World Series Preview
Liz is watching America's Next Top Model, so I have an hour to kill!
Let's start this off with the result of the World Series: Tigers in 6 games.
I was going to say Tigers in 5, but I think the fact that St. Louis was in the Series two years ago will give them an extra game. Other than that experience, they don't have much going for them.
I did, by the way, catch game 7 of the NLCS. Had to pay $14.99 to watch it on mlb.com. They make you buy the entire post-season, but unless the series goes deep, I probably won't stay up until 5am again to watch a game. So was it worth it? Absolutely. Endy's catch was worth $15 alone. That was the first Mets game I'd watched in a couple months. Pretty depressing. The one thing that made me wish I'd caught more of the series was Willie Randolph's managing. He came off in game 7 as something of a gunslinger. I loved that he predicted he'd be 2nd-guessed going into the series. Giving Oliver Perez the start over Trachsel...unbelievable. I came off as a bigger Willie fan, but I wished I'd seen the whole series so I could make a better judgment. Am I wrong about this?
I thought he also handled Pujols masterfully. And that brings me to the most glaring weakness for the Cardinals. After Pujols, I can't remember a more underwhelming lineup in the recent postseason. When I think great lineups, I don't think Yankees, actually. I think back to the back-to-back Blue Jays World Champion lineups. Those were unbelievable. Look at the boxscore for 1993's Game 6. Now I know the recent Yankees lineups have had a bit more star power, but the balance of that Blue Jays lineup is incredible. Remember how good Paul Molitor was? Olerud hit .363 that season with 24 HRs. Alomar hitting 6th?!!!? Tony Fernandez would probably hit 2nd for this St. Louis team. And Sprague and Borders both contributed in the playoffs.
Here's the thing. Great lineups like that are HORRIFYING to opposing fans all the way through. You know it's a good lineup when, after your team's inning is over, they show the "Due Up" graphic and you get nervous. And that happens every inning. And the more games you watch, the more you fear every player from top to bottom.
Back to the Cardinals, who didn't remotely do that to me the other night. You've got Pujols, who is the best hitter of my lifetime. He'll find a way to do some damage, but his protection is a disaster. Juan Encarnacion is nice, but not scary at all. Rolen is a shell of what he used to be. Edmonds is way past his prime. Meanwhile at the top of the lineup, Eckstein doesn't give you the base stealing threat you'd like at the top. And Preston Wilson strikes out constantly.
As for pitching, the edge clearly goes to the Tigers. They've got great depth in their starters. Carpenter might be the best pitcher in the series, but probably not. Suppan will not repeat what he did on Thursday.
That's all I got. I'm pulling for the NL, and the Cardinals, who remain consistently likeable despite Thursday night. Except for Yadier Molina.
Let's start this off with the result of the World Series: Tigers in 6 games.
I was going to say Tigers in 5, but I think the fact that St. Louis was in the Series two years ago will give them an extra game. Other than that experience, they don't have much going for them.
I did, by the way, catch game 7 of the NLCS. Had to pay $14.99 to watch it on mlb.com. They make you buy the entire post-season, but unless the series goes deep, I probably won't stay up until 5am again to watch a game. So was it worth it? Absolutely. Endy's catch was worth $15 alone. That was the first Mets game I'd watched in a couple months. Pretty depressing. The one thing that made me wish I'd caught more of the series was Willie Randolph's managing. He came off in game 7 as something of a gunslinger. I loved that he predicted he'd be 2nd-guessed going into the series. Giving Oliver Perez the start over Trachsel...unbelievable. I came off as a bigger Willie fan, but I wished I'd seen the whole series so I could make a better judgment. Am I wrong about this?
I thought he also handled Pujols masterfully. And that brings me to the most glaring weakness for the Cardinals. After Pujols, I can't remember a more underwhelming lineup in the recent postseason. When I think great lineups, I don't think Yankees, actually. I think back to the back-to-back Blue Jays World Champion lineups. Those were unbelievable. Look at the boxscore for 1993's Game 6. Now I know the recent Yankees lineups have had a bit more star power, but the balance of that Blue Jays lineup is incredible. Remember how good Paul Molitor was? Olerud hit .363 that season with 24 HRs. Alomar hitting 6th?!!!? Tony Fernandez would probably hit 2nd for this St. Louis team. And Sprague and Borders both contributed in the playoffs.
Here's the thing. Great lineups like that are HORRIFYING to opposing fans all the way through. You know it's a good lineup when, after your team's inning is over, they show the "Due Up" graphic and you get nervous. And that happens every inning. And the more games you watch, the more you fear every player from top to bottom.
Back to the Cardinals, who didn't remotely do that to me the other night. You've got Pujols, who is the best hitter of my lifetime. He'll find a way to do some damage, but his protection is a disaster. Juan Encarnacion is nice, but not scary at all. Rolen is a shell of what he used to be. Edmonds is way past his prime. Meanwhile at the top of the lineup, Eckstein doesn't give you the base stealing threat you'd like at the top. And Preston Wilson strikes out constantly.
As for pitching, the edge clearly goes to the Tigers. They've got great depth in their starters. Carpenter might be the best pitcher in the series, but probably not. Suppan will not repeat what he did on Thursday.
That's all I got. I'm pulling for the NL, and the Cardinals, who remain consistently likeable despite Thursday night. Except for Yadier Molina.
posted by Prof. A at 2:15 PM
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