This year’s World Series features a matchup between the hottest team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies, and one of the best teams in baseball, the Boston Red Sox.The Red Sox were taken to the wire by a Cleveland Indians team in an exciting seven games in the American League Championship Series.
Colorado, which has been bringing out the broom on everyone they play, has been finding ways to keep themselves entertained until the start of the World Series.
So that, brings the question everyone is asking: Can the Red Sox beat the streak?
First, lets see what have been the keys to success for the Red Sox. They have been an offensive juggernaut in the postseason, with five of the nine starters hitting over .300. Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis are killing the competition, hitting over .400 in the postseason.
Although certain parts of the team have changed, winning big games, Big Papi and “Manny being Manny” have stayed the same.
Rookies Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellisbury have provided sparks for the Red Sox as well. Pedroia’s three-run homer in the late innings of game seven against the Indians put the game out of reach.
Josh Beckett has been the dominant pitcher in baseball with an earned run average of 1.93 and 18 strikeouts in two games. He earned the ALCS MVP because of his dominance on the mound. The back end of the bullpen, setup man Hideki Okajima and closer Jonathan Papelbon, hasn’t giving up an earned run so far this postseason. Curt Shilling has also shown he can show up in big games with his performance in game six of the ALCS.
Colorado also has Troy Tulowitzki, a rookie who plays shortstop on the best defensive team during the regular and postseason. Regular season MVP hopeful Matt Holiday has led the charge for the Rockies
The Rockies have the best pitching staff in the postseason with their top two pitchers having an ERA of less than 2.00. They have been winning all of these games with only two starters, Holiday and Brad Hawpe, who is hitting over .300 in the postseason.
They have done all of this with one of the lowest payrolls in Major League Baseball, showing that you don’t need big payrolls to win in the postseason. As a matter of fact, three of the teams in the League Championship Series were not ranked higher than 15th in payroll.
When it comes to the Rockies, however, gave Beckett his first loss during this season. Also, they have beaten the Red Sox twice at Fenway Park during the regular season.
Experience in all aspects of the game will play a big factor in this series. My prediction will be the Boston Red Sox to defeat the Colorado Rockies in six games for the World Series title.