Phillies, Yankees to meet in World Series
For the pure baseball fan in me, I suppose it's a good thing that the two teams I believe to be the best in baseball, the Phillies and the Yankees, will face off in the World Series.
Philadelphia wrapped up a berth a few days back when it finished off Los Angeles in the National League Championship Series. Rain Saturday night pushed back Game 6 in the American League a day, but it was worth the wait for New York, which just finished off the Angels with a 5-2 victory. While that made the pure baseball fan in me happy, it made the Yankees hater in me stew.
It appears that we're in for a heck of a World Series, even if I will feel dirty rooting for the Phillies to win. Not having the ALCS go to seven games means the Yankees can come back with a rested CC Sabathia to start Game 1 Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. Philadelphia will counter with a very rested ace of its own in Cliff Lee. Even though two of the best offensive teams in baseball will be meeting, those two left-handers figure to keep the opener a low-scoring game the way they've pitched lately.
I expect the Yankees to win (I'll say in six games), only because I still don't trust Brad Lidge and the Philadelphia bullpen like I do Mariano Rivera and the Yankees stoppers. Otherwise I think the Phillies match up well. Pedro Martinez showed his last time out he is still capable of being dominant even if he doesn't have the velocity he once did. Cole Hamels is, at worst, a very good No. 3 starter. And while Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez will be neutralized a bit by the left-handedness of Sabathia and fellow Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, they should, along with Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth, be able to muster some offense.
But Alex Rodriguez is finally swinging the bat well in October, and the Yankees are bound to get more out of Mark Teixeira, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. And when you consider what an appropriate finish to a baseball season that's been so disappointing for me personally that the Yankees winning it all would be, it seems bound to happen. Yankees in six, and I hope I'm wrong.
