Matt Harvey bringin' heat, Kris Bryant goin' deep.
Noah Syndergaard firing 100-mph fastballs as Kyle Schwarber swings from his heels
Jacob deGrom rearing back and going right after Anthony Rizzo.
In an NL Championship Series teeming with top young
talent, it's a classic baseball confrontation: the New York Mets and
their power pitching versus the Chicago Cubs and those potent sluggers.
''Strength against strength, in some respect,'' Chicago executive Theo Epstein said Friday.
With the wild-card Cubs four wins from their first World
Series in 70 years, Game 1 in the best-of-seven set is Saturday night at
Citi Field. Harvey is scheduled to start for NL East champion New York
against postseason pro Jon Lester.
But while the series features two of the country's
largest media markets - the city that never sleeps against the city of
broad shoulders - this savory matchup was grown down on the farm the
last few years, sprouting up off dusty minor-league diamonds at Double-A
Tennessee and Binghamton, Triple-A Iowa and Las Vegas.
As both franchises (and their loyal fans) endured half a
decade of consistent losing, Epstein and Mets general manager Sandy
Alderson were stockpiling prospects.
Chicago rebuilt around rookie sluggers, while New York pinned its plan on lively arms.
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 12: Matt Harvey #33 of
the New York Mets pitches during Game 3 of the NLDS against the Los
Angeles Dodgers at Citi Field on Monday, October 12, 2015 in the Queens
borough of New York City. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty
Images) CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 22: Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubs
watches his two run home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the
third inning at Wrigley Field on September 22, 2015 in Chicago,
Illinois. The blast was Bryant's 25th of the season, breaking Hall of
Famer Billy Williams's rookie home run record set in 1961. (Photo by Jon
Durr/Getty Images)
Matt Harvey bringin' heat, Kris Bryant goin' deep.
Noah Syndergaard firing 100-mph fastballs as Kyle Schwarber swings from his heels.
Jacob deGrom rearing back and going right after Anthony Rizzo.
In an NL Championship Series teeming with top young
talent, it's a classic baseball confrontation: the New York Mets and
their power pitching versus the Chicago Cubs and those potent sluggers.
''Strength against strength, in some respect,'' Chicago executive Theo Epstein said Friday.
With the wild-card Cubs four wins from their first World
Series in 70 years, Game 1 in the best-of-seven set is Saturday night at
Citi Field. Harvey is scheduled to start for NL East champion New York
against postseason pro Jon Lester.
But while the series features two of the country's
largest media markets - the city that never sleeps against the city of
broad shoulders - this savory matchup was grown down on the farm the
last few years, sprouting up off dusty minor-league diamonds at Double-A
Tennessee and Binghamton, Triple-A Iowa and Las Vegas.
As both franchises (and their loyal fans) endured half a
decade of consistent losing, Epstein and Mets general manager Sandy
Alderson were stockpiling prospects.
Chicago rebuilt around rookie sluggers, while New York pinned its plan on lively arms.
And here they are in October, perhaps a year or so ahead of schedule.
The scouts saw it coming.
''The successful teams, whether they're big market, small
market, large payroll, small payroll, you've got to develop your own
players. That's the currency with which we deal,'' Alderson said.
''Ultimately if you don't develop your own players, you're going to come
up short at some point, either on your own team or in the trade
market.''
One glance at the young studs on each team doesn't tell the entire story, though.
Chicago actually had a lower ERA than the Mets this year,
while New York had more homers and a higher slugging percentage. So
despite their obvious differences, this is not really some head-to-head
clash of cultural baseball philosophies.
''We're not in it for the narrative. We're in it to go to
the World Series,'' said Epstein, the Cubs' president of baseball
operations.
Still, everyone involved is acutely aware of all the young talent that will be on display.
''We've kind of ascended. The Mets showed their muscle
the latter part of the year like we did,'' Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
''It's really kind of like a renaissance going on right now with the
youth in baseball.''
Maddon and Mets skipper Terry Collins go back a long way.
When he was hired to manage the Angels before the 1997 season, Collins
chose Maddon to be his bench coach. And when Collins resigned in
September 1999, Maddon took over the team on an interim basis.
This season, Maddon got the best of his old friend as the
Cubs won all seven meetings between the teams by a combined score of
27-11. It was the first time the Mets were swept in a season series of
seven games or more - and the first time Chicago did it since 1885
against the Buffalo Bisons.
But the last time they played was July 2, weeks before
the Mets revamped a scuffling lineup. Since then, New York added Yoenis
Cespedes and rookie Michael Conforto, among others, while Travis
d'Arnaud and David Wright returned from injuries. Tyler Clippard and
Addison Reed were acquired to deepen the bullpen.
''I think we all believe that we're a completely
different team,'' Harvey said. ''I think we match up very well against
them. I think we're excited to give them another run and have it be in
this important of a series.''
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