Secret to winning in the playoffs? Get hot

            Throw conventional wisdom out the window. With starting pitchers posting porous ERA numbers, no team is ever supposed to have success in the postseason. But don’t tell that to this year’s World Series participants.

            The St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers are here on the strength of their potent lineups, strong bullpens, and savvy managers.

            Not to mention they are pretty hot.

            St. Louis has come from beyond the great beyond to get to the Fall Classic. They trailed the Atlanta Braves by 10.5 games in late August in the wild card chase, but rallied with an 18-8 mark in September to get into the playoffs.

            Texas won its final six games to cap a 96-win season, then reeled off five consecutive wins after getting it handed to them by Tampa Bay in their ALDS opener. They will take center stage in the World Series for the second consecutive year, the first American League team to do so since the Yankees at the turn of the century.

            But why have these teams thrived despite the fact that none of their starters even went six innings in a single LCS game?

            For the Rangers, the answer is simple: Nelson Cruz. The series MVP set an LCS record with six home runs. Michael Young hit the only other Rangers longball in the series.

            David Freese and Albert Pujols are at the heart of St. Louis’ offensive tear. Freese hit .545 with three homers and nine RBIs, while the other-worldly Pujols hit a mere .478 with three home runs.

            Who says pitching wins championships? Well, starting pitching anyway.

            Another storyline for these red-hot squads has been their relief corps. Mike Adams, Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel, and Darren Oliver aren’t exactly household names, but their managers are sure aware of their importance.

            In the NLCS, the Redbirds’ bullpen was 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA. That masked the 7.66 ERA of the starters, with the only competent effort from the rotation coming from Chris Carpenter in Game 3 (3 ER, 5 IP). Texas’ rotation had a 6.59 ERA, but their relievers may have been even better, posting all four wins in the series and a minuscule 1.32 ERA.

            But the biggest numbers still lie in the records of these two teams down the stretch. St. Louis’ remarkable September run coincided with a major collapse by the Atlanta Braves, but the Rangers needed no such assistance late in the year.            
    Ron Washington’s club went 19-6 in the season’s final month and 45-25 overall in the second half, distancing themselves from the Angels in the AL West. And though Tony LaRussa’s Cardinals did not win the NL Central, they showed the division-winning Brewers who’s boss by turning the tables in their season series. After losing eight of the first 11 meetings with Milwaukee, the Cards went 10-3 against the Crew including postseason.
    No conventional wisdom needed. These are indeed two teams playing their best baseball when it counts most.

            Now, something has to give.

 

Quick take:            The Rangers are on a mission after getting knocked around by the Giants in last year’s World Series, but this Cardinals team appears to be one of destiny. St. Louis has the slight edge in a shallow pool of starting pitching, and the homefield edge is a major boost. In a series that figures to see plenty of offense, the heavy lumber of Pujols, Holliday, Berkman, and the emerging Freese may be too much to handle. The Rangers did not get a ton of offensive production outside of Nelson Cruz in the ALCS, so unless that changes, they may not be able to keep up. Cardinals in 6.