MFC 2020 Card Design- Up first: Alonso & deGrom

The 2020 Mets Fantazy Cards 

will look like this:

These are cards from the "base set". 

There will be other types, like "Season Highlights", "Record Breakers", etc.
All will utilize this basic border design in form and color.

>>>>>>>>>>2019 MFC Mets Opening Day Lineup

Let the season begin!

 Here is your 2019 New York Mets Opening Day Lineup

>>>>>This Weekend in Mets Baseball!

What a weekend! It started out great as New York ended a 6 game skid to start off the Washington Nationals series. The Mets beat super ace Max Scherzer and the Nats in amazing fashion in Friday nights game. Jacob deGrom had an interesting outing that started kinda messy but then ended super strong. Jacob wound up striking out 12 in 7 innings in his third consecutive double-digit strikeout game and the 13th of his career. After a rocky second frame the right-hander was magnificent retiring 15 of his last 19 batters, striking out nine. 

Travis d'Arnaud had a career best 2 home runs and 5 RBI in the opener. A breakout game for d'Arnaud, who is starting to look like the hard hitting catcher we had hoped for when we received him in the R.A.Dickey trade. Travis leads all MLB catchers with 15 RBI in April. The young Metropolitan catcher only drove in 15 runs total for his entire 2016 Mets season.

In what to me has been the most dramatic and magical moment of the season so far, Josh Edgin saved the day when he relived Mets closer Jeurys Familia with one out in the ninth and bases loaded vs. the nasty Nats. Terry Collins went with Edgin because hot Bryce Harper was batting and he preferred the matchup.

 I was pretty surprised Collins pulled Fammy, and if we lost that game it would have been a sharp kick in the groin. I felt positive that Washington was going to AT LEAST tie the game in the ninth. But Edgin pulled off somewhat of a miracle as he got Harper to hit a grounder back to him on the mound. Edgin threw home for one, d'Arnaud threw a bee-bee to first for the 1-2-3 double play and the game was over!

*Exhale*

Edgin made TC look like a genius!

New York also took game two of the series in fine style, this time Mets wunderkind Michael Conforto doing the honors by launching two homers on Saturday.  Jose Reyes also connected, leading the Mets over the Nationals 5-3 Saturday over Stephen Strasburg. Looks like Reyes might be out of his funk. Good, we need everyone contributing. Grandy, you're next! We need you!

As usual Zack Wheeler nitpicked at the corners too much, throwing 96 pitches in 4.2 innings of work, but he danced around danger and kept us in the game. The bullpen came on to do the rest, holding the lead through the remaining 5.1 frames.

And then todays game....GAH!

So we go from a magical moment on Friday night to a nightmarish moment on Sunday afternoon. Noah Syndergaard had just returned from a biceps injury having skipped one start. He threw a bullpen session without a problem and was reportedly ready to go.

And he went. And now he's gone.

Syndergaard had not pitched since April 20, ten days ago. He looked fine at the games start as far as velocity goes, hitting 100 on the gun consistently, but there was no movement on his fastball. I think he was a bit rusty, overthrowing the ball. The Nats plated five runs on five hits in the first inning swatting the ball around the field at will. In the second, Noah threw a strike to Harper on his 38th pitch and grimaced while reaching for his right armpit. Mets manager Terry Collins and the team trainer immediately came out, and Collins summoned reliever Sean Gilmartin.

What an awful end to this series. First, the exaltation brought by Friday nights scary down to the wire win, followed up by Saturdays victory and Confortos 2 bombs. I didn't think anything could bring me down after the first two games. And it's not the loss, that's just one game. Or the shellacking we took. Hell, we took the series. It's, of course, that Syndergaard went down again, this time in visible pain. Woe is me.

Lot of fans coming down on the Mets medical personnel, namely Ray Ramirez, because that's the only name they know. Well, I've been questioning their competence for years. But this time it was all on Noah. The whole MRI situation has been overblown IMO. This is a different injury. ''The preliminary diagnosis is possible lat strain,'' general manager Sandy Alderson said, ''which may or may not be related to his previous complaint, which was in the biceps. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow.''

He came out today throwing too hard. He was rusty with no movement on the fastball, which he was hurling at a healthy 100mph. But in the bigs a flat fastball, no matter what the speed, ain't gonna get it done. They teed off on Noah. 

But still, the only thing that really bothered me was seeing him out there in pain. A Met fans worst nightmare. We need Syndergaard and we need him healthy. So it's April and we are already in recovery mode. Not good.

But it is extremely early.

2017mfc Jacob deGrom

I ran into this photo on-line yesterday and it screamed " MAKE ME A CARD!"

The photograph (by Wilfredo Lee) reminded me so much of the 1989 Upper Deck Nolan Ryan card.

I'll never forget the thrill I got when I cracked a 1989 Upper Deck High Number foil pack (like Topps update) and saw the Ryan. Nolan was tossing a football! Ryan did this in his pre-game workouts at the suggestion of his pitching coach Tom House. Did it help? Who knows. I would think if it did any good pitchers would all be tossing the pigskin during pregame workouts.

Many have argued the merits of this type of workout for a pitcher, but not me. I don't care if it helped or not. It was Nolan Ryan throwing a football! On a baseball card!

And now we have Jacob deGrom, running a football cross field!

It doesn't get any cooler than that.

Last Weekend in Mets Fantasy Cards!

We're dropping the Keep That Train A Rollin' Mets choo choo from the border design. The train served us well but it's time to move on, as in movin' on up. We steamed past the Cardinals and the Giants and then stalled a bit. We rose to the #1 wild card spot but fell back with last nights dismal loss to Fkn Frdy Frmn.

 But the train got us where we needed to be. 

Goodbye MetsTrain-

 *CLANK*

 - hello mfc's newest border addition, the TCOB logo. I was very reticent in regard to using the phrase at all, even though this was made during spring training when the UNFINISHED BUSINESS logo was being put together. Too ballzy. And they won't look so good on the cards if we don't make it to post season. 

But there are a dozen games left in the 2016 season, and I have to say the Mets have been taking care of business! Still more unfinished business though. Quite a bit.

LETS GO METS!

Bartolo Colon: Simply amazin'.

14 wins! Colon made his team-high 30th start and lowered his ERA to 3.14 against the Twins Friday night. He went seven, allowed no runs and only gave up 3 hits while striking out six. 

43 years old. Amazin'.

''If we wouldn't have had him in our rotation, I'm not sure where we would be right now,''

 ~Mets manager Terry Collins.

What a great game this was.

Home run number one.

What a clutch performance from the Grandyman. 

Home run number two.

The  image on the card above is a composite of 2 photographs.

I made the WALKOFF card right after the game as "in game-photos" started popping up on the internet. Both pictures above had elements I enjoyed and wanted to see on the card together, so I merged them. If I had waited until the following day I would have found some awesome shots that would have saved some photoshoppin', but since this one was completed I'll stick with it. 

But look at these great photos.

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If Conforto can get hot and put up a fraction of the numbers that Bruce ain't, we might be able to limp over the finish line..

That must have been a painful hook for Ynoa.

OH! OH! A Rivera insert card!  

T.J.'s 2016 Sterling Mets Player Of The Year commemoration card.

Only fifty-four imagined!

Hey Mets, give this guy a real infielders number please.

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Horrible, horrible news about deGrom. I wish him the best. I hope he has successful surgery and comes back even better. I have to admit, when I heard this news I thought, well, that's it, we can't do it without deGrom. But that Grandy walkoff really pumped me up.

Maybe we can...
And it's not going to come down to just another starter. The bullpen will have to be invincible.

A real bummer. I feel like it was just yesterday I was commemorating his first win of 2016.

Best laid plans........

And these are only three of the many. I could do a whole sub-set.

But, some good news

DUDA'S BACK!

And Lagares as well.

Lags used to give us a few unbelievable catches every year.
So he's due to make a fantastic grab down the stretch.

Let Go Mets!
 Just keep winning!

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May as well.^

Keep it up TJ!
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Photography by

Adam Hunger, Bill Kostroun, John Minchillo

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Today is BALL ON THE WALL DAY!
Thank you to Barry Federovitch for reminding me :)

You can read all about that magical game and more:
>The Most Important Season Series Of 1973.html