Pitching StarsVicente Padilla
What can I say? To date, Padilla has made the best start out of everybody in the postseason. Probably one of the most surprising ones too.
Clayton Kershaw
Pressure? What pressure? He allowed 2 earned runs over 6 2/3 innings, and went toe-to-toe with Cy Young candidate Adam Wainwright. He played a significant role in making it possible for that magical finale to happen.
The Entire Pen
Jonathan Broxton, George Sherrill, Jeff Weaver, Hong Chih Kuo, and Ronald Belisario combined to surrender only 2 runs in 9 2/3 innings. Both of those runs allowed were hardly important either, as the Cardinals only scored thanks to two soft liner singles after a baserunner took second on fielder's indifference. They were hyped up before this series started (especially by me) and they lived up to their billing.
Hitting Stars
Andre Ethier
To think the local media wanted to trade this guy for peanuts just a couple years ago is insane. He currently leads all players in the postseason with a 1.905 OPS, and his Game 3 homer off Joel Piniero was about as demoralizing a shot as I could imagine.
Rafael Furcal
Talk about riding the September wave into the playoffs. Furcal was horrid all season long from the leadoff role, likely costing the Dodgers a good deal of games, but he has come through with a 1.167 OPS in the playoffs.
Heroes
Jeff Weaver
As he entered the game, I gave a loud groan, as I could just visualize the game slipping away via a Ryan Ludwick grand slam. The foul ball down the line was a heartstopper, but Weaver refocused and shut the door on a bases loaded jam once again. It's a moment that has been overlooked by some, but you could say this was a huge turning point.
Ronnie Belliard
He's not in the hitting heroes because he didn't hit. To be frank, he didn't field that well either. Belliard put up a line of .273/.385/.273/.657 and botched a few plays along the way. However, one of the three hits he did get tied Game 2 in the bottom of ninth, and nothing else really matters that much.
Matt Kemp
Like Belliard, Kemp had one big hit and an otherwise horrid series. He posted a .143/.143/.357/.500 line and played some of the worst outfield I had seen him play this year. However, that one home run may well have changed the outlook of the entire first game.
Mark Loretta
If I had to do it again, I still wouldn't put him on the playoff roster. Sorry, but 99 times out of 100 in that situation, Loretta strikes out or hits a weak grounder to the third baseman. Instead though, on his one chance, he came up with the biggest hit of the entire series, winning Game 2 for the Dodgers. No complaints from me now.
James Loney
In one of the most forgotten plays of that Game 2 miracle, Loney intelligently cut off the throw from the outfield bound for home to catch Colby Rasmus getting greedy after stroking a double. In all likelihood, Loney's play saved a run, and if it was Derek Jeter that did it instead of Loney, it would already be run as a highlight like eleventy billion times.
