These teams are so evenly matched, I wanted to go through position by position.
Here's how I break it down:
Starting pitching: I like the White Sox. Houston has the best starter in Oswalt, but 1 through 4, I'll take Chicago. White Sox shut down two offenses that are much better than Houston's, and this isn't the same Clemens that pitched the first several months of the season.
Middle Relief: White Sox. Chicago had the 4th lowest bullpen ERA in the league and 3rd best batting average against. Wheeler and Qualls have been excellent in the post season, but Gallo is the only lefty out of the pen. The Sox pen is much deeper with Cotts, Hermanson, Politte, and a wildcard in El Duque.
Closer: You have to give it to Lidge, but certainly not by much. Lidge has been anything but lights out. He's gotten into trouble in almost every post season outing. I called this out a few days ago, even before the Pujols homer. He has yet to have a 1-2-3 inning in the playoffs. Jenks has NASTY stuff....throws 100 with a ++ curveball.
1B: I'll take Konerko over Berkman.
2B: Biggio slightly over Iguchi. Biggio is still solid after all these years, and seems to come up with a big hit or gets on base when they need it. Iguchi does all the little things right....very good defense, bunts, hit and run, steals a few bases and hits for some power.
SS: Uribe. Better offensively and has better range and a cannon for an arm.
3B: Ensberg. This is probably the one position where Houston has a definitive advantage. Crede has come up with some huge post season hits, and could have easily been the ALCS MVP, but he still scares me defensively at times, and Ensberg can flat out hit.
LF: Podsednik over Burke. Podsednik makes this offense go, and makes pitchers focus on him when he gets on base.
CF: Rowand. If he doesn't win a gold glove this year, he will soon. He'll be an All-Star in the next 3 years. Tavarez will cause problems (much like Podsednik) if he gets on, but as many Astros fans know, he needs to get on base more and take more walks.
RF:Dye over Lane. Lane is very solid, but Dye has a little more power, hits for a little higher average, and still an above average defender with a terrific arm.
C: Toss-up. Pick your poison, Ausmus clearly the better defensive catcher, Pierzynski clearly the better hitter.
DH: I like Carl Everett better than the Bagwell/Lamb/Palmeiro combo. Carl's average was down, but was one of their best clutch hitters, hitting .317 with runners on, and .297 with RISP and 2 outs.
Bench: I'll take Houston's, as I think they have better hitters who are more used to pinch-hitting, which will be more important for the CWS now with no DH in Houston. Vizcaino/Palmeiro/Bagwell are all better hitters than what Chicago can counter with (Timo Perez/Blum/Ozuna). Chicago does have a lot more speed off the bench, with Willie Harris/Ozuna.
Even though I think the Sox have an advantage at most positions, most of them are a very small edge. I think these two teams are pretty evenly matched, and I can't imagine this thing going less than 6 games. With that in mind, I'll take the White Sox in 7.
Here's how I break it down:
Starting pitching: I like the White Sox. Houston has the best starter in Oswalt, but 1 through 4, I'll take Chicago. White Sox shut down two offenses that are much better than Houston's, and this isn't the same Clemens that pitched the first several months of the season.
Middle Relief: White Sox. Chicago had the 4th lowest bullpen ERA in the league and 3rd best batting average against. Wheeler and Qualls have been excellent in the post season, but Gallo is the only lefty out of the pen. The Sox pen is much deeper with Cotts, Hermanson, Politte, and a wildcard in El Duque.
Closer: You have to give it to Lidge, but certainly not by much. Lidge has been anything but lights out. He's gotten into trouble in almost every post season outing. I called this out a few days ago, even before the Pujols homer. He has yet to have a 1-2-3 inning in the playoffs. Jenks has NASTY stuff....throws 100 with a ++ curveball.
1B: I'll take Konerko over Berkman.
2B: Biggio slightly over Iguchi. Biggio is still solid after all these years, and seems to come up with a big hit or gets on base when they need it. Iguchi does all the little things right....very good defense, bunts, hit and run, steals a few bases and hits for some power.
SS: Uribe. Better offensively and has better range and a cannon for an arm.
3B: Ensberg. This is probably the one position where Houston has a definitive advantage. Crede has come up with some huge post season hits, and could have easily been the ALCS MVP, but he still scares me defensively at times, and Ensberg can flat out hit.
LF: Podsednik over Burke. Podsednik makes this offense go, and makes pitchers focus on him when he gets on base.
CF: Rowand. If he doesn't win a gold glove this year, he will soon. He'll be an All-Star in the next 3 years. Tavarez will cause problems (much like Podsednik) if he gets on, but as many Astros fans know, he needs to get on base more and take more walks.
RF:Dye over Lane. Lane is very solid, but Dye has a little more power, hits for a little higher average, and still an above average defender with a terrific arm.
C: Toss-up. Pick your poison, Ausmus clearly the better defensive catcher, Pierzynski clearly the better hitter.
DH: I like Carl Everett better than the Bagwell/Lamb/Palmeiro combo. Carl's average was down, but was one of their best clutch hitters, hitting .317 with runners on, and .297 with RISP and 2 outs.
Bench: I'll take Houston's, as I think they have better hitters who are more used to pinch-hitting, which will be more important for the CWS now with no DH in Houston. Vizcaino/Palmeiro/Bagwell are all better hitters than what Chicago can counter with (Timo Perez/Blum/Ozuna). Chicago does have a lot more speed off the bench, with Willie Harris/Ozuna.
Even though I think the Sox have an advantage at most positions, most of them are a very small edge. I think these two teams are pretty evenly matched, and I can't imagine this thing going less than 6 games. With that in mind, I'll take the White Sox in 7.
Comment