Mets set World Series rotation: Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard

Then the Mets swept the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, never trailing in the series.

Yoenis Cespedes is the heart and soul of the New York Mets’ lineup, and it just so happens his team finds itself in the 2015 World Series.

In the winter of 2014, the question of how the Mets would take advantage of the brilliant young power arms like Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard with suspect middle-infield defense was the elephant in the room.

Saturday, the hometown kid was announced as the starting pitcher for the first game of the World Series, and the hometown crowd is showing their support with their pocketbooks.

After Harvey starts Tuesday’s opener against the Royals, Jacob deGrom will handle Game 2 at Kauffman Stadium.

Whether it be joking that his wife calls him an “idiot” after in-game moves backfire, or the fact he’s barely taller than diminutive hitting coach Kevin Long, or when he kidded about star pitcher Matt Harvey making the team flight on time, the silver-haired Collins has shown his sense of humor to the media more and more during his five years in the Big Apple. They also feel good about Syndergaard pitching at home, where he’s been most successful. They open a seven-game lead in the NL East. “Biggest three games I’ve had in my career”, Collins says. The Royals last won a World Series in 1985 when they went to the decisive seventh game against the St. Louis Cardinals. But those Dodgers were swept in four games by the Orioles, and Sutton did not see any action in that Series (the Dodgers’ third starter that year was the excellent Claude Osteen, who had been acquired in a trade two years earlier).

Even if Murphy continues his postseason tear in the World Series, one complicating factor is that he is a free agent after the season and if he leaves the Mets, the demand for his autograph in the New York area could cool. “But for me being out here with my teammates is all I want and I couldn’t be happier to be with them here now”.

“We know about the back end of that bullpen, the way they’re able to shorten games”, said NLCS MVP Daniel Murphy, who has homered in a record six straight postseason games.

“When we got together I told her, I said, ‘You don’t know what you’re getting into, ‘” Collins said. “So it’s going to be fun”.

The slugging outfielder received a cortisone injection in his sore left shoulder Thursday after leaving the NLCS finale Wednesday night. I gave a few guys the day off today.

“I can’t explain it. It’s such a blessing to contribute to what we’ve been able to do”, Murphy said.

But this is the World Series, and all bets are off. Duty to team trumps duty to one’s self. Uribe has been sidelined since September 25 with a bruised chest, but he’s been making steady progress on the side and traveled with the Mets to Kansas City over the weekend.

“There’s a chance”, manager Terry Collins said. “He’s been to this dance before and I think his presence in the clubhouse and on the bench would be huge”.