World Series Game 1: Why St. Louis Cardinals Can't Get Overconfident

The St. Louis Cardinals took Game 1 of the 2011 World Series from the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night.

Riding their seasoned and scrappy manager, Tony La Russa, the Cardinals made plays when they needed to, and won a very important opening game.

Heading into Game 2 of the series, the Cardinals have the odds on their side.  19 of the last 23 teams to win Game 1 of the World Series have gone on to win the championship, according to ESPN.

This bodes well for a team thought to be the underdog coming into this year's Fall Classic.

The Cardinals, though, have not won anything yet.  In order to continue to succeed, La Russa needs to continue to coach great baseball.  Their starting pitching needs to follow Chris Carpenter's lead from his excellent Game 1 outing.

Read on and take a look at some things that should concern the Cardinals moving forward in the series.

Game 1 Won by Inches

Game 1 was determined by a matter of inches.  Pinch-hitter Allen Craig, batting for pitcher Chris Carpenter, delivered a surgical shot down the right field line.

Nelson Cruz was inches away from making the play.

It was that close.

This shows just how close these two teams really are.  Will the breaks continue to fall in favor of the Cards?

Or will a team convincingly rise above the other?

A win by inches and chance should not comfort any team heading into the remainder of a World Series.

Rangers' Bats Will Come Alive

The Rangers are one of the most explosive offenses in Major League Baseball.

Wednesday night they were contained to just two runs on six hits.

The 2011 regular season was led mostly by the dominant Rangers offense.  They led the AL in batting average, third in runs scored per game at 5.2 and second in slugging at .460  Those numbers all top the Cardinals, who trail closely behind.

This Ranger line-up is capable of scoring in bunches and can explode at any moment.

With the recent struggles of the Cardinals starting pitching, it is only a matter of time before the Rangers' bats awaken and turn the tide of the series.

Rangers' Bullpen Will Rebound

The Ranger bullpen has been dominant this post-season.  They are 4-0 with a 2.34 ERA and have limited opposing hitters to a .193 average during the playoffs.

Allen Craig's RBI single off of Alexi Ogando is the only run allowed by Ogando in the playoffs in 10 innings of relief work.

As an area of improvement for the Rangers throughout the 2011 season, though, the bullpen will bounce back following the lapse in Game 1.

If the Rangers can score runs early, it's going to be tough for the Cardinals to come back.  It's an uphill battle against the excellent Rangers' pen.

Rangers' Desperate to Avoid Back-to-Back WS Losses

The last three American League teams to lose a World Series and  then return the following year have won the series in their second attempt.

While reaching the World Series is a great accomplishment, losing it twice in a row would be heartbreaking for a clubhouse.

No team has lost back-to-back World Series' since the 1963 and 1964 New York Yankees.  Those Yankees took more than a decade to return to the fall classic and 13 years until capturing another championship.

Another defeat for the Rangers and it could likely mean the loss of yet another "ace" of their starting rotation.  Last season, following the World Series loss to the San Francisco Giants, ace pitcher Cliff Lee departed for seemingly greener pastures in Philadelphia.

C.J. Wilson is a free agent at the end of the season and is rumored to be on the move.  A World Series ring just might change his mind.

Will the Rangers stumble as the 1963/64 Yankees did?  They certainly have no desire to find out.

Three Straight Games in Arlington

The Rangers are an impressive 4-1 at home thus far in the 2011 post-season.  Throughout the regular season they boasted a very impressive 52-29 home record at the Ballpark in Arlington.

If they Rangers can pull off the victory in Game 2, the Cardinals may find themselves in a very difficult position heading into three straight games in Arlington.