2005 WORLD SERIES
I was wrong for the first time all playoffs when the Cardinals lost to the Astros 4-2, but I did pick the Sox right on to beat the Angels 4-1. Here is a link to a story by Chicago Tribune baseball writer Phil Rogers, it is the official world series preview:
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/cs-051020soxastrosedge,1,1380109.story?coll=cs-whitesox-headlines
Now, for my take....
Overall, this series has the potential to be one of the best ever. It features some of the best pitching in all of baseball and great defense. Each game should come down to the wire, which greatly favors a White Sox team that went 35-19 in one-run games this season.
PITCHING: Astros' ace Roy Oswalt has been nearly unhittable in the playoffs and Andy Pettite (14 career postseason wins) is as clutch as they come. Roger Clemens might be the best pitcher in the history of baseball, he's already got the championships, he's second all-time in strikeouts, over 300 wins and the most Cy Young awards ever including one in each league. Brandon Backe is the other starter, and will battle Freddy Garcia in a critical game 4 matchup. That looks to be the one game where the pitching clearly favors the Sox.
But, it's hard not to give the edge to the White Sox here as their 4 horses ( Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia) each just threw complete games in a row to help the Sox knock off the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With extra rest that doesn't normally happen this time of the year, each starter should be ready to go when they take the mound.
The bullpen for the Astros has been very good lately, despite the homerun that closer Brad Lidge allowed to Albert Pujols. Lidge has a great fastball and nasty slider but might be starting to get fatigued as he has logged more innings than any other time in his career. Chad Qualls and Dan Wheeler have been getting the job done when called upon to bridge the gap from the starters to Lidge.
The White Sox bullpen is a mystery. Bobby Jenks, Cliff Politte, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and Neal Cotts combined to throw 2/3 of an inning for a total of 7 pitches in the ALCS, and it was all done by Cotts. Meaning, they've had nearly 2 weeks off and might show signs of rust. Or they could be throwing the ball harder than they have all season. If Jenks can reach 100 mph normally, he might get to 103 now.
DEFENSE: The White Sox have been flashing some leather since the playoffs began. The infielders (Joe Crede, Juan Uribe, Tadahito Iguchi and Paul Konerko) have been making the diving stops look routine. Not much gets down in the outfield with Scott Podsednik, Aaron Rowand and Jermaine Dye out there.
Meanwhile, the Astros defense is slightly above average. Brad Ausmus calls a good game behind the plate and Adam Everett is good at shortstop, but the rest of the guys in the field are nothing to write home about. Even former gold glove second basemen Craig Biggio has lost some of his range.
HITTING: The Astros offense has been downright awful for the majority of the season. Their biggest threat is Lance Berkman, who pales in comparison to David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez or Vladimir Guerrero, whom the Sox have already seen and conquered. If White Sox pitching can make powerful lineups like the Angels and Red Sox look like they don't belong in the batters box, they will make Houston hitters look downright foolish. The short porch in left field at Minute Maid might not make a difference when groundball pitchers Garland and Garcia take the mound for games 3 and 4.
This is where the White Sox have a major advantage. Their lineup is balancd 1-9 and Konerko, Podsednik, Crede and Uribe are all seeing the ball really well right now. Having the latter two hitting in the 8 and 9 spots in the lineup speaks volumes for what the Sox offense is capable of.
The X-factor is playing in the NL park, where the White Sox will lose designated hitter Carl Everett. Luckily, Everett's contributions have been few and far between in the playoffs. But, he does strengthen the bench in that case. The short porch in left field means Sox hitters could have an easy time hitting homers. Sox manager Ozzie Guillen played his bench guys plenty all season in order to prepare them for this exact possibility and it should pay great dividends when they hit the road.
Ozzie Guillen said earlier in the season that the greatest moment of his career was when he coached for the Florida Marlins when they won the 2003 World Series. In particular, it was before the start of game 1, when the jets to the flyover after the National Anthem. Well, for the first time inn 46 years, that will happen on the south side of Chicago.
The Astros haven't been to a World Series in their 44-year existence, but Sox fans are looking for the World Series trophy that has eluded them since 1917. The Sox had four 8-game winning streaks this season but could never get over that mark. After losing game 1 of the ALCS, I proclaimed that it would be fitting if they went on another 8-gamer to close out the season by winning the World Series, thus never having the chance to go for 9 straight. Well, they're half way there and Houston-- you've got a problem!
OFFICIAL PREDICTION: Each game will be close but I like the Sox in a clean sweep 4-0...
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/cs-051020soxastrosedge,1,1380109.story?coll=cs-whitesox-headlines
Now, for my take....
Overall, this series has the potential to be one of the best ever. It features some of the best pitching in all of baseball and great defense. Each game should come down to the wire, which greatly favors a White Sox team that went 35-19 in one-run games this season.
PITCHING: Astros' ace Roy Oswalt has been nearly unhittable in the playoffs and Andy Pettite (14 career postseason wins) is as clutch as they come. Roger Clemens might be the best pitcher in the history of baseball, he's already got the championships, he's second all-time in strikeouts, over 300 wins and the most Cy Young awards ever including one in each league. Brandon Backe is the other starter, and will battle Freddy Garcia in a critical game 4 matchup. That looks to be the one game where the pitching clearly favors the Sox.
But, it's hard not to give the edge to the White Sox here as their 4 horses ( Jose Contreras, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia) each just threw complete games in a row to help the Sox knock off the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. With extra rest that doesn't normally happen this time of the year, each starter should be ready to go when they take the mound.
The bullpen for the Astros has been very good lately, despite the homerun that closer Brad Lidge allowed to Albert Pujols. Lidge has a great fastball and nasty slider but might be starting to get fatigued as he has logged more innings than any other time in his career. Chad Qualls and Dan Wheeler have been getting the job done when called upon to bridge the gap from the starters to Lidge.
The White Sox bullpen is a mystery. Bobby Jenks, Cliff Politte, Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez and Neal Cotts combined to throw 2/3 of an inning for a total of 7 pitches in the ALCS, and it was all done by Cotts. Meaning, they've had nearly 2 weeks off and might show signs of rust. Or they could be throwing the ball harder than they have all season. If Jenks can reach 100 mph normally, he might get to 103 now.
DEFENSE: The White Sox have been flashing some leather since the playoffs began. The infielders (Joe Crede, Juan Uribe, Tadahito Iguchi and Paul Konerko) have been making the diving stops look routine. Not much gets down in the outfield with Scott Podsednik, Aaron Rowand and Jermaine Dye out there.
Meanwhile, the Astros defense is slightly above average. Brad Ausmus calls a good game behind the plate and Adam Everett is good at shortstop, but the rest of the guys in the field are nothing to write home about. Even former gold glove second basemen Craig Biggio has lost some of his range.
HITTING: The Astros offense has been downright awful for the majority of the season. Their biggest threat is Lance Berkman, who pales in comparison to David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez or Vladimir Guerrero, whom the Sox have already seen and conquered. If White Sox pitching can make powerful lineups like the Angels and Red Sox look like they don't belong in the batters box, they will make Houston hitters look downright foolish. The short porch in left field at Minute Maid might not make a difference when groundball pitchers Garland and Garcia take the mound for games 3 and 4.
This is where the White Sox have a major advantage. Their lineup is balancd 1-9 and Konerko, Podsednik, Crede and Uribe are all seeing the ball really well right now. Having the latter two hitting in the 8 and 9 spots in the lineup speaks volumes for what the Sox offense is capable of.
The X-factor is playing in the NL park, where the White Sox will lose designated hitter Carl Everett. Luckily, Everett's contributions have been few and far between in the playoffs. But, he does strengthen the bench in that case. The short porch in left field means Sox hitters could have an easy time hitting homers. Sox manager Ozzie Guillen played his bench guys plenty all season in order to prepare them for this exact possibility and it should pay great dividends when they hit the road.
Ozzie Guillen said earlier in the season that the greatest moment of his career was when he coached for the Florida Marlins when they won the 2003 World Series. In particular, it was before the start of game 1, when the jets to the flyover after the National Anthem. Well, for the first time inn 46 years, that will happen on the south side of Chicago.
The Astros haven't been to a World Series in their 44-year existence, but Sox fans are looking for the World Series trophy that has eluded them since 1917. The Sox had four 8-game winning streaks this season but could never get over that mark. After losing game 1 of the ALCS, I proclaimed that it would be fitting if they went on another 8-gamer to close out the season by winning the World Series, thus never having the chance to go for 9 straight. Well, they're half way there and Houston-- you've got a problem!
OFFICIAL PREDICTION: Each game will be close but I like the Sox in a clean sweep 4-0...
posted by Jeremy Lynn | 4:52 PM
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