MLB NL Division Series #2

San Diego Padres Vs.






St. Louis Cardinals






Starting Pitching

Padres ace Jake Peavy will be looking to redeem himself after a horrible game 1 start against the same Cardinals team. Part of the reason behind the bad start was a broken rib from celebrating the wild Card berth last season. This year he's back and healthy. Peavy collected 11 wins, 215 strikeouts and a 4.09 ERA. Pitching game 2 will be veteran Lefty David "boomer" Wells, who will be making what could be his final start of his career (Wells has said he'll rtire after this year. It has been a very frustrating year for Wells health-wise as his first start after rehabbing his surgically repaired right knee, he got hit by a line drive in the same knee in the 5th inning of the first game back. He's ready to pitch again, and as long as he stayus healthy he can help this Padres club with 5 or 6 effective innings. Game 3 starter is the biggest surprise of the season. As he's been effective and sometimes quite strong in coming close to giving this Padres organiztion it's first no-no. Young won 11 games with a respectable 3.46 ERA and 164 strikeouts. Rounding out the rotation is rightie Wood Williams who had an effective year with 12 wins, a 3.65 ERA and 72 K's.


The Cardinals will counter with ace Chris Carpenter who has struggled in his last three tune-up starts of the season, he will need to have his curve and change-up working early for him to be successful in his starts. Carpenter finished the season with a 3.09 ERA, 15 wins and 184 strikeouts. Starting game 2 will be free agent acquisition Jeff Weaver. None of his starts have been particularly dominating, but the 2-pitch pitcher (slider and 4-seamer) won his eighth and most important start that kept the Cardinals in the hunt for the NL Central title. Weaver won 8 starts, had a disappointing 5.76 ERA and struck out 107. Jeff Suppan will take over the game 3 start that would have normally gone to stellar lefty Mark Mulder, who was lost for the season to shoulder surgery. Suppan won 12 games, had a 4.12 ERA and he struck out 104. Rounding out the rotation will be rookie Anthony Reyes. Reues pitched six strong innings in a confidencebuilding game that snapped an awful seven game losing streak at the end of the season that almost cost the Cardinals a playoff spot.

Edge: Padres

Bullpen

The Padres 'pen is anchored by the best closer of all time in Trevor Hoffman. When the 9th innning rolls around and the Padres have a lead, it's pretty much lights out with Hoffman. This seasoon, he saved 46 games with a miniscule 2.14 ERA and 50 K's. Pitching in the 7th and 8th innings to preserve that lead or to keep the ame close or tied are Scott Linebrink (7 wins, 3.57 ERA and 68 K this season) and Cla Meredith (5 wins, a 1.07 ERA and 37 K in 50.2 innings of work). From the left side is Alan Embree who won 4 games with a 3.27 ERA and 53 punch-outs, plus he's tough on left-handed batters. If a starter gets injured early or struggles, the Padres can turn to veteran Chan Ho Park, who won 7, had a 4.81 ERA and struck out 96 batters. Mike Thompson is also an effective reliever. Rounding out the bullpen will be third year player Rudy Seanez. Seanez had 2 wins, a respectable 3.20 ERA and 23 K's in his appearances this season.

Jason Isringhausen is normally the capable anchor of this bullpen. However this season, the Cards are going to be hard-pressed to repeat their performance of last season against this Padres club as Izzy had season-ending hip surgery and last pitched September 1st. The interim closer's role has been shared by Braden Looper, who blew both his save opportunities and Adam Wainwright who has 3 saves in 5 save opportunities. One of these two will have to pick it up for the Cardinals to be successful. Setting up for the closer has been veteran rightie John Hancok who's pitching .500 with 3 wins and 3 losses. He has posted a 4.09 ERA and 50 K's. Brad Thompson has been effective as a middle reliever with 1 win, a 3.34 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Rounding out the bullpen is lefty specialist Randy Flores.

Edge: Padres.

Catcher:

The Padres are making a wise decision in using a three catcher tandem this season. Mike Piazza normally starts the games and gets taken out as a defensive replacement late to save him for the post-season (now). Piazza hit .283 with 22 HR and 68 RBI. He's really solid in handling the pitchers. The back-ups are both switch-hitting, so manager Bruce Bochy can choose either catcher to come into the game. Josh Bard hit .333 with 9 HR and 40 RBI. Third catcher Rob Bowen isn't as good at hitting with an average of .245 and 3 HR and 13 runs batted in.

Yadier Molina, youngest of the three catching Molina's (Jose and Benjii being his brothers) is not a good hitter, managing an average of just .213 with 6 HR and 49 RBI. He is a solid defensive catcher, but he needs to improve his ability to throw runners out.

Edge: Padres.

1st Baseman:

In just his third season in the Majors, Adrian Gonzalez put up career numbers hitting .304 while crushing 24 home runs and driving in 82 runs. He'll have to continue those kind of numbers for the Padres to be successful this series. His being left handed makes this Padrres squad even more dangerous because it gives them a plethora of lefties in the first five spots of the line-up.

Albert Pujols is arguably the best 1st baseman in the game and the best in the NL. Not only is he good in the regular season, he's just as good if not better in the post-season when the game is on the line. Sometimes the best defense against this player is just to walk him and takr your chances with the next batter. Pujols batted .331 and crushed 49 HR (second only to Philly's Ron Howard who launched 57 moon shots.) and drove in 137 runs. His defense is top notch. Without a doubt he'll be a major player in this series and will come up with the key hit. If the opposing pitcher makes a mistake LOOK OUT!!!!!

edge: Cardinals

2nd Baseman:

The speedy Josh Barfield, son of former major leaguer Jesse Barfield is the undisputed 2nd baseman on thi team. He stole 21 bases in this his rookie year. He has played great defensively, although he needs to get more comfortable against lefties. Barfield hit .280 with 13 HR and 58 RBI. Fatigue may be a factor, as playing a 162 game sched can be gruelling.

Since 2004 sweep at the hands of the Red Sox, this position has been like a revolving door. Mid-season acquisition Ronnie Belliard is he latest experiment to get a shot at second on this squad. Belliard hit .272 with 13 HR and 67 RBI. His defense was good.

Edge: even

Shortstop:

Everday SS Khalil Greene is out for the season with a finger problem. In his place os the switch-hitting Jeff Blum. Blum hit .283 with 4 HR and 34 RBI since taking over. The b ack-up Manny Alexander only hit an unimpressive average of .154 and 4 RBI. Blum won't be mistaken for Greene any time soon.

The Cardinals counter with the speedy David Eckstein who is a great lead-off hitter. Eckstein hit .292 with 2 HR and 14 RBI. He has been struggling through an injury-riddled season in missing time with a pulled side muscle and then pulling his hamstring shortly after returning from the side muscle injury. His back-up Aaron Miles has done an adequate job filling in when Eckstein's out of the linw-up.

Edge: Cardinals

3rd Baseman

This has been the real trouble spot for the Padres. The job started out being Vinny Castilla, but he was quickly released. Then Todd Walker was given a shot, but he was found to be error prone. Russell Branyon was acquired and he added some pop to the line-up cracking 18 HR. Another possibility is Mark Bellhorn, but he's a natural 2B. Finally veteran Manny Alexander has some 3B experience but he's primarily a late game defensive sub.

Scott Rolen is the undisputed starter at 3B. He has recovered quite nicely from season-ending shoulder surgery and has bounced back to hit .296 with 22 HR and 95 RBI. He has a strong arm and can really hurl it across the diamond.

Edge: Cardinals.

Left Fielder:

The speedy Dave Roberts patrols LF. He stole 49 bases this season while hitting 2 HR and driving in 44 runs. Roberts is going to drive Molina bonkers with his speed on the base paths. Against left handers, sometimes Ben Johnson is used. He's not nearly as fast, but he still plays hard and comes up with great catches and hits with a .250 average. Some of his 30 hits this year have been huge for the Padres.

Sophomore Chris Duncan had a pretty good year hitting .293 while launching 22 moon shots and driving in 43 runs. Scott Speizio, yet another Ex. Angel on the Cardinals shares time with Duncan, along with Preston Wilson and John Rodriguez.

Edge: Padres

Center Fielder

Mike Cameron is havng a great year defensively and he is one of the few originals of the Padres. He's a streaky hitter at the plate who's more of a force in the lower half of the line-up card (spots 7-9). Cameron has a lot of speed on the base paths, stealing 25 bags this season.

Jim Edmonds had a horrible final month of the season battling through post-concussion syndrome after crashing into the center field wall while attempting a catch. If healthy, he'll be a great defensive edition. If he's unable to go, Wilson will be an adeuate back-up.

Edge: Padres

Right Fielder:

Juan Encarnacion has been the most durable player on the Cardinals playing 153 of 162 games. He hit .278 with 19 HR and 79 RBI. Encarnacion is a speedy runner who will be a threat to steal. He's made fans forget about the departed Reggie Sanders.

The Padres Counter with the left-handed hitting Brian Giles. Giles hit .263 with 14 HR and 83 RBI. Giles's patiience at the plate is an asset because it makes the starting oitcher work and he's more likely to get a good pitch to hit. Also he draws a lot of walks.

Edge: even

Bench:

The Padres have pinch hitters who are fresh becuase they get a lot of playing time, especially the back-up catchers Bard and Bowen (see write-up on catcher). Mark Bellhorn has experience at third or second base. Manny Alexander canplay both shortstop and 3rd base, and he gets the rare start to keep sharp. Bellhorn is also va;lued due to his being a left-handed batter (ditto for Russell Branyon). Ben Johnson should get time in the outfield this series.

The Cardinals mix and match pitchers and batters like the best of teams. There is always a oack of role players set to go. This year, the primarily used players are So Taguchi, Rodriguez, Miles, Wilson and Bennett.

Edge: Padres

Managers:

Bruce Bolchy is a seasoned professional having been a coach in the Padres organizationfor the past 12 years. He's a player's coach to a fault, where he'll often cover for their mistakes and foibles. This squad is much improved over the one that was swept by the Cardinals last year and one 82 games. As he usuall;y does, Bochy's gotten the most out of his players on most days.

Tony La Russa has been around the league for 22 years. La Russa has guided teams into the post-season 11 times, including six with the Cardinals. However, he has only won Championship to show for it. This year has been one of his better years as his team dealt with injuries to key players.

Edge: Cardinals

Intangibles:

Lots of moxie and playoff experience in the Padres clubhouse. Walker, Roberts, Embree and Bellhorn won the Series with Boston in '04. Wells has years of experience with the Yankees and the Blue Jays. Piazza played Playoff baseball with the Mets and Dodgers. Hoffman, Linebrink, Giles aand Jake Peavy have done it with the Padres last year. Blum won last year with the White Sox. Woody Williams has gone to the post-season with both the Padres and Cardinals. All that can't be overestimated when the chips are on the table.

The Cardinals may not be te ame team as two years ago, when they went to the World Series, but they still boast the best positional player (Pujols) and best starting pitcher in the (Chris Carpenter) NL. If Carpenter wins twice in a best-of-five series and Pujols performs some of his high-pressure heroics, the Cardinals may still be tough to beat. If they don't. . .

Edge: Cardinals

Series prediction: Cardinals in 5