Catcher
| Name | Team | HR | R | RBI | SB | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | WAR |
| Carlos Ruiz | PHI | 6 | 49 | 40 | 1 | 0.308 | 0.283 | 0.371 | 0.383 | 0.754 | 0.332 | 2.8 |
| Yadier Molina | STL | 14 | 55 | 65 | 4 | 0.311 | 0.305 | 0.349 | 0.465 | 0.814 | 0.349 | 4.1 |
Yadi has been the best defensive catcher in the league for a few seasons now, but he is having a breakout offensive year. This gives him even more of a leg-on on Chooch who is having a pretty subpar year.
Advantage: Cardinals
First Base
| Name | Team | HR | R | RBI | SB | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | WAR |
| Ryan Howard | PHI | 33 | 81 | 116 | 1 | 0.303 | 0.253 | 0.346 | 0.488 | 0.834 | 0.354 | 1.6 |
| Albert Pujols | STL | 37 | 105 | 99 | 9 | 0.277 | 0.299 | 0.366 | 0.541 | 0.907 | 0.385 | 5.1 |
This would be a hard match-up with Howard having a good year, so with him having a down year it's even more of a difference. Albert started the year cold and experienced a wrist injury, but still bounced back to put up the numbers we expect of him. This was his poorest offensive showing, but a poor year for Albert is a career year for most others.
Advantage: Cardinals
Second Base
| Name | Team | HR | R | RBI | SB | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | WAR |
| Chase Utley | PHI | 11 | 54 | 44 | 14 | 0.269 | 0.259 | 0.344 | 0.425 | 0.769 | 0.344 | 3.9 |
| Skip Schumaker | STL | 2 | 34 | 38 | 0 | 0.321 | 0.283 | 0.333 | 0.351 | 0.684 | 0.300 | 0.6 |
This is a no-brainer. Skip should be a bench player. Tony's experiment starting him at second has not worked since day one, but he continues to be plugged into the starting lineup because of a decent batting average and very little else.
Advantage: Phillies
Third Base
| Name | Team | HR | R | RBI | SB | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | WAR |
| Placido Polanco | PHI | 5 | 46 | 50 | 3 | 0.292 | 0.277 | 0.335 | 0.339 | 0.674 | 0.304 | 2.8 |
| David Freese | STL | 10 | 41 | 55 | 1 | 0.356 | 0.297 | 0.350 | 0.441 | 0.791 | 0.348 | 2.7 |
Very similar overall numbers for very similar players. Both of these guys have seen their seasons shortened by injury. Freese's offense and power numbers give him an advantage over Polanco, but Polanco is a much better defensive third basemen which is a huge benefit for the Phillies in a series that could come down to pitching.
Advantage: Push
Shortstop
| Name | Team | HR | R | RBI | SB | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | WAR |
| Jimmy Rollins | PHI | 16 | 87 | 63 | 30 | 0.275 | 0.268 | 0.338 | 0.399 | 0.737 | 0.329 | 3.8 |
| Rafael Furcal | STL | 7 | 29 | 16 | 4 | 0.250 | 0.255 | 0.316 | 0.418 | 0.734 | 0.323 | 0.9 |
On paper this is a huge advantage for the Phillies, but these stats are a small sample-size for Furcal given the fact that a lot of his season has been lost to injury. He had a little bit of pop in his bat when he first came to the Cardinals and could be a big factor in this series if he is healthy and plays to his full ability.
Advantage: Phillies
Outfield
| Name | Team | HR | R | RBI | SB | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | WAR |
| Raul Ibanez | PHI | 20 | 65 | 84 | 2 | 0.268 | 0.245 | 0.289 | 0.419 | 0.708 | 0.306 | -1.3 |
| Shane Victorino | PHI | 17 | 95 | 61 | 19 | 0.292 | 0.279 | 0.355 | 0.491 | 0.846 | 0.372 | 5.9 |
| Hunter Pence | PHI | 11 | 35 | 35 | 1 | 0.348 | 0.324 | 0.394 | 0.560 | 0.954 | 0.405 | 2.6 |
| Allen Craig | STL | 11 | 33 | 40 | 5 | 0.344 | 0.315 | 0.362 | 0.555 | 0.917 | 0.399 | 2.6 |
| Jon Jay | STL | 10 | 56 | 37 | 6 | 0.340 | 0.297 | 0.344 | 0.424 | 0.768 | 0.333 | 2.8 |
| Lance Berkman | STL | 31 | 90 | 94 | 2 | 0.315 | 0.301 | 0.412 | 0.547 | 0.959 | 0.402 | 5 |
This looks a lot better for the Cardinals with Holliday in left-field, but he is still feeling the effects of the injury he experienced down the stretch. Craig has shown to be a solid substitute and the Cardinals have actually had a more potent offense with him playing instead of Holliday. Even with Holliday on the bench, Berkman matches up with Victorino, and Jay and Craig are slightly better than Pence and Ibanez on paper. As the first game showed, however, Ibanez still has a lot of power in his bat and Pence has a ton of upside.
Advantage: Push, with a lean towards the Cardinals if Holliday starts games
Bench
| Name | Team | HR | R | RBI | SB | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | wOBA | WAR |
| Brian Schneider | PHI | 2 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0.225 | 0.176 | 0.246 | 0.256 | 0.502 | 0.227 | -0.9 |
| Ross Gload | PHI | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0.322 | 0.257 | 0.276 | 0.327 | 0.603 | 0.266 | -0.3 |
| Wilson Valdez | PHI | 1 | 39 | 30 | 3 | 0.288 | 0.249 | 0.294 | 0.341 | 0.635 | 0.274 | 0 |
| Michael Martinez | PHI | 3 | 25 | 24 | 3 | 0.220 | 0.196 | 0.258 | 0.282 | 0.540 | 0.247 | -0.4 |
| Ben Francisco | PHI | 6 | 24 | 34 | 4 | 0.268 | 0.244 | 0.340 | 0.364 | 0.704 | 0.312 | -0.1 |
| John Mayberry | PHI | 15 | 37 | 49 | 8 | 0.293 | 0.273 | 0.341 | 0.513 | 0.854 | 0.369 | 2.5 |
| Gerald Laird | STL | 1 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0.276 | 0.232 | 0.302 | 0.358 | 0.660 | 0.279 | 0.1 |
| Daniel Descalso | STL | 1 | 35 | 28 | 2 | 0.323 | 0.264 | 0.334 | 0.353 | 0.687 | 0.296 | 0.5 |
| Nick Punto | STL | 1 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 0.319 | 0.278 | 0.388 | 0.421 | 0.809 | 0.350 | 1.8 |
| Ryan Theriot | STL | 1 | 46 | 47 | 4 | 0.296 | 0.271 | 0.321 | 0.342 | 0.663 | 0.292 | 0.7 |
| Adron Chambers | STL | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.429 | 0.375 | 0.375 | 0.625 | 1.000 | 0.422 | -0.1 |
| Matt Holliday | STL | 22 | 83 | 75 | 2 | 0.330 | 0.296 | 0.388 | 0.525 | 0.913 | 0.393 | 5 |
The two big names here are Holliday and Mayberry. Holliday is a starter and is only listed on the bench because of his injury. Having him available to pinch-hit is huge for the Cardinals. Mayberry was red hot down the stretch and can play at multiple positions, so the Phils will try to get his bat into the lineup. Aside from Mayberry, the Phillies bench is pretty weak. There are good defensive subs in Michael Martinez and Wilson Valdez, but not much in the way of offense. The Cardinals have a lot of flexibility with Descalso, Punto, and Theriot all being able to play everywhere on the infield. Adron Chambers could be an X factor and is actually a surprise to see on the roster.
Advantage: Cardinals
Starting Rotation
| Name | Team | W | L | GS | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | ERA | FIP | WAR |
| Roy Halladay | PHI | 19 | 6 | 32 | 233.2 | 8.47 | 1.35 | 2.35 | 2.2 | 8.2 |
| Cliff Lee | PHI | 17 | 8 | 32 | 232.2 | 9.21 | 1.62 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 6.7 |
| Cole Hamels | PHI | 14 | 9 | 31 | 216 | 8.08 | 1.83 | 2.79 | 3.05 | 4.9 |
| Roy Oswalt | PHI | 9 | 10 | 23 | 139 | 6.02 | 2.14 | 3.69 | 3.44 | 2.5 |
| Kyle Lohse | STL | 14 | 8 | 30 | 188.1 | 5.3 | 2.01 | 3.39 | 3.67 | 2.5 |
| Chris Carpenter | STL | 11 | 9 | 34 | 237.1 | 7.24 | 2.09 | 3.45 | 3.06 | 5 |
| Jaime Garcia | STL | 13 | 7 | 32 | 194.2 | 7.21 | 2.31 | 3.56 | 3.23 | 3.6 |
| Edwin Jackson | STL | 5 | 2 | 12 | 78 | 5.88 | 2.65 | 3.58 | 4.01 | 0.7 |
Yikes! The Cardinals starters actually have good numbers against the Phillies this season in small sample sizes, but overall the Phillies obviously have the stronger rotation with three Cy Young candidates in Halladay, Lee, and Hamels, and a known commodity in Oswalt. Tony LaRussa is doing what he can to match up with the Phillies by starting Carpenter in game 2 and Jaime in game 3. Jaime's home-road splits lean heavily towards home starts, so starting Carp on short rest for game 2 and pushing Jaime back is a very smart move on paper. Also, you would think Carpenter would be available for game 5 if necessary.
Advantage: Phillies
Bullpen:
| Name | Team | SV | G | IP | K/9 | BB/9 | ERA | FIP |
| Ryan Madson | PHI | 32 | 62 | 60.2 | 9.2 | 2.37 | 2.37 | 2.25 |
| Antonio Bastardo | PHI | 8 | 64 | 58 | 10.86 | 4.03 | 2.64 | 3.3 |
| Brad Lidge | PHI | 1 | 25 | 19.1 | 10.71 | 6.05 | 1.4 | 2.82 |
| Michael Stutes | PHI | 0 | 57 | 62 | 8.42 | 4.06 | 3.63 | 4.07 |
| Vance Worley | PHI | 0 | 25 | 131.2 | 8.13 | 3.14 | 3.01 | 3.32 |
| Joe Blanton | PHI | 0 | 11 | 41.1 | 7.62 | 1.96 | 5.01 | 3.63 |
| Kyle Kendrick | PHI | 0 | 34 | 114.2 | 4.63 | 2.35 | 3.22 | 4.55 |
| Jason Motte | STL | 9 | 78 | 68 | 8.34 | 2.12 | 2.25 | 2.48 |
| Fernando Salas | STL | 24 | 68 | 75 | 9 | 2.52 | 2.28 | 3.16 |
| Octavio Dotel | STL | 2 | 29 | 24.2 | 11.68 | 1.82 | 3.28 | 1.57 |
| Marc Rzepczynski | STL | 0 | 28 | 22.2 | 11.12 | 4.37 | 3.97 | 2.72 |
| Mitchell Boggs | STL | 4 | 51 | 60.2 | 7.12 | 3.12 | 3.56 | 3.44 |
| Arthur Rhodes | STL | 0 | 19 | 8.2 | 6.23 | 3.12 | 4.15 | 5.68 |
| Jake Westbrook | STL | 0 | 33 | 183.1 | 5.11 | 3.58 | 4.66 | 4.25 |
Not having Kyle McClellan available hurts the Cardinals. They still have a strong back of the bullpen with Dotel, Salas, and Motte. The weak link, in my opinion is Arthur Rhodes. Facing a lineup with five good lefty hitters, a lefty specialist becomes important. Rhodes's numbers are not at all solid. I think if the Cards get beat in the late innings, it's going to be by the lefty hitters. The Phillies back of the bullpen of Madson, Bastardo, and Lidge is solid, but the rest of their pen is beatable. If the Cardinals can knock the starters out early, they greatly improve their chances in the series.
Advantage: Phillies
It appears that the Cardinals have an offensive advantage as their National League leading OPS shows, but they may not have the arms to compete with Philadelphia. I want them to win, but I'm not sure the matchup plays in their favor.
Prediction: Phillies in 4
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