World Series Preview
by Jeff on Oct 28, 2009 1:06 PM PDT
in Upcoming Events
45 comments
You'll notice that this is the exact same thing I posted a year ago. It's almost like there's a reason for that.
CONTEXT
The New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies will face each other in the 2009 World Series, which begins tonight. The Yankees have advanced this far by defeating the Minnesota Twins and the LAnaheim Angels. The Phillies have advanced this far by defeating the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both the Yankees and Phillies managed to defeat their opponents by outplaying them in a short series.
KEY PLAYERS
New York:
Roster
Philadelphia:
Roster
Both the Yankees and Phillies are filled to the brim with possible difference-makers. The 50 listed above will likely be the most important.
KEY QUESTIONS
Can the New York Yankees outscore the Philadelphia Phillies?
They can.
Can the Philadelphia Phillies outscore the New York Yankees?
They can.
Will one of the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies outscore the other four times?
Most certainly yes!
X FACTOR
The Yankees will play a maximum of four games at home, while the Phillies will play a maximum of three games at home. The home crowds may or may not help. I imagine there are also intangibles somewhere.
CONCLUSION
Both the Yankees and the Phillies are good teams. The Yankees are better. If you re-played the World Series a million times, roughly 60-65% of the time the Yankees would be crowned as champions. This World Series will be played once. One of these teams will win four games. The other probably won't. The outcome will mean everything, and nothing.
3 recs |
45 comments
|
Email
Print
Comments
One of these teams will win four games. The other probably won’t.
Um…If one of the teams will win four games, the other necessarily won’t. :P
by Rachmaninoff on Oct 28, 2009 1:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
With apologies to Aaron Sorkin
Casey: And how about a prediction?
Cutman: When it comes to the sweet science I’m not much on predictions, Casey, but I will say this: One of these teams is gonna win this series and the other will almost surely not.
Casey: How many games?
Cutman: Seven games in the series, Casey.
Casey: Yes, I meant how many of those do you think they’re actually gonna have to—how long’s the series gonna be?
Cutman: It’s gonna go the distance, Casey.
by Christoph on Oct 28, 2009 8:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'M NOT CALLING HIM CUTMAN
Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.
by pdb on Oct 28, 2009 8:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Also, go Phillies!
On a side note, Indians fans here in Cleveland are rather miserable seeing their two back-to-back Cy Young winners both pitching in the World Series…and neither one wearing a Chief Wahoo logo.
by Rachmaninoff on Oct 28, 2009 1:15 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Where's the story about the promising youngster?
He’s the key to the series!
Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.
by pdb on Oct 28, 2009 1:16 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I think veteran leadership got these teams here, and it's going to decide the series.
by marc w on Oct 28, 2009 1:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Seattle Mariners helped out a bit as well..
by sirbrianwilson on Oct 28, 2009 1:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
No, they didn't.
Veteran leadership is difficult to see through ‘stats’ or ‘watching the game’ – but we know for a fact that it manifests itself in the ‘big games.’ Often a team won’t know which games are big until it’s in the middle of one, but by definition, these games must be between ‘big’ teams in an important part of the year (unless it’s a ‘big’ game that ‘sets the tone;’ this subspecies can occur in April). As the Mariners are not the natural rivals of these teams, and because the M’s never really got control of their own postseason ‘destiny,’ veteran leadership wasn’t called for in games between the Mariners and Yankees.
This is why Hideki Matsui, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte didn’t do much against the M’s, but killed the Red Sox and… excuse me? I’m… I’ve been told that Matsui, Jeter and Pettitte annihilated the M’s this year, which makes perfect sense, because as I was saying, a TRUE veteran leader uses games that DON’T mean much to demonstrate to young players how to play the game the ‘right’ way. It’s newcomers like Swisher who can occasionally get psyched up for a big game (if you can’t, you’re out of the league in a hurry), but struggle to maintain focus throughout this marathon of a season. But hey, that’s what a true professional, a true team leader, is able to do. And it’s the leaders of these teams that will decide the series.
by marc w on Oct 28, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
It's times like these where we need to pull out our most valuable assett:
WhatIfSports.com!
Just simulated the game. You can find the boxscore here
Yanks win 6-1. A-Rod hits two home runs. Ouch. No need to watch now.
by sirbrianwilson on Oct 28, 2009 1:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
That means we can watch some spicy VWL action instead
by Jeff on Oct 28, 2009 1:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
The Phillies made your job easier, huh?
50!
by joof on Oct 28, 2009 1:29 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Anybody that writes anything that deviates from this significantly is spreading misinformation
by Jeff on Oct 28, 2009 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sigh
This is the second day in a row I have had to ask for a refund. How disappointing! LL used to be a place that was on the cutting edge of baseball analysis and now it is as if it has sold out to AOL fanhouse and regurgitating old jokes. For shame.
by Poochie on Oct 28, 2009 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think I missed this the first time around.
I truly laughed out loud.
by appleshampoo on Oct 28, 2009 1:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Who will be crowned as champions the other 35-40% of the time?
THE MARINERS?!?!
by seattlebruin on Oct 28, 2009 3:13 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Mind boggling
My Mariners blog - SodoMojo Twitter Feed, Fuck the fucking Angels!
by gregrabble on Oct 28, 2009 3:45 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Is it possible that pitching and defense will be the X factor for either the Yankees or Phillies?
I hope you die. I hope we BOTH die.
by BRKLN M'S on Oct 28, 2009 3:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Pitching and defense are what win championships.
And hitting. And sometimes speed on the basepaths.
by marinerdan on Oct 28, 2009 4:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sports teams win championships
at long last, we have found the missing link
by Eldukey on Oct 29, 2009 12:06 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Is this the game thread?
NEEDS MORE FREEDOM!
by Scruffy Lefty on Oct 28, 2009 4:44 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
FOX hired Ozzie Guillen as a sports analyst?
I hope Steve Phillips is watching from his treatment facility.
The 2009 Pregame Picks Winner and Iron Man of Halos Heaven.com
by 44FAN on Oct 28, 2009 4:51 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I've been informed that the umpires may or may not play a role in the outcome.
...and now I'm here
by Librocrat on Oct 28, 2009 5:05 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Another prediction
There will be a series MVP. Going out on a limb, there will also be one or more goats. Or none.
by strudel on Oct 28, 2009 11:43 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
So you are telling me that there will be between zero and infinity "goats" of this series?
by seattlebruin on Oct 29, 2009 9:24 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
zero to 50!
Nice Guys Finish Third - My semantics are a waste of time.
by pdb on Oct 29, 2009 3:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2009 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
