Oct 9, 2008 - 6:10 AM
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The longest regular season in professional sports has come and gone, leaving a mad scramble to decide the team that has what it takes to put together a tidy run of four wins in seven games.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have been both lucky enough and good enough to emerge from the pile with a shot at the World Series, so who is in a better position to win the National League Championship Series?
Below is a position-by-position breakdown of the Phillies and Dodgers.
Catcher:
Russell Martin, Dodgers. Martin is one of the premier young catchers in the game. A two-time All-Star in three years in the majors, the Ontario native played in 155 games during the regular season as manager Joe Torre used the 24-year-old's athleticism at third base when he needed a day off behind the plate. Martin hit .280 with 13 homers while leading all major league catchers with 18 steals.
Carlos Ruiz/Chris Coste, Phillies. Ruiz got most of the playing time in the Division Series and down the stretch because of his superior defense, but batted just .219 with four homers in the regular season before going 1-for-14 in the division series. Coste serves as a pinch hitter and offensive backup, batting .236 with nine homers in 274 at-bats.
Edge: Dodgers
First base:
James Loney, Dodgers. Loney took a step back in his second full season, especially in the power department. After clubbing 15 blasts in 96 games in 2007, he managed 13 in 161 games this season. But he hit a grand slam in Game One against the Chicago Cubs and finished with six RBI in the three-game series.
Ryan Howard, Phillies. Howard was the hottest player in the NL in September, batting .352 with 11 homers. Overall, he led the majors with 48 homers and 146 RBI. He went 2-for-11 in the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers but drew five walks in front of Pat Burrell.
Edge: Phillies
Second base:
Blake DeWitt, Dodgers. The rookie DeWitt has moved over to second after starting the season at third base and represents a defensive upgrade over veteran Jeff Kent, who is still recovering from knee surgery. DeWitt hit .264 in the regular season and doubled twice against the Cubs last week.
Chase Utley, Phillies. Utley has been the best offensive second baseman in the game for the past few years and has recently made himself into one of the best defensive players at the position as well. He slumped badly at the plate in the second half, dropping his OPS from .955 before the All-Star break to .855 after, and went 2-for-15 against the Brewers.
Edge: Phillies
Third base:
Casey Blake, Dodgers. Blake hit .251 after his trade to Los Angeles in July, with 10 homers and 23 RBI in 53 games. He doesn't have the classic offensive profile for the hot corner but his bat plays up in the No. 8 spot in the lineup.
Pedro Feliz, Phillies. A superior defensive third baseman, Feliz hit 14 homers in the regular season but managed to post a paltry .302 on-base percentage. Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel is not afraid to use Greg Dobbs either as a starter or pinch hitter in Feliz's place.
Edge: Dodgers
Shortstop:
Rafael Furcal, Dodgers. Furcal went down with a back injury on May 5 and didn't return until September 24. When he's healthy, as he appeared to be in the NLDS, Fucal is one of the best leadoff hitters in the NL, with pop from both sides of the plate, speed and above-average defense.
Jimmy Rollins, Phillies. See above. Rollins and Furcal are similar players right down to their spots at the top of the lineup. Rollins went 6-for-16 against the Brewers and homered to leadoff Game Four. After struggling through much of the regular season, he batted .352 from August 25 until the end of the season.
Edge: push.
Left field:
Manny Ramirez, Dodgers. Ramirez has a World Series MVP award from his time with the Boston Red Sox and owns the career record for postseason homers. He hit .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBI in 53 games after joining the Dodgers at the trading deadline. He went 5-for-10 with a pair of homers and four walks against the Cubs.
Burrell, Phillies. Burrell played hero with a pair of homers in Game Four against Milwaukee but hit .215 with a .313 on-base percentage after the All-Star break and is a career .250 hitter against Los Angeles. The free agent to-be is prone to streaks, and he may have started a good one in the NLDS.
Edge: Dodgers.
Center field:
Matt Kemp, Dodgers. Another piece of Los Angeles' youthful corps, Kemp hit .290 with 18 homers and 35 steals in his first full season. The 24-year-old strikes out too much and doesn't have the most range in the world in center field, but he has all five tools.
Shane Victorino, Phillies. The "Flyin' Hawaiian" is one of the most versatile players in Charlie Manuel's lineup, able to bat at the top or bottom of the order. Victorino hit .293 with 14 homers and 36 steals in the regular season and hit a grand slam in Game Two against the Brewers. He has a strong arm and covers more ground than most in center.
Slight edge: Phillies
Right field:
Andre Ethier, Dodgers. Ethier has been a different player since Ramirez arrived, batting .368 with a 1.049 OPS since August 5. He led the team with 20 homers in the regular season while driving in 77 runs and scoring 90 times.
Jayson Werth, Phillies. One of the pleasant surprises in Philadelphia this season, Werth took the right field job from Geoff Jenkins midseason and never looked back, hitting 24 homers and stealing 20 bases. He could slide over to center field in a pinch and hit both second and sixth in the NLDS while going 5-for-16 with a homer and three doubles.
Slight edge: Dodgers
Rotation:
Derek Lowe, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda and Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers. A nice mix of veteran experience (Lowe) and hard-throwing youth (Billingsley and Kershaw) with a Japanese sinkerballer throw-in. Lowe, Billingsley and Kuroda were dominant in the NLDS, helping limit the NL's top offense to six runs in three games. Lowe won the clinching games of the ALDS, ALCS and World Series with the Red Sox in 2004.
Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton, Phillies. Hamels is on the way to becoming one of the best pitchers in the game and allowed two hits in eight scoreless innings in Game One of the NLDS. Myers, Moyer and Blanton are inconsistent, with only Myers - among the three - with the stuff to be dominant at his best.
Edge: Dodgers.
Bullpen:
Jonathan Broxton, etc., Dodgers. Los Angeles still has questions to answer, with the status of Takashi Saito and Hong-Chih Kuo up in the air. Broxton can be a top-shelf closer when his command is sound, pounding the zone with high-90s heat. Joe Beimel and Cory Wade are solid, and Greg Maddux will likely work as the long man.
Brad Lidge, etc., Phillies. Lidge still has yet to blow a save or suffer a loss this season. Clay Condrey, Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson form one of the top setup crews in the NL and rookie J.A. Happ will work as the long man. Philadelphia led the NL with a 3.19 bullpen ERA in the regular season.
Edge: Phillies.
Manager:
Joe Torre, Dodgers. Torre has a proven track record after leading the New York Yankees to 12 consecutive playoff appearances and four World Series crowns.
Charlie Manuel, Phillies. Manuel always seems to be around the top of the standings, both with the Cleveland Indians in the past and now with Philadelphia, but this is his first trip to the LCS.
Edge: Dodgers.
Prediction: Dodgers in seven.
