The Achilles' heels for each postseason contender

Despite an impressive roster of righthanded and switch hitters -- Allen Craig, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina and David Freese -- St. Louis has

Joe Lemire | Sep 23, 2013

The Achilles' heels for each postseason contender /

Despite an impressive roster of righthanded and switch hitters -- Allen Craig, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, Yadier Molina and David Freese -- St. Louis has struggled all year against lefthanded pitching. The Cardinals are just 17-23 (.425) in games when their opponent starts a southpaw on the mound, as opposed to 74-42 (.638) against righties. They have a .669 OPS against lefties, which ranks 27th in the majors and could be problematic against NL playoff teams with multiple lefty starters: the Braves have Mike Minor, Paul Maholm and Alex Wood; the Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-jin Ryu and potentially Chris Capuano; and the Pirates have Francisco Liriano and Jeff Locke.

Stephen Drew is a weak spot in the Red Sox' defense that could be problematic in October. — Stephen Drew is a weak spot in the Red Sox' defense that could be problematic in October :: Winslow Townson/AP

Published Sep 23, 2013

JOE LEMIRE

Staff Writer, Sports Illustrated Staff writer Joe Lemire is in his seventh year at Sports Illustrated and his fourth season covering baseball full time. Lemire writes features and analysis for SI and SI.com and is responsible for the website's weekly MLB Power Rankings. He has profiled Pirates star Andrew McCutchen and Braves rookie sensation Evan Gattis for the magazine. Lemire's penchant for covering America's pastime is to be expected considering his inspirations, Tom Verducci and Peter Gammons, are among the most well-known writers in the sport. Before his current role, Lemire spent his first three years with SI oscillating between baseball, college basketball, high school football and sports business. This came on the heels of a summer internship with the magazine in 2004 and a tenure as a stringer with SI: On Campus. Born in Richmond, Va., and raised in Lowell, Mass., Lemire graduated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with a B.A. in government and a minor in economics. Before joining SI he covered high school and college sports for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Va. He earned two Virginia Press Association awards for his work, one while a student writing at University of Virginia's Cavalier Daily and one at the Daily News-Record.