For the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers, it all come down to this.
First one to four wins. The World Series starts Wednesday in St. Louis and offense isn’t expected to be a problem for either team. The question is, who has the more potent lineup?
“Both lineups cause problems for you,” Fox Sports Radio MLB and analyst and World Series Champion Rob Dibble told Brad Cesmat Tuesday on “Big Guy on Sports.” “The only reason I think the Cardinals have the advantage is the first two games are in their ballpark which takes away the DH from the Rangers.”
The American League Champion Rangers feature sluggers Nelson Cruz and Josh Hamilton, while the Cardinals counter with arguably the best hitter in baseball Albert Pujols, along with Matt Holliday and David Freese who’s hitting .425 this post-season.
It will be up to Game 1 starters C.J. Wilson and an ailing Chris Carpenter to hold those high-powered offenses in-check. Carpenter has been bothered by elbow soreness, but says he’s ready to go.
“My elbow is fine,” Carpenter told the assembled media Tuesday at Busch Stadium. “(They) wouldn’t be throwing me out there if it wasn’t.”
Regardless, Dibble said the injury is something that needs to be monitored closely.
“Whenever you have inflamation it’s a sign that something’s going on in there,” the two-time All-Star said. “He started off the season slow, finished great. I’d rather have a guy that’s healthy and back Carpenter off and at least get two starts out of him in the World Series.”
Carpenter has been bothered by various shoulder and elbow injuries since joining the Red Birds in 2003. He’ll be opposed by the lefty Wilson who has struggled in the playoffs (0-2, 8.04 ERA in three starts), but did win 16 games during the regular season.
