You'll notice that this is the exact same thing I posted a year ago. It's almost like there's a reason for that.
CONTEXT
The New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies will face each other in the 2009 World Series, which begins tonight. The Yankees have advanced this far by defeating the Minnesota Twins and the LAnaheim Angels. The Phillies have advanced this far by defeating the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both the Yankees and Phillies managed to defeat their opponents by outplaying them in a short series.
KEY PLAYERS
New York:
Roster
Philadelphia:
Roster
Both the Yankees and Phillies are filled to the brim with possible difference-makers. The 50 listed above will likely be the most important.
KEY QUESTIONS
Can the New York Yankees outscore the Philadelphia Phillies?
They can.
Can the Philadelphia Phillies outscore the New York Yankees?
They can.
Will one of the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies outscore the other four times?
Most certainly yes!
X FACTOR
The Yankees will play a maximum of four games at home, while the Phillies will play a maximum of three games at home. The home crowds may or may not help. I imagine there are also intangibles somewhere.
CONCLUSION
Both the Yankees and the Phillies are good teams. The Yankees are better. If you re-played the World Series a million times, roughly 60-65% of the time the Yankees would be crowned as champions. This World Series will be played once. One of these teams will win four games. The other probably won't. The outcome will mean everything, and nothing.