One of the nice things about the twenty-first century is that the Internet makes it easy to see who's carrying the load in the postseason.

Not surprisingly, Delgado and Beltran have shouldered the burden for the Mets offense in the 2006 after-hours, with OPS numbers on the north side of a thousand. Interestingly, the maligned Shawn Green is next among the eight regulars with an okay .867.

After that it's spotty. Despite more hype than a shot-up racehorse, Reyes isn't really shining offensively. His .769 OPS is okay but hardly spectacular. Lo Duca and Wright are worse at .711 and .701, respectively. Valentin and Chavez round out the regulars with godawful .519 and .516 numbers.

The big surprise among the pitchers is just how much Wagner has stunk, with a 9.53 ERA. If it's close in the ninth, things could get real interesting tonight when Billy comes in. The long season may have run him down, and he's getting hit and hard.

Perez ain't much better at 7.94, so the Mets start tonight with big question marks at the front and back of their staff. But the middle relievers have been great: Bradford, Hernandez, Heilman and Feliciano all have ERA's under two. You better believe Randolph will go to the pen early and often if things get testy for Perez.

Don't want to be biased, so I'll do the same quick-and-dirty for the Cards.

Who woulda thunk, Pujols is leading the way offensively with a 1.010 OPS. The real surprise is the number two guy, Molina. He's putting up an .840 number, which is rare air for Yadi. Edmonds is next with a reliable if not spectacular .822.

Spiezio has gotten maximum media mileage from his .781. Belliard and Encarnacion are barely hanging in at .727 and .699. Afterwards, it's horrible: Duncan, Wilson, Eckstein and Rolen at .607, .579, .559 and .531. Those last three guys will probably play tonight, so Perez will face some very cold hitters, and I'm not talking about the weather.

Suppan has been very good in the extra baseball this year, with a 2.19 ERA. And Wainwright has been rock-solid at the back end of the staff. He hasn't given up anything. Neither have Flores and Kinney in middle relief, and Johnson hasn't allowed much, either. I'd say the Cards have a significant edge in pitching for tonight's tilt, while the Mets look a little hotter with the bats.

Of course, all these numbers are based on tiny samples, so they mean little. But it's fun for a chat.

And yet, Eckstein continues to attract praise for being the gritty sparkplug that makes the Cardinal offense go. He could be 0-for-the-postseason and then scratch out an infield single, and McCarver would immediately wet his pants over Eckstein's unique value as a leadoff man.

I haven't read any comments from Willie Randolph about his Game 7 choice; I assume he sees Darren Oliver as best suited to long relief, rather than starting for the first time all season. There are no good choices anyway.

And while anything can happen in a 7-game series, it's hard to imagine either team competing with the Tigers.

I figured Trachsel was going to be pulled due to performance anyway, and the "injury" was just an excuse to get Oliver some more time to warm up.

re: oliver perez

looked at those 2003 and 2004 stats on oliver perez. They are astoundingly good.

As good as they are, that's how bad his 2005 and 2006 stats are.

Steve Trachsel, by contrast, is a proven veteran.

This choice is dictated by the Card's problems with lefthanded pitching, but it's a gamble if the lefty you're pitching isn't good enough.

Perez came through last start, but can he do it again?

Meanwhile, the Mets have Pedro Martinez, El Duque and Victor Zambrano all on the disabled list or this series would have been over in four or five games.

--art kyriazis, philly

"Steve Trachsel, by contrast, is a proven veteran"
Art, are you watching the series? Trax tossed all credibility out the window in his last outing, and exit.