World Series 2004: Meet St. Louis
By Joe Davis
Fans of the American League may not realize who the 2004 Cardinals are. The best team in baseball with a 105-57 record are dangerous in the batting order from 1-8. Here's an introduction:
1. SS Edgar Renteria - Renteria's numbers have slighty declined from since his best career year in 2003. However, Renteria is a dangerous hitter and fielder. In 2003 he hit .330, drove in 100 runs, and had 13 homeruns. He won his third Silver Slugger award, and was the starting NL shortstop in 2003 All-Star game. He also won his second consecutive Gold Glove at SS. He is a considerable threat and should be kept off the basepaths. A member of the 1997 World Series Champions Florida Marlins, he is accustomed to a playoff atmosphere.
2. RF Larry Walker - The 16-year veteran has done his job for the Cardinals after the deadline. He is a very dangerous hitter and like Renteria has won 7 Gold Gloves. He also was the NL MVP in 1997. He had 49 homeruns, 130 RBI, 33 stolen bases, and a .366 BA. He has a strong arm in right field. He is a an outstanding hitter.
3. 1B Albert Pujols - He was the MVP of the NLCS this year. He had four homeruns and 9 RBIs. In the postseason he is batting .442, 6 homeruns, and 14 RBIs. He is the third player in major league history to drive in 500 runs in his first four seasons, joining Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. He is underrated on defense and the only award he has is the 2001 Rookie of the Year. If you do not know much about Pujols, he will teach you in the World Series. Each season, Pujols is becoming better.
4. 3B Scott Rolen - Another hitter with an outstanding season, Rolen owns a lot of hardware as well: The 1997 Rookie of the Year also earned a 1998 Gold Glove, and Gold Gloves from 2000-2003. He will most likely obtain his 6th this year when he had outstanding play after play throughout the regular season into the post-season. In Rolen's breakout season, Rolen had a .314 BA, 34 homeruns and 124 RBI. A hot glove and a hot bat.
5. CF Jim Edmonds - The team is full of Gold Glovers and Edmonds is another one of them. Another breakout season for a Cardinals player, Edmonds hit .301, with 42 homeruns and 111 RBI. His honors include a 1997 Gold Glove, 1998 Gold Glove, 2000-2003 Gold Glove. Edmonds will be adding another gold glove this year as he had an outstanding defensive year. Just another scary bat in the Cardinals lineup.
6. LF Reggie Sanders - Another veteran, Sanders may be the weakest hitter in the lineup besides the pitcher. He is average defensive left fielder and he only hit 4-21 in the NLCS with no RBIs. A weathered veteran, he brings leadership to the Cardinals.
7. 2B Tony Womack - An interesting story, March 21, 2004, the Boston Red Sox traded Womack to the St. Louis Cardinals for Matt Duff. Womack gives the Cardinals a guy to put at second base. Not a big threat but he can play the game right. He gets on base, steals bases and scores runs (91 in 2004). He can steal many a base with his superior running ability.
8. C Mike Matheny - Another defensize whiz, Matheny won a Gold Glove in 2000 and 2003. He also works well with the pitching staff.
9. DH John Mabry (projected starter) - A left field and right field veteran, he lost his job when Larry Walker joined the team. Mostly used as a pinch hitter for the pitchers since then, he will most likely take up the starting DH role.
Starting Pitchers: RH Woody Williams, RH Jason Marquis, RH Matt Morris, RH Jeff Suppan. The starters are the weakest link for the St. Louis Cardinals, however their records are deceiving because of their staggering run support. The rotation was never the favorite, and the Cardinals were picked to finish 3rd in the NL Central because of it. They get the job done and hand it over to their outstanding bullpen.
Relievers: RH Jason Isringhausen, RH Julian Tavarez, LH Ray King, LH Steve Kline, RH Kiko Calero, RH Dan Haren, RH Cal Eldred. Outstanding.Their ERA was 3.01 which was the best in NL. Isringhausen had a career-best 47 saves in 54 opportunities.
Bench: UT Marlon Anderson, UT John Mabry, OF Roger Cedeno, UT Hector Luna, C Yadier Molina, OF So Taguchi. The Cardinals bench is deep, flexible and effective. Luna has played five positions. John Mabrey plays four positions. Marlon Anderson had NL-leading 17 pinch-hits. Taguchi is a defensive replacement and a outstanding bunter. Their bench is better for situational hitting in the NL, however, they are useless in the AL. Boston uses its bench for defensive replacement and speed improvements. Therefore the bench's effectiveness depends on the park in which the World Series game is being played.
Analysis:
1B- St. Louis has the advantadge. Pujols is too good of a hitter.
2B- Boston has the advantadge. Bellhorn gets on and comes up with clutch hits. Pokey Reese is avalaible for defensive replacement. Tony Womack is mainly a runner, and not much else.
SS- Boston has the advantage. Edgar Renteria's numbers have dropped down since last year and was only hitting 2 for 24 in the NLCS. Orlando Cabrera batted .379 in the ALCS with 5 RBIs.
3B- Cardinals have the advantage. Rolen is outstanding with the glove and bat. After going 0-12 in the NLDS, he hit .310 with three homers and six RBIs in the NLCS. Defensively, he is outstanding. Bill Mueller can hit and will hit. He comes up with clutch-hits and is a different player than Rolen. In Game 4 of the ALCS, Mueller hit the game-tying single off Mariano Rivera.
C-Boston has the edge. Mike Matheny is very good at defense and works well with the staff. However, Jason Varitek means more to the Red Sox. He is the leader, is a switch-hitter, has power, is a solid defensive player and is a clutch player. He hit the game-tying sacrifice fly in Game 5 of the ALCS against Mariano Rivera.
LF- Boston's edge again. Reggie Sanders is an average defender and is weak with the bat compared to Manny Ramirez. Ramirez is an MVP candidate and led the league in homeruns with 43. His slugging percentage: (.613). He batted .385 with one homerun and 7 RBIs in the first round and went 9 for 30 in the ALCS without an RBI. He is criticized for his defense, but he is an above average fielder although gets wacky sometimes.
CF- Even but favoring the Cardinals. Jim Edmonds and Johnny Damon are completely different players. Edmonds is a power hitter and a defensive gem. While Damon is a speedy leadoff hitter who has had an outstanding season. He finally broke out of his slump on Wednesday when he hit a grand slam and a 2-run homerun. To be effective, Damon will need to get on base and be able to use his speed.
RF- Cardinals have the edge. Larry Walker is a three-time NL batting champion and a former gold glove winner. He hit .241 with two homers and five RBIs in the NLCS and is batting .273 in the postseason with four homers and 8 RBIS. Even though a former gold glover, he has slowed down since being on the DL for the majority of the first half of the season. Nixon has the edge playing in Fenway, because he knows how to play angles. Nixon has made several fantastic plays in the ALCS and has the edge defensively . Walker has the edge offensively. However, I believe
offense will be more important in this series and the Cardinals will
need him.
DH- David Ortiz gets the edge handed to him. No explanation needed.
SP- Tim Wakefield, Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe gain the advantadge for the Red Sox. The Cardinals starting pitching is nothing compared to the big game pitcher Schilling is. Tim Wakefield was the likely candidate to be the ALCS MVP in 2003, however we know what happened and he did not win it. The homerun overshadowed his performance. Lowe has continued to prove he is a big game pitcher. He pitched outstanding in Game 4 and Game 7 in the ALCS and outstanding in the ALDS in 2003.
RP-Another even. The Red Sox have an outstanding bullpen with RH Keith Foulke, RH Mike Timlin, LH Alan Embree, RH Derek Lowe, LH Mike Myers, RH Curtis Leskanic. And as mentioned before, the Cardinals had the best bullpen in the NL.
