The Philadelphia Phillies are making a run at their second straight World Series title. The only obstacle they have left to surpass is the New York Yankees, a team which has proven to be quite an obstacle this year.
In the regular season, the Yankees were undeniably one of the best teams in baseball, boasting a league-best 103 wins. The Phillies also played quite well, winning the competitive National League East with 93 wins, the second-best record in the National League. However, a lack of solid relief pitching plagued the team throughout the season; season save leader Brad Lidge earned an embarrassingly high 7.21 ERA, with 31 saves and 8 losses. Yankee star closer Mariano Riviera, by contrast, earned 44 saves with a dominant 1.76 ERA. The regular season indicated the Yankees should dominate the postseason. However, regular season performance doesn't tell the whole story.
Since postseason's start, the Phillies have shown up to play. After defeating the Colorado Rockies 3 games to 1, the Phillies moved on to face the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies outscored the Dodgers 35-16 in 5 games, winning the series 4-1.
The Yankees regular season dominance continued in the postseason against the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels. In the American League Division Series, the Yankees crushed a Twin's team which had barely squeaked into the playoffs. Winning the series 3-0, the Yankees appeared to be cruising to their 40th American League Pennant. However, the Angels were determined to give them some trouble. In a hard-fought series in which two games went to extra innings, the Yankees managed to win 4 games to 2. The American League won the All-Star game in July, giving the Yankees home-field advantage for the World Series, and both teams headed to the Bronx to fight for the title of best team in baseball.
Game 1 of the World Series was a pitcher's duel between team aces C.C. Sabathia (NY) and Cliff Lee (PHI). Lee proved nearly un-hittable in a complete game performance, with 10 strikeouts and 0 earned runs. Sabathia also pitched quite well, but Phillies second baseman Chase Utley had his number, hitting two runs off the Yankee left-hander. The game ended with a score of 6-1, with the Yankee's only run coming off an error in the ninth inning.
The Yankees were able to redeem themselves in game 2, also played in the Bronx. Starting pitchers A.J. Burnett (NY) and Pedro Martinez (PHI) were once again keys to the game, but the Yankee's high-powered offense was the deciding factor. Solo home runs by Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui were all the runs the Yankees would need and an RBI single from Jorge Posada gave a welcome buffer over the Phillies only run (an RBI single from Matt Stairs in the second inning). Yankee closer Mariano Rivera pitched two shut-out innings and got the 10th World Series save of his hall-of-fame career.
The team that is going to win this year is going to have to draw not only from the star pitchers and hitters, they'll also have to draw from experience and a little bit of luck. The Phillies have been playing better than the Yankees in the postseason, and I predict that the Phillies will win in seven games.
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