XtreemIcon – Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers, like the Mets, are built on their tremendous starting pitching and will need their offense to come through to win. The Mets are throwing three RHP in the series and A-Gon has an .850 OPS against righties. No one else in the lineup comes close to threatening like A-Gon does.
Brian Greenzang – To me there is no Dodger to fear more than Clayton Kershaw. So much has been said of the little success he has had in the postseason. Kershaw has been one of the most dominant pitchers of our time but has found little success in the playoffs. Each year you expect him to go out there and do something historic but that has not yet been the case, which makes him dangerous. The Dodgers ace has a lot to prove and that makes him the most feared opposing player in this series.
Robert Piersall – I think it is natural to worry about the damage Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke can inflict in a short series, but there are certain hitters that do concern me as well. Most notably Adrian Gonzalez, Yasiel Puig, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. Say what you will about Puig, but he’s still one of the most talented players in the game even though he’s cocky. Gonzalez has quietly been one of the better players in baseball for years, and Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley have a track record of killing the Mets back when they were with the Phillies. If we can silence these guys, our chances increase ten fold.
Joe Spector – Kershaw scares me because he has A LOT to prove. If he pitches the way he SHOULD then it’s going to be really tough for the Mets, but if he implodes, it might cause a ripple effect and then, who knows.
Mike Simon – Kershaw. Forget about his past postseason stats – this guy is one of the best pitchers on the planet. If he pitches anything like Scherzer did against the Mets the other night, which is certainly possibly, we could be in for a rude awakening.
Gerry Silverman – Corey Seager concerns me because he is pretty much an unknown quantity for the pitching staff at this point. And dangerous.
Michael Branda – Clayton Kershaw. I think he heard all the rumblings about how much better Bumgarner was last year, and we just saw the Mets get absolutely dominated by a great pitcher on a mission. I’m afraid this could turn into the series where we say, “wow Kershaw was brilliant.”
Andre Dobiey – Obviously Kershaw and Greinke, two of the top five pitchers in MLB. If they go on a Schilling / Johnson – like 2001 run, the Dodgers will be tough to beat even if the Mets are on top of their games.
Logan Barer – Zack Greinke. In the postseason, I firmly believe that good pitching beats good hitting. While Clayton Kershaw is arguably the best pitcher on the planet, he has shown on multiple occasions that he is vulnerable in the postseason. If any other player scares me, it would likely be Adrian Gonzalez because of his talent and experience, but like I said, good pitching beats good hitting.
