Wednesday, October 19, 2011

MLB World Series Preview and Breakdown

Well, it's that time of year again, I'm talking about the world series! I'm a Texas boy, so, of course, I love the Rangers! My boys have now been in it two years in a row, and I'm hoping this year's result is better than last. The Rangers are facing the red-hot Cardinals.

The Cardinals have been led by their slugging first baseman, Albert Pujols, and their all-star outfielder combo of Matt Holiday and Lance Berkman. The Cardinals are actually a crazy story, they made it in as a wildcard and have gone all the way. The Cards started off the playoffs by beating the Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games, then they faced Milwaukee in the NLCS and won in 6, and that's how they got here.

Nelson Cruz has been scary good thus far.


The Rangers have been riding the horse, that is, Nelson Cruz all the way... Cruz set records for the most home-runs in a postseason series (6) and most RBIs in a postseason series (13). It really has been an impressive postseason for Cruz. The Rangers got here by winning in 4 against the Rays, and 6 against the Tigers.

Both teams are known for their hitting more so than their pitching. The Rangers ranked 3rd in runs (855), 1st in batting average (.283), 5th in OBP (.340), and 2nd in slugging (.460) this year. The Cardinals haven't been much different, ranking 5th in runs, 5th in batting average, 3rd in OBP, and 6th in slugging this year.

Both aces -- C.J. Wilson and Chris Carpenter -- will face off tonight in what is expected to be another high-scoring affair. Wilson has been pretty poor so far this postseason, in 15 innings he has a 8.04 ERA, 21 hits allowed, and a 17-8 K/BB ratio. On the other hand Chris Carpenter has been quite a bit better, through three games he's pithed 17 innings, has a 3.71 ERA, 14 hits allowed, and a 8-6 K/BB ratio.


Nelson Cruz has been scary, but when batters face Jason Motte,
they wan't to run off the field!

Closers -- Neftali Feliz and Jason Motte -- have both been extremely solid this postseason. Neftali Feliz through 7 games has 4 saves, a 1.17 ERA, allowed 3 hits, and has a 5-4 K/BB ratio. On the other hand, Jason Motte has had one of the most impressive postseasons ever by a closer, through 7 games Jason Motte has 4 saves, a 0.00 ERA, 1 hit allowed and a 7-0 K/BB ratio.

My prediction for tonights game is 6-4 Cardinals, and my prediction for the series is Rangers in six.

Now here's my position-by-position breakdown:

Position      Rangers      Cardinals      Advantage
    C         M. Napoli    Y. Molina         Cards
   1B        M. Young     A. Pujols          Cards
   2B         I. Kinsler     N. Punto          Rangers
   3B         A. Beltre     D. Freese         Rangers
   SS         E. Andrus    R. Furcal           Draw
   LF        D. Murphy  M. Holliday        Cards
   RF          N. Cruz    L. Berkman       Rangers
   CF      J. Hamilton        J. Jay           Rangers
  Aces      C.J. Wilson C. Carpenter      Cards
Closers     N. Feliz         J. Motte          Cards

No comments:

Post a Comment