This is the game I believe things get turned in the right direction, with Jake Arrieta taking the mound for the Cubs VS Noah Syndergaard. Arrieta has been great after a loss all season. He has been particularly great in road games this season. Syndergaard is a great pitcher, but gave up 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings last time he faced the Cubs in a loss to.......Arrieta. Syndergaard was used just last Thursday in relief, including warming up 4 different times in the bullpen, throwing over 100 pitches if you count all the pitches used in the various warm-up periods. I feel great about the Cubs chances in this game, as I do every time Arrieta pitches. Sure the Cardinals made him look a bit more mortal in his last start. They have done that to Kershaw and other great pitchers as well. But I think we will see the dominant, No soup for you, Jake once again. Think what you want about the Mets having momentum and Home field and all that Sox fans (who are so hoping for a Cubs loss), but know this, it just doesn't matter.

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Go Cubs!!!!

Which also happened to be Syndergaard's MLB debut...

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Yes it was. Do you think that makes it unimportant? Should it be dismissed? Is he now a 5 year veteran, rather than a rookie with 24 career starts? Should we dismiss the 19 HR's surrendered because he's bleached his hair blonde and become THOR?

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Go Cubs!!!!

yeah not to mention that syndergaard had problems with the 6th inning for the first month or two of his MLB career, and in that cubs game a daniel murphy lollygagged throw to first = syndergaard didnt get out of the inning and he had to throw 25 more pitches b4 that inning ended.

he's a different animal now, tho like many good pitchers you can get him for a HR in the first inning if you come out ready to hit. it wouldn't be entirely shocking if the cubs could get a run or two in the first b4 syndergaard settles down, so i'd look to try and take him yard right off the bat and stake arrieta to a lead and frontrun frontrun frontrun.

but yeah, while it's an arrieta start and thus i get why ppl are confident, dont underestimate syndergaard cuz he was 5IP 3ER back in his MLB debut in may. i still think this guy's gonna end up being the best pitcher on the mets, but that guy is degrom right now. still there's a reason that terry collins started him #2 and harvey #3, cuz you can pull a rosenbloom and whine about harvey's innings limits, but at this point 2/3 doesnt matter too much.... and he gave #2 to syndergaard.

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My confidence in the Cubs chances today are due to having a great, deep offensive lineup and Arrieta pitching. Syndergaard is very good. But I like our lineups chances against him, a lot better than theirs against Arrieta. Period!

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Go Cubs!!!!

I think Arrietta will be real good tonight as I don't think the Mets hitters will be able to work counts like the Cardinals were able to agains him. Problem is I don't think the Cub will hit Syndergaard at all. 1-0 2-0, 2-1 , Mets win.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

I say 3-0 Cubs. Arrieta gets a complete game shutout.

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Go Cubs!!!!

UH, BR.... in case you have a certain soothsayer on your foe list allow me to remind you...



so *claps hands* that's settled. cubs get at least 3ER in 5IP, prolly more, because syndergaard is some bleached blond "THOR" burrito who fancies himself having a chance against the best lineup in the playoffs (and i'm actually not being sarcastic here, i rate them over toronto) so uhhhh yeah i'm going to save steve from elmhurst some keystrokes here and just go ahead and say that you're wrong.

#CubsIn5 hasn't been proven wrong yet, it's just that the mets got their token game early.

WOOPS! i wasn't quick enough and steve had to shoot down BR17! my apologies steve i tried to spread the gospel here

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Why is Sini a diehard Mets fan?

Anyways. The Mets aren't really any good and Syndergaard just throws it as hard as he can which the Cubs love but it's too cold now and this franchise is cursed.

Same score as last night. Mets 4 Cubs 2.

Cubs might get swept.

Jake and the Cubs roll tonight 5-0.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

4-2 Metropolitans.

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Bleached his hair blonde? What?

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Cubs win 4-0.

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SOMEONE BANG THE IRONY GONG! i'm supposed to be the diehard mets fan but hawkey ghey spells out a very metropolitan way of looking at the game; alls i'm saying is the mets have a little claim to being a part of the #WeAreGood phenomenon! don't discount them just because they were [shit] in the regular season..... they have same "team of destiny" crap thing going on where they're more than the sum of their parts cuz they're flying high and riding the wave and etc.... i mean you saw that stat last night where david murphy had 1HR off of LH pitching all season and he's got 3 this postseason? yeah that's why you wanted the dodgers.




RULE #1) ELMHURST STEVE IS ALWAYS RIGHT
RULE #2) IF ELMHURST STEVE IS WRONG GO TO RULE #1

so just go with it. that bleached blonde burrito (and yes i'm typing out burrito) aint got shit for the force of righteousness in the universe that is the 2015 chicago cubs, so at least 3ER today and prolly more in 6-or-less IP. and if you say that you think the mets/syndergaard will do better than that you're clearly a diehard mets fan and any and all cubbie credentials will be revoked and you will be subject to group shaming from the fans of the champions-in-waiting!

(TLDR = i just think the mets and the cubs are the 2 best teams in the playoffs and this is basically the world series and i've been campaigning for the mets to get their due cuz i've been watching their young pitching, especially syndergaard, all season long and it's on another level to the suckass cardinals' sorry ass situation)

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Why couldn't Arrieta start last night?

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

He could have , the thought is that they didnt want lester having extra rest. Throw on his normal day.

Lester wasnt the problem last night..

Sini....are you a Cubs fan or just enjoy the party? I know you...like many...have tried so very hard to be unique and be the lone wolf who does just whatever they like to do, then denegrade something the masses enjoy....but you seem to jump on and off the bandwagon?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

I would prefer to have my best pitcher start the series. Let him get the Cubs a series lead and you have a chance to possibly allow him to pitch 3 times if necessary. Lester was definitely part of the problem last night. He didn't pitch well and he forces us to put Ross in the lineup.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Cubs biggest problems last night were lack of timely hitting, way too many short and bad at bats, and Harvey was dealing.

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CSFMB 2014 Nascar Pick 'em Champion

We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much. — Ronald Reagan

i'm not denigrating the masses! my whole "schtick" for the last few days has just been saying that the mets are good and therefore the cubs are gonna have to #FOCUS and play better baseball to dispatch them, especially cuz i think the winner of this series should win the world series.

i'm not a cubs fan, but i was born and raised one so i have cubs family and friends calling up / texting during/after the games and it's totally an event situation right now, so i'm getting caught up in the hub-bub and all of that.... but i've noticed that since this playoff run means so much more to the omnipresent cubs fans on the board if i ever say something short of cubbie pom-pom waving it's taken as i'm somehow slighting the cubs or "denigrating something that the masses enjoy" -- and i'm not on/off the bandwagon... it's just like if i say anything nice about the cubs it's seen like that tryhard expos fan is trying to get back on the bandwagon.... and if i say anything positive about the cubs' opponents (cuz i'm not crapping on the cubs' team) then it's like i'm trying to troll cubs fans and be a cubs hater and etc.

right now it's like the 2004 cubs advertising campaign.... SINI: ARE YOU IN OR OUT?!@?!?! dude, i'm just watching the games and shooting the shit and offering up my opinions!

if anything, my hyping up the mets means that cubs victories should be that much sweeter cuz this isnt like you're knocking out a meh team.... i think you're knocking out the most dangerous opponent in the playoffs, IMO.

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btw, isn't this exactly what got steve stone in trouble in 2004? he was giving roy oswalt / astros some credit for playing well and the cubs got wind of this and then kent mercker had to go let steve stone know that YOU DONT DO THAT while he was riding in an elevator!

seriously biggie, i aint denigrating the cubs at all.... i'm just saying that the mets are better than many gave/give them credit for and the cubs are gonna have to turn up the quality to get through this one. sheeeeeit i've been saying cubs > toronto in terms of the lineup, and even without lockdown #3/4 starters and a pen that's full of DFA'd guys (who admittedly have been (used) great thus far) i still think they're up there as being arguably the best team in the playoffs because the cubs are really good and quite honestly right now i think they're past that "no matter what happens it was still a great year" phase cuz looking at what you have left, man, if you can get through the mets here you should win the damn world series.

and as a baseball fan, what's to dislike about this cubs team? quality young hitting that's often timely in nature? they fall behind and usually come back and take the damn lead in the next inning? is jake arrieta not fun to watch pitch? is this not a big baseball story that the one team that hasn't won in 107 years all of a sudden has a young exciting team that's coming of age b4 our very eyes and i can watch the civilization around me go crazy as it looks like they have their best chance to win a title since 1945? ok maybe 2003 but still, man, it's an exciting time to be a baseball fan in chicago.... and i'm genuinely sorry that when i got into baseball i had a basball-crush on vlad guerrero and declared my allegiance to his team and then i stuck with it..... but i assure you i'm a fan because i'm a fan, not because i need to impress any cubs fans with my individuality.

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4-1 Cubs

personally, if i was collins i woulda had syndergaard pitch the 8th in NLDS game 5 (save 6 out save heroics for later) and then i woulda went with matz for the arrieta game tonight..... then in games 3/4 when the cubs are trotting out hendricks/wHoever the mets are trotting out degrom/syndergaard and putting the onus on the cubs..... cuz even tho it's entirely possible that matz can go out and give you 7+ scoreless (he WAS matching syndergaard in AAA all season, and when he's been healthy enough to pitch in the bigs i think 5IP 3ER in NLDS game 4 was his worst MLB start) still i'd think the prospect of having your #1/2 line up against the cubs' 3/4 = salivating. if you take the harvey game and take games 3/4 then you've got the cubs up against it.....

ah well, maybe terry collins has a huge pair of balls on display if he thinks he can go and win an arrieta game or 2.

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He should have, I wanted him to. Lester is going to be mediocre on 4 days, 5 days or 7 days rest..he's just not that good.

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Sini sounds like Goff - I told ya fools Levron Damn James is A Grown ass man.

Nobody ever said- thought the Mets weren't a legit team..They have better starting pitching.. We have better bats and bullpen.

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Lester was the problem last night..its cold, the pitchers have the advantage ..He can't help himself in the field or holding runners..And he needs his 39 year old slug to catch for him.

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you're the exception and not the rule.... lots of ppl were like HELL YEAH WE GOT THE METS!!!!! and thats where i was doing my lee corso "not so fast my friend"

and there's a big difference between saying SEE? I TOLD YA LEBRON IS GOOD!!!! and sticking up for syndergaard/matz/etc.

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Dexter Fowler CF

Kyle Schwarber LF

Kris Bryant 3B

Anthony Rizzo 1B

Starlin Castro 2B

Chris Coghlan RF

Miguel Montero C

Javier Baez SS

Jake Arrieta P




Granderson RF

Wright 3B

Murphy 2B

Cespedes CF

Duda 1B

D’Arnaud C

Conforto LF

Flores SS

Syndergaard P

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Don't like the pitcher batting 9th again.

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Not a fan of taking Soler out of the lineup but he did look uncomfortable last night.

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Not sure I agree with Coghlan or Baez 8th (no protection).