Now, with that being said, I’m sure a lot of you expect me to declare either the Tampa Bay Rays or Milwaukee Brewers (my two wild-card picks) a lock to make the World Series.
Wrong!
Obviously, this highly-unusual streak that has come to be will end in 2008, only because the Cubs and Angels are so darn good!
The biggest strength that they both have going for them is starting pitching.
I can’t reiterate the following statement enough: Pitching wins championships!
For example, let’s refer back to the past again and glance at the last five World Series champions – ’07 Red Sox, Cardinals, White Sox, ’04 Red Sox, and Marlins.
Every single one of these teams had dominant, slam-the-door-in-your-face starting pitching.
Not one was able to win because they outslugged their opponent.
Getting good performances on the mound should not be a problem for either of these teams.
The Angels have the deepest pitching staff in the American League, if not in all of baseball, while the Cubs possess a lethal one-two punch with Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden, in addition to two other formidable starters.
The Angels’ rotation is led by John Lackey, a reliable veteran that they can give the ball to and count on a quality start.
Lackey’s postseason experience is yet another intangible—he started and won Game Seven of the 2002 World Series for the Halos; not to mention, they are a club that makes the playoffs year-in-and-year-out, so obviously their longest-tenured starting pitcher knows what it’s like to be in the middle of a playoff atmosphere.
Beyond Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders are two young guns that have really come into their own in 2008.
Santana boasts a record of 12-5 with a 3.38 ERA and 143 strikeouts; Saunders’ numbers are outstanding as well: 14-5, 3.03.
There has been intense speculation that both Santana and Saunders are in the running to be Barack Obama’s VP…I mean, the AL Cy Young recipient. The same goes for Francisco Rodriguez, who’s having a decent year at closer for the Angels.
At the bottom of their seemingly endless rotation are Jon Garland and Jered Weaver, two guys that would be solid No. 2 starters on most teams in the majors, but on this team, they’re rounding out the rotation!
It’s almost ridiculous to think any club could have a starting rotation that good!
Did I mention the Cubs don’t have bad starting pitching themselves?
Zambrano and Harden make the Cubbies one of the few teams in Major League Baseball with two No. 1 starters.
Both of these guys make opposing teams afraid that they’re going to get no-hit.
Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly, the "second tier" pitchers within the Cubs’ rotation, have a combined 23 wins. Not too bad!
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