Here are six players to watch as the New York Mets take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
CF Yoenis Cespedes, Mets:
The comparisons are being made to Manny Ramirez, who arrived with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008 and hit .396 in the last two months of the season. Cespedes has tailed off – no home runs in 56 at-bats, and no extra-base hits since Sept. 23 – but his presence turned the Mets from an offensive also-ran into a solid offensive unit, averaging 5.75 runs over the last two months, the best in the league and 2.25 runs per game more than they scored without Cespedes.
RHP Tyler Clippard, Mets:
Both teams have had season-long issues with middle relief, but while the Dodgers seemed to settle in toward the end of the season Clippard was not effective, running up a 6.59 earned-run average in 13 innings in September. The Mets will not carry a left-handed specialist in this series, so manager Terry Collins hopes that Clippard’s reverse splits (lefties hit .137 against him) will allow him to fill that role against the likes of Adrian Gonzalez, Corey Seager, Andre Ethier and Chase Utley. But coupled with a rookie closer (Jeurys Familia), the Mets are right to be concerned about their relief corps.
RHP Matt Harvey, Mets:
The scheduled Game 3 starter better be worth the trouble, you know? Harvey angered teammates earlier this week by missing a workout due to traffic – this, of course, after he and agent Scott Boras created a soap opera late in the season by demanding the Mets essentially shut down Harvey until the playoffs to adhere to an innings limit that seemed, well, contrived. Harvey, who has walked four batters in each of his last three starts, will be matched up in Game 3 against 23-year-old prospect Zach Lee. On balance, the statistics of the Mets young rotation stacks up well against that of the Dodgers. Harvey could pitch the elimination game at Citi Field, or he could be the guy to break a series deadlock.
LHP J.P. Howell, Dodgers:
Yeah, yeah, I know: Kershaw, Greinke. Kershaw, Greinke. Relax, we’re getting there. But here’s the thing: the Dodgers bullpen muddle gets clear when it comes to closer Kenley Jansen and Howell, their lefty specialist who did not allow an extra-base hit to left-handed hitters in 94 plate appearances. The post-season is all about matchups once the starting pitcher is out of the game, and Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy will see a great deal of Howell, who has stranded 91.8 per cent of inherited baserunners and is going to get paid as a free agent this off-season.
LHP Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers:
You know the story: a generational regular-season talent, a choker in the post-season. Still, it behooves us to mention that Kershaw had a 0.56 ERA against the Mets in 16 innings, allowing eight hits, striking out 18 and walking two and that the Mets best offensive weapon against him is light-hitting Ruben Tejada, who has five hits – not much, but everybody else on the roster has 10 combined.
SS Corey Seager, Dodgers:
The team with the largest payroll in the major leagues – $271,608,629 – could start a 21-year-old shortstop with all of 27 games experience. Seager’s defence isn’t as good as ancient Jimmy Rollins’ but his .337 average and four home runs is needed by the Dodgers. In fact, scouts have called him the team’s best hitter other than Adrian Gonzalez. Joe Panik, the rookie second baseman who started for the San Francisco Giants through the postseason last year, had 73 games under his belt before the playoffs.
THE CALL
Mets in five
