2010 World Series

Texas Rangers vs. San Francisco Giants

Hitting: There is a big margin between the Rangers hitting and the Giants.  Texas had a blast (pardon the pun) with the Yankees pitching and the Giants were in a battle with the Phillies.  Both teams had one hitter that set the tone for them in the Championship Series.  Texas has Josh Hamilton and San Francisco has Cody Ross.  Hamilton was given a free pass towards the end of the series against the Yankees and Ross was pitched to most of the time, but could have easily done more than he did.  Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler have been consistent forces throughout the postseason for Texas and Vladimir Guerrero and Bengie Molina’s bats were awoken late in the ALCS.  Elvis Andrus will have to continue to wreak havoc on the base paths as his 7 postseason steals prove that.
The Giants have only had Cody Ross provide the spark, but there are others who have provided big hits at key moments.  Juan Uribe had the game winning home run in Game 6 against Philadelphia.  Buster Posey had the key base hit to setup Uribe’s sac-fly to win Game 5.  Those two will need to continue to provide the big hits again for the Giants to pull off the dream season.  Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell can’t continue to stay quiet and Andres Torres was starting to get back on track late in the NLCS, but he has to get on base to disrupt the Rangers starting pitching.
Edge goes to Texas

Pitching: Cliff Lee is making his second World Series appearance in as many years and this time he hopes it results in a victory.  He is rested and ready to continue his amazing postseason run of 34 strikeouts to only 1 walk in his 3 postseason starts.  C.J. Wilson will have to repeat what he has going for the Rangers this postseason.  Many in the organization have said that he is their best pitcher even after acquiring Cliff Lee before the trade deadline.  Colby Lewis was the hero of the Game 6 victory over the Yankees.  He picks his spots in the strike zone and always keeps his defense in the game.  Neftali Feliz has had an easy ride so far, but he will need to continue his amazing rookie season as the closer.  He’s going against one of the best bullpens all year in San Francisco.
It’s no fluke that Tim Lincecum has won back-to-back Cy Young awards.  It’s also no fluke that the Giants are in the World Series.  Lincecum has exceeded expectations in his first postseason and with fellow starter Matt Cain the Giants have a great 1-2 punch to match what the Rangers will throw at them with Lee and Wilson.  Jonathan Sanchez struggled mightily in the NLCS, but he will have to shake that off and give the Giants at least 6 innings to provide the needed support.  Madison Bumgarner surprised in his only postseason start against the Philies.  Can he do it again?  The Giants strength is in their bullpen.  Brian Wilson has been excellent in save situations.  The guys in front of him Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt deserve just as much of the credit as Wilson does in getting the Giants where they are.
Edge goes to San Francisco

Outcome: I love the underdog story.  San Francisco has it.  I love the adversity story.  Texas has it with Hamilton.  Lincecum vs. Lee is probably the best World Series pitching duel in recent memory.  Bengie Molina was with the Giants in the beginning of the season and has helped the Rangers get to where they are.  Who is saying this will be an unwatchable World Series?  Baseball fans, writers and general managers will watch no matter what.  The only ones crying about it are the networks.  For shame.  A New York and Philadelphia re-match was predicted by so many, including myself.  However, the beauty of the game is seeing it all play out and being given a brand new matchup to debate over.  The two best teams are playing for the World Series.  That’s all that matters.

Texas in 6 games