World Series Preview

By Charles Curtis

As October began, all baseball fans, including those who rooted for the eight teams involved, buzzed about what could be the Greatest World Series Ever Played. Boston and Chicago, two cities that had suffered greatly under baseball's hottest spotlight, were destined to meet each other in 2003. Both teams were five outs away from destiny, and we watched as they both failed in heartbreaking fashion.

And now the teams who spoiled the high expectations of fans all over the country play in the climax to what has been one of the greatest months of playoff baseball in recent memory.

The Florida Marlins, considered a laughingstock in the league because of the fire sale they hold every three years to trade away expensive talent, bring excitement to the Series with their young pitching staff and feisty lineup. To beat the Cubs, the Fish needed to shut down Chicago's bats in late innings with clutch pitching and a few hits of their own. They clinched the Wild Card by coming together as a team, and with a combination of young talent and veteran leaders, the Marlins are not the underdogs they were in April.

Their lineup, with the exception of shortstop Alex Gonzalez, is a lesson in balance. At the top are base stealing threats Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo, both of whom are leadoff hitters who can scatter the ball to either field with a well-placed slap hit. Then it's the definition of the heart of the order: amazing RBI-machine Ivan Rodriguez, the boy wonder Miguel Cabrera, and Derrek Lee. If Yankee pitching can get through those five hitters without a run or two coming in, then they'll have to face healed star and former Yank Mike Lowell while surprising playoff hero Jeff Conine waits on deck. While the Boston Red Sox attempted to pound the ball to win games against New York, the Marlins come at the Yanks with a diverse lineup and plenty of speed. Remember: this is the lineup that beat Mark Prior and Kerry Wood to win the NLCS.

New York won't have to face phenomenal pitcher Josh Beckett until the third game in the series, meaning that Brad Penny, who has pitched terribly, and Dontrelle Willis will somehow have to pitch great games to get to Florida's terrific bullpen, which has three pitchers capable of closing any game: Chad Fox, Braden Looper, and Ugueth Urbina.

However, Florida has nothing in their arsenal of strong arms that compares to the Yankees bullpen. By bullpen, I'm only referring to only one man: the incomparable Mariano Rivera. With his performance in Game 7 of the ALCS, Rivera established that he is almost unhittable at the end of any game (with the exception of one pitch against a drawn-in infield a few years ago). And though Yankees starting pitching has not been as reliable as it has in recent years, no one wants to face David Wells, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens. Ever. Not even when their arms are remotely exhausted from a hard-fought seven-game series.

And how about Joe Torre's decision to put Jason Giambi in the seven-hole against the BoSox? My guess is he'll put Giambi right back in the three spot - all Torre did was make Giambi angry, and now Jason will become a massive threat in the series. He's surrounded by the most consistent October lineup in baseball: Alfonso Soriano may be dinger-less in the playoffs, but he's still a fantastic leadoff hitter . Then it's Mr. November, Derek Jeter, Giambi, and Bernie Williams, who may have lost a step but showed in the ALCS's seventh game why he's still batting cleanup. While the Fish may have a powerful lineup, the Yanks can flex muscle and consistency when it counts most. They've been here before and know how to handle every World Series scenario.

So if both teams appear evenly matched with some of the same strengths and weaknesses, what will decide a winner? Here are the five factors that will make the difference: 

1. The Old Guards: Jack McKeon. Joe Torre. They've been in the game for a very long time, and they've got the teams that are capable of a championship. But you have to wonder if they would have made a better decision than Grady Little did. It's that kind of thinking that wins one of these managers a ring... or, rather, another one.

2. The Wunderkid: He made Chicago pitching look like some of the minor league arms he faced at the beginning of the season. Now, Miguel Cabrera is tearing the cover off the ball and he's not a bad right fielder either. Can he finally be stopped?

3. Are you experienced?: A majority of the Yanks on the 2003 squad have at least one ring. Many of them have four. They don't know the meaning of the word "pressure."

4. The hits just keep on coming: How did the Marlins survive the Cubs' pitching and offense? Big innings (see Game 6) and clutch rallies in late innings got them this far. Now that they're in the biggest series of them all, it's time to make those rallies really count, or they'll be staring down the game's greatest cut fastball with time running out.

5. Simply put, it's the pinstripes: The Yankees may have shown holes in their armor this year, but they're back in the October classic and are hungry to win championship number 27. For the Marlins to win, they'll have to ignore the Bleacher Creatures, Monument Park, and hope for a sellout or two in their home park. However, no one thought they'd make it this far... will destiny intervene again?