The online betting sites are lighting up with bets for the 2011 World Series. The St. Louis Cardinals hold on to home field advantage thanks to the NL win in the All-Star game. But the Texas Rangers seemed to be comfortable playing in any ballpark in the playoffs. It should be a good series, but it will not go the distance.

St. Louis Cardinals (+135)

The Cardinals enter the World Series as the underdog despite the home field advantage. It is difficult for a wild card team to be considered the favorite over a division champion in the World Series. When you run this series through the bookie software, the Cardinals are favored to win the opening game. The odds makers are expecting the Cardinals to wilt as the series progresses. Those kinds of odds are understandable, but they may also be very wrong.

Texas Rangers (-155)

The Rangers will start off the series with pitching ace C.J. Wilson on the mound. If the Cardinals get to Wilson, then the Texas bullpen may be in trouble. But the starting rotation of the Rangers is so deep that the MLB scores in this series should be low. But the Rangers have not shown much in the way of clutch hitting. Luckily for Texas, it has lead most of the games it has played in the playoffs almost from the first inning. But the Cardinals have a way of scoring runs late in the game that could be a problem for Texas.

Prediction

There is a lot going for the Cardinals in this World Series. Considering St. Louis was not even supposed to make the playoffs this season, the fact that it is in the World Series is pretty impressive. But St. Louis has the talent to see this through while the Rangers will be digging deep into a bullpen that will not come through.

Pick: St. Louis Cardinals