St. Louis vs San Francisco

And here I was 0 for 2.  I'd like to think Washington will be back, and I think they should be, but that' still a painful way to exit the playoffs.

Starting Pitching
Lynn, Carpenter, Lohse, Wainwright
vs
Bumgarner, Vogelsong, Cain, Zito?

Advantage: Cardinals

Yeah, I think Matt Cain is the best of the bunch.  And I can't say that the St. Louis bunch acquitted themselves all that well last round.  However, I still think I'd take Waino and Carpenter over Bumgarner.  This year, I might take Loshe and maybe Lynn over him.  Over their career, MadBum should be better than those two, possibly even Wainwright, but not yet, not now.  And, while they may not have announced it, Barry Zito may be making a postseason start for San Fran.  That immediately swings the advantage the other way.

Lynn < Bumgarner
Carpenter >> Vogelsong
Lohse <<< Cain
Wainwright >>>>......> Zito

Bullpen
Motte, Boggs, Mujica, Rosenthal
vs
Romo, Lincecum, Affeldt, Casilla

Advantage: Giants

Well, I can't much put Lincecum anywhere else, can I?  The Cards did a splendid job shutting down the Nats in late-game situations, outside of that one Werth bomb.  The Giants just look better right now with Romo and Casilla shutting down the back end and Lincecum available for the long role.  The wild-card in this mix is top prospect Shelby Miller in the Cardinals' pen.  He's got big league stuff, but didn't make an appearance in the Division Series.  He could be the Cards' answer to Lincecum's long relief, which might be enough to swing this toward the Cards.

Lineup
Jay 8, Beltran 9, Holliday 7, Craig 3, Molina 2, Freese 5, Descalso 4, Kozma 6
vs
Pagan 8, Scutaro 4, Sandoval 5, Posey 2, Pence 9, Belt 3, Blanco 7, Crawford 6

Advantage: Cardinals

For me, it really comes down to the 2 hole here.  Beltran is still a hitter capable of power, speed, and average.  Scutaro has average, and a little speed.  The 3-6 for both lineups stack up pretty evenly.  Yeah, I'd take Posey over Craig, though Craig has been pretty good.  I'd take Molina over Pence, especially since Pence has been hurt.  And, to be honest, the Cards have been hotter.  They hit .265/.378/.458 against a damn good Nationals pitching staff.  The Giants put up a sub-.200 team line against a similarly-talented Reds staff.

Prediction: Cards in 6
They were the team nobody was talking about heading into the playoffs, as the last team in the NL to clinch.  Without Pujols, they don't have the same name impact they used to.  But now they're hot.  And whatever you may attribute "hot" to, even down to random statistical aberration, in a short series, it doesn't take much to win and send you on.