2015 NLCS Thread: Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets

[World's #1 Astros Fan]

Mets broadcast is already talking about 1969, claiming "they still haven't gotten over it on the North Side, so all the pressure will be on Chicago."  I feel pretty comfortable guaranteeing that not one individual in that Cubs clubhouse gives one green shit about 1969.

Not inside the Cubs clubhouse, but it does seem like there are plenty of old-man fans who apparently aren't over it.

As long as none of those old-man fans needs to play SS, we're good.

Cubs fans in general just aren't over most of their history and we all know we won't be until they actually pull this thing off. Those kids don't give a shit, though.

I get that, but why aren't there any fans that wanted to "exorcise the demons" that came from the Dodgers sweep in '08?

Huey does.  By killing DeRosa and Dempster.  Literally.

If I could use some ShoutBox lexicon (moment of silence), I believe I've sorta done been FACED.

[Oleg]

Mets broadcast is already talking about 1969, claiming "they still haven't gotten over it on the North Side, so all the pressure will be on Chicago."  I feel pretty comfortable guaranteeing that not one individual in that Cubs clubhouse gives one green shit about 1969.

Not inside the Cubs clubhouse, but it does seem like there are plenty of old-man fans who apparently aren't over it.

As long as none of those old-man fans needs to play SS, we're good.

Cubs fans in general just aren't over most of their history and we all know we won't be until they actually pull this thing off. Those kids don't give a shit, though.

I get that, but why aren't there any fans that wanted to "exorcise the demons" that came from the Dodgers sweep in '08?

Huey does.  By killing DeRosa and Dempster.  Literally.

If I could use some ShoutBox lexicon (moment of silence), I believe I've sorta done been FACED.

This was somewhat satisfying for me.

[SKO]

Mets broadcast is already talking about 1969, claiming "they still haven't gotten over it on the North Side, so all the pressure will be on Chicago."  I feel pretty comfortable guaranteeing that not one individual in that Cubs clubhouse gives one green shit about 1969.

Not inside the Cubs clubhouse, but it does seem like there are plenty of old-man fans who apparently aren't over it.

As long as none of those old-man fans needs to play SS, we're good.

Cubs fans in general just aren't over most of their history and we all know we won't be until they actually pull this thing off. Those kids don't give a shit, though.

I get that, but why aren't there any fans that wanted to "exorcise the demons" that came from the Dodgers sweep in '08?

Because getting your ass soundly kicked is somehow more bearable than an epic collapse? The 69 Cubs seemingly had it in the bag, whereas the 2008 Cubs just got the shit kicked out of them in the playoffs. One feels like another tragic chapter in the history of a starcrossed franchise and one feels like "welp, playoffs."

I know if I had my choice I'd want to destroy the Marlins and burn that franchise and city to the ground, then chug kerosene as I pissed upon the flames if we're really talking about which demons we want to exorcise most.

[Tony]

Mets broadcast is already talking about 1969, claiming "they still haven't gotten over it on the North Side, so all the pressure will be on Chicago."  I feel pretty comfortable guaranteeing that not one individual in that Cubs clubhouse gives one green shit about 1969.

Not inside the Cubs clubhouse, but it does seem like there are plenty of old-man fans who apparently aren't over it.

As long as none of those old-man fans needs to play SS, we're good.

Cubs fans in general just aren't over most of their history and we all know we won't be until they actually pull this thing off. Those kids don't give a shit, though.

I get that, but why aren't there any fans that wanted to "exorcise the demons" that came from the Dodgers sweep in '08?

Because getting your ass soundly kicked is somehow more bearable than an epic collapse? The 69 Cubs seemingly had it in the bag, whereas the 2008 Cubs just got the shit kicked out of them in the playoffs. One feels like another tragic chapter in the history of a starcrossed franchise and one feels like "welp, playoffs."

I know if I had my choice I'd want to destroy the Marlins and burn that franchise and city to the ground, then chug kerosene as I pissed upon the flames if we're really talking about which demons we want to exorcise most.

For me it's San Diego. 2003 hurt worse because I was only 8 in '84 and didn't get it yet, but fuck that city. I went there once and it was rainy and in the 60's the entire weekend. Best weather my ass.

[Brownie]

Cubs fans in general just aren't over most of their history and we all know we won't be until they actually pull this thing off. Those kids don't give a shit, though.

Not inside the Cubs clubhouse, but it does seem like there are plenty of old-man fans who apparently aren't over it.

I'm sure it's difficult for old people to get over. I have a hard time getting over it, and I wasn't even born. The Cubs had a 9-game lead and and four Hall-of-Famers, none of whom ever played or would play in a World Series. It was their best shot at the World Series, and while we can for now avoid talk about how the NLCS with Atlanta or the World Series with Baltimore might have gone, this team will haunt Cubs fans more the the '84 Cubs or '03 Cubs will.

Three of the four HOF Cubs were lifers, and Ferguson Jenkins still played about 10 years with the Cubs. And they had a few other lifer Cubs: Kessinger, Beckert, Hundley. Back then, these guys lived here year round and lived in middle class suburbs and neighborhoods. They were filled with personality and were very diverse. You had a Canadian (Jenkins), a Midwestern Jew (Holtzman), a Long Island guy (Bill Hands), a couple African-American guys who grew up in the segregated South, including one who played in the Negro Leagues (Williams and Banks), a white guy from Mississippi (Kessinger), a hick from the sticks of Virginia (Hundley), an Italian from Seattle emotional as can be (Santo), oh, and a manager who makes Joe Maddon look like a boring, straight-laced guy... These guys were loaded with personality, they were part of the community, and they captured the hearts of north siders and united them during a time that the North Side showed its own divisions right on the heels of 1968.

Everybody loved them, and everyone also knows that the Mets and their fans have a secret society that meets in the basement of old Shea Stadium and kicks puppies, eats babies and causes flights at LaGuardia to be 3 hours late. The 1969 Mets and their fans were possibly the worst group of people to grace the earth since the end of World War II and before the 1986 Mets.

I know I'm not the only one who would root for Whitey Herzog's Cardinals in the 1980s whenever they played the Mets. (Of course, if the White Sox were departing NY after a 3-game series during game time at Shea, I'd also root for a takeoff gone bad taking out all three teams, but I was a bitter kid back in 1987.

So, no, I will not get over it, and neither should you, and nor should America.

[Eli]

Cubs fans in general just aren't over most of their history and we all know we won't be until they actually pull this thing off. Those kids don't give a shit, though.

Not inside the Cubs clubhouse, but it does seem like there are plenty of old-man fans who apparently aren't over it.

I'm sure it's difficult for old people to get over. I have a hard time getting over it, and I wasn't even born. The Cubs had a 9-game lead and and four Hall-of-Famers, none of whom ever played or would play in a World Series. It was their best shot at the World Series, and while we can for now avoid talk about how the NLCS with Atlanta or the World Series with Baltimore might have gone, this team will haunt Cubs fans more the the '84 Cubs or '03 Cubs will.

Three of the four HOF Cubs were lifers, and Ferguson Jenkins still played about 10 years with the Cubs. And they had a few other lifer Cubs: Kessinger, Beckert, Hundley. Back then, these guys lived here year round and lived in middle class suburbs and neighborhoods. They were filled with personality and were very diverse. You had a Canadian (Jenkins), a Midwestern Jew (Holtzman), a Long Island guy (Bill Hands), a couple African-American guys who grew up in the segregated South, including one who played in the Negro Leagues (Williams and Banks), a white guy from Mississippi (Kessinger), a hick from the sticks of Virginia (Hundley), an Italian from Seattle emotional as can be (Santo), oh, and a manager who makes Joe Maddon look like a boring, straight-laced guy... These guys were loaded with personality, they were part of the community, and they captured the hearts of north siders and united them during a time that the North Side showed its own divisions right on the heels of 1968.

Everybody loved them, and everyone also knows that the Mets and their fans have a secret society that meets in the basement of old Shea Stadium and kicks puppies, eats babies and causes flights at LaGuardia to be 3 hours late. The 1969 Mets and their fans were possibly the worst group of people to grace the earth since the end of World War II and before the 1986 Mets.

I know I'm not the only one who would root for Whitey Herzog's Cardinals in the 1980s whenever they played the Mets. (Of course, if the White Sox were departing NY after a 3-game series during game time at Shea, I'd also root for a takeoff gone bad taking out all three teams, but I was a bitter kid back in 1987.

So, no, I will not get over it, and neither should you, and nor should America.

Maybe the Cubs should have played better down the stretch then.

[InternetApex]

I think the Mets kind of suck. The Cubs should sweep them. If they don't, whatever but this series will be a cakewalk compared to the Cards and Pirates deathmatches.

I know I shouldn't be saying stuff like this. It's arrogant and stupid and flies in the face of everything I've ever learned during my 39 years on this planet. But I am damn glad it's the Mets. And not the Dodgers. There's a strangeness about West Coast games that can affect any team. It didn't affect the Mets, I guess, shitty and barely competent goofs that they are, but I just eliminating that whole element makes me personally more comfortable about the games ahead. And that's not important, but I think it's the conversation we're having right now.

In 1998 my Mets hatred reached its zenith. When Bobby Valentine vehemently defended Sammy Sosa in the wake of his bat corking scandal, I softened on him and the team as a whole. I don't know why. They've just been irrelevant to me for so long I can't pretend to care.

They're roadkill anyway so let's just relax and enjoy this series. Cheers, everyone.

[Oleg]

I think the Mets kind of suck. The Cubs should sweep them. If they don't, whatever but this series will be a cakewalk compared to the Cards and Pirates deathmatches.

I know I shouldn't be saying stuff like this. It's arrogant and stupid and flies in the face of everything I've ever learned during my 39 years on this planet. But I am damn glad it's the Mets. And not the Dodgers. There's a strangeness about West Coast games that can affect any team. It didn't affect the Mets, I guess, shitty and barely competent goofs that they are, but I just eliminating that whole element makes me personally more comfortable about the games ahead. And that's not important, but I think it's the conversation we're having right now.

In 1998 my Mets hatred reached its zenith. When Bobby Valentine vehemently defended Sammy Sosa in the wake of his bat corking scandal, I softened on him and the team as a whole. I don't know why. They've just been irrelevant to me for so long I can't pretend to care.

They're roadkill anyway so let's just relax and enjoy this series. Cheers, everyone.

Seriously.  I don't care about the '69 Mets.  But fuck the '15 Mets and their melon-shaped-head Thor and their "aw, shucks" grandpa manager and their stupid cry-baby SS and their Commie LF and everything else about this fucking team.  Fuck them.

[SKO]

I think the Mets kind of suck. The Cubs should sweep them. If they don't, whatever but this series will be a cakewalk compared to the Cards and Pirates deathmatches.

I know I shouldn't be saying stuff like this. It's arrogant and stupid and flies in the face of everything I've ever learned during my 39 years on this planet. But I am damn glad it's the Mets. And not the Dodgers. There's a strangeness about West Coast games that can affect any team. It didn't affect the Mets, I guess, shitty and barely competent goofs that they are, but I just eliminating that whole element makes me personally more comfortable about the games ahead. And that's not important, but I think it's the conversation we're having right now.

In 1998 my Mets hatred reached its zenith. When Bobby Valentine vehemently defended Sammy Sosa in the wake of his bat corking scandal, I softened on him and the team as a whole. I don't know why. They've just been irrelevant to me for so long I can't pretend to care.

They're roadkill anyway so let's just relax and enjoy this series. Cheers, everyone.

Seriously.  I don't care about the '69 Mets.  But fuck the '15 Mets and their melon-shaped-head Thor and their "aw, shucks" grandpa manager and their stupid cry-baby SS and their Commie LF and everything else about this fucking team.  Fuck them.

And again, if I see one more person retweeting that THESE AINT THE SAME METS THE CUBS SWEPT and posting their awful lineup from that last game they played in July without noting that the Cubs started Johnny Buckets and Mike Baxter (with Montero/Coghlan/Denorfia batting 3rd/4th/5th) in the game I will riot. The Mets got hot as shit when they added Cespedes and Co, sure, the Cubs added Schwarber and the version of Castro that hits and a bunch of other stuff and had a better post-deadline record than the Mets anyway. Fuck 'em.

[Armchair_QB]

Mets broadcast is already talking about 1969, claiming "they still haven't gotten over it on the North Side, so all the pressure will be on Chicago."  I feel pretty comfortable guaranteeing that not one individual in that Cubs clubhouse gives one green shit about 1969.

Not inside the Cubs clubhouse, but it does seem like there are plenty of old-man fans who apparently aren't over it.

As long as none of those old-man fans needs to play SS, we're good.

Cubs fans in general just aren't over most of their history and we all know we won't be until they actually pull this thing off. Those kids don't give a shit, though.

I get that, but why aren't there any fans that wanted to "exorcise the demons" that came from the Dodgers sweep in '08?

Because getting your ass soundly kicked is somehow more bearable than an epic collapse? The 69 Cubs seemingly had it in the bag, whereas the 2008 Cubs just got the shit kicked out of them in the playoffs. One feels like another tragic chapter in the history of a starcrossed franchise and one feels like "welp, playoffs."

I know if I had my choice I'd want to destroy the Marlins and burn that franchise and city to the ground, then chug kerosene as I pissed upon the flames if we're really talking about which demons we want to exorcise most.

For me it's San Diego. 2003 hurt worse because I was only 8 in '84 and didn't get it yet, but fuck that city. I went there once and it was rainy and in the 60's the entire weekend. Best weather my ass.

It's San Diego for me too. I graduated from high school in 1984 and that was a glorious summer. I loved that team and it was the best Cubs team in my (fan) lifetime until now. Tigers-Cubs would have been an epic World Series.

[SKO]

Also for what it's worth I don't know if 1969 has ever played into my hatred of the Mets. Maybe I just inherited it like most things from my grandpa. I'm also too young to remember the late 80s battles for the division with them. I think I've just always hated the Mets and never needed a reason why, but if I had to single anything out Victor Diaz and Craig Brazell or whatever sure pop up right quick.

[Tony]

I think the Mets kind of suck. The Cubs should sweep them. If they don't, whatever but this series will be a cakewalk compared to the Cards and Pirates deathmatches.

I know I shouldn't be saying stuff like this. It's arrogant and stupid and flies in the face of everything I've ever learned during my 39 years on this planet. But I am damn glad it's the Mets. And not the Dodgers. There's a strangeness about West Coast games that can affect any team. It didn't affect the Mets, I guess, shitty and barely competent goofs that they are, but I just eliminating that whole element makes me personally more comfortable about the games ahead. And that's not important, but I think it's the conversation we're having right now.

In 1998 my Mets hatred reached its zenith. When Bobby Valentine vehemently defended Sammy Sosa in the wake of his bat corking scandal, I softened on him and the team as a whole. I don't know why. They've just been irrelevant to me for so long I can't pretend to care.

They're roadkill anyway so let's just relax and enjoy this series. Cheers, everyone.

Seriously.  I don't care about the '69 Mets.  But fuck the '15 Mets and their melon-shaped-head Thor and their "aw, shucks" grandpa manager and their stupid cry-baby SS and their Commie LF and everything else about this fucking team.  Fuck them.

And again, if I see one more person retweeting that THESE AINT THE SAME METS THE CUBS SWEPT and posting their awful lineup from that last game they played in July without noting that the Cubs started Johnny Buckets and Mike Baxter (with Montero/Coghlan/Denorfia batting 3rd/4th/5th) in the game I will riot. The Mets got hot as shit when they added Cespedes and Co, sure, the Cubs added Schwarber and the version of Castro that hits and a bunch of other stuff and had a better post-deadline record than the Mets anyway. Fuck 'em.

I was drawing a complete blank and had to look up Mike Baxter. Completely forgot about him. That seems like years ago.

[Armchair_QB]

Also for what it's worth I don't know if 1969 has ever played into my hatred of the Mets. Maybe I just inherited it like most things from my grandpa. I'm also too young to remember the late 80s battles for the division with them. I think I've just always hated the Mets and never needed a reason why, but if I had to single anything out Victor Diaz and Craig Brazell or whatever sure pop up right quick.

I was 3 in 1969 so I don't remember any of that. My hatred comes from 84-85-86. Seems like they brawled a lot and Lenny Dykstra got a beer dumped on his head by somebody in the bleachers at least once a season. Good times.

[SKO]

I think the Mets kind of suck. The Cubs should sweep them. If they don't, whatever but this series will be a cakewalk compared to the Cards and Pirates deathmatches.

I know I shouldn't be saying stuff like this. It's arrogant and stupid and flies in the face of everything I've ever learned during my 39 years on this planet. But I am damn glad it's the Mets. And not the Dodgers. There's a strangeness about West Coast games that can affect any team. It didn't affect the Mets, I guess, shitty and barely competent goofs that they are, but I just eliminating that whole element makes me personally more comfortable about the games ahead. And that's not important, but I think it's the conversation we're having right now.

In 1998 my Mets hatred reached its zenith. When Bobby Valentine vehemently defended Sammy Sosa in the wake of his bat corking scandal, I softened on him and the team as a whole. I don't know why. They've just been irrelevant to me for so long I can't pretend to care.

They're roadkill anyway so let's just relax and enjoy this series. Cheers, everyone.

Seriously.  I don't care about the '69 Mets.  But fuck the '15 Mets and their melon-shaped-head Thor and their "aw, shucks" grandpa manager and their stupid cry-baby SS and their Commie LF and everything else about this fucking team.  Fuck them.

And again, if I see one more person retweeting that THESE AINT THE SAME METS THE CUBS SWEPT and posting their awful lineup from that last game they played in July without noting that the Cubs started Johnny Buckets and Mike Baxter (with Montero/Coghlan/Denorfia batting 3rd/4th/5th) in the game I will riot. The Mets got hot as shit when they added Cespedes and Co, sure, the Cubs added Schwarber and the version of Castro that hits and a bunch of other stuff and had a better post-deadline record than the Mets anyway. Fuck 'em.

I was drawing a complete blank and had to look up Mike Baxter. Completely forgot about him. That seems like years ago.

Right, I know the point they're trying to make is that these Mets actually have a functional major league offense now, and good for them, but the Cubs for most of the first half were every bit as abysmal offensively as the Mets, just for different reasons. Both clubs improved massively in the second half, but for all of the narrative of them overtaking the Nats, the Cubs improved more than New York. It was just largely internal rather than external changes.

[Tony]

I think the Mets kind of suck. The Cubs should sweep them. If they don't, whatever but this series will be a cakewalk compared to the Cards and Pirates deathmatches.

I know I shouldn't be saying stuff like this. It's arrogant and stupid and flies in the face of everything I've ever learned during my 39 years on this planet. But I am damn glad it's the Mets. And not the Dodgers. There's a strangeness about West Coast games that can affect any team. It didn't affect the Mets, I guess, shitty and barely competent goofs that they are, but I just eliminating that whole element makes me personally more comfortable about the games ahead. And that's not important, but I think it's the conversation we're having right now.

In 1998 my Mets hatred reached its zenith. When Bobby Valentine vehemently defended Sammy Sosa in the wake of his bat corking scandal, I softened on him and the team as a whole. I don't know why. They've just been irrelevant to me for so long I can't pretend to care.

They're roadkill anyway so let's just relax and enjoy this series. Cheers, everyone.

Seriously.  I don't care about the '69 Mets.  But fuck the '15 Mets and their melon-shaped-head Thor and their "aw, shucks" grandpa manager and their stupid cry-baby SS and their Commie LF and everything else about this fucking team.  Fuck them.

And again, if I see one more person retweeting that THESE AINT THE SAME METS THE CUBS SWEPT and posting their awful lineup from that last game they played in July without noting that the Cubs started Johnny Buckets and Mike Baxter (with Montero/Coghlan/Denorfia batting 3rd/4th/5th) in the game I will riot. The Mets got hot as shit when they added Cespedes and Co, sure, the Cubs added Schwarber and the version of Castro that hits and a bunch of other stuff and had a better post-deadline record than the Mets anyway. Fuck 'em.

I was drawing a complete blank and had to look up Mike Baxter. Completely forgot about him. That seems like years ago.

Right, I know the point they're trying to make is that these Mets actually have a functional major league offense now, and good for them, but the Cubs for most of the first half were every bit as abysmal offensively as the Mets, just for different reasons. Both clubs improved massively in the second half, but for all of the narrative of them overtaking the Nats, the Cubs improved more than New York. It was just largely internal rather than external changes.

We've come a long way from the days of Baxter and Schlitter.