Major League Baseball

Dodgers' bullpen will trump Cardinals' starters

Published Oct. 7, 2009 6:55 p.m. ET

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Ken Rosenthal

I might be over-thinking this, but I'm picking against Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright.

Yes, dominant starting pitching generally rules in the postseason.
Yes, the Cardinals' duo is the best in the game.




And yes, picking the Dodgers means picking the team with Randy Wolf as
its Game 1 starter, enigmatic Chad Billingsley as its likely No. 3 and
erratic Vicente Padilla as its likely No. 4.

Heck, even left-hander Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers' pitcher who is
closest to an ace, is not yet a 120-pitch workhorse.

Call me contrary. Call me counter-intuitive. Call me crazy.

But remember, the Dodgers had the best regular-season record in the
National League and the best run differential in the majors.

I know the postseason is different, but despite recent appearances,
the Dodgers do not exactly stink.

My theory is this: The Dodgers will steal one of the first two games
at Dodger Stadium, probably the Game 2 matchup between Wainwright and
Kershaw.

Both teams then will experience a significant dropoff to their Games 3
and 4 starters, even if Wolf or Carpenter return for Game 4 on short
rest.

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