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Sure, the Mets lost the World Series to the Royals in five games, but with their young and talented rotation in place, they could be a perennial contender for years. They should be, even! Will they be, though? That's a question we won't know the answer to until we see if their owners, the Wilpons, finally open up the wallets a bit to collect the complementary pieces this absurd rotation deserves.
The lineup wasn't any good until around the trade deadline, when Yoenis Cespedes was acquired and went nuclear at the plate and rookie Michael Conforto had a very successful debut. Cespedes is now a free agent, as is second baseman Daniel Murphy -- who finished third among starters in OPS+ -- so the Mets will at least have to do something to replace their production, whether it's re-signing Yoenis or looking elsewhere. Lucas Duda might be their only reliable top-end hitter, as he's had a season like 2015 three times in four tries now, and Curtis Granderson, for as good as his year was, will be 35 next year and hadn't been quite this productive since 2011. It's not a given that he will struggle, or that the league will adjust to Conforto just long enough to mess up the sophomore's line, but you can see these scenarios occurring in a lineup that can't afford their becoming reality.
Better relievers and better defenders would go a long way, if the hitting isn't available or the Mets just whiff on bringing it in. The Mets will likely have to spend to make that happen, though, especially since they have shown themselves unwilling to trade prospects and young players, and despite their presence in New York's market, that is not a given. This rotation deserves some spending to help it out, and the fans who have so much hope for the future deserve it, too. It's all up to the Wilpons to actually do it, though.
- The Royals had the relievers, defenders, and devil magic on their side to win the 2015 World Series.
- Salvador Perez won the World Series MVP, but in reality, it could have gone to just about anyone in the Royals' starting lineup, or even to Wade Davis. That uniform success without a singular standout is part of how the Royals won to begin with.
- Christian Colon was drafted ahead of Chris Sale in 2010, and that's been deemed a huge mistake for reasons you can probably figure out pretty easily on your own. With that being said, Colon has a World Series-winning single on his résumé now, while Sale hasn't even pitched in the postseason, so at least the Royals can comfort themselves with that.
- Ned Yost was so excited for his celebratory Gatorade bath that he ran towards it.
- The Royals were able to send Game 5 to extras in the first place thanks to a ridiculous baserunning play. Eric Hosmer might very well have run knowing Lucas Duda isn't a very good defender and then tested that theory, but this doesn't change that he is so, so lucky that the throw was off by a mile.
- The World Series champion parade will be held in Kansas City on Tuesday.
- How much money do the Blue Jays have available to spend this offseason?
- A look at which Yankees player needs to rebound the most in 2016.
- The Royals were just 90 feet away from tying things in the 2014 World Series, but this time, they managed the feat.
- Sam Miller has further breakdowns of how the Mets lost and the Royals won.