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ST. LOUIS CARDINALS: NL Central champion; def. San Diego, 3-1, in NLDS
NEW YORK METS: NL East champion: def Los Angeles, 3-0, in NLDS
An old rivalry will be renewed when the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals face off in the National League Championship Series with the winner earning the right to represent the Senior Circuit at the world series.
The Mets and Cardinals battled for National League East supremacy during the 1980's, but have met just one other time in the postseason. That encounter came in the 2000 NLCS, which the Mets won in five games.
New York entered the postseason loaded with question marks surrounding their starting pitching thanks to injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez. Rookie John Maine and veteran Tom Glavine rose to the occasion, though, as the Mets rolled in a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS to advance to their first LCS since 2000.
Despite the lack of depth in their starting rotation, New York, which will be playing in its sixth NLCS, still possesses the best lineup left in the postseason and are poised for their fifth-ever world series appearance.
St. Louis advanced to its third straight and fifth NLCS in seven years after knocking off the NL West champion San Diego Padres in four games. Albert Pujols was an absolute monster through first two games for the NL Central champion Cards and continues to add to his impressive postseason resume.
If there is a team left in the postseason that has a shakier starting staff than New York it is St. Louis, which has reigning and potential NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter and that is about it. Hopefully the Cards can get two games out of their ace, but they might already be in a two-game hole when he takes the hill in Game 3.
Few teams have the postseason pedigree of the Cardinals, who will be playing in their ninth NLCS and will be trying to get to their 17th Fall Classic.
New York won four of their six matchups with the Cardinals this season, but are just 8-17 versus St. Louis since the start of the 2003 campaign. The Cards have also won 11 of 13 at home in this series in that time, while splitting 12 meetings in Flushing.
LINEUP
Carlos Delgado waited his whole career to get to the postseason and he did not disappoint. Delgado had four hits in the first game and hit .429 with a homer and two RBI. He only had two hits over the final two games, but should feast on what the Cardinals are going to throw at him.
If there is one player that strikes fear into the hearts of St. Louis fans it is Carlos Beltran, who put on one of the most amazing offensive displays in postseason history against the Cardinals in the 2004 NLCS. Beltran hit .417 against St. Louis in that series with four homers and five RBI. Beltran, though, hit just .222 against the Dodgers.
David Wright batted .333 and drove in four runs, while Jose Reyes batted just .167 in the NLDS, but did knock in three runs. Both should be better with their first postseason series out of the way.
The Mets could have a hole in the middle of the lineup, as Cliff Floyd went down in Game 3 against the Dodgers with a strained Achilles' tendon. Floyd could wind up missing this series. If he is out Endy Chavez, who hit .375, will become the everyday leftfielder.
St. Louis' lineup starts and ends with the reigning MVP Pujols. El Hombre was 5-for-8 in the first two games of the NLDS, but was hitless over the final two games. Pujols has been incredible in the postseason over his career, hitting .335 with 11 homers and 32 RBI.
Jim Edmonds hit over .300 and a big series against the Mets will do wonders for him, as he prepares to hit the free agent market this winter.
The Cards could be in trouble, as third baseman Scott Rolen's surgically repaired left shoulder has apparently become a problem again. Rolen struggled down the stretch and had just one hit in 11 at-bats against the Padres. He missed Game 4 and could be a question mark the rest of the way.
Juan Encarnacion, Scott Spiezio, David Eckstein and Preston Wilson also can change the momentum of the game with one swing and will play a significant role for the Cardinals.
EDGE: METS
STARTING PITCHING
Glavine turned back the clock in his Game 2 NLDS start and he will get the call for the Mets in Game 1 against the Cardinals. Against the Dodgers last week the 40-year-old lefty scattered four hits over six scoreless innings to run his career postseason record to 13-10. Glavine, who is 5-9 with a 3.41 ERA in 15 LCS starts, has faced the Cardinals 35 times in his career and is 18-6 against them with a 3.61 ERA.
Maine had maybe the toughest assignment of all the Mets starters and came through with flying colors. Filling in for the injured El Duque, Maine gave up a run on six hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Dodgers in his first-ever postseason appearance. Maine has faced the Cardinals just once and received a no-decision in that one, despite allowing seven runs and six hits in five innings.
Steve Trachsel will get the call for the Mets in Game 3. Trachsel made his postseason debut as well against the Dodgers and lasted into just the fourth inning, as he surrendered two runs on six hits. Trachsel has faced the Cardinals 28 times in his career and is just 10-9 against them with a 4.56.
The Mets will likely turn to Oliver Perez in Game 4. Perez was a combined 3-13 in 22 games with New York and Pittsburgh, while pitching to a 6.55 ERA in those outings. Perez, who has never pitched in the postseason, has struggled in his career against the Cardinals, going 2-5 with a 4.83 ERA in 11 starts.
St. Louis has the best pitcher on either team in this series in the Cy Young candidate Carpenter. The only problem is that he won't pitch until Game 3 and the Cards could already be down two games in the series. The righty pitched superbly in the NLDS, winning both his starts, while holding the Padres to three runs on 12 hits in 13 1/3 innings. Carpenter has only faced the Mets three times in his career and is 1-2 against them with a 4.24 ERA.
The Cardinals will give the ball to Jeff Weaver in Game 1 against the Mets. Weaver, in the playoffs for the fourth time in his career, pitched great in his NLDS start against the Padres, who managed just two hits over five scoreless innings off of the 31-year-old right-hander. Weaver is 2-1 lifetime against the Mets with a 6.10 ERA in five starts.
Provided St. Louis manager Tony La Russa does not bring Carpenter back on three-days' rest, Jeff Suppan will get the Game 2 assignment. Suppan was tagged with the loss against the Padres in the NLDS, as he surrendered three runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. Suppan has had a modicum of success in his career against the Mets, going 3-1 against them with a 2.27 ERA in six starts.
La Russa will have a decision to make with regards to his fourth starter. His options will be either young Anthony Reyes or the veteran Jason Marquis. Marquis will likely get the nod and was 14-16 in the regular season with a 6.02 ERA in 33 starts. He lost his last four decisions to close out the year, though.
EDGE: CARDS
BULLPEN
The Mets had the best bullpen in the National League this season and a large part of that was due to the offseason signing of closer Billy Wagner.
Wagner converted 40-of-45 save opportunities this year and posted a strong 2.24 ERA in the process. The veteran lefty has struggled in the postseason, but picked up two saves in the NLDS.
Lefty Pedro Feliciano was stellar out of the bullpen for New York, posting a 7-2 record and 2.09 ERA in 64 appearances this season. Aaron Heilman was a right-handed workhorse and ended the season with a 3.62 ERA in 74 outings.
New York will also use veterans Roberto Hernandez and Guillermo Mota in late- inning situations ahead of Wagner. The 41-year-old Roberto Hernandez had a 3.11 ERA in 68 appearances with the Mets and Pirates this year. Mota, a 33- year-old righty, had been terrible with Cleveland earlier in the season, but was 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 18 appearances since coming to New York.
St. Louis lost closer Jason Isringhausen to hip surgery and were in dire straights towards the end of the regular season trying to secure wins. Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper have been thrust into the closer's role with little success. Wainwright did pitch well against the Padres, picking up a save without allowing a run in 3 2/3 innings.
Randy Flores, Josh Hancock and Tyler Johnson also will be at La Russa's disposal in the bullpen.
EDGE: METS
MANAGERS
St. Louis' Tony La Russa is in his 11th season as manager of the Cardinals. He has guided St. Louis to seven playoff appearances, including five in the last six years. The Cardinals have won six of their seven Division Series and captured the NL championship in 2004 under La Russa.
Willie Randolph is in just his second season as a big-league manager, but the Mets' skipper may wind up winning the NL Manager of the Year Award this year. The soft-spoken Randolph has found a way to get these high-priced players to play together.
EDGE: CARDS
BENCH
St. Louis has a very talented bench with Preston Wilson, So Taguchi and John Rodriguez being the main characters. Wilson batted .243 with eight homers and 17 RBI in 33 games for the Cards. He played 102 games with Houston before being dealt to St. Louis a few months ago.
Taguchi hit .266 with a pair of homers and 31 runs batted in through 134 games this season in a reserve role. Aaron Miles and Chris Duncan can fill in if needed during the series.
The Mets' bench will likely have an addition with the injury to Floyd. Either Rickey Ledee or Lastings Milledge will be added to the roster and Chavez will become the everyday left-fielder.
A key pinch-hitter for the Mets this season was the ageless wonder Julio Franco, who hit .273 with two homers and 26 RBI in 165 at-bats. The 48-year- old also beat out a double-play in Game 2 of the NLDS that scored a run.
Infielder Chris Woodward hit just .216 in 83 games for the Mets this year.
EDGE: CARDS
PROGNOSIS
St. Louis has the best pitcher in this series in Carpenter and the best all- around player in Pujols. Other than that, though, the Mets have just about every other edge. New York should get enough out of its starters to win. All they have to do is get six innings, then the bullpen will do the rest. St. Louis must get a split at Shea if they have any shot at winning this series. If the potent Mets lineup gets to St. Louis' starters early it could get real ugly real quick.
Prediction: METS in FIVE
NEW YORK METS: NL East champion: def Los Angeles, 3-0, in NLDS
An old rivalry will be renewed when the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals face off in the National League Championship Series with the winner earning the right to represent the Senior Circuit at the world series.
The Mets and Cardinals battled for National League East supremacy during the 1980's, but have met just one other time in the postseason. That encounter came in the 2000 NLCS, which the Mets won in five games.
New York entered the postseason loaded with question marks surrounding their starting pitching thanks to injuries to Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez. Rookie John Maine and veteran Tom Glavine rose to the occasion, though, as the Mets rolled in a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS to advance to their first LCS since 2000.
Despite the lack of depth in their starting rotation, New York, which will be playing in its sixth NLCS, still possesses the best lineup left in the postseason and are poised for their fifth-ever world series appearance.
St. Louis advanced to its third straight and fifth NLCS in seven years after knocking off the NL West champion San Diego Padres in four games. Albert Pujols was an absolute monster through first two games for the NL Central champion Cards and continues to add to his impressive postseason resume.
If there is a team left in the postseason that has a shakier starting staff than New York it is St. Louis, which has reigning and potential NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter and that is about it. Hopefully the Cards can get two games out of their ace, but they might already be in a two-game hole when he takes the hill in Game 3.
Few teams have the postseason pedigree of the Cardinals, who will be playing in their ninth NLCS and will be trying to get to their 17th Fall Classic.
New York won four of their six matchups with the Cardinals this season, but are just 8-17 versus St. Louis since the start of the 2003 campaign. The Cards have also won 11 of 13 at home in this series in that time, while splitting 12 meetings in Flushing.
LINEUP
Carlos Delgado waited his whole career to get to the postseason and he did not disappoint. Delgado had four hits in the first game and hit .429 with a homer and two RBI. He only had two hits over the final two games, but should feast on what the Cardinals are going to throw at him.
If there is one player that strikes fear into the hearts of St. Louis fans it is Carlos Beltran, who put on one of the most amazing offensive displays in postseason history against the Cardinals in the 2004 NLCS. Beltran hit .417 against St. Louis in that series with four homers and five RBI. Beltran, though, hit just .222 against the Dodgers.
David Wright batted .333 and drove in four runs, while Jose Reyes batted just .167 in the NLDS, but did knock in three runs. Both should be better with their first postseason series out of the way.
The Mets could have a hole in the middle of the lineup, as Cliff Floyd went down in Game 3 against the Dodgers with a strained Achilles' tendon. Floyd could wind up missing this series. If he is out Endy Chavez, who hit .375, will become the everyday leftfielder.
St. Louis' lineup starts and ends with the reigning MVP Pujols. El Hombre was 5-for-8 in the first two games of the NLDS, but was hitless over the final two games. Pujols has been incredible in the postseason over his career, hitting .335 with 11 homers and 32 RBI.
Jim Edmonds hit over .300 and a big series against the Mets will do wonders for him, as he prepares to hit the free agent market this winter.
The Cards could be in trouble, as third baseman Scott Rolen's surgically repaired left shoulder has apparently become a problem again. Rolen struggled down the stretch and had just one hit in 11 at-bats against the Padres. He missed Game 4 and could be a question mark the rest of the way.
Juan Encarnacion, Scott Spiezio, David Eckstein and Preston Wilson also can change the momentum of the game with one swing and will play a significant role for the Cardinals.
EDGE: METS
STARTING PITCHING
Glavine turned back the clock in his Game 2 NLDS start and he will get the call for the Mets in Game 1 against the Cardinals. Against the Dodgers last week the 40-year-old lefty scattered four hits over six scoreless innings to run his career postseason record to 13-10. Glavine, who is 5-9 with a 3.41 ERA in 15 LCS starts, has faced the Cardinals 35 times in his career and is 18-6 against them with a 3.61 ERA.
Maine had maybe the toughest assignment of all the Mets starters and came through with flying colors. Filling in for the injured El Duque, Maine gave up a run on six hits in 4 1/3 innings against the Dodgers in his first-ever postseason appearance. Maine has faced the Cardinals just once and received a no-decision in that one, despite allowing seven runs and six hits in five innings.
Steve Trachsel will get the call for the Mets in Game 3. Trachsel made his postseason debut as well against the Dodgers and lasted into just the fourth inning, as he surrendered two runs on six hits. Trachsel has faced the Cardinals 28 times in his career and is just 10-9 against them with a 4.56.
The Mets will likely turn to Oliver Perez in Game 4. Perez was a combined 3-13 in 22 games with New York and Pittsburgh, while pitching to a 6.55 ERA in those outings. Perez, who has never pitched in the postseason, has struggled in his career against the Cardinals, going 2-5 with a 4.83 ERA in 11 starts.
St. Louis has the best pitcher on either team in this series in the Cy Young candidate Carpenter. The only problem is that he won't pitch until Game 3 and the Cards could already be down two games in the series. The righty pitched superbly in the NLDS, winning both his starts, while holding the Padres to three runs on 12 hits in 13 1/3 innings. Carpenter has only faced the Mets three times in his career and is 1-2 against them with a 4.24 ERA.
The Cardinals will give the ball to Jeff Weaver in Game 1 against the Mets. Weaver, in the playoffs for the fourth time in his career, pitched great in his NLDS start against the Padres, who managed just two hits over five scoreless innings off of the 31-year-old right-hander. Weaver is 2-1 lifetime against the Mets with a 6.10 ERA in five starts.
Provided St. Louis manager Tony La Russa does not bring Carpenter back on three-days' rest, Jeff Suppan will get the Game 2 assignment. Suppan was tagged with the loss against the Padres in the NLDS, as he surrendered three runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. Suppan has had a modicum of success in his career against the Mets, going 3-1 against them with a 2.27 ERA in six starts.
La Russa will have a decision to make with regards to his fourth starter. His options will be either young Anthony Reyes or the veteran Jason Marquis. Marquis will likely get the nod and was 14-16 in the regular season with a 6.02 ERA in 33 starts. He lost his last four decisions to close out the year, though.
EDGE: CARDS
BULLPEN
The Mets had the best bullpen in the National League this season and a large part of that was due to the offseason signing of closer Billy Wagner.
Wagner converted 40-of-45 save opportunities this year and posted a strong 2.24 ERA in the process. The veteran lefty has struggled in the postseason, but picked up two saves in the NLDS.
Lefty Pedro Feliciano was stellar out of the bullpen for New York, posting a 7-2 record and 2.09 ERA in 64 appearances this season. Aaron Heilman was a right-handed workhorse and ended the season with a 3.62 ERA in 74 outings.
New York will also use veterans Roberto Hernandez and Guillermo Mota in late- inning situations ahead of Wagner. The 41-year-old Roberto Hernandez had a 3.11 ERA in 68 appearances with the Mets and Pirates this year. Mota, a 33- year-old righty, had been terrible with Cleveland earlier in the season, but was 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA in 18 appearances since coming to New York.
St. Louis lost closer Jason Isringhausen to hip surgery and were in dire straights towards the end of the regular season trying to secure wins. Adam Wainwright and Braden Looper have been thrust into the closer's role with little success. Wainwright did pitch well against the Padres, picking up a save without allowing a run in 3 2/3 innings.
Randy Flores, Josh Hancock and Tyler Johnson also will be at La Russa's disposal in the bullpen.
EDGE: METS
MANAGERS
St. Louis' Tony La Russa is in his 11th season as manager of the Cardinals. He has guided St. Louis to seven playoff appearances, including five in the last six years. The Cardinals have won six of their seven Division Series and captured the NL championship in 2004 under La Russa.
Willie Randolph is in just his second season as a big-league manager, but the Mets' skipper may wind up winning the NL Manager of the Year Award this year. The soft-spoken Randolph has found a way to get these high-priced players to play together.
EDGE: CARDS
BENCH
St. Louis has a very talented bench with Preston Wilson, So Taguchi and John Rodriguez being the main characters. Wilson batted .243 with eight homers and 17 RBI in 33 games for the Cards. He played 102 games with Houston before being dealt to St. Louis a few months ago.
Taguchi hit .266 with a pair of homers and 31 runs batted in through 134 games this season in a reserve role. Aaron Miles and Chris Duncan can fill in if needed during the series.
The Mets' bench will likely have an addition with the injury to Floyd. Either Rickey Ledee or Lastings Milledge will be added to the roster and Chavez will become the everyday left-fielder.
A key pinch-hitter for the Mets this season was the ageless wonder Julio Franco, who hit .273 with two homers and 26 RBI in 165 at-bats. The 48-year- old also beat out a double-play in Game 2 of the NLDS that scored a run.
Infielder Chris Woodward hit just .216 in 83 games for the Mets this year.
EDGE: CARDS
PROGNOSIS
St. Louis has the best pitcher in this series in Carpenter and the best all- around player in Pujols. Other than that, though, the Mets have just about every other edge. New York should get enough out of its starters to win. All they have to do is get six innings, then the bullpen will do the rest. St. Louis must get a split at Shea if they have any shot at winning this series. If the potent Mets lineup gets to St. Louis' starters early it could get real ugly real quick.
Prediction: METS in FIVE
MY MEAT IN THE HOT DESERT.......
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