They’ve come too far to stop trying, I’ve come too far to stop believing.

Matthew Cerrone
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In many ways, this season has all been all about actions speaking louder than words.

Terry Collins set the tone toward the end of last season, when he said he believed he would have a playoff team in 2015, but that it was time to put up or shut up. Well, they put up…

Similarly, for several years, Mets fans and media were begging Sandy Alderson and ownership to make meaningful, substantive acquisitions to help the team on field. They did a lot of talking about having money to spend, but nothing happened. This season, however, they backed up their words, acquiring a handful of million-dollar players at the cost of highly-touted prospects.

Yet, here we are again. Look, don’t get me wrong, I am very proud of what this New York Mets team has accomplished. It’s been a fun, exciting postseason. I’ve had as much going to games this October as I’ve had in decades. And, no matter what happens these next few days, no one can take that away from me. So, I’m thankful for having had this experience. It’s been great. However, like the players, I want more.

There is no shame in losing to this specific Royals team, which is an incredibly balanced, relentless and fundamentally-sound roster. The Royals were in this position last season, when they were an up-and-coming team, slightly ahead of schedule, facing an experienced Giants roster in the Fall Classic. The Royals lost. This year, they are the experienced team and the Mets are the up-and-comers, slightly ahead of schedule, gaining valuable experience as they try to build more than a one-hit wonder.

It’s going to be really, really difficult to win three in a row, especially with two in Kansas City. My gut is telling me it’s border-line impossible. The Royals are just so good at scratching out run after run after run, all with walks and singles. It’s remarkable. But, the fact is, the series isn’t over. And, if the Mets want to make this postseason truly magical, they have the opportunity to do it.

The Mets have been saying for 13 months that they have the ability to get to the World Series. Most everyone doubted them. They proved us wrong. They’ll say the can still win three in a row to make this dream a reality. Most people will doubt them. However, the fact is, they have three tremendous pitchers going, still with a lot to prove, and anything is always possible in baseball, especially over the course of three games. However, those are just words. It’s going to action to win. It’s going to take smart, flawless, consistent baseball to pull this off. I’ve learned to not doubt this squad. They have the talent and desire to focus, rebound and rise. They’ve come too far to stop trying, and I’ve come too far to stop believing. Let’s Go METS!!!

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Murphy goes from hero to goat with crucial error

Daniel Murphy’s error paved way for the Royals to score three runs in the eighth inning as the Mets lost Game 4 of the World Series, 5-3, falling in a three-games-to-one hole.

“I misplayed it,” Murphy said. “There’s no excuse for it. And we lost the ballgame because of it.”

With runners on first and second and one out, Murphy let Eric Hosmer’s grounder roll underneath his glove, a la Bill Buckner, and into the outfield, allowing Ben Zobrist to score the tying run.

“I didn’t do my job,” Murphy said. “That’s the most frustrating part.”

Mike Moustakas hit a sharp ground ball past the outstretched glove of Murphy into right field to drive in the go-ahead run and give the Royals a 4-3 lead.

“In [the] postseason, you can’t give away outs,” manager Terry Collins. “You’ve got to make outs. You can’t give good teams opportunities to score extra runs, because they can do it.”

Said captain David Wright: “That’s not the reason why we lost this game. That’s definitely not the reason why we lost this game.”

Murphy, who had homered in six straight games in the NLDS and NLCS, is now just 3-for-17 — all singles — in the World Series with five strikeouts.

“Murphy, he’s one of the best players we have here,” said Jeurys Familia, who allowed two inherited runs to score. “He plays hard. He’s one of the reasons we’re here. It happens.”

Matthew Cerrone
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The back-to-back walks prior to the error are more of a problem for me than Murphy’s mistake. Look, Murphy messed up. He knows it. In a situation like that, there is no excuse for not playing the ball in front of him and, at the very least, knocking it down, because the ball absolutely cannot get out of the infield. It was brutal. I think every Mets alive knew that when Murphy was on the incredible powers streak and single-handily carrying this team’s offense that, eventually, he would do something in the field or on the bases to give some of those runs back. I didn’t think he’d save it for Game 4 of the World Series, but he did. Thankfully, Murphy has shown he can shake this stuff off and refocus on the new day.

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Matz starts strong, hits rough patch in Game 4

LHP Steven Matz started strong but faltered late in Saturday’s start in the Mets’ Game 4 loss to the Royals in the World Series.

Matz struck out five batters and allowed two runs and seven hits in five innings, as the Mets’ bullpen allowed three runs in the eighth inning and fell in a 3-1 hole.

“It’s tough,” Matz said. “Nobody wants to lose. We’ll all grind this out the best we can, so it was tough for all of us, but it’s baseball. We’ve still gotta win three, so we’ll keep fighting.”

Matz retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced, cruising through four shutout innings before running into trouble in the fifth.

He allowed a base hit to Salvador Perez and surrendered an RBI single to Alex Gordon. After a Kendrys Morales single put two runners on base, Matz got Alcides Escobar to ground out to end the fifth.

“Steven Matz threw the ball very well tonight,” manager Terry Collins said. “For five innings it was very, very good.”

Collins opted to keep Matz in the game at 79 pitches by having him bat in the bottom of the inning and pitch the sixth following Michael Conforto’s second home run. After Matz allowed Lorenzo Cain’s RBI single that made it 3-2, Collins took him out in favor of Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon, who left Cain stranded on third base.

“After the home run I thought I’d let him hit,” Collins said. “I thought he was still throwing the ball OK. Let him start the game and see if he can get us through the sixth inning, so we can save the pen.”

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Conforto’s two homers are only Mets’ offense

Michael Conforto was the main source of New York’s offense in Game 4 of the World Series, going 2-for-3 with two home runs on Saturday.

Conforto had been in an 0-for-20 stretch through the playoffs before he hit an RBI infield single in Game 3 on Saturday night. Instead of benching him, manager Terry Collins kept the 22-year-old rookie in the lineup.

“He’s going to be a very, very good player,” Collins said. “He’s had a rough postseason, he hasn’t had a lot of hits. But, I’ve said before, he’s had good at-bats. He’s dangerous, and tonight he showed that.”

Conforto crushed Chris Young’s first pitch into the Pepsi Porch in the right-field upper deck to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

In his second at-bat, facing LHP Danny Duffy, Conforto lunged and pulled an outside pitch into the right-centerfield bullpen to give the Mets a 3-1 lead.

“He’s showing confidence all year and since I came up,” Conforto said. “That does a lot for me, confidence from the rest of the coaches and the rest of the players when the hits aren’t in there.”

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Clippard, Familia falter in eighth inning

Jeurys Familia blew his second save of the World Series after Daniel Murphy’s crucial error led to the Royals scoring the game-tying run in the eighth inning of the Mets’ 5-3 loss in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday.

Familia, who allowed a game-tying home run to Alex Gordon in the ninth inning of Game 1, entered after Tyler Clippard walked back-to-back batters with one out in the top of the eighth, including Lorenzo Cain after getting him in an 0-2 count.

“Coming into the eighth, any time you get that deep into the game and you get the lead, you expect to win,” Clippard said. “And we didn’t. It’s disappointing.”

Familia induced an Eric Hosmer ground ball, but Murphy let the ball roll under his glove as he charged inward and it rolled past him, allowing the tying run to score. Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez hit back-to-back RBI singles to give the Royals a 5-3 lead.

“We got the ground ball, and we didn’t make the play,” manager Terry Collins said. “And the next ground ball you’re at double-play depth, it’s a different situation, when you didn’t have to be. It’s certainly one of those situations where we couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

Despite not having blown a save from July 30 until the World Series, Familia has allowed three hits and two runs (one earned) in 2 1/3 innings in the World Series.

“For me, I try to forget and move forward,” Familia said. “It doesn’t matter what happens. That’s what I did today, tried to forget and move forward.”

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Window Treatments: 5 Reasons to Consider Motorized Blinds

Thinking about purchasing new window treatments? Motorized blinds can offer many benefits including: convenience, energy saving, automation, safety and furniture protection.

Below are 5 reasons to consider motorized blinds:

Convenience

With motorized window shades, you can lift and lower them all at the same time. Click here to watch motorized shades in action from one of our happy customers! It’s much more convenient to lift them all at the same time rather than going to each window separately. Your time is valuable. Why not make the most of it? Source: SelectBlinds

 

Energy Saving

Most of us can’t imagine blocking what little light we get into our homes, but the sun exposure all day can literally cost us a lot of money. Did you hear about the Net Zero concept? W It means that a building produces as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. You too can balance the energy consumption in your home, by tapping into solar power, insulating your home and installing automated shades, awnings or shutters. You can also use traditional ways to cool your house, like plant a shade tree outside! Just remember to leave enough room for growth. Source: SomfySystems

Automation

Using motorized shades, the location of the shades is no longer restricted by the proximity to the ground or the ability to manually adjust the shades. Very high windows can be fitted with motorized shades and can be adjusted as required. This benefit is important in public buildings and large homes. Source: WiseGeek

 

Safety

Beyond aesthetics, injury and death from entanglement in shade control cords is a very real concern. The best solution is to eliminate cords, made possible by motorized shades. Automated shade systems can even operate on a timer customized to your child’s sleeping habits. Source: AutomatedShading

Furniture Protection

The same sunshine that makes your AC unit run overtime can harm the upholstery on your furniture, causing it to fade over time. Covered windows can prevent this. Source: ElectronicHouse

If you want to know more about motorized blinds and drapes, please give us a call or contact us here.

Contact:
Universal Blinds
601 – 1550 W. 10th Ave
Vancouver, V5J 1Z9
Canada
Phone: (604 ) 559-1988

The post Window Treatments: 5 Reasons to Consider Motorized Blinds appeared first on Universal Blinds, Shades & Shutters.

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Top 5 in Design News: David Chipperfield Disowns a Project and Chartres Restoration Polarizes

This week in the world of design, David Chipperfield disowns the Milan Museum of Culture, Chartres cathedral's restoration is hotly contended, and Barcelona's Sagrada Familia may someday be complete.

David Chipperfield Boycotts Milan Museum  

Above: Photo by Oscar DaRiz via BMIAA. 

UK architect David Chipperfield has boycotted the opening of the Mudec Museum of Culture in Milan, which he designed, and is suing over stone flooring. He accuses his client, the Milan City Council, of making no effort to correct defects in the flooring, though he had raised concerns over its scratches and stains for more than two years. Chipperfield won a competition to remodel the former steel factory 14 years ago. Read more at the Architects’ Journal (registration required).   

RIBA Awards Keep on Giving

Above: VitraHaus, the Vitra flagship store in Germany, by Herzog & de Meuron. Photo via Ideasgn. 

On October 29, Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron received the 2015 RIBA Jencks Award, given to recognize a major contribution to both the theory and practice of architecture. Read more at Wallpaper. 

Meanwhile, the RIBA 2015 Client of the Year award goes to The National Theatre, London, by architect Haworth Tompkins. The award “honors the key role that a good client plays in the creation of fine architecture." Read it at RIBA. 

Cooper Hewitt Design Awards

Above: Floating home on Lake Huron by MOS Architects. See more in A Floating House on Lake Huron. 

On October 15, the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum awarded its annual design awards to MOS Architects for architecture, Coen + Partners for landscape design, Commune for interior design, Heath Ceramics for corporate and institutional achievement, and the late Michael Graves for the lifetime achievement award. Read more at the Architect’s Newspaper. 

Polarizing Restoration of Chartres Cathedral

Above: The newly white interior of Chartres in contrast with its former grit. Photo via Fr. Ray Blake. 

Debate is heating up over the restoration of Chartres cathedral in France, considered one of the world's greatest Gothic cathedrals. At issue is whether the 800-year-old cathedral should retain centuries' worth of patina, or should be restored to its original 13th-century appearance. An online petition has been started to protest the work, though the debate is somewhat moot: more than half of the walls have already been cleaned and repainted. Says British designer Adam Nathaniel Furman, “A restoration that eliminates the patina of history, and reinstates an illusory ideal moment in the past...is an act of destruction dressed up in good intentions.” The restoration will be complete by 2018. Read it at the Independent. 

The Sagrada Familia "Nearing" Completion

Above: A Bible scene on the facade of Sagrada Familia. Photo via BugBog. 

Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia cathedral—in construction since 1882—has entered its final building phase. When complete, it will be the tallest cathedral in Europe. The design is largely the work of famed architect Antoni Gaudi—though not the cathedral's original architect—who worked on it from 1883 until his death in 1926. Construction will still take about 15 more years, with estimated final completion around 2030. Read more at the Daily Mail. 

For more from this week, see: 

• Trending on Gardenista: Bulb Mania
• Remodelista Obsessions: Mid-Season Stride
• Trending on Remodelista: Color Stories 
• Gardenista Obsessions: Holidays Ahead

More Stories from Remodelista

• Current Obsessions: Mid-Season Stride
• Conceptual Color: Le Corbusier Paint from Switzerland
• 8 Side Tables in Confident Colors

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