Following their epic extra innings victory in Game 6 on Thursday night, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa announced that ace Chris Carpenter would start Game 7 of the World Series against the Rangers tonight.

It was a move that has been anticipated since David Freese hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Cardinals a 10-9 win on Thursday night. Carpenter last pitched on Monday and has worked on short rest before in this postseason. While technically it’s Kyle Lohse’s turn in club’s postseason rotation and Edwin Jackson would be working on a normal rest period, La Russa has to turn to his workhouse in this situation.

In related news, both Matt Holliday (finger) and Nelson Cruz (groin) are expected to play in Game 7. Holliday suffered what Joe Buck called during the broadcast a “severely bruised little finger” when he dove back into third base during a pickoff attempt Thursday night. He jammed his hand into third baseman Adrian Beltre’s foot and was subsequently called out on the play. Holliday didn’t return to the game, leaving some to speculate whether or not he would play in Game 7.

Cruz strained a groin muscle on his final at-bat in Game 6 and was shown limping down the clubhouse steps. But as long as he can still walk, one would expect him to be in the lineup. This is Game 7 of the World Series, after all.

The Texas Rangers are returning to the World Series after a 15-5 thumping of the Detroit Tigers to win the ALCS by four games to two. Nelson Cruz was a beast in the series, pounding out six home runs and 13 RBIs against Tiger pitching. Cruz hit 29 home runs in the regular season in 475 at bats.

The Rangers will now play the winner of the NLCS between the Cardinals and the Brewers. The Cards are leading the series 3-2 with Game 6 coming tonight in Milwaukee. The Rangers have never won a World Series.

Meanwhile, the Tigers had a great season but had no answer for the Rangers lineup. Justin Verlander wasn’t dominant in the post-season, but at least he did his job.

Given how the Rangers went on to win 10-3, what happened in the second inning of Game 4 of the ALCS on Tuesday night takes on a lesser meaning today.

But it still begs the question: Why didn’t the umpires review Robinson Cano’s home run when it was clear that a fan interfered with Nelson Cruz’s attempt to catch the ball?

Right-field umpire Jim Reynolds called Cano’s hit a home run and despite a brief argument by Texas manager Ron Washington, the umpires never reviewed video replay of the play to see if the fan (20-year-old Jared Macchirole) reached out and interfered. Had they done so, they probably would have reversed the call because it did appear that Macchirole stuck his hands over the wall and impeded Cruz’s attempt at hauling in the catch.

You just know that someone in this country is standing around the water cooler telling his coworkers that because Major League Baseball wants the Yankees in the World Series because of the revenue they bring in, that that’s why they the umps didn’t review the play. You may even be talking to that guy right now.

Personally, I don’t get into conspiracy theories but believe what you want. Either way, it was strange that the umpires never reviewed the play and of course, the scene was eerily similar to when Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall and carried Derek Jeter’s home run into the stands during Game 1 of the ALCS.

Damn Yankee fans…always cheating.

Things don’t look good in the Bronx.

A.J. Burnett retired the fist six batters he faced Tuesday night, but then remembered he was A.J. Burnett pitching in 2010 and the wheels started to fall off. The end result was disastrous, which is what most pundits figured when Joe Girardi appointed him his Game 4 starter.

Burnett allowed five runs on six hits in six innings of work as the Rangers crushed the Yankees 10-3 in Game 4 of the ALCS. Texas’ catcher Bengie Molina (a great midseason pickup from the Giants) went 3-for-4 with a go-ahead three run homer in the sixth off Burnett, while the eventual ALCS MVP Josh Hamilton also hit a pair of dingers and Nelson Cruz added a two-run shot in the ninth.

Compounding issues for the Yankees is that Mark Teixeira is now done for the season with a strain in his right hamstring. Twenty-three-year-old Eduardo Nunez hit .280 this year in 50 at bats with one home run, but he’s not going to keep pitchers awake at night like Teixeira will.

The Bombers face elimination this afternoon at 4:00PM ET. The good news is that they have their ace on the hill; the bad news is that CC Sabathia has a 7.20 ERA in this year’s postseason. C.J. Wilson will start for the Rangers and his ERA is a tad better (2.03), plus he flustered New York hitters for most of Game 1 before they got to him in the 7th inning. And even if the Rangers lose today, they’ll be at home for the final two games of the series and Cliff Lee (who’s pretty good in the postseason) would start Game 7 if necessary.

The Red Sox have proved this decade that being down 3-1 doesn’t mean a club can’t pull off a comeback. But the Yankees look old, tired and dare I say completely overmatched in this series. They look finished.

Not much has changed at the top of this list, but the Rangers are making a statement. Meanwhile, the Mets, Cardinals and Twins have been playing such mediocre baseball that a few upstarts have knocked them off this list. Here are the pre-All Star game power rankings:

1. New York Yankees (55-31)—It’s on. The Rangers out-bid the Yanks for Cliff Lee, but lookie here—the Bombers have won 7 in a row. They don’t need no stinkin’ Cliff Lee.

2. Texas Rangers (50-36)—Yesterday, Nolan Ryan and company vaulted their team from playoff contender to World Series contender by obtaining Mr. Lee. The middle of their lineup with Vlad, Hamilton and Nelson Cruz just might be the most potent heart of the order in baseball.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (52-34)—Sorry, Boston. Sorry, New York. These pesky Rays are not going away.

4. Atlanta Braves (51-35)—This pains me as a Mets fan, but the Braves made a series-opening statement last night at Citi Field. They are for real and they are trying to pull away from the Mets and Phils.

5. San Diego Padres (50-36)—You think the Mets wish they still had Heath Bell?

6. Boston Red Sox (50-36)—They aren’t giving in either. The next two and a half months are going to be very exciting in the AL East.

7. Cincinnati Reds (45-35)—That team dressed in red leading the NL Central is not the Cardinals. By the way, if Joey Votto didn’t win that online voting, it would have been one of the worst all-star snubs in baseball history.

8. Detroit Tigers (47-37)—Don’t look now, the Tigers have won four in a row and the White Sox six in a row, and they are 1-2 in the AL Central while the Twins are suddenly floundering.

9. Los Angeles Dodgers (48-38)—Will the NL West be like a stock market correction and have the Dodgers and Rockies take over the Padres’ lofty spot? The Dodgers are winning again and making their move.

10. Colorado Rockies (48-38)—Always a late bloomer, the Rockies are also making a move, and their stud ace Ubaldo Jimenez is a positively sick 15-1 at the all-star break.