The soundtrack of the postseason mocks the performance on the field. Tinie Tempah’s “Written in the Stars” — really? The Rangers’ Alexi Ogando needs more than his American Express card to be recognized. And St. Louis’ Fernando Salas and Jason Motte couldn’t have a lower profile if they were in the witness protection program.
The path to a World Series title, which begins tonight at Busch Stadium, has been led by a battalion of relief pitchers who have rescued starters and undermined opposing sluggers. Momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher? Yeah, right, Phillies fan on line 2.
“Momentum for these games is whoever gets to their bullpen first with a lead,” said Fox analyst and longtime big-leaguer Eric Karros on Tuesday during a conference call. “With the starting pitchers, I don’t think there can be any expectations with either of these clubs. The bullpens have been successful and the story.”
This is not a formula that is very familiar, at least not to teams who win often. Rockies manager Jim Tracy lamented multiple times over the regular season’s final two weeks as young starters cut their teeth, “Show me a team that is going to its bullpen early, and I will show you a team that’s losing.”
The postseason, however, is a different animal. Faced with powerful lineups and built-in off days, the bullpen can be used more liberally. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and Rangers boss Ron Washington have shown they aren’t afraid to walk to the mound early and often.
Forget the Reds’ Sparky Anderson as Captain Hook. He has nothing on these two.
La Russa made 28 pitching changes in the Cardinals’ National League Championship Series win over the Brewers. His relievers threw more innings than his starters, posting three wins, two saves and a 1.88 ERA.
“I give the credit to the front office and ownership for making the moves. We are so much deeper,” La Russa said Tuesday in St. Louis. “There’s irony because our bullpen struggled (during the season).”
The Cardinals erased a 10 1/2-game deficit, going 30-13 over the final 43 games to pass the Giants and nosediving Braves for the NL wild-card berth.
They were ridiculed for trading promising center fielder Colby Rasmus to Toronto, a move that shaped this fall.
St. Louis added starter Edwin Jackson, who pushed Kyle McClellan to the bullpen, and acquired relievers Marc Rzepczynski (the lefty who allowed one hit in the NLCS and made Prince Fielder miserable) and Octavio Dotel, who had a layover with the Rockies last season and has been death on righties in the playoffs. Motte’s emergence as a closer has made the other pieces fit.
The Rangers’ relievers have logged an identical 42 1/3 innings in the playoffs. Ogando has carried the heaviest workload (10 1/3 innings, allowing one run). Given the right-handed strength of the Cardinals — Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman and David Freese— Ogando will likely need help from right-hander Mike Adams, a key setup man acquired from the Padres at the trading deadline.
“It won’t work over a 162-game season because you would need to have a 30-man pitching staff,” former major-league ace Curt Schilling, who won three rings with the Diamondbacks and Red Sox, said during a conference call.
“Both of these staffs can shorten a game.”
The knee-jerk reaction is to suggest neither team can win the Series without more innings from the rotation. Just look at Sandy Koufax in the 1960s, Jim Palmer in the 1970s or Matt Cain last season. Our mind tells us that an ace must be the rudder.
But the Angels are a recent example of bucking conventional wisdom, claiming the 2002 World Series as Mike Scioscia made 49 pitching changes in 16 games.
Francisco Rodriguez, an electric rookie with a diabolical slider, became a household name that fall. La Russa and Washington both appear willing to let that happen for someone else again.
“This is such an unusual postseason. The soft underbelly has turned into the core of their pitching staffs,” said Fox analyst Tim McCarver, who will call the games, on a conference call.
“You don’t know that it’s going to continue. I doubt that it will. But these teams have shown no signs of approaching this any differently.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Remarkable runs
Apparently the Rockies don’t have the patent on miracle finishes. Colorado shocked baseball by reaching the 2007 World Series with a remarkable run. The Cardinals pulled off a similar feat to reach the Fall Classic. National baseball writer Troy E. Renck compares their runs:
2007 ROCKIES
Most games back: 8 on July 2
Longest winning streak: 11 (Sept. 16-27)
Deficit erased: 6 1/2 with 13 remaining
Record in stretch: 13-1
Necessary help: Mets finished 5-11
2011 CARDINALS
Most games back: 10 1/2 on Sept. 5
Longest winning streak: 5 (Sept. 6-11)
Deficit erased: 10 1/2 with 21 remaining
Record in stretch: 16-5
Necessary help: Braves finished 7-16
