Top 10 World Series Matchups
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The World Series is now less than 24 hours away. It's the day baseball fans have been waiting for since April 1. While some may have predicted the Sox to be there, the Rox are certainly a surprise to most. Regardless of who picked whom in the preseason, the Sox and Rox are poised to get it on on Fox.
Besides the Red Sox and their inevitable matchup with the corks on the champagne bottles, here are 10 other World Series matchups I'm looking forward to:
Todd Helton vs. Boston Red Sox Helton made preseason headlines by nearly jumping ship from the Rockies to the Red Sox. And who would have blamed him? Eleven seasons with the Rockies, and no postseason appearances! It will be interesting to see what sort of impact Helton has on this Fall Classic knowing that he could have been in the opposite dugout for the series.
Rox Rookie Starters vs. Sox Offense It's no secret that the Red Sox have struggled against young pitching this year. They've lost to the likes of Brian Burres, Lenny DiNardo, Ryan Feierabend, and Jesse Litsch. The Rox have two rookies at the back end of their rotation: Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales.
Troy Tulowitzki vs. Dustin Pedroia Potential NL Rookie of the Year against potential AL Rookie of the Year. It's eerie how similar their styles of play are.
Matt Holliday vs. Mike Lowell Potential NL MVP against potential AL MVP. Holliday has a better chance of winning his respective MVP than does Lowell because of guys named Rodriguez and Ordonez. But make no mistake; the Rox and Sox are here because these two guys carried them this far.
Dinger the Triceratops vs. Wally the Green Monster Who doesn't love a mascot brawl? It's tough to say who would win this matchup, though, if the two mascots actually went to fisticuffs. Dinger is a triceratops, so he does have that big horn at the end of his snout. But, on the other hand, Wally is a monster. This may have to be settled by a sausage race.
Josh Beckett vs. Rox Offense I'm not sure as if anyone can touch Josh Beckett this postseason. He's been unhittable. In three postseason starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA with 26 strikeouts against only one walk. He'll be fun to watch regardless of the opponent.
Manny Corpas vs. Jonathan Papelbon These two guys were two of the most dominant closers in baseball this season. They both have electric stuff and are extremely fun to watch pitch. Corpas has been lights out this postseason with a 1.07 ERA and five saves. If anyone witnessed Papelbon's six out save in Game 7 of the ALCS, you know how lights out he can be as well. The best we can hope for is that each game of the World Series ends with one of these guys on the hill.
Jacoby Ellsbury vs. Colorado Rockies Anything Jacoby Ellsbury does is exciting. He can hit. He can run. He can field. He's one of those players who you just can't help but take your eyes off of when he plays because you don't want to miss him do something that people will talk about tomorrow. The word out of Boston is that Ellsbury will be starting Game 1 in place of Coco Crisp.
Kaz Matsui vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka With all the hype surrounding the matchups between Dice-K and both Ichiro and Hideki Matsui, there is nowhere near the buzz surrounding this potential matchup of former countrymen. Surely, they would have had to compete against each other at some point in Japan. And, on top of that, this is the first postseason appearance for both.
David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez vs. Coors Field You know, I hear the air is thinner in Denver. How far will they fly?
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