My initial prediction before the playoffs started has held true, as the Cardinals are on the cusp of completing the craziest comeback in baseball history. The Texas Rangers, meanwhile, have the makings of the dynasty, reaching the World Series for the second straight season. Before the postseason, I took the Rangers in six. I am going to hold true with the same prediction, and I have some quick analysis below breaking down the matchup.
It makes sense to start out with the starting pitchers, and this is where both teams are evenly matched. The Cardinals will trot out ace Chris Carpenter tonight, and they also have Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse, and Edwin Jackson slated to pitch in the World Series. C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, and Derek Holland figure to be the four starters for the Rangers. However, only Wilson and Lewis have officially been named as the game one and two starters respectively.
Wilson has looked fatigued throughout the playoffs, so it looks like Carpenter is the best pitcher in the World Series this year. There really isn’t much separating either rotation, and this is one of the few matchups where it isn’t actually going to be about starting pitching. The Cardinals and Rangers both have very deep bullpens, and their managers love going to them as soon as possible. Both pens have been unhittable thus far in the playoffs, and I expect this trend to continue.
Jason Motte, Octavio Dotel, Arthur Rhodes (who pitched with the Rangers earlier this season), Marc Rzepczynski, and Fernando Salas are five quality relievers, and Dotel and Motte have been exceptional recently. The Rangers do have the advantage in the pen, as they have better relievers talent-wise. They have one of the top five bullpens in the MLB with Neftali Feliz, Mike Adams, Alexi Ogando, Mike Gonzalez, Scott Feldman, and Darren Oliver. These guys are stacked, and Ron Washington knows it. He loves going to those guys, and who could blame him? They have the deepest core of relievers in the league, and the game is pretty much over from the seventh inning onward.
The Cardinals have star power offensively as well as depth, but nobody can compete with the Rangers offense (save the Yankees). Â They have seven of some of the best hitters at their respective positions in Michael Young, Mike Napoli, Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Beltre, Josh Hamilton, and Nelson Cruz.
With all that being said, the Cardinals certainly deserve to be here. I mean, I was one of the many people who believed they would make it this far. The best experts on ESPN are pretty much evenly split on who is going to win the World Series between these two ballclubs. The Rangers have the better bullpen and the second best offense in baseball, therefore I am taking the Rangers in six games and holding strong with my initial prediction. The Cards will put up a strong fight, but I can’t see the Rangers losing. When you look at the advanced metrics, Texas is actually one of the best teams on an all-time scale. While they aren’t quite the Yankees’ of ’27 or the late 90’s- or even the Mustache Brigade- they’re still a great team oozing with depth. And not just any kind of depth; this team has a plethora of high-level players. Just look at the players I listed who will be taking cuts at the plate, as well as the guys who will be doing work on the mound. In any case, this is going to be a really interesting World Series; regardless of who wins.