The Diamond Fan

Who would have thought?  This year’s World Series matches up a franchise that has never been there before with one that has been the loosingest team in MLB history and only won one W.S. title in its entire existence, which spans 125 years.  The Phillies were not that much of a long shot at the beginning of the season, but anybody who says they saw this coming from the young Rays back at the beginning of the season is lying.  Heck, I thought I was going out on a limb when I predicted they would have a winning season.

Be that as it may, what we have here is a matchup of two deserving teams and what promises to be a competitive and interesting series.  My predictive powers when it comes to baseball are certainly questionable, but here’s my take on the important factors in how this will play out.

Tampa Bay Rays

Why they can win: A good lineup from top to bottom, with no real easy outs.  No superstars, but Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena and Carl Crawford make a good heart of the order.  Three solid starters, and a bullpen that usually gets the job done is what you need in a postseason pitching staff. The addition of David Price is just enough to put them over the top.  He may be their best option to close games.

Why they might not win:  The bullpen is not overpowering and they cannot afford any blown seven-run leads like they had in Boston.  Defensively they are solid, but showed themselves to be prone to lapses in the ALCS.

Philadephia Phillies

Why they can win:  The top of the batting order is top notch.  Rollins and Howard are both recent MVPs who did not play up to their talent in the NLCS.  Chase Utley is perhaps the best player on the field for either team.  They have the better bullpen, and the best starting pitcher in Cole Hamels.  That is usually a winning combination in a short series.

Why they might not win: The bottom of the batting order is a black hole of out-making that offers an escape hatch to the Rays’ young starters if they get in trouble.  If you compare the teams position by position the Rays are simply a better team all around, and the Phillies bench is no great shakes.

Prediction:  I think the Phillies will put up a good fight but the Rays are the likely winners.  I’ll say Rays in seven.