The 2009 World Series is truly a matchup of the two best teams in baseball. There is trash-talking, with each city’s media taking things to the extreme and trying to get the players involved. One NY newspaper depicted Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino in a cheerleading skirt and called the Phillies the “Frillies”. Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins predicted the Phillies would win in 5 games. Both teams expect hostile crowds while on the road and Rollins loves to silence opposing teams’ home crowds. Plus he used to being hated in NY.
Both team’s ballparks are susceptible to the homerun as they were ranked in the top two in homeruns in Major League Baseball. Both team’s lineups are the two most-prolific homerun-hitting clubs in MLB. And as Nike stated in a 90’s ad, “chicks dig the long ball”. It’s not surprising that both teams sometimes live and die by the long ball. Both teams looked beatable in their respective league championship series, but both overcame their bullpen obstacles to win and advance. Both teams are led by their RBI machines: Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees and Ryan Howard of the Phillies. A-Rod has stripped the label of “postseason choke artist” and become the Yankees best postseason offensive threat. This will be A-Rod’s first World Series appearance. Howard has continued his usual late season hot streak into the postseason, earning NLCS MVP. Both tied the MLB postseason record for consecutive games with an RBI. It will be interesting to see how the managers elect to pitch to these two sluggers.
Both teams hav
e a few questions marks in their lineups. The Phillies Chase Utley has a 25 straight postseason games of reaching base streak, which ties a ML record. Though he has been on base, he really has not been hitting (.211 against the Dodgers). The Phillies need more than just Victorino, Howard, and catcher Carlos Ruiz to produce. Rollins will need to be the fire-starter and put pressure on the pitchers and Jorge Posada behind the plate for the Phillies to be successful. Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher of the Yankees have been struggling throughout this postseason and some have talked about benching Swisher. The Yankees are relying on Swisher becoming the clutch hitter he has been all season long and Tex to be the power-hitting, RBI machine he was all season.
Both teams have question marks in the bullpen. Ryan Madson, the setup man for the Phillies has been inconsistent all season and has mostly struggled this postseason. Closer Brad Lidge seems to have
found his 2008 self. Chad Durbin has been lights-out coming in to get out of jams and if his sinker is working, double-play balls will be common. Everyone else is either hurting or coming back from an injury (Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park, and Brett Myers) or inexperienced (Antonio Bastardo, Happ). Yes the Yankees have postseason sensation Mariano Rivera as their closer, but he has been far from dominant in the last year or so. Getting to Mo has been a challenge and manager Joe Girardi has been using him for more than an inning lately. I think that the young bullpen pitchers have struggled lately mainly due to overuse throughout the regular season. Look at box scores and some pitched almost every day (like Phil Coke and his 72 games). Alfredo Aceves ended up with 10 wins, mainly out of the bullpen. Dave Robertson was in the top 5 in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings (12.98) and has been dominant. Phil Hughes has been struggling though he has been the 8th inning setup man for most of the second-half. Since Girardi seems to have lost some confidence in his bullpen, Brian Bruney has been added to the roster and could regain his role of setup man if he dominates.
The pitching staffs are evenly matched. Both have seasoned playoff veterans in Andy Pettitte and Pedro Martinez. Both managers have decisions to make regarding their Game 4 starters.
Game 1: Cliff Lee @ CC Sabathia
This may be the best pitching matchup that the World Series has had in a long time. They are the last two American League CY Young award winners. They were teammates with the Cleveland Indians up until last July. Lee and his Indians opened up new Yankee Stadium this year against Sabathia and his Yankees, winning 10-2. Sabathia has pitched better than ever in this year’s postseason, rather than in year’s past and is earning every penny the Yankees are paying him. Lee has made other teams look silly for not pulling the trigger and adding him to their pitching staff. Lee has been dominant in his first experience in the postseason.
Game 2: Pedro Martinez @ AJ Burnett
Pedro is sure to hear “who’s your daddy?” throughout this game at Yankee Stadium. He was not well-liked in his Red Sox/Mets days when playing at Yankee Stadium, so it should be no different being with the Phillies. Pedro dominated the Dodgers in his lone playoff game this season for the Phillies (though the bullpen blew his win), and manager Charlie Manuel is hoping for Pedro’s continued playoff success. Burnett is known to be wild but can keep the damage to a minimum if he keeps his emotions in check. Burnett got lit up by the Phillies in back in May, but that was a long time ago. Manager Joe Girardi is hoping for an ALCS Game 2 type outing (6.1 IP, 2 R, 2BB, 1 HBP) from Burnett rather than ALCS Game 5 types outing (6+ IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP).
Game 3: Cole Hamels vs. Andy Pettitte
Pettitte is the seasoned playoff veteran and he continued his playoff dominance against the LA Angels in the ALCS, winning the deciding Game 6. That win was Pettitte’s 16th career postseason victory. Hamels was last year’s NLCS & World Series MVP. He has not been close to the same pitcher so far this year. The Phillies will need the 2009 version of Hamels to regain his 2008 form.
Game 4: Joe Blanton/JA Happ vs. Sabathia/Chad Gaudin/Joba Chamberlain
This is where the debate begins. Happ made his first start of 2009 at new Yankee Stadium back in May and dominated (though Brad Lidge blew the game). Blanton has been the most consistent starter for the Phillies and the backbone of the rotation. Both will be available out of the bullpen for the first two games and whoever pitched the least will probably get the Game 4 nod. Girardi has used the 3 –man rotation throughout this year’s playoffs, though Sabathia has been the only one to pitch on short rest. With only one guaranteed off-day (2 total) and inclement weather looming, can Girardi afford a 3-man rotation? Can all 3 pitch on 3 days rest? Gaudin only made one playoff appearance so far this postseason (1 inning) and Chamberlain has struggled out of the bullpen lately. Neither is stretched out for a long starting stint. Depending on the first three games of the series may dictate how Girardi chooses the Game 4 & 5 starters.
The Phillies won the season series in NY 2-1, though Lidge was not lights-out (2 blown saves and a loss). The Yankees are trying for their 27th World Series title (these reason Girardi wears number 27 on his jersey) and the Phillies are trying for their 2nd consecutive. Both teams have played loose throughout the postseason. On paper, the Yankees would be the choice to win, but the Dodgers on paper looked like the team to be in the World Series. It’s time to throw out all the stats and watch the two teams play ball. It should be exciting.
Tags:
AJ Burnett, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Brad Lidge, Brian Bruney, CC Sabathia, Chad Durbin, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Dave Robertson, JA Happ, Jimmy Rollins, Joba Chamberlain, Joe Blanton, Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, NY Yankees, Pedro Martinez, Phil Hughes, Philadelphia Phillies, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, World Series
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