Cardinals vs. Red Sox: 5 Bold 2013 World Series Predictions

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Cardinals vs. Red Sox: 5 Bold Predictions

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

It is here; it is finally time, and Wednesday night the Fall Classic begins. The World Series has seen some incredible moments and surprising difference makers.

In 1988, in his only at bat of the series, injured Kirk Gibson hit as iconic a walk-off home run as the game has ever seen.

We have seen Reggie Jackson hit three home runs on three pitches. We have seen Scott Brosius and Jim Leyritz have incredible World Series performances. Luis Gonzalez had a walk-off World Series winning single against the greatest reliever the game has ever known.

The World Series is full of the greatest players performing their best in the biggest moments, and we have seen guys come out of nowhere and change the commentary of the series. Unlikely MVPs have emerged and MVPs of the league have come up short. There is no telling what might happen in a World Series, but one thing is for sure; there is always something that will make you say 'that was incredible'.

Well, for every unbelievable moment, there is someone out there that claims they knew it was going to happen before it happened. They saw it coming. Well, I am not claiming these next five things will happen, but they are certainly possible. They would definitely raise some eyebrows if they do and leave you saying 'that was incredible'.

So here are five bold predictions I could see coming true during the 2013 World Series.

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Allen Craig comes through with at least one game-winning hit

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Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

Allen Craig has not played since early September with a foot injury but is expected to be on the active roster for the St. Louis Cardinals. Craig was incredible in crunch time this season. He came to the plate 130 times with runners in scoring position, and in that time he drove in 83 runs and hit an unreal .454. He has a chance to be the second coming of Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series.

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The Boston Red Sox will lose a game due to poor base running

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Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox won the ALCS at times despite themselves. In a single inning in Game 5 the Red Sox failed to advance on the bases twice which could have wound up costing them runs. It was a common theme that went largely un-scrutinized. In a series that is expected to be tight game in and game out, a game could easily be lost by poor base running.

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The St. Louis Cardinals will hit under .250 with Runners in Scoring Position

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Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

A collective .250 doesn’t leap off the page as a bold call, until you see what the St. Louis Cardinals did during the regular season. In 1,355 at bats with runners in scoring position, the team had an average of .330. The Boston Red Sox had 1,559 at bats and an average of .278. If the Red Sox pitchers can prevent the Cardinals from having success with runners in scoring position, they will win the World Series.

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The best pitcher in the series won’t be a starter, but instead Koji Uehara

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Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY

Both the ALCS and the NLCS saw true ace level pitchers start the game only to see their team lose. In the NLCS, the Los Angeles Dodgers lost two games started by Clayton Kershaw and one by Zach Grienke. The Detroit Tigers lost two Max Scherzer starts and a Justin Verlander start. Meanwhile the St. Louis Cardinals dropped an Adam Wainwright start, and the Boston Red Sox lost starts by John Lester and Jake Peavy. Meanwhile Koji Uehara has thrown nine innings over eight different games, giving up just one run, piling up five saves and a win. If he pitches like that again this series, he could easily be considered the best pitcher in the series.

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Xander Bogaerts will win World Series MVP

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Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY

The 21 year old rookie Xander Bogaerts has six postseason at bats. He has three hits in those at bats, all three resulting in doubles. He has also walked four times and crossed the plate to account for seven runs. That makes his triple slash line .500/.727/1.000. He has only started two games thus far. If he manages to get the start in each game, he has a chance to really shine and could become only the second rookie to ever win the World Series MVP, the other being Livan Hernandez for the Florida Marlins in 1997.





Related: 2013 MLB World Series: 5 Reasons Why John Farrell Deserves the Title

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