Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Excerpt: "World Series Preview"

"This series, that flips. Even with a true #1 starter in Adam Wainwright, it's hard to argue that the Cardinals' rotation is stronger than their bullpen. The Cardinals' bullpen has been just this side of untouchable, from Trevor Rosenthal in the back up through Carlos Martinez, the set-up man, the Cardinals overpower you in the late innings with high-90s fastballs. They've barely had to use Kevin Siegrist, who allowed two runs in 39 2/3 innings this year. They have a groundball machine in Seth Maness, a LOOGY in Randy Choate, and a leftover power arm in John Axford. This is the worst rotation and the best bullpen the Red Sox have seen this postseason, which means that forcing out the starters won't be nearly the game-shifting benefit it was in the first two postseason series."