(103-59) (116-46)
Don't call it a dynasty...yet. The 21st World Series is here, and the Baltimore Crab Cakes are seeking their 3rd title in 4 seasons. Standing in their way is the Toronto Savage in a rematch of the Season 18 World Series. Toronto was swept in that series, but they've added some new faces since then and now they're looking for revenge. Let's break down the matchup.
Toronto is led by shiish who is an original KML owner. After a slow start with Toronto, shiish has led the Savage to the playoffs for 10 straight seasons including 9 consecutive division titles. They swept Jacksonville in the ALDS and defeated El Paso in 6 games to reach the World Series for the 2nd time. Toronto's strength is in their starting pitching, with 3 finalists for the AL Cy Young award. Irving Montanez is the long time Toronto veteran. He suffered through the 4-0 sweep at the hands of the Crab Cakes, but this time he has help in the form of Robel Andersen and Ray Carter, the two other Toronto Cy Young candidates who weren't on the team three seasons ago. Reymond Vega is the anchor in the bullpen and finished with 48 saves. They will need to shut down the Baltimore offense to win this series. Toronto's offense was also solid, finishing 8th in runs scored. They are led by MVP candidate Yonder Neruda (0.302/0.394/0.529) who was 5th in the majors in OBP this season and slugger, Yamid Moreno (0.292/0.351/0.620). The power hitter Moreno was picked up in a trade last season and finished this season tied for 10th in HRs with 46. If speedy leadoff man Stu Richardson can get on base, it will be up to Neruda and Moreno to drive him home. Toronto finished tied for the AL's best record with Seattle and won the tiebreaker for the #1 seed.
Baltimore is led by aoscott2 who took over a rebuilding team and has turned them into a powerhouse. In this year's playoffs, they swept Fresno in the NLDS and overcame Chicago in 6 games. Similar to Toronto, Baltimore is led by their pitching staff and had the best ERA in baseball. They have four(!!) Cy Young candidates. Cozy Kennedy has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the league having won the previous four Cy Young awards, but his teammate Mac Rollins may have dethroned him after finishing the year with 21 wins and a 1.94 ERA. Avisail Mercado and Yasmani Ordonez round out the rest of the rotation for a team that allowed only 477 runs, less than 3 per game. Their offense wasn't quite as good as last year's #1 offense but they still managed to finish the season at 9th in runs scored. They have a trio of MVP candidates, including Henderson Long who was 3rd the the majors in HRs at 57, and the walk machines Charley Campbell and Marquis Affeldt who were 2nd and 3rd in the majors in BBs with 103 and 100, respectively.
In a matchup of two teams that both have dominant pitching and above average offenses, the team that can get those timely hits will be the one to hoist the trophy in the end. If Toronto wins, it will be obviously a big celebration for their first championship. If Baltimore wins, I think we can safely call them a dynasty. Good luck to both teams in World Series 21!
No comments:
Post a Comment