World Series Preview

This World Series is a rematch of the 2004 World Series, but there is only one player leftover from that Series, David Ortiz. So, really just take all of that Series out the window, and focus on the 2013 incarnations of the Cardinals and Red Sox. Plus, there is no way this Series ends the way that one did, in a sweep by Boston. These are two classic baseball teams and cities, plus, the ratings have been up all postseason. So, that should make Fox a very happy broadcast partner with relatively high ratings, say in the 10-12 range. Now, on to the actual preview.

Boston was predicted in the beginning of the season to finish around the middle of the pack in the AL East, with everyone but them predicted to finish ahead of them. They made very savvy free agent signings, and have brought up their uber prospect to play in some games in the postseason. All of their savvy signings paid off too, with very good results from each. Mike Napoli, who has made the transition from catcher to first baseman quite seamlessly, has been pretty good defensively at first, has hit his usual .250, and slammed some big homers. Plus, Napoli has been the leader behind the beard craze in Boston, with everyone grabbing on to his beard after he hits a home run, and become somewhat of a cult figure up there. Then, there is Shane Victorino, who has made Fenway Park's right field his home and played very good defense out there, as well as stealing bases at the right time, and hit a huge grand slam to lead the Red Sox into the World Series. Then, Stephen Drew has played fantastic defense at shortstop, which is what he was signed to do. Finally, the Red Sox uber prospect, Xander Boegaerts, has filled in for Drew at shortstop, and has provided some spark in the bottom of the order, as well as providing decent defense. The other elements for Boston has also done well, that being their pitching, which has been phenomenal, holding good teams like
Tampa and Detroit to fewer than three runs in most of their games. Plus, the bullpen has pitched incredibly well, with Koji Uehara having a less than 1 ERA in the postseason.
St. Louis though, has been playing equally well, with their pitching leading the way. St. Louis also has a big bat in Allen Craig coming back from a leg injury. Craig has not played in 7 weeks, but he will come back for the most important series of the year, where he goes, the Cardinals will probably go as well. Craig led the Cards with average around .330 with RISP, and the Cardinals really need that to get going in this series. The pitching, as mentioned, has been equally good, led by Adam Wainwright, and Michael Wacha, who as a rookie has been amazing in his first three postseason starts. I believe the Cardinals are the better overall team, and this will be a series which easily can go six or seven.