World Series Preview: Phillies vs. Yankees

The Phillies look to defend their World Series championship title by knocking off a team that has more World Series championships than any other team has league pennants; the New York Yankees.

If you are looking for offense then this is the match-up you could only dream of. Both the Phillies and Yankees have a tremendous ability to score and produce runs, but each team has some talent taking the mound as well. Story lines will be plentiful over the next week as the two best teams in baseball square off for baseball, and regional, bragging rights.

Pitching Match-ups
The Phillies will send ace Cliff Lee to the mound for game one. The former Cleveland Indian will be opposed by his former teammate, CC Sabathia. Both pitchers are the most recent American League Cy Young winners while in Cleveland but now they square off against one another for the first time.

Pedro Martinez will get the game two start for the Phillies and he will be opposed by A.J. Burnett, who has been known to have a bad inning here or there. Who knows how Martinez will play on Thursday but you know the atmosphere will be electric given the history between Martinez and the Yankees.

Cole Hamels should be lined up for game three in Philadelphia and he should be going against one of the top postseason pitchers in history, Andy Pettitte. Hamels was the World Series MVP in 2008 but he has not lived up to those kind of expectations a any point this season or post season, which is why he has been pushed back to a game three appearance.

In game four the teams could go a couple ways with starting pitchers. Lee and Sabathia could face off for a second time or the Phillies could go with Joe Blanton, who has been steady in his brief postseason career with the Phillies. Games five, six, and seven (if necessary) are also up in the air.

Battle of Offenses
Ryan Howard. Alex Rodriguez. Both players have been on fire this October and have carried their respective teams on their backs on the way to the World Series. For Howard this post season seems to have a business like approach, while for Rodriguez it has been more about redemption after a poor playoff history. This is Rodriguez's first World Series appearance.

The Yankees have exploded in the home run department, with Rodriguez leading the way with five. Derek Jeter has connected for three while Johnny Damon and Jorge Posada each have hit two. But as much as the Yankees offense has been praised through the first two rounds, the Phillies have done better. The Phillies have scored more runs in as many games, although the Yankees have a slightly higher batting average (.262 vs. .261) and each have hit 14 home runs.

If the Phillies are going to have any success against the Yankees they will need the top of the order to set the table. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino combined for four runs on nine hits when the teams met back in May.

Managers
Charlie Manuel is the elder statesman in this one, but Yankees skipper Joe Girardi is no stranger to the Phillies. Girardi, formerly a manager with the Florida Marlins, has seen his fair share of the Phillies, so he knows what to expect. Phillies fans should know that Girardi knows the dangers of pitching to Howard as well.

As a manager for the Marlins Girardi had no problem flashing four fingers to his catcher when Howard stepped to the plate. Expect to see more of that as Howard has been incredible this month.

But Manuel has a baseball mind and he has out managed former legendary Yankees manager Joe Torre twice in the past two playoffs on his way to a World Series title.

Schedule
Game 1 (New York) - October 28, 7:57 pm
Game 2 (New York) - October 29, 7:57 pm
Game 3 (Philadelphia) - October 31, 7:57 pm
Game 4 (Philadelphia) - November 1, 8:27 pm
Game 5 (Philadelphia) - November 2, 7:57 pm*
Game 6 (New York) - November 4, 7:57 pm*
Game 7 (New York) - November 5, 7:57 pm*

* if necessary