Pitching's at a premium

There is a common belief that when the postseason comes around, it's the pitching that dominates, and that was absolutely true on the first day of the 2007 playoffs. Jeff Francis set an unexpected tone, striking out the side in the first inning on the way to an impressive Rockies win over the Phillies. Josh Beckett followed that up with a performance just as good, if not better than his last postseason effort, a shutout of the Yankees to close the 2003 World Series. Then, in the nightcap, Lou Piniella may have pulled Carlos Zambrano an inning too soon, and he paid the price. Brandon Webb gave the Diamondbacks seven very impressive innings and the bullpen followed that up with two solid scoreless efforts.

TODAY'S GAMES

All games can be heard on ESPN Radio. All times are ET:

• Colorado at Philadelphia, 3 • NY Yankees at Cleveland, 6:30 • Chicago at Arizona, 10

Looking ahead to Tuesday, there's a slight drop-off in the pitching matchups in the National League (the Rockies-Phillies matchup features a pair of rookies going head-to-head), but the American League battle pits two of the best in the business. If Chien-Ming Wang's sinker can be as good as Webb's, and C.C. Sabathia can throw as well as he did in his last dozen or so starts to close the season (rather than how he's fared against the Yankees, with a 1-7 mark), we may be in for a similar kind of day to what we saw Wednesday. It's the time of year when the baseball is crisp, the game is well-played, and every run is a valuable one.

PITCHING IN
STAT	FIRST DAY	CUBS-D-BACKS
BA	.182	.167
Total Runs	14	4
HR	7	2
K-BB	58-16	22-6

NLDS GAME 2 PITCHING MATCHUP: ROCKIES-PHILLIES

LHP Franklin Morales, Rockies (3-2, 3.43 ERA)

• 3-0, 2.88 ERA in last five starts • Pitched five shutout innings vs Phillies in only previous start against them • Lefties hit .129 with 0 HR in 31 AB against him in 2007

RHP Kyle Kendrick, Phillies (10-4, 3.87 ERA)

• First Phillies rookie to start postseason game since Charles Hudson (1983) • 2-0, 3.00 ERA in last three starts • Rockies are hitting .425 in 40 at-bats against him. Key matchup: Hawpe, Tulowitzki, Helton (each 2-for-4 against him)

YANKEES VS. INDIANS, 2007
	Yankees	Indians
Wins	6	0
Runs/G	8.2	2.8
BA	.348	.228
HR	*14	4
* -- Six of Alex Rodriguez's eight hits vs. the Indians this season were HRs (13 RBIs)

The Chicago Cubs have that type of player you want in the postseason: Ryan Theriot.

Lou Piniella saw Theriot busting his butt in spring training, but he was pressing for a couple of weeks. Piniella told Theriot he was on the team and he needed to just let the game come to him. Piniella talks about having certain types of players who are winners, and Theriot is that kind of player.

Piniella told me that Theriot will have a World Series ring before his career is over; furthermore, he compared his shortstop to Craig Counsell and David Eckstein -- players similar in style to Theriot, and both have two World Series rings.

When the Cubs need someone on base or to ake a play made in the field, Theriot usually makes something happen. The Cubs have a front-line starter in Carlos Zambrano, a solid No. 2 in Ted Lilly and offensively they have power hitters Alfonso Soriano, Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez.

But players like Theriot usually are difference makers in the postseason -- someone who steps up and steals the attention from the big boys. Just look at David Eckstein last year being named the World Series MVP.