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Jeff Pearlman's Breakdown |
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| Diamondbacks
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| Cardinals
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Arizona ranked fourth in the National League with a .267
batting average and was third with 206 homers, but this is a very hit-or-miss
operation. Except for left fielder Luis Gonzalez and first baseman Mark Grace,
the D'backs are loaded with holes. Tony Womack is fast, but he swings wildly and
doesn't reach base consistently enough for a leadoff hitter. Reggie Sanders has
regained his power, but he continues to suffer long droughts, not to mention his
team-leading 125 whiffs. Junior Spivey has surprised at second, but a .255
hitter is a .255
hitter.
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OFFENSE The Edge:
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In many ways, St. Louis has the perfect offensive club. Their
leadoff hitter (Fernando Vina) is a pesky gnat. Their No. 2 and 3 hitters
(Placido Polanco and J.D. Drew) make good contact and hit to all fields. Their
middle-order power (Albert Pujols, Mark McGwire, Jim Edmonds) is Friday The
13th: Part VIII-spooky. Plus, the Cards are
hot.
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Arizona led the NL in fielding percentage and finished with
the fewest errors (82) in the bigs. Why? Gold Glove-worthy men in center (Steve
Finley) and at first (Mark Grace), the spunky Spivey at second (a huge
improvement over Jay Bell), the always-dependable Matt Williams at third and no
truly terrible
bobblers.
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DEFENSE The Edge:
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The strength of this team is its outfield, where center
fielder Edmonds and right fielder Drew are two of the game's kings. Vina is the
best DP pivot man since Frank White, and catcher Mike Matheny is a smaller
Charles Johnson behind the plate. Still, sloppy lapses resulted in an
unsatisfactory 110
Es.
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Arizona's dominant duo of Albie Lopez and Brian Anderson
... just messin'. Pick your Cy Young winner -- the left-handed Randy Johnson
(21-6, 2.49 ERA) or the right-handed Curt Schilling (22-6, 2.98 ERA) -- and you
can't go wrong. Perhaps the most fearsome one-two punch in playoff
history.
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STARTING PITCHING The Edge:
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Throughout the year, Matt Morris argued that, despite his
dazzling numbers, Darryl Kile (16-10, 2.90 ERA) was truly the better of St.
Louis' two aces. Hogwash! Morris went 22-8 with a 3.16 ERA and 185 Ks. Most
impressive, he was 10-1 down the stretch. He and Kile are a very good -- but not
great -- combo. Ex-Padre Woody Williams has been clutch (7-1, 2.25 ERA) since
arriving in
town. |
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Arizona's only reliable lefty out of the pen is Greg
Swindell, the ancient warhorse with the 4.50 ERA in 64 appearances. Otherwise,
Bob Brenly must rely on a duo of inexperienced right-handers, Bret Prinz (2.63
ERA, nine saves) and Erik Sabel (3-2, 4.38 ERA), to reach Byung-Hyun Kim, the
tricky right-handed
sidewinder.
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BULLPEN The Edge:
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Dave Veres is a subpar closer, but the rest of the Cards'
gang is a nice mixture of righties (Luther Hackman, Mike Timlin), lefties (Mike
Matthews) and weirdos. Weirdos? That would be Steve Kline, the eccentric
left-handed longman whose 88 appearances paced the league.
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Baseball's top collection of pinch hitters. If it's not the
right-handed Danny Bautista and his .350 pinch hitting average, it's lefty David
Dellucci (.321, 5 homers, 16 RBIs). Or Erubiel Durazo (.244, 5 homers, 13 RBIs).
Or Midre Cummings (.313). One weak point is catching, where Damian Miller lacks
a decent backup (scouting director Ron Hassey refuses to emerge from
retirement).
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BENCH The Edge:
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Bobby Bonilla, .214-hitting reserve, is -- egads! --available.
So is Miguel (Straight Outta Tampa) Cairo. The best of a so-so unit is supersub
Craig Paquette, who hit .283 and drove in 64 runs in limited roles. Paquette
plays every imaginable position,
too.
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| From all accounts, Brenly seems to know what he's doing.
That said, he's a rookie skipper new to the world of playoff baseball. Add 20
extra degrees to the Arizona
desert. |
MANAGER The Edge:
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Love him, hate him -- cocky Tony LaRussa is a very strong
field general. Sure, he overthinks. And sure, not every player loves the guy.
But he held St. Louis together when injuries were stockpiling -- no easy
task.
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Albie Lopez. For all the chatter about Johnson-Schilling,
one must be concerned by the Big Unit's 2-6 career playoff record. Lopez, the
ex-Devil Ray, has pitched well of late, tossing a three-hitter against Milwaukee
in his final start of the season to help the D'backs wrap up the NL West. It
could come down to a big Game 3
start.
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'X' FACTOR The Edge:
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Mark McGwire. Is he the feeble .189 hitter with bad wheels, or
a massive hulk monster from Planet Big. The heart of the lineup beats stronger
when he's
right.
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| Pearlman's Prediction: Diamondbacks in
4 |
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Sports Illustrated baseball writer Jeff Pearlman will contribute regularly to
CNNSI.com throughout the playoffs.
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