Well, that could have gone better.
If you’re a Mets fan, you have to be upset about their start to the 2015 World Series. They dropped both games in Kansas City: first a 14-inning duel, then an inexcusable 7-1 shellacking. But come back from the ledge, Mets fans, because all is not lost. There are still plenty to reasons to believe that the Mets can come back from this 0-2 deficit. Don’t believe us? Read on.
Why the Mets Can Come Back
Elite Pitching Aids Comebacks
Remember when the Red Sox came back from an 0-3 deficit to the Yankees in the ALCS? Of course you do. How did they do it? Great pitching. Hitting is an inconsistent thing: if it were the Royals down 0-2, they would be in much more serious trouble than the Mets are now. But the Mets are invested in pitching, and pitching can be counted on – more often than hitting can, anyway. Yes, the Royals just took two games against the Mets two best pitchers. Yes, that is a very bad thing. Yes, this Royals team is better than that Yankees team we referenced. But the Mets still have the pitching advantage in every game left in this series. And in the next two games – which the Mets can tie up the series by winning both of – the Royals are starting decidedly mediocre pitchers.
Home Sweet Home
MLB analysts were having a field day this week. They all predicted that the Mets’ homer-happy offense could falter in the deep outfield of the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium. And they were right! It was a bad time to be a Mets hitter, and a good time to be a self-congratulatory sports analyst.
But remember: for the next three straight games, the Mets will not have to hit anything out of Kauffman Stadium. They’ll be back in their own Citi Field, with more average dimensions that are a bit friendlier to the long ball. Don’t be surprised if this Mets offense wakes back up.
No DH, No Problem
One of the biggest challenges in facing this Royals lineup is that there are no holes in it. Every single guy in the lineup makes contact, and since the first two games were played in the Royals’ home park, there was no pitcher to pick on. With the games returning to Citi Field, the Mets have an advantage – not just for the reasons outlined in the section above, but also because the series will revert to National League rules. That means pitchers have to bat, and the Royals will finally have at least one rally-killer in their offense. The Mets offense will also have to deal with that, of course, but the Mets’ pitchers are actually pretty good with the bat. Playing with National League rules will benefit the Mets.
It’s Been Done Before
This isn’t a 0-3 hole, which no World Series team has ever recovered from. It’s a 0-2 hole, which 11 World Series teams have recovered from. In fact, one of those teams was the New York Mets. In 1986, they lost Game 1 by one run and Game 2 by 6 runs. Sound familiar? If the 2015 Mets can learn to never give up, they can emulate the 1986 squad in happier ways than they have so far.
