The month of October has officially arrived, and for baseball fans that can only mean one thing: the playoffs. Major League Baseball now moves into the postseason, where the best of the best will duke it out to see who can claim the title of king of the diamond this season. While there are a ton of talented teams in baseball this year, the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets stand out to me. They stand out not only because of their respective records but also because of the past struggles of each franchise. The Cubs have not won a World Series for over 100 years, but Chicago fans will tell you that this curse may be broken in 2015. The Mets have been a down-trodden franchise with a disappointed fan base for as long as I can remember. It would be great to see either of these teams make a run at the National League pennant, and I think both squads have the talent to do so.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs are a storied franchise with lots of history, but not so much a history of winning championships. I think all fans of the game of baseball, regardless of who your favorite team is, can see that this year the Cubs do have something. This year it’s not just talk from Cubs die-hards proclaiming “This is our year!!” With talented position players like Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Starlin Castro and a solid pitching staff led by ace Jake Arrieta and veteran Jon Lester, these die-hard fans might actually have some substance behind all of their speculation. Arrieta is having a Cy Young-worthy season posting a 21-6 record with a 1.82 ERA. Those are phenomenal numbers and coupled with the talent the Cubs have at the plate with young power hitters like Rizzo and Bryant, Chicago could be poised for a deep postseason run. There is one problem, however. The Cubs play in perhaps the best division in baseball and despite their 94-65 record they are still fighting for a spot in the playoffs. They are in third place in their division and also in third place in the entire league. That’s right, the three best teams in baseball are all in one division. Chicago will play the Pittsburgh Pirates in a one game Wild-Card playoff for a spot in the divisional round. It really is a shame that either the Cubs or Pirates will not make the playoffs but that is just the way the playoff structure is set up.
New York Mets
If you have watched the Mets at all this season, you have noticed a certain electricity surrounding the team. Their mid-season acquisition of slugger Yoenis Cespedes was a huge addition for them. They have one of the best young pitching staffs in the game right now led by Matt Harvey, Jacob DeGrom and Noah Syndergaard. They have also had great production on the mound from long time MLB veteran Bartolo Colon. At the plate they are led by veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson, Lucas Duda, Daniel Murphy and, of course, Yoenis Cespedes. I’ve always heard year after year from Mets fans that “this will be our year,” but I had never really put any stock into it. That is until this year. The Mets have been playing solid baseball all year long, and you can definitely notice a certain swagger about the team. Unlike the Cubs, the Mets have clinched a spot in the divisional round already and are looking to make a deep run in October. What I would really enjoy seeing, as would many other baseball fans, is for the Mets and Yankees to make it to the fall classic and play for the World Series. I will definitely be tuning in to see how the Mets postseason plays out this year.
The Wild Card playoffs begin October 6 on ESPN. Be sure to tune in to see these teams go to battle.
