NL Division Play-In Series: #3 Ottawa vs. #6 Wichita

Just as all of the best offenses are located in the AL, the best pitching staffs reside in the NL. Powerhouses like Durham and Toledo get most of attention while teams with staffs just as good get less attention due to their inability to win 100+ games. Ottawa and Wichita are two teams that fall into this category. Ottawa boats the number 4 pitching staff in the NL while Wichita places 6th. These numbers are very misleading because the top five or six teams are extremely even both in talent and performance.

Ottawa looks to their three man rotation this postseason as they've got Pedro Beltran, D'Angelo Telemaco, and Ralph Bunning scheduled to start. The White Stockings will attempt to run a two man rotation, which should feature inning-eating monster Mark Post and Randy Nicholas. Don't be too suprised if Rene Bailey is forced to make a start somewhere along the line.

If one breaks down the numbers, Ottawa finished 6th in total offense and Wichita finished 10th. Wichita's offense was nothing to brag about and the fans certainly were not "Oooohing" and "Aaaahhing" all season, to say the least. If the White Stockings intend on moving past Ottawa, youngsters Calvin Petkovsek and Ozzie Flores will need to bring their A game and take the next step to super-stardom against the Great Lake St.

Meanwhile, Ottawa will rely heavily on their pitchers to guide them into the Divisional Round. Still, someone will have to score some runs for them. Whatever success does come from the offense will likely be due to the individual performances of Jermaine Pierre and Livan Gil. Combining for a .298 average, 62 home runs, and 163 RBI's, these two are the clear leaders of the Great Lake St lineup.

The outcome of this series will depend on how much of an impact Mark Post will have. Sure, he can probably start every other game, but how well will he perform in such a situation? Will he be able to outgun the likes of Telemaco, and Bunning? Only time will tell and we'll have our answer in the next 5 games.

Prediction: Ottawa wins 3-2