2. Big games from Big Unit
There's probably more pressure on Randy Johnson than any player in the playoffs. Heading into the postseason, he was 0-5 in his last five playoff decisions -- and he knows that. He knows Arizona has struggled scoring runs for him at times as well. This is what Johnson was brought to Arizona to do. They knew they would get to the playoffs when they signed some other players, but the Diamondbacks expect Johnson to take them further than just the Division Series.

3. A little help down there
I think the Diamondbacks gave up a lot when they traded shortstop Tony Batista to Toronto. They need some offense from the bottom of the lineup, something Batista could have provided. I'm not sure that their last three hitters can be productive. Arizona will probably play Hanley Frias (.273) at shortstop instead of Andy Fox (.255), but more for Frias' defensive skills as opposed to any offense he could muster. They had a plus shortstop in Batista and let him go. That deal could come back to haunt the Diamondbacks in the playoffs.

4. The Mets' leaders by example
The composure of John Olerud and Robin Ventura will be big for the Mets. Those two players go out and do their jobs as quietly and as well as they can possibly be done. That composure is key during playoff time, and needs to rub off on the rest of the Mets in the series.

5. Keep the ball down
For the Mets to be successful, the pitchers need to lower their sights. They have a 90-foot square of an infield, and including the pitchers, they have five gloves that can make a play -- four really good gloves in Ventura and Olerud on the corners and shortstop Rey Ordonez and second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo in the middle. The Met pitchers don't need to look for strikeouts. If they stay down in the zone, the Arizona batters will put the ball in play and allow that great Mets infield to make plays.

Former major-league pitcher Rick Sutcliffe will be covering the playoffs for ESPN.