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| Will the Giants pitch to Josh Hamilton in the World Series? (NYT) |
Ari: "Texas hitting is just too strong. San Fran pitching behind the Freak has been iffy recently. The MVP will Hamilton if they pitch to him--potentially Cliff Lee if they don't." Rangers in 6 - Series MVP: Josh Hamilton
Ben P: "San Fran pitching is better than the Texas hitting" Giants in 7 - Series MVP: Pat Burrell
Ben W: "Tough choices here. No doubt in my mind it goes 7, since both teams have great starting pitching and strong bullpen arms. After Lincecum vs Lee, take your picks. I'd take Sanchez over Wilson and Cain over Lewis. But I'd also take Hamilton, Guerrero, and Cruz over Posey, Huff, and Burrell. My vote: pitching wins." Giants in 7 - Series MVP: Brian Wilson
Jay: "Just like last year, Cliff Lee will win his 2 starts. This should be a lower-scoring series than the ALCS, but the Texas lineup will score enough runs off Matt Cain and the fading Jonathan Sanchez to pull out the other 4 wins. Elvis Andrus will continue to harass the Giants by stealing 2nd and 3rd seemingly at will. Hamilton won't be walked every single trip to the plate, and he'll make San Fran pitchers pay when they finally pitch to him. Cody Ross will cool down but Buster Posey will shine on the biggest stage of them all. The ageless Vlad Guerrero will come up clutch one more time at some point, not unlike his line drive double in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees." Rangers in 6 - Series MVP: Cliff "Soon to be a Yankee" Lee
Elissa: "I know the Rangers offense has been outstanding and they've won all seven of their postseason games by at least four runs, but the Giants have already quieted some pretty potent bats in their series against the Phillies. The Rangers also put up quite a few of their runs against A.J. Burnett and Phil Hughes (a far cry from the Giants starting rotation). With the type of pitching that we're going to see in this World Series, timely hitting is going to be key. Although the Giants may not outscore their opponents by 4 like the Rangers, with their pitching they only need to outscore them by one, which they've shown they can do. (And with Brian Wilson on the mound at the end of the game, the Giants can feel relatively secure up by only one run). Obviously Lee and Lincecum have both been outstanding in the postseason. I think the Giants have a shot at stealing a game from Lee and the Rangers if Lincecum continues his pitching dominance. The Giants starting rotation of Sanchez, Cain, and Bumgarner have ERAs this postseason of 2.93/0.00/3.55 respectively. With all the talk about Lincecum, Lee, and Halladay this postseason, Cain has quietly amassed a 0.00 ERA in 13.2 innings. Although Wilson, Lewis, and Hunter have been good, their 2.03/1.45/6.14 respectively just don't scare me as much as the Giants'. With timely hitting and stellar pitching, I think the Giants take the World Series in 7." Giants in 7 - Series MVP: Brian Wilson (Elissa adds: "gotta love the beard")
Sarah: "Although the Rangers have solid hitting, I think the Giants pitching will dominate." Giants in 6 - Series MVP: Brian Wilson (Sarah actually picked "Brian Wilson's beard" but we had to go with an actual player)
My opinion: Wait, the Yankees aren't in the World Series?!? Just kidding. I'm finally recovering from their tough loss and now that I've digested, here's what I feel about the World Series: this is the Rangers series to lose. In other words, they are coming in as the better and more complete team. The Giants starting infield for the clinching game was Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe. And their outfield didn't look like much less of a group of castoffs. I had previously downplayed the impact guys like Colby Lewis or C.J. Wilson can make on a series, but they're better than I expected and should be able to handle the Giants lineup. The Giants pitching is good, but remember, they've been facing a lineup of basically 8 hitters all season long--what happens when they have to face a team with a DH as potent as Vlad Guerrero and an underrated outfielder as lethal as Nelson Cruz? It's not going to be easy and it's not going to be quick, but I'm giving this one--their first one--to the Texas Rangers. Rangers in 6 - Series MVP: Nelson Cruz.
What do you think? Let us know your thoughts on the World Series in the comments below.
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Jay, please don't jinx us. As of right now he's still a Texas Ranger and the presumption that he will soon be a Yankee is what makes people despise us as Yankee fans.
ReplyDeleteNo offense, Ben, but that's nonsense. There is no way that my suggestion as to Cliff Lee's final destination jinxed the Yankees' chances of landing Lee. The likelihood that he, or anyone else involved in the upcoming negotiations, read what I said is very slim.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, my presumption that Cliff Lee will take the money and sign with the Yankees is not the reason why people despise Yankees fans. They despise us because we root for a team that (in the absence of a salary cap) can afford to simply outbid all other teams for Lee's services.
Do you really think people hate us for presuming what everyone already knows -- i.e., that 32-year-old Cliff Lee will try to maximize his dollars in his last big pitching contract?
When we openly call a player a soon to be Yankee before he is done playing for his current team, I can guarantee you that Yankee haters would view it as a pompous assumption.
ReplyDeleteThat's not to say that I disagree with you over the fact that the odds point to him playing for the Yankees next year (since in most cases it almost always comes down to money). But as someone who believes in Karma, I try to assume and presume as little as possible.
Although you may have inadvertently brought up another good point - he's 32 years old and very few teams will want to give a 32 year old pitcher a long and expensive contract. Only a team like the Yankees would be able to take that risk and eat any potentially negative consequences.
I really don't care what other team's fans think of me. I hope my team continues to spend on the best talent available. The Deadspin reports from a few months ago show that many of these owners are just padding their pockets so I'm proud to root for a team that actually reinvests that money in my team.
ReplyDeleteSucks for Red Sox fans that John Henry "didn't have enough money" for Mark Teixeira but amazingly had enough money to buy a soccer team...