So, we can track who has done well and who has spit the bit.

Phillies-Brewers

Stark: 3-1 PHI
Olney: 3-1 PHI
Neyer: 3-1 PHI
Law: 3-1 PHI
Klapsich: 3-1 PHI
Crasnick: 3-1 PHI
Kurkjian: 3-2 PHI
Nelson: 3-1 PHI
Phillips: 3-1 PHI
Caple: 3-1 PHI

Jaffe: 3-1 PHI

Dodgers-Cubs

Stark: 3-1 CHC
Olney: 3-2 CHC
Neyer: 3-0 CHC
Law: 3-1 CHC
Klapsich: 3-1 CHC
Crasnick: 3-1 CHC
Kurkjian: 3-2 CHC
Nelson: 3-2 CHC
Phillips: 3-1 CHC
Caple: 3-2 LAD

Red Sox-Angels

Stark: 3-2 BOS
Olney: 3-2 LAA
Neyer: 3-2 BOS
Law: 3-1 BOS
Klapsich: 3-2 LAA
Crasnick: 3-2 LAA
Kurkjian: 3-2 LAA
Nelson: 3-1 LAA
Phillips: 3-2 BOS
Caple: 3-2 LAA

Sheehan: 3-1 BOS

Rays-White Sox

Stark: 3-1 TAM
Olney: 3-2 TAM
Neyer: 3-1 TAM
Law: 3-0 TAM
Klapsich: 3-1 TAM
Crasnick: 3-2 TAM
Kurkjian: 3-2 TAM
Nelson: 3-2 TAM
Phillips: 3-1 TAM
Caple: 3-1 TAM

Phillies-Dodgers

Stark: 4-3 LA
Kurkjian: 4-3 LA
Neyer: 4-3 PHI (waffled in a chat and asked to change his vote to LA)
Phillips: 4-3 LA
Law: 4-1 LA
Caple: 4-1 LA

Sheehan: 4-2 PHI
Jaffe: 4-2 LA

Red Sox-Rays

Stark: 4-2 BOS
Crasnick: 4-2 BOS
Neyer: 4-2 TAM
Phillips: 4-3 BOS
Olney: 4-2 TAM
Law: 4-3 TAM

Sheehan: 4-2 BOS

and then World Series predictions

Gammons: 4-3 PHI
Caple: 4-0 TAM
Law: 4-2 TAM
Kurkjian: 4-3 TAM
Neyer: 4-1 TAM
Stark: 4-2 PHI
Crasnick: 4-2 PHI
Woj: 4-3 TAM
Klapsich: 4-2 TAM
Keri: 4-3 TAM

Sheehan: 4-2 TAM


If Im missing any, please post them.

ek wrote:how about this

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2 ... id=3656676

Wow, the Rays must have won like 130 games this season. I had no idea they were this good. I guess the way they swept the White Sox and Red Sox by a combined score of 124-3 should have tipped me off, but it didn't.

I think the Phillies should just concede the whole thing now, and save everyone the trouble. No stopping these best-team-ever-in-the-history-of-the-whole-universe Rays.

Great. I love it when the "experts" pick against us.

17-0 remember that

duh, I meant 19-0 or whatever

This is all such bunk. Of course the team that gets better starting pitching will win - it's been that way for 103 world series before this one. I don't need a computer to tell me that. And the Phillies have gotten great starting pitching and could continue to get it in the WS.

JIM CAPLE:

I pick the Rays to sweep because the American League is that much superior to the National League, which once again got smoked in interleague play and the All-Star Game. It's like the majors versus AAA.

Warszawa wrote:JIM CAPLE:

I pick the Rays to sweep because the American League is that much superior to the National League, which once again got smoked in interleague play and the All-Star Game. It's like the majors versus AAA.

YEah I saw that. Here we go again. Just like the NFC is the JV division in football and the eastern conference is the weakest in basketball. You'd think that after the Giants, Celtics, Heat and Cards all won titles despite coming from "weaker" conferences/leages that the experts wouldnt give so much weight to that argument. I guess not.

Penn State can't keep up with the SEC's speed.

ek wrote:how about this

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2 ... id=3656676

ok, that makes me want to go all justin1592.

it sure is a good thing they actually have to play the games.

1 wrote:

ek wrote:how about this

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2 ... id=3656676

ok, that makes me want to go all justin1592.

it sure is a good thing they actually have to play the games.

1 - That is the best avatar ever.

1 wrote:

ek wrote:how about this

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2 ... id=3656676

ok, that makes me want to go all justin1592.

it sure is a good thing they actually have to play the games.

Using 2008 stats to project this series is worthless in the Phillies case, especially when the article makes such a point of the pitching disparity between the two teams (outside of Hamels). When you look at Myers and Blanton's numbers for the whole year they do seem pretty crappy but they are not really indicative of the pitchers they are now. Maybe thats what most of these "experts" keep missing. As a matter of fact I bet a lot of these "experts" haven't seen the Phillies play more than a handful of games this year, and some probably haven't seen them play at all. They'll just take a look at Brett Myers' stats and say "he stinks". And the only two Jamie Moyer starts these experts saw all year were probably the two in the playoffs. The fact is that Moyer was one of the best LHP in the NL this past season and he is going against a team that is mediocre at best against left handed pitching. They see what they want to see. Don't believe the hype.

but the rays have cliff floyd!

I hate Cliff Floyd

Sports Illustrated:
Verducci: Phillies 4-3
Heyman: Phillies 4-2
Albert Chen: Phillies 4-2
Michael Bamberger: Phillies 4-3
John Donovan: Rays 4-2
Ben Reiter: Rays 4-3
Lee Jenkins: Rays 4-2
Ted Keith: Rays 4-2
Genarro Filice: Rays 4-2

After correctly predicting that the St. Louis Cardinals would win 2006 World Series in five games, that Kansas would defeat Memphis in March Madness (as of Selection Sunday), that Detroit would win the Stanley Cup (before the playoffs) and that Boston would win the NBA Championship in six games, sports simulation website WhatIfSports.com likes the Philadelphia Phillies to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games in this year's World Series. These teams are built similarly with great defense up the middle, strong front-end starting pitchers, a balanced lineup and a dominant bullpen (at least until Game 5 of the ALCS). Tampa Bay has homefield advantage, which has meant a lot to them this season, but, ultimately the edge goes to the Phillies because of their power. On average, Philadelphia hits three more homeruns in the series than the Rays.

WhatIfSports used its award-winning SimLeague Baseball simulation engine to "play" the World Series 10,001 times. Philadelphia wins just 51.2% of those series, with the most common occurrence being a seven-game series win by the Phillies (16.6% of all series have this result - a six-game Tampa Bay victory is next at 16.4%).

link

For the simulations, we chose to start Pat Burrell at DH when facing the Rays' lone left-handed starting pitcher, Scott Kazmir in Game 1, and Eric Bruntlett in left field. For the other games against the Rays' right-handers, we assumed Greg Dobbs would DH.

Charlie, you magnificent #$%! Coste's the monkeywrench in the simulator machine!

Why don't we just let Diamond Mind and SimLeague Baseball face off head to head. Or better yet, have the Phils and Rays actually play 10,000 serieseses.

I know WhatIfSports is pretty good at doing this in its simulations, but I wonder about how well some of these sims handle situational decisions, as in bringing in a left-handed reliever to face a lefty, or using double-switches. Those always seem like they'd be tough adjustments to program. And I don't know how good Maddon is with those, but I know Cholly's one of the best in the NL at situational decisions, particularly with platoons.

Warszawa wrote:JIM CAPLE:

I pick the Rays to sweep because the American League is that much superior to the National League, which once again got smoked in interleague play and the All-Star Game. It's like the majors versus AAA.

Yeah, I remember the All-Star game this year. The NL was just demolished, smoked really. I had to cover my son's eyes because it was such a beating.