THE Mets swept the Dodgers, three straight games. The Cardinals might not be much harder to knock out.
The rematch of the 2000 NLCS begins tonight at Shea. The Mets won that one. They’ll win this one, too.
Here’s a look at why:
CATCHER
Yadier Molina is the Rey Ordonez of catchers. He can’t hit, but his defense is magnificent, having thrown out 44 percent of runners trying to steal on him this season. He also did bat .308 in the NLDS. His rival here is Paul Lo Duca, who had a strong NLDS in his first postseason series.
The veteran gets the nod.
EDGE: METS
FIRST BASE
Carlos Delgado is a tremendous hitter and critical to the Mets.
Albert Pujols, though, is probably beyond anybody in the sport. The possible two-time MVP is almost the entire Cardinals offense. If the Mets pitch to him, they’re asking to be beaten.
EDGE: CARDINALS
SECOND BASE
Great regular season and bad playoffs for one, nearly the reverse for the other. Other than a good relay throw in Game 1, Jose Valentin didn’t do much in the NLDS, going hitless. Ronnie Belliard, meanwhile, batted .462 in the Cardinals’ four-game series, though he hit only .237 in his time with St. Louis this season after being traded from Cleveland.
EDGE: CARDINALS
SHORTSTOP
For the second straight series, Jose Reyes’ positional counterpart is also his leadoff-hitting rival. Pesky David Eckstein can get on base and is a decent player. Reyes, though, does a lot more that Eckstein can only salivate over. This one’s easy.
EDGE: METS
THIRD BASE
His shoulder bears watching, but if Scott Rolen can play this is the best matchup of the series.
David Wright has essentially idolized Rolen as the type of third baseman he wants to emulate.
Rolen is far better defensively, but Wright is a better hitter. Factor in health, and you get . . .
EDGE: METS
LEFT FIELD
Not sure what the Mets will get out of Cliff Floyd, as his ailing left Achilles remains a big issue. Endy Chavez could see a lot of time here. St. Louis split the left-field starts in the NLDS, as leftyswinging Chris Duncan (who had a fine rookie campaign with 22 homers in just 280 at-bats) and righty-hitting Preston Wilson (Mookie’s stepson) played two games apiece there.
EDGE: EVEN
CENTER FIELD
Jim Edmonds resembles the Cardinals’ team overall – just not what it was two years ago.
Edmonds is still quite a player, but he was a significantly better player before this season. His average, homers and RBIs were the lowest since 1999. Carlos Beltran isn’t fully healthy, battling quad and abdomen problems, but he’s still the Mets’ best player. He tore the Cardinals apart in the 2004 NLCS.
EDGE: METS
RIGHT FIELD
Since Aug. 1, Juan Encarnacion has hit four homers, while Shawn Green has slammed five. Not too much power in this position for this series. Again, depending on Floyd’s status, Chavez could see time here as well.
EDGE: EVEN
STARTERS
Chris Carpenter might capture his second straight Cy Young this year, and he is the best pitcher in the series. The Cardinals’ rotation is shaky after that, as is the Mets’ after Tom Glavine.
Much of this series could be determined by whose rotation remainder – Steve Trachsel, John Maine, Jeff Weaver, Jeff Suppan – performs better.
EDGE: EVEN
BULLPEN
Injured closer Jason Isringhausen is out, but none of St. Louis’ relievers gave up an earned run in the NLDS. Adam Wainwright is the closer now, with a set-up corps that includes Braden Looper (should be interesting), Josh Kinney (2.70 ERA after All-Star break) and lefties Tyler Johnson and Randy Flores.
The Mets’ pen is terrific. An important matchup could be Chad Bradford against Pujols (Pujols is 0-for-3 against the Mets’ sidewinding righty).
EDGE: METS
BENCH
Whichever outfielder doesn’t start – possibly Chavez and Wilson – will lead each team’s reserves. Scott Spiezio had a solid season and could have to play some third depending on Rolen. For the Mets, lefty-pinchhitter Michael Tucker had an important Game 3 walk. Willie Randolph might be smart to consider giving Chris Woodward a start with Valentin slumping.
EDGE: METS
MANAGER
Tony La Russa, who led Oakland to the World Series championship in 1989, is in his third straight NLCS and sixth overall with the Cardinals.
Willie Randolph, who did fine work in the NLDS, is managing in his first championship series and can’t get the advantage here over La Russa.
EDGE: CARDINALS
PREDICTION
Unless Pujols can beat the Mets singlehandedly – Carpenter is great but may pitch only one time – the World Series is on its way.
METS IN FIVE
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Check it out
POSITION — METS — CARDS
CATCHER Mets
FIRST BASE Cards
SECOND BASE Cards
SHORTSTOP Mets
THIRD BASE Mets
LEFT FIELD Even
CENTER FIELD Mets
RIGHT FIELD Even
STARTERS Even
BULLPEN Mets
BENCH Mets
MANAGER Cards
Staff picks
Mark Hale Mets in 5
George King Mets in 6
Joel Sherman Mets in 6
Mike Vaccaro Mets in 6
Kevin Kernan Mets in 6
Michael Morrissey Mets in 4
Brian Costello Mets in 4
Jay Greenberg Mets in 7
George Willis Mets in 6
Brian Lewis Mets in 6
COMPARING STATS
POSITION .AVG HR RBIs
CATCHER
Lo Duca .318 5 49
Y. Molina .216 6 49
FIRST BASE
Delgado .265 38 114
Pujols .331 49 137
SECOND BASE
Valentin .271 18 62
R. Belliard .272 13 67
SHORTSTOP
Reyes .300 19 81
Eckstein .292 2 23
THIRD BASE
Wright .311 26 116
Rolen .296 22 95
LEFT FIELD
Floyd .244 11 44
Duncan .293 22 43
CENTER FIELD
Beltran .275 41 116
Edmonds .257 19 70
RIGHT FIELD
Green .277 15 66
Encarnacion .278 19 79
METS STARTERS
—- W-L ERA SO
Glavine 15-7 3.82 131
Trachsel 15-8 4.97 79
Maine 6-5 3.60 71
Perez 3-13 6.55 102
CARDS STARTERS
— W-L ERA SO
Carpenter 15-8 3.09 184
Weaver 8-14 5.76 107
Suppan 12-7 4.12 104
Marquis 14-16 6.02 96
METS RELIEVERS
— W-L ERA SV SO
Wagner 3-2 2.24 40 94
Bradford 4-2 2.90 2 45
Heilman 4-5 3.62 0 73
Feliciano 7-2 2.09 0 54
Mota 3-3 4.53 0 46
CARDS RELIEVERS
— W-L ERA SV SO
Wainwright 2-1 3.12 3 72
Looper 9-3 3.56 0 41
Kinney 0-0 3.24 0 22
Flores 1-1 5.62 0 40
T. Johnson 2-4 4.95 0 37
