NLCS: Cardinals vs. Brewers

Kevin Dame has been creatively blogging using Wordle at SB Nation, so I thought I would try it out.

Cardinals/Brewers, NLCS Wordle

Pretty cool, huh?

The St. Louis Cardinals will face the Milwaukee Brewers tomorrow at Miller Park. The Cardinals plan to send Jaime Garcia to the mound, while the Brewers intend to use Zack Greinke. Garcia owns a 1.93 ERA with one win and one no-decision after two starts this year against the Brewers. Greinke is 2-1 with a 3.15 ERA against the Cardinals in 2011.

Jaime Garcia (13-7, 3.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 156 SO)
vs.
Zack Greinke (16-6, 3.83 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 201 SO)

Honestly, we can look at pitching lines all day long, but it may not matter because the most noticeable statistical difference lies in their records at home and away.

Milwaukee Brewers: 96-66 (.593)

Home: 57-24 (.704)

Away: 39-42 (.481)

St. Louis Cardinals: 90-72 (.556)

Home: 45-36 (.556)

Away: 45-36 (.556)

The Brewers performed extremely well at home in Miller Park during the regular season, yet they actually had a losing record while on the road. They were, of course, the only playoff team to do so. Meanwhile the Cardinals were very consistent maintaining identical records while at home and away. These habits seem to continue thus far while both teams competed in their divisional series.

Milwaukee Brewers: 3-2

Home: 3-0

Away: 0-2

St. Louis Cardinals: 3-2

Home: 1-1

Away: 2-1

The Cardinals and Brewers split their record during the season (9-9), but the Cards did manage to record a sweep in Milwaukee. It would be wise for Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder to provide top-notch performances in this series as this may be the All Star first basemen's last opportunity to increase their upcoming free agency values.

Given all this information, I would have to say the Cards have a small advantage or at least an equal chance to take the NLCS from the Brewers again a la 1982 style.

Little Guys

Chris Carpenter pitched flawlessly over nine innings against the Houston Astros on September 28th to set the St. Louis Cardinals up to take the National League Wild Card.

He only pitched three innings on October 2nd against the Philadelphia Phillies on short rest, but the Cards still won while employing their entire bullpen.

Tonight, he pitched another gem as he shut out the Phillies to win their NLDS series. The Cards only scored one run against Roy Halladay, but that's all they needed. They move on to face the Brewers in Milwaukee in the NLCS on Sunday, October 9th.

The Tigers overtook the overpriced Yankees yesterday and the Cards beat the Phillies today. Monetarily, that means $105.7 M defeated $202.7 M and $105.4 M beat $173.0 M, respectively.

I love it when the little guys kick the bigger guys in their wallets. Don't you?

Cardinals and Phillies, Game 5 Tonight

Chris Carpenter (11-9, 3.45 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
vs.
Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP)

I choose to not overanalyze this matchup. Tune in and watch the game tonight at 7:37 p.m. CST.

Go Cardinals!

Tigers Top Yankees

Tigers win ALDS 3-2 over Yankees.

This was my hack at doing something creative. Hopefully it's appreciated as much as I liked last night's game.

The Detroit Tigers defeated the New York Yankees on Thursday night and I could not be happier. I guess money can buy the division, but it doesn't guarantee you a ring. Anyone who keeps the Yankees out of the World Series is okay in my book. The Tigers will face the Texas Rangers for game one of the ALCS on Saturday in Texas.

What made the game even more glorious was Jose Valverde striking out Alex Rodriguez to end the game. Delicious.

I don't always agree with what they say over at SB Nation, but I keep my subscription with them because of little gems like Visual Box Score. Cute and entertaining.

Detroit Tigers

New York Yankees

Pirates Helped Rays

I realized something amusing last night: The Red Sox were knocked out from the AL Wild Card by the Pirates.

Bear with me and I'll explain my reasoning. Remember when the Red Sox rolled into Pittsburgh in late June earlier this year? Boston owned a record of 44-30, while tied for first with the New York Yankees in the AL East. Everyone expected them to roll over the Pirates in their three game series, but it didn't go as expected.

The Pirates managed to win the series 2-1, which gave them a winning record and caused Boston to slide into second place. Pittsburgh used the series against Boston to create momentum for the team. They eventually rose to first place in the NL Central and maintained a record above .500 until August.

Two games were all that stood between the Boston Red Sox and winning the American League Wild Card, so it only makes sense the Tampa Bay Rays should thank the Pirates for their postseason appearance.

Granted, the Red Sox lost two or more games to many other teams who were worse than the Pirates. The Rays could thank the Orioles who handed Boston their final loss of the season and inevitably shut their season down, but I choose to be charitable and thank the Pirates.