Bullies usually get their comeuppance. They seem rough and tough, but deep down they’re just pansies who talk a good game. Case in point: The New York Yankees, who this week revealed themselves as individualistic blowhards with overstuffed reputations to match their wallets. As the Boston Red Sox pointed out, there was really no reason to fear them.

But the St. Louis Cardinals?

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I’m not suggesting the Red Sox should quake in their cleats over their 2004 World Series matchup with St. Louis. Any club that hasn’t won a World Series championship since 1918 and has citizens of its city praying that they stay alive long enough to see one can handle just about anything.

But whereas the Yankees were paper beasts who, as it turned out, did not have the chemistry, grittiness and desire of which champions are made, the Cards have it all and then some. They’re the real deal. The Red Sox just stepped up in class.

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The Yankees went cold over the final four games of the American League Championship Series. Don’t expect that to happen with a St. Louis lineup featuring Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Larry Walker. They’re formidable and they’re resilient.

But the Cardinals have balance, are well-rounded and fundamentally sound, and are not simply dependent on a few burly sultans of swat. They can bunt. They can hit-and-run. They can steal. They can get runs in bunches with a sudden wallop, or they can manufacture. With that kind of versatility, they are better suited to contest Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez than could the Yankees, who think playing “small ball” is a reference to golf.

They are also a phenomenal defensive team. Edmonds was charged with a throwing error in Game 7 against the Astros. That ended a streak of errorless postseason games for St. Louis at 12, going back to 2002. Edmonds also completed a sprinting swan dive of a catch in the top of the second, which not only robbed Houston of two runs, but got perfect 10s from all the judges.

Edmonds makes plays like that as often as some players tug on their uniforms. He isn’t the only one. They have a Gold Glove candidate at every position. This is an indication of a franchise that has a plan, that values defense and builds its club accordingly. The way you get into the Yankees’ lineup is to put up gaudy numbers elsewhere, and then hope your agent can con George Steinbrenner into signing a humongous check. The way you get into the Cardinals’ lineup is to prove you can do it all.

The St. Louis pitching staff is cause for some concern, even though its season numbers are impressive. The Cards boasted four 15-game winners in Chris Carpenter, Matt Morris, Jason Marquis and Jeff Suppan. Carpenter has been out, although he has been throwing off the bullpen mound lately and could conceivably see action in the World Series. None of the other starters — including Woody Williams — is the equal of either Red Sox ace Schilling or Martinez.

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But the Cardinals manage to get it done with help from relievers Julian Tavarez,  Ray King and Kiko Calero, and closer Jason Isringhausen. And they all seem to rise to the occasion, as Suppan did by allowing only two earned runs across six innings of Game 7 in a duel with Roger Clemens. Suppan turned out to be the Cardinals’ version of Derek Lowe — an unexpected clutch performer in a Game 7 — except Suppan had a better overall season, and is more likely to continue his heroics.

There is also the psychological makeup of these clubs to consider. With the exception of the Chicago Cubs, nobody in baseball has suffered as long as the Boston Red Sox. They’ve been like Charlie Brown, running up to kick the football, only to see Lucy pull it away at the last second. But this time Lucy failed to do so, and probably will get fired by Mr. Steinbrenner.

Yet there is an underlying uneasiness among denizens of Red Sox Nation because “The Curse” won’t be lifted until their hirsute heroes win the World Series. And after the stunning rally from an 0-3 series deficit against the Bronx Bombers, followed by a ticker-tape and beer-bottle celebration in and around New England, the sense is that this Fall Classic is anticlimactic for Boston. The Red Sox may not be able to focus on the Cardinals with the same ire and intensity that they directed at their hated AL East rivals.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals enter this World Series with upward momentum. The Astros, as terrific as they performed, were a hurdle to be cleared en route to the ultimate prize. The Cardinals have been building toward this ultimate clash, and they didn’t seem to care who the opponent might be. There was no particular animosity toward the Astros, and there won’t be any toward the Red Sox, unless some of the veterans of the 1967 St. Louis-Boston World Series pop off and provide bulletin board material for these current-day combatants.

The Cards won 105 games this year and captured their division going away. The Red Sox qualified as a wild card and benefited from perhaps the biggest choke in sports history in order to get here.

The St. Louis Cardinals are what the Yankees historically have been before this year — a mighty assemblage, with class, confidence and no real weakness. That’s the kind of team that will throw a scare into anybody.