NL Champions

I never thought I'd be able to experience that level of euphoria. Well, I got to be there live and in living color. It has been six days since the New York Mets rolled over the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS and won the 2015 National League pennant. As I type this, they are 90 minutes from kicking off Game 1 of the World Series against Kansas City.

Tickets that were going for at least $600 just a few days prior were suddenly available for around $200. I scored one for $140, which I was pretty pleased with. Before the game, I went to the Fifty/50 bar in Wicker Park for a Philly foldover sandwich (not as good as last time, can you guys cook the peppers and onions please?). Then it was the 70 bus east on Division, followed by a 2 mile walk north on Clark St to Country Club, where I met up with about 25 Mets fans. I saw some old friends like Larry and Vic and met some people who came in just for the game, like Brian, Scott, and Chico. I sat in Section 524, right next to the press box. The weather was pretty comfortable, around 50 degrees, unseasonably warm for an October evening in Chicago. And thankfully, I had two Mets fans sitting behind me.

I was incredibly excited, but very focused. I was not about to get cocky; I've been burned too many times to do that. Plus, I had a feeling that Chicago was due to at least take one game. But even if they did, I felt good that Matt Harvey would close them out in Game 5. Curtis Granderson lead off with a single against Jason Hammel and Daniel Murphy got yet another base hit. And then Lucas Duda, silent all playoffs, smoked a three-run homer to center field and it was 3-0. Travis d'Arnaud immediately followed with a bomb to right field for a 4-0 first inning lead. I was feeling really good at this point, but wasn't ready to celebrate. In the second, Duda knocked a two-run double into right center for a 6-0 Mets advantage. The air went out of Wrigley Field right there. Yes, the Cubs rallied in the fourth and fifth innings, but managed just one run. They even loaded the bases with no outs and settled for one run.

Defense played such a pivotal role in this game, as well as the series. David Wright caught a blast from Starlin Castro to save at least two runs in that fourth inning. Meanwhile, you had Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler playing the outfield for the Cubs like they were Stevie Wonder. A missed dive here, a dropped fly ball there.

After the seventh inning, I headed closer to the field to watch with my friends Larry and Daniel. We saw Murphy hit a home run in the eighth inning, his sixth consecutive postseason game with a home run, setting a new major league record. Tyler Clippard gave up a two-run homer to Kris Bryant and the lead was 8-3. But Jeurys Familia closed Chicago out in the 9th inning, striking out Dexter Fowler, and about a thousand of us Mets fans who were in Wrigley got to celebrate the franchise's first pennant in 15 years.

For me, it was my redemption. Maybe my biggest sports fandom triumph aside from the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup 21 long years ago. For the 20 losses I've seen the Mets have in Chicago compared to maybe 3 or 4 wins. After we've gone through Bernie Madoff scams, the reduced payroll, the terrible signings (ala Jason Bay, Frank Francisco, and Oliver Perez), the Yankee dynasty, and the Phillies title, and the heartbreak in 2006, the epic collapses of 2007 and 2008, Willie Randolph getting unjustly canned in California, the Tony Bernazard scandal, Citi Field initially opening as a Brooklyn Dodgers tribute park, and on and on.

My expectation was I was certain this series would go at least six games, even though I felt the Mets were the better all around team. It took all the pressure off. Honestly, the World Series would be gravy now. I'm sure I'll be disappointed if they lose, but I can't imagine that I would be devastated. Onto Kansas City. Kansas City, here we come.

We New York Mets fans have a moment to be on top of the mountain. A precious moment on top. Actually, it's right on the crest. Just a few steps left...to the summit.

Goosebumps

Check out @brianpmangan's Tweet: https://twitter.com/brianpmangan/status/659024605886181376?s=09

It is on.

Well, the Mets took care of business in Game 5 in Los Angeles...well, Daniel Murphy, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Jeurys Familia did anyway. And for the first time in nine years, they are playing in the NLCS. Against the hated Cubs. Game 1, I still can't believe this is actually happening, is tonight. Matt Harvey pitching against Jon Lester. 

It's pitching vs. hitting. 

The Amazin's vs. The Lovable Losers.

1969 and 1986 vs. 1907 and 1908.

Flushing vs. Wrigleyville.

Meet the Mets vs. Go Cubs Go.

Mr. Met vs...that weird Woo Woo dude.
The 7 Line Army vs. The Bleacher Bums.

Bob Murphy and Ralph Kiner vs. Harry Caray and Jack Brickhouse.

Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock vs. Bill Murray.

The City That Never Sleeps vs. The Second City. 

Nathan's vs. Vienna Beef. 

Real pizza vs. deep dish.

The MTA vs. The CTA.

Times Square vs. Logan Square.

Central Park vs. Lincoln Park.

The Empire State Building vs Willis Tower, or whatever it's being called this month.

And Me against my home.

Gonna be intense. Gonna be stressful. Gonna be a classic.

NHL predictions

Metropolitan division
y-Washington
x-N.Y. Rangers
x-Pittsburgh
x-Columbus
N.Y. Islanders
Philadelphia
New Jersey
Carolina

Atlantic division
y-Montreal
x-Tampa Bay
x-Toronto
x-Detroit
Ottawa
Boston
Florida
Buffalo

Central division
y-Chicago
x-St. Louis
x-Nashville
x-Minnesota
Winnipeg
Colorado
Dallas

Pacific division
y-Los Angeles
x-Vancouver
x-Anaheim
x-San Jose
Calgary
Edmonton
Arizona

Eastern conference
Montreal over Pittsburgh

Western conference
Anaheim over Chicago

Stanley Cup Finals
Montreal over Anaheim

NLCS Dread

I first moved to Chicagoland in July of 1997. At the time, I was still attending summer camp when I should have been working, I was incredibly shy and insecure, and I was about to become a junior in high school. Obviously, being the New Yorker that I am at my roots, I knew I would deal with clashes with the New York and Chicago cultures. Those clashes apply to food, accents, landmarks, and certainly sports. And in no sport is it more relevant than in baseball.

The New York Mets are my number one team; anyone who has known me more than 15 minutes knows that about me. After God, friends, and food, they're probably my next biggest passion. And out here, the Chicago Cubs are the number one baseball team and probably the second biggest sports team after the Bears. They used to play in the NL East together, and there have been several very competitive divisional races between the two clubs, most notably 1969, 1984, and 1989.

Since I have lived here, the two franchises have rarely been good at the same time. The teams fought for the 1998 wild card along with the San Francisco Giants. Of course, the Mets dropped their last five games, leaving the Cubs to beat the Giants in a one-game playoff. the only other years that really comes close is 2008, when the Mets blew the division to Philadelphia and the Cubs won their division.

So now, it is 2015. Both have young, exciting teams that made the playoffs. One won their division, one won the wild card playoff game. One is built on starting pitching, one on offense. One has ownership who spends money, one has to roll pennies to turn the lights on in the stadium. And both are leading their NLDS series 2 games to 1. By the end of this night, there may be an NLCS in place of the New York Mets vs the Chicago Cubs.

Never before has anything like this happened. The Jets and Bears won't be playing in a Super Bowl anytime soon. The Knicks and Bulls have barely had any kind of rivalry since Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing retired. But each of the least two springs, we came one game away from seeing the Rangers and Blackhawks go at it in the Stanley Cup Finals. Two years ago, the Blackhawks lost in overtime to the Kings in Game 7. This year, the Rangers screwed it up with their dismal effort in Game 7 at home when they didn't even register a shot on goal in the third period.

Now we are one game away yet again. The Cubs all but have Game 4 in the bag, as they proceed to hit one home run after another against St. Louis. The Mets can advance to the NLS if they win Game 4 tonight in New York or Game 5 in Los Angeles. I would honestly rather see the Mets blow this series against the Dodgers than lose to Chicago. Because no matter what happens, I lose. I will either be incredibly hated or incredibly bullied. I really don't even want to imagine the hell my life is about to become over the next two weeks and beyond. Because no matter what happens, the result will live on forever. It's truly scary.

Mets magic

So we are just two days away, 48 hours away, from the New York Mets playing their first postseason game since October 19, 2006. I, and so many others, have waited years for this moment. We have endured Bernie Madoff, Jason Bay, ownership not being willing to spend money, Luis Castillo's dropped pop up, the Tom Glavine implosion, and on and on and on I could go.

Before the season, my expectations for modest. I expected the Mets to win at least 80 games for the first time since 2008. But I didn't really know if they had the offensive depth to make a legitimate run at a division title. But early on those expectations were exceeded as the compiled an 11 game winning streak in April. But during that street, within 48 hours, those ominous signs of disaster invaded our positive mindset. David Wright injured a hamstring, and it would eventually be diagnosed as spinal stenosis. Travis d'Arnaud broke his hand and left-handed reliever Jerry Blevins, who looked outstanding early on, broke his forearm. May was not a month that I would like to remember as they got swept in Wrigley Field over for games. I did get to see Noah Syndergaard make his big league debut, but that was a night I would just as soon forget. June got off to a decent enough start but a seven game losing streak against Toronto Atlanta and Milwaukee threaten to derail any hopes of a successful season. The only games I attended in New York or in mid-july against Arizona, where Kirk Nieuwenhuis somehow hit 3 home runs in a single game. The Mets end of the first half with a 47 and 42 record having won six of their previous seven games.

But this line up was still a big question mark. With Eric Campbell, John Mayberry, and the like having everyday roles on this team, this line of just did not seem capable of carrying the team to a playoff berth. The young starting pitching, anchored by Jacob deGrom Matt Harvey, and Syndergaard looked to be dynamite. In the bullpen, Jeurys Familia was really emerging as a legitimate closer. But the middle relief, with Bobby Parnell, Carlos Torres, and and Alex Torres had Mets fans popping Zantac every time they entered a game. Hansel Robles, had electric stuff, but didn't usually know how to control it.

In late July they lost two of three games in Washington, with the last loss being absolutely brutal. General manager Sandy Alderson did make some moves, acquiring Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson to shore up the bench. A trade was in the works for the Mets to trade Wilmer Flores and injured starting pitcher Zack Wheeler to Milwaukee and reacquire outfielder Carlos Gomez who could have been an excellent addition to the offense. But at the last minute, the trade fell through and we knew that something had to be done to really push this offense over the edge. The fans needed something to believe in. And then on July 30th, they lost a horrific game at home to San Diego in the rain. Justin Upton, who was rumored to be coming to the Mets, hit a three run homer off Familia and our playoff hopes seem to be in a lot of trouble. They were 52 and 50 and four games out of first. It was one day before the trade deadline and the first place Nationals were coming to town.

Then, on July 31st, my 34th birthday, I was at Gino's East working. With less than one hour to go before the trade deadline, I got the alert that the New York Mets had acquired Yoenis Cespedes from the Detroit Tigers for two minor league pitchers. I knew the combination of power and defense that he provided and that he would be an amazing addition. The team turned around that night. Flores drilled a off homerun in game one of the series, and in reality the National League Eastern Division race was over right there. The Mets win on to sweep Washington and they would win their next 4 games as well. They took back first place on August 3, never letting it go. The Mets swept the three game series in Washington in September, rallying in each game to do so. By the end of this series, their lead was seven games and everyone knew the race was over. The clinch day turned out to be September 26th when they defeated Cincinnati 10 to 2.

A few things need to be pointed out. Curtis Granderson has had an amazing season. We had no idea he would be the teams leadoff hitter, and that was one of the things they were really missing going into this season. But he stepped in, showing excellent plate discipline, hitting 26 home runs and driving in 90 runs, while walking 91 times. Lucas Duda is an incredibly streaky had her, but at one point he hit 9 home runs in a games.  Daniel Murphy will drive you crazy with his base running and defensive mistakes, but he's a professional hitter and one that will be missed when he leaves after this season. Travis d'Arnaud has definitely emerged as a legitimate catcher in baseball, if he can stay healthy. Wilmer Flores may not play great defense, but he has a knack for coming up with big hits. Even Ruben Tejada hit .261 this season.

And that pitching. Bartolo Colon won 14 games and pitch to nearly 200 innings. Matt Harvey pitched 281 innings, coming back from Tommy John surgery. DeGrom was in serious contention for the Cy Young Award until he started to struggle in late August. Steven Matz has only started six games, but looks like he is becoming that left handed force. And out of the bullpen, Addison Reed and Tyler Clippard look like an excellent bridge to familia.

So on Friday, they will be in Hollywood to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 5 game series. The Dodgers have two phenomenal pitchers in Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke. After that, their pitching staff scares nobody. They have some decent hitters such as Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Yasiel Puig, and they have Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins coming off the bench. But there is nobody that should terrify the Mets staff. Chances are this will be a long series, but I'm not worried about the Dodgers having home field advantage. The Mets have a better lineup and a better bullpen and should win this series. Meanwhile, on the other side of the National League playoffs, the three dominant NL Central teams can beat each other up.

Fall is definitely here

I guess when the temperature can't even hit 60 degrees anymore, it's an ominous sign that winter is around the corner. I don't mind bundling up, but I'd at least like it to get to Thanksgiving before I have to start doing that. But it is the first week of October and we hit 70 degrees today, so I guess this is our last rush of heat. I took Maggie to Kankakee River State Park which is near Bourbonnais. It's about 90 minutes south of where I live and it was a nice area to walk around. We walked a three mile trail near the river, and there were many cliffs that I stood on, while overlooking the river. It was very calming to hear the rush of the river water crash and flow.