Pitching On The Mind

Plastered all over the internet you'll see experts proclaiming the Cardinals rotation to be the top performing squad heading into the playoffs. Included in the linked article above is the following statement...

The Cardinals are the class of the field; the Tigers, Red Sox and Phillies make a tightly grouped second tier; and the Angels, Rockies and Yankees are roughly equal.

First off the Tigers aren't even in the playoffs yet, and second, where the hell are the Dodgers in this conversation? You gotta scroll down a long way to find their thoughts on the Blue...

The Dodgers have depth, but their hopes truly rest on the left arms of Randy Wolf and Clayton Kershaw.

If that's the case, at least for the NLDS, perhaps we aren't as doomed as the media is making us out to be. Take for example the following pitchers scheduled to pitch Game 1 and 2 of said NLDS:

Chris Carpenter
17-4, 2.24 ERA, 1.007 WHIP, 7.3 H/9, 6.7 K/9, 1.8 BB/9, .3 HR/9, .226/ .272/ .310

Adam Wainwright
19-8, 2.63 ERA, 1.210 WHIP, 8.3 H/9, 8.2 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, .7 HR/9, .244/ .297/ .349

Clayton Kershaw
8-8, 2.79 ERA, 1.228 WHIP, 6.3 H/9, 9.7 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, .4 HR/9, .200/ .306/. 282

Randy Wolf
11-7, 3.23 ERA, 1.101 WHIP, 7.5 H/9, 6.7 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 1.0HR/ 9, .227/ .285/ .375

The first thing that catches the eye are Wainwright and Carpenter's gaudy win totals, at 19 and 17 respectively. However, when you isolate each stat (excluding wins, as they reflect no value over a pitchers worth), assign a point system (1 thru 4, with 4 being the highest) and total those points, the difference between the bunch levels off dramatically. Confused? Check out the grid I roughed out...


Clearly Chris Carpenter stands out above the rest, but Clayton Kershaw dominates his Game 2 matchup against Adam Wainwright just as much as Carpenter owns Wolf in Game 1. Granted, beating Carpenter and Wainwright on consecutive nights will be no easy task; however, it's not as though St. Louis is going to steamroll Wolf and Kershaw either. Not only is St. Louis "the worst team in baseball hitting against left-handed pitchers" but the mighty Albert Pujols is sporting a very pedestrian .743 OPS (with 0 HR's) for his career against Randy Wolf.

Winning the first two games is going to be tough, just as it would be against any other playoff team, but it's certainly not the impossible task it's being made out to be. Have a little faith, and Don't Stop Believing.