Mets Madness Tournament: Match-Up Schedule for December 22-28

The field is getting thinner as we are now through three weeks of Mets Madness.

We’ve eliminated a bunch of popular New York Mets players. About to begin week four of Mets Madness, we expect things to get dirtier on the Rising Apple Twitter as we near the second round.

Last week, we even saw a few upsets. Will we get any in the next seven days?

If you’re new to Mets Madness, here are the results so far:

December 1: Steven Matz wins with 60% of the vote over Joe McEwing for the number 11 seed
December 2: Endy Chavez wins with 63% of the vote over Billy Wagner for the number 15 seed
December 3: Art Shamsky wins with 85% of the vote over Jack Fisher for the number 14 seed
December 4: Lenny Dykstra wins with 53% of the vote over Ray Knight for the number 16 seed
December 5: Wilmer Flores (7) wins with 52% of the vote over Curtis Granderson (10)
December 6: Gary Carter (5) wins with 93% of the vote over Sid Fernandez (12)
December 7: Bartolo Colon (3) wins with 77% of the vote over Benny Agbayani (14)
December 8: Tom Seaver (1) wins with 95% of the vote over Wayne Garrett (16)
December 9: Noah Syndergaard (6) wins with 93% of the vote over Steven Matz (11)
December 10: Ron Darling (4) wins with 86% of the vote over Todd Hundley (13)
December 11: Edgardo Alfonzo (2) wins with 71% of the vote over Endy Chavez (15)
December 12: Cleon Jones (9) wins with 89% of the vote over Ron Hunt (8)
December 13: Jose Reyes (5) wins with 63% of the vote over Pedro Martinez (12)
December 14: Darryl Strawberry (3) wins with 97% of the vote over Bret Saberhagen (14)
December 15: Mike Piazza (1) wins with 94% of the vote over Al Leiter (16)
December 16: Tommie Agee (10) wins with 80% of the vote over John Stearns (7)
December 17: Johan Santana (4) wins with 74% of the vote over Matt Harvey (13)
December 18: Dwight Gooden (2) wins with 92% of the vote over Bob Ojeda (15)
December 19: Jesse Orosco (8) wins with 73% of the vote over Lee Mazzilli (9)
December 20: Jerry Grote (6) wins with 66% of the vote over Felix Millan (11)
December 21: Carlos Beltran (3) wins with 71% over the vote over Carlos Delgado (14)

The week begins with what has become a Saturday tradition of a 1 seed facing off against a 16. In the 80s/90s Conference, Keith Hernandez goes up against Lenny Dykstra. These two couldn’t be any more separate in the hearts of Mets fans. Despite winning the play-in round, Dykstra’s time in this tournament will come to an end.

For December 23, we have what may turn into an upset. A 7 seed, Daniel Murphy, will take on 10 seed Yoenis Cespedes. It will be interesting to see how Mets fans feel about these two. I think a lot will depend on their opinion about the 2015 season. Murphy’s homegrown history with the Mets should give him the edge.

Christmas Eve includes a solid fight between 5 seed Jon Matlack and 12 seed Nolan Ryan. Despite Ryan’s bigger place in MLB history, he’s not as beloved by Mets fans. It’s not his fault. The organization traded him away. For that, Matlack should come away as the winner.

There’s no break on Christmas Day for Mets Madness. While gathered around the Yule Log, you’ll have an opportunity to vote for either a 2 seed, Jacob deGrom or his opponent the 15 seed, Jeurys Familia. Both have put together great incomplete careers with the Mets. deGrom will win this easy. He’s also a possible favorite to win it all.

Canadians will celebrate Boxing Day on December 26, but you will have a much bigger decision aside from which gifts you return. From the 80s/90s Conference, our 8 seed Mookie Wilson goes head-to-head with 9 seed Wally Backman. Both were key members on the 1986 championship team. I predict Wilson still comes out on top.

We near the end of the week in our Overflow Conference when 6 seed Rusty Staub hypothetically hosts 11 seed R.A. Dickey. Dickey’s underdog status and Cy Young victory along with his more recent appearance on the Mets should help. However, Staub will come away as the victor.

The week concludes with 4 seed Jerry Koosman facing off against 13 seed Craig Swan. The Swan Family will need to come out in droves if there’s any chance at slaying Koosman.

Below is a full recap of what you can expect in this week’s Mets Madness Tournament. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for an opportunity to vote daily.

December 22: Keith Hernandez (1) vs. Lenny Dykstra (16)
December 23: Daniel Murphy (7) vs. Yoenis Cespedes (10)
December 24: Jon Matlack (5) vs. Nolan Ryan (12)
December 25: Jacob deGrom (2) vs. Jeurys Familia (15)
December 26: Mookie Wilson (8) vs. Wally Backman (9)
December 27: Rusty Staub (6) vs. R.A. Dickey (11)
December 28: Jerry Koosman (4) vs. Craig Swan (13)

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Who will win advance this week?