Last week, I let you all know that the New York Yankees are the best team in the American League. Who will they face in the 2007 World Series? Here's how the National League will play out and who will triumph in October.
NL East: Phillies power their way to the topPhiladelphia hasn't won the division since 1993, when Lenny Dykstra and a 26-year-old Curt Schilling led the team to 97 wins. They'll reclaim that glory in 2007, thanks to the team's versatile lineup and exciting pitching staff. The offense is led by the best infield in baseball - 1B Ryan Howard, 2B Chase Utley and SS Jimmy Rollins are all top players at their positions, and Howard and Utley are just starting their careers.
In 2006 the Phils led the NL in runs scored per game with 5.34, but their lackluster pitching staff surrendered an ugly 5.01 runs per game. The rotation will be significantly improved in 2007, no longer wasting the ample offense provided for them. In the second half of 2006, 23-year-old LHP Cole Hamels had a 3.39 ERA and a ridiculous 101 strikeouts in 88 innings. Look for Hamels, the Phils' first-round pick in 2002, to be the staff ace by midseason. With support from newcomer Freddy Garcia and control-freak Jon Lieber - whose 1.29 BB/9 innings in 2006 was the lowest in the NL - the Phils are set to win 90-plus games.
The wildcard will go to the Mets, who won the division in 2006. While they have a powerful offense, they'll struggle to overcome a serious lack of pitching depth. Pedro Martinez's shoulder injury (out until August) and the inevitable regressions of John Maine and El Duque Hernandez will drop the Mets into second place in the NL East.
NL Central: Cubs fans, get excited...The Chicago Cubs are good this year. In 2006, they finished in dead last - behind the Pirates and Brewers, mind you - going 66-96 and disappointing the north side of Chicago once again. Why were they so bad? Well, their starting pitching looked like this: Ace Carlos Zambrano, 40-year-old Greg Maddux and Sean Marshall - whom I've never even heard of. Those were the only Cubs pitchers to throw over 100 innings last year.
The 2007 rotation has been completely revamped. Following Zambrano are newcomers Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis, super-prospect Rich Hill and Wade Miller. A dark horse to keep an eye on: rookie RHP Rocky Cherry, who's having an impressive spring - 8 IP, 11 strikeouts. Even if he doesn't make the team, any player named "Rocky Cherry" is worth following, but I digress. In addition to a much-improved rotation, the offense looks juiced compared to last season. With a healthy Derrek Lee at first base and the addition of superstar Alfonso Soriano in center field, the Cubs will launch past their pathetic 4.42 runs per game from 2006 and take the crown in a weak NL Central.
NL West: The Padres are the best of the losersThe San Francisco Giants have great pitching but no hitting. The Colorado Rockies have a powerful offense - OF Matt Holliday and 3B Garrett Atkins are only going to get better - but their pitching is terrible (what a surprise). The Los Angeles Dodgers have no power - their biggest slugger is Nomar Garciaparra, with a mere 20 HRs in 2006. The Arizona Diamondbacks have some promising young stars - SS Stephen Drew, 1B Conor Jackson, and OFs Carlos Quentin and Chris Young all project to be very good hitters, but they're way too green to produce significantly in 2007.
That leaves the San Diego Padres. Are they any good? Well, kind of. Their pitching isn't the best. Jake Peavy will have a monster season, but Chris Young will not come close to replicating his freakishly low 6.72 hits allowed per 9 innings of 2006. The offense is well rounded and has significant upside, but there's no Tony Gwynn or Ken Caminiti. 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff and 1B Adrian Gonzalez will put up nice numbers, but it's nothing to go crazy over. The Padres will win the division because their pitching staff is durable and consistent, Trevor Hoffman will keep saving games, and the rest of the NL West is simply pathetic.
National League Divison Series: New York beats Chicago, 3-2This will be a tough battle, and the Cubs have a better team than the Mets, but a good bullpen is imperative to postseason success. Who would you pick to close out a huge win-or-go-home game: Billy Wagner or Ryan Dempster?
National League Divison Series: Philadelphia beats San Diego, 3-1"They'll win when Peavy pitches." This has been the postseason assessment of the Padres for the last few seasons, and not much has changed. Jake Peavy can outduel Brett Myers, Hamels or whoever you throw at him. But after that, Howard and Utley will let loose and send the Padres home wearing their third-straight "Division Champion" hats.
National League Championship Series: Philadelphia beats New York, 4-2In a division-rival match-up, the Phillies will down the Mets with relative ease. Their offenses are equally potent, but the Phils have a serious pitching edge even with Pedro Martinez's late-season return. Philadelphia will keep on racking up HRs and Ks all the way to the World Series.
THE 2007 WORLD SERIES: New York beats Philadelphia, 4-3This World Series is going to be exciting, close and a lot of fun to watch. The pitching match-ups are all pretty even. The Yanks' offense is significantly deeper, but remember when the Astros rode Carlos Beltran's bat all the way to the Series in 2004? The Phils have Ryan Howard to serve the same purpose.
What's the Yanks' advantage? Mariano Rivera is a lot better than Flash Gordon. We'll see some late-inning magic from Derek Jeter and Robby Cano as Gordon blows a few leads Byung-Hyun Kim style. Rivera will be solid as a rock, earning the World Series MVP and bringing a dearly missed Championship Trophy back to New York.
And Chicago Cub Rocky Cherry, watching at home on his big-screen TV, will sit back and dream of one day becoming a New York Yankee.
Ellis Rochelson '09 hopes Mr. Cherry's dream comes true.
