The St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox were both able to defy elimination and come back to win their respective League Championship Series in seven games. Now the two teams will meet this year in the 100^th World Series to ever be played. The Cardinals are hoping to increase their success against the Red Sox in the World Series; as they are 2-0 against them when matched up in the final series of the year.

On the other hand, the Red Sox are trying to break the curse of the Bambino, which got off to a great start with them beating the Yankees to get to the World Series. For 87 years the Red Sox have been plagued by the Curse of Babe Ruth. They have not won a World Series since they traded away the best player of all-time to the despised Yankees all the way back in 1918.

How do we know the curse is real? Well, the Red Sox were 5-0 in the World Series with Babe Ruth, and since then they are 0-3. All the while the Yankees have won 27 Word Series. Those are some pretty convincing numbers.

Are the Red Sox going to defy ?The Curse? or are the Cardinals going to exact Babe Ruth?s will, and make the Red Sox fans live in misery for another year? We will just have to find out.

Here is a breakdown of the Cardinals ? Red Sox match up.

Starting Pitching

Boston: Curt Schilling won the most games in the league this year with 21. He pitched an excellent Game 6 in the ALCS to give Boston the momentum to overcome the Yankees and make it to the World Series. However, he is playing a on a restructured right ankle tendon which could give out at any moment.

Pedro Martinez has some of the filthiest stuff in the baseball. He has a very effective slider and a great fastball that comes in on the hands. He had over 200 Ks this year, but had a 3.90 ERA, which is 1.20 points higher than his career average. He was especially bad coming into the postseason. He posted a record of 2-4 with a 4.77 ERA.

The other two starting pitchers -- Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe -- will give it everything they have. Wakefield was huge in the ALCS series, coming in several times in relief and holding the Yankees scoreless. Lowe also came through when the Red Sox needed him most. He pitched six solid innings and only gave up one run.

St. Louis: The pitching staff took a serious blow when Chris Carpenter, their staff ace, was taken out of the rotation because of an arm ailment. However, the Cardinals probably had the deepest pitching staff in the league this year. Each one of the starters won at least 11 games, with four of them winning at least 15 games.

Woody Williams. The hardnosed veteran has been very good this postseason, going 2-0 with 11 K?s and a 2.84 ERA. He has taken it upon himself to take control of the pitching staff and lead them through the postseason.

Jason Marquis had an excellent year. This year was the first time he was ever a full time starter. He went 15-7 with a 3.71 ERA, at one point winning 11 games in a row. However, it was also the first time he pitched over 150 innings. He might have shown some fatigue against Houston when he was only able to go four innings. Also, he has never pitched in pressure situations before, who knows if he will shine his first time around again?

Matt Morris is a big league pitcher who has experienced a lot of success. He should be an excellent third starter for the team. Jeff Suppan had a very good season this year, 16-9 with a 4.16 ERA, but throughout his career he has been a losing pitcher.

Bullpen

Boston: The Red Sox have a very good closer in Keith Foulke. He saved 32 games for the Red Sox this year, while posting a 5-3 record with a stellar 2.17 ERA. During the ALCS, he pitched six scoreless innings against the Yankees, which is a big reason why they are in the World Series. Alan Embree and Mike Timlin are good set-up men, but can occasionally be a little erratic. Derek Lowe will be available if needed, and knuckleballer time Wakefield is always jumping at the chance to help the team. Both of them were very good in the ALCS.

St Louis: The Cardinals have a very deep bullpen. Their best setup man is Julian Tavarez. He has electric stuff, but sometimes he lets his emotions get the best of him while on the mound. For example, Game 5 of the NLCS he gave up a homerun to Carlos Beltran and after that he wasn?t able to even get close to the plate. He was finally replaced, and then he decided to break his hand. Luckily, it was his non-pitching hand. He did redeem himself in Game 7, which he helped keep the Astros and down and out of the game.

Ray King, Steve Kline and Kiko Calero all had spectacular seasons. Each of them had below a 3.00 ERA. They are very dependable and are able to get people out. Once they make it to the ninth inning, then they let Jason Irsinghausen take over. The Cardinals closer had been exceptional this season. He saved 47 games while posting a 4-2 record, coupled with a 2.87 ERA. He saved three out of four games in the NLCS. The Cardinals feel confident when he is on the mound.

Offense

Boston: The best offense in all of Major League Baseball. Every single player in the Red Sox lineup has the ability to deal the crucial blow to the opposing team. They scored over 900 runs this year, which is amazing. They pounded 222 home runs, and a had a batting average of .282.

David Ortiz has been unbelievable this postseason. He already has two walk off homeruns, to go along with a game winning single. He demolished the Yankees pitching, hitting .387 and knocking in 11 runs. He drove in 139 runs this year, while smacking 41 long balls.

The only guy that had a better year than Ortiz is they guy batting in front of him, Manny Ramirez. Although Ramirez did not play very well against the Yankees, the Cardinals should still be very wary of him. He batted .308 this year, while homering 43 times. He also drove in 130 runs. Combined, Ortiz and Ramierz batted .305 with 84 homeruns, and an astonishing 269 RBI?s.

Also, it appears Johnny Damon has finally decided to show up this postseason. He finished off the Yankees in Game 7 of the ALCS with two homeruns, one of which was a grand slam. Ever since he has shaved off that beard he has been on fire. Look for his hot streak to continue, because he is finally locked in at the plate.

St. Louis: This is the second best offense in the major leagues. There two through five hitters are one of the best quartets ever assembled. Larry Walker, one of the greatest hitters in the past decade, bats second in the Cardinals lineup. He has already belted four home runs this postseason to go along with eight RBIs. He is a consistent, powerful, and very dangerous hitter.

The third man up is Albert Pujols. If Barry Bonds weren?t in the National League, Pujols would have won the last three MVP titles. He has carried the Cardinals through the postseason. So far, he has batted at a .442 clip, with six home runs, and 14 RBI?s. During the regular season he batted .331 with 46 homers, and 124 RBI?s. The guy is a machine. If there are runners are base he is going to get them in. Also, he is so strong. He can knock an outside change-up out of the park going the opposite way.

After Pujols, Scott Rolen digs into the batters box. He was their most clutch player during the regular season, and he proved to be the most clutch in the postseason as well. In the seventh game of the NCLS, Rolen smacked a two run homers off of Roger Clemens to claim the lead and eventually the win over the Houston Astros. During the regular season he batted .314 with 34 homers, and 124 RBI?s.

Finally, Jim Edmonds comes up to try and finish off the pitchers. During the regular season Edmonds batted .301 with 42 homers and 111 RBI?s. He came through huge for the Cardinals in the sixth game of the NLCS when he blasted a walk off homerun in extra innings. Look for him to hit more homeruns during the world series.

Defense

Boston: Boston has a very solid defense, but only when they are playing in American League parks. When Ortiz is playing first base, instead of Kevin Millar, they are not nearly as good. He has very poor range, and he isn?t adept at picking balls out of the dirt like Millar is. The good news is, Boston has the home field advantage, which means more Millar than Ortiz.

Trading away Nomar was a great move for the Red Sox from a defensive standpoint. Orlando Cabrera has solidified the infield. He has great range and a very strong arm. He is able to turn a double play with the best of them.

Jason Varitek is a great leader on the field. He handles the pitchers very well and he is a very good defensive catcher. He also does a great job of controlling the infield, positioning them perfectly for certain batters.

St. Louis: The Cardinals have one of the best defensive teams to ever walk onto a baseball field. This postseason they have only made one error in their eleven games. Rolen is one of the best third baseman to every play. The five-time gold glover makes spectacular plays. He can dive to a ball screaming down the line, or charge a squibbler in between third and shortstop with the best of them.

Along side Rolen is Renteria who is maybe the best defensive shortstop in the league right now. He makes plays to his left and his right with relative ease. He does well with balls that are hit deep in the hole, and he is able to cut off a single up the middle. The left side of the field for the Cardinals is dynamite. Look for Renteria to win his third gold glove this year.

Jim Edmonds is an unbelievable center fielder. The catch he made in the second inning of the seventh game of the NLCS was incredible. He made a fully extended dive to rob Brad Ausmus of a hit that would have scored two runs. Of course, that is why he has won six gold gloves. That play is what gave the Cardinals the momentum to overcome the Houston Astros and continue on to the World Series.

Prediction

This series is going to be very close. However, I think that Babe Ruth is starting to feel bad for the Red Sox and their fans and he will finally let go of the curse, which has lasted 87 years. Ramirez is going to have a huge series, and I think Schilling is going to shine. The Cardinals pitching is going to falter in the seventh game, just like the Yankees, but this time, the Red Sox will be able to celebrate on their home field.