MLB Playoffs start today
St. Louis Cardinals v. Los Angeles Dodgers
I love my Dodgers
My prediction for the series: Cardinals in three
They Dodgers may have ended the regular season batting a league-best .270, but they only batted .257 in the final month. During that month, five regulars hit below .235: Matt Kemp (.228), Andre Ethier (.211), Russell Martin (.213), Manny Ramirez (.234), and Orlando Hudson (.220). Since his return from his suspension, Manny has been a faint shadow of his former self. There is no point in relying on Ramirez's past as a power hitter with 28 home runs in the playoffs and the World Series, with a record 12 of them being in division series games. That Manny is nowhere to be found.
The Cardinals have Albert Pujols with Matt Holliday thrown in for good measure. Holliday alone is batting .343 against the Dodgers with 18 home runs and 63 RBIs in 84 games.
With a staff ERA of 3.41 -- the lowest in the majors, the Dodgers should have the edge in pitching. But WRONG. The Cardinals have Chris Carpenter (league leading 2.24 ERA) and Adam Wainwright (league leader with 19 wins and a 2.53 ERA). And Joel Pineiro is not bad either (15-12, 3.49 with two shutouts). The Dodgers' rotation has fallen apart, just in time for the playoffs: Hiroki Kuroda is out of the division series because of a bulging disk in his neck and Randy Wolf, Clayton Kershaw, and Chad Billingsley all missed at least one start in the final month.
I'd tell you the Dodgers have a better bullpen and a better bench than the Cardinals but it doesn't matter. It's not going to be enough. I don't see how the Dodgers take this series and I don't see the Cardinals giving it away.
Tags: MLB LosAngeles Dodgers
