MLB NL Division Series #1 Preview

New York Mets Vs.





LA Dodgers






Starting Pitching:

The Mets received a serious blow to their post-season success chances when it was learned that ace Pedro Martinez will be unable to pitch due to a torn left calf and rotator cuff problem in his pitchinmg shoulder. New ace, "El Duque" Orlando Hernandez had an OK season this year going .500 with 11 wins, 11 losses. His ERA was 4.66 and he struck out 166 batters. El uque traditionally performs well in the post-season and when the game is on the line. He has some issues with controlling some of his pitches (particularly his curve and slider) due to his unsual and unorthodox wind-up and delivery. Game 2 starter Tom Glavine had a health scare in August when a blood clot that may have ended his season and possibly his career was found in his pitching arm. Luckily, it was found that the clot was not serious and Glavine was able to return in September. He won 15 games this season with a 3.82 ERA and 131 K's. The Mets will need him to pitch well against his old foe Maddux. Steve Traschel also went .500, winning 15 and losing 15. His ERA was high considering the number of games he won at 4.97. The high ERA's this team's pitchers generated were acceptable for the Mets season success largely de to the bullpen and the strong line-up the Mets ran out most every night. If necessary, the #4 starter will be 3rd year pitcher John Maine. After the All-Star break, Maine produced 22 straight scoreless innings over 3 starts, while allowing only ten hits. This is the kind of stuff needed to win ball games in the Post-season

The Dodgers will counter with 16-game winner Derek Lowe. That record was tied for tops in the NL. He had a 3.63 ERA and 123 strikeouts. Lowe has a great sinker and will produce many ground ball outs. He was key in the Red Sox World Series win, as he won every series clinching game the Red Sox won that post-season. He could be key for the Dodgers this year. Greg Maddux will take the hill in game 2. He doesn't throw particularly hard, but he uses all four pitches effectively and as a result he won 15 games for the 16th time in 17 seasons last year. His ERA was 4.20 and he had 112 K's. Sophomore Hong-Chih Kuo will likely take the ball in game 3. He was a September call-up and although he only won one of his seven starts, he apparrently impressed management enough to earn him a start in the post-season. Rounding out the rotation for the Dodgers will be veteran Brad Penny. He has playoff experience with the Marlins in 2003 when his best series was against the Yankees when he won both his starts and finished with a good 2.19 ERA and seven strikeouts.

Edge: Mets

Bullpen

Lefty closer Billy Wagner anchors this deep bullpen. Roberto Hernandez, a strong set-up man will come in to the game in the 8th inning to preserve the game. He had a respectable 3.11 ERA in the regular season. Sidewinder Chad Bradford will also pitch in the 7th or 8th in a close game. He had 4 wins, 2 saves and a 2.11 ERA. He also struck out 45 batters. Long reliever Oliver Perez struggled this season, managing just 3 wins and an awful 6.55 earned run average. Perez had 102 K's. Lefty Pedro Feliciano will be another tough long reliever or middle reliever, he collected 7 wins and had a good 2.01 ERA with 54 punch-outs. Aaron Heilman is yet another reliable reliever the Mets can count on when the starter is out of the game, he had 4 wins, 73 K's and a 3.62 ERA. Rounding out the 'pen is former flop Guillerno Mota, who the Mets quickly developed after he flopped out with the Indians.

After closer Eric Gagne was lost to season-ending back surgery, the Dodgers revamped their bullpen by acquiring long reliever Aaron Sele, who collected 8 wins57 K's and finished with a 4.53 ERA, tough lefty specialist Joe Beimel, who held opposing lefty batters to a .234 average, won 2 game, struck out 30 and had a 2.96 earned run average, middle man Jonathon Broxton, who won 4 games, had 97 K's and finished the season with a 2.97 ERA and named Takashi Saito as the new closer. Saito did a good job filling in for Gagne converting 24 of 26 save opportunities while striking out 107.

Edge: Mets

Catcher:

Paul Lo Duca had a great year last season with a .318 average with 5 HR and 18 RBI's. Even more impressive is he's better at handling the pitching staff than the bat, although he does both well. Lo Duca has been reputed as a winner, but he's yet to win, this could be his chance this year.

Canadian Russell Martin had a strong rookie campaign hitting .282 with 10 HR and 65 RBI's. Martin showed his poise with handling the Dodger's pitchers when they were struggling and just being a good play-caller. He made such an impression on management during his 1st 6 weeks that they traded jewel catcher Dioner Navarro. Should Martin falter in the stretch, he has a veteran catcher in Toby Hall to back him up.

Edge: Mets.

1st Baseman:

Carlos "delswatto" Delgado was a great free agent signing a ew years back. This power hitter was a great addition to this already deep lineup. This year his average was .265 while crushing 38 HR and driving in 114 runs. He has a reputation of being consistent over 162 games. Look for him to come up big in his first playoff experience.

Nomar Garciaparra is learning a new position for the first time in his career. He had a decent seson hitting .303 with 20 HR and 93 runs batted in. The big question is whether Garciaparra can remain healthy in the post-season. Also, he's been in a slump as his .354 average at the Mid-Summmer Classic break plummeted after baseball got back under way to a low of .290 When he's managed a hit, it's been a key one. Look for Garciaparra to come up with a big hit this series.

edge: Mets

2nd Baseman:

Jose Valentin finally pushed the underachieving Kaz Matsui out the door. He's an improvement over Matsui as he hit .271 with 18 HR and 62 RBI's. His defense is also better than Matsui was. As an added bonus, a lot of Valentin's hits this season were of the clutch variety.

The Dodgers counter with veteran Jeff Kent who went through an injury plagued season. His 38-year-old body is starting to show wear and tear when playing a grinding marathon 162 game sched. Despite his age, Kent is still capable of making good defensive plays at 2b. At the plate, he hit a good .292 with 14 HR and 68 RBI. This is the fourth team he's taken to the playoffs. 'nuff said.

Edge: Dodgers

Shortstop:

The speedy Jose Reyes has been and will continue to cause catchers fits with his blinding speed on the base path. Reyes stole a remarkable 64 bases this season. He also batted .300, smacked 19 home runs and drove in 81 runs. His defense ain't half-bad either. Reuyes could be a real game breaker for the Mets.

Raphael Furcal is on a mission to prove himself in the post-season. He's also out to make it past the Division Series after 5 consecutive first round losses with the Atlanta Braves. Furcal also has speed to burn as he stole 37 bases this season. He hit .300 with 15 HR and 63 RBI. Furcal is a game breaker for the Mets.

Edge: even.

3rd Baseman:

Third year player David Wright had a great year, making the All-Star team and collecting a key hit there. At the plate, Wright had a great year hitting .311 with 26 HR and 116 RBI. His defense has greatly improved ovr last year, he has a great personality and is a big reason why the Mets ran away with the NL East.

Wilson Betemit, Furcal's teammate for 2.5 years has joined Furcal in sunny LA. Betemit's not nearly the superstar Wright has turned into. e still had decent numbers, hitting .263 with 18 dingers and 53 RBI. His versatitility is the reason the Dodgers acquired him at the trade deadline.

Edge: Mets

Left Fielder:

Cliff Floyd's left leg is a concern but for now he's healthy enough to play. Floyd badly injured his left ankle when running the bases in June. He still has a lot of jump and can still make great defensive plays. His hitting power has deteriorated over the years as he hit just 11 HR with an average of .244 while driving in 44 runs. Like Delgado he's been chomping at the bit for fourteen years for a decent shot at a championship. He's had all of two meaningless at-bats in the World Series.

The Dodgers will counter with rookie Andre Ethier. He had a fine year at the plate hitting .309 with 11 HR and 55 RBI in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium. He's shown that he fears no wall and will be a valuable asset to this team if he finds his second wind after tiring a bit towards the end of his rookie campaign.

Edge: Dodgers (due to age)

Center Fielder:

Carlos Beltran is a real power hitter who can supplment Delgado's home run power. Beltran smashed 41 home runs this season while hitting .275 and driving in 116 runs. Beltran stole 18 bases and pitchers can't completely ignore him when he's on base. He performed well in his only post-season experiene hitting .435 with 8 HR and 14 RBI. Beltran has yet to justify his lfty contract and will be looking to prove his critics wrong.

The speedster Kenny Lofton patrols center field for the Dodgers and he will be a steal threat (Lofton stole 32 bags in the regular season.) His age is a bit of a concern and questions arise about his durability after playing through a gruelling 162 game schedule. He hit .301 with 3 HR and 41 RBI.

Edge: Mets

Right Fielder:

How ironic! Shawn Green was the Dodoger's right fielder during their last playoff appearance in 2004, this season, he'll be looking to knock out the Dodgers while toiling in RF for the Mets. He's still a force to be reckoned with, as he hit a decent .277 with 15 HR and 66 runs batted in. He's turned into a slap-the-ball the other way hitter as some of his power has deteriorated over the years due to age.

J.D. Drew was the healthiest he's been in recent years, although he did play through some nagging injuries. Drew played a career high in games played (146) and at-bats (494). Drew hit a respectable .283 with 10 HR and 100 RBI. Drew finished the '06 season strong and could be a factor in this series.

Edge: Dodgers

Bench

The Mets have the oldest player in the league in Julio Franco on their bench. Franco is primarily used today as a late-game replacement for the pitcher and rarely takes the field. The bench is deep, with shortstop Chris Woodward being a capable pinch hitter. Speedster Ricky Ledee or Micheal Tucker will be great pinch runners and either would adequately fill in for the aging Cliff Floyd. Backing up Lo Duca will be veteran Ramon Castro who's a good play-caller. Rounding out the bench is speedster Endy Chavez who had a .306 average at season's end.

The Dodgers counter with a deep bench as well. The dodgers made a pair of great deadline deals plucking veteran catcher Toby Hall from the Devil Rays to back up the young Martin. He's not the greatest hitting catcher in the game but he'll scratch out the odd hit (he hit .259 with 8 HR and 31 RBI.) Coming with Hall in that trade was speedy shortstop Julio Lugo. Lugo hit .278 with 12 HR and 37 RBI. He stole 24 bases. The second great deadline deal was grabbing Marlon Anderson from the Washington Nationals. He's a capable .300 hitter who fell hust short of that in hitting .297 this season with 12 HR and 38 RBI. Rookie Matt Kemp will make a good defensive replacement, although he has been slowed by injuries this year. Finally rounding out the bench is 3rd year player Olmeda Seanz.

Edge: even

Managers:

Willie Randolph is proving to the Mets owners that they made a good move in hiing him to be their manager. After many unsuccessful managerial interview, the Mets finally gave him a shot. Randolph's quiet, patient leadership is a breath of fresh air in a city full of uptight people. The players feed off his faith in them.

Grady Little was hoping to see Pedro Martinez in this series after his awkward fall-out with Boston mangement. However, he'll settle for making it back to the post-season for the first time since that ugly departure.

Edge: Mets

Intangibles:

A good start will be the key to the Mets success. Fans everywhere, especially in New York would love to see a Subway Series for all the marbles, but first this team must get by this resillient ball club. The pressure will be enormous and at times suffocating.

The Dodgers are the underdogs in this short series. They had to fight to make the post-season, so fighting to win the series shouldn't be that hard. They have playoff experience with fielders Lofton, Kent, Furcal, Garciaparra. Pitchers Derek Lowe and Brad Penny have started post-season games and won.

Edge: Mets

Series Prediction: Mets in 4