The 33-year-old Dodgers left-hander proved to be the most consistent starter for the repeat National League West champions, although he quickly rejects the label of staff ace.
"I almost despise that word," Wolf said Tuesday. "A guy like Chris Carpenter, you could consider him an ace. He's done it year in, year out. He's the guy who is almost a perennial top-five Cy Young voting guy."
Carpenter will start tonight for the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals against Wolf in Game 1 of their NL Divisional Series.
Carpenter, the 2005 Cy Young winner, is a strong contender for the award again this season, boasting a 17-4 record and an NL-best 2.24 ERA.
Wolf describes himself in less lofty terms.
"I've kept the team in the game," he said. "With this staff, we could have an ace on any given day. That's why I don't like to use that term. It's just try to pitch as well as you can, that's the key."
Wolf proved durable this season, setting career highs with 34 starts and 214 1/3 innings two years after missing the half of a season because of injury.
He ended the regular season strongly, going 6-1 in his final nine starts with a 2.51 ERA. Overall, he was 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA that was second on the staff to Clayton Kershaw's 2.79.
Kershaw will start Game 2 on Thursday, when Adam Wain-wright goes for the Cardinals.
The Dodgers open the series with two pitchers who lack playoff experience in Wolf and Kershaw, a 21-year-old left-hander. Manager Joe Torre went with the two lefties because the Cardinals batted .234 against southpaws compared to .274 against right-handers.
"Wolf's excited," Torre said. "You'll see him snatch the ball back from Russell Martin, and that's why he is who he is.
"Kershaw, we've spent the better part of two years trying to protect and insulate him from all this exposure because he's just a kid. Then you hand him the ball (last) Saturday and say, 'Here, kid,' and he comes back with a division title. He's not anybody to be concerned about."
Wolf spent eight seasons with Philadelphia, enduring his share of runner-up finishes and playoff misses. Then he missed the Dodgers' playoff run last season.
"You obviously start feeling like there's some kind of a jinx even though I'm not a big believer in that, but luckily that went away," he said.
Wolf couldn't have predicted his success in the offseason, when he thought he would be returning to the Houston Astros. That didn't work out and the Dodgers stepped in to sign him for a second stint about a week before spring training began.
"I was happy to have that opportunity to come to L.A. again, and I felt that I owed them something," said Wolf, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley. "I felt I had some unfinished business."
Carpenter had his own share of problems, missing nearly all of the previous two seasons with injuries. He was 2-0 with 1.20 ERA against the Dodgers this season.
"He has a bunch of weapons, so he can pitch to all areas," manager Tony La Russa said. "He competes like a maniac."
Carpenter takes no comfort in the fact that Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez comes into the playoffs having batted .218 with four home runs and 14 RBI in his last 25 games.
"If you ever take Manny Ramirez for granted, you're crazy, no matter what he's swinging," Carpenter said. "I'm not concerned if Manny is 0-for-50. He can hit. You go out and you continue to execute your gameplan, that's it."
