Printer-friendly

Contact Author

October 11, 2006

Playoff Prospectus

NLCS Preview

by Jay Jaffe

The beginning of the postseason marked a chance for Willie Randolph's Mets to consummate something the baseball world had anticipated for at least four months, the chance to show that their regular-season dominance was no fluke. Yet the run-up to the Division Series against the Dodgers brought disturbing news. Not only was ace Pedro Martinez, the symbol of the team's resurgence under Randolph and GM Omar Minaya, likely to miss a start due to his calf strain, but he was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff that would knock him out into the middle of next year. The team's next pick to open the series, Orlando Hernandez, tore a calf muscle running in the outfield, knocking him out of consideration as well. Undeterred, the Mets retooled their postseason roster to play to their strength, a deep bullpen, and Randolph ably improvised his way through the series while the lineup punished nearly every mistake the Dodgers made. The result was a victory in straight sets, confirming that at the very least, the road to the NL pennant runs through the Big Apple.

The start of the playoffs brought Tony La Russa's Cardinals new life as well, in the form of a chance to turn their backs on a late-season swoon that not only saw them lose 36 of their final 61 games, but nearly make a Mauchery of the season as they frittered away a seven-game lead in the Central during the final two weeks. Once in the playoffs, the Cards turned to their ace, Chris Carpenter, and the results turned a funhouse-mirror reflection of last year's NLDS matchup with the Padres into business as usual, earning St. Louis its fifth NLCS berth in the past seven years.

The beginning of that Cardinal run, ironically, was a matchup with the last Mets playoff team, the 2000 edition that roared into the Subway Series against the Yankees. With the Bronx Bombers' shocking ouster at the hands of the Tigers, the Mets have the New York stage all to themselves. They're the 800-pound gorilla in the spotlight. Can they live up to the pressure?

Lineups (AVG/OBP/SLG/EqA/VORP)

Mets