2011 World Series Preview

josh hamiltonAfter romping the Brewers in six games, the St. Louis Cardinals and Tony La Russa are headed back to the World Series where they will face the powerhouse Texas Rangers.

The two pennant races were characterized by high scoring and solid bullpen performances. Tony La Russa, who has often been criticized for over-managing, truly deserves an award for the managing job he has done in the last two months to get his team to this point.

La Russa leaned heavily on his bullpen which performed admirably in the NLCS, but if the Cardinals hope to be successful against the Rangers and their powerhouse lineup, the starting pitch will have to be much better than it was against the Brewers.

The 2011 World Series offers a plethora of betting options and props for North American facing sportsbooks to offer.

A couple of players head into the World Series on fire. Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers had a record setting ALCS and became the first player to hit six home-runs and 13 RBIs in a postseason series. He had eight hits in the ALCS, all of which were extra-base hits.
For the Cardinals, David Freese had ice in his veins. In a breakout NLCS performance, Freese hit .545 (12 for 22) with three homers, nine RBIs and seven runs scored over the course of six games.

While pitchers usually come away with the MVP hardware, if this year’s postseason holds true to form with high scoring games, both Freese and Cruz could be possible MVP candidates. That said, Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton could easily steal the show.

The 2011 World Series begins on Wednesday, and the Rangers will send their struggling ace C.J. Wilson to the mound. Wilson hasn’t been as sharp as he was last year, and will start Wednesday’s game having lost his last two starts with an ERA of 8.04 ERA in his three starts this postseason.

The Cardinals will send their ace Chris Carpenter to the hill, Carpenter has been lights out in the postseason, and the Cardinals will need him to be at the top of his game to quiet the loud bats of the Texas Rangers.

Scotty McCreery is said to be singing the National Anthem at Game 1 of the World Series, will he remember all the words? How long will he take to sing it?

Who will score the first run in the World Series? Who will hit the first home-run?

Get your odds up, the World Series is here!