Laura's Prominent Play

IF YOU NEED A PSYCHE SONG TO SING TODAY BEFORE GAME 1!

“Mets Bats (Come Out Tonight)”

To the tune of Bruce Springsteen’s Rosalita

Revised/inspired lyrics by Laura Farina 10/26/15

Come out now Mets Bats, Dark Knight just cut loose Scott Boras’s reins

You know playin’ inning limits is a little baby’s game

You pick up D’Arnaud’s glove dynamite, Mets Fans are lookin’ for fun,

And together we’re gonna go out tonight and make that 7 Line run

You don’t have to do it alone, you have a team of young bats and guns,

The only team we’re ever gonna need is the sweet Orange and Blue from

Queens,

Amazins, you’re the One!

Captain Wright’s in the belfry playin’ with his bats

Familia’s in K.C. in front of Plaza III tryin’ out his attitude on all the cats

Conforto’s out in left field waitin’ for his World Series start

Yoenis is in the training room waitin’ for his next cortisone shot

The Wilpons will be there in their chairs when they wrestle the trophy upstairs

`cause you know

We’re all gonna come

We ain’t here on business, baby, we’re only here for fun

Amazins, you’re not done!

Amazins, jump a little lighter, Wilmer Flores come sit by my fire

I just want to be a winner, ain’t no liar, Amazins you’re my stone desire

Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda you know they’re gonna be there

After his performance in the NLCS Murph is in rarefied October air

We’re gonna play some ball, round them all, “visit the K”, stay out all night

it’s gonna feel alright

Amazins come out tonight, U-ri-be come baaaack tonight!

Days off are for cheaters, no hitters for the poor

Walkoffs are for winners, Amazins hit some more

So use them, ‘Mazins, run up the score!

Duda just got a little hotter, Grandy, come ‘n’ start the fire

We all just want to be winners, ain’t no liar, Amazins you’re our New York desire

I know our fans are feeling good because we just swept the Cubbies in Chi-town

And Terry’s no longer messin’ with the lineup, it seems he’s got it down

Bartolo lowered the boom showed NL batters to their room

He’s come on to lend a hand

We’re comin’ to liberate you, confiscate you we’ll always be your fans

Someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny

Ruben, don’t be sad, Utley will be plunked next year

And Sandy says the days are over that we don’t have any money

Says the days are over that we don’t have any money

The days are over since Madoff took our money

Tell Fred this is last chance to get his team in a World Series Dance

Because Cespedes and Murphy, Amazins, are expecting a big advance

Our hearts been bashed and we often crash but the Lord had mercy

The machine was a dud till mid July, then the fans returned from the

swamps of Jersey

Flores cried, help arrived, then we were comin’ on strong

By the time we meet the Royals in the Midwestern light we will know

who wins, bats or arms

The Amazin Aces with their pretty faces can tame the Royal bats in

Kaufmann Stadium and nothing stands in their way

The bats that went quiet are alive now when we need them, all night

and day

I can hear Tejada and Lagares in the dugout hummin’

So hold tight Mets fans `cause don’t you know the runs are comin’

Lucas Duda, hit another homer, Grandy, come ‘n’ start the fire

You’re not a Yankee anymore, ain’t no liar, [and you’re playing in the World

Series!]

Amazins you’re our stone desire

Matz on the Mound (New York Daily News)

Do the Mets Clinch the NLCS in Chicago on Wednesday night or will the Cubs survive to play another day?  Are the Mets one victory away from booking a trip to Kansas City (or possibly Toronto) for their first World Series appearance in 15 years?  Tonight the rookie Steven Matz steps up in the rotation, the latest Mets pitcher to face what has been described as a feared lineup of young Cubbie bats, yet a lineup that has scored just a total of 5 runs in three games against the New York Mets.

Game 3 Recap:

Jacob deGrom, now 3-0 this post-season, despite surrending two early solo HRs in Game 3 to Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler, continued his post-season brilliance to lead the Mets to a 5-2 victory and 3-0 lead in the NLCS. deGrom overcame the roughing up much like he did against the Dodgers in Game 5.  He was not looking so deGrominant when he allowed the HR to Schwarber in a 29-pitch first inning and had a three-ball count to four of the first seven batters he faced.  He regained control and pitched 7 strong and effective innings, retiring the final 11 batters he faced after Soler’s homer in the fourth evened the score at 2-2. He limited the Cubs to two runs on four hits and a walk with 100-pitches.

The Ground Rule “Wrigley Field Stuck in the Ivy” Double?  Not only did the Mets have to beat the Cubs, but they also had to beat the Ivy in right field.  With Cespedes on third base and two outs in the sixth, rookie Michael Conforto struck out. However, Trevor Cahill’s pitch rolled to the backstop, Conforto took first base safely, and Cespedes scored the tiebreaking run on the wild pitch. Wilmer Flores then blasted a line drive hit past Soler in right field. As Soler threw his arms up to signal the ground rule double and to prevent Conforto from scoring to go up 4-2, I thought it might be time for Major League Baseball to require the Cubs to pull down the Ivy.  This is a professional baseball league, not an Ivy covered campus.  On the other hand, there is something quaint and even beautiful about the Ivy, if it doesn’t affect the outcome of the game, which to Mets fans delight did not last night.  According to an MLB official, the umpires had no discretion to allow Conforto to score per Wrigley Field ground rules. There was something very attractive about seeing Terry Collins getting hot and bothered and arguing with the umpires about this call even though his argument did not prevail.  Seems like even Collins is getting The Fever.

After the The Amazins took the lead during the sixth inning, they never faced any credible challenge from the Cubs.  In the seventh, the Mets scored again.  Not the most fleet of foot, Daniel Murphy beat out an infield dribbler to Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, then left fielder Kyle Schwarber dropped Cespedes’ fly ball. The Mets expanded their lead to 5-2 with a two-run seventh and that was all the scoring needed to seal the Game 3 victory.

Why the Mets Will Win Game 4 and Clinch Tonight:

1. Mets Operating on All Cylinders:  Pitching, Offense, and Defense, it’s all coming together at the Wright time.  In this (and the NLDS) series the Mets have shown off their young arms, which have been superb squaring off against the best in the majors.  While certain bats have been struggling, Murphy, Grandy and Cespedes have been carrying the team.  Yet others are coming alive. In the past two games Captain David Wright has shown some life, Lucas Duda in Game 3 had a hit and sac bunt, Flores contributed with his Ground Rule Ivy Double and Conforto got on base safely on a dropped strike three.  Great defensive plays have been made by almost all position players, from Cespedes and Granderson in the OF to Wright and Murphy in the IF to the pitchers.  Even Harvey in Game 1 took a shot to the arm and had the wherewithal to forget the pain and get the out at first. On the other hand, the Cubs have been horrid in the field, contributing to their offensive struggles by yielding runs and hits to their opponent.
   
2. The GOAT?  Will Murphy be the Greatest of All Time, at least for the Mets in the post-season?  As of last night, Murphy joined Carlos Beltran (who failed to win the NLCS with the Mets) as the only two players in major league history to homer in five straight postseason games (6 HRs in 8 total post-season games). Murphy’s solo shot against Hendricks in the third inning led the Mets to a 2-1 lead. Beltran’s five straight games with a homer came in the 2004 post-season with the Astros (8 total HRs).  After that season, Beltran signed a seven-year, $119 million deal with … the Mets.
   
3. Steven Matz is Due for His Star Turn: Twenty-four year old left hander Steven Matz has pitched in just seven big-league games, having won 6 of them.  He was 4 for 4 at the plate in his major league start.  His eighth start is the biggest game of his young career, and could be historic.  The Long Island Matz Family will be kissing and hugging if their favorite son gets the job done,  Matz will be handed the ball in Wednesday night’s NLCS Game 4 in Chicago with the opportunity to pitch his beloved childhood team into the World Series.  Matz last pitched in Game 4 of the NLDS on Oct. 13 in a loss to the Dodgers and one Clayton Kershaw. He did not pitch poorly for a first post-season start on the big stage at Citi Field, allowing three earned runs on six hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked two.  He starts tonight on seven days’ rest and has not pitched regularly in the majors for any two-week stretch since his major league debut at the end of June. While Matz was a question mark for the playoff roster as he missed time with a lat injury and back problem at the end of the regular season, he made the roster.  He has all the goods, according to Colllins, and his team believes in him.
4. The Universe Believes:  What more is there to say.  The Mets are playing baseball on October 21st, and if you ask any Mets fan, they will tell you that there is something special going on right now.  With all of the problems in the world, fans of the Amazins have this time to forget about all of their aches and pains, the bills, the problem child and the barking dog and each night transport themselves into a few hours where all has been right, and even Wright, with the world.
   

How the Cubs Can Steal Game 4 from the Amazins:

1.  Theo Epstein & the End of the Curse:  Teams that win the first three games of a best-of-seven series have won 33 of those 34 series, according to the Elias Sports Bureau research. The one exception is of course the Boston Red Sox over the Yankees in the ALCS in 2004.  Who presided over the Sox that year?  Unless Cubs president Theo Epstein can channel a repeat performance, the Mets will be headed for their fifth World Series trip (1969, 1973, 1986 and 2000).
2. The Bats Come Alive?  Cubs fans have been anxiously awaiting their young bats to come alive.  Is tonight the night?  Will the sullen fan faces suddenly turn to smiles?
   
3. Hammel to the Rescue?  Jason Hammel, like Kyle Hendricks, will have to pitch the game of his life.  Rather than going to Lester on short rest, Maddon is sticking to plan and bringing out a decent major league pitcher as his 4th starter rather than one of his aces.  Will this be enough?

 My Prediction:  Mets Sweep behind great offensive production and another Murphy Blast among others.  The Cubs bats may come alive against Matz but the Mets will prevail, 8-4.

Stephen Dunn, Getty Images

It has the makings of a memorable and historic NLCS.  Two long suffering franchises, with the Mets looking like the Yankees next to the Cubs woeful history.  It’s the first post-season meeting ever between the teams.  The Cubs won its last World Series over a century ago in 1908, sweeping the Detroit Tigers in 4 games.  They last won any post-season series, the NLDS, against the Braves in 2003, 3-2. All other post-season series resulted in losses, more than half of those represented by losses in the World Series before the Mets were born.  In fact, as a friend & fan reminded me, the last time the Cubs won the World Series the Ottoman Empire was still in existence!

By comparison, the Metropolitans of New York, born in 1962 from the ashes of the the New York/San Francisco Giants (Orange) and Brooklyn Dodgers (Blue) who relocated from East to West Coast in that great MLB bi-coastal expansion, have two World Series championships to their name:  1969 and 1986, both in the latter half of the 20th century.  In addition, the Mets lost to the Athletics in the ’73 World Series and again to the Yankees in the 2000 Subway Series.  They came very close to another WS opportunity in 2006, dropping Game 7 of the NLCS to the Cardinals at Shea Stadium.  The Mets have never lost a post-season series at Citi Field.

Starting tonight October 17, 2015, we again test the adage:  Great pitching beats great hitting in the post-season.  Here, the Mets Young Guns face the Cubs Young Bats.  There have been many examples of that test of Arms vs Bats through the decades of Major League Baseball.  The first that springs to mind is the dominance of future Hall of Famers Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson, The Big Schill and the Big Unit, for the Diamondbacks over the Yankees in the 2001 World Series, a year after the Yankees dismantled the Mets.  In that series, Schilling and Johnson traded games and innings and tamed the great Yankee bats of the 2001.

Forget the 7-0 Mets-Cubs Season Series:  The Cubs swept the Mets, 7-0, this season.  However, those games were all played prior to early July when the Mets lineup was transformed.  In addition, several of those games were decided by 1 run.  When the Mets last played the Cubs on July 2, Darrell Ceciliani started in center field, Eric Campbell started in left field, Johnny Monell was the catcher and John Mayberry Jr. was the first bat off the bench. Who, you say?  Right.  The Mets lost to Jake Arrieta, and Jacob deGrom punched a Gatorade bucket in the dugout.

Mets Roster Changes:  By the end of July, the Mets had added center fielder Yoenis Cespedes, promoted left fielder Michael Conforto, activated catcher Travis d’Arnaud from the DL and added Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe to the bench. David Wright returned in August. You know what has happened since then.

The Pitching:  It’s not as if the Cubs, Perennial Post Season Losers, do not have their arms.  First, they have Jake Arrieta, de facto NL Cy Young with spectacular numbers, 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA in the regular season.  Then they have Jon Lester (Below). The other starters, Jason Hammel (10-7, 3.74 ERA), Kyle Hendricks (8-7, 3.95 ERA), are mere mortals.

The Cubs #2 in rotation, pitching tonight, is Jon Lester, 11-2 with a 3.34 ERA, the 2-time Cy Young Award winner in the AL with the Red Sox who will be starting the 14th postseason game of his career.  Lester’s 6-5 overall post-season record doesn’t look all that impressive, but his 2.66 ERA looks fine.  In the 2015 NLDS he held the Cardinals to three runs over 7.1 innings in Game 1 and set the tone for the Cubs’ 3-1 series win. Lester was part of two championship teams with the Red Sox, winning the clinching game of the 2007 World Series and dominating the postseason in 2013.  He wasn’t part of the history-making 2004 team but would sure like his shot at making history with the 2015 Cubs.

Lester vs. the Mets Superhero, the Dark Knight.  Matt Harvey is currently the Mets third option in the rotation as he is recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery.  Harvey caused some late season drama among his team by raising the issue inning limits through his agent Scott Boras. That drama seems to be behind him and the team as Harvey is back with a full heart and a willing arm to help lead the Mets to an NLCS championship.  This is a guy who was first to see Terry Collins after Game 4 in the NLDS to tell him he was available to assist in relief in Game 5 in LA.  Harvey also was instrumental in Game 3 at Citi Field when he pitched 5 gutsy innings to beat the Dodgers, when the Mets bats worked easily against LA starter Brett Anderson.  Harvey allowed 2 ER in 5 innings with help from the pen, including his mates 42-year old Bartolo Colon and saver Jeurys Familia, in the most electric atmosphere in the history of Citi Field. [UPDATE:  The Inning Limits issue raised its ugly head again today 10/17/15 but we think it will have no effect on tonight’s game.]

Why the Mets Win the NLCS:

1.  A Super Rotation:  How many managers would love these options?  If Harvey delivers in Game One, start Bartolo Colon in Game 2 and have deGrom and Syndergaard available for Games 3 and 4?  Then there is also Steven Matz, who pitched well in Game 4, allowing only 3 ER in one subpar inning.  That night the Mets bats could not conquer Kershaw and dropped the game 3-1.  Take note:  Jacob deGrom experienced frustration against the Cubs in the regular season, going 0-2, so don’t rely on The Hair to carry the Mets through the NLCS.  Chances are deGrom will be ready for action but Mets fans should delight in that he is not pitching Game 1.  In the NLDS, Steven Matz combined for a 3.07 earned run average as starters against the Dodgers, and closer Jeurys Familia retired all 16 batters he faced.  Season stats of the 4 Mets Expected Starters:  deGrom (14-8, 2.54 ERA), Noah Syndergaard (9-7, 3.24 ERA), Matt Harvey (13-8, 2.71 ERA), and Matz (4-0, 2.27 ERA)  Colon is a real possibility to start a game or pitch again as he did in the NLDS–apart from an inconsequential home run he gave up to Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in the Mets’ 13-7 rout of Los Angeles in Game 3, and a run he was charged with in the controversial seventh inning of Game 2 (Utley Broke Tejada’s Leg Inning), Colon has been practically unhittable in this post-season.
2. Murphy on Fire:  Daniel Murphy almost single-handedly beat the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine on Thursday night.  Kudos to Mets pitching again of course, as deGrom struggled through 6 innings but Collins could hand off the ball confidently to a dominating Syndergaard for the 7th and and Familia for the final 6 outs.  However, Daniel Murphy, the Man now dubbed as Dan-tastic! by that entertaining New York rag media, sealed the Mets 3-2 victory with heads up baserunning, stealing third on a walk!, and delivering the game-winning blast to right field that will be seared in Greinke’s memory forever.
3. The Invisible Bats Return?  In what is more a question than a declaration, it seems impossible that Duda, Wright, Cespedes and others will all continue slumping in the NLCS.  At least one or two of those bats will come alive, the odds say, and in my opinion Wright may still struggle but Cespedes will come alive and Collins may have to call on Cuddyer instead of Duda.  I also look to rookie Conforto and Wilmer Flores to contribute in this series.
4. The Grandy Man Can:  Curtis Granderson, the steady Captain-like leadoff man of this team, had a great NLDS series.  He is steady, smart and knows a little something about the post-season himself.  He is that special former Yankee who also fits well with the Mets.
5. We Are Familia:  He retired all 16 batters he faced in the division series.

How the Cubs Could Steal the NLCS from the Mets:

1.  Bats, Bats, Bats:  With a lineup that includes the Cubs’ wrecking crew of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler and more, who easily beat their nemesis Cardinals in 4 games (against lesser pitching than the Mets, however), Mets pitching needs to be at its very best to tame this young and talented lineup.  The Cubs bruised the Cardinals for 10 home runs in a four-game division series victory, after homering twice off Pittsburgh ace Gerrit Cole in the wild card game.  These bats cannot be taken lightly and the Mets arms must have their best stuff.
2. Arrieta-Lester with Closer Rondon:  If #s 1 and 2 of the Cubs lineup are lights out, the Cubs also have a great closer in Hector Rondon, who joined the Cubs in the winter of 2012. The Cleveland Indians’ minor league pitcher of the year in 2009, before Tommy John surgery in 2010 and an elbow fracture the next year, he has developed well for the Cubs Rondon earned 30 saves in 34 this season.  So the Cubs have their own version of Familia, both had a 1.00 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) with an ERA below 2.00 this season. The Cubs other starters in the division series, Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel, should be hittable. Hendricks has not thrown more than 93 pitches in any of his last 12 starts, and Hammel has gone past five innings just once in his last eight starts.
3. Destiny:  This is the reason that should scare Mets fans most.  At some time or another it has to happen.  Cubs fans say, why not this year?  In fact, the 1989 movie “Back to the Future Part II” predicted the Cubs would win the 2015 World Series, and the man who wrote the screenplay and imagined this unlikely scenario is Bob Gale, a lifelong die-hard Cardinals fan.  It’s strange but is it prophetic?  At the same time, while “Back to the Future 2” decreed that the Cubs would win the 2015 World Series (against a team from Miami with an alligator mascot) the Mets have their own omen: when Familia closed out the Dodgers on Thursday, it was the Mets’ first two-inning save in the postseason since October 27, 1986, the night Jesse Orosco secured the Mets’ last World Series championship.

So tonight, the Mets bring on the Dark Knight to lead the way into the Light.  Citi Field will no doubt be at least as electric as it was for Harvey and the Mets in Game 3, and let the NLCS begin!  There will be no shortage of drama and excitement.

Prominent Play Prediction:  Mets in 6, possibly 7.   Mets Pitching will dominate, bats will return and the Murph will continue the Razzle Dazzle.  Look to Thor to play a major role in this series, whether as a starter or Super Reliever.  Granderson will continue his great leadership, and expect one of the big bats to return (Cespedes) and heroics from the unexpected (Conforto or Flores)

History should be on the Mets’ side in this clash. They roared back to overtake the Cubs in 1969 on the way to their first title, and clinched the N.L. East with a victory over the Cubs in 1986 as they stormed toward their other crown.

Charles Wenzelberg, New York Post 10/15/15 – Game 5 of the National League Division Series Playoffs between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles; Noah Syndergaard pitching in relief in the 7th inning.

Game 5 Celebration, Mets Clinch NLDS in Dodger Stadium (Newsday, J. Conrad Williams)