The 2015 MLB playoffs will continue on Saturday as the NLCS begins at Citi Field. The New York Mets will host the Chicago Cubs in an unlikely matchup and here are the five things you need to know about this championship series.
5. Cubs' manager Joe Maddon has been to the postseason five times and the LCS twice, while all of this is a first for Mets' manager Terry Collins
This is nothing new for Maddon, so the spotlight will be on Collins, who is making his NLCS debut (Maddon is also making his NLCS debut, but he took the Rays to the ALCS back in 2008). This is also Collins' first go-around in the playoffs in his 11th year as a manager, whereas Maddon is in the midst of his fifth postseason appearance in 12 years as manager.
Collins has done an excellent job with this Mets team in 2015, but Maddon's work with the Cubs has him in line for his third Manager of the Year Award. The managing of the bullpens will be crucial in this one, and expect Maddon to get creative with his lineups against the Mets' stacked starting rotation.
4. The Cubs were 7-0 against the Mets this season
Despite the Cubs' shellacking of the Mets earlier this year, there's one thing to keep in mind - neither Chicago or New York were as good then as they are now. The Cubs and Mets were middle-of-the-road teams during the first half of the season.
These two clubs faced off in mid-May (the Cubs swept a four-game series) and in late June/early July (the Cubs swept a three-game series). When the two played in the three-game series they were both around .500 and nothing to write home about.
That was before the Mets called up prospects Steven Matz and Michael Conforto and traded for Yoenis Cespedes, Tyler Clippard, Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. They also didn't have David Wright back from his spinal stenosis injury yet and catcher Travis d'Arnaud did not play in any of those games against the Cubs due to injuries.
As for the Cubs, they hadn't yet promoted Kyle Schwarber or moved rookie Addison Russell over to shortstop. Oh yeah, and Jake Arrieta hadn't begun his historic second half of the 2015 MLB season.
Chicago was the best second half team in the MLB and the Mets led the NL in runs scored in the second half as well.
Jon Lester and Jake Arrieta shut down the Mets in four of those regular season games, and those are the two starters New York will be seeing in Games 1 and 2 of the NLCS. However, Lester and Arrieta will be facing a whole new lineup.
3. There are nine rookies in this series (and it would have been 10 if Addison Russell wasn't injured)
Here are the Mets' rookies: Michael Conforto (OF), Noah Syndergaard (SP), Steven Matz (SP), Kevin Plawecki (C) and Hansel Robles (RP).
You should know all of the Cubs' rookies, but we'll list them for you anyway: Kris Bryant (3B), Kyle Schwarber (OF), Jorge Soler (OF) and Javier Baez (SS).
Russell was ruled out for the NLCS with a hamstring injury and Baez will take over as the starting shortstop.
The "Year of the Call Up" has been unforgettable and a number of those notable names are still participating this late in the season.
2. Each team's pitching and hitting stats from the regular season are almost identical
Get ready for this:
Pitching Stats
Cubs | Mets |
ERA: 3.36 (3rd in MLB) | ERA: 3.43 (4th in MLB) |
WHIP: 1.15 (1st in MLB) | WHIP: 1.18 (2nd in MLB) |
Opp. Batting Avg: .233 (1st in MLB) | Opp. Batting Avg: .243 (6th in MLB) |
Saves: 48 (7th in MLB) | Saves: 50 (5th in MLB) |
K/BB Ratio: 3.52 (3rd in MLB) | K/BB Ratio: 3.49 (4th in MLB) |
Innings Pitched: 1,461 1/3 (6th in MLB) | Innings Pitched: 1,462 2/3 (5th in MLB) |
Batting Stats
Cubs | Mets |
Runs Scored: 1,341 (16th in MLB) | Runs Scored: 1,351 (17th in MLB) |
Home Runs: 171 (12th in MLB) | Home Runs: 177 (9th in MLB) |
Batting Avg: .244 (29th in MLB) | Batting Avg: .244 (28th in MLB) |
OPS: .719 (17th in MLB) | OPS: .712 (20th in MLB) |
Weird.
1. These two teams... (wait for it)... have never been in the postseason in the same year
That's pretty ridiculous since the Cubs have been around since 1870, the Mets came on as an expansion team in 1962, and the two haven't been in the same division for over 20 years now. This marks the first time in 53 years they'll be competing in the same postseason and it just so happens they're now battling for a spot in the World Series.
And speaking of the World Series, as you well know, the Mets haven't captured one since 1986 and the Cubs are going on a 107-year drought of their own.
We're witnessing history before our eyes, ladies and gentlemen, so be sure not to miss this one-of-a-kind NLCS.
