Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the Halfway Point! The Mets have a twelve game lead over the Phillies, a two game winning streak, and a nice history of success on the road as they roll into Wrigley. The Cubs, however, are pretty much the anti-Mets — though they had equally big expectations coming into the season they are now fourteen and a half games back in the NL Central, have played awful at home, and are looking to start dismantling the roster, along with the coaching staff. The Cubs appear to be the perfect team to get the Mets jumpstarted before the next series with the Reds, but the pitchers the Cubbies will be throwing are no slouches. In the first game, Steve Trachsel (8-4, 4.67) looks to add on to his now six game winning streak when he faces former Met Killer Greg Maddux (7-9, 4.89). In Saturday’s matinee, Tom Glavine (11-2, 3.48) will try again for his chance to be the first twelve game winner in the majors when he goes to the mound against Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano (8-3, 3.24). And, in Sunday evening’s game, “El Duque” Orlando Hernandez (5-8, 5.12) looks to keep the mojo going against the shell that once was Mark Prior (0-4, 7.71) who is tentatively slated to start.

Game 1: Greg Maddux

What’s the Story? Growing up, I never thought I’d see this day come. Back in the day, Maddux was more than a pitcher — he was an artist. He changed speeds and painted corners unlike any player baseball had seen in quite some time. The man absolutely dominated team after team with a low-90’s fastball and a high-70’s changeup, all the whole sporting that same self-satisfied smirk on his face. Hearing the words “And tonight, the Mets take on Greg Maddux” was the key to start making other plans for your evening. Now, it’s something entirely different. Maddux started the season off like the Mad Dog of old, 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA in April… but since that point, it’s been all downhill. Try 2-9 with an ERA over 6.00 downhill. Maddux is still hurling the same game plan that made him so successful, however — a now mid-80’s fastball and that occasionally sneaky changeup make up about ninety percent of the gameplan. He’ll also throw a curveball, slider and sinker, but not often.

Last Year: No matter how old Greg Maddux gets, however, he’ll still always own the Mets. Despite a 1-1 record against them last season, Maddux allowed only two runs off of seven hits in fourteen and two thirds innings. He walked five and struck out an uncharacteristic fifteen.

What to Expect: Maddux is apparently being shopped around, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising if he was on another team by the time the Mets take on the Cubs again at Shea at the end of the month. For now, however, the Mets have to face him, and it should probably be easier than it has been in past seasons. Over the last couple years Maddux has definitely regressed, and with those famed mechanics slowly falling apart he’s begun to lose the ability to spot his pitches with that old deadly accuracy. He’ll still rely on the ol’ fastball/changeup combo — a lot of changeups to lefties with a few more sliders to righties. Expect him to paint the corner and try to get guys chasing.

Game 2: Carlos Zambrano

What’s the Story? This is my pick for Pitcher the Mets Should Trade For (and, no, it’s probably not a reasonable request), and for plenty of good reasons. One, he’s young. At only twenty-five years old, he’s young enough to get better and would stick around for awhile to prove that whatever was dealt away to get him wasn’t that big a deal. Two, he’s completely nuts, which goes over big in New York — as long as you’re successful. Three, he’s reliable. The guy’s made thirty-plus starts and pitched over two hundred innings every season since being placed in the rotation full time in 2003. Fourth, his stuff is terrific. Zambrano features an overpowering mid-90’s fastball, a hard sinker, an average splitter, and a so-so curveball (which breaks more like a slider). And, fifth, well, it’d be nice to have a successful Zambrano to wash the bad taste out of our collective mouths. Hey, a guy can dream, can’t he?

Last Year: The Mets were one of the few teams to have some success off of Zambrano last year — though a back injury probably helped to the cause. In his lone start Zambrano lasted only three innings before leaving the game, but managed to give up four runs off of four hits, while walking three and striking out two.

What to Expect: This year has been more of the same for Zambrano — a low BAA (.200, first in the NL), a bunch of strikeouts (124, also first in the NL) and a ton of walks (68, once again first in the NL). And, despite the fact that he’s pitching for a 34-54 ballclub, he’s still got the fourth highest winning percentage (.727). Zambrano lives to challenge hitters, and has no problem coming right at you with an exceptional fastball. His control of the pitch isn’t exactly Maddux-esque, but that only helps to keep hitters intimidated and on their toes. His big weakness is his infamous temper, and he still gets easily flustered on the mound when pitches aren’t called strikes or fielders botch plays. Look for Zambrano to throw a lot of fastballs and sliders down and away. Lefties will get more changeups than sliders, despite the fact that his curveball is better than both those pitches. But, I’m sure the Mets won’t be complaining.

Game 3: Mark Prior

What’s the Story? O, How the Mighty Have Fallen. At one point not so long ago Prior was considered to be the heir apparent to Roger Clemens — right down to the mighty fastball and flawless mechanics. In fact, Prior was once so good that people throughout baseball scoffed when the Twins drafted Joe Mauer over him in the 2001 Draft. Despite struggling with his command since returning from the DL, his stuff is still what it used to be. Prior still tosses his fastball in the mid-90’s (ranked around 94 MPH since coming back), a nice slider, an average changeup, and — when on — an unhittable curveball. Luckily, it hasn’t been on since he’s returned.

Last Year: Prior was Prior when he faced the Mets last time — all the way back in May of 2005. Unfortunately for him the Cubs bullpen was still the Cubs bullpen and he didn’t get the win. Still, he did pitch seven innings of two hit ball, allowing only a run while walking three and striking out six.

What to Expect? Honestly, Prior might not even make the start, so that would be the first thing to expect. If he does make the start, then you can expect a lot of wildness and a lot of fastballs. Prior’s been striking guys out at a normal rate (sixteen over the last eleven innings), but his control has taken a hit and he’s left his fair share of fastballs up in the strike zone. The fact that he’s gotten maybe seven curveballs and three sliders over the plate for strikes in his last twenty-one innings isn’t helping matters either. When a guy tries to get through a game with a fastball and a sub par changeup it makes for a fun time for the opposition. Look for him to work low and away, and righthanders should expect a healthy dose of sliders. Remember, they won’t be strikes, so don’t swing!

Overall:

If this was 2003, the Mets might be in trouble — but right now the pitching staff’s mechanical issues and injuries are giving them a good shot of taking this series. The fact that the Cubs offense is gawd-awful should also help matters. But they sure do have a heckuva bullpen now! In all honesty, I think Trachsel should beat Maddux — whoever thought they’d hear those words? — and that Duque will upend Prior. Zambrano isn’t a lock over Glavine, especially seeing that he’s pitched worse at home (2-3, 4.18) than on the road (6-0, 2.24), but I think he’ll give the Mets some trouble and, as JRRM suggested, Glavine will probably keep on pacing himself until the middle of September. The Mets take it, 2-1.

And, if the Cubs want to hand over Zambrano — or even Bob Howry — we’d be glad to give them something for their troubles. How does Anderson Hernandez sound? Tempting, we know.