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THE WORLD IS WATCHING!

Posted by bigD | October 23, 2008 .

It’s that time again. Despite the fact that so many people say the 2008 World Series won’t have very high ratings (which I don’t give a dam about), I am personally more interested in this season’s fall classic then I have been in years. The underdog Tampa Bay Rays make everything interesting. But how well do they match up against a very talented Phillies team who want to prove that the American League is NOT the better league? I break it down Big D style here and give you my opinion on who will win the 2008 WORLD SERIES! Here is my position by position breakdown of the World Series…

 

CATCHER

Tampa Bay – Dioner Navarro / Philly – Carlos Ruiz / EDGE - EVEN

Neither of these two are known for their bats. Defense and leadership are the two qualities that best describe them however, if they hit the ball in the World Series it could definitely benefit their respective teams simply because they rarely produce. Ruiz hit .313 in the League Championship Series but I don’t expect that to continue against Tampa’s solid pitching. I am not a big fan of either of these two but Navarro is a stronger leader then Ruiz and is the ring leader for a young Tampa staff. I don’t give either the edge here simply because they are pretty much even in how they play and their talent.

 

 

THIRD BASE

TB – Evan Longoria / P – Pedro Feliz / EDGE - TB

Longoria had an incredible rookie season and he’s also doing it in the playoffs with 11 hits, 6 HR’s and 11 RBI (9 against Boston). That’s just ridiculous for a rookie. He’s a scary hitter because I don’t even think he realizes just how talented he is. Despite the odd throwing error he is a solid defensive player as well. He’s as deadly an all around talent for his age then I’ve ever seen. If he’s hitting, the opposition isn’t winning. It’s that simple. Feliz is just the opposite of Longoria offensively. He packs basically nothing at the plate. Instead he is phenomenal defensively and that’s why he’s at the hot corner for Philly in the first place. The edge clearly goes to Tampa here WITHOUT QUESTION. Philly must shut down Longoria.

 

 

 

SHORTSTOP

TB – Jason Bartlett / P – Jimmy Rollins / EDGE - Philadelphia

Bartlett came over from Minnesota and he’s been everything they thought he’d be. That’s both a good thing and a bad thing. At the plate he’s hitting just .243 in the playoffs and expect that to continue. He has very little power but he’s basically there for defensive purposes. Since defense is key this time of year the Rays can afford to suffer his lack of offensive production for the glove he gives them at short. Rollins is a tremendous all around talent and is as good a SS as anyone in the NL. He only hit .143 against the Dodgers and the Phillies must get better production then that from him this time around. Talent wise, Rollins clearly gets the edge here but it’s the most important time of year and of his career so it’s time for him to prove it.

 

SECOND BASE

TB - Akinori Iwamura / P – Chase Utley / EDGE – Philadelphia

Iwamura is hitting .277 in the postseason and is a decent leadoff hitter but he has very little power and didn’t look very consistent in the later games of the ALCS. In my opinion, he’s a poor man’s Ichiro. Although he’s been struggling at the plate, Utley is probably the best all around 2B in baseball. For any chance in this series the Phillies must get more production from their All-Star. It’s pretty obvious who gets the edge here but I’ll take Utley primarily because he has more power and that could mean more for Philly in the end.

 

FIRST BASE

TB – Carlos Pena / P – Ryan Howard / EDGE – Philadelphia

Pena hit 31 HR’s and had 102 RBI’s in the regular season (Why the hell didn’t you do that in Detroit, Carlos?). He’s hitting .333 in the postseason and continues to provide this young Tampa team with leadership. Pena has an absolute TREMENDOUS glove at 1B and always has. Howard is the bigger threat simply because he is one of the scariest hitters in baseball. That being said he’s been slumping terribly in the playoffs and his glove is nowhere near what Pena’s mitt is. I don’t care who you are, how much you’re slumping or about any other intangible though. When you hit 48 HR’s and have 146 RBI during the regular season you are simply the most feared player on the field, regardless. This is the major obstacle for Tampa pitching and if the Rays want to win it all they must respect Howard’s bat at all times.

 

LEFTFIELD

TB – Carl Crawford / P – Pat Burrell / EDGE – Tampa Bay

Both of these two players have been on their teams longer then any of their teammates. Crawford has been a consistent talent throughout this tenure. Even through the bad (and let’s face it, there’s been a lot of brutal years in Tampa) Crawford stood out as a true talent on Tampa. He’s one of the fastest players in the league and certainly one of the best pure athletes. When he first got there it seemed like he was relying mostly on his overall athletic ability to get him by rather then his baseball talent but now that Tampa has great talent around him he has proven that he’s a great character player. Crawford hit .302 in the regular season and has been steady in the playoffs although his speed is his best attribute. With 6 stolen bases in the playoffs thus far, Crawford is showing no signs of slowing down at an older age. Philly must keep him off base. Burrell has hit .300 thus far in the postseason but his defence is brutal and he may get replaced for that reason in many of these games. The edge here clearly goes to Tampa. This is what a guy like Crawford lives for. He’s suffered for so long on a shitty team and now he has a chance to make it all worthwhile.

 

 

CENTERFIELD

TB – BJ Upton / P – Shane Victorino / EDGE – Tampa Bay

Upton actually reminds me of Crawford at his age and may even be better then Crawford was at this point in time. Like Longoria, it’s scary how much talent Upton has. He has speed, power and is a future 5 tool star in Tampa Bay. He only hit 9 HR’s during the regular season but Upton is just now beginning to learn how to hit the deep ball. If you combine that with his tremendous game already there will be no stopping this tremendous talent. Victorino is the spark that makes the Phillies go. He has 11 RBI’s in the playoffs thus far and is a fun player to watch. He works very hard and it usually pays off for him. Although it’s hard to outdo a talent like Victorino, it’s just too difficult to deny Upton of anything at this stage because skies the limit and he’s only going to get better.

 

 

RIGHTFIELD

TB – Rocco Baldelli / P – Jayson Werth / EDGE – EVEN

To me Baldelli is the better player because he is a 5 tool star but is often affected by mitochondrial myopathy (a disease that starves muscles of energy to function). Rocco is constantly tired because of it and that’s too bad because he has a ton of talent. Werth is often overlooked because of all the talent on this Philly team but he has been a big surprise for the Phillies overall despite his .190 batting average vs. the Dodgers. This is a tough one to call but if these two teams are going to be at top notch, I don’t think the performance of these two is really going to matter that much anyway.

 

 

STARTING PITCHING

TB – Scott Kazmir, James Shields, Matt Garza, Andy Sonnanstine / P – Cole Hammels, Brett Myers, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton / EDGE – TAMPA BAY

ALCS MVP – Matt Garza is the key to everything because he has been almost unhittable in the postseason. If he wins his 2 games I don’t see Philly winning this series. That being said, Kazmir to me has been inconsistent despite the fact that both Shields and Sonnanstine have pitched well. After NLCS MVP - Cole Hammels (1.23 ERA with 3 wins in 3 postseason games) and his phenomenal talent, this Phillies crew is very inconsistent. Moyer is 45 and has pitched like it. Blanton has been decent and Myers has been very streaky. As far as I am concerned, this is an area where Tampa has a HUGE ADVANTAGE over the Phillies. As mentioned, a lot depends on if Hammels can win both his starts because after him, Philly is a question mark. If Garza continues his dominance it won’t matter.

 

 

BULLPEN

TB – Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour, David Price, etc. / P – Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, etc.

As much as Tampa has the edge with their starters, Philly has the edge in this area. Wheeler and Balfour have been borderline at best. Although Price has only pitched for 2 1/3 innings in the postseason he has looked very good while seeing time. Troy Percival could also pitch in this series but with the emergence of Price it might not matter. Price is the key but can he handle that kind of pressure? This Tampa bullpen could fall on their face just as quick as they could succeed so it’s very important that their starters pitch well. Philadelphia’s Madson is one of the best setup men in baseball. Madson is key in getting the ball to the best closer in baseball – Brad Lidge. In Lidge, Philly has the one thing that Tampa doesn’t – A TOP NOTCH CLOSER and that could pay dividends in close games.

 

 

PREDICTION

If you go by my breakdown this World Series seems evenly matched and for the most part, it is. But what separates this young Tampa Bay team is its starting pitching. The truth is, the Rays excel at the most important area in baseball and that’s starting pitching. They say good pitching beats good hitting and that theory will be put to the test when youngsters like Garza will face bashers like Howard. Defensively Tampa is rock solid with 3 solid, fast athletes in the outfield. Any one of them could play center and how many teams can you say that about? The scary thing is Tampa is still young and are only going to get better. Philadelphia is hungry and more then talented enough to win though. They have the much better/proven bullpen and their goal is to get to it with a lead. Tampa wants to rely on their starters and they’re more comfortable with a big lead. If the Rays starters pitch well there is no stopping them. If Philly can hang around and hit some long balls they could overwhelm the Rays. There is also a possibility that the Rays may be a bit nervous to be there given their age and the fact that this is the biggest baseball stage on Earth but I really don’t see that happening. This Tampa Bay season is more then just a co-incidence and they clearly have the kind of talent to make this fairy tale season something special. Philly might make it interesting but at this point the Tampa Bay starting pitching staff is just too strong, too young and too determined to win it all.

 

BIG D’S PREDICTION – Tampa Bay in 6.

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