Obviously, these series usually come down to pitching first, with both offense and defense coming in tied for second.

Looking at the Dodgers, they are a club that puts the ball in play more often than the Cubs, but with less authority.  I would anticipate Torre putting the game in motion to stay away from rally killing double plays (they hit into 153 this year) and to pressure Soto and the Cubs defense.  Also, depending on the score, I would imagine the Cubs will not give Manny much to hit unless they have no choice.  He is the one guy you don't want to give the opportunity to beat you by himself, and he has the capability if you let him.  The Cub's pitchers need to be aggressive with hitters ahead of Ramirez and eliminate any free passes ahead of him.  Piniella will be listening to his advance scouts and will probably mix in some pitchouts, when they jive with when Torre likes to send guys.  Being the underdog, the Dodgers will be aggressive, and the pitchers will have to manage keeping guys close and Soto will need to show he can gun guys down.

Just a guy feeling on my part, but I feel both Lee and Edmonds are going to do some damage in this series and I'm going with the Cubbies in 4.