The AL and NLCS are halfway through, and the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants are both leading their series 3-1 and 2-1 respectfully.
The Rangers have an opportunity to advance today, and with Cliff Lee in the rotation and 1B Mark Teixeira out for the remainder of the postseason, a Yankee comeback seems far-fetched at this point. The Rangers bats are hot, and in the postseason if a team is hot, it is almost to hard to stop them. With former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and emerging C.J. Wilson pitching, the Rangers have been favorites to win the World Series for a few months now.
In the National League, the Giants lead the Phillies 2-1. If Madison Bumgarner can get a win against Joe Blanton, then a Philadelphia comeback will also be extremely far-fetched. The reason for this being is that they would have to beat Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathon Sanchez who recorded a 3.43, 3.14 and a 3.03 ERA respectively. With Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels on Philadelphia's mound, anything could happen, but to beat all three pitchers in a row will be a task.
Which leads to the question of who would win the series if it were Texas facing San Francisco.
The hitting advantage is Texas. Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrer, and Ian Kinsler alone can dominate a series, and if you throw in Cruz, Andrus and Guzman, there are not many lineups better.
The Giants lineup is really average. Cody Ross has been red-hot but at any moment could halt production. Rookie Buster Posey has been a huge addition, but other than that Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe are all decent.
The pitching advantage is a no brainer. Almost unarguably, the best rotation in baseball belongs to the Giants. Cliff Lee may steal a game or two, but the advantage is San Francisco for the rest of the rotation and bullpen.
The series would really be a battle of elite hitting against elite pitching. The Giants rotation's lack of experience could be a factor, but in the "Year of the Pitcher," the advantage may be to San Francisco.
If the Rangers and the Giants match-up in the 2010 World Series, I would predict San Francisco wins in six games.
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