Cardinals need to stick with what they've done all season to beat Boston

By COREY NOLES

When the St. Louis Cardinals meet the Boston Red Sox in the World Series this week for the fourth time in history, the two best teams in baseball will soon be narrowed to one.

Don't expect a rematch of 2004 where the Cardinals just collapsed and lost to the Red Sox in four games. This is not the same team.

Of course, the 2004 team did win 105 games, but they were spent by the time they reached the World Series.

The average age of the pitching staff in 2004 was 30.1. That same number was 30.6 for batters.

In 2013, the average age of Cardinals pitchers was 26.9 and batters are 28.7.

Each team was a winner in it's own way, but the 2013 Cardinals seem to be wired different.

This year's team didn't have the luxury of a 17 game lead in the division to become complacent. From April through the NLCS, every game has counted for this team.

The World Series will be no different.

To win it, they simply need to stick with what has worked all season.

Keep it simple--focus on today

It's been the Mike Matheny mantra since the beginning of the season--keep it simple.

For October, that's great advice.

While it's important to soak in the reality of the experience, it can't consume you. When you step to the mound or the batter's box, it's crucial to treat it like any other at bat.

The World Series atmosphere can be overwhelming with all of the fanfare, excitement and the literal media flea circus that will descend on both cities.

The Cardinals have been in plenty of high-pressure spots this October, they can handle a few more.

Keep the two-strike approach alive

Under hitting coach John Mabry, the Cardinals made some subtle changes to their approach at the plate.

Instead of swinging for the fences, when the reach two strikes Cardinals batters are hitting for contact. That strategy has played a huge role in the team's astronomical batting average with RISP during the regular season.

So far, the team batting average has been weak in October, but they have faced sensational pitching throughout the postseason.

Good situational hitting got the Cardinals to the World Series. If they plan to win it all, this will no doubt play a huge role.

Don't waste opportunities

This follows naturally from the previous point. It should go without saying, but blown opportunities have cost more teams October success than any other issue.

The Red Sox are a good matchup for the Cardinals and, as a result, the Cardinals will need to capitalize on every opportunity that comes their way.

Wasting a leadoff triple by Matt Carpenter (as happened in the NLCS) could be enough to blow an entire game.

Score early and often

The Cardinals won't have to face Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke in the World Series--and that's a reason to be grateful.

In your joy, though, don't underestimate the Red Sox pitching.

While I would argue the Cardinals have the edge when it comes to pitching rotation, no team reaches October without quality arms at the top of their game. The Red Sox are no exception.

Much like with the Dodgers, the key to winning lies in scoring both early and often. Giving a pitcher like Jon Lester the opportunity to settle in without giving up any runs can be a dangerous scenario.

The Cardinals can win this series--and I would argue that they will. However, to do make it happen they need to keep doing what they've done all year.

In the end, I'm picking the Cardinals to win the series in six games.

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Corey Noles is a Cardinals Writer and Columnist for The Daily Statesman. He is also a regular contributor to KSDK.com, StLSportsPage.com and Bleacher Report. Contact him at cnoles@dailystatesman.com or on Twitter @coreynoles.