Monday Mentions: Thank You, Royals

Kansas City Royals

I would like to take this time to thank the Kansas City Royals for saving myself and other Yankees fans and all non-Mets fans really from living in a world where the Mets are the champions of baseball. It wasn’t easy, but the Royals only let the Mets hang around for five games in the World Series and capped off ending the Mets’ season by winning against Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia at Citi Field and in front of Mets fans.

Here is another installment of “Monday Mentions” focused on a mix of questions and comments from Twitter about the Mets playing in the World Series, the Yankees and the Giants.

After the Mets making the World Series, this was the most disgusting part of the entire World Series. It was worse than David Wright possibly becoming a champion or Matt Harvey becoming a postseason hero or Daniel Murphy becoming a postseason legend or Mets fans enjoying happiness.

Johnson was one of the worst Yankees of all time. I mean it’s not fault that Brian Cashman went into the 2014 season with Johnson as his everyday third baseman, but Johnson was so bad the Yankees eventually traded him in a garbage-for-garbage deal to the Red Sox for … Stephen Drew! Not only did Johnson hit .219/.304/.373 in 77 games with the Yankees, but he is the reason Drew became a Yankee. And after playing himself off the Yankees and then off the Red Sox, he was traded to the Orioles and ended up playing in the ALDS and ALCS with the Orioles with the Yankees and Red Sox not reaching the playoffs. Then this year Johnson gets to play in the World Series? Come on, Baseball Gods.

https://twitter.com/SluggerBro/status/659161450993291264

Harold Reynolds is incredibly bad in the booth. For all the people who complained about Tim McCarver over the years, and rightfully so at times, in three innings Reynolds could outdo a full season of Saturday and postseason games of McCarver. Some of his lines were so remarkable that I still can’t believe he said them and can’t believe FOX executives could listen to him and continue to run him out there and have him botch the World Series on national TV.

Reynolds was so bad that he overshadowed Tom Verducci’s corny jokes and constant reminders of storylines and anecdotes every single person, even casual fans, already knew. The majority of people don’t like Joe Buck, but would it be so bad to have Buck call games by himself? He doesn’t feel the need to always talk, lets the game breathe and rarely makes a mistake. Letting Buck get the Vin Scully treatment wouldn’t be the worst thing.

For a while I was starting to wonder why the teams I hate won’t lose. The 2014 Patriots won the Super Bowl. The 2013 Red Sox won the World Series. The 2007 Red Sox won the World Series. The 2004 Red Sox won the World Series. Why can’t any non-New York teams stop these teams from winning championships? The Mets beat Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke and Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta and had the lead in every World Series and needed to blow three of their four losses in the eighth inning or later. I’m glad I can always count on the Mets to keep things in check.

Same here. For the first time since leaving Yankee Stadium following the wild-card game loss, I’m ready to talk about the Yankees. The depression and devastation of the season ending in such miserable fashion has passed and now it’s time to begin the real offseason and get fully into the hot stove and all of the rumors and nonsense that comes with it along with the beat guys enjoying this part of the baseball calendar more than the actual season.

There’s only three-plus months now until the Yankees head to Tampa for spring training to being the 2016 season and there’s no doubt in my mind that there will be at least one significant trade in the coming weeks to shake up a stale roster.

It’s beginning to look like it. It’s insane that Victor Cruz initially injured his calf on Aug. 17 and now it’s Nov. 2, which means Cruz has had an injured calf for 77 days. That’s 11 weeks for a calf “strain.” Jason Pierre-Paul had his index finger amputated and damaged other parts of his hand on July 4 and will be playing in possibly a little over a week.

I’m not saying Cruz isn’t really hurt, and maybe his knee is actually the issue and they’re telling us it’s his calf, but this is bordering on absurd. I don’t want to hear about Cruz catching balls on the sidelines at practice or the release of any of his latest acting or documentary endeavors until he plays in a game.

That was the meanest thing anyone has ever said to me.