Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Enough Is Enough: In Defense Of The Mets


If you've taken the subway in New York City over the past few months, you've likely encountered this gem of an advertisement.  The Mets have long been at the receiving end of myriad barbs ranging from humorous to scathingly sardonic.  In many cases, though, there is an element of truth to what is said about the Mets...

...but not with this one.  Frankly, I'm tired of a) having to defend my position as a Mets fan and b) having to listen to baseless hyperbole like the above quip.  Oftentimes, jokes like this are merely indicative of more herd-mentality, knuckle-dragging on the part of the jokester; usually, this comedic-genius has heard someone else say it and thought that they, themselves, would get some cheap laughs at the expense of the Mets.  Little fact checking has been done to see whether or not these claims have any basis whatsoever; it just seems to be a running gag that the Mets are a perennially terrible team. 

Now, granted, the Mets are not the exemplar of baseball par excellence and, worse, they are, essentially, the kid brother to the Yankees and their twenty-seven championships.  I would never try to compare the Mets to the Yankees because, honestly, there is no comparison.  The Yanks beat the Mets in every category that matters from total team championships to quantity of greatest-of-all-time players.  Instead, I would like to make the argument that the Mets are no worse (and, in some cases, are better) than the denizens of the Garden: the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers.

A caveat: I hate the Knicks.  This is a well-known fact.  With that said, though, I must make it quite clear that I am not looking to besmirch the Knicks or to offer any backhanded criticism/take unnecessary swipes at them.  To do so would be hypocritical since I am attempting to make a case for why people should stop doing that very same thing with the Mets.  I will rely solely on the statistical facts that I have uncovered in my research to plead my case.

The Knicks and the Rangers have some of the most passionate fans in all of sports.  The building that both play in is called "The Mecca" of the basketball world.  Both franchises have had their ups and downs, with the former having particularly horrendous front-office issues (much like the Mets)...and yet, still, little comparison is drawn between either organization and the Mets.  The Knicks and Rangers are "winners" whereas the Mets are always "losers."  I would argue, however, that such labels are misnomers and that the lines that separate the success of all three teams are much blurrier than most people think.

For the purposes of my argument, I researched 25 of the previous 26 seasons (not including the current one as the Mets are still playing) from the 1985-86 hockey & basketball seasons (1986 baseball) through the 2009-10 seasons (2010 for baseball).  I first looked at the win/loss percentage for each season and whether or not the teams reached the playoffs and, ultimately, the conference of league finals.  I then tallied the average win/loss percentage for the full 25 seasons (24 for hockey as one was locked out), the maximum win/loss percentage (e.g. best single season record), the worst win/loss percentage, the total number of seasons with records at or above .500, and, finally, the percentage of finals-per-playoff appearances.  The latter is meant to demonstrate each team's ability to capitalize on its playoff appearances.

Here are the results:                                                        

KNICKS         METS        RANGERS

Average Win/Loss % from 1985-86 to 2009-10              
49.37%           51.41%         45.55%

Maximum Win/Loss % from 1985-86 to 2009-10          
73.20%           66.70%         62.50%

Minimum Win/Loss % from 1985-86 to 2009-10             
28.00%           36.40%         30.48%

Playoff Appearances from 1985-86 to 2009-10 
   15                    5                   14

Finals Appearances from 1985-86 to 2009-10     
    4                     5                    3

Percent of Finals Per Playoffs en toto                               
26.67%          100.00%        21.43%

Seasons At Or Above .500 from 1985-86 to 2009-10      
12 / 25            14 / 25           7 / 24



BREAKING DOWN THE DATA

Of the three teams, the Mets are the statistical leader in all but two categories.  Historically, over the twenty-five season period, the Mets have a better win percentage (.5141) than both the Knicks (.4937) AND the Rangers (.4555).  While the Knicks had the best single season at .732, the Mets have never had as poor a record as either the Knicks (who had a .280 season) or the Rangers (who had a.3048 season).  Mind you, the Mets have played roughly DOUBLE the games of either the Knicks or Rangers during this period and still have managed to show superior consistency.

The Knicks and Rangers have a clear edge in terms of post-season appearances, SMOKING the Mets with 15 and 14 appearances, respectively, to the Mets' paltry 5 showings.  This, perhaps, is at the root of many people's negative perspective towards the Mets.  But let's look closely...

Even though the Knicks made 15 trips to the post season (and the Rangers 14), the former appeared in either the Conference Finals or NBA/NHL Finals 4 and 3 times, respectively.  The Percent Finals Per Playoffs is in the mid to low twenties for both teams.  The Mets, conversely, have made either the League Championship Series or the World Series in ALL FIVE PLAYOFF APPEARANCES.  Granted--the Knicks and Rangers have triple or roughly triple the appearances...but the Mets contended more than either time.  Again, though the Mets have fewer trips, in 100% of their playoff appearances they were playing for a pennant or for the overall championship.  What's more important: making more trips and losing almost 75% of the time before reaching the ultimate or penultimate round, or making fewer trips but making them all count?  The subjective analysis is up to you, the reader.

The only point of contention I take with saying that the quantity of the Knicks' and Rangers' playoff appearances is superior to the Mets' is the fact that the playoff systems of both basketball and hockey favor those teams making it whereas baseball's format does not.  In basketball and hockey, a whopping SIXTEEN TEAMS make the playoffs each season; that's approximately half or MORE than half of the total number of teams in the league!  With baseball, only division winners made the playoffs until 1995 when the wild card was added.  Basically, if the Mets didn't win the division prior to 1995, they weren't making the playoffs.  That might not seem like a big deal but when you take into account the fact that the late 80s/early-to-mid-90s saw the National League dominated by the Atlanta Braves, it becomes clearer just why the Mets weren't making it.

A comparison, for fairness: the Braves were to the Mets as the Bulls/Pistons were to the Knicks and a slew of teams were to the Rangers.

If you look at all of the seasons that the Mets did NOT make the playoffs but finished SECOND in the division, it would be arguable that they might have made the playoffs with either a wild card or "top 8 teams from each league" playoff set up.  This would bring the total number of years with post season visits up from 5 to 12.  Still fewer than either the Knicks or Rangers but much closer in comparison.

So, basically, and in conclusion, the Mets have a better overall regular season record over the past 25 years than both the Knicks and Rangers, more seasons above .500, more championship appearances...and yet somehow they are bastardized while both of the latter are heralded as pedestal-worthy teams that play in the most illustrious arena in their respective sports?  Give me a break!

And, more importantly, give the Mets one.

Monday, June 13, 2011

WHERE'S WALDO NOW? (BOOK 2) LOCATIONS FOR WALDO, HIS FRIENDS, AND THEIR THINGS

This blog entry will catalogue the locations of the following persons and things in Book # 2 of the American re-released Waldo books called "WHERE'S WALDO NOW?"  It is the "RED" covered book seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Waldo-Now-Martin-Handford/dp/0763634999/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308000800&sr=8-1


The format will be to list the page, its descriptor, and then each of the following with their respective locations:

WALDO
WENDA
ODLAW
WIZARD WHITEBEARD (WIZARD)
WOOF
SCROLL
BONE
KEY
CAMERA
BINOCULARS
WALDO'S LOST BOOK (LISTED BY BOOK COLOR)

Directions are as accurate as possible but please allow some leeway when it comes to the cardinal direction that you will be following.  In other words, WNW might actually be NNW if you were following it exactly; the directions were my best guesses without actually using a compass.

Please note the following legend that will be used in this entry:

BLURB BOOK (refers to the Book that appears on the upper-left corner of every left page)
N, S, E, W (refer to North, South, East, West)
LLC/LRC (refer to Lower Left Corner and Lower Right Corner)
ULC/URC (refer to Upper Left Corner and Upper Right Corner)
LPG (left page)
RPG or RTPG (right page)
BCE/TCE  (refer to Bottom Center Edge or Top Center Edge of page.  Go along the respective edge to the middle of the page.)
Crease (the crease that separates the left and right pages)


If you have any questions about the location of a particular character/item or if you found this to be a useful resource, please drop a comment and let me know!

And if you happen to be interested in supernatural thrillers and speculative fiction please check out my official website here: http://www.matthewjohnbenecke.com/. You can find my debut novels, The Lion in the Desert and The Walking Ghosts on Amazon.com at the following links:

The Lion In The Desert

The Walking Ghosts



PAGE 1 CAVEMEN

WALDO5.75in N, 0.50in W of BINOCULARS (near top of waterfall)
WENDA5in E, 1in N of WOOF
ODLAW3.5in N, slightly E of WENDA
WIZARD1.25in NE of PINK BOOK
WOOF3.25in E of BONE
SCROLL1.5in E of end of 7th sentence in BLURB BOOK
BONE0.75in S of LRC of BLURB BOOK
KEY1.75in W, slightly S of WENDA
CAMERA2in W, 1in S of ODLAW
BINOCULARS3in N, 0.75in W of WIZARD
PINK BOOK3in E of WENDA (on stone)



PAGE 2 RIDDLE OF THE PYRAMIDS


WALDO3in N, 1in W of BINOCULARS
WENDA3in SE of BONE
ODLAW2.5in E, 1.25in N of SCROLL
WIZARDBeneath LRC of BOOK BLURB
WOOF1.5in NE of WENDA
SCROLL2in E of WOOF
BONE4in E, 0.5in N of GREY BOOK
KEY5.5in E, 0.5in S of SCROLL
CAMERA2in N, slightly W of WOOF's tail tip
BINOCULARS4.75in N, slightly E of KEY
GREY BOOK5in S of LLC of BLURB BOOK



PAGE 3 FUN AND GAMES IN ANCIENT EGYPT


WALDO2.5in E of LRC of BLURB BOOK
WENDA1.25in SW of URC of Right Page
ODLAW4.75in W, 1in N of WHITE BOOK
WIZARD2in NE of WALDO
WOOF2in S, slightly W of SCROLL
SCROLL5.25in E, 0.25in N of CAMERA
BONE3.75in N, 1.5in W of BINOCULARS
KEY1.75in N of BCE of Right Page
CAMERA4.25in NW of KEY
BINOCULARS2in WNW of BC of CREASE
WHITE BOOK3in W, 0.5in N of BINOCULARS



PAGE 4 ON TOUR WITH VIKINGS


WALDO3.75in NE of LLC of Left Page
WENDA3.5in N, 0.5in W of ODLAW
ODLAW3.75in E, 0.5in S of SCROLL
WIZARD2in N, slightly W of WALDO
WOOF4in E, 1in N of BINOCULARS
SCROLL0.75in E, 3.5in N of BONE
BONE1.5in E, 0.25in S of WOOF
KEY2.25in W, 0.5in S of ODLAW
CAMERA4in E of BONE
BINOCULARS4.75in E, slightly N of PINK BOOK
PINK BOOK2in SE of WALDO



PAGE 5 END OF THE CRUSADES


WALDO2in NE of LLC of Left Page
WENDA0.75in E, 2.25in S of BLUE BOOK
ODLAW4.25in E of WENDA
WIZARD3.5in NE of WENDA (atop tower)
WOOF6in E of WALDO
SCROLL3.5in NE of WALDO's head
BONE2in W, 0.5in N of WOOF
KEY5in S, 0.5in W of ODLAW
CAMERA6in SE of BINOCULARS
BINOCULARS2in E of WIZARD
BLUE BOOK1.75in E, 0.5in S of LRC of BLURB BOOK



PAGE 6 ONCE UPON A SATURDAY


WALDO2in NE of LLC of Left Page
WENDA4in N of ODLAW
ODLAW1.75in NE of WIZARD
WIZARD6.5in E, slightly S of SCROLL
WOOF3.5in NE of WALDO
SCROLL2.5in S, slightly E of CAMERA
BONE1in WNW of WOOF
KEY1.5in N, 1.5in W of WIZARD
CAMERA5.25in S, slightly E of LRC of BLURB BOOK
BINOCULARS3in NNE of ODLAW
GREEN BOOK1.5in E, 3.25in N of BINOCULARS



PAGE 7 LAST DAYS OF THE AZTECS


WALDO6.75in E, 0.5in N of BINOCULARS
WENDA4.5in S, slightly E of BCE of BLURB BOOK
ODLAW9in E, slightly S of WENDA
WIZARD0.75in SE of WOOF
WOOF2.75in W, 1.5in S of ODLAW
SCROLL1in E, 2in N of BINOCULARS
BONE2.25in N of WENDA
KEY0.75in SW of WOOF
CAMERA1.25in N, 1.5in W of WENDA
BINOCULARS2.25in NNW of ODLAW
BROWN BOOK3.25in W, slightly S of WENDA



PAGE 8 TROUBLE IN JAPAN


WALDO6in NE of ODLAW
WENDA1.25in NW of ORANGE BOOK
ODLAW3in E, 0.5in S of WIZARD
WIZARD3.5in NE of WENDA
WOOF2in W of BINOCULARS
SCROLL4in E, 0.5in S of URC of BLURB BOOK
BONE1in N, slightly W of CAMERA
KEY5.5in S of WALDO
CAMERA2.5in S, 0.5in E of ORANGE BOOK
BINOCULARS1.25in S, 0.25in W of KEY
ORANGE BOOK4.75in S of LRC of BLURB BOOK



PAGE 9 BEING A PIRATE


WALDO4.5in NNE of WOOF
WENDA3.75in W, 0.25in S of KEY
ODLAW2.75in SE of WIZARD
WIZARD2in SSE of LLC of BLURB BOOK
WOOF3.75in N, 3.25in W of LRC of Right Page
SCROLL2.25in E, 0.5in N of RED BOOK
BONE1.5in NE of WOOF
KEY1.75in S, 0.75in W of ODLAW
CAMERA2.5in E, slightly S of ODLAW
BINOCULARS3in E, 0.75in S of WOOF
RED BOOK2.75in SE of KEY



PAGE 10 HAVING A BALL


WALDO5in S, 0.25in E of ODLAW
WENDA2in NE of KEY
ODLAW6.25in E, 0.5in N of WOOF
WIZARD5.5in N of CAMERA
WOOF2.75in S of LLC of BLURB BOOK
SCROLL2.25in E, 0.75in S of WOOF
BONE2.75in S, 0.25in W of SCROLL
KEY1.5in N, 3in W of LRC of Right Page
CAMERA1in E, 1.5in N of WENDA
BINOCULARS2in WNW of WALDO
GREY BOOK7.75in W, 0.25in S of CAMERA



PAGE 11 THE GOLD RUSH


WALDO1.5in S of BCE of BLURB BOOK
WENDA1.5in E, 2in N of BC of Crease (on Right Page)
ODLAW4in E, 4in N of WALDO
WIZARD3.25in S, 1.5in W of URC of Right Page
WOOF1.25in W, slightly S of YELLOW BOOK
SCROLL0.25in E, 1.5in S of WOOF
BONE0.5in E, 5in S of YELLOW BOOK
KEY3.5in SE of WALDO (1in S of bicyclist)
CAMERA2in W, 2in N of WOOF
BINOCULARS2.25in S, 1in E of KEY
YELLOW BOOK3in W, 0.75in N of WIZARD



PAGE 12 THE FUTURE

WALDO7in E, 1in N of ODLAW
WENDA2.5in NW of WALDO
ODLAW1.25in E, 3.5in N of LLC of Left Page
WIZARD7.5in E, 0.5in N of WALDO
WOOF3.5in E of BONE
SCROLL1.5in S, 0.75in W of BINOCULARS
BONE3.75in S of WALDO
KEY1.25in E, 0.25in N of CAMERA
CAMERA1.5in E of BLUE BOOK
BINOCULARS2.25in SE of ODLAW
BLUE BOOK6.25in E, 0.25in N of BONE