Baseball Championship Season -- World Series Poll!

[ZubenElGenubi]

Okay, it's down to two. I'm gonna mix this poll up a bit by asking you two questions:1) Who do you WANT to win the World Series?2) Who do you think WILL win the World Series?As always, analysis, nostalgia, and emotion are welcome!

[hjwii]

I'm sorry... but I just cant pull for any team that has adopted Journey's "Dont Stop Believing" as their anthem... *shudder*hjwii

[ZubenElGenubi]

To help you out, here's an article by SI's Tom Verducci previewing the World Series.http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c....htmlAnd here's an article by John Donovan, also with SI:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.c....html

[ZubenElGenubi]

Well, I definitely WANT the Astros to win, but in researching these two teams, I what struck me was how similar they are in makeup. For the sake of validity and simplicity, I'm focusing on the postseason stats unless otherwise noted. The Astros played 10 postseason games; the White Sox played 8.1) Starting Pitching. No doubt, these two teams have the best starting rotation in baseball today. The White Sox pitchers have a combined 2.50 ERA and Houston's is 3.43. While Houston struck out 7.8 batters per game (vs. 4.5/game for White Sox), they walked 3.7/game (vs. 1.5/game for White Sox). For the whole season, the Astros ERA betters the White Sox 3.51 to 3.61. The key here is the actual matchups with Clemens/Contreras in games 1 & 5; Pettitte/Buehrle in games 2 & 6; Oswalt/Garland in games 3 & 7. Contreras looks unstoppable, as does Oswalt. That leaves Pettitte vs Buehrle, which could go both ways in both games. So, there's game 4...Backe vs. Garcia in Houston. And it won't be decided by starting pitchers, but the next group...2) Bullpen. Kinda tough to compare here, because Chicago's bullpen was so little utilized (8 innings in 8 games, ERA 0.00). Houston's bullpen had a 2.59 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. Chicago's best closer, Dustin Hermanson, is out, leaving it all in the hands of a rookie (Bobby Jenks) who hasn't pitched since the Boston series. Can you say "rust"?3) Hitting. Astros players hit .272; White Sox hit .263. The White Sox made better use of their bats, scoring 47 runs on 69 hits. The Astros also scored 47 runs on 96 hits. The key weakness here points to the Astros inability to generate runs. That may be due to the fact that they faced better defense than the White Sox, but the White Sox fielding is pretty good (see below). For the 2005 season, the White Sox hit .262 with 741 runs; the Astros hit .256 with 693 runs.4) Fielding. Fielding percentage for the White Sox is .988; the Astros is .984. The Astros had more errors (7 vs. 4), but turned more double plays (10 vs 6). The White Sox advantage here would be their Defensive Efficiency Rating of .7909 (best in the playoffs) vs .7372 for the Astros (3rd best in the playoffs).5) History. Two teams that haven't seen a World Series in 43 years (Astros) and 46 years (White Sox). They haven't played against each other in over two years. If there's any advantage, it would be that Clemens and Pettitte have seen the Sox in their previous AL careers and might be able to bring valuable information to the team, not just as pitchers, but as players in U.S. Cellular Field.With so many similarities, predicting a series winner is like reading tea leaves. One has to look for the "X factor" that might tilt the advantage to one team or another. Could it be the DH? Carl Everett (a former Astro) has slumped, but could explode at any time. Jeff Bagwell, will be limited to a hitting role through the series, but managed to make plays happen as a pinch hitter. The Astros made more use of their bench than most teams, so depth won't be an issue here.Maybe it'll be hitting pitchers? During the season, Astros' starting pitchers hit .168. In interdivisional play, Chicago White Sox pitchers hit .067. Is that enough of a difference in only three games to matter? Maybe not, but I'll wager that the White Soxs' starters haven't seen a pitch coming at them at over 80 mph in a while...How about the stadiums? The winds in Chicago, plus the cooler air will make it a pitchers' park. You can expect to see games held to 3 runs or less there, putting the pressure on the fielders, of which both teams excel. Minute Maid Park, on the other hand will likely keep the roof closed, even if it's 70 degrees outside, because of the next factor..What about the Fans?. There is no rivalry, so this will come down to sheer intensity of support for the home team. While Chicago may have the devotion, Houston will have the mania.So...the stats lean to Chicago. They were second only to St. Louis in wins during the season and are still going strong. However, if Houston wins one of the first two in Chicago, they'll win in seven with Oswalt pitching the final game. If Chicago wins the first two, they'll win in seven.I'm predicting that Pettitte returns to form and pitches a gem in Game 2 which decides the World Series for Houston in seven games.(and I promise not to edit except for spelling or grammar! )

[NascarXprt]

Man Glenn your really going in depth with this series. *(Question for everyone)*who do you think will win tonight?

[ZubenElGenubi]

Man, what a heartbreaker! I feel bad for Lidge -- giving up his second home run in a row to lose a playoff game.History is sure on the side of the Sox; 11 of the last 12 teams to go 2-0 have won the World Series.Let's hope for three straight from the Astros to keep it exciting...

[NascarXprt]

im with ya all the way

[drunkenmaxx]

i smell defeat! ha ha ha! i guess i could technically call the white sox my home team...

[ZubenElGenubi]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenvibe »i smell defeat! ha ha ha! You sure you didn't mean "I smell de feet!" ?? These guys are KILLIN' ME! And they're ruining my sleep habits.

[ZubenElGenubi]

Game over, man! Poop!Well, maybe now I can get back to modding my car!

[drunkenmaxx]

what a boring (removed) game it was! oh well, at least i got to get up and dance around and give houston the finger after they lost! (which i really did do, i was drunk, ask drunkengirfriend, she was on the phone)