BLOG: Cards In Seven
The World Series begins tonight and it features a match-up of a franchise with a great postseason history and another looking for redemption.
In their history, the St.Louis Cardinals have won the Fall Classic 10 times which in second in all of baseball to the New York Yankees who have won 27.
The Texas Rangers, who are making their second-straight Series appearance, are hoping for a better performance than last year when they were schooled by the San Francisco Giants in five games.
In Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton, the Cards and Rangers feature superstar players who are capable of carrying teams to victory.
You can always expect an unsung hero to emerge, as well. Who that will be remains to be seen.
Both teams have been getting strong performances from their bullpen's during the playoffs, but the starting pitching has been somewhat sketchy.
C.J. Wilson of Texas and St.Louis' Chris Carpenter are considered to be the aces of the series. If it comes down to a matchup of these two, I'll take Carpenter.
In Mike Gonzalez, Koji Uehara and Arthur Rhodes, there are some former Orioles who could have an effect on the series. Koji, however, has struggled in the playoffs and might not get many chances.
Love him or hate him, Cards manager Tony LaRussa is one the greatest of all-time. Along with Sparky Anderson, LaRussa is one of only two skippers to win the World Series in both the American and National League.
Texas manager Ron Washington is no slouch, but LaRussa is a Hall of Famer.
I expect to see a lot of runs and probably some controversy. What's a big series without the umps screwing up, at some point.
In a World Series that goes the distance, give me the Cardinals in seven for title number 11.
BH
