The St. Louis Post Dispatch is reporting that Tony La Russa's chosen starters for the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies will be Kyle Lohse, Edwin Jackson, and Chris Carpenter... in that order. Jaime Garcia will be saved for Game 4. Once again I cannot tell if La Russa is an insane genius or just insane. I'll call you back after the fourth game.
This is Kyle Lohse. Lohse pitched well in April and May, not at all well during the summer months, and sparkled in September. He may just be a mild weather kind of guy. This season Lohse was one of those few guys who actually pitched better on the road. He also did very well in his two appearances against the Phillies, holding them to 3 earned runs in 15 ⅓ innings, walking only 1 and striking out five. This may help to explain La Russa's decision to make him the Game 1 starter against Roy Halladay. It helps to explain, but does not fully explain.
This is Edwin Jackson. The son of a military cook, he was born in West Germany and can thus technically be referred to as a Bavarian. Jackson has played for five teams (if we don't count the two hours he belonged to Toronto) in the past four seasons and can thus also technically be referred to as a journeyman. In 2010 he threw a no-hitter, but it was a sloppy no-hitter as he walked eight batters and drilled another.Jackson has only pitched against Philadelphia once. It didn't go too well.
(I didn't mean for Edwin's blurb to be so negative. His game should be an interesting one.)
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his is Chris Carpenter (not to be confused with the Chicago Cubs rookie who is also a right-handed pitcher, also about the same physical size, and also shares the same first, middle, and last name). He is the "ace," at least until Adam Wainwright's arm is firmly reattached. Carpenter has the most experience of all the starters and even has one of those nifty Cy Young awards. His numbers were down this season, but he had a strong September. Carpenter is not a man you would expect to be laden with tattoos, but he is.Carpenter pitched twice against the Phillies this season. In 15 innings he allowed only 1 run, walked two, and struck out 12. This is a very, very good thing.
This is Jaime Garcia (pronounced HY-may gar-SEE-ya). He was born in Reynosa, Mexico. He is the only left-hander in the starting rotation. 2010 was his first full season and he came third in Rookie Of The Year voting. His 2011 numbers were down a bit, and he threw 12 wild pitches (2nd-most in the NL), but his strikeout-to-walk ratio was much better. One day everything will click and there won't be anything you can do about it.Garcia also did exceptionally well against the Phillies this season. In 15 innings he allowed only 1 earned run, walked 3, and struck out 9. The splits indicate Garcia is better at home than on the road and great after a ton of rest, and that may be why Tony is holding him until the series comes to St. Louis.
This is Jake Westbrook. His middle name is Cauthen. I don't know why his head seems so much bigger than everybody else's. Acquired from Cleveland in 2010 as part of a three-team trade the Cardinals are so fond of, Westbrook is an exceptionally good fielder. Pitching-wise, the second half of the season was better than the first, although he did bomb his last start.And guess how he has done against Philadelphia this year. Fairly well! In 10 ⅓ innings he allowed only 2 earned runs (although he walked 8 and only struck out 2 -- yikes!).
