World Series Predictions 2011: Why Cold Cardinals Offense Dooms St. Louis

The magical carpet ride that has been the St. Louis Cardinals' past month-and-a-half is coming to a sudden halt.

In the baseball postseason, getting hot at the right time is vital, as the Cards have found out. So when they have to sit around and wait for the next game, nerves start to set in.

Can they keep up this incredible momentum? They put up crooked numbers all over the scoreboard against Milwaukee, but they were benefited by nine Brewers errors—an LCS record. So the seven runs they averaged in the series is a bit misleading.

LCS MVP David Freese had the series of his career, and my bet is that the guy who had 15 home runs in his career before this month will show up more than the guy with four thus far in the postseason.

Then there is the .204-hitting Rafael Furcal and the .216 average of Jon Jay—two starters that have combined for 86 ABs in the postseason. Lance Berkman isn’t too far behind at .236, with a .342 slugging percentage.

This is a good time to mention that the Texas Rangers pitching staff, led by Alexi Ogando and closer Neftali Feliz, put up a 1.32 ERA in 27.1 innings against the Detroit Tigers.

Oh, and then there is the Rangers lineup, which is incredibly hard to stop. USA Today’s Jorge L. Ortiz agrees:

Three days off after winning the pennant can do nothing but help Josh Hamilton's groin injury. The reigning AL MVP batted .308 in the ALCS but has yet to go deep in the postseason. A batting order with Hamilton, Young, Beltre, Napoli and Cruz in a groove could propel the Rangers to their first World Series title, whether the starters carry their share of the load or not.

If the rest of the lineup isn’t producing, the Rangers will be able to pitch around Albert Pujols, and Matt Holliday to a lesser extent (who is still dealing with an injury).

Unless Jay or Furcal magically turns things around at the top of the lineup, the Rangers are going to out-slug the Cardinals. The Texas defense is much more reliable than the Brew Crew and won’t be giving up free outs.

The offense may have gotten the Cardinals to this point, but it’s ultimately going to be their demise.