Why are the Boston Red Sox going to win the World Series? Because they are the better team.
The Red Sox won 96 games during the regular season in the stronger of the two leagues, whereas the Rockies won only 90, including their play-in game versus the San Diego Padres. The Red Sox disposed of two teams in the playoffs - the Angels and the Indians - who were both much better than either of the teams the Rockies beat, the Phillies and Diamondbacks.
Boston has the best hitter in the series, David Ortiz. They have the best starting pitcher, Josh Beckett. And even though Colorado closer Manny Corpas is fantastic, Jonathan Papelbon is even better. Hideki Okajima is a better lefty out of the bullpen than Brian Fuentes and Manny Delcarmen is a better right-handed option than either Matt Herges or LaTroy Hawkins.
The Red Sox have a deeper starting rotation, as Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester are a more formidable threesome than Aaron Cook, Ubaldo Jiminez and Josh Fogg. Boston's pitching is enhanced by catcher Jason Varitek, who provides valuable leadership.
The pitching matchup in each game should favor the Red Sox. While Jeff Francis is a good pitcher, he's far from dominant and will be matched up against Josh Beckett, the ALCS MVP. The Red Sox match up particularly well with Ubaldo Jiminez, who can be very wild, because they are a very patient team. Boston also matches up well with Josh Fogg because, well, Fogg is a pretty bad pitcher. Aaron Cook is a poor man's Jake Westbrook (lots of ground balls, even fewer strikeouts than Westbrook) and the Red Sox scored five runs off of Westbrook in 12 innings in the ALCS.
The Red Sox have a number of hitters who are getting hot at the right time. First baseman Kevin Youkilis is hitting .425 in the postseason while Dustin Pedroia helped carry the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS, going 3-for-5 and tallying five RBIs. Then there is Mike Lowell. The third baseman surprisingly led Boston with 120 RBIs this season and has had a career year hitting behind Manny Ramirez in the fifth spot of the lineup.
And that's just in the infield.
Though they might not be as strong defensively as the Rockies' trio, the Sox' outfielders have been hitting well in the playoffs. Ramirez is one of the best hitters in the game, and has a .400 batting average and 14 RBIs so far in the postseason, while J.D. Drew is hitting over .300 in the postseason after struggling in his first year with the team.
Jacoby Ellsbury has supplanted the struggling Coco Crisp in center field. The 23-year-old performed well under pressure in Games 6 and 7 of the ALCS, and he adds speed to the bottom of the Boston lineup without much of a drop-off in defense from the Gold Glove caliber of Crisp.
And of course, Boston has Ortiz, who is far greater than whoever the Rockies choose to use as a designated hitter in Fenway. While the Red Sox will have to bench either Lowell or Youkilis in the games at Coors Field in order to get Ortiz's bat into the lineup, he is still a significant upgrade over whomever the Rockies opt to use as a DH.
Overall, the Rockies' bullpen may be able to keep pace with the Red Sox's, but this won't matter when the Red Sox jump on the Rockies' starters early and often. The Rockies have not seen an offense as patient, deep and balanced as the Red Sox's all season long. The offensive advantage Colorado had in the NLCS over Arizona is negated by the Red Sox, who actually outscored the Rockies in the regular season despite facing tougher competition in the AL.
The Rockies enter the World Series on an incredible roll. However, none of the teams they defeated during their amazing 21 wins in 22 games were as good as this Boston team. None of the pitchers they faced - not Cole Hamels, Brandon Webb or even Jake Peavy - is as good as Josh Beckett. No hitter is as good as David Ortiz, and no closer is as dominant as Jonathan Papelbon. The Red Sox are the best team in the tougher league, and they will be the most difficult challenge the Rockies have faced all season.
Strange things can happen in a short series. But if this series is determined by which team has more talent, better hitting and better pitching, the Red Sox will win handily.
