| Douglas Benton. 6th May, 2011 - 2:33 am
 If the playoffs started today, the St. Louis Cardinals would win the NL Central and the Florida Marlins would be the wild card. While there is still plenty of action left in the regular season, this May series did feature two of the best teams in the National League with the four games being decided by seven total runs.
Game 1: Florida beat St. Louis 6-5
Game 2: St. Louis beat Florida 7-5
Game 3: Florida beat St. Louis 8-7
Game 4: St. Louis beat Florida 6-3
Florida Marlins
Gabby Sanchez, a 27-year-old first baseman, swung a hot bat in St. Louis to give the Marlins a good power option in the middle of the order. He got the series started in game one with a grand slam and finished going 8-for-16 with that home run and six RBI. Florida is No. 10 in baseball in slugging percentage, but the roster leaves questions if it can continue. If it does, players like Sanchez and Mike Stanton will have to lead the way.
One player who is off to a slow start is shortstop Hanley Ramirez, who when right is one of the most complete players in the game. However, he came into the St. Louis series hitting below the Mendoza line with his on-base and slugging percentage below .300. In this series, he didn’t burst out of it in going 3-for-15 with no extra base hits, but did draw four walks with three stolen bases and five runs scored. The activity is great and now the Marlins are just waiting for the power to kick in.
Leo Nunez is off to a solid start with 11 saves and a 2.87 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched, but he does have a tendency to put runners on base. In notching two saves against the Cardinals, he surrendered a hit and a walk in both appearances before closing the game. Still one of the best closer through the first month plus of the season, Nunez is providing stability at the backend of the bullpen.
Florida is a team which seems to challenge in the first half of seasons each year before faltering in the summer. This year, it should have more staying power with developing hitters at the top of the order, an ace to lead the starting staff in Josh Johnson (who look a loss in game four) and confidence at the end of games. The Marlins are on par with the Atlanta Braves for the second spot in the NL East, which is the likely home to the wild card this season.
St. Louis Cardinals
Lance Berkman has found the fountain of youth in St. Louis to give the Cardinals a very potent middle of the order. Against Florida, he went 3-for-9 with a pair of home runs (the second of which came in the final game to give the Cardinals an eighth inning lead), eight RBI and five walks. The right fielder is second in baseball in average at .392, second in home runs at 10 and first in RBI with 32. Now, Berkman won’t keep up this pace throughout the year, but his start has helped make up for a slower than usual start for Albert Pujols and give this Cardinals line-up some teeth.
His fellow outfielder Matt Holiday is also off to a terrific start as he tries to prove himself again as one of the better players in the game. In four games, he went 7-for-17 with a home run and five RBI including getting a hit in each game. After a disastrous stint with the Oakland A’s, people may have forgotten he has hit at least 24 home runs five times, driven in more than 100 runs four times and has tallied at least 38 doubles five times. The price tag was steep on his seven year contract signed prior to last year, but he does give the Cardinals some insurance if Pujols were to leave.
St. Louis has had major problems at the end of games and it continued into this series with a blown eighth and ninth inning lead. Manager Tony LaRussa is known for over controlling his bullpen to a point and the relief who got the nod this series was Eduardo Sanchez. The 22 year old right-hander made three straight appearances for 2.2 innings in giving up a hit, two runs, five walks and a pair of strikeouts. It can be demoralizing for a team to endure blown saves, but even more so when relievers don’t come in and throw strikes. Look for the Cardinals to be heavily involved in the trade market for a closer up to the deadline.
The NL Central is wide open again with the Cardinals looking to have as good of a shot as any to capture the title. They have a very strong middle of the order with a number of quality hitters surrounding them. The pitching staff was dealt a blow earlier this year with the Adam Wainwright injury, but Chris Carpenter (who didn’t pitch great in game three) is a frontline option and St. Louis is one of the best at finding hidden gems for the rotation. The bullpen situation is the Cardinals’ big question going forward. |
