A big headline found at MLB鈥檚 official website Thursday morning wondered how many stars from this epic World Series clash between the Dodgers and Yankees will one day become Hall of Famers.
Shohei Ohtani ... Mookie Betts ... Freddie Freeman ... Aaron Judge ... Juan Soto and so on.
Here in St. 亚洲无码, where deep postseason runs have become few and far between, we find ourselves asking a different question.
Well, two, actually.
One: Now that the Yankees are back in the World Series for the first time since 2009, when will the Cardinals get serious about ending their own too-long drought?
For a long time, complaining about the Cardinals鈥 World Series absence since 2013 was diluted by those who reminded how long it had taken the Yankees to return. No more. The Yankees are back atop baseball mountain.
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The Cardinals?
They say they are returning to their player-development roots and willing to sacrifice at the major league level to make it right. It could be a while, folks.
And the second: Which former Cardinals player is now destined to become a World Series star? It seems less a matter of if than whom and how, right?
There鈥檚 a proven and active trend of ex-Cards shining for other teams in the postseason. This World Series has three compelling options. All have become critical (and affordable) pieces for their respective payroll giants during the march toward the first Dodgers-Yankees World Series since 1981.
The starter
After fumbling his chance to slam the door on the Mets in his final National League Championship Series start, Jack Flaherty gets a shot at redemption in the World Series opener.
Facing Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, which version of Flaherty shows up?
The former Cardinals starter pitched splendidly against the Mets in his first NLCS outing, delivering seven scoreless innings in a lopsided Dodgers win. But the Padres got him for four runs in 5鈪 innings in the National League Division Series, and the Mets pounded him for eight runs in just three innings when they saw him for the second time in the NLCS.
A strong showing for Flaherty in the World Series could set him up nicely for his pending free agency. His ERA this postseason, though, reads 7.04 with an opponent slugging percentage of .509.
鈥淗e鈥檚 seen it all,鈥 Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after announcing Flaherty as his Game 1 pick. 鈥淓ven looking at his last start in New York, (Flaherty) self-admitted that certain part of that game sped up on him. I think that鈥檚 a lesson to be learned. That鈥檚 another experience moment for him that can help him in this series right now. We got through it. We ed it. I think he鈥檚 healthy now. He鈥檒l put out a good one on Friday.鈥
The finisher
Other than Ohtani鈥檚 mostly deferred (for now) record contract with the Dodgers, there may not be a better bang-for-their-buck bargain in this showdown between big spenders than new Yankees closer Luke Weaver.
Much has changed for Weaver since he was a Cardinals rotation candidate traded to the Diamondbacks in the Paul Goldschmidt splash. He lost his footing as a starter, cycled through multiple teams and lived the stressful waiver-wire life before converting to full-time relief.
Good call.
With the Yankees, Weaver went from cheap bullpen option and/or replacement starter, to trusted relief arm, to the top choice for Yankees manager Aaron Boone when he鈥檚 trying to put a game away. Signed to a $2 million deal that includes incentives and a team-friendly option for next season, Weaver protected a 2.89 ERA through 62 regular-season appearances and has been even better in the postseason. He鈥檚 finished seven of the eight games he鈥檚 appeared in, secured four saves in five chances, picked up a win and dropped his ERA to 2.61. He鈥檚 struck out 12 while walking just one.
鈥淩eally since the end of spring training, his last couple outings in spring training, he really started to look the part,鈥 Boone told reporters earlier this postseason. 鈥淚 remember going into Houston, that (regular-season) opening series, and he is kind of our long man, maybe a sixth starter at some point. We鈥檙e not really sure of the role. Really from jump, it鈥檚 been excellent. We鈥檝e seen the outstanding four-seam fastball, cutter, change-up. And then with that, real command. So he鈥檚 got command, the uptick in stuff that we鈥檝e seen in him as a reliever, but also, I think with some of the tweaks he made to his delivery over the winter that didn鈥檛 show up frankly right away in spring training has really taken him to another level.鈥
The Swiss Army knife
Dodger Nation (and the rest of the nation) was probably surprised to see Tommy Edman hop over Dodgers superstars to earn NLCS MVP honors. Not so much around here. Edman鈥檚 versatility was on display early and often during his half-decade in St. 亚洲无码, so it鈥檚 no wonder he continued to show it after the Dodgers acquired him in the three-team trade-deadline deal that sent Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham (briefly) to the Cardinals.
Edman鈥檚 previous pleasant surprises have included jumping between second base, shortstop and center field with elite defense at every position. His latest one has been hitting cleanup, bringing new proof to his hit-anywhere philosophy. He enters the World Series with a six-game postseason hitting streak and a postseason slash line of .341/.333/.477. That鈥檚 a postseason on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .810. Not bad, considering only Betts and Ohtani have a higher one among Dodgers with 40-plus postseason at-bats.
鈥淵ou see how he fits all over the diamond, the complement to our team with the speed, you can tell the baseball instincts,鈥 Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said about Edman to ESPN. 鈥淎nd clearly, the moment does not bother him.鈥
Former Cardinals will have fingerprints all over this highly anticipated Fall Classic. Enjoy the star power. Just don鈥檛 be surprised, considering recent history, if it鈥檚 an old friend who swings the series in his team鈥檚 favor.