Last night Scott Rolen knocked Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros out with one pitch.
After two League Championships filled with this much excitement we can only hope that the World Series doesn't let us down.
Since I have not made any playoff predictions to this point, I'll finally throw my hat in the ring and make a couple of World Series predictions. I am trying to be completely objective, which should be pretty easy because I do not care about either of these teams in the Series. However, any fan of baseball should be juiced about this Series as this should be a great match up of two of this years powerhouse teams.
Let us start with the World Series winner. I have a feeling that this Series will come down to the winner of game 7. So here are my game by game predictions.
Game One: Williams vs. Wakefield
The first game will go to Woody Williams. After an unbelievable stretch against the Yankees, the Bo Sox will come out a little flat in game one and the Cards will sneak one early. Wakefield may be affective early, but the Cards will figure him out in the middle innings and get to the bullpen by the sixth.
Game Two: Marquis vs. Schilling
After a rough start in Houston, Marquis will come back and battle well in game two. However, it won't be enough to get his boys the win against Schilling. The Sox will tie things up going into St. Louis.
Game Three: Martinez vs. Morris
After losing home field advantage in game one, Boston will regain it in game three as Pedro will put together a strong start. Morris will dual for a while but Boston will get to the bullpen before the seventh and put the Cards away.
Game Four: Lowe vs. Suppan
Needing game four the Cards will battle back behind Suppan to even up the Series. Lowe will not put together another performance like he did in game seven of the ALCS and the Red Sox bullpen won't be able to keep the game close.
Game Five: Wakefield vs. Williams
Wakefield will drop his second game of the Series as the Cards will put the pressure back on the Big Two of Bo Sox heading back into Boston.
Game Six: Morris/Marquis vs. Schilling
The Cards may opt to use Morris and Suppan in games six and seven to get a little more experience on the mound then Marquis can provide. At any rate whoever takes the bump will be facing a playoff stud and Schilling will once again get it done with the season on the line.
Game Seven: Morris/Suppan vs. Martinez
In seven game sets I always believe that the winner of game six has the advantage in game seven. This is bad news for the Cardinals. However, if the Cards save Morris for game seven and have Suppan coming out of the pen, things could get really interesting. However, I believe that Martinez will come up big and Boston's bullpen will hold off the Cardinals in game seven to finally break the curse of the Great Bambino.
After losing to the Cardinals in ’46 and ’67, the Red Sox will finally get a little revenge against another team that has kept the curse alive for so many years. Ramirez will redeem himself from an ALCS in which he didn’t even drive in a run by winning the World Series MVP honors. Pedro will also make a case for himself with his game seven performance, but it won’t be enough. Dave Ortiz will continue rolling in the Series but it will be the role players for the Sox that make the big difference.
On the other side, Pujols will put up more great numbers and Edmonds will continue to make great plays in the field. Womack will keep battling injuries to make an impact for the Cards as well. Jason Isringhausen will have a good Series outside of one pitch, but that pitch will prove to be costly.
Happy viewing and check back for game by game analyses as the World Series continues. Congratulations to both teams for getting this far and Good Luck to Al “Monst” Hipps on his preseason and preseries bets on the Red Birds. For your sake Al I hope I am wrong.
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