1. The Long Layoff
The most disheartening aspect about the 2015 World Series at this very moment for Mets fans is this: the long layoff.
When a hot team steamrolls its way through the NL or AL, they certainly do catch a break as it relates to resting players. At the same time, and very unfortunately, they also lose the mojo it once had going for them.
Tuesday is too far down the road. If it were up to the Mets, they would’ve started the World Series on Saturday instead of showing up at Islanders games and on Jimmy Kimmel Live. There’s no question about this.
Matt Harvey has made two starts thus far in these playoffs. His first start, against the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLDS, came off a long layoff. He struggled.
His second start came off more normal rest in Game 1 of the NLCS. He thrived.
Concerns about the long layoff have to top the list.
We’ve seen it so many times in the past rear its ugly head. How about the Colorado Rockies in 2007. Clint Hurdle’s team suddenly turned hotter than the next Taylor Swift song. They ripped through the NL, then waited for the Boston Red Sox to comeback from a 3-1 series deficit in the ALCS, only to get swept in the World Series.
Hopefully, for the Mets sake, they shake off the rust early in Game 1 on Tuesday night.