Month: October 2015

Jake Arietta throws five pitches well. Five.

He can throw everything from a 95 MPH fastball to an 81 MPH curve. There is no mystery about why this guy went 22-6 with a 1.77 earned run average. Just let those stats sink in. The guy is legit and will undoubtedly pose the greatest threat to the Mets in this series in terms of Cubs pitching. Unlike his Mets counterpart, he is a veteran. To that end, I would not be surprised if this game goes the Cubs’ way.

However, it’s not like the Mets’ starter is a slouch. Noah Syndergaard, whose regular-season line is not as impressive as Arietta’s for sure  — 9-7 with a 3.24 ERA —  boasting a 100+ MPH fastball and very nice assortment of breaking pitches. He is a big kid, and is an imposing presence on the mound. The Cubs’ batters strike out a lot. This plays to the Mets’ advantage with a power arm on the mound.

It’s a rematch of sorts for these two. Back on May 12, Syndergaard and Arietta faced one another in what would be a 6-1 win by the Cubs. It’s worth noting this was Noah’s Major League debut and to be honest, he was not terrible, but couldn’t get through the 6th after five pretty stellar innings. He would walk 4 and give up 3 ER in 5.1 innings. Arietta was excellent, striking out 10 and giving up 1 ER in 8 innings.

But, as has been brought up ad nauseum, this is not the same Mets team. This team has been fortified with talent and confidence since then, and while Arietta may yet silence the Met bats, they will have a much better lineup against him this time.

My thought here is it would be almost too easy to say to expect a low-scoring game, but that’s probably what will occur.

The Cubs’ Castro and Bryant hit Syndergaard in their first and only opportunity facing him, and Schwarber could very well hit one out of Citi Field with a 100 MPH pitch hitting his bat. Hopefully, a more polished Noah and 40-degree temperatures at game time will mean more missed bats.

In terms of Mets offense, Daniel Murphy can’t save the Mets every night. They need three key batters to WAKE THE HELL UP. Those are David Wright, 1-19 in the postseason, Lucas Duda, 2-18, and to a lesser degree, Yoenis Cespedes who, while batting .250 and has 2 HR and 4 RBI, also has 8 Ks in 20 ABs. Michael Conforto, undoubtedly back in the lineup against a righty, is only 1-7 in limited play. His bat is crucial to the Mets attack as well.

Curtis Granderson has been steady and productive, and Travis d’Arnaud looks to have woken up, judging by that monstrous 430-foot homer to dead center last night. Wilmer Flores is 3 for 10, not terrible at the moment, and even Juan Lagares has produced in his limited play.

Asking guys like Wright and Duda, who have looked totally lost to wake up against Arietta is a very tall order, but this is how playoff games and series are won.

The unexpected and rising to the occasion are what distinguishes champions from also rans.

Let’s Go Mets!

 

 

 

I’ll start out by saying I wish the Cubs were not playing the Mets in the NLCS, but not for the reason or reasons you may think.

Of course, I want the Mets to beat them and go on to the World Series, but if there were ever a team I’d like to see break their putrid, century-old stretch of futility, the Cubs are that team. As much as being a Mets fan has taken years off my life, I can’t imagine generations of fans — and Cubs fans are a very passionate lot — never witnessing their favorite baseball team winning a World Series, or even getting there. It’s been 70 years since they’ve appeared in the Fall Classic.

From the Billy Goat to Bartman, the Cubs have made a living by being also-rans and the poster children for sporting sympathies.

But, Theo Epstein and his staff have patiently built a nice little ballclub with young talent that can hit. It’s this group of guys and their 7-0 in-season record against the Mets that New York has to contend with. Let’s take a look at the matchup tonight.

Starting with pitching, the Mets will have Matt Harvey, well past his magical 180 inning limit (he’s at 194.1 innings) on the mound against John Lester. Harvey gave up a skinny run and struck out nine vs. the pre-Schwarber, pre-Bryant Cubs back in May. These guys, adding in Anthony Rizzo with his 30+ homers and 100+ RBIs are a formidable lot.

Jake Arrieta, the undisputed ace of the staff and a Cy Young candidate, won’t be starting this one and even got roughed up in his last outing, giving up four earned runs. Instead, Jon Lester will take the ball. The Cubs starter had a good year on the bump for the Cubbies, although I wouldn’t call it stellar. He was 11-12 with an ERA of 3.34.

This is Harvey’s moment. He has craved the spotlight, and tonight he will have it. Front and center. What he does with this moment is up to him and his reconstructed right elbow. He will be amped and will be throwing hard. He needs to reign in his emotions and pitch to his strengths. We will see if that happens.

Some lineup changes on the Mets side include sitting the Mets’ slugging first baseman Lucas Duda in favor of the aging and inconsistent Michael Cuddyer against Chicago’s southpaw. Typically I’d rail against the knee-herk, by the book lefty/righty matchup, but Duda has been lost for a while. He looks awful, and this move does give a better chance based on that alone. I will probably change my tune when Cuddyer flails at three straight pitches in the dirt, but I digress.

Now, there are some pundits from The Windy City (and some even in our city) citing the fact the Cubs won all seven games they played against the Mets. I would say that these are the new Mets. The Mets that played the Cubs earlier this season no longer exist, save for the pitching, and even those Mets are different in a short playoff series. Remember John Mayberry, Jr. hitting clean-up? I almost want to personally burn those memory brain cells from my body.

This is certainly a very visible series with a lot of drama built in before it even starts. I am betting we will be talking about it long after it ends, whatever the outcome.

Speaking of which, I pick the Mets in six games.

Let’s Go Mets!

 

 

Well, folks, it comes to this: a one game playoff.

I would be bubbling with confidence were it not for the fact this offense is either all or nothing these days, and the pitcher we are facing had an ERA of 1.66 during the regular season and we only scored 2 runs off him the first time around.

I have a lot of faith in Jacob. It is not him I am concerned about in terms of shitting the bed. Primarily, it’s David “I have one hit in the series” Wright, Lucas “I forgot how to hit again” Duda, and everyone else who isn’t pulling their weight in the lineup.

Why single out DW and LD? Well, first, they are in the middle of the lineup. And, when you are the captain of a team and are doing nothing, you stand out more than the average guy. And Lucas, well, he looks so bad up there and has the POTENTIAL to do so much damage, he needs special mention.

They need to show up on Thursday. They all do. Grienke is not perfect and can be gotten to. I recall a start against the Phillies this past season where he gave up 8 earned runs, 5 of them in the first inning or two. He CAN be gotten to, and the Mets’ lefty-heavy lineup — including Conforto — will give us our best chance, I believe. And I do, because, Ya Gotta Believe!!!

‪#‎LGM‬.