This could definitely be a World Series the country could get behind. On one side there are the New York Yankees, the most hated team in baseball trying to win its first title since the 20th Century. On the other side are the Philadelphia Phillies, the defending champions trying to start a dynasty of their own. On both sides there are insanely passionate sports fans that could leave 108 miles worth of blood and guts between New Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and Citizens Bank Park in Philly.

Baseball fans will begrudgingly have to accept that this is potentially one of the best championship match ups since the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers met in the 2008 NBA Finals. At the very least, this will draw more interest than last season’s World Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, which drew a meager 8.4 television rating (or 14 percent of the market) according to the Baseball Almanac.

Both teams have a similar reputation. They are baseball teams that terrify opposing pitchers with deep lineups and have underrated pitching staffs that have taken them over the edge and made them postseason studs. So which team is better? Perhaps a better question is which team is coming into the World Series on a bigger roll? Below is a side by side comparison of eight key statistical categories with the raw numbers since each team has played nine postseason games.

Offense:

Runs- Advantage Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies - 55, New York Yankees – 48

Homeruns – Wash

Philadelphia Phillies - 14, New York Yankees – 14

OBP – Advantage Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies - .363, New York Yankees - .350

Stolen Bases – Advantage Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies - 6, New York Yankees – 3

Analysis:

The Phillies come into the World Series the better offensive team. Some fans and experts will cry out, saying that American League pitching is superior so it is impossible to tell which offense is better. However, this is the playoffs. Every team is playing at a higher level of baseball, even if they appear to be in a slump.

Philadelphia’s advantage comes because they have greater balance. Five Phillies are hitting over .280 and seven players have hit homeruns. The Yankees have three players hitting over .280 and have six players have hit homeruns. Specifically, Alex Rodriguez is tearing it up with five home runs and a .439 batting average, but he cannot completely put his reputation as a postseason dud to rest until he makes a case in the World Series.

Both ballparks are hitters parks so this could be a hitter series and the Phillies appear to have more hot bats, though a very valid question is who will fill in as DH during Yankee home games. Ben Francisco is not the traditional power hitter, but he is the best batter on the Phillies bench.

Defense:

Team ERA: Advantage Yankees

New York Yankees - 2.46, Philadelphia Phillies - 3.04

Starters Record: Advantage New York Yankees

New York Yankees - 5-0, Philadelphia Phillies - 3-1

WHIP: Advantage Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies - 1.18, New York Yankees - 1.22

Errors: Advantage New York Yankees

New York Yankees – 3, Philadelphia Phillies – 5

Analysis:

The New York Yankees appear to be the better pitching and defensive team on paper. The Yankees created a stir earlier when they announced the intention to use a three-man starting rotation. People thought that this might put a bit too much strain on the starters, especially if the series goes beyond five games. So far the strategy has worked. It is not uncommon to see teams use pitchers on just a few days rest once it gets down to the World Series, but to do it throughout the postseason is something else.

The Phillies have a huge issue with their starters. Philadelphia only has two starters with an ERA below 4.00. Cliff Lee has been amazing with a 0.74 ERA and Pedro Martinez was very good in his lone start with seven scoreless innings. The problem is that Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels, and JA Happ have been hapless in their combined five starts.

Suddenly the Yankees three-man rotation looks much better than the Phillies effective two-man rotation. The Phillies will need one of those last three to step it up to drag the series out longer, which would give them the advantage against a weary CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and AJ Burnett or a rusty Joba Chamberlain. The question is who can do this? The Yankees simply look like they made the right move by going to a three-man rotation and that could be the difference maker in this series.

Prediction:

New York Yankees win in six games. The Yankees batting order is just too dangerous for sub par pitching in any games in this series.

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