Preview/Prediction

If you believe Dave O'Brien, Mark Bowman, and the ever-so-unreliable Ken Rosenthal, Tim Hudson is set to sign a three-year extension with the Atlanta Braves in the neighborhood of $27 million.

I don't know about you, but that's a big relief.

Locking up an elite (provided he looks like his seven starts at the end of '09) two or three starter for under $10 million is always good.

When you add in the fact that he's locked up for under the salary of two of your potential off-season trade chips (Derek Lowe and Javier Vazquez), it's even better.

Game Three of the 2009 World series shifts today to the new launching pad in the National League, Citizens Bank Park. It's a bit ironic that the Philadelphia "Mashers" at one point in time had a far better record on the road than they did at home. They righted that situation in the second half of the season to finish nine games over .500 at home.

The post-season is a completely different story as the Phillies have lost a grand total of three games over the past three post seasons. They've won 12 games and the only team to beat them at home was the Colorado Rockies.

Want to make money in Major League baseball and have longtime job security?

Become a world-class starter in the Major Leagues.

Guys like Cubs outfield Alfonso Soriano may get $136 for eight years, but you want more bang for the buck?

How about CC Sabathia and his six-year, $140 million contract he signed for the Yankees. Or the Yanks' A.J. Burnett, who signed a five-year, $82.5 million contract in the 2008-09 offseason.

Cuban pitching sensation Aroldis Chapman was scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday at Fenway Park. However, due to the weather in Boston, it is unclear whether he actually threw for Red Sox officials.

Yet, according to Chapman's agent, Edwin Mejia, a meeting between Red Sox management and the pitcher still took place. Mejia reported that Chapman was impressed with the organization and called it a "very good visit."

The 21-year-old left-hander has hit 102 mph on radar guns and, with a lean 6-foot-4 frame, is said to project well in the Majors.

As it has been pitted, it's cheesecake vs cheesesteak. The City That Never Sleeps vs The City of Brotherly Love. Girardi vs Manuel. A-Rod vs Ryan Howard. CC Sabathia vs Cliff Lee.

It might be a moot point, but who wouldn't want to see the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees playing tonight?

I mean, you have one American League team in its 40th title series, winning 27 since 1923. The other team beat the up-start Tampa Bay Rays last year in the 2008 World Series, ending a 28-year drought.

Finally, after 4,860 games from 30 teams, we have the World Series that we had all hoped for. We have the two juggernauts of baseball. The two cities, separated by 26 exits of Turnpike through the great state of New Jersey, will indeed give us the World Series that we could only wish for at the beginning of the season.

The 2009 World Series has arrived after a long and quite interesting season. Along with the arrival of the Fall Classic comes the World Series buzz and debates on who's got the edge. The Phillies and the Yankees make great cases for themselves, respectively.

The New York Yankees are trying to get back to their previous state of baseball dominance. Yankees like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte hope to end this decade the way they started it, with a World Series Championship.

The World Series mercifully begins tonight and what better way to prepare than to inundate sports fans with predictions? What kind of sports writer would I be if I didn’t throw my hat into the prediction ring?

Exactly.

So let’s go ahead and compare the Yankees and Phillies position by position to find out who the better team is and, thus, who will win the World Series.

We should have known.

Back in late May, during Memorial Day weekend, as people were lighting up the BBQ, cuing up the music, and opening up swimming pools, a series was being played in Yankee Stadium.

In a rare and intriguing interleague match up, the world champion Philadelphia Phillies paid a visit to the new Yankee Stadium to play the Bronx Bombers. At the time, both teams had identical records coming in; the Phillies were 23-17, and struggling to take off on the 2009 season.

In fact, the Mets were in first place at that time!

The two best teams in baseball will meet in the World Series, and oddly enough each is similar to the other. 

Both have dynamite, strike-at-any-moment lineups loaded with former MVPs and future Hall-of-Famers. Both have lefty aces that were on the Cleveland Indians only a season ago. Both have inconsistent fireballers who, if on their game, are unhittable.