NLDS action starts today on KBAI 930AM

I also would have liked Dan Haren in for Trevor Cahill. As Lester and Lackey compete against each other, the friendship will be put on hold until the series is over.

Not many Cubs fans are in St. Louis yet, so FOX 32 wandered over to the city’s fake version of Wrigleyville to take the temperature of Cardinals Nation. “Well, I’m dating a Cards fan, so tonight we’re here and tomorrow we’re in Wrigleyville”, said Katie Webber, a Cubs fan. “He’s good. No accident, people running into each other this time of year”.

Lackey was paid $82.5 million the previous five years under a contract he signed with Boston, which included a conditional club option for 2015 at the minimum. Lackey can become a free agent again this fall.

Molina factor: A vital key to this series for the Cardinals will be the health of catcher Yadier Molina.

“He’s just such a good competitor, you know”, Lester said. Pinch-hitting, Pham homered off Lester with one out in the eighth to snap a string of 13 straight outs for the lefty. He fared better at home than on the road during the season with a 1.93 ERA.

The Chicago Cubs defeated Pittsburgh 4-0 in a wildcard game in which Jake Arrita yielded four hits and struck out eleven for a complete game.

Taking the mound for the Cubs is southpaw Jon Lester who finished the regular season with an 11-12 record with a 3.34 ERA in 205 innings with 207 strikeouts and 47 walks. When Lester learned he would be opposed by Lackey, he thought it amusing – and fitting. He can go offense-defense as the game demands. Kyle Hendricks (8-7, 3.95) will oppose Jaime Garcia (10-6, 2.43) in Game 2 Saturday. They won’t parade a goat through the bar if the Cubs are losing, and they aren’t passing out Steve Bartman glasses during games.

Thousands of fans regularly make the trek north or south and do their utmost to make the visitors feel right at home.

The question for Red Sox fans, who are at all interested in playoffs that don’t include their team, is a matter of which pitcher whom they wish to see win this matchup.

One interesting thing I noticed is that the pitching is right-hand heavy. And I think given that these guys are always in the playoffs, you know you have to go through (St. Louis).

Maddon grew up in Hazelton, Penn., rooting for the Cardinals, especially his favorite player, Bob Gibson. The thumb will be wrapped for at-bats.

From the time the Cubs first played ball – as the Chicago White Stockings, then the Colts and the Orphans before finally becoming the Cubs in 1903 – the team has been the underdog, the working-class man’s Lovable Losers. He savored days listening to games on KMOX.

“It’s a combination of a team that we’re proud of and a business that we’re proud of – there’s this kind of symbiosis that was created”, says Holleman.