It’s A Weird World Series

The more I examine the 2011 World Series, the more I come to realize that the Cardinals vs. Rangers matchup is filled with various oddities. The details and storylines of this series and the road leading up to it are just strange. If you don’t feel like digging deep to uncover some of these connections, look no further than the first two games of this series for proof of this fact.

Then again, not much has been normal for the St. Louis Cardinals over the course of this season. But that’s exactly what makes things interesting.

First of all, home field advantage goes to the Cardinals in this series thanks to Price Fielder, the star slugger of the rival Brewers. Fielder’s three-run home run in this year’s all-star game in Arizona lifted the National League to victory and won him game MVP honors. But he didn’t hit that homer off of just anyone. He hit it off Rangers ace C.J. Wilson. So after abruptly ending the Brew Crew’s season, the Cards say thank you very much and will enjoy four games at Busch Stadium if the series goes the distance.

Next, we have the whole Arthur Rhodes situation. After 20 seasons in MLB, Rhodes has finally made it to his first World Series, and it’s a guarantee that he’ll have something to show for it. Since he appeared in 32 games for the Rangers before being released and picked up by the Cardinals in August, Rhodes will receive a World Series ring no matter the outcome. It has to be an unusual feeling to receive a championship ring as a member of the losing team, doesn’t it?

The strange symmetry between these two teams is almost unthinkable. St. Louis and Texas have been equal in their strengths and weaknesses throughout the 2011 postseason. Both teams have struggling starting rotations, lockdown bullpens, explosive and powerful offenses, and managers who are very active as far as in-game decision making is concerned. Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton are the MVP superstars, Lance Berkman and Michael Young are the reliable veteran leaders, Matt Holliday and Adrian Beltre are the run producers, David Freese and Nelson Cruz are the up-and-coming LCS MVP’s, Chris Carpenter and C.J. Wilson are the lone aces, and Jason Motte and Neftali Feliz are the young and electric closers. Something’s got to give.

As similar as these two teams are, they are very much unfamiliar with each other. Even in today’s era of diverse Interleague Play, the Cardinals and Rangers have only faced each other once in history. That was a three-game Interleague Series back in 2004, which matches the fewest games between a pair of opponents in MLB history. With that said, the Memphis Redbirds and Red Rock Express are quite familiar with each other at the Triple-A level, playing over 12 times each season in Pacific Coast League action.

To cap it all off, let’s get to the oddities that have come out of games one and two of this World Series. On back-to-back nights, Allen Craig came into the game and delivered with pinch-hit to break the tie and give St. Louis a lead. On both occasions, Alexi Ogando was on the mound for Texas. Jason Motte was tagged with the loss in game two, which was his first since July 24^th, a span during which he collected 14 saves. The Rangers became the third team in MLB history to come back from a 1-0 deficit in the ninth inning of a World Series game, and the Cardinals have now been the victim of such a comeback two of those three times.

It’s probably safe to expect more of the unexpected for the remainder of this World Series.