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The World Series preview: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Hamels and Longoria will be on center stage - mlb.com 

The World Series is upon us, so let’s blast right into the big preview. Before you continue reading, though, go put “Eye of the Tiger” on your stereo or iPod or whatever it is you listen to. This is the World Series. Rock and roll.

 

Catcher: Dioner Navarro had a very quiet ALCS. He did come up with a big defensive play, throwing out Dustin Pedroia trying to steal second in Game Seven. The Phillies’ Carlos Ruiz is a throwback, old-school catcher. He doesn’t hit much but he’s scrappy. Of the two, Navarro has the better throwing arm and better bat. EDGE: Tampa Bay.

 

First Base: I don’t think Ryan Howard cares about striking out. He’s struck out 199 times in each of the last two seasons. This year he had career-lows in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging average. Despite all that, the former Rookie of the Year and MVP still led the majors in home runs and RBI. He’s yet to hit a homer in this postseason, though. Carlos Pena hit three homers against Boston in the ALCS and he’s been great for the Rays since the All-Star break. EDGE: Philly.

 

Second Base: Chase Utley might be the best second baseman in all of baseball. He’s driven in over 100 runs for four straight years and is a big time threat batting third in the Philadelphia lineup. After lighting up the White Sox, Akinori Iwamura cooled off to the tune of a .207 average in the ALCS. The Rays are going to need the ALDS Iwamura to show up in the World Series. EDGE: Philly.

 

Third Base: The Phillies will use both Pedro Feliz and Greg Dobbs at third. They can both hit, but neither one of them scares you. Evan Longoria already holds the record for most home runs in a postseason for a rookie with six. Phenom, sensation, superstar - Longoria is all of the above. EDGE: Tampa Bay.

 

Shortstop: Jimmy Rollins couldn’t repeat his MVP performance of 2007, but he is the leader of this team and still one of the best shortstops around. J-Roll struggled to a 3 for 21 NLCS but this guy loves big moments and is the type of player that should shine in the World Series. Jason Bartlett did hit a home run in the ALCS, but he made two errors in the series and needs to tighten up his D. EDGE: Philly.

 

Left Field: Carl Crawford is finding his groove here in the playoffs after battling injuries and missing virtually all of the final 46 games of the regular season. He hit .345 in the ALCS including a five-hit game and is now a perfect six for six stealing bases in the playoffs. This should be a big series for Carl. Pat Burrell has long been a target of the very tough Philadelphia media and fan base. It seems to me as though they’ve cut him a little bit of slack over the past couple of years, as the Phillies have made the playoffs. Burrell has hit pretty well for the Phillies so far in the 2008 playoffs with three homers and is a right-handed power threat to back up Utley and Howard. EDGE: Tampa Bay.

 

Center Field: Fan-favorite Shane Victorino has driven in 11 runs so far this postseason. He’s been a mullet-less Hawaiian Lenny Dykstra in the 2008 playoffs. We know he can steal bases and slap the ball all over the field, but his playoff RBI total has been surprising. B.J. Upton is just one home run away from tying Carlos Beltran’s record of eight in a single postseason. Upton has been playing some pretty crazy defense out there, too, covering all kinds of ground and tracking down every fly ball. EDGE: Tampa Bay.

 

Right Field: The Rays will certainly send Rocco Baldelli out there against lefties Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer. The platoon against righties, however, has become a big question mark because of Gabe Gross’ 1 for 16 performance thus far in the playoffs. Joe Maddon loves to have Gross’ defense out there, but his lack of production may force him to go look elsewhere. You could possibly see Cliff Floyd in right field with no designated hitter in Philadelphia, and Fernando Perez is another option. The Phillies counter with Jayson Werth, a guy with a knack for hitting big homers. If you get through the Utley-Howard-Burrell trio in the Phillie lineup and then relax, this guy will burn you. He also stole 20 bases in 21 attempts this year. EDGE: Philly.

 

DH/Bench: With no designated hitter in Philadelphia, the bench becomes all the more important. Both teams have platoons going on at certain positions so the bench rotations will vary game to game. The Phillies have some nice veterans on the bench including So Taguchi, Matt Stairs and Eric Bruntlett. The Rays have more depth though and Willy Aybar was a major factor in the ALCS. The defensive versatility of Ben Zobrist also gives Joe Maddon a lot to work with. EDGE: Tampa Bay.

 

Starting Pitchers: The big four of Kazmir, Shields, Garza, and Sonnanstine will carry the load again. They have been equally consistent in the postseason as they were in the regular season. Shields gave the Rays two great starts against Boston and Garza is in an absolute groove right now. Cole Hamels is the Phillies’ ace. He has dominant stuff and is pitching really well right now. You never know which Brett Myers will show up on any given night. He has great stuff, but can implode mentally when faced with adversity in a game. Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton round out the rotation. Moyer will be 46 in a few weeks, but had a tremendous regular season. He has struggled in the postseason, however, lasting only 1 1/3 innings in his only start of the NLCS. Blanton eats a lot of innings, but is very hittable. EDGE: Tampa Bay.

 

Middle Relief: These are two great bullpens. By now, everyone knows about Balfour and Howell for the Rays. It looks like Wheeler is now in the middle relief category as David Price could be the closer of choice for the World Series. I think the deciding factor in this series will be whether or not Trever Miller and J.P. Howell can come in and get Chase Utley and Ryan Howard out with men on base in the late innings. The Phillies feature tough lefties J.C. Romero and Scott Eyre. Ryan Madson has been tough as nails in the eighth inning and Chad Durbin and Clay Condrey are reliable as well. EDGE: Philly.

 

Closer: If David Price’s Game Seven save against Boston is any indication of how he will perform in the World Series, then the Rays are in business here. Brad Lidge hasn’t blown a save all year. That is amazing. He is the main reason the Phillies are undefeated when leading after eight innings. EDGE: Philly.

 

Manager: Joe Maddon has the Rays in a position that was once thought impossible. Charlie Manuel’s been amazing for the Phillies. Managing in Philadelphia is not easy and he has the perfect attitude to coach that bunch of guys. EDGE: Tampa Bay.

 

For the first time this postseason, I’ve given the Rays the edge in starting pitching and their opponent the edge in middle relief. The Utley-Howard combo will be the key to this series. They’ve been relatively quiet thus far in the postseason, so the Rays will need to keep it that way.

 

The Phillies are a home run hitting team much like the Rays’ Division Series opponent, the White Sox. Philly is a team built around the long ball that is tailor-made to play in the launching pad that is Citizens Bank Park. The Rays need to focus on keeping the ball in the yard.

 

I think the Rays starters will be able to outpitch the Philadelphia staff and Tampa Bay’s lefty trio of Miller, Howell and Price will limit the damage of Utley and Howard in this series.

 

My Pick: Tampa Bay Rays in six.