Compeer Comparisons

ESPN has a decent comparison of the key positions. I would disagree on the bullpens (edge Angels) and managers (edge Giants), but overall it's OK.

I have a problem with these simplistic approaches in general and have avoided doing them in the playoffs because a) there are tons of those already and what am I going to say that hasn't been said already and b) I don't think this approach really tells you all that much-Bonds' superiority to Anderson is canceled out by Erstad's edge over Lofton, which does not accurately reflect the true match-ups. Besides Bonds is not matching up against Anderson but rather against the Angels' pitchers and the defense in a given situation. Bonds and Anderson just happen to play the same position.

I will try to take a shot at key match-ups in the series and how they might affect the outcome. My gut feeling is Giants in 6, which is what both this analysis and the computer simulation came up with. Therefore, I am almost certain that the Angels will win. Now I'd like to put some thought into it and see if I can say something meaningful on the topic. Or in other words, enough of my jive, let's boogie.

Did I mention that there is a 4-day break before the World Series?