Division Series: Sunday, October 5th, 2003

Sunday, October 05 2003 @ 07:00 AM EDT

Contributed by: robertdudek

Chicago Cubs at Atlanta, 7:30 PM ET (Game 5)

Great offence has made a comeback - evening up both this and the Oakland-Boston series. When Kerry Wood can't locate with his off-speed stuff, he tend to have problems. We saw him lose his release point in the 8th inning of Game One. Mike Hampton will have to navigate through a lineup that hits lefthanders very well and he'll be pitching on 3 days' rest. If I were a Braves fan, I'd wish Greg Maddux were starting this game.

Kerry Wood (2002/2003)
versus AB H HR TB W K HBP SB CS OBP SLG K pct W pct
right 837 178 28 304 83 274 24 9 7 .302 .363 .290 .090
left 676 143 18 230 114 209 13 9 7 .336 .340 .260 .144

Kerry Wood (2002/2003)
versus	AB	H	HR	TB	W	K	HBP	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	K pct	W pct
right	837	178	28	304	83	274	24	9	7	.302	.363	.290	.090
left	676	143	18	230	114	209	13	9	7	.336	.340	.260	.144

Kerry Wood is a pitcher who doesn't rely much on his defence. He gives up quite a few homers and walks and strikes out a ton of batters. In Game 1, he faced 30 batters and only 13 balls were put in play. The Braves only managed 1 hit on those balls in play, which is a little unlucky. Wood walked 5 in 7.1 IP: if he walks that many tonight I expect the Braves to do some damage.

Atlanta Braves versus Righthanded Pitchers (2002/2003)
Player	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	W	K	SB	CS	HBP	avg	obp	slg
R Furcal	1031	299	46	16	17	76	148	45	15	6	.290	.342	.415
M Giles	595	181	54	3	20	65	94	13	5	11	.304	.383	.506
G Sheffield	858	273	50	1	52	120	94	25	4	16	.318	.411	.561
L Jones	879	277	57	3	47	162	139	7	4	3	.315	.423	.547
J Lopez	639	179	31	3	41	47	119	0	2	11	.280	.340	.531
A Jones	943	259	50	2	58	104	214	11	4	14	.275	.355	.516
J Franco	179	54	8	1	5	17	43	3	0	0	.302	.362	.441
V Castilla	885	223	45	5	27	34	134	5	3	10	.252	.287	.406
pitcher

notes: OBP is calculated without including sac flies (H+W+HBP)/(AB+W+HBP); player in red indicates the batter is at a platoon disadvantage.

The Braves have seen 4 consecutive righthanded power pitchers and tonight they will see the first one for a second time. I think that bodes well for run scoring. Gary Sheffield has to be the key player for the Braves tonight - how will his hand respond two days after his injury?

Mike Hampton (2002/2003)
versus	AB	H	HR	TB	W	K	HBP	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	K pct	W pct
right	1142	326	25	476	134	130	3	4	7	.362	.417	.102	.105
left	316	88	13	136	35	54	5	4	1	.360	.430	.152	.100

Mike Hampton struck out a bunch of Cubs after getting off to a rocky start. He survived, pitching 6 innings and allowing 2 runs before Mark DeRosa drove in 2 runs in the 8th to give the Braves a win. Hampton faced 27 Cubs on Wednesday, walking 5 and striking out 9. He allowed 4 hits, including a double, on 13 balls in play. Facing a finesse lefty for the second time in 4 days will likely spell victory for the Cubs.

Chicago Cubs versus Lefthanded Pitchers (2002/2003)
Player	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	W	K	SB	CS	HBP	avg	obp	slg
K Lofton	244	60	13	5	1	16	29	6	6	4	.246	.303	.348
M Grudzielanek	209	64	16	0	3	24	28	1	1	2	.306	.383	.426
S Sosa	206	72	6	1	18	54	47	0	1	0	.350	.485	.650
M Alou	242	81	17	2	8	26	24	1	0	1	.335	.401	.521
A Ramirez	260	71	13	0	19	15	41	0	0	2	.273	.318	.542
E Karros	213	73	17	1	6	28	17	2	1	1	.343	.421	.516
A Gonzalez	237	55	15	2	8	31	48	4	2	0	.232	.328	.424
D Miller	200	52	18	0	2	32	44	0	0	0	.260	.362	.380
pitcher

notes: OBP is calculated without including sac flies (H+W+HBP)/(AB+W+HBP); player in red indicates the batter is at a platoon disadvantage.

Alex Gonzalez didn't start against Hampton in Game 2, but Dusty no doubt felt his defence was important enough to forego the offensive edge that Martinez would give them.

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