A Tale of Two Cities

By JP

I know, I know, my genius at creating titles for my posts is over whelming. I bet NO ONE has to use that title. Ever. Yeah, right. While it is decidedly NOT an original title, I do believe it is apropos given the fact that the two teams that will start battling for the World Series Wednesday night a so very similar this season.

Let's start with the obvious:

• Both teams finished the season with a 97-65 record, tied for the best in baseball. 
• Both teams have won two World Series championships the last ten years
• Both teams have a red based color scheme (that one is stretching, although true, but I needed a third thing)

Now for the slightly less obvious:

• During the regular season, the Cardinals sported a team batting average of .269 and the Red Sox batted .277 as a team. While the Red Sox had a higher batting average, they also used a Designated Hitter (an AL rule) while the Cardinals (an NL team) do not and therefore have the pitcher hit which can lower the BA. The Red Sox also outscored the Cardinals on the season 853 to 783. That difference is 70 runs which is the difference of DH versus no DH. So, I would say that they will be pretty equal during the matchup (the Cardinals will use a DH at Fenway and the Red Sox will not use a DH at Busch.
• The Cardinals pitching staff and a team ERA of 3.42 and the Red Sox had a 3.79 ERA. However, again because of the DH, I would say that the two teams are pretty equal in pitching. 
• On paper (and it's hard to trust "on paper") the Cardinals have the edge, slightly, in starting pitching with Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha (assuming he can repeat, or nearly repeat, his NLCS performance. Just remember, David Freese had a similar feat in 2011). But that's where the Cardinals get into a little bit of trouble. Who's there third option? Joe Kelly has allow 8 earned runs and 18 hits in three starts and Boston's lineup is more dangerous than LA's or Pittsburgh's. Lance Lynn sucked it up in the NLDS, but got the win in game 1 of the NLCS after pitching 2 innings in relief. He also got the win in game 5 of the NLCS going 5.1 innings and only allowing 2 earned runs. With John Lackey, John Lester, and Clay Buchholz, I give the slight edge to Boston AFTER the Cardinals duo of Wainwright and Wacha. 

So, who will win the World Series? I have no idea. I have been negative about the Cardinals chances in the NLDS and the NLCS, but I am cautiously optimistic about the World Series. And that scares me. Why? Because Boston is a great team and because Boston has home field advantage. A split in Boston would give me more hope. 

I have heard some talk about how Boston just beat a team with a past Cy Young winner, a future Cy Young winner, and an ERA champ and Boston beat that team in 6. Um, yeah, so did the Cardinals. The biggest factor in Boston beating Detroit was Detroit's bullpen. While certainly possible, it's unlikely that the Cardinals bullpen will allow a couple of game tying/winning grand slams. 

So, while the Cardinals look good on paper right now, let's not forget that lots of things look good on paper; the 2013 Toronto Blue Jays, 2013 Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans, and Superman IV (OK, that didn't look good on paper. At all. Not even a little). My point is this, in roughly a weeks time we will know who won the World Series. But it should be fun. 

GO CARDINALS!!!