The Baseball Nerds

The 1-2 punch of the Brewers has been a knock-out combination in 2011

While the Brewers have been one of the better teams in baseball throughout 2011 and aren’t that surprising to see in the NLCS, anyone who says they called the Cardinals advancing to the NLCS, even at the start of the playoffs, is either a dirty bald-faced liar or they happen to live in the greater St. Louis area. The Brewers looked like they might sweep the Diamondbacks but ended up losing both games in Arizona and having to come back home to Milwaukee before securing the NLCS birth. Despite the surprise from the Cardinals taking down the Phillies or the struggles the Brewers have had away from home this should still be a great series nonetheless with the two mid-west teams fighting for the privilege to represent the Senior Circuit in the World Series. The powerhouse Brewers taking on the surprising Cardinals. Let’s get to the teams-

Carpenter took the team on his back in game 5 and carried them through to the NLCS

Cardinals-

 The Cardinals have used timely hitting and pretty great pitching to get this far (sound familiar Giants fans?), they didn’t get performances from Pujols, Berkman, or the ailing Matt Holliday during the NLDS match-up against the Phillies but still found a way to take down the heavily favored Phillies. While they have relied on timely hitting they still have a dynamic middle of the order even if they give regular at-bats to Skip Schumaker and Nick Punto. Carpenter won’t be able to pitch until game 3 in St. Louis after his amazing game 5 performance. Jaime Garcia will go in game 1 followed by Edwin Jackson with Lohse going in game 4. The line-up for the cardinals will need good production from their big three if they hope to keep up with Braun, Fielder, and the rest of the Brew Crew. Speaking of Brewers…

Brewers-

The Rotation will start off with Greinke followed by Marcum, Gallardo and Wolfe. The 1-2-3 in the Brewers rotation could prove too much for the Cardinals hitters but Wolf showed almost nothing left in the tank when he gave up 7 runs in 3 innings against the Diamondbacks in the NLDS. The Braun-Fielder combo should put up plenty of runs, especially when they are surrounded by hitters like Nyjer Morgan, Corey Hart, and Rickie Weeks. The most important thing to remember is that the Brewers held a 57-24 record at home during the regular season and a 39-42 record away from the friendly confines of Miller Park. Since the Brewers hold the home field advantage over the Wild Card Cardinals, all they have to do is what they do best, win at home.

Prediction- While the Cardinals seem like they might be destined for the type of crazy run to the world series that the San Francisco Giants had in 2010, the Brewers are the better team at this point. Even if it’s argued that they’re evenly talented, they have home field advantaged. Brewers in 6.