Cleveland Steamers (AL, 96-66) vs. Wichita Wankers (NL, 92-70)
Lars picked the Steamers to make the world series out of the American League, but he was totally blindsided by Wichita's run to the title round. One thing Lars does know for certain is that there will be a first time champion in Cobb World, one that has either taken crassly taken a steaming dump upon or jerked around their opponent. Both scenarios make Lars rather queasy, but this is the year of the toilet humor in the Chinese Zodiac, thus the two teams vying for the Cobb World Title. Here is Lars positional breakdown:
Catcher: Walter Maroth for the Steamers is a defensive catcher with just enough stick to keep pitchers honest, and has done a fine job of shepherding the Cleveland pitching staff through the playoffs. Darryl Bates of the Wankers is more of a masher, but is good enough defensively to be average behind the plate. Neither of them are having a playoffs to remember, so Lars is calling this a draw.
Edge: Even
1B: On paper, Nick Weaver of the Steamers and Tanner Durham of the Wankers are pretty even. In reality Durham is having a forgettable playoffs and isn't justifying his play at a power position, while Weaver is hitting above .300 and is once again one of the more dangerous hitters on the Cleveland team. Lars is going with the hot hand.
Edge: Steamers
2B: Cory Lowry of the Steamers is probably the last man in the lineup, and is basically filling a spot. He has decent contact skills at the plate, but hasn't shown them yet in the playoffs. His glove is good though, which keeps him in the lineup. Lawrence Shave for the Wankers is a much more dynamic hitter, and is having a better playoff run than Lowry, even if he is hitting under .300. Lars thinks that Shave brings more to his team than Lowry.
Edge: Wankers
SS: The Steamers know what they are going to get from Paul Roth - Gold Glove defense, and a .280 average with no power. But that's ok, as he has proven himself to be a clutch player in the playoffs, and has raised his average yet again in the postseason to above .350, which is a real bonus for Cleveland. Carlton Nelsons defense for the Wankers is just as good, but his bat is much more dangerous, and he has proven it this playoffs with an average in the .300's and good production. Roth has proven it in the playoffs, but Nelson is proving it now too.
Edge: Wankers
3B: On paper both Brett Mann of the Wankers and Max Posada have roughly the same hitting and fielding capacity, with Mann being the more durable of the two. Neither one is amazing at the plate, but Mann is hitting above .300 in the playoffs while Posadas average is near .200. With similar defense, Lars is going with the hot stick.
Edge: Wankers
LF: Both Grant Keats of the Wankers and Vinny Jang of the Steamers are excellent players. But Jang had a monster regular season while Keats struggled to recover from a disasterous first half. In the playoffs Jang has been an absolute beast, batting over .400 with lots of power, while Keats has struggled. Lars knows who to pick here.
Edge: Steamers
CF: Jose Gandarillas of the Steamers is having an excellent playoffs, batting in the .380 range, which is nothing but clutch. His defense is good as well, and he is one of the top teams in the Cleveland lineup. Dorian Woolf of the Wankers is a CF most teams in Cobb would like to have on their team, but his play at the plate has been less than desirable this playoffs. All things basically being equal between the two players, it is hard not to choose the guy hitting .380 vs. the guy hitting .220.
Edge: Steamers
RF: Al Rosario of the Steamers is a fine young player who can crush right handed pitching. He is having an amazing postseason, hitting near .380 and scoring lots of runs. His counterpart in Wichita, Derrick Crosby, is having a fine playoffs as well, hitting near .360 in the playoffs. But Crosby just isn't the threat that Rosario is.
Edge: Steamers
Bench: Backup C Mule Parker and 2B Willis Roth have gotten some play for the Steamers, platooning at their positions. But neither one is a major threat at the plate, and are strictly defensive replacements. Joel Davis offers some pop off the bench, and Fernando Belliard has a nice glove, but haven't seen a playoff at bat. Tony Solano, the regular DH for Cleveland, offers a nice bat off the bench in the NL stadium. For Wichita 2B Mitch Watkins offers great power, and may start vs. right handers. Justin Snopek is also pretty nice with the bat, and Luis Velasquez is a nice defensive replacement. Wichita's bench has seen more action than Clevelands, but Lars thinks that between the two of them they are pretty much equal.
Edge: Even
Starting Pitching: The Steamers are running a 3 man rotation of Ruben Gonzales, Bill Palmer, and Junior Lee. Gonzales has been his usual amazing playoff self, carrying the rotation for the 3rd season in a row, and Palmer has been money as well. Lee has been hit pretty hard though, and isn't living up to his potential. For Wichita it's been a 3 man show starring NL Cy Young Davey Silva, Tony Cho, and Erubiel Owen. Only Silva is able to stand up head to head with the three Cleveland aces, and his playoffs have been a mixed bag thus far. He has proven that he can bring it when it counts, and the other two pitchers have been able to keep their team in the game. But 3 is more than 1 when it comes to #1 quality pitchers, so Lars is taking the higher sum.
Edge: Steamers
Bullpen: The Steamers boast a pen that includes talented workhorse Trevor Seelbach, who went 16-2 in the regular season out of the long relief position, and pitched an impressive 150 innings. He's been good in the playoffs too, but the starting pitching hasn't warranted his use that much in playoffs thus far. Closer Bruce Weber has been perfect in the post season, and has yet to allow a run or blow a save. Wichita's closer P.T. Randolph is 2 for 2 in saves as well, and the rest of the pen has been solid save for Benny DeLeon, who has had a disasterous playoffs thus far. Top to bottom the quality of the Cleveland pen is a bit better than Wichita's, in Lars opinion.
Edge: Steamers
Conclusion: The lineups are pretty evenly matched, but Cleveland has the better pitching staff. Wichita squeaked into the playoffs as the #6 seed in the NL, while Cleveland took the #1 seed in the AL with a strong regular season. There are two scenarios here, Cleveland could make Cobb history as the first three time loser in the World Series, but Lars thinks that since Omaha isn't here to knock the Steamers around a bit, the second scenario is more likely, that they will finally break through and win their first World Series title, as much as it may disgust the rest of the league.
Result: Cleveland in Six
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