After a long postseason that started almost a month ago we have finally reached the World Series, and it could not have been set up more perfectly.
No other team in baseball is built better than the Phillies to take the Yankees down. This Yankees team is the best it has been since the last time they won a World Series back in 2000, and the Phillies have talent to crash the party.
These two teams actually met in interleague action back in May and the Phillies won two of three in the Bronx. Take that series with a grain of salt because the Yankees were not playing their best ball at that point in the young season.
There isn't a break for the opposing pitcher in either one of these lineups. You've got Derek Jeter, I raise you Jimmy Rollins. You've got Ryan Howard, I raise you Alex Rodriguez. The list goes on and on. In other words, both teams virtually cancel each other out with their hitting lineups. So now it comes down to the pitching.
If the Phillies wouldn't have acquired Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez they wouldn't even be in this situation for the second straight year. But since they do, they have a decent chance at hanging with the Yankees pitching staff.
Lee is pitching Game 1 tonight which is a no-brainer, and Joe Girardi is countering with C.C. Sabathia, which has also been lights out this postseason with a 1.19 ERA.
Many are leaning towards whoever wins Game 1 will win the series, but I disagree with that. Both teams are too good to be counted out after just one game.
There are actually two key games to this series and it's games two and three. Pedro Martinez is going Game 2 and that is a smart move by Charlie Manuel. No other pitcher in the Phillies rotation is more suited to pitch against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium than Martinez is.
The x-factor for the Phillies in this series is whether the bullpen can hang with the Yankees' dominant bullpen. If the Phillies' bullpen plays like it did against the Dodgers in the NLCS, then this series will easily go seven game and the Phillies may even take this in six.
It's going to be a close series but in the end I think the Yankees bullpen contains the Phillies hitters enough to win this in seven games. Buckle up, because it's going to be one to remember no matter who comes out on top.
Team Advantges
- Starting Pitching Advantage: Yankees
- Bullpen Advantage: Yankees
- Hitting Advantage: Phillies
- Managing Advantage: Phillies
No comments:
Post a Comment