The Chicago Cubs are 20-25. That’s not exactly much worse than the Mets, but they’ve been getting worse every year with plenty of drama along the way.
Their top player so far is Kosuke Fukedome, according to WAR. They’re actually a team that can hit some, with Starling Castro, Aramis Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano. Still, they have not won three games in a row all season which would give hope that the Mets at least won’t get swept. Like much of baseball in the early months and the cold, tickets are available on Stub Hub for $3.
The Cubs flat out can’t pitch. They’re second to last in ERA, last in runs scored and have walked the most batters in the National League.
The Mets will face Ryan Dempster ( 2-4, 6.91 ERA), Casey Coleman, (2-3, 6.03 ERA), and Carlos Zambrano (4-2, 4.88 ERA). Zambrano is probably the best of the bunch and he hasn’t been great this year at all. The Cubs might be a team the Mets could pick on to add a pitcher later in the year if/when the Cubs fall completely out of it, but so far none of them have looked that enticing.
Marlon Byrd and Geovany Soto are both injured and out of the lineup, although Soto may return Thursday.
The Cubs actually have a lower OPS with RISP than the Mets do.
The Mets are 343-343 historically against the Cubs. Winning this series would go a long way towards having a winning record against another club.
The Cubs are 4-6 over their last ten and are 9-13 at home. The Mets can take this series and it would go a long way towards getting them back to .500 and over the hump. They’ll have a tough pitching assignment this weekend in Philadelphia so bouncing back after a series loss would be key.
