The 2013 World Series has the top two teams in baseball facing each other as the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals will battle for this year's championship. Both teams deserve to win after amazing runs during the regular season and the playoffs. They come evenly matched with pitching and hitting. Here is what both teams have to do to impose their will on the other and walk out World Series champions.
Boston Strong Still the Motto
It seems long ago that Boston was hit with the bombing attack that killed eight during the city's marathon. While many got on with their lives, it seems as though the Red Sox have used this to power their season. The logo still reads in the middle of their outfield.
Now, in regards to what they bring to the table as a team. Clutch is a hard thing to measure. It is not a tangible stats as two-out runs and walk-offs are probably the closest thing statisticians have to measure "clutch." Whatever you want to consider clutch to be is something the Red Sox have. They hit two grand slams to either tie or win a game in the ALCS. In the ALDS, they relied mostly on small ball, stringing hits after hits to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Red Sox are a group of savvy veterans with World Series winners. Jon Lester, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia won their rings with the Red Sox, John Lackey won it way back when in 2002 with the Los Angeles Angels and Shane Victorino got jewelry chance in 2008 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Other players are still chasing for their first rings like Mike Napoli, who was there twice, but the Texas Rangers could not close the door. Jake Peavy came to Boston to help them get the ring, but he is doing more harm than good.
The veterans and hitting will be the reason why the Red Sox win this. Their pitching has been great, but the "clutch" factor will be the deciding factor in this series.
Cardinals PItching Cuffs Boston Bats
Okay, so these alliterations are getting a little lengthy, but they speak the truth. The Cardinals will need to quiet the Red Sox. They can strike them out 20 times in a game, but the pitching will have to close the door for all 27 outs. The Cardinals need their pitching to last them all nine innings as it will take a collaborative effort between pitching and hitting to put this series away.
During the ALDS and ALCS, the Cardinals starters posted a 2.57 ERA in 11 games. They pitched 70 innings, allowing five home runs, striking out 66 batters while holding their opponents to a .218 batting average. The Cardinals used their defense, turning 15 double plays, which they will need to kill the rallies.
In the league championship alone, the Red Sox destroyed the Detroit Tigers bullpen, hitting two homers and driving in seven runs in 12.2 innings pitched for a 4.97 ERA. The Red Sox struck out plenty of times, but they were the ones who closed out ball games rather the oppositions' relievers.
The Cardinals had four guys combine for 14.1 shutout innings of baseball; Randy Choate, Lance Lynn, Seth Mannes and Trevor Rosenthal.
Consider the 2013 World Series a competition of pitching vs. hitting. Not much is made of the Red Sox's bullpen, but it will be their ability to hit the Cardinals' young pitching staff that will make the difference for them, while the Cardinals will need their young hurlers to show up and make a stand.
Who do you have as the 2013 World Series Champion?