Scuffed Balls

Texas Rangers vs St. Louis Cardinals   If you said back in September this years World Series matchup would be between the Cardinals and Rangers, you would have been spending too much time on the Red Sox dugout and locker room. The Rangers yes but the Cardinals, no way, 10 and a half out with 3 weeks to go. Thanks to a collapse by the Braves and a unbelievable run by the Cardinals they made the playoffs but that was it right? No chance of beating the mighty Phillies with the best starting rotation in history right? Howard, Utley, Rollins and Pence, sweep right? umm no Cardinals win in 5 at Philly with Carpenter out dueling the great Doc Halladay. The Cardinals won't be able to beat the Brewers, especially with the Brewers dominance at home and the dynamic duo of Braun and Fielder right? They beat the Brewers in 6 but it wasn't even that close, the Cardinals dominated the N.L.C.S. and roll into the World Series against the Rangers, they can't do it again, right? On the other side there is the defending AL Champions, coming off a A.L.C.S. victory over the Tigers in 6 games after ending the storybook tale that was the Rays in the Division series. The Rangers for whatever reason still don't get the credit and respect they deserve and seem to use it as fuel for every series. When you breakdown the matchups there all even for the most part. Starting pitching is a weak spot for both teams right now and no clear edge to either team here. Bullpen gets a slight edge to the Rangers with Ogando, Adams and Feliz   lined up to finish games. Lineup goes to the Rangers with a relentless order from 1 to 9, Nelson Cruz bats 7th, (ouch) the Yankees and Red Sox can't hang with these bats. There is one wild card however, the Machine, Albert freakin Pujols. He alone could carry the Cardinals to there 11th World Series title.  He alone makes the Cardinals lineup come close to matching the Rangers. The biggest edge in this series goes to the Cardinals on the manager side. Tony Larussa is not well liked in baseball circles. His methods scoffed at but nobody can question his  record. Year in and year out the Cardinals are in the playoffs or knocking down the door to get in.La Russa has won everywhere he's been, even with the White Sox in 1983. La Russa will manage circles around Ron Washington who leaves you scratching your head several times a game but yet seems to work for the Rangers. That being said, Washington has managed his team to victories in the past 2 Postseasons over Joe Maddon twice, Joe Girardi and Jim Leyland, so maybe Washington  is a genius, we will see. The Cardinals home field advantage should not come into play in this series as both teams have played better on the road the entire postseason. When it's all said and done the Rangers deep lineup and bullpen will be to much for the Cardinals to overcome. The Cardinals can't prove everybody wrong again right? Larussa and Pujols possible swan song from the Cardinals will not help propel them to a title either. This will be a slugfest, with high scoring games being decided by the bullpens.The Rangers have a bad taste in there mouth after watching the Giants celebrate on there home field and have had a single focus all year, to be the team celebrating on there opponents field. Final Verdict Texas Rangers in 6.