World Series Schedule 2011: MLB Needs Cardinals vs. Rangers to Be a Slugfest

The 2011 MLB World Series is ready to go, and Bud Selig and others in charge of the MLB have to wish that the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers will be nothing but a slugfest. 

The long ball has made a great comeback in the 2011 MLB playoffs, and in order for the 2011 World Series to bring in good ratings, it will have to stay. 

Game 6 for the ALCS and NLCS featured two teams scoring over 10 runs and a total of 12 home runs. 

Neither team is in a huge market, and while they both have a good following of fans, it isn't going to help the World Series get ratings. However, a consistent showing of power and home runs will definitely help. 

Baseball is a very long season, and by the time the playoffs come around, the casual fan is knee deep in football and loving every minute of it. They don't have much time to watch baseball around this time of the year, but because it's the World Series, they do their best to make time if the two teams bring excitement to the table. 

So far, both teams have been able to do just that, but if the tide turns and the World Series becomes a pitchers' duel, fans won't want to stick around. 

Sure, there will be the die-hard fans that watch the entire game and beg for more, but the league never has to worry about them. The MLB is focused on those fans who are debating whether or not to turn the World Series on or let another episode of some pointless reality TV show rot their brain. 

With guys like Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, Adrian Beltre and Ian Kinsler, this World Series has the potential to be all about the bat. The Rangers reached the World Series last season, but outside of few moments, they didn't have a ton of success hitting the ball against the San Francisco Giants' talented pitching staff.  The Cardinals have some solid pitching as well, so it will be interesting if both teams can keep their hot streak going. 

Over the last couple of years, and really since the death of the steroid era, baseball has become all about how dominating a pitcher can be. That hasn't really been the case this postseason, and with the MLB's biggest series of the year quickly approaching, the sport needs the Cardinals and Rangers to continue hitting the ball very well.