Baseball needs a classic World Series. The last World Series to go the full seven games was the 2002 series. That matchup does remind me of this
one in the sense that neither club has particularly strong starting pitching. Let’s all hope that the similar matchup yields a similar level of excitement. Since Rob Nen’s Game 6 meltdown and John Lackey tasting champaign for the first time this is what baseball fans have been “treated” to:
- 2003: This was a pretty exciting series, all it really was missing was a Game 7. You had a 20 year old Miguel Cabrera get knocked down by Roger Clemens only to take him deep to the opposite field with the very next pitch. Alex Gonzalez hit an extra inning walkoff in Game 4 and Josh Beckett threw a shutout to clinch the series in Game 6 on short rest. It’s hard to complain about this series, but this is as good as it gets.
- 2004: It was memorable for the Red Sox breaking the curse, but the series itself was anti-climactic as the Red Sox never trailed. Game 1 was an underrated classic as the Red Sox almost blew a 7 run lead and Mark Belhorn hit the winning 3 run HR in the bottom of the 8th.
- 2005: The Astros finally made it to the World Series, unfortunately they were awful. The White Sox brought a World Series back to the Southside for the first time since 1917 thanks to a deep rotation. At least Mark Beuhrle and company worked quickly and these games ended before midnight.
- 2006: Five years later I still can’t get my head around the idea that both Jeff Weaver and Jeff Suppan won World Series starts and the only win Detroit could manage was started by Kenny Rogers. The 2006 Cardinals are a beacon for every mediocre club that backs into the Postseason.
- 2007: See 2004 but without the narrative.
- 2008: Rain
- 2009: This was a decent series. it went six games and actually featured two of the best clubs in baseball. The Phillies lost this series in Game 3 when 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hammels blew a lead and was awful in Game 3. Other than Cliff Lee in Games 1 and 5, every pitching matchup favored the Yankees and the Yankees won every game Lee did not start.
- 2010: Pretty unremarkable in every way. The Giants were lucky in that their linup of journeymen and retreads hit enough to support their dominant rotation.
Since my team is drinking “Rally Beer” and is not in the World Series I will be rooting for baseball. What is best for baseball is for a classic World Series. What I am afraid of is that these clubs with their weak rotations will use 6 pitchers to get through every game and these games will drag on and on as the managers make trip after trip to the mound. Combine that with two clubs with limited national appeal the ratings could be particularly poor. I can imagine the NFL sycophants in the national media are sharpening their knives, ready to mock and degrade baseball’s perceived failures.
On the field I like the Rangers in six games. These clubs are similar in how they are constructed, but the Rangers are better in most areas. The Rangers have a better bullpen, defense, and a deeper lineup. They are also champions of the stronger league. The Cardinals should strongly consider starting Cris Carpenter in Games 1, 4, and 7. I doubt LaRussa will do this, especially as Carpenter struggled on short rest earlier in the Postseason. This has not been attempted since Curt Schilling in 2001, but the dropoff from Carpenter to Kyle Lohse is large enough that it should be done. Carpenter is the best starter in this series and makes the Cardinals prohibitive favorites in any game he starts. Given how poor the rest of the Cardinal rotation has been Lohse could give them length out of the bullpen if a starter gets bombed early or if there is extra innings.
This series could go either way cliched as it sounds. These teams are evenly matched and we could get the classic that all baseball fans are longing for. It would be the perfect end for what has been a crazy season.
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