THE WATERCOOLER

QUESTION: Assuming the Cardinals make it to the postseason, which National League team do you feel offers the greatest matchup problems for the Redbirds?

BERNIE MIKLASZ
The Phillies. They lead the league in runs, homers and slugging. They’re the best slugging team in the NL against righthanded pitchers, and the Cardinals have a RH rotation. The Phillies’ rotation was upgraded substantially with the addition of Cliff Lee and this is the one playoff-bound NL team that can match up reasonably well with rhe Cardinals’ big three of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Joel Pineiro. For some reason, Carpenter hasn’t pitched well in Philly; he has a 6.75 ERA in three career starts at Citizens Bank Park. That said, Wainwright was magnificent there in his only start, and Pineiro hasn’t allowed a run there in two starts. The Phillies rake well at Busch Stadium; Ryan Howard and their big hitters like the place. In 17 games in STL the Phillies have averaged 6.9 runs since Busch opened in 2006. The X factor would be Brad Lidge. The Phillies closer is having a horrible season, and if that continues, the Phillies are vulnerable late.

DERRICK GOOLD
The Phillies. The Cardinals may be 10-2 against lefthanded starters since Matt Holliday arrived, but the Phillies still have lefties like Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Jamie Moyer who can tie the Cardinals in knots. Joe Blanton is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA against the Cardinals this season and they have yet to figure him out. He’s 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 21 innings against the Cardinals in his career. Ryan Madson, a late-inning reliever, may be the only Albert Pujols specialist in the game. The Cardinals first baseman is 0-for-10 in his career against Madson. He doesn’t strike out against the righthander, but he doesn’t hit him well either. And that’s all without mentioning what may be the most difficult lineup in the National League to contain. The variety of hitters the Phillies throw at opponents — speed in Victorino, balance in Utley, thunder from Howard and power throughout — makes a lineup with few, if any, cracks. Forget how Howard hits like Roy Hobbs in St. Louis, whether he’s taking aim at a Red Lobster in Ballwin or crushing shots at Busch Stadium. Sure Colorado is playing as well as anyone. Yes, the LA Dodgers have Manny and pitching. Fine, the Giants have a fearsome tandem atop their pitching staff. But the defending champs have more. And Brad Lidge.

RICK HUMMEL
The world champion Phillies. They have the lefthanded-hitting firepower to contend with the Cardinals’ all-righthanded rotation. In five games, four of them wins by the Phillies, Philadelphia has outscored the Cardinals, 40-24.

JEFF GORDON
The Phillies come at you with lefthanded power and switch-hitters. They put up some football scores on the Cards earlier this season, although much of that damage came against guys like Todd Wellemeyer, Josh Kinney and Jason Motte. The addition of Cliff Lee gives them a 1-2 punch to match Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. The only soft spot on that team is Albert’s buddy Brad Lidge. A Phillies-Cards battle in the NLCS would be quite a battle.

GERRY FRALEY
As Ric Flair often said, “to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.’’ Philadelphia, defending World Series champion, would present the biggest problems for the Cardinals in a post-season series.

LHP Cliff Lee changes the face of what was a mediocre rotation. Since being obtained from Cleveland, Lee is 5-0 with a 0.67 ERA and has allowed more than one run only once.

The Cardinals’ all-RHPs rotation will bring out the best in Phillies 1B Ryan Howard. Howard struggles against lefthanders, but goes into tonight’s play batting .312 with a .692 slugging percentage and 30 homers in 295 at-bats against righthanders.

Of course, this all changes if a Cardinals-Phillies series comes down to Albert Pujols against Philadelphia closer Brad Lidge. A year, with Lidge on top of his game, the Phillies were 79-0 when leading after eight innings. With Lidge having problems stemming from a bum knee, the Phillies are 58-7 when leading after eight innings this season.