Five Teams With the Best Chance of Winning the World Series
As the month of August comes to a close, the playoff races in the MLB always really start to heat up. This year is no different, there are a lot of teams still in contention for a playoff spot. Here are five teams that have the pieces to give them the best chance at winning the World Series.
New York Yankees - Well, all is restored in the world of baseball because the Yankees are back on top, according to their record. It would be hard to believe that they wouldn't be because they have the payroll to put them there. When the playoffs come around, the Yankees will have a very good chance at going all the way because they have a very potent offense led by Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez, and a pretty good 1, 2, 3 punch in the rotation with C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettite. As long as the starting pitching can keep it close, the Yankees offense should be better than their opponents.
Philadelphia Phillies- Last years champs are looking like they have a decent chance of repeating. The pick up of Cliff Lee was huge, and just might prove to be the difference. If Cole Hamels can return to his playoff form of last year, then look out. The Phillies are no slouch in the offensive department either, guys like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul lbanez have the ability to eat up any pitching. Can Philadelphia go back to back, we'll see because they should have no problems reaching the post season.
Los Angeles Angels - The Angels are usually carried by their outstanding pitching. This year it has been the offense that has been outstanding. In fact their offense leads the league in batting average and they are second behind the Yankees in runs scored. The scary thing about the Angels is that they still have the same core pitching staff that has carried them the past few years, if and when they get to the post season, do not count them out.
Los Angeles Dodgers- The Dodgers were looking like a shoe in half way through the season, but have since come back down to the real world. Both the Giants and Rockies are making their attempts to catch them in the NL West after it looked like the Dodgers were going to run away with the divison. If Chad Billingsly and Clayton Kershaw can prove to be playoff caliber pitchers, the Dodgers can still do some damage (Neither pitcher has much playoff experience). The offense is definitely there to do their part in the playoff, they just need the pitching to do theirs.
Boston Red Sox- If they make it into the playoffs, and I repeat IF they make it to the playoffs, they definitely have the talent in place to carry them to the title. Coming in to the season the Red Sox had the deepest pitching rotation in the league, but now some question marks have arised in whether or not this is true. Even if they are not the deepest, they are for sure up towards the top. The offense has a tendency to sometimes fizzle out, but when they are on they can beat anybody in the league, enough times to win it all.
The whole outlook could change come playoff time, but as of right now this is how it is looking. I personally hope that the Texas Rangers find a spot in the postseason as well as the Colorado Rockies, I am a big fan of underdog teams, especially in the playoffs.
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back Five Teams With the Best Chance of Winning the World Series…
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back Five Teams With the Best Chance of Winning the World Series…
Thanks for the summary. Now I can act like I know what I'm talking about when the subject of baseball comes my way. We horse people don't have time to watch other sports, but we like to stay in the loop.