Matthew Cerrone
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I planned to write something looking back at the Mets-Dodgers series. But, frankly, all I can think about is the Cubs…
This has the makings of what should be a pretty fascinating, exciting series, between two classic franchises, old rivals, both coming off rebuilds with frustrated, dramatic and super-intense fans.
To start, it was only seven years ago that both the Mets and Cubs had top payrolls with elite players, in major markets, charging to the postseason. Then, in the blink of an eye, they each slashed payroll, got hammered for it by fans, restructured their front offices, rebuilt their farm systems, acquired and rebuilt their rosters around new, young talent. And here they are, slightly ahead of schedule and facing off in the National League Championship Series. The Mets did it with young, hard-throwing, home-grown pitchers, while the Cubs did it with young, hard-swinging, home-grown hitters.
The Cubs will start three rookie position players in Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler. According to MLB.com, 10 of the 12 home runs hit by the Cubs this postseason have come from players 26 or younger. On the other hand, the Mets will have two rookies in their starting rotation in Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard, with Jacob deGrom a year removed from winning Rookie of the Year.
The Mets played well in the NLDS. However, the Cubs are hot. They finished third in the NL Central with 97 wins, which was the third-best record in baseball. They were 52-25 after the All-Star break and have won 19 of their past 24 games, including the postseason. What’s more, the Cubs were 7-0 against the Mets this season. However, it was before the Mets acquired Yoenis Cespedes and got back David Wright and Travis d’Arnaud. At the time the two teams last met, the Mets were among the worst offenses in baseball. With the additions of Cespedes, Wright, d’Arnaud, Michael Conforto and a terrific second half from Curtis Granderson, the Mets took off to lead the National League in the second half with 5.1 runs per game. Unfortunately, the Cubs were second at 4.7.
Hey, have you heard, the Cubs have not won a World Series since 1908. Seriously, we’re going to hear about this a million times during the next week. And, had they not been playing the Mets, I’d probably be rooting for them. But, I don’t care about their history right now. It’s been 29 years since the Mets won a World Series and, though not 107 years, it hasn’t been an easy three decades. Sorry, Cubs fans…
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from Metsblog http://ift.tt/1QAQmN5
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