World Series 2011: Breaking Down the Lineups, Who Is Better at Each Position?

Red Sox-Phillies? Think again.

Just about no one would have ever expected on September 1st 2011 the World Series would be a matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. On September 1st, the Rangers were probably the third or fourth team down on the list of potential American League World Series representatives. New York and Boston both would have been ahead of the Rangers.

In the National League, the Cardinals were barely on the map on September 1st. Nearly everyone would have picked the Phillies and a few might have considered the Brewers, the team that the Cardinals just beat to advance to the World Series.

Now that the storyline is set it's time to take a look at this matchup. For the Rangers, this is unfinished business. The Rangers were just here last season and they lost to the Giants. For the Cardinals, it's been a tough season in which they endured a public contractual dispute between their best player, Albert Pujols, and the ownership along with a slew of injuries to both key starters as well as Pujols himself.

Rangers-Cardinals. Best-of-seven series and St. Louis has the home advantage.  

First Base: Albert Pujols and Michael Young/Mitch Moreland.

There's a lot to like about Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland. A promising young player with a lot of potential. Then there's veteran and former third baseman Michael Young. He's still a great hitter, a great player and one of the Rangers' veteran leaders. With Moreland slumping it's likely that Young will see the bulk of the starting duties in this series. He's not Albert Pujols though. Is anyone? 

Put simply, Albert Pujols is either the best offensive player in all of baseball or at the very least one of the top five. He hits for average, he hits for power, he drives in runs, he scores runs. He's also an above-average first baseman.

There will be various debates about various positions when the matchups for this series are all laid out. This one won't inspire much of it though. 

Edge: St. Louis

Second Base: Nick Punto and Ian Kinsler

First base was a prohibitive advantage for the Cardinals; second base belongs to the Rangers though. Consider this: There were four players in Major League Baseball who reached the 30-30 plateau (30 or more stolen bases and home runs) this past season—Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Jacoby Ellsbury and Ian Kinsler. Guess which one of those four men accomplished that for the second time in their career? 

Ian Kinsler. 

Kinsler is a prolific offensive player. At his position, there are really only two players in all of baseball who could consider themselves in the same offensive class as Kinsler. Their names are Robinson Cano and Dustin Pedroia. That's not bad company for Kinsler. 

Nick Punto  is a 33-year-old second baseman that paid his dues in Minnesota and then eventually moved into the starting position in St. Louis. He's got a very good glove and he can do a lot of the little things while at the plate but he's not a game-changer; he's not Kinsler, and it's not that close. 

Edge: Texas

Elvis Andrus and Rafael Furcal

The comparisons at first and second base seemed one-sided. The comparison at shortstop is, in contrast, two sides of the same coin. 

Consider this: Both men, Elivis Andrus and Rafael Furcal are solid hitters, both men have some—but not a lot of—pop in their bats, both are very good on the basepaths and both men are quite good in the field as well. Furcal burst onto the scene with the Atlanta Braves at the age of 22 and won Rookie of the Year in 2000. Andrus burst onto the scene in 2009 at the age of 20 and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting. 

Furcal arrived in St. Louis as part of a July 31st trade deadline deal this past summer; he was in Los Angeles experiencing his first down year in what has been a very solid 12-season career. Andrus like Furcal was a product of the Atlanta Braves system.

Flashback to the trade deadline in 2007. Then the Atlanta Braves were involved in a playoff race and needed to add some power. The Rangers were mired in mediocrity yet possessed a very talented first baseman who hit for power. His name was Mark Teixeira and he was slated for free agency following the 2008 season.

The Rangers knew two things: One was that they wouldn't be able to afford to re-sign Teixeira and two, was that they had too many holes on their team and might be able to plug some of them by dealing their most talented player.

Well, the Rangers could not have been more correct. On July 31st, 2007, they orchestrated one of the biggest heists in trade deadline history when they shipped Teixeira to Atlanta and in return received top catching prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia, current starting pitcher Matt Harrison, current dominant closer Neftal Feliz and current shortstop Elvis Andrus. It's not a stretch to suggest that the root of the current Rangers' American League dominance is rooted in that trade from July 31st, 2007.

Andrus and Furcal are similar players but Furcal seems to be in the early phase of his decline. Andrus meanwhile is likely to get better.

Edge (slight): Texas.  

Third Base: Adrian Beltre and David Freese

Here's another great matchup. Adrian Beltre had an epic American League Division Series which he capped off with a three-home run masterpiece in the decisive Game 5. David Freese just won the MVP of the National League Championship Series in which he hit .545 with three home runs and nine runs batted in over the six games. 

Beltre has all the edges with regards to his career; after all, this was really the first season when Freese ever started with any consistency. His regular season was nice but nothing in comparison to the season Beltre had and that's not even including Beltre's past seasons, which include some very impressive numbers. 

Beltre is a two-time Gold Glove-winning third baseman. Freese is a good fielder but not in Beltre's class. The last series was most certainly a fantastic one for Freese and Beltre cooled down considerably following the ALDS and had a somewhat quiet ALCS.

That being the case, it's hard to ignore Beltre's career numbers and impressive fielding resume. Freese will cool down in the World Series. It's hard to envision him continuing to hit over .500 through the World Series. It's also hard to envision Beltre being kept quiet through another lengthy series. 

Edge: Texas

Left Field: Josh Hamilton and Matt Holliday

I'm sure there are people out there that are under the impression that this won't be great World Series matchup. They might want to take a look at the left fielders before they make that decision. 

Holliday and Hamilton have so much in common it's almost scary. Holliday is 31 years old, stands 6'4" and weighs 235 pounds. He plays with a reckless abandon that lends itself to spectacular plays, titanic home runs and, to his own detriment, frequent injuries. 

Hamilton is 30 years old, stands 6'4" and weighs 240 pounds. Like Holliday, he plays with an all-out and at times reckless attitude and like Holliday he hits mammoth home runs, gets big hits, throws his body all over the outfield and finds himself missing games due to that at times. 

Hamilton is the reigning American League Most Valuable Player. Holliday has never won an MVP award but he's a five-time All-Star who has a career .929 OPS over eight fantastic major league seasons spent in Colorado, Oakland and St. Louis. 

Hamilton rescued his career from the depths of drug abuse and his story is inspirational. Holliday has never had to fight the off-the-field demons that Hamilton has, but he's been a very popular player everywhere he's been. St. Louis is no exception. 

Hamilton has one thing going for him right now that Holliday does not: health. While both players are injury-prone, Holliday is injured now. Hamilton is not. When healthy, either one of these guys could conceivably dominate a series but with Holliday not at 100 percent, the smart money on this series would be on Hamilton. 

Edge: Texas

Center Field: Jon Jay and Endy Chavez/David Murphy

I guess you don't have to have a great center fielder to make the World Series. Not to take anything away from any of the guys that patrol the vast expanses of green grass for either of these teams but these guys aren't exactly up-and-coming Curtis Grandersons or Jacoby Ellsburys. 

Make no mistake about it, they've all got very good gloves and in the case of Endy Chavez, the glove would be considered exceptional.

For those that don't remember, it's worth noting that one of the best postseason fielding plays in baseball history was made by Chavez against the Cardinals back in 2006. Then Chavez was a starting left fielder for the New York Mets and in Game 7 of that series, he made a spectacular catch robbing Scott Rolen of a home run and then doubling off Jim Edmonds to end the eighth inning. The Mets didn't manage to win the game and St. Louis went on the win the World Series but the play of the year in 2006 was undoubtedly Chavez's grab.

Chavez plays great center field but he's never really developed as much more than a streaky offensive force. This season was a good one in which he ended up hitting .301; that being the case, there are still questions about his ability to perform on a nightly basis.

With St. Louis having home field, it's likely that Chavez may not start in the road games. That duty may go to David Murphy. Murphy doesn't possess the spectacular glove that Chavez does but he provides more in the way of steady offense. He can hit for consistent average along with some power and a bit of speed. Murphy also seems to be one of those players who comes up in big situations.

Chavez's speed both in the field and on the basepaths makes him a prime candidate to pinch-run in crucial late-game situations and then bolster the Rangers outfield by utilizing his glove as well.

In Jon Jay, the Cardinals see him as a work in progress. They're willing to invest in that work though. At the trade deadline they shipped Colby Rasmus to Toronto and ended up getting starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. Jay's center field play allowed St. Louis to part with Rasmus.

Jay is only 26 and shows signs that he could be a very solid everyday center fielder. He's not quite the gloveman that Chavez is and not quite the bat that Murphy is but he may improve and he's been good all around on the Cardinals this season.

Edge (slight): Cardinals

Right Field: Nelson Cruz and Lance Berkman

As good as David Feese's National League Championship Series was, it doesn't look as impressive when it's lined up next to Nelson Cruz's American League Championship Series stat line. He hit .364 and set single-postseason series records in home runs (six) and runs batted in (13). He has become a threat to go deep every time he approaches the batters' box.

Right field in St. Louis is not a weakness either. That's because Lance Berkman, the former Astro and Yankee, patrols it. Berkman, who many thought washed up following a mediocre 2010, has found new life in St. Louis. He hit over .300 with 31 home runs and 92 RBI.

Berkman won't be winning any Gold Gloves in right but Cruz isn't out there for his glove either. They're both out there for their bats and both of them have come through for their teams in 2011.

Cruz is clearly riding a wave of outstanding hitting. That may or may not carry over into the World Series. Berkman hasn't had a great postseason but that could just mean he's due for some productive at-bats.

Edge: Rangers

Catcher: Yadier Molina and Mike Napoli/Yorvit Torrealba

Yes—another Molina. This one just might be the best of the trio. Yadier is probably the toughest catcher to run on in all of baseball. His bat is not going to be confused with that of Mike Piazza but he's won three Gold Gloves in a row and a fourth seems like a mere formality. 

That's not to say he can't hit. He did after all hit over .300 this past season and he also cracked 14 home runs as well. Molina has already played in two World Series with the Cardinals, the loss to Boston in 2004 and the win over Detroit in 2006. This will be his third and he's still only 28.

His presence behind the plate will alter the manner in which Rangers manager Ron Washington decides to let, or not let, his players attempt to steal bases. He's that good and that's a big plus for St. Louis. 

Texas has very good fielding catcher in his own right. Yorvit Torrealba is not a catcher who baserunners look forward to dealing with. He's also not a great hitter.

The Rangers' other option is a fantastic hitter. Mike Napoli can mash along with just about anyone in this series. In just 320 at-bats he hit 30 home runs and drove in 75 runs while batting .320. Those types of numbers might make one wonder how Torrealba ever gets into games.

Napoli is a defensive liability and that's going to be a big deal in this series. When the games are in St. Louis, Ron Washington will have a choice to make: bolster the defense and possibly prevent the Cardinals from manufacturing runs by using Torrealba, or add considerable offense to his lineup while sacrificing defense by starting Napoli. It's not an easy choice and there could be serious pluses or minuses from each scenario.

Edge: Cardinals

Designated Hitter: Mike Napoli and Allen Craig

Mike Napoli, as I already pointed out, is a prodigious offensive force. He's probably going to be the DH when this series heads to Arlington, Texas for Games 3, 4 and five (if needed). It's not going to be unusual for the Rangers to play with Napoli at DH; they've done it plenty of times this season. 

It's going to be very nice for Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa to be able to insert Allen Craig into the lineup. Craig has been the odd man out in St. Louis. He's not as good a hitter as Lance Berkman or Matt Holliday and he doesn't possess the range to play center field in place of Jon Jay. That's kept one of the better bats available on the bench for the better part of many regular-season games.

When this series shifts to Texas both teams will gain in some way. Texas will probably gain in the field when they are able to DH Napoli and allow Torrealba to catch. St. Louis will gain by replacing a normally timid pitcher in the lineup with Allen Craig who in only 200 at-bats hit .315 with 11 home runs, 40 RBI and an OPS of .915. 

Edge: Cardinals (more offense than usual)

Pitchers at Bat

Pitchers aren't good hitters. That's not a secret. The Rangers pitchers have a batting average of .125; the Cardinals hit .156. Both numbers are terrible but at least the Cardinals have a pitcher in Edwin Jackson who did hit .308 in 26 at-bats this season.

The Cardinals also have pitchers with a lot more experience in taking at-bats. Cardinal pitchers had 321 at-bats this past season while Rangers pitchers had only 24. That type of experience makes the Cardinals pitchers more likely to draw a walk, work the count or execute a sacrifice. 

Edge: Cardinals

Manager: Tony LaRussa and Ron Washington

Ron Washington is a very good manager. He's no Tony LaRussa though. LaRussa is appearing in his sixth World Series. He's 2-3 but he's still one of the game's all-time managers. He's been a winner everywhere he's operated and St. Louis has been no exception. 

LaRussa is not loved by everyone and his autocratic style and obsession with pitching changes can drive both his opposition and the fans batty, but it's hard to argue with his success. This season he took a Cardinals team that seemed destined for mediocrity and transformed them into National League champs.

The Cards are the proverbial "hot team." They made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season and endured a season in which they lost Albert Pujols to an injury for six weeks and Adam Wainwright for the entire year. This team knows what being mediocre feels like; they've been playing playoff-style baseball with a do-or-die mentality since late August. They've been winning through that period as well—winning a lot. 

LaRussa has his team focused and playing their best baseball of the season; you could easily say the same thing about their opponent, the Texas Rangers. Yet one of these teams is going to lose this series and Tony LaRussa is making it very difficult to think that team will be his Cardinals.

Edge: Cardinals