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Back in 2004, the Boston Red Sox made their glorious return to MLB‘s World Series and swept their NL opponents—the St. Louis Cardinals. 

As the Cardinals and Red Sox do battle in their World Series rematch beginning on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, it’s important to recognize the smaller matchups that will act as microcosms of this World Series. Who wins those matchups will go a long way in determining which team ends up winning baseball’s highest honor. 

Starting Pitching

One of the most important matchups in any series is the battle between the starting pitchers of each team. With the rotations of the Cardinals and Red Sox, it’ll be nearly impossible to ignore.

The Cardinals have an extremely solid starting rotation made up of studs like Adam Wainwright and Michael Wacha. They will oppose Boston’s main aces, Jon Lester and John Lackey. Wainwright and Wacha both boast amazing postseason ERAs—Wainwright sits at 1.57 and Wacha at just .043. To put Wacha‘s impressive ERA into perspective, he’s given up just one earned run in 21 innings. 

The Red Sox aces aren’t too shabby either. Lackey and Lester have allowed just nine combined earned runs over 31 postseason innings of work, including against the Detroit Tigers’ star-studded offense. 

While both sets of aces are extremely solid, the true matchup will come between the other starting pitchers—Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn for St. Louis, and Clay Buchholz and Jake Peavy for the Red Sox.

For the Cards, Kelly has given up 18 hits in 16.1 innings in the postseason along with eight earned runs while Lynn has an ERA of 5.40 with seven walks. The Red Sox counter with Buchholz, who has given up 19 hits and 10 earned runs in 16.2 innings, and Peavy, who has only survived 8.2 total innings in his two games with an ERA of 8.31. 

A huge part of the 2013 World Series will not only come down to how the superstar starters pitch for both squads,  but more importantly, how the lesser starters perform with everything on the line. 

Carlos Beltran vs. Boston Red Sox Pitching

Carlos Beltran has been on an absolute tear this postseason. While he’s only batting .256, the hits he has gotten have been huge.

Beltran has two home runs, one triple and three doubles in the playoffs and has driven in 12 runs. When you’re thinking of just two playoff series, 12 runs makes a huge difference. 

However, Beltran won’t have it easy. The Red Sox pitching has been extremely solid and handcuffed some of the best batters in the league in the ALCS series against Detroit. The Tigers’ lineup was one of the most prolific in the league with the best team batting average during the regular season and ranked second-best in slugging percentage, on-base percentage and runs. Red Sox pitchers, however, were able to shut them out once and allow three or fewer runs in all but one game. 

The Red Sox have handled opposing big bats so far throughout the playoffs, but Beltran will serve as a worthy opponent in the World Series. 

Mike Napoli and David Ortiz against St. Louis Relievers

Another major matchup facing St. Louis will be the Boston bats of Mike Napoli and David Ortiz.

That might seem strange since Ortiz had just two hits in the ALCS, but not when you look at what he did. One of those hits came against the Tigers in Game 2 with the bases loaded. Ortiz hit one of two Boston grand slams in the ALCS, which essentially won the series for the Sox. 

Napoli had a similar series. He had six hits, including two doubles and two home runs to go with a .300 average and .700 slugging percentage. Napoli was a beast against the Tigers and will have to keep it up in the World Series for the Red Sox to survive.

Ortiz and Napoli both did their major damage in the later innings of the ALCS to dismantle the Tigers’ relief pitching. If the Cardinals want to have a shot at redemption for 2004, they’ll have to handle the big names in the Sox lineup late in games. 

The Cardinals have leaned on Trevor Rosenthal and Carlos Martinez thus far in the postseason to handle most of their relief work. Rosenthal has logged seven innings during the postseason and Martinez checks in at 6.2 innings. While Rosenthal still hasn’t allowed a run, Martinez is a bit different story. In his 6.2 innings of work Martinez has given up two earned runs, but only two hits. 

The Red Sox will rely on their big bats to show up late in games once again. If St. Louis wants to exact revenge, the Cardinals’ relief pitchers will have to be on their marks.

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The MLB playoffs are heating up with some incredible games going down in both the ALCS and the NLCS, and as things move closer and closer to the 2013 MLB World Series, one thing will be on the mind of baseball fans everywhere, especially fans whose teams have been eliminated: free agency. 

Here is a quick look at some of the best bats coming onto the free agency market this offseason.

Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals

Carlos Beltran has had a huge season. He batted an impressive .296 with 24 homeruns and 84 RBI and has been a major part of the Cardinals’ playoff run. He’s now reaching the end of his two-year, $26 million deal which means that the 36-year-old beast has a choice to make: stay in St. Louis or test the waters and find another contender to lead to the promised land. 

Beltran is one of the best offensive weapons in the major leagues, bringing over 80 runners home in each of his last three seasons, and given his age, he would be a great addition to any American League team in need of a big bat to bolster their lineup at the designated hitter position. 

According to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, there have been rumors floating around the city of the former Met heading to the Bronx and donning Yankee pinstripes. 

Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers

Nelson Cruz, like Beltran, is one of the best batters in the MLB, and also like Beltran, he’ll be able to test free agency during the offseason. But Cruz has something against him that Beltran doesn’t have to worry about: a PED suspension.

Cruz was suspended for 50 games this season, but even with the suspension, he batted .266, hit 27 homeruns and brought 76 runners across the plate for the Rangers. Cruz has had over 70 RBI every season since 2009 and is one of the most consistent run-producers in the major leagues. 

Any team that needs to add a little pop in their lineup would be smart to pursue Cruz for his on-field production, but it’ll be interesting to see how teams approach him after his PED suspension in 2013. 

Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

Robinson Cano has been one of the most consistent Yankees over the last few years, putting up 27 homeruns and 107 RBI while batting .314 this season alone. Cano has been a Yankee since 2005, but now, according to Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com, Cano is demanding big money for his elite skills at second base and ridiculous production at the plate.

Because Cano will be demanding beau-coups bucks, the Yanks have a very tough decision during the offseason. Do they re-sign this life-long Yankee and lose a bunch of extra money in the process, or do they look for a way to fill his shoes, either at second base or at home plate?

We’ll get the answer in a few months, as Cano and the Yankees both have the opportunity to explore all of the various options out there in free agency. 

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The dust has finally settled after the Boston Red Sox mounted a glorious comeback against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway in Game 2. The ALCS is officially knotted up at one game apiece as both teams travel to Detroit for three more meetings as they decide who will represent the American League in the 2013 MLB World Series. 

Here’s everything you need to know to catch the rest of the ALCS as baseball continues to roll through the fall: 

What the Tigers Must Do to Move On

The Detroit Tigers have been mostly stellar through the playoffs, especially through the first two games of the ALCS. If the Tigers want to move on they have to keep things going the way they are—for the most part. 

They have to keep relying on their starting pitchers to dominate—which has gone pretty well so far—holding teams scoreless for over 20 innings during the playoffs. Another thing the Tigers must do is keep their bats going, something they’ve done rather well, racking up five runs in a hurry in Game 2 of the ALCS by hitting dingers all over the ballpark. 

What aren’t they doing, though?

Pretty simple; relief pitching.

Take Game 2 of the ALCS as an example. Max Scherzer looked lights-out once again, giving up just one run in seven innings only to be completely let down by the Tigers relief, which came in to give up five runs, including the grand slam given up by Joaquin Benoit in the eighth that really turned the tide in favor of the Red Sox. 

The Tigers have had trouble with relief the last few seasons—most notably with late relief and closers. They haven’t been able to consistently get things going in terms of supporting their starters, but if they do, you’ll see games like Game 1 of the ALCS, when Anibal Sanchez and Tigers’ pitching came extremely close to throwing the first combined no-hitter in postseason history. 

If the Tigers can keep things rolling with their starters, produce at the plate and find an answer in the bullpen they’ll be nearly impossible to defeat on their way to the World Series. 

What the Red Sox Must Do to Move On

If the Red Sox want to continue on to the 2013 MLB World Series as the AL representatives they really just need to do what they did in Game 2—with a few minor changes. Obviously, they need to avoid giving up big innings to the Tigers batters, but if they can keep the big bats in check and keep runners off the basepaths, they’ll find success in the ALCS. 

Their pitching has been solid, giving up just six runs in the ALCS so far—just one in Game 1—and if their starters and relievers can keep up a “bend, don’t break” style of just hoping to contain the Detroit bats, they’ll be on their way to the World Series once again. 

As for batting, the Red Sox need to do follow Game 2’s blueprint. While it took a while to get the bats rolling, if they can keep the score relatively close until the Tigers are forced to bring in their struggling relievers, they’ll have the opportunity to put up big innings, much like what we saw Sunday night. 

The Red Sox need to manage the Tigers’ stacked lineup, trying to break up the big bats and stopping any big innings. Red Sox batters just have to keep getting after Tigers pitching as best as they can until they can get a shot at the shaky Tigers relief squad. Then, they need to make good on their opportunities against Tigers relievers. 

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Former Boston Red Sox and current Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona has a book coming out with Boston Globe Columnist Dan Shaughnessy titled “Francona: The Red Sox Years.” Hold on Red Sox fans. This is one you might want to pass up if you have any attachment to Red Sox ownership whatsoever. 

Francona takes shots at the owners and even includes a few conversations with former Sox GM Theo Epstein. 

According to the Boston Globe, Red Sox ownership felt that they didn’t have enough, as Epstein puts it, “sexy players” who would be more marketable to the fans. 

After the 2010 season, the Sox went out and aquired Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford who apparently were the “sexy” players that the owners were looking for, which eventually led to the departure of Francona and Epstein. 

However, Francona doesn’t let Epstein do all of the talking. Here’s a particularly interesting passage from the manager’s writings: 

“I don’t think they love baseball, I think they like baseball. It’s revenue and I know that’s their right and their interest because they’re owners … it’s still more of a toy or hobby for them. It’s not their blood. They’re going to come in and out of baseball. It’s different for me. Baseball is my life.” 

Francona also mentions that team chairman Tom Werner told Francona that the team needed to win in “more exciting ways.” Who wants a win if it’s not exciting? 

The Boston Red Sox were once a team that was all about winning baseball games. It didn’t matter who was on the field, who they were playing against or even how long Johnny Damon’s hair/beard was. They went out and won in any way possible. 

Now, according to Francona‘s book, the Red Sox owners are all about looking good, which apparently doesn’t translate to wins. The Red Sox went just 69-93 last season. 

Francona‘s controversial book will arrive on shelves on January 22. 

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