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In the CardsI don't where to start. So I'll start here.
"Team of Destiny"
I wish this bullshit would go away. Three weeks ago we needed to fear the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes, they were a good team. The Rangers needed to play well to beat them. They were not a "team of destiny." They were a team that played well because they are good and benefited from one of hte more historic regular season collapses in Major League Baseball history. Same with the St. Louis Cardinals. They are a good team and the Rangers, again, will need to play very well to win the World Series. However, the Cardinals are not ruled or propelled by some unseen force, some sports deity with an affinity for Tom Pagnozzi or Bob Tewksbury. The Cardinals did win 90 games and not long ago won a World Series. There's also that Pujols guy.
This differs from the 2010 San Francisco Giants, who also were not a "team of destiny." The Giants won 92 games in a very contentious division (three teams over .500) and also resulted in a collapse thanks to the San Diego Padres. Also, the Giants had two top-of-the-line pitchers (Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain), two pretty good pitchers (Madison Bumgarner, Jon Sanchez) and a killer bullpen. Add some clutch hitting and that's good enough for a world championship.
It's not destiny. It's rising up to the occasion. The idea of destiny takes away any value that World Series ring might hold.
"The Cardinals And Rangers Are The Same"
Umm, no. Untrue. Dig into whatever statistics you want. I'm sure the Rangers are similar to the Washington Nationals, the 1934 Cleveland Indians and the 1914 Chicago Whales. However, it's disrespectful to what the Rangers did this season to compare them to the Cardinals. Say what you will about the Rangers' bullpen, but the Cardinals with a halfway decent bullpen win the division by eight games. Their bullpen's sucked all season. Their offense is clutch, yes, but to call them necessarily good or deep the same way the Ranger's is is nuts. The Rangers' starting pitching is far superior and far deeper. And the Rangers defense is a lot better with far more range.
"Frankly, The Rangers Are Better"
I'm not saying they'll win the World Series. I'm just saying from April 1 to right now, the Rangers have been better than the St. Louis Cardinals. That's to take nothing away from the Cards. Hell, the Philadelphia Phillies were better than the Rangers. Yet, we all saw what the Cardinals did to them. But honestly if you're going to compare the 25-man of the Rangers to that of the Cardinals, the former needs a little more respect. The Rangers won their division by 10 games without the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds or Houston Astros on the schedule. The Rangers had five starters with at least 13 wins. The Rangers acquired pieces to make the seventh, eighth and ninth innings unhittable (that's not including Alexi Ogando). The Rangers have three guys with 30 homers and another two with at least 25.
Compare on paper all you want, just go ask any team in the Majors who'd they rather see in the World Series.
Some keys to things:
Mike Young
I thought Nelson Cruz was the offensive key to the Rangers in the ALCS. I was kinda right. Thankfully he stepped up. Now, I think the onus is now on the team captain, Mike Young. The irritable one woke up late in the ALCS with a pair of hits in game 5 and two doubles and a homer in game 6. Otherwise, he was dreadful. Dreadful Young must not return. No, Young needs to be on top of things. He needs to be the cog between the top of the order and the bashers at the bottom. A year ago, Young hit .250 with no extra-base hits and no RBI in the Series. That must change. Quickly. Huge.
Pujols
He must not come to the plate with runners on. He must never receive -- runners on or not -- a pitch to hit. It's like Miguel Cabrera on steroids. OK. Bad analogy.
Control
The Cardinals do some things well. Not an overwhelming amount of things. But enough to get you 90 wins. What they do exceptionally well, something that fuels their entire offense. They finished first in the Majors in average with runners in scoring position and runners in scoring position and two outs (.290, .269, respectively). The Cards finished sixth in walks in the Majors. The Rangers must throw strikes, something I think they've done relatively well (about 3.6 walks per game) against Tampa and Detroit. The Cardinals kill you with runners on. Just don't put them on. Simple. Right?
Starting Pitching
By the end of this Series, if the Rangers expect to win, we must all say, "Man, the Rangers' starting pitching simply outpitched the Cardinals. I think the Rangers starters have gotten a bad rap. Had they pitched like they have in the playoffs in the regular season, Ron Washington would have kept them in the game to go six or seven. Now, the Rangers have had bad starts. Particularly by C.J. Wilson (he's allowed 16 of the Rangers' 42 runs ... take those away and they've allowed 26 runs in nine games, which is about 2.8 per game). However, everyone else has held their own. Matt Harrison and Colby Lewis especially deserve a tad more credit than they've received.
Now's the time to let the guys go, if you're Washington. Know that if you can get to the sixth or seventh inning that the Cards will be increasingly desperate to score a run and that'll be tough against the Rangers' bullpen.
LaRussa
Ron Washington's a great manager. And he still could learn something from Tony LaRussa. This is his seventh World Series, and he's won two others. He'll coach your pants off. Be prepared for about a dozen pitching changes. Possibly in one inning. Maybe he overmanages. Doesn't matter. He wins a lot too and those guys like playing for him (maybe not Colby Rasmus) and he delivers. He has his team ready to play.
Cardinals Bullpen
They've been exceptional this post-season. Remarkable. A big reason they're playing tonight. However, that doesn't include the various meltdowns throughout this season. The Cardinals have lost an extraordinary amount of games in the late innings. Again, had they a decent bullpen, they run away with the NL Central. The Cards bullpen can be had, though. The key is getting to the starter. They've had their troubles in the post-season. If you can force the starter out early and make LaRussa pitch a reliever for a full inning (or with the intentions of doing so) there can be an opening there. Instead, if the starter goes six or seven and LaRussa can mix or match his match-ups, it's hard to get momentum and once you get used to one guy throwing, you're forced to figure out another. With LaRussa's strategy, getting to the late innings ahead might be trickier than just facing Neftali Feliz for 20 pitches.
Prediction
Rangers in seven
Rangers are just better. They can get a couple in St. Louis, I think. It'll be a battle though. Giddy.
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