So with the Fall Classic just around the corner, I’m sure everybody thought the Mets and Royals would be meeting up, right??! I doubt it! You wouldn’t have surprised me with the Royals pick, but the Mets?! That’s another situation altogether.
Let’s talk about this Mets team before we delve into Kansas City. New York wasn’t even supposed to be a wild card team this season, let alone an NL East Champion or better yet, a National League pennant winner. How did this team do it? It was for most of the season, pitching. However, the last couple months saw the bats match the pitching, with the trade of OF Yoenis Cespedes being the catalyst. And remember, that trade doesn’t happen, if the trade for OF Carlos Gomez doesn’t fall through around the trade deadline. Talk about a blessing in disguise! A blessing that would propel the team from Queens into a possible matchup with the Royals.
After a 5 game thriller with the Dodgers, a series that saw the Met’s lose SS Ruben Tejada, to a broken leg, after an aggressive slide from Chase Utley, you wondered if New York would have enough in the tank, to take down a juggernaut in the Chicago Cubs, after the Cubbies took down the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS in just 4 games. Well, New York was more than ready for the series with Chicago. Taking the first two in New York, before steam rolling the Cubs in Chicago, to take the sweep. The power bat of Daniel Murphy is a major reason why.
Six HR’s in as many games, is just absurd! Even if Mike Trout did that, you’d be surprised as a fan, but when it’s Daniel Murphy, an outfielder not known for his power and a player that only had 14 home runs in 130 games during the regular season, your eyebrow begins to raise. In the playoffs, there always seems to be one guy that shows up bigger than anybody expected him to, and when that happens, it gives the team that extra spark. Angel Pagan was that guy in 2012 for the Giants. In 2013, it was a combination of Dustin Pedroia and “Big Papi” David Ortiz, just hitting out of their heads during the postseason, with Ortiz having a staggering .688 batting average in the World Series. Joe Panic and Pablo Sandoval were two guys last season that showed up in major way for San Francisco last season, but we know it was Madison Bumgarner, who took the MLB postseason by storm, en route to a World Series crown with the Giants in 2014.
Who will be the guy in 2015?! Will Daniel Murphy continue his torrid pace? Will it be Cespedes or will it be the collective young arms of the Mets?! Or will it be the Kansas City Royals and the likes of Cain, Hosmer, Gordon or Cueto?
The Royals are now a team in familiar territory, having made their second consecutive World Series appearance, after a 29 year hiatus from the playoffs. This is a team, that doesn’t have a conscience, it seems. On the brink of elimination in the ALDS, down 2 games to 1, trailing 6-2 going into the 8th inning in Houston and the battle tested Royals found a way to come back and take the lead with 5 runs in their half of the inning. Oh, and another 2 runs in the 9th to solidify that game 4 victory, and seemingly take the wind out of Houston’s sails, before taking game 5 and moving on to play the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays put up a great fight, coming back in their ALDS series, after trailing 2-0 in the best of 5 series to Texas, but it still seemed like the mojo would still lean with Kansas City going into the ALCS, after coming back from the dead in game 4 of the ALDS. Nothing against Toronto, I think there were a great team, but I think Kansas City is a team that’s ready to finish what they started last season. Falling short by one game and being back again to try and right a wrong. The ultimate re-do for the Royals. Will it pan out?! We’ll see!
Both teams have a drought when it comes to winning the Fall Classic, with the Royals looking for their first crown since 1985. The Mets haven’t won since 1986, a series that also included the infamous Bill Buckner play in game 6, which saw the Mets come back in the series, trailing 3 games to 2, going into game 6.
Either way, it’ll be a much deserved World Series to the victor. I think this goes 6 or 7, with my pick going to the Royals. I think the Mets still have to prove their heavy bats will continue to take the world by storm, but I think they come up just a bit short.
Featured Image by: janelle
