Sweeping their weekend series with the Cincinnati Reds, the St. Louis Cardinals finished the 2005 season as the only 100-game winners in baseball. The Red Birds are once again the team to beat in the NL and head into the playoffs as the Central division champions for the fifth time in six years.
The Cardinals entered the 2004 postseason as the league's heavy favorite and took the pennant, but were swept by the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. This year's Cards are anxious to return to the Series to avenge the loss.
All the ingredients are in place for a championship run in St. Louis. Led by legendary manager Tony LaRussa, the Cardinals are a team of seasoned veterans with a great deal of postseason experience. LaRussa has relied on his starting pitching all season, and it hasn't failed him yet. Chris Carpenter, Mark Mulder, Jeff Suppan, Matt Morris and Jason Marquis have kept the rotation strong from top to bottom. Carpenter has been the staff ace with a 21-5 record.
MVP candidate Albert Pujols has led the way offensively, hitting .330 with 41 home runs. With support from Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker, the Cardinals' offense has been one of baseball's strongest.
The Cards will begin the NL Divisional Series at home facing the San Diego Padres. San Diego finished the season just barely above .500, but still came away with the NL West title. Led by pitcher Jake Peavy and hard-hitting outfielder Brian Giles, the Padres are underdogs to go far in the playoffs, but are hoping for an upset of the defending NL champs.
Peavy and Adam Eaton, who make the Padres extremely dangerous in a short series, are scheduled to start Games 1 and 2, respectively, against the Cards' Carpenter and Mulder. The series will start in St. Louis tonight, and will continue in San Diego this weekend.
The series winner will face the winner of the Atlanta Braves' match-up with the Houston Astros. The Braves wrapped up their 14th consecutive NL East division title last week, while the Astros edged the Philadelphia Phillies in a close wild card race.
Atlanta's team features both veterans, in ace pitcher John Smoltz and sluggers Andruw and Chipper Jones, and an influx of fresh young talent. Adam LaRoche, Kyle Davies, and breakout rookie Jeff Francoeur are three reasons why this Braves team should be optimistic entering October.
But pitching is often the key to success in the postseason, and the Astros are led by three top-notch starters. Many of the experts are picking Houston to smash the Braves' quest for the pennant, pointing to Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt as the deciding factors in this series.
Clemens, a future Hall-of-Famer, finished the regular
season with a 1.87 ERA, turning in a dominant year at age 43. He's pitching the best baseball of his career, and is looking to win his eighth career Cy Young Award. Oswalt, with 19 wins, and Pettitte, with 17 victories, have had strong seasons as well, both keeping their ERAs under three.
While hopes are high for a successful October in Houston, the Astros are a team that is still without an NL pennant. Last year's NL Championship Series loss at the hands of the rival Cardinals is still fresh in their minds, and the Astros are eager for redemption.
The Astros will bring Pettitte and Clemens to the mound to start their series in Atlanta. The two aces will face Braves hurlers Smoltz and Tim Hudson, as the series opens Wednesday and moves to Houston over the weekend.
The Cardinals are the favorites to return to the World Series in 2005, but in October, anything can happen. Over the next two week, the Astros' pitching, the Braves' young talent, and the Padres' depth are all threats - any one of the four NL contenders could be booking a trip to the Fall Classic.
