World Series Preview: Yankees vs. Phillies
The fall classic is now official, the Bronx Bombers (New York Yankees) will square off against the defending world champions (Philadelphia Phillies) starting Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees entered this regular season on a mission to win their 27th World Championship, no one made such a splash in the free agent market like the Yankees, with three acquisitions and close to $300 million dollars later, the Yankees brought in their new aces CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett and their star at first base Mark Teixera.
In their first year of the new Yankee Stadium and led by second year manager Joe Girardi, opened the season struggling, barely keeping pace with the Red Sox and Blue Jays in the AL East, but in the second half season, the Yankees surged to overtake both teams and clinch the AL East and the #1 seed plus home field advantage in the playoffs.
The Yankees road to the playoffs was quite a challenge, despite sweeping the Minnesota Twins in round one, the Yankees defeated another top team this year, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in six games to win the AL pennant. Now the Yankees, are on their way to the series and will face the defending champions, the Phillies.
The Philadelphia Phillies, fresh off last season's World Championship victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, dominated the regular season winning the NL East and moving to become the first back to back champions since the Yankees (1998-2000) and the first National League back to back champions since the Cincinnati Reds (1975-1976).
The Phillies, like the Yankees always made waves with free agent Raul Ibanez and the acquisitions during the season of pitchers Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez.
The Phillies, as a team set a ML mark in 2009, with four players hitting over 30 home runs: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Ibanez.
The Phillies, road to the playoffs began with their series against the Wild Card Colorado Rockies, the Phillies clinched that series in four games and advanced to the NLCS against the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies were able to shut the lights out on "Mannywood" and eliminate the Dodgers in 6 games advancing to the World Series.
Now here is a positional breakdown of the series followed by pick for who will win the World Series.
Manager
Yankees-Joe Girardi
Phillies-Charlie Manuel
Advantage: Phillies
Catcher
Yankees-Jorge Posada
Phillies-Carlos Ruiz
Advantage: Yankees
1st Base
Yankees-Mark Teixera
Phillies-Ryan Howard
Advantage: Push
2nd Base
Yankees-Robinson Cano
Phillies-Chase Utley
Advantage: Phillies
Shortstop
Yankees-Derek Jeter
Phillies-Jimmy Rollins
Advantage: Yankees
3rd Base
Yankees-Alex Rodriguez
Phillies-Pedro Feliz
Advantage: Yankees
DH
Yankees-Hideki Matsui
Phillies-Matt Stairs
Advantage: Yankees
Left Field
Yankees-Johnny Damon
Phillies-Raul Ibanez
Advantage: Phillies
Center Field
Yankees-Melky Cabrera
Phillies-Shane Victorino
Advantage: Phillies
Right Field
Yankees-Nick Swisher
Phillies-Jayson Werth
Advantage: Phillies
Bench
Yankees-Brett Gardner, Jose Molina, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Eric Hinske
Phillies-Paul Bako, Jayson Bruntlett, Ben Francisco, Greg Dobbs
Advantage: Yankees
Pitcher (Probable Rotation)
Yankees-CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettite
Phillies-Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, Cole Hamels
Advantage: Yankees
Bullpen
Yankees-Phil Coke, Chad Gaudin, Joba Chamberlain, Alfredo Aceves, Phil Hughes, Damaso Marte, David Robertson, Brian Bruney
Phillies-Ryan Madson, Chan Ho Park, Antonio Bastardo, Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre, JA Happ, Brett Myers, Joe Blanton
Advantage: Yankees
Closer
Yankees-Mariano Rivera
Phillies-Brad Lidge
Advantage: Yankees
So there you have once its broken down, you'll see that the Yankees should win their 27th world championship in 7 games and CC Sabathia who already won the ALCS MVP will win the World Series MVP.
Game 1 starts Wednesday with Cliff Lee starting for the Phillies against Sabathia for the Yankees.
The projected rotations
Game 2-Burnett vs. Martinez
Game 3-Pettite vs. Hamels
Game 4-Sabathia vs. Lee
Game 5-Burnett vs. Martinez
Game 6-Pettite vs. Hamels
Game 7-Sabathia vs. Lee
Schedule
Game 1 October 28 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees Yankee Stadium 7:57 P.M. EDT -
Game 2 October 29 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees Yankee Stadium 7:57 P.M. EDT -
Game 3 October 31 New York Yankees at Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park 7:57 P.M. EDT -
Game 4 November 1 New York Yankees at Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park 8:20 P.M. EST -
Game 5 November 2 New York Yankees at Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park 7:57 P.M. EST -
Game 6 November 4 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees Yankee Stadium 7:57 P.M. EST -
Game 7 November 5 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Yankees Yankee Stadium 7:57 P.M. EST -
Series Facts
The two franchises previously met in the 1950 World Series in which the Yankees swept the Phillies four games to none. This World Series is being nicknamed the "Turnpike Series", because it connects New York to Philadelphia through the state of New Jersey, and there are many Yankees and Phillies fans in New Jersey, with North Jersey being Yankees territory, and South Jersey preferring the Phillies.[1] It has also been nicknamed the "Liberty Series" by Major League Baseball, based on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and the Statue of Liberty in New York.
This will be the fifth Series played between teams from New York and Philadelphia. The Giants and Athletics faced each other in 1905, 1911 and 1913 in addition to the Yankees--Phillies matchup in 1950.
This will be the fourth consecutive time that the Phillies will face a team from the AL East in the World Series. They faced the Baltimore Orioles in 1983, the Toronto Blue Jays in 1993, and the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. The Yankees faced a NL East opponent in three of their last four World Series appearances: the Florida Marlins in 2003, the New York Mets in 2000, and the Atlanta Braves in 1999.
The Series is scheduled to start on October 28, 2009, which is the latest start in World Series history. For the first time ever, the World Series is regularly scheduled to end in November. Assuming no weather delays, Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday, November 1 and, if necessary, Game 7 will take place on November 5. Home field advantage for the Series will go to the American League for the eighth straight year as a result of their 4--3 win in the All-Star Game.
The Series will be only the third one ever to end in a month other than October. The first was in 1918, which was played entirely in September after the regular season was cut short due to World War I. The other was in 2001, when the September 11 attacks on the United States caused a delay in the season that eventually forced the end of the Series into November.
- -- Posted by highschoolmom on Tue, Oct 27, 2009, at 2:57 PM
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