Red Sox vs Red Birds

[kenberman]

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The Cardinals had the chance to asolutely destroy Pedro last night

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They had 1 great chance to, and they didn't, and that was my point. The only clear blunder the Cards made was the Suppan play, which cost them 1 run, and maybe more (but maybe not). In the 1st inning, Pedro/Manny escaped, but I don't think the Cards blundered. But Pedro shut them down after he gave them 1 chance, which is was great pitchers do.

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To me, the reason the Cardinals are losing is just as much, if not more, what the Cardinals are doing, as opposed to what the Sox are doing.

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With all due respect, this is sour grapes. Sure the Cards have made mistakes. But, umm, the Red Sox made 8 errors in games 1 and 2, so it's not like they have played perfect either. The biggest factor has been this:

The Cardinals did not play a team like the Red Sox all season.

The Sox' ability to relentlessy grind out at-bats and pounce on mediocre starters has put them in the lead in every game, and this has put the Cards under pressure they haven't felt all year.

On top of this, the Red Sox are a team built for October. The Cardinals - like so many Red Sox teams from the past - were built more for the regular season. Line-ups like the Cards crush the average pitching they see day to day during the season. But they are susceptible to big time pitchers stepping up, which is what you see from good teams in October. They were shutout twice in the playoffs before the World Series, and the Red Sox have pitched well to them as well. Combine this with their own mediocre pitching, and you have a team that is fighting an uphill battle.