Oh That's Predicatble, Write a WS Post....

So I am stuck in the Minneapolis airport and I figured I would pass on the normal time-wasting activities of reading US Weekly and Danielle Steele novels to actually do something productive and write a post since I've been absent for just about four months (minus that Dez Bryant column which, for the record, I still think is ridiculous).

So now that my beloved Angels have been ousted by A-Roid and the funky bunch, they have the pleasure of meeting the phitin' phils; probably the one team anyone thought could even come close to beating them from the NL. The Phillies aren't the same team they were last year, they are A LOT better...however, so are the Yankees so let's get down to business.

I'm going to approach this like so: Strengths? Weaknesses? Who do they need to control from the other team to win?

Let's start with my old hometown Phillies:

Philadelphia -

Strength:

Hitting - They have arguably the most potent 1-6 in the game: Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Ibanez, Werth. You have speed, you have average, you have power; it’s all any manager can hope for at the top of his lineup. Although I completely disagree with the fact that Rollins is the leadoff man, you have to love the stealing ability at the top of their lineup followed by three guys who hit the ball long and hard. (Danielle Steele must be rubbing off…I mean…shit)

SIDE RANT

(Rollins is a HORRIBLE lead off man. He refuses to focus on getting ON BASE, which is essentially his only job. He’s too cocky and wants the stats, so he goes about trying to rip the ball all the time which is not what you want. Trust me, I’ve seen him refuse to bunt over runners on base with one out for the sake that he has an opportunity for an RBI, it’s stupid. If you ask me, Victorino should be lead off and Jimmy should hit second, Shane will embrace his roll because he’s a team player and Jimmy will be Jimmy…only with Victorino ready to steal second. Not to mention it would make it next to impossible to get a double play in the first.)

Bullpen – No, I’m not talking about Brad Lidge; I’m talking about everyone else in there. JA Happ should arguably be starting games but has worked the pen before, Chan Ho Park apparently is pitching like he’s fresh off the boat from Japan, Durbin is an incredibly solid middle man into the ninth and Madson is….well, what else can you say about a guy who takes over for the best closer in baseball last year and dominates? This is their strategic advantage over the Yankees and I think it’s going to be the reason that they beat the Yankees. The bullpen is like the O-line in football, underpaid and over-worked and under-appreciated.

Weakness -

Starting Pitching - This is pathetic because their Starting pitching is as good, if not better, as the Yankees. But Cole Hamels is the key to this whole series. Cliff Lee is a baller, he will pitch lights out like he has been all season since he joined the Phils. Who knows how Pedro is going to do in NY? I think everyone agrees the he is just as likely to get rocked for 7 runs as he is to pitch a gem. The big game is going to be when Cole Hamels pitches in Citizens. Is he going to be the stud from last years post season or is he going to be the inconsistent pitcher he has been during the regular season this year. He had his highest regular season ERA of his career this year and at times he was incredibly erratic. If he pitches well, the Phillies could win this series 4-1, if he doesn't the series could be 2-1 in favor of NY and who knows what happens. It's not a huge weakness but JA Happ could be a huge game 6 starter for them if need be...you heard it hear first.

Who they need to stop –

Mark Teixiera. Why not Alex? The answer is Godzirra. (Hideki Matsui) If you don’t get Mark out you have to face Alex with a runner on. If you get Tex out, you walk A-Rod and get the luxury of facing an old POS Godzirra, who needs walkers to get to first. It boggles my mind why he is even in the lineup. Why the hell wouldn’t you put Gardner in the number one slot and Jeter in the two and see what happens? Hideki is old, showing it and out of pity, he is still in the starting lineup. Outside of the ever so occasional Robinson Cano or Melky Cabrera hot streak, no one on this team scares me more than Tex, and that’s only because it forces you to pitch to the most synthetically enhanced player in baseball.

Yankees –

Strengths –

Starting Pitching – C.C. (The Hamburglar http://3rdnip.blogspot.com/2008/11/big-time-baseball-free-agents.html ) is a great left-handed pitcher, AJ is an eratic but occasionally good right-handed pitcher and Andy Pettite is an average left hander who has the best pick-off move in the game. Why is this important? It limits the potential impact of the speed at the top of the Phillies lineup. The Angels only had two stolen bases against them and they are one of the best teams in the league at it…I know what you’re thinking and it had NOTHING to do with George Posada.

Alex Rodriguez - I can't explain how locked in this guy was during the ALCS, stay away from him.

Mariano Rivera - You better make your run for the lead before the ninth because this guy is THE BEST post season closer in the history of the game, I don't care what anyone else says. It's like he's immune to pressure, no that's not right...he thrives on it. I hate the Ya

nkees just as much as the next person, but you have to respect how good this guy is at 65.

Weaknesses -

Everyone in their lineup besides Jeter, Tex and A-Roid - How intimidating is this lineup: Johnny Damon, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher. HAHA, how pathetic. I'd be surprised if all of those guys combined could consistently get 5 hits a game.

Bullpen - Obviously this is referring to everyone besides Mariano. Personally I think Joe

Girardi just manages them horribly, but either way...they suck. All they have to do is pass the ball of after an inning or two from CC to Mariano and they can't do it. I think the Steinbrenner's are trying to show the Yankee fan bas that Joba and Phil Hughes were not complete wastes of

talent so they continually put them in the game in clutch to prove it. The only problem is they both seem to buckle under pressure. Joba is like a caveman, I can see him wandering around a cave saying "JOBA PITCH FAST," because all he does is pitch 97 mph. Phil has some good stuff, he has the making of a good setup man, but he gets in trouble with his breaking balls to easily and batters sit on his fastball and eat him for dinner. Coke and Demaso Marte suck, so I'm not even going to include them in the conversation.

Who Do They Need To Stop -

Cole Hamels - They need to get jacked up and Tyson the shit out of him.



What people don't understand is that Cole Hamels is the love of Philadelphia. The fan base saw him come into his own during the world series run last year and fell in love with him. Cliff may be the #1 but Cole is the home grown product ( I know he's from San Diego, but he came up in their system). Knock him out and you deflate the city, which is going to have a lot more of an impact than people think. Philadelphians are crazy sports fans, I was there last year when they won and they were jumping on top of buses after a game 2 win. They love their Phitin' Phils and they love to win.

What's the Final Verdict?

The Phillies are winning this World Series. I really don't see how they can lose outside of Johnny Damon and Robinson Cano having a monster series. The Phillies have better pitching, better bating, better defense an better fans. New York has a bigger payroll, a more expensive stadium, less talent and no drive.

Everyone and their mom has been touting the

Yankees as the best team in the majors since the 90's, well guess what...the Phillies read the paper too. Philadelphia is a MUCH better hitting team with Raul Ibanez in left (not to mention better defense), they're a MUCH better pitching staff with Cliff Lee as their number one, and by the way they have a rookie 12 game winner in their bullpen, a 3-time Cy Young winner starting game 3 and two guys who can setup the closer (whether that be Madson or Lidge). The Phillies are already better on paper, but they also have something that New York will never understand, heart.

Not to mention the best mascot in baseball.