New York Sports

  A look at the best-of-five National League division series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets:

Schedule: (All times Eastern) Game 1, Wednesday, at New York (4:09 p.m., ESPN); Game 2, Thursday, at New York (8:19 p.m., FOX); Game 3, Saturday, at Los Angeles (TBA); x-Game 4, Sunday, at Los Angeles (TBA); x-Game 5, Monday, at New York (TBA).
x-if necessary.

Season Series: New York won 4-3.

Projected Lineups

Dodgers: SS Rafael Furcal (.300, 15 HRs, 63 RBIs, 113 runs, 37 SBs), CF Kenny Lofton (.301, 3, 41, 31 SBs), 1B Nomar Garciaparra (.303, 20, 93), 2B Jeff Kent (.292, 14, 68), RF J.D. Drew (.283, 20, 100, 106 BBs), C Russell Martin (.282, 10, 65), LF Marlon Anderson (.297, 12, 38), 3B Wilson Betemit (.263, 18, 53).

Mets: SS Jose Reyes (.300, 19, 81, 122 runs, major league-best 64 SBs and 17 3Bs), C Paul Lo Duca (.318, 5, 49), CF Carlos Beltran (.275, 41, 116, 127 runs, 95 BBs, 18 SBs), 1B Carlos Delgado (.265, 38, 114), 3B David Wright (.311, 26, 116, 40 2Bs, 20 SBs), LF Cliff Floyd (.244, 11, 44 in 332 at-bats), RF Shawn Green (.277, 15, 66), 2B Jose Valentin (.271, 18, 62 in 384 at-bats).

Projected Rotations

Dodgers: RH Derek Lowe (16-8, 3.63 ERA), LH Hong-Chih Kuo (1-5, 4.22), RH Greg Maddux (15-14, 4.20), RH Brad Penny (16-9, 4.33).

Mets: RH Orlando Hernandez (11-11, 4.66), LH Tom Glavine (15-7, 3.82), RH Steve Trachsel (15-8, 4.97), RH John Maine (6-5, 3.60).

Relievers

Dodgers: RH Takashi Saito (6-2, 2.07 ERA, 24/26 saves), RH Jonathan Broxton (4-1, 2.59, 3 saves), RH Chad Billingsley (7-4, 3.80, 16 starts, 2 relief appearances), LH Joe Beimel (2-1, 2.96, 2 saves), RH Aaron Sele (8-6, 4.53, 15 starts, 13 relief appearances), RH Brett Tomko (8-7, 4.73 in 44 games, including 15 starts), RH Elmer Dessens (0-1, 4.70), LH Mark Hendrickson (2-7, 4.68 in 18 games, including 12 starts).

Mets: LH Billy Wagner (3-2, 2.24, 40/45 saves), RH Guillermo Mota (3-0, 1.00 in 18 games with Mets), RH Aaron eilman (4-5, 3.62, eam-high 74 appearances), LH Pedro Feliciano (7-2, 2.09), RH Chad Bradford (4-2, 2.90, 2 saves), RH Roberto Hernandez (0-3, 3.11, 2 saves), LH Darren Oliver (4-1, 3.44).

Matchups

A rematch of 1988 NLCS won by Dodgers in seven games en route to their most recent World Series title. Dodgers have won only one postseason game since -- a victory over the Cardinals in 2004 division series. ... The Dodgers are appearing in the playoffs for only the second time since 1996 and just the fourth time since 1988. ... The Mets' 97-65 record was nine games better than any other NL team. They went 50-31 at home and 47-34 on the road. Los Angeles' 49-32 record at Dodger Stadium was the NL's second-best home mark, but Dodgers were 39-42 on the road. And they needed to sweep their season-ending six-game road trip to do that. ... Dodgers hit .276 as a team, marking the first time they've led the NL since moving west from Brooklyn in 1958. Mets hit .264, but outscored the Dodgers 834-820. ... New York won two of three at Dodger Stadium in June to begin 9-1 road trip. Teams split four-game set at Shea Stadium from Sept. 7-10. ... Maddux is 35-19 with 3.40 ERA lifetime against Mets. ... Glavine went 2-0 with 4.63 ERA in two starts against Dodgers this year. ... Mets bullpen was nearly flawless against Dodgers during season. ... Wright went 12-for-21 (.571) with 5 RBIs. ... Reyes had 3 homers. ... Lo Duca was 4-for-24 (.167) with no extra-base hits against his former team. ... Garciaparra batted .346 (9-for-26) against Mets with 3 homers and 7 RBIs. ... Furcal was 12-for-29 (.414) with 3 homers, 7 RBIs and 7 runs. ... Drew hit .227 (5-for-22) without an extra-base hit. ... Penny has struggled against New York throughout his career and was roughed up by Mets this season. ... Lowe is 7-1 with 2.08
ERA since Aug. 1. ... Dodgers are 71-43 in games started by Martin, the rookie catcher who made his big league debut ith them May 5.

Big Picture

Dodgers: It's been an up-and-down season for the Dodgers, who were 7.5 games off the pace and in last place in the NL West on July 26 after losing 13 of their first 14 games following the All-Star break. They rebounded to win 17 of their next 18, and were at or near the top of the division ever since. They lost 12 of 20 before winning their last seven games to tie the Padres for the NL West title, but took the wild card because San Diego won the season series 13-5. ... The Dodgers won their first division championship since 1995 two years ago, but followed that up last year with a 71-91 record -- their second-worst since moving from Brooklyn in 1958. ... Ned Colletti took over from Paul DePodesta as general manager in mid-November, and after hiring Grady Little to succeed Jim Tracy as manager, began revamping the roster. Mainly due to health issues, many changes followed. ... Holdovers Kent and Drew, plus newcomers Garciaparra, Furcal, Lofton and Anderson, and rookies Martin and Andre Ethier all made significant offensive contributions. Penny, who was terrific before starting the All-Star break, Lowe, who has been exceptional since that time, and future Hall of Famer Maddux, acquired in late July, head the rotation, although Penny is a question mark because of back problems. The current bullpen is entirely different from the one that began the season, with 36-year-old rookie Saito doing a fine job filling the closer's role vacated by an injured Eric Gagne.

Mets: With speed, power and plenty of talent, the balanced Mets got off to a fast start and cruised to the NL East title -- ending Atlanta's record run of 14 consecutive division championships. Playing sound, consistent baseball all season, they won their first NL East crown since 1988 and reached the playoffs for the first time since 2000, when they lost the World Series to the crosstown Yankees. ... Fans in New York already are gearing up for another Subway Series, and the other NL playoff teams appeared flawed all season, so manager Willie Randolph and his Mets are under ample pressure. After such a stirring season, anything short of a trip to the World Series would be a disappointment now. ... No. 1 starter Pedro Martinez is injured and unavailable -- shoulder surgery will keep him out until next summer. The Mets can't let his injury become an excuse, and they must avoid an emotional letdown. The rest of the aging rotation looks shaky. The crafty Hernandez, 40, was acquired from Arizona in May, and the Mets are counting on his October experience and guts to help replace Martinez. El Duque is 9-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 19 career postseason games, including 14 starts, mostly with the Yankees. He also owns four World Series rings, and his teams are 12-3 in postseason series. The 40-year-old Glavine has been up and down since June. Trachsel has 15 wins but a pedestrian ERA. He skipped his scheduled start last weekend to attend to a family matter, so he'll probably be pitching on extra rest. Maine is largely unproven. ... Deep bullpen (even without injured setup man Duaner Sanchez) and experienced bench have been unsung strengths for the Mets. The lineup is very tough, top to bottom. But several stars are in the playoffs for the first time, including Delgado, Lo Duca and 23-year-old wunderkids Wright and Reyes. How they handle the pressure will be key. Beltran had a huge postseason two years ago with Houston.

Watch For:

-- Run, Reyes, Run. A vastly improved player from a year ago, Reyes energizes the Mets from the leadoff spot with rare speed and boyish enthusiasm. Yet he still chases bad pitches occasionally and can be prone to slumps against good pitching. If he fails to get on base, New York's offense might not be the same. But if Reyes is off and running -- watch out!
-- Status Kuo. A 26-year-old left-hander, Kuo could be a key to the Dodgers' chances. After spending time as a mostly ineffective reliever, he was sent to the minors, where he became a starter, and was impressive in five late-season outings in the majors. His first big league start came at Shea Stadium on Sept. 8, when he worked six shutout innings, allowing three hits while striking out seven for his only major league win.
-- Hobbling Around. Garciaparra, Kent and Penny were among the Los Angeles players hampered by various ailments late in the season. But they played on, with Garciaparra delivering a couple of clutch home runs. Penny left his final regular-season start after one inning because of tightness in his back. He was 10-2 with a 2.92 ERA before starting the All-Star game, but has gone 6-7 with a 6.25 ERA since. For the Mets, Floyd is fighting a sore Achilles' heel and could be replaced in LF by super sub Endy Chavez, an unheralded defensive whiz who has been pesky at the plate all season. Lo Duca has been bothered by a bad thumb much of the year.
-- Anderson Emerges. The Dodgers acquired Anderson, who spent last season with the Mets, from Washington on Aug. 31 to serve as a left-handed bat off the bench. But he got a chance to play when Ethier stopped hitting, and now he's playing every day, having hit .375 with 7 homers and 15 RBIs since the trade.