WS GAME thread: NYM vs. KC

Who do you want to win?


  • Total voters
    196

soxhop411

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Game 1: Tuesday, October 27
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 2: Wednesday, October 28
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 3: Friday, October 30
Royals at Mets, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 4: Saturday, October 31
Royals at Mets, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 5: Sunday, November 1 (if necessary)
Royals at Mets, 8:15 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 6: Tuesday, November 3 (if necessary)
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 7: Wednesday, November 4 (if necessary)
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
 

Flunky

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the Nye Mets are my favorite squadron in this WS.
 

Al Zarilla

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These polls always come up more 4 - 2 than 4 - 3. Baseball Ref shows 25 at 4 - 2 and 37 at 4 - 3 for World Series outcomes. KC in 7, which I'd decided before checking that split.
 

mwonow

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I think the Royals are a better team. Unless the Murphy pixie dust holds, KC in 5
 

InsideTheParker

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I think the outcome might depend on Murphy's staying hot, Duda building on what he did in game four NLCS, and Cespedes' shoulder. I don't care which team wins, as I like them both. The Mets pitching is clearly better than the Royals or the Jays, the Royals offense is better. Both teams run the bases well. It will be hard to wait till Tuesday night.
 

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InsideTheParker said:
I think the outcome might depend on Murphy's staying hot, Duda building on what he did in game four NLCS, and Cespedes' shoulder. I don't care which team wins, as I like them both. The Mets pitching is clearly better than the Royals or the Jays, the Royals offense is better. Both teams run the bases well. It will be hard to wait till Tuesday night.
Starting pitching, yes.  Bullpen, no.
 

Fratboy

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This is going to be a fun series, pitting the athletic Royals against the Mets' vaunted pitching staff.
 
Surprisingly, the Royals are not a young team. According to B-Ref, they have the 5th oldest batters (29.2, NYY at 31.1) and the 2nd oldest pitching staff (30.0 behind SF at 31.5) in baseball. The Mets are a bit younger, with slightly older than average batters (28.5 vs 28.4) and slightly younger than average pitchers (28.2 vs 28.4)
 
If the Blue Jays made the World Series, I think they would have crushed the Mets, but the Mets have to be thrilled they're facing the Royals.
 

InsideTheParker

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Fratboy said:
 
 
If the Blue Jays made the World Series, I think they would have crushed the Mets, but the Mets have to be thrilled they're facing the Royals.
I wonder why you say this, given how poor the Blue Jays were with risp against the Royals, who have an arguably inferior rotation to the Mets.
 

DeadlySplitter

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I voted KC in 7. The Mets will probably need their pixie lineup to continue to produce 4+ runs a game, which will probably mostly have to come against KC's average-overall starters, to win, and they're kinda due to not do that. But I could also see half of this series being 2-1, 3-2 games where some luck could have them winning most if not all of those.
 

soxhop411

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Game 1: Tuesday, October 27
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 2: Wednesday, October 28
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 3: Friday, October 30
Royals at Mets, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 4: Saturday, October 31
Royals at Mets, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 5: Sunday, November 1 (if necessary)
Royals at Mets, 8:15 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 6: Tuesday, November 3 (if necessary)
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
Game 7: Wednesday, November 4 (if necessary)
Mets at Royals, 8:07 p.m. ET, TV: Fox
 

dynomite

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I still feel like the Mets are going to win this in a romp -- maybe 5 games.

After the ASB (and their acquisitions) the Mets were 3rd in baseball in runs scored (only 30 fewer than the Blue Jays) and for the year had the 4th lowest starting pitcher ERA in baseball.

They'll also have the pitching edge in every game of the series.

In some ways, I feel like the regular season bullpens become less relevant in the World Series -- with off days and playoff baseball, the Mets can use Niese and hell, maybe even Matz as a bridge to Familia, who himself can go multiple innings.

I'll be surprised if the Royals pull this off.
 

TheoShmeo

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I think the Mets are going to win fairly easily and it stems for their three aces.  I know that teams stacked with great starting pitching can lose (see Braves, Atlanta), but I don't see KC's line-up as being able to overcome the Mets crazy good and playoff strong starters.
 
I would like to be wrong.
 

rembrat

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canderson said:
Murphy's magic is gone, KC shuts down Cespedes and KC rolls in 5. 
 
Yea fucking right. The Royals are going to get rolled up. 
 

Ferm Sheller

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I voted that I want KC to win, but I don't really care either way.  I'd just like to see it end with a walk-off HR in Game 7.  Bases loaded, two outs, two strikes, down by three runs and the nicest guy on the team (whomever that is) pops one.
 

soxhop411

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Bill Shaikin ‏@BillShaikin  1m1 minute ago
Terrance Gore, #Royals designated runner, not on World Series roster. In his place: Raul Mondesi's kid: Raul Jr, SS w/no MLB experience.
 
 
 

 
 
 

brs3

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Mets in a sweep. The three headed monster that is Harvey, deGrom and Syndergaard showed with the Cubs that they will mix up the fastballs with the off speed stuff to keep the sluggers in check. They've avoided mental blunders, and the bullpen has held it together without being over worked. David Wright's healthy and started heating up later in the NLCS, and between Granderson, Duda, Cespedes, d'Arnaud, and Daniel Murphy, I think the Royals have an uphill battle. Cuddyer is my pick for the dark horse contributor, since he hasn't done a ton in the postseason yet. 
 

E5 Yaz

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brs3 said:
Mets in a sweep. The three headed monster that is Harvey, deGrom and Syndergaard showed with the Cubs that they will mix up the fastballs with the off speed stuff to keep the sluggers in check. 
 
The misconception here is that KC has sluggers in its lineup. The Royals don't hit in the same fashion as the Cubs, or even the Dodgers. They grind out at-bats and hit liners and try to go up the middle with everything. Flores and Murphy will get a lot of action in the middle of the defense.  KC has already exhibited a knack for late-inning rallies over the past two years. That resilience will be enough.
 
Royals in 6
 

AB in DC

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soxhop411 said:
Bill Shaikin ‏@BillShaikin  1m1 minute ago
Terrance Gore, #Royals designated runner, not on World Series roster. In his place: Raul Mondesi's kid: Raul Jr, SS w/no MLB experience.
 
 
Not only does Mondesi Jr have no MLB experience, he doesn't even AAA experience
 
 
WTF are the Royals doing adding a AA player to their World Series roster?
 

E5 Yaz

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AB in DC said:
 
Not only does Mondesi Jr have no MLB experience, he doesn't even AAA experience
 
 
WTF are the Royals doing adding a AA player to their World Series roster?
 
There are two parts to this equation, one of which makes sense.
 
Gore was a useful component during the 2014 AL playoffs, then disappeared in the World Series -- appearing just once in 7 games. So, the idea of using his roster spot for an infielder who can come in for defensive purposes, or be used in a double switch, does make sense.
 
The choice of Mondesi, as you rightly point out, is the puzzler. The theoretical choice here would have been Omar Infante -- who has been trying to rehab in Florida from an oblique strain. He must not be ready to go. Meanwhile, there are no infielders on the AAA roster who are on the 40-man roster. Mondesi is on the 40-man.
 
The other consideration for that final spot would have been Jonny Gomes -- who, as we all know, could have been useful as a PH in the NL park.
 
Why they went with Mondesi over Gomes, I haven't found yet.
 
edit: Rosenthal offers his theory here
 
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/kansas-city-royals-raul-mondesi-jr-could-be-first-major-leaguer-to-debut-in-world-series-102615
 

brs3

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E5 Yaz said:
 
The misconception here is that KC has sluggers in its lineup. The Royals don't hit in the same fashion as the Cubs, or even the Dodgers. They grind out at-bats and hit liners and try to go up the middle with everything. Flores and Murphy will get a lot of action in the middle of the defense.  KC has already exhibited a knack for late-inning rallies over the past two years. That resilience will be enough.
 
Royals in 6
 
I think i'm being a bit optimistic, and will admit it might be the Mets in 6. I looked at the leaders in pitches seen, and it was interesting to see both the Royals and Mets have 8 players in the top 250 MLB-wide. I also admit this doesn't really speak to whether one team or the other has a better lineup to grind out at bats, but it certainly seems like we might in store for long games. Granderson was #2 in all of MLB with 2,980 pitches seen.
 

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brs3 said:
 
I think i'm being a bit optimistic, and will admit it might be the Mets in 6. I looked at the leaders in pitches seen, and it was interesting to see both the Royals and Mets have 8 players in the top 250 MLB-wide. 
 
In the top 250? Every team should have an average of 8 players in the top 250, right? Did you mistype?
 
Edit: I just checked NYY and BOS, NYY has 10 in the top 250 and BOS has 7 with Swihart next at #260. P/AB is probably more worth looking at than total pitches seen, which is obviously very playing time dependent. 
 

brs3

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jon abbey said:
 
In the top 250? Every team should have an average of 8 players in the top 250, right? Did you mistype?
 
Edit: I just checked NYY and BOS, NYY has 10 in the top 250 and BOS has 7 with Swihart next at #260. P/AB is probably more worth looking at than total pitches seen, which is obviously very playing time dependent. 
 
Ha, yup. You're right on both accounts. I will quit while I'm behind. 
 

E5 Yaz

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1. Curtis Granderson (L) RF
2. David Wright (R) 3B
3. Daniel Murphy (L) 2B
4. Yoenis Cespedes (R) CF
5. Lucas Duda (L) 1B
6. Travis d'Arnaud (R) C
7. Michael Conforto (L) LF
8. Wilmer Flores (R) SS
9. Kelly Johnson (L) DH
 
P - Matt Harvey
 

1. Alcides Escobar (R) SS
2. Ben Zobrist (S) 2B
3. Lorenzo Cain (R) CF
4. Eric Hosmer (L) 1B
5. Kendrys Morales (S) DH
6. Mike Moustakas (L) 3B
7. Salvador Perez (R) C
8. Alex Gordon (L) LF
9. Alex Rios (R) RF
 
P - Edinson Volquez
 

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Give me the Royals in 7, if barely, as much as I want the Mets, in honor and memory of my late father, who grew up smack in Queens, introduced me to sports, and so much else, like political matters, and a general aptitude for studies and facts. I think because these teams aren't as offensively gifted as other teams in the playoffs (Jays, Cubs, Dodgers), we see enough low scoring games that go late and long, which ultimately favors a team with a deeper bullpen, which is Kansas City. That's not against any of Syndergaard, Harvey, or de Grom, since I think they easily could win at least one.
 
However, I'm seeing something here that seems like it will be repeated throughout the broadcast tonight, that Mondesi Jr. will be the first player to make his debut in the World Series. Bug Holliday at age 18, in 1885 between the Browns (modern Cardinals) and White Stockings (modern Cubs) was the first. It was played in 4 different cities (Chicago, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnatti), and ended 3-3-1, in a controversy surrounding Game 2, after Charles Comiskey, the Browns manager, forfeited the game after an umpire's ruling, not to mention Game 1 was declared a tie due to darkness, though strangely not made up.  So nobody won it, in technicality, as the teams split a $1,000 prize, as much as St. Louis said Game 2 didn't count. In terms of modern era games, he'd be the second to make a debut in the postseason, after Mark Kiger, of the 2006 A's.
 

santadevil

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Mets in 6. They've been rolling so far and will continue to stay hot.

No evidence to support any of those claims.
 

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Royals only have 2 lefties in the bullpen. One of them is named Franklin Morales.
 
Harvey - Volquez
deGrom - Cueto
Travel Day
Syndergaard - Ventura
Matz - Young
 
 
 
Looks like Metropolitans to me.
 

Lars The Wanderer

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Don't really care about either of these teams. Normally, in that situation I'd pick an NL team but, well, New York. Bleh...
 
Actually, this Mets team reminds me a lot of the 2010 Giants. They pitch and get just enough offense. The difference is, these Royals aren't your typical lumbering galoot, swing from the heels AL squad. They put the ball in play. This series is going the distance. Royals in 7.
 

rembrat

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canderson said:
The Royals lineup is built to beat power pitchers. That IMO is the difference here. 
 
95+ is a lot harder in October. I don't think they'll have anything for Mets pitching.
 

InsideTheParker

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RedOctober3829

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Mets in 5.  Too much power pitching but also because their breaking pitches have improved.  If Mets can even just split in KC they are in the drivers seat with Syndegaard and Matz against KC's bottom of the rotation.  The one area I'm worried about the Mets is defense.  Bullpen wise, Addison Reed and Tyler Clippard have done reasonably well in front of Familia but Bartolo Colon is their bullpen weapon.  He can give multiple innings or get a key guy or 2 out.  He's very versatile.
 
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AB in DC said:
 
Not only does Mondesi Jr have no MLB experience, he doesn't even AAA experience
 
 
WTF are the Royals doing adding a AA player to their World Series roster?
It does seem kinda weird.  
But also pretty awesome if he gets in a game.  According to ESPN Mondesi would be the first player ever to make his MLB debut in a World Series.
I have no strong pull either way, though I'm probably leaning more Royals than Mets.  KC was the place my family lived the longest until we moved to NH, so my older brothers were all Royals fans, and George Brett's name was always spoken with reverence.  But its still very close.  Never thought that it would even be close after the trauma of '86.  But I guess three world championships was the perfect cure for that.