World Series preview
Betting tips 
/ Ed Wyatt / 18 October 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
...I still think the Rangers are too good and too experienced to let this second opportunity slip.
Ed Wyatt is ready to go with a best-of-seven game series to determine who is baseball's "world" champion.
The Texas Rangers are back for a second consecutive year after losing to the San Francisco Giants in 2010.
Their opponents are truly one of the year's great Cinderella stories. The St. Louis Cardinals were 8 ½ games out of the wildcard spot in early September, but rallied to make the playoffs on the final day of the season. The Cardinals dispatched heavily-favoured Philadelphia in the NLDS and Milwaukee in the NLCS, confounding the so-called "experts" (a list including yours truly).
These two teams did not play in the regular season, and even though they have an inferior record, the Cardinals will have home-field advantage because the National League won the All Star game. Texas is the 22nd team since the World Series began in 1903 to return for a second crack at the title a year later. Twelve of the 21 previous teams won it all the second time around.
I've been bullish on the Rangers throughout the playoffs, mostly because of their hitting. Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre can light it up in any park, and will be a real challenge to the Cardinals' pitching staff. Manager Tony LaRussa has gotten great innings from his number one pitcher Chris Carpenter, and his mix and match bullpen has also been getting it done.
Whether they can do that against Texas is a whole different question.
Of course, the Cardinals can hit too - they averaged more than six runs per game against Milwaukee - and feature one of the league's genuine superstars in Albert Pujols. I think this has the potential to be a high-scoring World Series. I've underestimated the Cardinals so far, and while backing the "hot team" is definitely in vogue, I still think the Rangers are too good and too experienced to let this second opportunity slip.
Game One (Thursday Australian time)
The aces of both pitching staffs - Chris Carpenter for the Cardinals and BJ Wilson for the Rangers - get the start in Game One. Both are well rested, so that won't be an issue. Carpenter has won three starts in the post-season and held the Phillies to three hits in the win that clinched the NLCS.
Wilson, on the other hand, has struggled in the playoffs. He's 0-2 with an 8.04 ERA and given up six home runs. Since this game is in St. Louis, National League rules apply and there will be no designated hitter. Texas will have to sit down one of its big bats, and that factor, along with Carpenter's recent mastery, has me leaning towards the Cardinals in the opener.
Back St. Louis at $1.90 or better
