So I was in New York this weekend for the first time in my life. Also for the first time in my life I went through an entire baseball game without saying a word. To be completely honest I did order beers but since I was watching game 6 of this year’s ALCS in a Yankee bar in the middle of Manhattan. Now normally that would not be a cause to not speak but seeing as how I have been an Angel fan since I was 6 years old, it made things a little tense.
Now I gotta say that I really enjoyed my stay in the big city. But sitting in this place I did learn a thing or two about the die hard nature of these fans. They lived and died with the flow of the game. And while I had to suffer in silence to avoid a confrontation, they cheered and booed in unison with every hit, or run or in my teams case, error.
Well the game ended the way that it did with the Yankees clinching their umpteenthousandth pennant and winning the right to meet the defending champs in this years World Series, and though I was disappointed with the outcome, it was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
Now that I’ve gotten my little story out of the way, let’s take a a look at the match up…
This series is like a heavyweight fight. It’s like Mike Tyson against…….well Mike Tyson. These teams a very similar in style and make up and this looks to be a slugfest.
Offensively, both these teams love the long ball. Mark Teixeira led the American League in RBI’s with 122 and tied for the lead in HR’s with 39. Ryan Howard tied for the lead in the National League in RBI’s with 141 and and was third in HR’s with 45. Not to mention Teixeira plays with a guy named Alex Rodriguez who’s been playing pretty well this post season and Howard”s teammate Jayson Werth has been lighting it up in the post season. In this years playoffs Rodriguez leads the AL in HR’s and RBI’s and I tied playoff record with 9 consecutive games with an RBI. Jayson Werth is leading the NL in in HR’s and has 10 RBI’s this postseason.
So we know the names of the big players but lets not forget the other guys that make these teams go. Guys like Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino for the Phillies and Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon for the Yankees. All these guys are vital for the leadership, clutch play, and playoff experience. And the guys to keep an eye on this series are Carlos Ruiz, who came up huge at the botom end of the Phillies line up and Nick Swisher who up until now has been ice cold in the playoffs but is an important part of the Yankees success.
Now Defensively they are both pretty solid teams so what it will come down to on that side of the ball is pitching. And again, these two teams are very similar. At the top of the rotations you have two Cy Young award winners. Cliff Lee really hit the big time by bailing out of Cleveland to jump onto the defending world champs. And not to disappoint, he has won 2 out of 3 of his starts and has a .074 ERA in the playoffs. On the other side you have CC Sabathia who has won all 3 of his starts and has a 1.19 ERA in the playoffs. Also the big guy has no problem going on three days rest so that the ace can give his team three starts in a seven game series. Next up you have two guys who could be number ones on other teams but have also been a little up and down this postseason. Cole Hamels was last year’s World Series MVP, but has come back down to earth a little this season. In three games he is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA he is going to need to return to form for the phils to take this one from the yanks. AJ Burnett has gotten a little better now that we have figured out that he just doesn’t like Jorge Posada. (and who does?) In three games he has gotten no decisions, but he held the Angels pretty well in check until the bullpen gave the leads away after he left. After that you have the old guy brigade. Pedro Mar-f’in-tinez? What? Andy GD Pettitte? Don’t even ask me how these guys are still good and pitching in the World Series, ’cause I don’t know. But with pitching really being the thing that is going to separate the winner, every pitcher is going to have to bring their best.
So, in closing, this series ought to be a good one. And even though I was hoping like hell for a “freeway series” I suppose I can deal with this. So hold on to your seats. Enjoy the pitcher’s duels. And hopefully we’ll get some fireworks oby the end of this thing.
Enjoy.