Phillies Vs. Bronx Bombers: Who Will It Be?

The World Series finally starts Wednesday night as the two most powerful teams in baseball play on the largest stage.

But, who will it be in the Bolt Bus Series, the Battle of Broad Street vs. Broadway (yes we know neither team actually plays on those streets) -- the hometown Phillies or the Yankees?

The Yanks are favored nationally -- heck the “experts" on ESPN were nine to one in favor of New York, thanks to the 700 Level for spotting that slight against our Phils.

The Phils are the champs -- how can they not be favored? It looks like the tradition of 26 Yankee championships took precedence over recent history.

We will get to our prediction but first we will look at the two teams and handicap that strengths and (few) weaknesses.

Let’s start with leadership. The Yankees are lead by Manager Joe Girardi managing his first World Series after having won three Fall Classics as a player. The Phillies meanwhile enter with the ever-steady Charlie Manuel at the helm having already won a ring as a manager.

The advantage (slightly) goes to Manuel because of his proven winning leadership.

But, that managers don’t play the game -- the players do.

The Phillies boast a lineup packed with six former All-Stars and a pitching staff including former All-Stars Brad Lidge, Cole Hamels, Pedro Martinez and Cliff Lee.

Star power, though, is what the Yankees pride themselves on and they match the Phillies with 10 former All-Stars of their own.

These team’s each have star power top to bottom and it is difficult to pick a far away favorite at most positions but the Phils are better at most spots. We would clearly take Chase Utley over Robinson Cano at second, Jayson Werth over Nick Swisher in right, Shane Victorino over Melky Cabrera in center and even Raul Ibanez over Hideki Matsui at designated hitter.

The Phillies seem to hold a slight edge with Ryan Howard over Mark Teixeira at first but the Yanks hold the small advantage with Derek Jeter over Jimmy Rollins.

We would call catchers Jorge Posada and Carlos Ruiz a wash (even though “Chooch” is the far superior defender at this point in his career).

The only spots where the Yankees lineup clearly exceeds the Phillies is at third base where Alex Rodriguez is a clear upgrade over the Phils’ Pedro Feliz and left field where the experience of Johnny Damon exceeds Ben Francisco’s skills.

So, the Phillies hold the advantage at the plate but only by a little.

The Yankees, though, hold the advantage on the mound.

The aces for both teams are amazing. Former Indians teammates (man it must stink to be a Cleveland sports fan) CC Sabathia and Lee could possible face off three times should the Series go seven. Both lefties were virtually unhittable in the first two rounds and it would be difficult to give either an edge.

The No. 2 pitchers could play a big role if the series goes long. Phillies start Pedro Martinez who struggled in three career postseason appearances at the old Yankee Stadium (0-1, 6.28 ERA) but overall was 11-11 with a 3.20 ERA in regular season starts against the Bronx Bombers. Yankees starter A.J. Burnett has traditionally struggled against the Phillies going 5-8 with a 4.75 ERA.

Despite Burnett’s history of trouble with the Phillies he should be a formidable match for the Pedro. But, we give the edge to the veteran Pedro who normally shines in the big moment -- just look at what he did in Game 2 of the NLCS.

The rest of the staffs should be rounded out by a battle of Hamels and postseason-legend Andy Pettitte and what will likely be a Game 5 match up between Joe Blanton and Chad Gaudin.

Pettitte’s 16 postseason wins along with a 3.83 career postseason ERA puts him at the clear advantage over Hamels. The Phils lefty just doesn’t look like the same pitcher this year who won 2008 World Series MVP award.

As for Gaudin vs. Blanton it’s tough to call but we would take “Big” Joe in this battle -- he pitched well in last year’s World Series and brings a better career ERA and more wins (63-54, 4.21 ERA) to the hill than Gaudin (34-35, 4.50 ERA).

So, it comes down to the bullpens. We give the closing edge to Mariano “The Hammer of God” Rivera over Brad “Shakier than a Hollywood fling” Lidge -- that’s a no brainer.

As for the rest of the pens -- it’s a toss up. Neither pen has looked great this postseason and both have plenty of concerns from Joba Chamberlain’s durability to Ryan Madson’s hittability.

The bullpens could play a big part in this series but it’s unknown how big. Since the Yankees hold the advantage at closer we give them the edge in relief.

Despite the Phillies' on-the-field advantages this series is too close to call -- or is it?

The Phils have 19 things that the Yankees only have a handful of -- rings!

That’s right only six guys on the Phillies roster, Lee, Ibanez, Francisco, backup catcher Paul Bako, Chan Ho Park and little-used reliever Antonio Bastardo aren’t already wearing some bling.

The Yanks, despite a history of 26 championships only have Pettitte, Rivera, Jeter and Posada left from their late-90 championship runs. And, only backup catcher Jose Molina, reliever Damaso Marte, Damon and Burnett played for other championship teams. And, Burnett barely counts because he didn’t even pitch for the Marlins in their 2003 World Series win over the Yanks.

We will take experience and bling over tradition any day -- our reporters agree.

Our Pick: Phillies in seven.