I am a Chicago Cubs fan, and about 99.9999% of my readers are Chicago Cubs fans. I want to warn you, this post will attempt to be as unbiased as possible. What does that mean for you, my reader? Honesty. I’m not going to put my love affair for all things Chicago Cubs in this post. Why? Because you, the fan, deserve to honestly hear the truth when comparing the two team’s rosters. Also, perhaps there will be a couple of New York Mets fans that end up here looking for some information. I owe it (as painful as it might be to say that) to anyone who ends up here, an honest article.
While the Cubs were 7-0 against the New York Mets this season, regular season records never mean much during post season play, and that’s especially true when talking about the Cubs and Mets in 2015. Neither team looked the same as they did when they played during the season, both adding to their lineups, and several players performance improving throughout the course of the season. Guys like Starlin Castro and Daniel Murphy both saw their share of struggles, and guys like Kyle Schwarber and Yoenis Cespedes had yet to join their respective ballclubs.
That being said, here are the two team’s rosters for the National League Championship Series.
New York Mets
The #Mets have released their NLCS roster. Sean Gilmartin is on it: pic.twitter.com/xnHX1ipwuD
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) October 17, 2015
With the Mets pitching Jacob deGrom in Game 5 of the NLDS series against the LA Dodgers, he more than likely will not be available until Game 3 in Chicago. That means the pitching phenoms Matt Harvey and Noah Syndergaard — although he pitched an inning in Game 5 himself — will go in Game 1 and 2 respectively.
This is good news and bad news for the Northsiders. Good news in the aspect that the deGrom will not be available until the Game 3 swing game of the series, and bad news because Harvey and Syndergaard pitched very well against the Cubs during the regular season. Combined the duo allowed three runs to the Cubs this year, with Harvey not allowing a run in his 7 innings of work against Chicago. Syndergaard was equally impressive against the Cubs, which happened to be his Major League debut. Through five innings Syndergaard was flawless, featuring a remarkable fastball and off-speed pitches that dazzled Cubs hitters. Things went off the rails in the sixth, as the Cubs opened the game up scoring three runs off the rookie pitcher.
Jacob deGrom saw little success against the Cubs in 2015, holding a 6.10 ERA in a pair of starts against the Northsiders. While not impressive, the hurler has seen very good success throughout his young career and was a force in the NLDS, giving up a pair of runs in 13 innings of work.
Offensively the Mets that couldn’t hit in July, have become a very formidable offensive team. The addition of Cespedes has helped the Mets offense improve from a .235 team average in the first four months of 2015, to a respectable .261 average over the last two.
Lastly, the backend of the Mets rotation has been incredibly. Led by their closer, Jeurys Familia, the Mets have a 1-2-3 punch that can make any day a six inning game. Familia closed out 89% of his chances in 2015, finishing with 43 total saves in 48 chances. Equally tough was Addison Reed, a mid-season acquisition from the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Tyler Clippard, another trade deadline pickup from the Oakland Athletics. If the Mets have a lead going into the seventh inning, even with the Cubs success late in games, the Mets bullpen will make things extremely tough when they have the lead.
Mets Probable Lineup
1. Curtis Granderson, RF
2. David Wright, 3B
3. Daniel Murphy, 2B
4. Yoenis Cespedes, LF
5. Travis d’Arnaud, C
6. Michael Cuddyer LF
7. Wilmer Flores, SS
8. Juan Lagares, CF
9. Matt Harvey, P
This Mets team offers a tough match-up for any team facing them. Daniel Murphy has been lights out in the 2015 playoffs, helped by the strong production of Cespedes and timely hitting from others in the lineup. This is not going to be the cake-walk offense that the Cubs pitching staff sliced and diced in the early parts of the season, and do not expect that 7-0 record to stand up over the next week. The Mets will certainly push this series to six and maybe seven games.
Chicago Cubs Roster
Our 2015 #NLCS roster is set. http://t.co/56O2rYKiht #LetsGo #Postseason pic.twitter.com/2lRiYp18bj
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 17, 2015
Led by Anthony Rizzo, the Cubs have been very fortunate to have had as much success from so many players at such a young age. With the longest tenured Cub, the 25 year old Starlin Castro, the future is certainly now for the Chicago Cubs.
This season feels different from a Cubs fan perspective, and while I wouldn’t argue the same thing isn’t true from a Mets fan’s point of view, this Cubs team has seemed to build to this position since Anthony Rizzo declared in January that the Cubs would win the NL Central.
Anthony Rizzo..”We’re going to win the N.L.. Central and you can quote me on that”.
— David Schuster (@Schumouse) January 15, 2015
And although the Cubs didn’t take home a regular season NL Central title, they did send both the Pittsburgh Pirates and St Louis Cardinals home in these playoffs, the only two teams with a better regular season record than the Cubs.
He didn’t do it alone however, the addition of guys like Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, and Addison Russell really helped this Chicago Cubs team turn the corner, and ultimately become baseball’s best team (held MLB’s best record from June 1st through the end of the season). When a team comes together and plays like this, it is rarely by accident. Locally we witnessed a similar occurrence when the Chicago White Sox won the World Series in 2005. No matter the move, no matter the player, everything and everyone seemed to do the right thing or be in the right place that season for the Sox. This is equally true for the Chicago Cubs.
While no manager worth his weight would admit openly that they have accounted for ‘X’ amount of wins, Joe Maddon (akin to Ozzie Guillen) helped take pressure off of their team by centering the media around themselves. While Maddon does it a little differently than Ozzie, he has been able to keep the added pressure of the media and the constant reminders of 107 years and curses away from the players. This simply allows the guys on the field to go about their business of hitting and throwing and catching baseballs.
The story of the 2015 Chicago Cubs isn’t just about young hitters, the Cubs have a pair of pitchers that will make earning a win for New York a next to improbable. Jon Lester was given $155 million dollars for what he has historically been able to do in the postseason. When a pitcher has a career 2.66 ERA in 15 career postseason games, he has created a track record which you can count on. If there is a chink in Lester’s postseason lore, it is in the LCS. He carries a 1-3 record with a 3.86 ERA in 6 LCS games.
Next on the docket is Jake Arrieta. What else can be said about Arrieta that hasn’t been mentioned in this site, or many others throughout the season. Jake might be the NL Cy Young award winner, he tossed a complete game shutout in his first ever postseason game, and he will be more than rested when he faces the Mets in Game 2. Through deception, location, and skill, Arrieta was 2-0 against the Mets in 2015. He allowed just two runs against New York, and although that regular season success might not translate, it is hard to bet against Jake doing well.
While there is some fear as to what New York’s pitchers can do against this Cubs team, there would need to be some reservation from Mets hitters about facing one of the all-time postseason competitors and the possible 2015 Cy Young recipient. Additionally, with a slight edge (on paper) going to the Cubs in Game 1 and 2, you would have to feel good about the Mets chances in Game 3 with a matchup of Matt Harvey against Kyle Hendricks.
Offensively the Cubs have a similar story-line as the Mets do. A team that struggled mightily early on, really flourished as soon as the Cubs called Schwarber up from the minor leagues in mid July.
Not only can you immediately see the jump in average, slugging, and on-base percentage, the Cubs ability to be more patient at the plate really helped get the team fall into more hitters counts which resulted in more home runs through the final two months of the season. Saying Kyle Schwarber was the sole reason for the turnaround would be irresponsible, especially if one didn’t mention just how well beleaguered middle-infielder, Starlin Castro turned his season around.
Castro, who had been the face of the franchise for several years coming into the 2015 season, seemed to struggle after the first month was in the books. A player that has immense talent, and a proven track record of success in the Majors, Castro fell onto hard times in 2015. Oddly, or ironically enough, Castro was linked to many trade rumors before the season started and throughout the year, mainly tied to rumors involving the New York Mets and possible Game 2 starters, Noah Syndergaard or Steven Matz. Just how good was Castro’s turnaround? Well throughout September and October Starlin put togehter a .369/.400/.655 slash line with 5 HRs and 21 RBIs. This was his best month in 2015 and far and away the best month of his career.
The Cubs offense as a whole had produced for manager Joe Maddon, especially in the second half of the season. Leadoff hitter, Dexter Fowler, seemed to respond after getting sent down in the lineup. It seemed that for every five game slide Schwarber had, he would come back with a 10 game stretch of ridiculous ball. Bryant had been very productive all season long, ending just a single RBI shy of recording 100 on what should be a Rookie of the Year winning season. Addison Russell‘s bat turned around, Chris Coghlan became a great utility/platoon man, and Jorge Soler has been eased back into the Cubs lineup after having multiple injuries cut his 2015 campaign short, but has been an absolute force so far in the 2015 playoffs.
The Chicago bullpen has been something of a Russian Roulette. While Hector Rondon has done a great job in the ninth for the Northsiders, the rest of the way has been one of shaky and nerve-wracking ground. For every stretch Pedro Strop looks brilliant, he has a stretch in which he gives up huge runs to the opposition. Then the Cubs have guys literally picked up off of the scrap heap. Fernando Rodney, a man who lost everything in Seattle, found his way again in Chicago. Trevor Cahill was designated for assignment by the Arizona Diamondbacks. It is bad when you aren’t good enough to play for THE ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS! Then there is Clayton Richard, and Justin Grimm and Travis Wood. While there might not be a single man in there that absolutely strikes fear in an opposing hitter, they have seemed to come into their own in the 2015 postseason.
Cubs Probable Lineup
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Kyle Schwarber, LF
3. Kris Bryant, 3B
4. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
5. Starlin Castro, 2B
6. Jorge Soler, RF
7. Javier Baez, SS
8. David Ross, C
9. Jon Lester, P
Keep an eye on the shortstop position for the Cubs. With Chicago losing Addison Russell after he stretched a double into a triple in Game 3 of the NLDS, the normally sure gloved Javier Baez had some questionable defensive plays. Baez, who most in the Cubs organization believe to have the strongest glove on the club, might be pressing a bit after not being expected to play much in the playoffs and now thrust into a starting role. Also take note of Quintin Berry as a surprise addition to the Cubs roster. While he carries a small stick, the guy has been in the playoffs before and has stolen some huge bases for his teams.
Prediction
For Cubs fans that don’t know, the New York Mets are on a similar projection as Chicago. They have tons of young talent, some valuable prospects, and a ceiling that is incredibly high. The addition of Cespedes really turned this team’s fortunes around, from falling out of the Wild Card race to jumping into a battle for the NL East crown, they ran away with the division as their sparks ignited a fire.
What Mets fans may not know is, this Cubs team has held baseball’s best record from June 1st on. They have won in all sorts of ways, and have even invented some ways to win along the way. They have perhaps the game’s best manager who has managed his best season as a pro. While clubhouse chemistry is something that you only talk about when the product on the field is good, this team enjoys each other, which make them fun to watch.
This is a series that I feel we will see for many years to come. This series is good for the game of baseball, reigniting an old rivalry, and doing so when both teams are going to be at the top of their game for what seems to be a relatively long time to come. When we talk about this season, 2015, I do not see how anyone can pick against the Chicago Cubs. There is a magic sense to this team, to the way they are managed, to the way that they conduct their business on and off the field. Their talent, their charisma, and their youth will propel them into the World Series for the first time since 1945.
While most fans laughed under their breath when seeing the Back to the Future references, or when The Sporting News picked the Cubs to win the 2015 World Series, there were 25 men led by 11 coaches that believed it wasn’t far-fetched. This is the year of the Cub, and the Cubs will beat the New York Mets in six games to go on to create history.
Sources: Baseball-reference.com
