Who will be "Picking Up" the Trophy?

by Ben Barker

Editorial, Photos by AP News

New York or Philadelphia?

Whichever power-house goes on to win the World Series will most likely be recognized as the most dominant team of the decade. Whether you want to admit it or not, these two teams match up better than two World Series bound teams have in a long time.

So who has the edge? Who is going to win it all? To determine this, we need to look at a certain stat that has never been recorded in the history of the MLB. This stat is “Picking Each other Up.” Whether it is Pedro Martinez going seven strong when the offense is in a lull, or Nick Swisher adding 29 homeruns to the bottom of a potent Yankee lineup, “Picking Each other Up,” or PEO, has been present in every Championship team that I can remember.

The Phillies will march into New York with flames at their heels. Winners of 18 of their last 23 post-season games, the Phillies seem to “get it” when it comes to the playoffs and the PEO department. Just look at Matt Stairs in game 4 of the 2008 NLCS. You just can’t PEO any better than that. Even during the regular season when a struggling Jimmy Rollins could only manage a .250 batting average, the Phillies bent, but never broke. To pick up the slack, right fielder Jason Werth came through with a huge season, belting 36 homeruns out of the 5 or 6 spot of the lineup all year. Not only that, but Raul Ibanez had a first-half for the ages, batting at a shiny .329 clip with 22 HR and 60 RBI.

PEO - it’s why the Phillies won last year, and it’s why they’re back in 2009.

The Yankees decided to ensure a team with great PEO numbers by once again opening their wallets. Heading into the World Series, the Yankees boast the most powerful lineup in all of baseball. It showed during the regular season when the Yankees seemed to walk-off with a victory at least once a week. Even in the rare cases that the Yankee offense has been caught sleeping, the starting pitching has “picked up” the slack. C.C. Sabathia has been untouchable in the playoffs to this point, and Andy Pettite is looking like his old self. As hot at the Phillies are, the Yankees aren’t far behind. Suffering only 2 losses in the playoffs thus far, New York seems to be focused on getting some bling.

So who will take it all? These two teams match up so perfectly that the winner of the All-Star game might actually mean something this year. Everyone expects this series to go at least 5 or 6 games, so home field advantage weighs pretty heavily on the outcome of the series. Nevertheless, there is a lot on the table for both teams this year, it all comes down to who wants to “pick up” the bill.

My opinion? Phillies win it in 6. Baseball needs another “team to beat” and I think that the Phillies are ready to be that team. Charlie Manuel has the brains, Ryan Howard has the brawn, Cliff Lee has the arm, and pretty soon, they will all have the ring…again.