Preview/Prediction

With the World Series starting up on Wednesday, the rumors are starting to swirl about some big names in the MLB, and a few of them could be heading to new teams for the 2014 season.

The St. Louis Cardinals have lost four of Adam Wainwright's last five starts with eight or more days of rest, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Wednesday, as they take on the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Sports bettors will find that the Cardinals are plus-110 road underdogs in the pro baseball odds, with the betting total sitting at seven in the market.

Major League Baseball's Fall Classic has a way of bringing out the best in some players, but the worst in others.  St. Louis Cardinals' starters Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn and Boston Red Sox's starter Jake Peavy and shortstop Steven Drew, are four players who will collapse in this year's World Series.  Each one of these players is making their first World Series appearance in their current roles.

Joe Kelly 

With Major League Baseball's 8-team and now 10-team playoff format, it's actually become somewhat rare to see teams with the best regular season records reach the World Series. Fans of the 97-win St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox certainly aren't complaining.

There a zillion different ways for the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2013 World Series, but trusting each step in this guide would put them in the best position to knock off the Boston Red Sox.

The 2013 World Series is set to begin on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, as the Boston Red Sox play host to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 109th edition of the Fall Classic.

Given that both clubs matched each other with the best record in the MLB regular season at 97-65 and that both have strong starting pitching and star-studded batting orders, this has the makings of an epic championship showcase.

I am a Philadelphia Phillies fan, so when the playoffs started, I decided that I would hope for either the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Tampa Bay Rays to come away with the championship. You can obviously tell how well that worked out, but the one kind of strange advantage that I have gained is some sense of objectivity regarding the World Series. I don't really have a vested interest in either team.

For the fourth time in the last decade, the St. Louis Cardinals are in the World Series. They don't know whom they will play, but they have locked up a spot in the Fall Classic.

No matter whom they face, it will be a rematch of one of their recent World Series appearances. The Boston Red Sox swept the Cardinals back in 2004, and St. Louis beat the Detroit Tigers in 2006.

The St. Louis Cardinals punched their ticket to the 2013 World Series on Friday night, and the Boston Red Sox will attempt to join them with a win Saturday. The Cards pounded Clayton Kershaw for seven runs in just four innings, while Michael Wacha and two relievers kept the harmless Dodger bats in check. When the assault was done, the Cards were victorious, 9-0. 

The Boston Red Sox own a perfect 5-0 record when playing the sixth game of a postseason series at home, which is important to consider when making your MLB picks Saturday as they try to eliminate the Detroit Tigers in this best-of-seven series at Fenway Park.