Last year, it was a great pitching staff that won the World Series for the San Francisco Giants. This year we will see another dominant pitching team make a run to win it all. The Philadelphia Phillies will once again take home the crown as the best team in baseball for three reasons: pitching, experience and weakened competition.
With the re-addition of lefty Cliff Lee, the Phillies have four starters who legitimately would be aces on the vast majority of the MLB (especially the Cubs). Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, have the very real chance to win 15+ games each. Even though Oswalt and Hamels will both spend some time on the DL this season, all four will be ready come playoff time. The bullpen is solid enough to keep the starters leads.
The Phillies are an experienced team, having made the playoffs in the last four seasons. They were World Series winners in 2008 and had a shot to repeat against the Yankees in 2009. The nucleus of their championship lineup is still intake. They know what it takes to win the National League, and with everyone trying to get lucky be this year’s Giants, you can expect the seasoned vets to rise above the pretenders.
The National League will play weak this year. The Giants shouldn’t even have made the playoffs last year, the Cardinal’s pitching is mediocre, the Dodgers will continue to not live up to hype, and every other NL team is full of overrated veterans or underdeveloped youngsters. The timing couldn’t be better for the Phillies, who have many players will only be in the prime of their careers for a couple more seasons.
My pick: Phillies over a finally healthy Red Sox team in seven games.