Most of the time if I read some posts or blurbs I disagree with on other sites, I simply shake my head, laugh a little, and then forget about it. But every now and then you come across something that is so confounding and so counter to everything you believe in that you are forced to respond if only so that you can continue to respect yourself in the morning.
Now while I completely respect Mr. Cerrone’s right to remain traumatized by his fear of another 2007-like collapse, I felt compelled to at least try and give my point of view as to why 2015 is not 2007 and why the Ghost Of September Past is as dead as a door nail as Charles Dickens would say.
It is my assertion that any fear or phobia about 2007 is not based on anything remotely tangible or steeped in reality. It’s simply a delusion based on a lack of confidence, trust and even believing one’s own eyes where the 2015 Mets are concerned. So let me attempt to enlighten you and hopefully you’ll see the light and believe in this Mets team like I do.
I present to you my rebuttal in three distinct exhibits.
Exhibit 1 – Momentum
In the month leading into September the Mets were 15-13 in 2007 compared to 20-8 in 2015. While the Mets were already mired in their slide back then, these current Mets are flying high and posted the best record in MLB in August, outscoring the opposition 168 to 107. For those of you who can’t do the math, that’s a +61 run differential in one month.
Never ever underestimate the power of momentum. It truly is one of the greatest powers in the universe. But in baseball it can also be an incredibly powerful and driving force as well.
You’ve heard it before, and it happens to be true. Sometimes it’s not the best team in baseball that wins the World Series, but simply the hottest team in baseball. And the record books will clearly back that up.
Were the St. Louis Cardinals the best team in baseball in 2006? Absolutely not. But they didn’t have to be because they were red-hot and in the end that’s all that really mattered.
The Mets have some incredible momentum going on right now, and one word that more and more people are using to describe them is “unstoppable.” And I’ve been calling them unstoppable since the day they got Cespedes.
Exhibit 2 – It’s The Pitching, Stupid
I think you’ve gotta have some real mental connectivity issues if this exhibit doesn’t seal the deal and make you a true believer in the 2015 Mets. Although I won’t make any assumptions.
That guy up there at the top of the 2007 chart, he was the ace back then. But in 2007, Tom Glavine would be no better than our number five starter Bartolo Colon – who by the way is infinitely better than Glavine was judging by their FIP and WHIP.
Look at those numbers for Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey… If you think the Mets are going to have an epic collapse with our dueling aces at the top of the rotation, you’re giving yourself way too much credit when it comes to your knowledge of the game.
The 2007 rotation had a 4.40 ERA and 1.372 WHIP with a SO/BB rate of 1.92. In comparison the 2015 rotation has an ERA of more than a full run lower at 3.37, with a 1.142 WHIP and wait for it… a 4.05 strikeout to walk ratio.
Maybe the 2007 Mets didn’t collapse as much as the fact that perhaps they were simply not that good. If pitching wins championships, I can’t see how the Mets would’ve gotten past the first round even if they didn’t collapse. And if they did get past the first round I think it would’ve been more a case of lady luck stepping in during a short series than any corroborating evidence that their pitching was championship caliber. Because it wasn’t.
The 2015 Mets however, do have championship caliber pitching and in fact, they probably will be the most dangerous team in the postseason because of it. The Dodgers may certainly have the best 1-2 punch in the rotation. But 1-4? I think the Mets have that in the bag.
Exhibit 3 – Leadership
What I remember most about that 2007 team was how divisive the clubhouse was. There were about three or four different cliques and none of them really hung out with each other and did things together. There was a lot of whispering and murmuring and oftentimes an uneasy feeling in that clubhouse.
You also had a lot of backbiting going on back then and at times it seemed as though Willie Randolph had no control of the clubhouse. In fact it was that season that he began to lose a great deal of respect from some of the veterans on the team and it would eventually lead to his undoing and ouster.
When the 2007 season finally came to a disastrous end, there was a lot of finger-pointing going on and a lot of disgruntled players. Back then David Wright didn’t really have a say in anything and wasn’t a very loud voice in the clubhouse yet. In fact there was no unifying leader on that team. The leaders were Billy Wagner and Paul LoDuca on one end, and Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado on the other. But it was very weird, sometimes counter-productive, and not very cohesive or unifying at all.
Fast forward to 2015 and I can tell you that the Mets have one of the best clubhouse’s as far as chemistry and leadership goes in all of baseball.
There is a great deal of respect for one another that you just don’t see all that often. Rookies and veterans helping each other out and working together for one common goal.
There’s not just one unifying leader on the 2015 Mets, there’s a dozen of them. Of course you have David Wright, but you also have Michael Cuddyer and Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon and Juan Uribe all doing their parts as well.
All 25 players pull for each other all the time. They celebrate each other’s successes and they support each other in times of need when one has a bad game or is going through an extended slump. They truly are a band of brothers.
The 2015 Mets are a team in every sense of the word. And as such, they are composed of 25 players who refuse to fail and will never ever accept anything less than their very best. It’s a team that believes in themselves and refuses to go down without a fight. It’s a team that believes they can win every single game they play no matter who the opposition is.
It’s been a very long time since we’ve had a group of players like this in the clubhouse. And it’s another critical reason that is greatly overlooked for why I believe this team has it in them to go all the way. This team will not collapse because it’s simply not in their DNA.
Anyway, those are my three reasons why I believe this team is not the same team that choked in 2007. Whether you agree or disagree with me, I do hope you respect my point of view and I look forward to reading your comments and hearing your opinions on the matter. LGM
