St. Louis Cardinals: 5 Reasons Why They Will Win the 2013 World Series
State of the St. Louis Cardinals Heading Into October
During the 2013 season the St. Louis Cardinals have played some of the most consistent baseball in all of MLB, racking up a 94-65 record along the way. This incredible record has earned the Cardinals a tie for the best record in the National League and all but ensured that they will win the NL Central, in the process ensuring that they will not have to go through the crap shoot of a play-in game.
Not going through this playoff game will allows the Cardinals to have an extra day to rest their roster, and will likely result in them going into the playoffs very rested. This will surely have the other National League playoff teams — the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers — scared, as the Cardinals possess one of the best top to bottom rosters in all of baseball.
But just because the Cardinals possess one of the best rosters in all of baseball does not mean that their opponents will just roll over. In fact, they will do the opposite; each of the playoff teams in the National LeagueAmerican League for that matter, will likely feel similarly confident in their roster's ability to stand up to the best in the world.
Despite other teams looking to show they are up to the task of beating the Cardinals this October, we believe that St. Louis will ultimately prevail and win the world series. In order to back up this claim, we have decided to compile a list of the five biggest reasons why the team will become world champions in 2013.
Enjoy!
5. Stellar Defense
During the playoffs, defense can win or lose games. Luckily for the St. Louis Cardinals, their team defense is solid, if not unspectacular, and can be expected to make all the plays that are expected of it. They may not do anything amazing, but this group will not make any dumb errors that will give away runs to the opposition.
4. Carlos Beltran
During the 2013 season, Carlos Beltran has been exceptional with a statline of .296/.338/.493 with 24 homeruns and 84 RBI. Still Beltran has another gear to get to for the postseason, as his career statline in the playoffs is .363/.470/.782 with 14 homeruns and 25 RBI in 34 games. Expect Beltran to again play best when the light shines brightest, and possibly win a couple games for the Cardinals on his own.
3. Adam Wainwright
Adam Wainwright has been a horse for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2013 season, posting a 18-9 record with a 3.01 ERA in 236 1/3 innings. In the midst of posting these statistics, Wainwright has been amazingly consistent and can be called upon to throw effectively against any lineup in the postseason. Expect Wainwright to take the ball whenever is called upon him and to do so successfully.
2. Bullpen Depth
The St. Louis Cardinals have been exceptional throughout their bullpen, and have five pitchers sporting a 2.66 ERA or lower despite throwing in a minimum of 43 games to show for it. The five, Kevin Siegrist,Randy Choate,Seth Maness,Trevor Rosenthal and Edward Mujica, will ensure that any lead going into the sixth inning is an automatic win.
1. Lineup Depth
During the 2013 season, the St. Louis Cardinals have eight players, Matt Carpenter, Allen Craig, Yadier Molina, Carlos Beltran, Matt Holliday, Matt Adams,Jon Jay and David Freese, with over 50 RBI and at least a .261 average, displaying the type of depth that will be needed in October. While some of these players may go cold, it is highly unlikely that they all will, and given the fact that none of the eight strikeout with any consistency they will always be testing the defense by putting the ball in play.
