2014 WORD SERIES PREVIEW

The 2014 World Series Preview is brought to you by Jarl Jackson.

Tempe will face off against Hollywood in the 2014 MWBL World Series.

Both catchers have a surprisingly high OSBP which could be a key in a Series that should be dominated by the pitchers. Getting that extra base might get you that extra run. Overall Molina is the better hitting catcher. If he had enough PA Molina would have been third in the NL in Batting Average. Advantage TEM

Goldschmidt is a solid all around player. He was #2 in the AL in slugging, #1 in runs, 2^nd in home runs, and 2^nd in RBI. He also had an AL best errorless streak at 114 games. With Hollywood going with 3 southpaws in their projected rotation Davis may be limited to pinch hitting or late game defensive replacement opportunities. Playing in only 60 NL games he would have had the best slugging at .678 if he had qualified. Overall in the MWBL he was still 4^th in slugging, 3^rd in home runs, and on top in RBI’s. He also had the longest errorless streak in the MWBL at 126 games.  Fielder, not a bad defender but compared to Davis he’s a liability for Tempe. Offensively he can produce just not quite to the same level as the other two first basemen. Overall Goldschmidt was a slightly better defensive player and his ability to steal a base pushes him over Davis. Advantage HOL

Kinsler was 7^th in the AL in doubles, but across the board Cano is the better second baseman. On the NL leader board Cano was 7^th in slugging, 1^st in runs, and first in home runs. Advantage TEM

Other than stolen bases Tulo dominates the shortstop position. Tulowitzki was #1 in the NL in AVG, OBP, and SLG. He was also 6^th in runs, 3^rd in homers, and 4^th in RBI. Castro was 2^nd in the MWBL in assists. Advantage TEM

Beltre is the better defensive player and Cabrera is a slightly better hitter.  Cabrera led the AL in AVG, was 2nd in OBP, on top in slugging, third in hits, 2nd in runs, 1st in home runs, third in RBI, and had the 4th best On Base streak at 22 games. Beltre was third in the NL in hits, 3rd in runs, and 3rd in Runs Batted In. Beltre also tied for the 2nd longest hitting streak in the MWBL at 22 games. Advantage HOL

Hollywood outfielders have a little more power while the Tempe players have a better batting average. In the AL park Cuddyer will see time at DH against the lefty starting pitching for Hollywood while Braun would see time in the outfield, although Cespedes could also be an option with his power potential. As far as league leaders go Bruce was 6th in the AL in doubles, 4th in home runs, and first in RBI. Werth was 8th in the AL in HR. For Tempe Gonzalez had a pretty good power/speed combination. The outfielders are pretty evenly matched, but if Cuddyer sees significant playing time in the outfield then Tempe would have the advantage. Advantage EVEN.

Looking at these two teams you might think Tempe was the AL team by what they plan to use for DH’s. The potential Tempe DH’s crush those from Hollywood. Cuddyer would have led the MWBL in hitting if he had qualified. Advantage TEM

Its lefty’s vs. righties as both managers opt for a 3 man rotation. Both staffs were dominant during the season. Here’s how they stacked up on the leader boards. In the AL Kershaw was #1 in wins, #2 in starter ERA, #1 in IP, #1 in QS, #1 in QS streak at 22 games, 3^rd in consecutive shutout innings at 33.2, 3^rd in K’s and #1 in starting opponent batting avg. at 139. Lee was 4^th in IP, 5^th in QS, and 3^rd in QS streak at 12 games. Price was 4^th in wins. For the NL Iwakuma was #1 in wins, ERA, and consecutive shutout innings at 40. He was also #2 in IP, #4 in CG, #3 in QS, #3 in SHO, and #3 in starting opponent batting avg. at .168. Buchholz was #2 in QS streak at 12 games. During his time with Tempe Thornburg held opponents to a .175 batting average. It should be a good pitching duel whenever Kershaw and Iwakuma match up whether it’s one game, two games, or three. Either pitcher could dominate the opposing hitters. The question becomes will experience vs limited season experience win out? In this situation I go with the pitchers who’ve been fighting hard all year. Advantage HOL

Both teams have very strong bullpens. Both closers have sublime ERA’s and opponent batting average against. Uehara was #2 in the AL and Holland was #1 in the NL in ERA. Uehara OBA was .099 good for number 2 in the AL while Holland was #3 in the NL at .134. The difference between the two pens are the men who setup the closers. Howell had the most holds in the NL at 35 and Johnson had the most wins at 10. Howell also had the 4^th best OBA at .136.  Advantage TEM

Overall team stats and MWBL League rankings:

For the Tempe dynasty this will be their 12^th World Series appearance as they look to repeat for the 5^th time in the history of the MWBL and get their 9^th title. Hollywood looks for their first crown after going 0 for 2 in two previous World Series appearances. These same two clubs met in 2004.

You can see above how both staffs dominated their respected leagues. It will come down to which team has the most success hitting against them. Every game should be close and it could come down to one or two key plays each game. For Hollywood to have a chance their offense will have to score early and often. The strength of the late inning bullpen guys for Tempe will be enough to give them the Championship in 5 games.