Brad

I hate shifts. Weren't they thinking of outlawing that? They also need to restrict the plays that can be reviewed.

I think if the Mets make the playoffs next year that would be an accomplishment in and of itself as, except for 2000 (after they'd gone to the NLCS in 1999), they've never gone to the playoffs in successive years. Terry, in his press conference on Sunday, said he was concerned as to how the pitchers' arms would be in spring training after having pitched an extra month this year. Bob Nightingale, who was on with Steve Phillips and Todd Hollandsworth this morning on MLB Leading Off, sounded a similar note of caution. Terry is expected to sign an extension this week. Cespedes is not expected to be back and Murphy unlikely to be resigned. Reportedly, they might be interested in Howie Kendrick, which would be a great signing.

It was pretty fluffy but a little attention is better than no attention.

Famiia wasn't supposed to be closer this year. He had been the set up man but then that rocket scientist Jennry Mejia, who was the closer, got suspended (actually got suspended again, which is why they brought in Clippard) and Familia was made the man. He had a small blip against the Cardinals right after the All Star break and then one right before the trading deadline but other than that he was very good in his first year. He developed the splitter, which got a lot of people out, but I think he fell in love with it too much and it cost him with Gordon. People aren't really talking so much about Familia today but the decision to let Harvey go out for the 9th. Ron Darling was on WFAN in NY today and he said in his day (not that long ago) when the manager said you're out, that was it. Also, the Duda throw was a topic. Terry will be back. Had he not made the playoffs, probably not. Just like a lot of teams, they have a lot of work to do. The infield defense is weak. Needs to be addressed somehow. d'Arnaud was awful at throwing runners out. Not sure how you address that. Middle relief, problems most teams have. Cespedes is gone (too expensive) so they need a bat to replace him unless they hope that Conforto will bloom.

There is no doubt that Collins had two bad games -- the Collins of 2014 and prior years showed up; I don't want to go through a litany right now. I'd rather watch paint dry. The fact of the matter is he came in and blew three saves. If you want to give him a pass on last night, fine, whatever. The other two, absolutely not. Definitely. You guys earned it. Congrats Scott. I was thinking last night of which player/pitchers I'd love to have. The ones that come to mind are Hosmer and Hochevar (really like the way he pitches).

I assume that's tongue in cheek. Until the last few years, closers came in to solve messy situations (runner on 1st and 2nd, etc.). Recently, you bring closers at the beginning of an inning. However, there's no reason why a closer shouldn't have been able to handle the situation. Trust me, Terry and Dan Warthen are very protective of their players. Unfortunately, inexplicably, Familia couldn't get it done. The Royals had something to do with that.

I don't think he did his job. It's not his fault that Murphy didn't field the ball but then he has to hold them at 3-3. More often than not, however, it seems that when something happens behinds a pitcher, it affects them. For his own peace of mind going forward, whether it's this year or next, he needs to come in and show he can do it.

Dave and Jim, thanks for pointing that out. Give all all credit to the Royals for winning the game but when you can manage only six hits and your 2-3-4-5-6 hitters go for 2 for the game, what can you expect. I'm sure we've seen the last of Cespedes, what with him messing up another ball in the outfield, setting up a run, and then being doubled off in the 9th. What is he thinking; he has nowhere to go with Murphy in front of him. Murphy reinforced why he won't be back: poor defense and a steaky hitter. From hero to goat. As an aside Murphy the goat put the hex on the Cubs in 1945 so he's gone from goat to goat. Probably a little unfair to pin the label on him as Familia didn't do his job after the game was tied. This was a poorly managed game starting with game 3. Why is Familia pitching in game 3 where you have a six run lead. Second, he only planned to use Matz for 5 but then allowed him to pitch into the 6th. At the very least, he should have been out after he gave up the first hit. Third, he uses Colon for only one batter when he could have brought him back for the 7th. I understand that you have a formula (Reed, Clippard, Familia) but Clippard hasn't been effective for a month so so you need to adjust your thinking, especially with only four games to go in the season, at the most. As soon as Clippard walks the first guy, he should have been gone. If you're going to bring Familia in for 5 outs, why not 6? And this mindless doubles witching drives me crazy, taking out Conforto and Lagares ( the only guy hitting the ball consistently!) When you have a lead, five outs to go and no one on base, you should win the game. I expect them to win today and return the series to KC but not much expectations after that. Scott, We, they, are probably as frustrated as I'm sure you were last year and both of us have been for the last 30 years.

Catesta is a fan just like you. Now, I wouldn't have made the comment he made but that's me. No one came on complaining when you said something like that's Royals baseball after they won game 1. You're allowed to gloat just like we are. As far as Noah's pitch, I'm glad he pitched inside and told them to meet him 60 feet 6 inches if they didn't like it. You have to pitch inside or batters get too comfortable. Dave Eiland said basically the same thing about Murphy and no one took umbrage. Ultimately, I'm not sure it did much good as the Royals scored runs off of him. However, it set a tone and showed that the Mets are not going to let the Royals think they're on the way to a coronation. I'm a Mets fan just as you're a Royals fan and that's nothing I'm ashamed of, no matter how well or poor they do. I admire their style of baseball as they play the game well but our pitchers aren't going to let you own both sides of the plate without a fight. The Royals had their chance to retaliate and stil do. Also, let's not forget this is supposed to be fun so there's no need to take it personal.

I love it when sore losers shoot their mouth off.

I gave them a glance. Of course, you will post articles supporting your case. I leave those things to history.

Didn't look at them. If I get a chance I'll read them.

I've been watching it 53 years (got you by two ) and greatness (whether great or not) is probably best not decided in the moment but for history to judge. Let the Royals first win it before we start conferring them a royal status. If they win it in four, I will be the first to offer congratulations to Scott as I'm sure he will be on Cloud 9. However, I don't think it's going to happen. Hope it goes back to KC. I will agree that if the Mets don't win tonight, the Royals will probably win in 4 and we can start planning for next year and, hopefully, a return trip. *** This was in today's New York Times: The Mets, the Royals and Charlie Parker, Linked by Autumn in New York

This is a question for Jim as moderator but a couple of days ago I was going to quote Scott in one of my responses (to be posted from my PC) and then had to do something else (like work!). When I went back, I couldn't get rid of the quote box so I've had to post responses from my phone. Anyway someone can help?

great is different for individual players vs teams.

I can't speak for what the Yankees or other like teams may do because the Mets don't follow that approach. So you're saying that if somehow the Mets come back and win this series the Royals are a great team? Seriously? If they win this year, which they should, that's a great achievement. Two WS appearances and one championship. I consider the 86 Mets a very good team but because they didn't do it again (should have, but that's another story) they were just a very good team. These are just my opinions as a fan and if you disagree, that's no problem. We're just having an exchange of views.

If you don't win it all you're not and they didn't. If you want to say the Orioles from 69 to 71 were a great team, I suppose I have no issue with that. To borrow from another sport, the Bills went to four consecutive SBs but because they failed to win one they are not considered a great team. I realize it's all a little subjective.

If the pundits and experts don't give them the respect you think they deserve, that's their issue, not mine. I think we all knew they were good and they demonstrated it throughout the season. They are good, a very good team but before we start calling them a great team let's see them first win this one and then do it again. When I think of recent great teams, the late 90s Yankees and the Red Sox of 2004 and 2007 come to mind. I don't even include the Giants there although they are or had very good teams. If it was me I wouldn't worry about what others think. In fact, during this year's playoffs I liked that the Mets were the underdogs.

I thought the Royals were a good team -- not a great team, a good team -- before. Great is thrown around too much. I tend to be sparing in the use of that word. No disrespect to your team intended. However, I thought the Mets pitching could limit their damage. Obviously, I wasn't correct, at least so far. This series might have changed in the first game in the ninth inning. Reminds me to a certain extent of the 2000 World Series when the Mets were ready to take game 1 but Armando Benitez lost the game. Series basically over. Are the Royals a better team or a team playing better. Right now, it's both. Moreover, Too many automatic outs in the Mets lineup. I also think that Mets pitching need to move people off the plate and throw inside and hit a couple of people if necessary. Royals hitters are too comfortable right now. Hopefully, being home will make a difference.

Ok I'm a believer. It's no crime to lose to a better team.

They lifted Niese too early so after Colon I think it would have been Gilmartin. They also had Robles. Not sure why they didn't bring him in. They weren't going to use Matz under any circumstances. If the Mets are going to get back into this series deGrom is the man. Contrary to what everybody thinks deGrom is the ace of the staff. If the Royals beat deGrom it could be a short series. Let's face it, Harvey is still in a recovery year. However, he (along with Familia) blew the game; he wasn't good when he needed to be as the "ace" of the staff. He's a bit of a prima donna and his teammates just sort of shake their head when something comes up involving him, be it the innings thing, being late or what have you It wouldn't surprise me if they trade him; there will be no Cespedes next year and they will need to bring in a bat. Mets ownership is pretty cheap (due to the Madoff scandal) so they will be looking to spend as little money as possible.

See, that's all the more reason to respect the baseball physics of the Bartolo Colon Zone - he's a walking emitter of synthetic manstuff into every occupiable molecule of baseball matter. I bet he can bend baseball light just by looking at it. Something's gotta be keeping those legs viable. I love Colon. Yes, he did steroids but did his time. He's just a very good pitcher and I'll be see sorry to see him go. He's been a tremendous influence on some of the Latin pitchers; he even told Robles that if you're not going to throw inside, why don't you go home. He's been a treat to watch, just as Young was a treat to watch because they show you that you don't have to throw 95 to succeed. Just move the ball up and down, left to right and so forth.

The Royals are a very good team, probably better than the Mets top to bottom but in my opinion the Mets let one slip away that they had won. Familia, from time to time, likes to use this stupid quick pitch, which is not very effective. Why a guy who has this fantastic splitter and can throw 97 plus needs to think he needs a trick pitch is beyond me. The Royals aren't stupid. They saw the videos of when he does it and Gordon was ready. Give him credit for hitting it. I hope he learns from this not to do it again. When Gordon hit the HR, game over. I've seen this before, game 4 of the 1988 NLCS against the Dodgers, a game that will haunt me the rest of my life but let's not go back to ancient history. My criticisms of Collins: why on God's name is he starting Kelly Johnson and then replacing him with Cuddeyer (who is done in my opinion). I thought (as did a lot of Mets fans) that Lagares would be in CF, with Conforto as the DH. A mistake as they gifted a run in the first. Also, what in the heck is Collins thinking pulling Conforto in the 6th for defense. This is a move I would have expected in the 8th. Now, it didn't really hurt them as Lagares got two hits and scored the 4th run but you have to wonder about the thinking process that goes into that. Bullpen was better than expected so I was pleasantly surprised there. I still wish he would go with Addison Reed in the 8th but Collins sticks to his formula. Wright is a liability at 3rd. Due to his spinal stenosis, he has to throw a certain way and it cost him in the 14th. Interestingly I was surprised that Collins didn't use a challenge on the play; nothing to lose at that point. Harvey wasn't real sharp, probably due to the layoff. His start against the Dodgers wasn't sharp (due to a long layoff) but was sharp against the Cubs because he was on regular rest; I expect him to look good for game 5. Don't know what to expect from deGrom tonight as he hasn't looked good in the early innings in any of his post season starts. Being down 2-0 is not in a good position to be in but not the end of the world as the 85 Royals and 86 Mets have shown.

This game is a killer on sleep

Friggin Collins keeps going to Clippard. Game over