barzilla
03-05-2004, 12:01 AM
Okay, folks what I am about to say is based on the three loves of my life (okay, I love golf too, but I can't find an angle on it for this particular discussion)
1. Statistics (baseball mainly, but I love all kinds of sports statistics)
2. History (I teach it for crying out loud)
3. Psychology/Counseling- I will become a counselor next year I hope with my masters
I love this time of year because as many as fifteen to twenty teams can envision a scenerio where they go the distance. When I ask myself who I will pick for the season I immediately go to my second love. Other than the Yankees, what have the last several World Series champions had in common.
2003: Florida was led by Josh Beckett, Carl Pavano, and Brad Penny in the playoffs. Ugueth Urbina turned in good performances as the closer and Ivan Rodriguez came up huge.
2002: The Angels were also led by strong starting pitching with Washburn, Ortiz, and Lackey. Percivial and FRod also came up huge in the postseason. You also had some hot bats at the right time.
2001: The Dbacks were obviously led by Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. BY Kim was strong against everyone but the Yankees. You also had some timely hitting.
1997: Florida was led by Kevin Brown and Al Leiter. Rob Nen closed out games and you had some timely hitting from Moises Alou.
Okay, so what are our common denominators?
1. Dominant starting pitching
2. Reliable closer
3. Clutch hitting
Number three is a matter of luck, but with the Sox's offense you would expect at least one or two people to come up hot. Unlike last season they now have the dominant one-two punch at the beginning of the rotation with a very reliable closer (unlike most of last year). In other words, the Sox have all three elements. The Yankees lack the top end pitching. Vazquez and Mussina are both very good two or three starters, but unless Brown stays healthy they don't have the top end pitching. I still say advantage Sox in a seven game series.
1. Statistics (baseball mainly, but I love all kinds of sports statistics)
2. History (I teach it for crying out loud)
3. Psychology/Counseling- I will become a counselor next year I hope with my masters
I love this time of year because as many as fifteen to twenty teams can envision a scenerio where they go the distance. When I ask myself who I will pick for the season I immediately go to my second love. Other than the Yankees, what have the last several World Series champions had in common.
2003: Florida was led by Josh Beckett, Carl Pavano, and Brad Penny in the playoffs. Ugueth Urbina turned in good performances as the closer and Ivan Rodriguez came up huge.
2002: The Angels were also led by strong starting pitching with Washburn, Ortiz, and Lackey. Percivial and FRod also came up huge in the postseason. You also had some hot bats at the right time.
2001: The Dbacks were obviously led by Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. BY Kim was strong against everyone but the Yankees. You also had some timely hitting.
1997: Florida was led by Kevin Brown and Al Leiter. Rob Nen closed out games and you had some timely hitting from Moises Alou.
Okay, so what are our common denominators?
1. Dominant starting pitching
2. Reliable closer
3. Clutch hitting
Number three is a matter of luck, but with the Sox's offense you would expect at least one or two people to come up hot. Unlike last season they now have the dominant one-two punch at the beginning of the rotation with a very reliable closer (unlike most of last year). In other words, the Sox have all three elements. The Yankees lack the top end pitching. Vazquez and Mussina are both very good two or three starters, but unless Brown stays healthy they don't have the top end pitching. I still say advantage Sox in a seven game series.