It isn’t fair.
The Mets somehow get the better of the Dodgers’ two superhuman pitchers, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and, now, with the World Series just one very big step away, they have to face someone who’s throwing even better.
12-1, 0.75 ERA.
No, those aren’t Matt Harvey’s little league stats from years back. They’re what Cubs ace Jake Arrieta put up in what turned out to be the greatest second half any pitcher has enjoyed in MLB history. And, by the way, it’s not like the 29-year-old righty had a pedestrian first half. He was 10-5 with a 2.66 ERA -- numbers that should’ve earned him a spot on the All-Star team.
Not only do I think Arrieta deserves the NL Cy Young Award for his exploits, I think he’s the MVP too. Take Arrieta out of the Cubs’ rotation, and they go from a 97-win club to one very possibly on the outside looking in at playoff time.
With Arrieta, Chicago is better than the Mets. Without him, they’re not. So, basically, the Amazins just have to beat the Cubbies whenever Arrieta isn’t pitching.
Easy, right?
Sports
OK, maybe not. But while the NCLS doesn’t even start until Saturday, the Mets already have a big edge because Chicago isn’t starting Arrieta until Game 2. This means that, in all likelihood, he’ll only have the opportunity to make two starts against them, not three. Of course, if the series goes long, there’s every reason to believe that we’ll see Arrieta pull a Randy Johnson circa 2001 (or, for the youngins, Madison Bumgarner circa last season) and make a crucial late-series relief appearance.
Still, if the series does go seven, the Mets’ starter should be better than the Cubs’ starter in five of those -- starting with Saturday night, when Matt Harvey and Jon Lester take the mound. New York sports fans are well-acquainted with Lester from his years with the Red Sox, where he was a playoff ace, posting a 2.66 career postseason ERA. But whether it’s growing pains in a new league or just a veteran pitcher wearing down, the Windy City Lester isn’t quite up to the level of the Boston edition.
Meanwhile, fellow Cubs starters Jason Hammel and Kyle Hendricks are very average, while the Mets starters after Harvey -- Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and possibly Steven Matz -- are not, although their prodigious talent is accompanied by a lack of postseason experience (that inexperience certainly didn’t seem to faze deGrom or Syndergaard vs. LA, however).
The Mets and Cubs seem very evenly matched. They scored and allowed an almost identical number of runs this season, and while Chicago swept their season series this year, all of the games were played in the first half, when New York was a much different team. On the flip side, so was Chicago, in that Arrieta was actually kind of hittable before the break. He may not be now, but if the Mets can get the better of the Cubs when he’s not on the mound, then the World Series is within reach.
