The Cubs haven’t won the World Series since 1908.
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Joe Maddon has pushed all the right buttons this year and he has the Cubs one step away from the World Series. “That’s why I say I don’t have one at the moment”, Collins said.
This is the distinction between this team and others and how they have avoided the enormous weight of a 107 year losing streak. Consider that since 2012, there have been 14 postseason series (Wild Card games not included) in which the victorious team had a sub-.500 mark against its opponent during the regular season. In no time at all, he’s gone from a nobody to a legit ace. But he clearly has been the most consistent hitter for the Mets over the last several years, always hitting close to.300. Tony Cruz got the start behind the plate and contributed an RBI double, but Molina’s absence was notable while the Cubs kept pounding the Cardinals pitchers.
But there’s one other similarity.
New York hopes to reach its first World Series in 15 years, the longest drought in franchise history. While the Cubs would obviously like to have their full arsenal of players in the NLCS, the drop-off from Russell to Baez in terms of performance level isn’t too drastic. Now I have to hear about the Mets from my tough-to-take Mets fan friends for at least another week.
While on the surface it’s a shocking decision to see the Cubs choose Lester over Arrieta to start Game 1 of the NLCS, it was absolutely the right decision to make. “So I’ll be the last person to ever bring that up again”.
Harvey’s workload has been a topic of great debate over the past few months. His previous career high for innings pitched was last season when he tossed 156.2 innings. Including the postseason, he’s up to 1941⁄3. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said that’s a determination made based on how Harvey feels “appearance to appearance”. “He got through that, and I think he has confidence now in his physical capacity, which is important for his mental approach”.
“An incredible play and a game-changer for us”, Mets captain David Wright said. But the hard-throwing right-hander might not be ready.
He piggybacked Jacob deGrom’s start in the deciding game of the NLDS, and now the Mets will monitor things Saturday before deciding whether he goes in Game 2 or is held to Game 4.
But this year might be different, Buick said. “He loves the ball just as much as anybody. I think we’re excited to give them another run and have it be in this important of a series”. “We’ll all excited to see what he can do next”.
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Of course, all seven games against the Cubs were played before the Mets underwent a midseason makeover and added Yoenis Cespedes, Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson and Michael Conforto to the offense, Steven Matz to the rotation and Tyler Clippard and Addison Reed to the bullpen.
