World Series 2004

[iliketurtles 0]

Here we go.

 

Does the curse still live...or will the Red Sox get revenge from 1946 and 1967?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

How many times do I have to tell you guys, no OaO threads! Otherwise proceed.

[iliketurtles 0]

Eek. Sorry dude. Didn't know there was a new policy/

[Guest GreatOne]

Just be glad it's not an OAO T-- M------- thread

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Eek. Sorry dude. Didn't know there was a new policy/

Eh. Its just a pet peeve of mine.

 

Of course, we will have live chats for this series. We've had tremendous success with them thus far.

[Bored 0]

Yes there should be seperate threads for each game.

 

Anyways I might have to end my six year streak of pretty much avoiding the World Series. The only annoying thing is the Red Sox, the wild card, having homefield against the Cardinals who had the best record in baseball. The wild card doesn't get homefield in the first two rounds so why the hell should they get it in the World Series? THIS counts not the All-Star Game.

 

But otherwise I'm looking forward to it since there is no expansion teams, no thunderstix, and no Yankees.

 

Go TLR and the Cardinals.

[mike546 0]

Go Cardinals.

[Vern Gagne 0]

Never thought i'd say this after hating the Cardnials of the 80's but this seems like a classy group of guys.

 

 

Go Cardnials.

[bob_barron 0]

The last 11 World Series these teams have played in (including two against each other) have gone 7

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Guess on starting Rotations?

 

Not sure about St. Louis but BoSox look like this

 

Wakefield

Schilling

Pedro

Lowe/Arroyo

Wakefield

Schilling

Pedro

[cabbageboy 0]

Oh man, you know this thing is going 7. How could it not? And yes, it'll be another gut wrenching, hearbreaking loss for the Sox. They'll probably do some insane act of brilliance to force the Game 7 (a la Fisk in 75)...and of course lose the next game.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

St. Louis has ZERO "b"s on the team.

 

So unless Bellhorn or Bronson Arryyo* messes up...Boston pulls it off this time.

 

 

EDIT: *I promise by the end of the series, I will learn to spell his name. Maybe.

[cabbageboy 0]

Bellhorn has World Series goat written all over him. Sad but true. Has the B last name, has that tragic hero quality going (his homer got them there, but his error will cost them).

 

Or I also think it could be similar to the 75 series, where the Sox didn't really do much horribly wrong. If anything they had by far the most notable moment with Fisk's homer. But they still lost the Series.

[phoenixrising 0]

OK, so as soon as the World Series was set I had to go straight to WhatifSports.com for a simulation. I know the Red Sox rotation, I did St. Louis' assuming Marquis will start Game 1 for St. Louis. Also, the teams contain players that have been traded away, so Nomah actually gets into a Series. Finally, the way the sim handles pitchers I think is crap, they either let starters give up 5 runs on 9 hits and pitch a complete game, or they go to an unknown reliever for a save situation. With that in mind, here's how the 2004 World Series plays out according to WhatIfSports.com...

 

Game 1: Boston 5, St. Louis 2

Game 2: St. Louis 5, Boston 4

Game 3: Boston 3, St. Louis 2

Game 4: St. Louis 8, Boston 7

Game 5: Boston 3, St. Louis 0

Game 6: Boston 10, St. Louis 6

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

we have to have at least ONE 14 inning game for good measure.

[Gert T 0]

Does What If Sports know that Game 5 is in St. Louis?

 

I'd be surprised to see them shut out there.

[Guest Brian]

I think the big question for Boston is how do they handle Ortiz when it comes to the National League parks?

[Guest JericholicEdgeHead]

The Cardinals all the way!!!!!!!! They were the best team in baseball this year.

 

Sure Boston has Manny & David, but the Cards match them and more with Pujols, Rolen, Edmonds, Walker, and Sanders.

 

Plus there are rumors that Chris Carpenter (the Cards ace this year) may be ready to pitch again.

 

Cardinals in 6

[2GOLD 0]

Again, what f'n curse?

 

The Red Sox were never cursed.

 

Odds gotta favor the Red Sox. Has a Wild Card team ever lost in the World Series? I can't remember.

[iliketurtles 0]

I think the big question for Boston is how do they handle Ortiz when it comes to the National League parks?

You have to start him at First Base, and then go to Millar or Doug in the later innings.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

Late in the game is where Ortiz has been most valuable though, save for his 2 run shot last night.

 

I agree though, Play him 6 innings, hope he delivers a offensive punch and put in Mietwiezece* in for the remainder for his quality defense. You save Millar as a Pinch Hitter that way. Millar is likely more valuable as a hitter the Mietzyweictze*

 

*Not even going to ATTEMPT to spell his name right.

[geniusMoment 0]

Again, what f'n curse?

 

The Red Sox were never cursed.

 

Odds gotta favor the Red Sox. Has a Wild Card team ever lost in the World Series? I can't remember.

Trust me, the red sox have been cursed plenty. I bet an entire northern city is cursing them as I type this.

[Guest Brian]

That's what I would do in terms of defense and offense. The Sox need to jump out and take the first two games so they don't have to worry too much about playing Ortiz in the field.

 

It's a good match-up. I think Boston's offense is overall just slightly favored, Cardinals have the better defense until the Red Sox go with their late inning line-up. Pitching is a push, and depends on Schilling. Did Sparks pitch in the NL this year, because I'm wondering if the Cards have seen a knuckler this year?

[Guest GreatOne]

Odds gotta favor the Red Sox. Has a Wild Card team ever lost in the World Series? I can't remember.

Only the Giants in the 'wildcard vs wildcard' showdown two years ago

[NoCalMike 0]

I am partial to La Russa from his Oakland tenure. Go Cardinals.

[2GOLD 0]

Again, what f'n curse?

 

The Red Sox were never cursed.

 

Odds gotta favor the Red Sox. Has a Wild Card team ever lost in the World Series? I can't remember.

Trust me, the red sox have been cursed plenty. I bet an entire northern city is cursing them as I type this.

 

...oh, cursed as in cussed at repeatedly.

 

Ok, yeah the Red Sox have definately been cursed at.

So the Wild Card is undefeated in the World Series (well when not playing another Wild Card), which means the Sox could become the first team to ever come back from 3-0 and be the first ever Wild Card team to lose the World Series to a non-Wild card team.

[Cartman 0]

Kruk and Harold Reynolds are complete morons.

 

Just said that basically if Francona starts Mirabelli at Catcher for Wakefield in game one than he's a moron and the players will fight him or whatever. Varitek has caught every inning of the post season so far, and it's very well known he can't catch knuckleballs very well. Starting Belli for the 6-7 innings that Wakefield is in the game really isn't a big deal in my opinion.

 

Also, Ortiz will be in the field at 1B for games 3-5 in St. Louis. I can't argue that move because of his bat being missed if he doesn't start...but i'm really concerned about the defensive liability he creates. Especially since the Cards are like the best defensive team in baseball. They capitalize on fielding mistakes VERY well and Boston is in deep shit if they lose at home.

 

Personally I think the cards take this series just because...

[Mole 0]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet, but did anyone notice all of the BoSox fans today?

 

I mean, I didn't know there were sooo many BoSox fans, especially on Long Island.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

This series is going to be pretty unpredictable. How will the Cardinals' pitching hold up against the Boston bats? How will the Boston pitching hold up against the Murderer's Row of 2004? Will Jim Edmonds make another freakinshly awesome play? Will Big Papi step up... AGAIN?

 

Well... it's going to be a fun series... but to keep the attention off me... I'm gonna drink a nice tall glass of shut the fuck up for my predictions. I'm not gonna make any. I'm just gonna pray to the baseball gods.

[The Man in Blak 0]

I know it sounds McCarver-esque, but the key for Boston is mistake-free baseball - Boston's got the better starting staff, but that won't mean a thing if the defense boots one and gives the bloodthirsty Cardinals a chance to capitalize. I can't find any statistical grounding to back this up but I would wager that the Cardinals lead the league in unearned runs scored this year - in the games that I've watched, it seems like St. Louis has almost always cashed in on their opponent's mistakes.

 

The league difference provides minor disadvantages for both teams: in the NL games, we'll get to bear witness to the Comedy of Errors with Ortiz at first base...but in the AL games, the Cardinals won't really have anybody to throw in the DH spot other than John Mabry.

 

Both lineups are very comparable - the Cardinals strummed to the tune of an .804 team OPS (with a pitcher), while the Red Sox raked with an .832 team OPS (with a DH). The Boston bench is deeper (we do have Hector Luna, after all), but the St. Louis bullpen is arguably better.

 

One very distinct difference lies in the home/away splits; the Cardinals fared very well on the road this season, having only a -1 win differential in their home/road records. Boston has a -12 win differential, as well as a 100 point drop in OPS when they're on the road, but their pitching remained about the same (opposing home OPS was only 8 points higher).

 

However, while the Cardinals are almost limping into the World Series (injuries to Carpenter, Tavarez, Kline, Rolen, Womack), Boston is coming into the series with nearly 100 years worth of momentum...and it's the playoffs, so you can probably throw home/road splits for the regular season out of the window.

 

Both teams are very evenly matched. Like I said in the chat, the realist in me says that Boston will probably take it in six, but the fan in me thinks that the Cardinals will grit their teeth and bring it home in seven.