2011 World Series: Breakdown of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers Series

Now that the 2011 World Series matchup has been decided, it's time to break down the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers to see who has the advantage in every aspect of the game.

It is important to debate more than just which team has the better offense and pitching staff because there are an abundance of other facets that could decide who is victorious in this year's Fall Classic.

Home-field advantage will play a key role since both teams have exuberant fanbases that can help dictate the outcome of a baseball came. Whichever team has more postseason experience will also play a crucial role in determining the series.

With the stage set and the Cardinals ready to host the Rangers this upcoming Wednesday night, here is a complete breakdown of each team's advantages they have over one another.

Starting Rotation

St. Louis: Chris Carpenter, Jamie Garica, Edwin Jackson and Kyle Lohse.

Texas: C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Derrick Holland and Matt Harrison.

If you look at the regular season statistics of each team's starting rotation, you'll find that they were nearly identical. The Rangers ERA was 3.65, while the Cardinals' was just a little higher at 3.81.

It has also been the same story for both rotations in the post season. The Cardinals have an ERA of 5.41, and the Rangers' ERA is 5.34.

While the stats indicate that the Rangers have the better rotation, Chris Carpenter will end up being the difference in this series. He currently holds a 2-0 record this postseason with a complete game shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies already under his belt.

On the other hand, the Rangers ace in Wilson is winless in his last six postseason starts dating back to 2010.

With Carpenter pitching twice in this series, the nod goes to the Cardinals, but only by a slight margin.

Advantage: Cardinals

Bullpen

St. Louis: Jason Motte, Lance Lynn, Arthur Rhodes, Octavio Dotel, Fernando Salas, Marc Rzepczynski, Mitchell Boggs and Kyle McClellan.

Texas: Scott Feldman, Mike Gonzalez, Yoshinori Tateyama, Alexi Ogando, Neftali Feliz, Darren Oliver, Mike Adams and Koji Uehara.

While the Cardinals' bullpen problems were well documented during the regular season, the Rangers weren't all that impressive either. The Cardinals bullpen ERA was 3.72, and the Rangers' was 4.11.

Neither of those necessarily spell success in the postseason. However, the Rangers bullpen does have players that can potentially shutdown its opposition.

Alexi Ogando, Neftali Feliz and Darren Oliver have been nearly unhittable this postseason, and relievers like Mike Adams and Koji Uehara were acquired at the deadline to step up in postseason play.

Advantage: Rangers

Lineup

St. Louis: Rafael Furcal, Jon Jay, Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, David Freese, Yadier Molina and Nick Punto.

Texas: Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus, Josh Hamilton, Michael Young, Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz, David Murphy and Mitch Moreland.

Talk about a World Series stacked with star power in both lineups.

On one side, you have Albert Pujols, arguably the best player in MLB at the moment, and surrounding him are players like Lance Berkman and Matt Holliday. That's almost not even fair.

On the other side, you have Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young and Adrian Beltre acting as the thump in the lineup, and that doesn't even include players like Ian Kinsler, Elvis Andrus and Mike Napoli. That Rangers lineup is one of the best in baseball at the moment, and their regular season batting average of .281 backs that up. 

Plus, Cruz is currently the hottest man on the planet.

Advantage: Rangers

Home-Field Advantage

Since the Prince Fielder and the rest of the National League All-Star team won the Midsummer Classic, the Cardinals will have home-field advantage in the 2011 World Series.

That's bad news for the Rangers since Busch Stadium has one of the best playoff atmospheres in all of baseball. Additionally, it's always fun to see the sea of red that floods the stadium seats in Busch Stadium.

Advantage: Cardinals

Bench

Cardinals: Skip Schumaker, Ryan Theriot, Allen Craig, Adron Chambers, Daniel Descalso and Gerald Laird.

Rangers: Craig Gentry, Yorvit Torrealba, Endy Chavez and Esteban German.

Not only is the Rangers bench not as deep as the Cardinals, it's also not as talented. Schumaker, Theriot and Craig are all serviceable bench players who can provide quality playing time at any point in the game.

Advantage: Cardinals

Coaching

Cardinals: Tony La Russa

Rangers: Ron Washington

Washington is no slouch of a manager, and he would generally give the Rangers the advantage in this category unless his counterpart is Tony La Russa, and that's exactly the case this year.

La Russa is one of the best in the business at mixing and matching his bullpen to face certain batters in the opposing team's lineup. Last year, Bruce Bochy of the San Francisco Giants did an excellent job of neutralizing the Rangers' potent offense. In order for the Cardinals to win this series, La Russa must pull off what Bochy was able to last year.

Advantage: Cardinals

Defense

Neither the Rangers nor the Cardinals had a good defensive year in 2011. The Rangers committed 114 total errors, while the Cardinals made 116.

However, don't let that statistic fool you, because both teams are stacked with excellent defensive fielders. Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina are both one of the best at their respective positions, and the same can be said about Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre.

Advantage: Draw

Experience

It's safe to say that a lack of postseason experience won't be the downfall for either of these two clubs.

It was only last year when the Rangers made it to the World Series, and the Cardinals have made it three times in the past eight years, including a series win in 2006.

However, the Cardinals seem to have a little more postseason experience than their counterparts. In their careers, Pujols, Holliday, Furcal and Berkman have accounted for 692 postseason at bats. On top of that, ace Chris Carpenter has made 12 career postseason starts.

On the other hand, Cruz, Hamilton, Andrus and Young have only had 413 postseason at bats.

If you dictate experience by which team played on the biggest stage recently, then Texas would had the advantage. However, St Louis' big players are more seasoned for postseason play.

Advantage: Cardinals

Momentum

There isn't a team playing with more confidence at the moment than the St. Louis Cardinals.

After finishing off the regular season with an 18-8 record in September, the Cardinals upset the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies and the Milwaukee Brewers in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The Rangers haven't been playing that poorly as of late, either, and their 19-6 record in September to finish off the regular season certainly drives that point home.

With both teams getting sizzling-hot at the perfect time this season, it should make for a very entertaining 2011 World Series.

Advantage: Draw