Conversations With A Cardinals Fan

With Game 1 of the NLDS just around the corner I exchanged emails with a friend of mine who just happens to be a longtime Cardinal fan living in Los Angeles. I expected an onslaught of "Beat LA" chants; however, my companion was more than complimentary in his remarks. My words are in bold.

The prospect of having to face Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, Albert Pujols, and Matt Holliday is downright frightening for some Dodger fans, and a key selling point for most of the media picking against the Dodgers for the upcoming NLDS. As a Cardinals fan, is there anyone you fear facing on the Dodgers current roster?

I think this is going to be a very interesting series because both of these teams have that depth you need to win games. The Dodgers have key players like Casey Blake and Andre Ethier that are able to deliver in times of need. If it comes down to a scoreless eighth inning situation, those are two guys we won't want to be facing. And if Manny wakes up at the plate the Cards could be in serious trouble.

It's funny you mention Manny Ramirez waking up, as Ryan Ludwick seemingly hit the snooze button during the last month of the season. Over his last 77 plate appearances Ludwick batted a very pedestrian .229 with only 3 extra base hits, despite tearing the cover off the ball for most of the season. We all know Pujols and Holliday are very threating (EDIT: Pujols hasn't hit a home run in his last 78 plate appearances though), but Ludwick plays a valuable role in your lineup as well. Are you worried about him heading into this series?

Ludwick hasn't been as hot as he was earlier this season, but he has scored or drove in 10 out of the last 43 runs the Cards have scored. Hopefully he comes around, but I don't consider him crucial in getting passed LA.

Besides the big four players I mentioned earlier, who do you consider to be a dark horse player that no one is thinking about? Someone that despite not getting huge national headlines (like Casey Blake who you mentioned earlier) has been quite serviceable and sometimes has a little magic up their sleeve?

Skip Schumaker can be very dangerous when put in the top of the lineup. He's got a .304 average with runners on and that's exactly the area we need success in to break early leads. I've also really enjoyed watching Julio Lugo this season as he's been a big success
since coming to St. Louis. I think his playoff experience will allow him to be a pretty clutch player these next few weeks.

Julio Lugo! Don't even get me started. As you live in Los Angeles I know you have an occasional interest in the Dodgers. You're at least familiar with them as a casual fan. What do they need to focus on in order to take down the Cardinals?

LA is going to have to get an early start and take the first couple games at home, which means Randall Wolf is going to have to really concentrate on his first post season outing. We've clearly had a rough season against left handed pitchers, so Wednesday and Thursday is the Dodgers time to shine. And while Ludwick has struggled at the plate as we talked about earlier, he's still got a cannon coming from right field so the Dodgers will need to drop it into left field if they want extra bases. It's going to be a fantastic series and I can't wait to see how these teams handle each other. Go Red Birds!

I can't let him have the last word. Go Blue!