEDS, when for a couple of months it looked like SA would squander all that great starting pitching, that you’d pick that trade, which I would do over again in a heartbeat. Faster, maybe.
I’m sorry that my views don’t match yours. There are 11 other people who contributed to this project – perhaps you can find solace or confirmation or whatever it is you feel you need – from them.
If you really believe I didn’t look at his stats, you’re qualified to participate in the next Republican debate.
1. What was your favorite moment of the 2015 regular season?
Because I saw both live, it’s a tie between Duda’s grand slam in the bottom of the first that sealed the clinch in Cincinnati and Murphy’s three run HR in the 10th in Atlanta that made for the first 4-game sweep of the Braves in what feels like decades. Honorable mention to Flores 12th inning HR against Nationals in NY.
2. Whose performance surprised you the most, in a positive way?
Granny graduated back to being Grandy this year. He’s been a rock.
3. What was the most disappointing moment of 2015?
It’s a tie: Mejia. FO and Managing belief in Parnell despite every bit of evidence he has not recovered from surgery. He was never that good to begin with and he was a complete disaster when they brought him back.
4. What was one thing you felt you predicted about the Mets this year?
DeGrom is the real deal.
5. What one thing caught you completely surprised (positive or negative) this year?
Positive: Conforto is a complete ball player.
Negative: Harvey and the innings limit, and comtinued fall out.
6. What one thing do you wish had been different?
That Harvey became a man of his own will and desire to place the game above being a Bor-bot.
7. Prediction for LA series
Mets in 4 or LA in 5
1. Flores home run vs the Nationals. It turned the tide of the season.
2. Granderson. I thought we were stuck for $45m for the next three years. Instead we have a gamer, a leader and a good ballplayer.
3.losing to the Padres just before the turnaround. I thought they were cooked and never thought Sandy would ever make a trade.
4. I knew deGrom was the real deal and was going to have a great year.
5. Cespedes carried the team and could play centerfield opening the door for Conforto.
6. That David Wright got hurt and had to miss most of the season.
7. Mets in 4.
Favorite moment was a tough question to answer. So many to choose from this year and hopefully the best one is yet to come. LGM!