I was listening to ESPN radio today and every review of the NLCS was met with a discussion about the Phillies were so much the better team. As I started to get irritated by the clear bias, I switched the radio just in time to hear Eric Byrnes talking to Fitz and Brooks about a meeting with the MLB channel anaylists. He said that at first glance everyone agreed the Phillies were the better team but once they broke it down and compared each team, position by position, it was far from clear.
Byrnes said that, and I agree, you can't look at what a player has done or what they may do in the future, but who and how they are right now. So if you take the 8 position players and ask yourself who would you take. The MLB guys took Huff, Posey, Torres and Uribe over their Phillies counter parts. They then decided the starting 3 were a wash with a slight edge to the Phillies because of big game experience but with the fourth pitcher going to Bumgarner. (This is important is the Giants go up 2-1 or 3-0, Bochy can start Bamgarner in game, while the Phillies will start Halliday on 3 days, sending Lincecum in to game 5, if necessary, on full rest against Oswalt on 3 days. I'll take that match up any day. If the Giants are down or even, Bochy will send Lincecum on 3 days as well so the 4th starter is a wash)
The Phillies probably have a deeper bench, but the Giants have a better bullpen.
So, who wins? Well, if it is really this close then it will truly come down to individual performances put together over 4 games. Can the Giants score runs against the Phillies excellent starters while preventing their scary lineup from scoring?
The Giants faced the Phillies 6 times this season and split the wins evenly, while beating up thier pitching but, that was then and the Giants look diffetently now.
I think Pat Burrell us key in this situation. The Phillies have be confident because they have been their and done that recently, so has Burrell as a member of that Phillies World Series team. He has to convince the Giants that they are every bit as good and will be better right now. Just as he was vital in the Phillies win, they all will be in the Giants wins.
What do you think?
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