Cardinals Will Win the World Series
St. Louis – The lights are on, the camera is rolling, and the stage is set for the Cardinals to win their eleventh World Series as Game 2 gets underway tonight in St. Louis.
Game 1 of the World Series proved to be a hard fought pitchers dual in the Cardinals 3-2 victory over the Texas Rangers Wednesday night, but games like that are something the Red Birds have had to deal with all season.
It’s been a long, bumpy, winding road for the Cardinals this season, one that should have the Birds watching the postseason action from their couches rather than playing in the Fall Classic. Whether it be injuries, an erratic bullpen, a debatable decision to get rid of a talented young short stop, the replacing of said short stop with a lackluster defensive player, an underperforming centerfielder with a high ceiling who found himself being used as trade bait, the distraction of having the potentially best player in baseball history be in his contract year, or one of the many other inconceivable impediments that have done their best to prevent this post-season endeavor, the Cardinals have somehow managed to prevent themselves from being overwhelmed by the trials that have attempted to bring them down or the magnitude of their late season accomplishments.
My friends, the Cardinals will win the World Series this year. It’s been an agonizing year for many fans full of much distress, but that, my dear residents of the Gateway City, is no longer.
While he may be the cause of much pain and torment for members of Cardinal Nation, Tony LaRussa’s expertise in the art of baseball has transcended the team into the post-season and has them on the cusp of an eleventh World Series.
While some heavy hitting critical analysis of John Mozeliak moves this past off-season, as well as the trade of Colby Rasmus will provide fans and media types with plenty of chatter come years end, the acquisition of now vital members of the bullpen has proved to be the primary reason why the Cardinals have launched themselves into the World Series.
While the Texas Rangers line-up has stellar offensive players spread throughout their line-up, the masterful use of the occupants within the Cardinals bullpen should put a damper on the southern boys’ hit parade.
Despite the troubles of the starting pitchers this October, the Cardinals have managed to stick by a 3.99 ERA letting up just 49 runs in 106 innings. The Rangers, on the other hand, have an ERA of 4.05 with 49 runs scored against them but in 6 less innings than the Cardinals, and have let up 20 homeruns during the post season versus St. Louis’s 13 long balls allowed.
The Cardinals offense has been severely downplayed heading into the World Series. The best offensive team in the National League has not been disappointing this post-season. In fact, the top three batting averages during the League Championship Series belong to members of the Cardinals. Freese hit .545, Pujols was batting .478, and Holliday was swinging the bat for a .435 average. The Cardinals also have six players listed in the top ten for runs scored (Freese and Holliday 9, Berkman and Pujols 8, Furcal and Jay 7) compared to the Ragners’ four (Beltre and Napoli 10, Cruz and Kinsler 8). The Cardinals also have a higher collective batting average than the Rangers (.284 vs .254) and more runs scored (65 vs 57) than the almighty Texas Rangers line-up.
While Nelson Cruz has been drawing much attention from the national media for his astonishing performance during the ALCS, the post-season has belong to David Freese. The NLCS MVP has more runs scored (Freese 9 runs compared to Cruz’s 8), hits (18-10), doubles (6-2), RBI’s (14-13), a higher batting average (.429-.250), on base percentage (.478-.318), and slugging percentage (.857-.750) than his ALCS MVP counterpart. In fact, the only statistical category that Freese trails Cruz in is homeruns (4-6).
The time is now, my friends. A better offense, better pitching, a stronger desire to prove the critics wrong, and the passion for the game from the manager on down will see the Cardinals through to victory.
Get out your Rally Squirrels and pet tortoises, the Cardinals WILL BE the 2011 World Series Champions.
Buy MLB Playoff Tickets | Buy St. Louis Cardinals ApparelLeave a Rant
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
