NLCS Preview

It's tempting to read too much into how easily the St. Louis Cardinals put away the Padres. But Chris Carpenter, the best pitcher in the NL, beat them twice. One pitcher can control a short series but he can't control a long one. It's also a bit of a head scratcher how easily the New York Mets put away the Dodgers with half their starting pitchers hurt. I don't see this series being that competitive. The Mets lineup is tough top to bottom and they will score a lot more runs than the Padres did against the Cards. And Carpenter can only pitch twice which means the Cards would have to get strong performances from a couple of other starters and that's not going to happen. I think Glavine and Hernandez will pitch well enough to beat the Cards offense which is still primarily Albert Pujols and whoever else happens to have a good night. And Willie Randolph is going to outmanage Tony LaRussa.

Mets in 6