Dodgers vs. Cubs NLDS

The Dodgers vs The Cubs will be the most exciting playoff series for those who absolutely love pitching. They met in the regular season 6 times with every game being low scoring. In total there was 37 runs, two 1 run games and 2 two run games just to name how evenly matched they are. Even though the Cubs are the best hitting team in baseball and the Dodgers have Manny Ramirez, I expect these games to be close low scoring games.

Questions Coming into the Series:

What kind of effect will Manny have on this series?
Manny Ramirez has completely revamped this team with his bat and personality. He has been able to loosen up the clubhouse and teach the younger hitters such as Ethier, Kemp, and Loney to relax at the plate, but at the same time to reach a different level of concentration. Most importantly its his plate discipline that he has instilled in others to do that has helped those guys out. Manny is more than the 17 Home Runs and 53 RBI's that he has brought to this ballclub and expect the Cubs to try to pitch around him with plenty of walks.

Will Carlos Zambrano return back to form?Zambrano's last couple of starts have been very unstable to say the least. This is a cause for concern for the Cubs because he is supposed to be the ace of the staff and needs to pitch well to conteract a very good Chad Billingsley in game 2.A former teammate of Zambrano was asked recently if Zambrano was up for the pressure of starting a Game 1 of the playoffs. "No,'' the teammate said. "He has a big heart and big stones, but he'll be way too fired up. He can't even calm down for the first game of the season, let alone the first game of the playoffs.'' Maybe he'll be different in Game 3. He's as good a Game 3 pitcher as you'll find. Carlos Zambrano

Starting Pitcher
Chicago Cubs
Profile

2008 Season Stats

GM	IP	W-L	BB	K	ERA
30	188.2	14-6	72	130	3.91

Can the Dodgers Pitching contain the Cubs hitters?
Well if anyone has been watching the Dodgers Starting Pitching they will see that it's good, real good. They led the NL in ERA, and posted a 3.15 ERA in September.The only flaw that the team has in terms of pitching is that it is righty loaded so the Cubs will have to plug in Jim Edmonds in Center Field to counteract this. Lowe's sinker has been his go to pitch his entire career and he has had phenomenal success with it and we'll see more of that in this series. Chad Billingsley is another stud that has nasty stuff and gets the majority of his outs by overpowering opponents.

Will Joe Torre make a significant difference?
In my opinion this will be minimal, the manager can't play for the Dodgers and he will have a say in who comes out of the bullpen and the lineup, but beyond those little things, I don't see much of a difference. Expect Joe and Lou try to mix and match each other for suitable matchups.

Does it make a difference that the Cubs haven't won a World Series in 100 years?
The answer to that question is a simple no. This Cubs team is very mentally tough and will not succomb to that type of pressure. The Cubs are just as deep as any team and their bench is outstanding in every facet.

Conclusion:
I expect a very close series with the series coming down to timely hits and crucial bullpen help. If you want to see great pitching, then this is the series for you. The series can go either way, but in my opinion Soriano, Lee, and Ramirez will put the Cubs over the top.

Cubs in 5.