Written by Guest Rants on Saturday, 25 October 2008 Category:2008 Hits:8205

World Series Rumblings - From as unbiased a source as you'll get on this site.

While you read the rantings and readings of my fellow compatriots enjoying their most gleeful October/November time-frame since their first Halloween.  I thought I would give you my quick rundown and thoughts on what is going to happen in this 2008 Fall Classic.

Offense

This is a surprisingly offensive showcase, and I mean that in a good way, not a Sarruda after Q'doba way.  Everyone knew the Rays had talent coming up, but nobody thought it would blow up this good this quick.  The Phils offense is a proven force in the National League.  Featuring MVP's, Rookie of the Year's, and All-Stars all over the diamond.  They have speed, power, finesse, and 1 unstoppable pitcher witha  stick.  But here's the dirty little secret for both teams.  They've been pretty horrifically inconsistent.  The Phils scored runs in a grand total of like, 5 innings in their opening series with the Brewers, and continued the trend for the beginnings of their series with LA.  The D-Rays have scored runs in bunches off the bats of Longoria and BJ Upton, but have not featured any consistent force in any portion of their line-up otherwise.  They have a lot of guys who hit for mediocre average.  They're hyper-aggressive on the whole and prone to severe hot and cold streaks. 

In the end though, I'm going with the bling, the BIG bat, and my man-crush on Jason Werth.  The Phils offense gets the edge here.  They can do it all, in every aspect of the game, at every position.

Keys to the series:  The big guys always get all the press, but the reason Upton and Utley and Longoria drive in all the runs they do, is because they get on base.  The Phils number 2 hitter, be it Victorino or Werth, and the Rays top 2, will key both team's offenses.  Neither team has yet be remotely consistent at the dish.

Defense

The Devil Rays defense is pretty surprisingly under-rated.  But looked surprisingly shaky at the same time in their series with the Red Sox.  But they've got good gloves in the infield, and speed in excess available to them in the outfield.  The Phils feature Gold Glovers at a couple of positions, a Dump Truck with decent hands at first base, and a cement mixer with a sniper rifle in left field.  Lots of strengths, and a much more consistent track record then the Rays.  But I'm giving the nod here to the Rays, who if they can keep their heads screwed on straight and their feet set (I'm looking at you Evan) have played very good defense over the course of the season and cover every part of the field.

Keys to the series:  Holding runners on base, and preventing the extra base will be key. Both team's have a lot of guys with good legs on them and extra bases change games.  One guy busting ass down the line (see Furcal's error on Victorino breaking it open in LA or Longoria's errant throw opening the flood gate's in beantown).

Starting Pitching

This is a split.  Straight up.  I'm taking Hamels and Myers over Shields and Kazmir.  Hamels is a flat out beast and Shields will HAVE to out-pitch him for the Rays to win any of his starts.  Kazmir just has not looked like he is in top form in the playoffs this year, and Myers, who has been inconsistent, is a bulldog who will not give in.  The back end of the rotation tells a tighter story though.  Andy Sonnanstine and Matt Garza have been fantastic suprises for the Rays this year, and Garza is showing why he may arguably the best of anyone on their staff when it is all said and done.  Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton are good quality starters, but the edge in the back half goes to the Rays.  Making the Starting Pitching a split.

Keys to the series:  For the Rays, Kazmir HAS to show up in this series.  If Hamels wins game 1, then the Rays MUST win game 2 before heading back to Philly, or they are done.  For the Phils, the Rays are an aggressive team who have little exposure to the soft-tossing Moyer and the consistent Blanton.  Blanton thrived on the Brewers aggression in the opening round, and Jamie Moyer has a way of finding one notch SLOWER no matter when he needs it or how slow his last pitch was.  Though, I would swap Meyers and Moyer in the rotation.  Tampa is a much better park for Moyer to throw in, and frankly, the way Meyers has hit so far in the post-season, you might as well get his stick in the line-up when you can.

Bullpen

The additions of David Price and Edwin Jackson, the former of whom was featured prominently in a crucial game 7 role, make's the Rays pen one worth fearing.   The Phils on the other hand are a healthy Flash away from this not being a contest.  But in the end, there's no Albert "how do you spell" Pujols lining up in Tampa Bay, and the Phils pen has been lights out down the stretch and in the playoffs.  The Rays shakiness in game 5 is enough to give cause for concern over the full series.

Keys to the series: David Price being featured in the Rays pen gives them a 100% dominant arm to throw at the middle of the Phils line-up.  I just wouldn't throw him at Burrell (Power lefty with heat and slider see Billy Wagner vs. Pat Burrell).  Phils pen just needs to keep doing what it's doing.

Intangibles

The Phils have the slight edge in post season experience.  They were here last year, and they lost to last year's "cinderella" team.  This year's team has some experience, knows how to win, and has all the pieces.  The Rays on the other hand, frankly, don't know any better.  They have the home field, and they've been damn near unbeatable at home.  Philly on the other hand has shown a similar penchant for winning whether they should or shouldn't.  In the end, the Rays pitchers in the first part of the series did allow quite a few runners on, and the Sawx never capitalized.  I don't expect that trend to continue as smoothly for the sunshiners.  The Phils have a deep bench, a deep staff, and can do it all everywhere.  They get the nod here across the board.

FURIOUS* (Sarruda's 4th Dimension of Sport)

It's the 4th dimension.  The realm of the winless beating the won.  The underdog over the overwhelming favorite.  On the one hand, you have the team with more veteran presence.  You have guys who have been in the playoffs before, their second consecutive post-season experience.  On the other hand, you have the young'ns, who are actually the favorites.  But that's the beauty of the 4th dimension, who's to say which way it'll go.  I dropped a coin down one of those circular donation things earlier today.  The coin went round and round and round, and it was heads up the whole time.  You know who's got a big head?  Matt Stairs.  You know who he plays for?  The Phils.  4th dimension = Favors the Phils.  Looks like it's party time at Frankfurt and Cottman for Hompy.

The Prediction:

So what am I thinking?  I'm thinking the Phils in 6.  They win game 1, take away home-field from the Sunshine Rays.  I don't see Hamels losing.  I see Myers splitting, and I see the Phils winning a slugfest in game 4.  1-1 going back to Philly, Phils take 2 in Philly and then finish off the Rays on their home turf, and then set off a party the likes of which most cities have never seen.  I know it's not exactly going against the grain here on ManRants.  But hey, if its right, what does it matter?

*Fourth
Universal
Realm of
Independently
Operational
Unique
Sports

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