2009 World Series Prediction

Now that it is official that the Yankees and Phillies will face in the 2009 World Series, it is my turn to predict who will win. Again, my opinion is just as valid as any other fan, so here we go.

Yankees win, the Yankees win!

I am going with the Yankees in 6 games. This postseason the Yankees have been a great team, pitching has been great, great hitting, and a strong bullpen. They swept a Twins team that came in on fire, surprisingly winning the Central. Then came the Angels, who put up a good fight and were quite balanced and held the Yanks at bay in two games. But, this Yankees team is a great team. They have 7 players with at least 20 home runs, a record shared with the 2000 Blue Jays, the only other team to ever accomplish this feat. An opponent can not just walk one Yankee in hope of facing a weaker batter, there isn't one on this year's team. They led the league in runs as well, 915 in total, and several other offensive categories. They were 4th in ERA, so they are strong on both ends and with Mariano Rivera closing, it is near impossible to come from behind in a game against them in the postseason. Then, you have to factor in the postseason play so far, A-Rod has snapped out of his typically poor postseason player and become the leader the Yankees and the crowd favorite.

The Phillies have also had a great season and postseason, they were first in their league in runs, and were near the top in several other categories, and were 6th in ERA. They won 10 fewer games in the regular season though. They kept many of the same players from last season's world champion team, but I just don't think they have enough to keep pace with this Yankees team. Brad Lidge was erratic in the regular season, but has done well this postseason, and they will have a few extra days off more than the Yankees and if they go with a 4 man pitching rotation, a slightly better pitching staff. But, the Yankees scored nearly a 100 more runs, and as stated before, they are have so many good hitters that even pitchers like Hamels, Lee, and Martinez starting won't be able to top this.

So I am going with the Yankees in 6 games. I say 6 games because we haven't had a World Series go past 5 games in several seasons, it is simply about time. Although the Yankees are better, the Phillies did just win last season and really beat up on the Dodgers in the NLDS, plus they have had more time to rest up, thus, it seems like the Phillies will win 2 games, they will put up a good fight. As for MVP, I am going with Mark Texeria. Of the 57 MVP awards (including shared honors), 26 have been pitchers, about %45, the last decade keeping with this trend. The reason I am going with Texeria is that this is a new Yankees team, alot of new names and faces and one of the biggest changes was bringing in Texeria, Sabathia, and Burnett. Thus far, Texeria has under preformed, but I expect big things from him in the World Series, second choice is A-Rod, he has been unbelievable this postseason and since CC just got the ALCS MVP, I doubt he would get WS MVP too.

Oh, and America you do realize if Philly repeats this will turn into another Boston situation. In so far as they won't shut up about about how great their city is and then the Flyers, 76ers, and Eagles will all win championships in their leagues. C'mon, we know it will happen. Philadelphia fans are almost as bad as Boston fans, at least Yankee fans are in a city that you want to live in.