(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Well folks, we are finally here; the World Series. This has been a long season that has been filled with some pretty interesting moments. Whether it was Alex Rodriguez admitting to steroid use, Randy Johnson winning his 300th game, or Ichiro collecting his 2,000th hit in only 1,402 games, it has been a great season.
Now that all is said and done, we have our two remaining teams: The New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees will try and continue to re-write history as they go for their 27th World Series Championship. The Phillies, on the other hand, will try to make history by being one of the few teams to win back-to-back World Series Championships.
I decided to do a position by position analysis for both teams to see who has the upper hand. I did this last year for the Rays/Phillies series and I thought it would be a great idea to keep up with the tradition. So let's get started.
Catcher
Jorge Posada - One of the four remaining Yankees from the Championship days of the '90s and 2000. Posada had a great bounce-back season after his 2008 season was cut short due to shoulder problems. Jorge will be making his sixth World Series appearance and has plenty of postseason experience. He is only a .238 hitter in the postseason, but does have 11 home runs; so while his average is not great, he can still hurt you with the long ball.
Carlos Ruiz - What a surprise Ruiz has been for the reigning World Champs. He is currently hitting .346 this postseason and has come up with numerous clutch hits. There are a couple drawbacks with Ruiz in the postseason: inexperienced in comparison with Posada, and does not have the pop in his bat that the Phillies would probably like. While the postseason experience is kind of irrelevant in the sense that every player has to start somewhere, the lack of power could become an issue.
Advantage - Yankees
First Base
Mark Teixeira - The Yankees scored big with the offseason signing of Teixeira. After a slow start, he got hot fast once A-Rod came off of the disabled list. Tex has provided gold glove defense, but has not been the big bat in the postseason that the Yanks hoped for.
He is hitting an abysmal .205 this postseason, but has come up clutch when the Yanks have needed it. He hit a walk-off home run against the Twins and had a bases-clearing double against the Angels in Game Five. It is just a matter of time before Tex gets the bat going, but until then it is hard to give the Yanks the advantage here.
Ryan Howard - The Phillies slugger has been a beast this postseason, as he is hitting .355 with two home runs and 14 RBI. He was so good that he was named the NLCS MVP and in the process tied a major league record for most consecutive postseason games with an RBI (8). Howard is a .295 career postseason hitter and has more experience in the playoffs than Tex.
Advantage - Phillies
Second Base
Robinson Cano - Where to start with Robbie Cano? Some days this kid looks like The Natural, other days he looks like Tony Womack (when he was with the Yankees). Cano is only a .238 hitter in the postseason throughout his young career; however, we all know he is capable of hitting about 100 points higher. His defense was always a question mark, but this year he greatly improved his play in the field. It will be interesting to see how Cano plays in his first World Series.
Chase Utley - Utley has become the best all-around second baseman in the game. Whether you want defense or offense, he delivers. While he is only a .245 career hitter in the postseason, like Cano, we know he is capable of much more. The thing that concerns me is that Utley has more protection before and after him in the lineup. Cano generally hits in the seventh spot, so he has Posada and Swisher around him, which at times can be great, but not always the case.
Advantage- Tied
Third Base
0 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete