Though the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers have never met in postseason play, the battle beginning this afternoon between the National League Central and West division champs has the feel of an old school rivalry, given the long history of the two franchises.
You'll have to look back to 1995 to find the last time L.A. clinched a division title, while the Cardinals return to the postseason after a one-year hiatus last season.
On paper, both teams may appear comparably solid in most areas, and have to be to reach the playoffs. But they reached the Division Series along two different paths. The Cardinals, largely expected to be an offense-defense club, essentially wrapped up the Central Division by mid-July. The predicted "all-pitch, no-hit" Dodgers waited until the second to last day of the season to take the West.
From here, only one will go on.
Offense: The biggest difference between the two teams comes at the plate. Neither team is an offensive slouch, but the Dodgers should be very afraid of a Cardinal lineup featuring the best 3-4-5 punch in baseball. Albert Pujols (.331 average, 46 HR, 123 RBI), Scott Rolen (.314, 34, 124) and Jim Edmonds (.301, 42, 111) helped lead St. Louis to a league-best 855 runs.
Throw in late-season acquisition Larry Walker (11 HR, 27 RBI) and perennial 20-homer man Reggie Sanders, and the Cardinals can go deep almost on cue.
Second baseman Tony Womack (.307, 26 steals), picked up off the Boston Red Sox scrap-heap after spring training surgery, has pleasantly surprised everyone, helping to set the table along with double-play partner Edgar Renteria atop a very deep lineup - something L.A. lacks.
The Dodgers rely heavily on the bat of Adrian Beltre (.344, 48, 121), he of the freak career year. Shawn Green and Milton Bradley provide supporting power, while the offensive emergence of leadoff man Cesar Izturis (.288, 62 RBI, 25 steals), known more for his defense, also adds spark.
And while Dodger Moneyball GM Paul DePodesta's deadline trades of catcher Paul LoDuca and Juan Encarnacion left many scratching their heads, the Steve Finley pickup continues to pay dividends.
Izturis must get on base early to give L.A. a chance to compete offensively with St. Louis, and to give the Dodger starters an early lead.
Starting Pitching: Consistency, rather than the performance of a single ace, is the story of both teams' starting pitching. The Cardinals have four 15-game winners this season and the Dodgers have three 13-gamers.
Without an overwhelming pitching edge favoring either club, the series will likely come down to which staff better handles the opposing offense.
Matt Morris, Jeff Suppan, Jason Marquis, Chris Carpenter and Woody Williams started all but seven of the Cards' games, logging a less-than-exciting 4.06 ERA in the process. But when your five-man rotation logs 69 percent of your wins (72 of a major league-best 105 wins), something is in sync. Especially with "Long Ball" Suppan leading the staff with 16 wins.
L.A. won 93 games overall, despite just 57 starter wins. No regular starter had a sub-4.00 ERA except Odalis Perez (3.25), who ended the year with a 7-6 record. Fellow starters Jeff Weaver, Jose Lima, Hideo Nomo and Kaz Ishii will need to keep the Cardinals offense in check and hope their own lineup can get on the board early enough to gain some momentum.
Bullpen: St. Louis closer Jason Isringhausen may have notched 47 saves along with a 2.87 ERA this season, but every team would rather take Dodger game-sealer Eric Gagne any day.
Both teams have virtually identical bullpen numbers - each has a 2.99 ERA. While L.A. leads in relief wins and strikeouts, St. Louis leads in saves and WHIP. But the biggest difference could come at the closer position.
If the Dodger relief corps can bridge the gap between the club's starters and the near-automatic Gagne, even without departed super setup man Guillermo Mota, Gagne could be key. This all depends, of course, on whether Dodger starting pitching can keep games close against the Cardinal offense.
Defense: L.A. led the majors in fielding percentage, committing 24 fewer errors than St. Louis. But this is still too close to call. Both teams have ups and downs defensively, so it really just comes down to give or take.
St. Louis has the upper hand at third base, center field, right field and catcher. Rolen, Edmonds, Walker and backstop Mike Matheny are all among the top defensive players at their positions, even with Pujols lumbering at first, this team is tough.
L.A. holds a slight edge in the middle infield with whiz-kids Izturis and Alex Cora turning tricks. Catchers David Ross and Brent Mayne are also more than capable behind the plate.
Coaching: Tony LaRussa has been here many times before, with his fifth postseason berth in nine seasons at the Cardinal helm. He's won a World Series, with the 1989 Oakland A's, and has the experience to know what to expect.
Dodger skipper Jim Tracy is new to postseason play, having managed for just four big league seasons, but he's no slouch steering a very capable team.
Prediction: St. Louis Cardinals in five. Their offense is just too good to not do damage.
