Someone mentioned the Giants last year. What happened last year was the Phillies' streaky hitting going cold at the wrong time, and the Rangers had no really effective pitching outside of Cliff Lee. This year, at least the Rangers have good relief pitching, and they're going to need them to keep the Cardinals' sometimes frightening hitters at bay.
What are the Cardinals pitchers going to do with the Rangers hitters? Remember, Cruz hits SEVENTH in the lineup. If they’re on, they are a veritable Murderer’s Row.
Tampa and Detroit had much better pitchers than the Cardinals’ staff.
I think the 2011 World Series could become a Home Run Derby of sorts because while early this season it looked like the pitchers were WAY ahead of the hitting, right now both the Rangers and Cardinals will need a LOT of hitting to win.Both these teams can hit. I'm not entirely sure whether it'll turn into a downright Home Run Derby, but they can pick you apart with all kinds of hitting.
What they're going to need is a lot of pitching. Both clubs have starters who haven't gone deep into games this postseason. They both have solid bullpens. The keys will likely include what I noted earlier---how much the Cardinals' ability to wheel bullpen bulls in and out in short spells, and (watching La Russa in this postseason) at the earliest hints of trouble, and in the right matchups, will neutralise the Rangers' long men and their own potent enough hitters. Watching how La Russa deals with Nelson Cruz, for one thing, is going to be very entertaining.
La Russa's bullpen management has reminded me in a way of an old maxim by which Casey Stengel lived when he managed the Yankees---you don't wait for "the book," if you need a stopper, you bring him in now. Remember---he made a big mistake in the 1990 Series, not bringing in Dennis Eckersley when he really needed him to protect leads before the ninth inning, and it may have helped cost him that Series. This isn't a man who ignores the lessons he gets handed to him with his hat.
Ron Washington just might be standing to learn some lessons about that, too. He's been a smart bullpen manager this year and this postseason, but I can't help wondering if having so many long men and thus a few fewer options if the Cardinals get especially frisky at the plate isn't going to backfire on him a couple of critical times.