World Series Preview, Predictions

The Fall Classic will get under way on Wednesday night on Fox, and will likely cause you to be late to work, or at the very least, tired on Thursday, thanks to start times that will be after 8 pm eastern. Of course, I could write a whole post about how much of an ass clown Bud Selig is, but I won’t (for now, at least.)

Let’s take a look at it, position by position:

Lee has been dominant this postseason

• Starting Pitching- Both teams have legitimate ace’s at the top of their rotation, with the past 2 AL Cy Young winners and former teammates, set to square off in Game 1. Cliff Lee will, of course, start for the Fightins. He has been dazzling this postseason, with a 0.74 ERA through 24 1/3 innings pitched with a 0.699 WHIP. That’s an incredible run, and he has given no reason not to think that he can’t keep it up against the Yankees. Charlie Manuel has said he will be willing to use Lee on 3 days rest, if needed. For the Yankees, C.C. Sabathia has been nearly as good…but not quite. Also, there’s no need to have to remind any Phillies fan of exactly what happened to Sabathia, who at the time, was unbeatable, when he faced our beloved Fightins in the 2008 NLDS as a Brewer. Sabathia lasted just 3 2/3 innings, while giving up 5 earned runs thanks to an amazing at bat by Brett Myers who worked a walk. Eventually, The Flyin Hawaiian himself, Shane Victorino came to the plate with the bases drunk. And boy, did he deliver. A crushing blow to Sabathia, and it was all over. Beyond the aces, I feel that the Phillies have the better rotation. Pettitte isn’t on the juice any more, and I’m not concerned with him. Burnett, come on. Frankly, no starter in this series worries me. Good starting pitching, but not GREAT. It will come down to our ’08 hero, Cole Hamels. If the Hamels of ’08 shows up, the Phillies will win this thing in 5 games. Yes, you heard me. But, if the 2009 Hollywood Hamels shows up, it won’t be quite as easy. Hopefully, Hamels starts in Game 3, and Pedro Martinez gets the nod in Game 2. That’ll look familiar, won’t it? Pedro against the Yanks, big game…I like it.

See the rest, after the jump…

Is Lidge really back to his 2008 form?

• Bullpen- The Yankees will have the edge in the ‘pen, only because of one man: Mariano Rivera. Rivera is one of the best closers of all time, and you really have to only worry about getting 24 outs because he’ll be coming in to pitch the 9th and it’s a lock…Oh wait, you’ve heard that one before recently (cough cough-Broxton-cough cough.) If Brad Lidge can continue to pitch the way he has pitched this October, then the gap between the bullpens gets much smaller, though.

• Catcher– In the regular season, I would be taking Jorge Posada, no questions asked here. However, this isn’t the regular season. Carlos Ruiz has looked like a small, Panamanian Reggie Jackson this October. “Chooch” had an incredible .385 batting average with a .579 on-base percentage. But it’s gotta eventually even out, right? I mean Chooch is a career .246 hitter…Think again. His career postseason average is a full 50 points higher than his regular season average and his OPS is over 120 points higher in the postseason, and it’s still climbing. Not to mention, Carlos has quite an arm and can gun down anybody behind the plate and is a superb game caller. I’ll take Chooch over Jorge.

Howard has been hot all postseason, winning the NLCS MVP en route to the World Series berth.

• First Base– Back in September, this one would’ve been a little closer…But not any more. Fresh off his NLCS MVP award, Ryan Howard is rolling. Picking up clutch hit after clutch hit, RBI after RBI, Ryan Howard is the guy I’d rather have over Mark Teixeira. Sure, Tex has a great glove, but defense at that position is the least important of any position. Tex has been struggling since the playoffs started, and Ryan Howard just keeps picking up steam. His “Get me to the plate, boys” will forever be a part of Philly history. His MLB record for consecutive playoff games with an ribbie will be a part of baseball history.

• Second Base– There isn’t a better all around second baseman in the majors, let alone in this series. Despite the fact that Chase is coming off of hip surgery, and is rumored to be playing through an injury right now, he still managed 31 HRs, 93 RBIs, 112 Runs, and a perfect 23/23 on stolen base attempts. He’s got a good glove, despite a few errors in the postseason, and is, without question, the best second baseman in the game today. Robinson Cano is a good player, but he’s no Chase Utley.

• Third Base– Alex Rodgriguez, obviously, beat out Pedro Feliz. A-Rod (or A-Roid, if you prefer) has been swinging a ridiculously hot bat this postseason, after many years of hearing of how he doesn’t perform in the clutch. It’ll be up to the Philly pitchers to limit how much damage he does, and with Teixeira not swinging a good bat right now, I’m looking for the Phillies to pitch around Rodriguez whenever possible.

• Shortstop– This is a tough one. Derek Jeter has been one of the best in the game for a decade, but time is catching up to him. Jeter isn’t the Jeter we used to know. We saw in the World Baseball Classic how Jimmy Rollins outplayed him, even though Jeter was the starter out of respect. Jeter knows how to win, he knows how to be a leader…But so does Young James. It’s been a funny postseason for Rollins. He has struggled, and if you just take a look at his stats, you would think that. But then, take a look at his stats “when it matters.” In clutch situations, 8th/9th inning, etc., Rollins has come through big time. I don’t really know where to go with this pick, I’ll swing it Jeter’s way I suppose, but it’s very close.

• Left Field– Johnny Damon or Raul Ibanez? The 37 year old free agent pick-up, or the former Red Sox star? Damon isn’t as good as he once was, and Ibanez is as good as he ever has been. Despite a disappointing second half, after a scorching first half, Ibanez has proved he’s still a threat. He should see plenty of pitches to hit, and he should have plenty of runners on base with Utley, Howard, and Werth ahead of him in the lineup. I’ll take Raul.

• Center Field– Melky Cabrera is a good CF, don’t get me wrong. He came up with a lot of clutch hits and a few walk-offs this season, if I remember right. But he isn’t Shane Victorino. Victorino is a gold glove CF, a threat to steal any time he gets on base, and a small guy with some pop in his bat. Victorino is the winner, “No Questions Asked.”

Jayson Werth broke out for a big year in his first season as a full time starter, earning an All Star appearance.

• Right Field– Nick Swisher vs. Jayson Werth. Swisher batted just .249 but did knock 29 homeruns and drive in 82 runs. However, he has batted just .125 this postseason with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. Jayson Werth, on the other hand, had 36 HRs, 99 RBIs, and a .268 average this season. This postseason, Werth has 5 HRs, 10 RBIs, and a .281 average. On top of that, Werth can cover a lot of ground in RF and has a cannon for an arm.

• Designated Hitter– Hideki Matsui or TBD…For the Phillies, Matt Stairs will presumably see playing time as a DH against right handed pitching, while Ben Francisco could see time against lefties. Stairs, who hit for a poor average, can hit the ball a mile. Ask him, and he’ll tell you, he tries to hit a homerun every time he gets to the plate. And sometimes he does, ask Jon Broxton…As for Francisco, he doesn’t have the power of Stairs but he does hit for a higher average. Of course, this only comes in to play when we’re visiting New York. Regardless of who the Phillies send up, New York has the advantage with Matsui.

My prediction? If 2008 WS MVP Cole Hamels shows up, Phillies in 5. However, if the 2009 version of Cole Hamels shows up, Phillies in 6. Thoughts? Want to tell me where I’m wrong? Let me have it in the comments…And you can call me a “homer” or whatever, it’s probably true. This is a Philly blog, dammit.