Hitless Rolen remains content

The Cardinals third baseman has been slumping since his return from a calf injury.

By R.B. Fallstrom ~ The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Another round of playoffs is giving Scott Rolen a chance to get his timing back.

The St. Louis Cardinals advanced to the NL championship series for the third time in five years, dispatching the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games in the opening round.

They did it without much of a contribution from their top RBI man.

Rolen drove in 124 runs and batted .358 with runners in scoring position, second-best in the NL. But he's been injured much of the final month and is still trying to get his timing back.

He was hitless in 12 at-bats in the division series, settling for six walks.

Several times during the first round, manager Tony La Russa said Rolen wasn't completely healthy but was "playable." And defense at third base has been a constant for the five-time Gold Glove winner.

"I'm not real worried about what the stats say or don't say," Rolen said. "I didn't get a hit the whole series, but we're in here popping champagne, and that's all that matters."

The best-of-seven NLCS begins Wednesday night in St. Louis. The Cardinals play the Houston-Atlanta winner.

Rolen was sidelined for 16 games with a strained left calf muscle sustained Sept. 10 legging out a double right after fouling a pitch off his shin. He's in a 3-for-29 slump overall with one home run since returning.

This after batting a career-best .314, his first .300 season. He has driven in 100 or more runs five times in eight major league seasons and was the leading vote-getter on the National League All-Star ballot.

Teammates expect more of a typical contribution in the NLCS.

"I think he's a little bit off," Albert Pujols said. "But he's a strong guy and he knows that he's going to get his hits.

"I'm pretty sure he's going to come around. He's the best third baseman in the league and I know he's going to come up big when we need it."

The Cardinals haven't made it to the World Series since 1987, and haven't been champions since 1982.

Beating the Dodgers convincingly gives them confidence they can get to the World Series this time. They had gone 8-7 after clinching the NL Central on Sept. 18.

"Everybody was worried about us being a little flat, but we weren't flat," Rolen said. "We played well in this series."

The Cardinals were 4-2 against the Braves and 8-10 against the Astros, who swept a three-game series in Houston from Sept. 27-29 during their season-ending run to the wild card.

"It doesn't matter who we face," Pujols said. "We've played great against both of those clubs and we'd better get going.

"You can't be afraid of who you're facing."

This is right fielder Larry Walker's first trip to the NLCS. He made it to the playoffs once, in 1995, with the Rockies and ended a nine-year postseason absence in this year's division series.

"I always try not to get too carried away," Walker said. "I mean, we know where we're at and that we have an opportunity, but we want to stay at an even keel."

Clinching the division series in four games gives the Cardinals a chance to reset the rotation for the NLCS. Woody Williams was to have started Game 5 of the division series so he could go on extra rest in Game 1 of the NLCS on Wednesday.

No. 4 starter Jeff Suppan had perhaps the most impressive showing, though, allowing only two runs on two hits in seven innings in the clincher. He settled down after a shaky start, retiring the final 14 batters.

"He wasn't intimidated at all," Pujols said. "Even though they jumped on him right away, he kept making his pitches."

Suppan said he tried to stick to the same routine he follows during the season.

"I was just taking it pitch by pitch and just kept it very simple," Suppan said. "It's very satisfying.

"I did the things I had done during the season, and the offense and defense we have here just made it a lot easier."

The Cardinals took the day off Monday after the return flight from Los Angeles arrived around 4 a.m.