First off, we apologize for the sheer lack of content lately. We want to be updating a LOT more than we have been, but collegiate requirements have gotten in the way. All that aside… here's what we think about the World Series.

Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia present a pretty stellar Game 1 matchup. They have both been on point so far in the postseason. Beyond that, however, both pitching staffs (staves?) present a lot of questions. Pedro Martinez is starting game 2 for the Phils…  Yeah… Honestly, who knows what will happen when the relic takes the mound. He has shown flashes of brilliance but also of mediocrity this season. Cole Hamels is also a big fat question mark for Philly. On the New York side of things, neither Andy Pettite nor A.J. Burnett performed well against Philadelphia in their regular season matchups, giving up 9 runs between them.

Essentially, beyond the two Game 1 starters, there is a good deal of uncertainty, meaning that there is a lot of pressure to perform for both lineups. Both have been good in the playoffs. The Phillies have seen games in which they struggled with RISP, but that has never been their scoring style. Solo homers and 2 run shots have been the gameplan for the Phils. The Yankees have an offense that shows a bit more balance, and has not struggled as much in clutch situations. However, the past few games have been huge for Philadelphia's momentum. When the Phightin's are bad, they are BAD, but when they get hot, they seem to find ways to win. The Yankees will hit some long balls off of the non-Lee Phillies (a bevy of fly ball pitchers), but with the way Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth have been launching baseballs, it is hard to pick against them. The entire situation would shift, however, if the Yankees jumped on Philly early and had success feeding Howard and Werth with breaking balls. Once these two start slumping, it gets pretty bad. The top 3 hitters in Philly's order have shown a good ability to get on base, but with Utley hitting more like an OBP player and less like an SLG man these days, things will rest squarely on the shoulders of the middle of the lineup. Shutting them down early could spell a pretty quick spiral downward–but we don't see that happening. At their best, the Phillies are better than any team in baseball, and they have been pretty darn good lately. Lidge will probably blow a save (don't let his good fortune fool you, he still possesses the necessary traits to fail at any moment) and either Hamels or Pedro might fall apart, start walking batters and give up a grand slam (control and long balls have been troublesome for the middle of that rotation), so we project Philly in 6.