BATTING - Numbers reflected are for ALL of mlb........ KANSAS CITY = Runs (7th), HRs (24th), XBH (12th), TBs (9th), SBs (5th), OBP (11th), BA (3rd), OPS (10th) NEW YORK....= Runs (17th), HRs, (9th), XBH (7th), TBs (17th), SBs (29th), OBP (21st), BA (28th), OPS (20th) _______________________________________________________________________________ PITCHING - Numbers reflected are for ALL of mlb....... KANSAS CITY = ERA (10th), SAVES (3rd), Ks (22nd), BBs (11th), QS (24th), BAA (12th) NEW YORK......= ERA (4th), SAVES (5th), Ks (10th), BBs (29th), QS (2nd), BAA (6th) _______________________________________________________________________________ STANDINGS = K.C. Royals - 95-67 HOME (51-30) AWAY (44-37) Run differential = +83 STANDINGS = N.Y. Mets...- 90-72 HOME (49-32) AWAY (41-40) Run differential = +70
If we value pitching more than hitting in a series, QS and ERA comparisons jump out at me. KC SP looks suspect...."5 and fly"...mustn't let the game get out of hand while Mets' SP rolls along kinda like a machine. Obvious strength of KC pitching staff is their pen and the team can score runs....but they'll be facing a different crew of SP in this series. I don't believe the Mets are necessarily going to need a BabeReggie Murphy act to scuff up KC SP....but it won't hurt. Anxious to see how KC lineup fairs vs Met SP. ( and vice versa ) If the "game" is close after 5/6 innings....KC is alive and well. I think this will be the difference.
IMO, the entire Key will be, can the Young Guns keep the Royals from getting on base? KC likes to play small ball, or 3 run HR ball, hell they just like to do whatever it takes. One must get on base 1st, to get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in........ Hope Herzog is in attendance, tho' I doubt he can stand up stay balanced enough to throw the 1st Pitch. ya' know both Brett's will be, and drinking the bar under.........
... I picked the Royals is because IMO, the Royals have a better balanced team, overall...and the reason I say this because; ...their hitting approach matches up with the Mets power arms better than most any other team because in their entire line up, they don't have one batter with a "HR or bust" approach...especially when deeper in the count...they shorten up to get the base hit or at least make contact. ...The Royals strike out less often than any other team in Baseball...and by a wide margin. ...They also run the bases very well. ...They also have the better defense. ...They also have better relief pitching.
I don't see KC losing 2 years in a row. This time they have home field advantage. It is theirs to lose.
...and don't forget, when comparing a NL team to an AL team, many batting and pitching stats are somewhat skewed by the difference of having DH or not...NL teams' pitching #s are generally lower because of this, as is the NL's offensive #s because they have no DH.
I'm not sure why? but every time I see Grandyman in the batters box; I think of His Entry Tune, noted herein- damned, can't get this gosh damned tune out of my fkn head, (enough to make anyone crazy).....
Give credit where credit is due...Kevin Long, for the 3rd straight year! 2015 Mets: 17th in scoring MLB 20th OPS 28th BA And this is with Cespedes batting .285, hitting 17 HRs, 44 RBI, .942 OPS for August and September....continuing to have his best season coupled with his time with Detroit where he was ALSO doing very well. Gotta love that Cespedes trade. Yesiree, it saved Long's ass .... Lmao. But Grandy hit well vs RHP..... earth shattering news. Fortunately the Mets faced a few BP pitchers in the NLCS (Arietta was back to normal in his last two postseason starts,lol), And they'll be facing a SP staff (KC) which has been getting the sh!t kicked out of them in this post season. Without deGrom or Harvey, the Mets would've finished out of the money while still having those less than mediocre team batting stats compared to the rest of MLB. Say what you want, but Long has been consistent the past three years. Good old Kevin! Lmao. Bwaaaaaaaa Haaaaaaaaa Enjoyable!
