Series Thread: NLDS..NY METS vs. LA DODGERS

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New York Mets pitching, Los Angeles Dodgers pitching: amazingly even - Mets Blog - ESPN

 

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LOS ANGELES --(10/8)

FIRST PITCH: The New York Mets have arrived on the West Coast.

The Amazin’s will work out at Dodger Stadium at 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, a day ahead of the division series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Meanwhile, at the Mets’ complex in Port St. Lucie, Florida, rookie left-handerSteven Matz is due to throw a simulated game on Thursday. The Mets then will make a determination by 1 p.m. ET on Friday whether Matz or left-handed reliever Sean Gilmartin will be included on the division series roster. Gilmartin accompanied the Mets on Wednesday’s flight to Los Angeles in case Matz is left off as he works back from back spasms.


THURSDAY’S NEWS REPORTS:

• Jared Diamond in the Journal interviews comedians who are Mets fans. “The essence of comedy is failure and things not working out and the guy slipping on a banana peel. That’s the Mets,” Michael Price, co-executive producer of “The Simpsons,” tells Diamond. “I can’t imagine somebody who has a sense of humor being a Yankee fan.”
  
  
• The Mets’ bench for Game 1 will be composed of Kevin Plawecki, Wilmer Flores, Kelly Johnson, Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares and Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Ruben Tejada is due to start the opener at shortstop, withMichael Cuddyer in left field. The bullpen will include Jeurys Familia,Addison Reed, Tyler Clippard, Bartolo Colon, Jonathon Niese, Erik Goeddeland Hansel Robles. If Matz is not included on the roster, Colon could start Game 4, with Gilmartin landing in the bullpen. Read more on the roster in Newsday.
  
  
• Manager Terry Collins reiterated Wednesday that Matt Harvey missing Tuesday’s mandatory workout at Citi Field is not a major issue. Read more in the Post, Record, Daily News, Newsday and at MLB.com.
  
  
• SNY/TNT analyst Ron Darling, a member of the champion 1986 Mets, minimized Harvey’s extreme tardiness. "It's really hard for me to criticize," Darling told Anthony Rieber in Newsday. "Half our team didn't make the [World Series] parade. … We had guys who barely showed up to games."
  
  
• Pedro Martinez tells Neil Best in Newsday that the Mets must keep tabs on Harvey. "I think Harvey is at an age and time in baseball where you can still hold the leash," Martinez said on a conference call with reporters. “‘Hey, I know you're a big horse. You have a lot of blood. You want to run your race. But, no. I'm the jockey right here and I'm going to hold you. This is our race and we wait for the rest of the horses.’ … You still have plenty of time to hold the leash on Harvey. Management and everybody needs to get together to hold the leash a little bit and get him straight."
  
  
• Columnist Ken Davidoff in the Post weighs in on Harvey.
  
  
• Barbara Barker in Newsday interviews Yoenis Cespedes’ mother, Estela Milanes.
  
  
• When the Mets could not identify a bona fide leadoff hitter at the start of the season, Curtis Granderson stepped into the role and excelled, Matt Ehalt writes in the Record.
  
  
• Dodgers manager Don Mattingly complimented the Mets’ young pitchers, Peter Botte writes in the Daily News.
  
  
• Dillon Gee officially is a free agent.
  
  
• Joe Trezza at MLB.com and Laura Albanese in Newsday feature Conforto, who may only start Game 2, when the Mets face right-hander Zack Greinke. Cuddyer is expected to start in left field against left-handed pitching, including Clayton Kershaw in Friday’s opener.
  
  
• Read more on Matz’s upcoming simulated game at MLB.com.
  
  
• Cuddyer tells columnist Mike Vaccaro in the Post that winning is more important than money. Cuddyer turned down a qualifying offer from theColorado Rockies in November.
  
  
• Anthony DiComo at MLB.com profiles Game 1 starter Jacob deGrom.
  
  
• Flores lost 10 pounds while recently dealing with strep throat. Read more in the Post.
  
  
• The police chiefs of New York and Los Angeles have made a friendly wager on the result of the Mets-Dodgers series, David K. Li writes in the Post.
  
  
• From the bloggers … Faith and Fear says New York's last chance for a championship in 2015 is in the Mets’ hands. … Mets Report identifies three keys to beating Kershaw.
  

 

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Mets' Jacob deGrom set for big stage opposite Clayton Kershaw
New York Mets' Jacob deGrom set for big stage opposite Clayton Kershaw - Mets Blog - ESPN

Mets rookie Steven Matz on track to start Game 4 vs. Dodgers
Mets rookie Steven Matz on track to start Game 4 vs. Dodgers - Mets Blog - ESPN

Mets to stick with Tyler Clippard as primary setup man
New York Mets to stick with Tyler Clippard as primary setup man - Mets Blog - ESPN

Jon Niese ready to contribute out of bullpen as Mets' lone lefty
Jon Niese ready to contribute out of bullpen as N.Y. Mets' lone lefty - Mets Blog - ESPN

EVERYTHING TO LIKE ABOUT SYNDERGAARD
Noah Syndergaard is generous with his strikeouts and stingy with walks. His fastball is flammable around 98 mph. He has the frame to rack up innings. Is there any rookie pitching award he shouldn't win?Prospect award winners (Insider)

 

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Wilmer Flores says back issue, strep throat is behind him

LOS ANGELES -- Ruben Tejada is scheduled to start Game 1 of the division series at shortstop for the New York Mets, according to manager Terry Collins. But Wilmer Flores feels healthy and is available to contribute off the bench against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Flores departed a Sept. 30 game with a back issue and did not appear in a game the remainder of the regular season. The bigger issue, though, turned out to be strep throat. Flores said he lost 10 pounds as a result of the illness.

Flores hit .200 (5-for-25) in his final 10 games.

"I feel good," he said Thursday, before the Mets worked out at Dodger Stadium. "There's no excuse. I'm ready to go."

Tejada provides superior fielding to Flores at shortstop, which is one major reason he gets the starting nod in the opener. Tejada also is 5-for-14 with three walks in his career against Clayton Kershaw, the Game 1 starter for the Dodgers. Flores is 3-for-6 against Kershaw.

 

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Kelly Johnson is only the Met in NLDS to have homered against Clayton Kershaw

LOS ANGELES -- Among the players who will be on the division series roster for the New York Mets, only two have ever produced an extra-base hit againstClayton Kershaw, the Game 1 starter for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

David Wright recorded a double in 2010. And Kelly Johnson homered a year later, while a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“I had used a reliever’s bat,” Johnson recalled Thursday at Dodger Stadium, on the eve of the series. “It was like a 33-[inch]/30-[ounce bat]. It was just one of those days I felt like mixing it up and doing something -- make it a different kind of an at-bat. I got a hold of one. It was in Arizona. They were in our place. Kind of toward the pool area. It’s one you don’t forget when you get it off those kind of guys.”

Johnson has appeared in the postseason with the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. Several other Mets imports have appeared in the postseason, too, including Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Cuddyer, Tyler Clippardand Addison Reed. However, among players who came through the Mets' system, only Wright has postseason experience, since the Mets have been absent since 2006.

Does the experience matter?

“A little bit. I think just knowing what to expect,” Johnson said. “Cuddy and myself, guys that have been there, we just try to do what you always do. I think that when you try to amp up and do too much, that’s where things jump up on you.

“I’ve told the guys: Try to settle into an at-bat, see some pitches. You go up there hacking and you may find yourself in your second or third at-bat and you’re still not settled in.”

 

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Michael Conforto will likely spend most of his time on the bench during NLDS

LOS ANGELES -- Lefty-hitting Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy will be in the starting lineup against southpaw Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the division series between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.

Meanwhile, a regular-season platoon that will remain intact will be in left field. Manager Terry Collins plans to start Michael Cuddyer in left field over lefty-hitting Michael Conforto, despite the rookie hitting .270 with nine homers and 26 RBIs in 174 at-bats at the major league level.

The only start Conforto may get in the NLDS is against right-hander
Zack Greinke, since the Mets otherwise are expected to face only left-handed starting pitching (Kershaw, Brett Anderson and, potentially, Alex Wood).

Collins consistently has stated that Conforto should be an everyday player and not platoon beginning in 2016.

Conforto hit .333 (17-for-51) against left-handers and .303 against right-handers (37-for-122) with Double-A Binghamton this season before a July 24 promotion to the majors. He had only 14 major league at-bats against southpaws, and produced three singles. In fact, Conforto started only once against a left-handed pitcher -- in his major league debut, against the Dodgers' Ian Thomas, which coincided with Cuddyer landing on the disabled list with knee inflammation.

"There's been smaller samples where I've struggled a little bit," Conforto said about hitting left-handed pitching. "I think maybe my freshman year of college I had a little trouble. Jumping up from high school to the college level they get a little bit better and there are guys who come in to pitch specifically to lefties. But through college I had some really great coaches, really great people helping me with that. I saw left-handed batting practice almost every day. They matched me up with left-handed guys when we scrimmaged and stuff just to make me comfortable with it. So I don't feel uncomfortable at all. Things are the way they are right now, and we'll see what happens."

Conforto said he was not dejected upon recognizing that the Mets would face a Dodgers team that primarily has left-handed starting pitchers.

"I wouldn't say I was bummed," Conforto said. "I know there's a great chance that I'm going to get into a game no matter what happens and who is throwing. At this point, and since I've come up here, it's all about winning games. And the way we've been doing things has helped us win games. Whatever my role has to be to do that, I'll be completely happy and satisfied."

Where Conforto ranks among lefty pinch-hit options for Collins remains to be seen. Kelly Johnson and Kirk Nieuwenhuis also will be on the bench.

Conforto went 2-for-6 with a double and a walk as a pinch hitter during the regular season.

"It's basically just staying loose," Conforto said. "It kind of starts with the coaching staff letting us know when we're probably going to get in there. They always do a good job of keeping us informed on the situation. We can see what's going on as well. The routine is just getting in the cage, going through my stuff personally that I do. Everybody has their own stuff. So I'm pretty locked in on the pinch-hitting thing even though it's kind of new to me."

 

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• Yoenis Céspedes has found winning chemistry with the Mets - OneNacion Blog - ESPN




• How do you pitch to the New York Mets' Yoenis Cespedes? - Stats & Info - ESPN

 

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Yoenis Cespedes: 'In just pure talent, our pitching is superior to theirs'

LOS ANGELES -- New York Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes is bullish on his team's pitching, even compared with a Los Angeles Dodgers staff that includesClayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.

"I would say in quality, in just pure talent, our pitching is superior to theirs," Cespedes told ESPN Deportes' Marly Rivera in Spanish. "Whether things go well for us or not, that is another matter. But in terms of ability, our pitchers are so young, with great arms, a very good pitching staff. I think what they have to do is believe in themselves and get it into their heads that they can do this, and things will work out. "

The Mets will start Jacob deGrom in Game 1, followed by Noah Syndergaard in Game 2 and then Matt Harvey when the division series shifts to Citi Field.Steven Matz was throwing a simulated game in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on Thursday morning to determine if he is ready to return from back spasms and potentially start Game 4.

As for Kershaw and Greinke, Cespedes said: "They are pitchers of great ability, but they still have to throw the ball. The strike zone does not get any bigger. We may not perform well against them, but the fact is that they are pitchers, like any other pitcher. You have to do your job to the best of your ability. But, like them, we also have some great pitching."

 

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After the New York Yankees' ouster by the Houston Astros in Tuesday’s wild-card game, there won’t be a Subway Series in 2015.

Still, the New York Mets are in the postseason for the first time in nine years.

Will they run into a buzzsaw facing Los Angeles Dodgers aces Clayton Kershawand Zack Greinke and have a quick departure from the postseason? Or will the Mets be riding down the Canyon of Heroes as the third championship team in franchise history, joining their 1969 and 1986 counterparts?

Here are five reasons for optimism and pessimism:

• How far will the New York Mets go in the 2015 playoffs? - Mets Blog - ESPN

 

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After four days of inaction, the New York Mets finally open their best-of-five division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday at Chavez Ravine. AP Photo/Aaron Doster

Morning Briefing: Game on for Mets and Dodgers!
LOS ANGELES -- (10/9)

FIRST PITCH:

Let the games begin!

After four days of inaction, the New York Mets finally open their best-of-five division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at 9:45 p.m. ET on Friday at Chavez Ravine.

Jacob deGrom (14-8, 2.54 ERA) steps onto the big stage to oppose left-handerClayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.13).

Kershaw, by the way, is 0-4 with a 7.15 ERA in his last four postseason starts -- albeit all against the St. Louis Cardinals, in 2013 and ’14.

Still, Kershaw is 6-0 with a 1.34 ERA in nine career starts against the Mets, including 1-0 with a 0.56 ERA in 16 innings this season. Of course, John Mayberry Jr. was hitting cleanup when Kershaw tossed a three-hit shutout at Citi Field on July 23. Mayberry was designated for assignment the next day.

The Mets must submit their roster by 1 p.m. ET, but the 25-man crew now appears clear.

Steven Matz threw an 88-pitch simulated game in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on Thursday as he works back from back spasms. Assuming he has no difficulty playing catch on Friday morning, Matz will meet the Mets in New York and start Game 4 of the division series, after deGrom, then Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey get their turns.

That means Sean Gilmartin will fall short of being included on the roster and instead will serve as part of a taxi squad with Anthony Recker, Eric Young Jr.,Eric Campbell, Logan Verrett, Carlos Torres and Bobby Parnell.

Manager Terry Collins will wait until Friday to reveal his batting order, but he has acknowledged the Game 1 starters: Travis d'Arnaud, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy, David Wright, Ruben Tejada, Michael Cuddyer, Yoenis Cespedes andCurtis Granderson.

That leaves a bench of lefty-hitting Michael Conforto, Kelly Johnson and Kirk Nieuwenhuis and righty-hitting Wilmer Flores, Juan Lagares and Kevin Plawecki. Conforto may only start against Zack Greinke in Game 2 as Collinsuses Cuddyer against left-handed pitching. Flores said his strep throat and back issue are behind him. Still, Tejada is slated to start the series opener.

The bullpen will consist of Jeurys Familia, Tyler Clippard, Addison Reed,Bartolo Colon, Jonathon Niese, Erik Goeddel and Hansel Robles. Collins said Clippard will remain the primary setup man, in part because of his success against lefty batters. Niese surprised himself with his ability to warm up quickly while working as a reliever during the final week of the regular season.

 

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FRIDAY’S NEWS REPORTS:

• The NLDS start times have been set. Game 2 will begin at 9:07 p.m. ET Saturday. When the series shifts to Citi Field, Game 3 will be held on Monday at either 8:37 p.m. ET (if there are three other postseason games that day) or at 8:07 p.m. ET (if there are one or two other postseason games that day). If necessary, Game 4 on Tuesday and Game 5 on Thursday are locked into 8:07 p.m. ET.
  
  
• Read more on Matz all but set to be included on the roster to start Game 4 in the Post, Daily News, Times and Record and at MLB.com.
  
  
• Read more on deGrom’s start in the Post.
  
  
• Marc Carig in Newsday writes a feature on Collins, who will be managing in the postseason for the first time in his career at age 66. "I'd like another chance to do this because I see a real bright future here,” Collins tells Carig about his status for 2016 and beyond. “But I'm not going to do it for a long time. I'm going to go have some fun, get up when I want to get up, go play golf, mow the yard, stuff that makes me relaxed.”
  
  
• Legendary Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, 87, will miss the postseason after undergoing an undisclosed surgical procedure on Thursday, the team announced. Read more in the Los Angeles Times, Post, Daily News andNewsday.
  
  
• Among active players, longtime Phillies Ryan Howard (44), Chase Utley (35) and Jimmy Rollins (33) have the most homers against the Mets. Now Utley and Rollins are with the Dodgers. Read Rollins’ stroll down memory lane in the Post and Daily News and at NJ.com.
  
  
• Brian Costa in the Journal catches up with Seth Fleischauer, who was plastered on tabloids as the face of the sad Mets fan after the team’s collapse to Rollins and the Phillies in 2007. “It’s exhilarating to think that this chapter is finally closed,” Fleischauer, now 36 and living in Los Angeles, tells Costa. “My hope is that at some point, when you Google ‘Mets fan,’ I’m not the first hit that comes up.” Fleischauer has tickets for Game 5 at Dodger Stadium if the series goes the distance.
  
  
• Columnist Joel Sherman in the Post identifies five keys to the Mets beating the Dodgers.
  
  
• Bill Shaikin in the Los Angeles Times compares Manny Ramirez’s impact on the 2008 Dodgers to Cespedes’ impact on the Mets this season.
  
  
• Keith Hernandez tells Neil Best in Newsday that he is appalled by Harvey’s tardiness to Tuesday’s mandatory workout at Citi Field. “I'm astounded after all that's gone down that this happened. I'm flabbergasted about it,” Hernandez tells Best. “But as my father used to say: 'You make your bed, you've got to sleep in it.' I just think at this particular point of the season it's really, really not good.” Meanwhile, critic Bob Raissman in the Daily Newsasserts that the same media folks who built up Harvey are now the ones hypocritically chastising him.
  
  
• Mets fans to prepare for a “thrilling, nerve-wracking ride,” columnist Mike Vaccaro writes in the Post.
  
  
• With the Yankees eliminated, the New York baseball stage solely belongs to the Mets, columnist John Harper writes in the Daily News.
  
  
• Mike Puma in the Post and Peter Botte in the Daily News do position-by-position comparisons of the Mets and Dodgers. Puma picks the Mets to win the series in five games.
  
  
• Columnist Anthony Rieber in Newsday reminisces about the July 29 trade of Flores to the Milwaukee Brewers that didn’t happen.
  
  
• Dodgers manager Don Mattingly has a lot of respect for the Mets’ starting pitchers, Botte writes in the Daily News.
  
  
• Columnist David Lennon in Newsday recalls Mattingly offering Wright advice this summer about preparing for games while dealing with a back condition. "I asked him questions about his routine moving forward,” Wright tells Lennon. “I asked him questions about how he felt on a daily basis. There are things I do now that are similar to what he still does. He put my mind at ease and also got me somewhat into the routine that I'm in now."
  
  
• Joe Belock in the Daily News recaps 10 memorable moments in Mets-Dodgers history.
  
  
• Anthony DiComo at MLB.com looks at the Mets’ standout young rotation.
  
  
• Carig in Newsday notes the Mets do not have a lefty specialist in their bullpen.
  
  
• Read NLDS previews in the Post, Times and Newsday.
  
  
• Read more on the Mets using their lefty hitters, except for Conforto, against the southpaw Kershaw in the Journal.
  
  
• Howie Kussoy in the Post has a feature on Wright.
  
  
• Familia says the big difference between 2014 and 2015 for him is his ability to forget when something bad happens and move on to the next day. “Last year I thought about it too much,” said Familia, who matched Armando Benitez’s franchise single-season saves record on the final day of the regular season with No 43. “This year, if they homer and [score] a couple of runs, I try to forget it the next day, come in with a new mind and do my job.” Read more in the Post.
  
  
• Lloyd Carroll in the Queens Chronicle advocates using Colon as a starter in the division series.
  
  
• Columnist Lyle Spencer at MLB.com reflects on Collins’ Dodgers roots.
  
  
• From the bloggers … Mets Report believes Ron Darling was too kind in his critique of Harvey’s missed workout.
  

 

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LOS ANGELES (10/9)-- Here are the lineups for Friday's 9:45 p.m. ET division-series opener between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.



Curtis Granderson, RF

David Wright, 3B

Yoenis Cespedes, CF

Daniel Murphy, 2B

Travis d'Arnaud, C

Lucas Duda, 1B

Michael Cuddyer, LF

Ruben Tejada, SS

Jacob deGrom, RHP



Dodgers

Carl Crawford, LF

Howie Kendrick, 2B

Corey Seager, SS

Adrian Gonzalez, 1B

Justin Turner, 3B

Andre Ethier, RF

AJ Ellis, C

Joc Pederson, CF

Clayton Kershaw, LHP

 

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FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!

PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!!!!!

METS WIN 3-1.....LEAD THE NLDS 1-0

 

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Jacob deGrom, Mets get better of Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets get better of Clayton Kershaw - Mets Blog - ESPN

How Jacob deGrom dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers - Stats & Info - ESPN

 

[omarsrevenge]

Awesome start beating Kershaw on the road. LGM!

 

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Jacob deGrom outduels Clayton Kershaw with 13 K's as Mets top Dodgers

DeGrom Ks 13 as Mets take Game 1 vs. Dodgers

 

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So happy for DW.....he was Capt. Clutch tonight....

Wright's two-run single

Statcast: Murphy's solo blast

Familia closes out the win

deGrom's 11th strikeout

deGrom ties postseason K record

Murphy's diving stop

 

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After lengthy rehab in L.A., David Wright delivers big hit there - Mets Blog - ESPN


David Wright watches his two-run single in the seventh inning, which gave the Mets a 3-0 lead. AP Photo/Gregory Bull

 

[Nasty_Magician]

That pitcher the Mets had going last night was pretty decent.