HEARTLAND SERIES ON TAP

IT'S A WORLD SERIES straight out of Central casting.

David Freese, the local boy who became a big hit for the St. Louis Cardinals. Big Tex himself, Nolan Ryan, rooting on the Rangers. A pair of teams cut from a center slice of the country, set to meet in the middle.

Makes for a different feel this October, doesn't it?

No coasting in this Series. None of the Derek Jeters, Dustin Pedroias or Chase Utleys from the East we've grown accustomed to seeing. None of the Tim Lincecums or Brian Wilsons we watched from the West last fall.

They begin at Busch Stadium tomorrow night, with C.J. Wilson starting for Texas against Chris Carpenter.

Oh, and no need to change any clocks. Every game is scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m. local time. Kind of nice to avoid those late-afternoon shadows in California and skip those post-midnight final outs in the Northeast. Provided there's no rain or extra innings, that is.

With MVPs Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and several other All-Stars involved, it's certainly an interesting matchup. Adding to the intrigue: The teams are hardly acquainted, having played only three games against each other - and that lone series was back in 2004.

According to STATS LLC, the Rangers-Cardinals matchup equals the fewest games between opponents in the majors, tying Mets-White Sox.

Freese was eager to get going. A prep star in suburban St. Louis, he emerged as the MVP of the NLCS, helped by his three-run homer in the clinching Game 6 at Milwaukee.

"Thanks for the love yall," Freese tweeted yesterday. "For the first time gettin smoked in fantasy football doesnt feel too bad."

Whether sports fans in other spots will watch this Series remains to be seen.

Last year's pairing of the Giants and Rangers drew television ratings that equaled the lowest ever. The numbers were down 28 percent from the year before when the New York Yankees played the Phillies.

The Cardinals still have a national profile, dating to a half-century ago when St. Louis was the most western point in the major leagues. In those days, the vast Cardinals radio network developed a broad fan base all over the country.

This week, the Rangers make their first trip to St. Louis.

"The Rangers are scary. They're a scary team," Freese said. "You look at that lineup, you look at that staff. It's going to be a battle."

"I think we're a team that can match up with them a little bit. And they're confident, we're confident. It's been a tough road. I've definitely been watching the ALCS for sure. That's some good ball over there," he said.

Manager Tony La Russa and the wild-card Cardinals make for a good story. Trailing by 10 1/2 games in late August, St. Louis made a late run and earned its playoff spot on the final day of the regular season.

The Rangers, guided by excitable manager Ron Washington, were in control for most of the season. Both teams can score, and both wound up relying heavily on their bullpens in the playoffs.

"They don't know much about us other than what they see on TV, and we don't know much about them other than we see on TV," Washington said yesterday. "We've got to rely on our scouts, rely on our sight when we see them, and our gut . . . That's a great way to play baseball."

Michael Young, the longest-tenured Ranger in his 11th season, is the lone player left in Texas who took part in that 2004 series between the teams. St. Louis won twice in a three-game set at Texas.

Only two Texas starters have pitched even six innings in the playoffs, and the starting staff has a combined 5.62 ERA. In the ALCS, the Rangers became only the second team in a best-of-seven playoff series to have relievers get all four victories.

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised. I expect those guys to go deeper than they have," Washington said. "But the bottom line is however deep they went, they kept us in the ballgame and we were able to pull some of them out . . . I think my hook has been right on time. If it happened to be in the third inning, so be it."

Washington said the Rangers will use the same four starters in the World Series that they have these playoffs. But he only confirmed Wilson as the Game 1 starter and wouldn't say in what order Colby Lewis, Derek Holland and Matt Harrison would pitch after that.

Though the Cardinals have homefield advantage, thanks to the NL's win in the All-Star Game, they are considered underdogs to the Rangers.

"When you get to the postseason anything can happen," said Pujols, the Cardinals' slugging first baseman. "We got to the postseason and we were riding hot. We're swinging the bats pretty well and the bullpen has been unbelievable."

The relievers had more innings than the starters in the NLCS. Carpenter was the member of the rotation who lasted long enough to qualify for the victory, gutting out five innings in Game 3. Jason Motte didn't allow a hit in 4 2/3 innings and had two saves, and rookie Lance Lynn, Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel each won a game for a unit that was 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA over 28 2/3 innings.