The 2009 Major League Baseball World Series is finally upon us.  The best teams from the American and National League will meet in the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees.

Let’s take a look position by position to see who will win the series.

Catcher

Philadelphia: Carlos Ruiz, just an average catcher.  Handles the pitching staff well, can keep runners in check, and provide some pop from time to time.

New York: Jorge Posada/Juan Molina.  Posada is still a very good hitter but has had a problem getting together with AJ Burnett, so Molina will catch him.  The Angels are going to run on Posada.  They did even before he had shoulder surgery, so you know they are going to now.  Throwing lefthanders in five of the seven games may slow the Angels down, but it won’t stop them.  Molina couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat, but he is a much better defensive catcher than Posada and has seemed to develop a rapport with Burnett which makes him his personal catcher.

Advantage:  New York

First Base

Philadelphia: Ryan Howard, a playoff monster who always seems to come up with the big hit for the Phillies.  Batting cleanup behind Chase Utley and in front of Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez forces teams to pitch to Howard, and any mistake can end up 450 feet away.  Howard is not the best defensive first baseman, but not the worst either.

New York:  Mark Teixeira has given the Yankees everything they could have wanted as a $180 million free agent acquisition.  Provides power from both sides of the plate and maybe even more importantly for the Yankees, he is an excellent defensive first baseman who is adept at picking balls out of the dirt thrown by his infielders.

Advantage: Even

Second Base

Philadelphia: Chase Utley, for my money Utley is the best second baseman in the game.  He can do it all, has power and speed and is very good defensively.  Teams have to pick their poison when pitching to the Phillies lineup, do u go at Utley or Howard, not much fun for a manager.  Utley had an outstanding NLDS, batting .429 with two home runs but seemed to lose a little steam in the NLCS.

New York:  Robinson Cano would be a number three or five hitter on most teams, but for the loaded Yankee lineup bats seventh or eighth.  Offensively Cano can do it all.  Is at his best when he is not looking to pull the ball all the time.  Has had problems driving in runs at times.  Defensively he makes the great play, especially up the middle, but misses the easy one occasionally.

Advantage: Philadelphia

Shortstop

Philadelphia:  Jimmy Rollins, had an up and down regular season.  Was terrible in the first half, very good in the second.  Neither one really matters much now.  Rollins has the experience you want and doesn’t dwell on the negatives from AB to AB.  Also got to love that he can take you deep at any moment.

New York: Derek Jeter has had an MVP like season and it continued during the ALDS and ALCS.  Jeter and ARod have been the only reliable offensive threats through the first two rounds of the playoffs.  Jeter has also made several defensive gems just by being aware of what’s going on around him.

Advantage: Even

Third Base

Philadelphia: Pedro Feliz stranded a boatload of runners so far in the playoffs, but can provide the occasional pop.  All in all not a reliable offensive threat.  Good fielder though.

New York: Alex Rodriguez has had huge playoffs so far.  Angels manager Mike Scioscia thought it would be better to walk Rodriguez rather than take a chance he would hit one out.  ARod looks to have removed the gorilla from his back and if he continues his hot postseason, than he just might bring a World Series trophy to New York.

Advantage: New York

Right field

Philadelphia:  Jayson Werth has quietly had an MVP like season.  Can hit for power, steal a base, or drive in a run with a single.  Truly an all around threat.  Doesn’t get the recognition he deserves playing in a lineup with Howard and Utley.  Outside of Howard, has been the Phillies biggest offensive threat so far this postseason.

New York: Nick Swisher has given the Yankees everything they could’ve wanted since being acquired from the White Sox.  He wasn’t supposed to be a starter, but when Xavier Nady went down, Swisher took over.  He and AJ Burnett gave the Yankees a needed jolt of enthusiasm rather than the workmanlike attitude they always had.  Unfortunately Swisher hasn’t hit a lick in the playoffs so far

Advantage:  Philadelphia

Centerfield

Philadelphia:  Shane Victorino, reminds me of the little engine that could.  Big time leader for the Phillies who is a little ball of energy.  Like Rollins, he can be a nightmare for opposing teams when he is on base, but he can also hit the long ball.

New York: Melky Cabrera is really nothing more than a glorified fourth outfielder.  Offensively he is an average switch hitter who can be exposed from the right side.  Defensively he gets to most balls, has a plus arm but doesn’t always know where the ball is going.

Advantage: Philadelphia

Leftfield

Philadelphia: Raul Ibanez, most thought the Phillies overpaid for Ibanez during the offseason, but he was earning every penny of his contract and then some with a torrid start to the season.  A groin injury slowed him down some, but Ibanez is still a threat at the plate.

New York: Johnny Damon has had an up and down postseason so far.  He looked awful against the Twins in the ALDS and it seemed the effects of a long season may have been catching up with him.  However he rebounded in the ALCS against the Angels.  Defensively, Damon has no arm and will be run on constantly.  Going back on a ball is certainly not his strong suit.  Brett Gardner comes in to the game in the later innings to replace him.

Advantage:  Philadelphia

Designated Hitter

Philadelphia: Ben Francisco and Matt Stairs will be the players that the Phillies will use here.  Francisco will play leftfield and Ibanez will actually DH against lefties, Stairs will DH against righties.  Francisco can be useful as a fourth outfielder but as a DH he leaves something to be desired offensively.  Stairs will try and hit every pitch he sees out of the stadium.

New York: Hideki Matsui has had a tremendous season for the Yankees in a somewhat limited role.  Matsui can hit lefthanders or right-handers and hit them hard.  One of the better clutch hitters the Yankees have.  That being said, he looks awful right now.

Advantage: New York

Philadelphia: Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Pedro Martinez, Joe Blanton:  Solid staff with two lefthanders to combat the Yankees left-handed attack.  Pedro will start Game 2 in Yankee Stadium.  Not a surprise that he pitches, just that manager Charlie Manuel has decided to let him start in Yankee Stadium, usually you want to throw lefties there.  Hamels needs to revert back to his form from last year’s playoff run where he was pretty much unhittable.  Lee has been great.  Totally dominated the Rockies in the NLDS and the Dodgers in the NLCS.   Blanton has pitched much better this season than expected and throws strikes.

New York: CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettitte, Chad Gaudin.  The Yankees haven’t announced whether all three starters will pitch on three days rest, probably not.  Sabathia can do it, but the rest would be better off on full rest.  Burnett is still a worry.  His one start against Minnesota looked great as he only let up three hits, but he also walked five and hit two batters.  Against the Angels he had one good and one bad start.  The Phillies have the hitters to make him pay if he puts too many batters on base.  Pettitte has always been a big game pitcher.  He is also the one Yankee starter who can keep the Phillies running game in check.  Gaudin would be a gamble as he has only pitched one inning since Oct. 3, so there is no telling what he might do.

Advantage: Even

Bullpen

Philadelphia: Brad Lidge, if Lidge has regained his feel for pitching, and he has looked good so far this postseason, than the Phillies bullpen lines up perfectly with Ryan Madson being the setup guy, if Lidge has the yips again than the Phillies are in trouble.

New York:  Mariano Rivera is the best closer ever; I don’t think there is much debate there.  The rest of the Yankee bullpen has been a bit shaky but has still managed to get the job done.  Phil Hughes needs to relax and get his emotions under control.

Advantage:  New York

Intangibles

Philadelphia:  They won’t be intimidated playing in Yankee Stadium having done so earlier this season.  They are the defending champs.  While the Yankees have struggled hitting with RISP, the Phillies have been rolling.  Manager Charlie Manuel has pushed all the right buttons so far.

New York:  Hopefully Mystique and Aura are playing now.  The Yankees have yet to lose a postseason game at home.  Manager Joe Girardi has made some questionable moves so far this postseason and does tend to micromanage just a bit.  Yankees will need to score more runs in this series than they did against Minnesota and Los Angeles, therefore they need to hit much better with RISP.

Prediction

Philadelphia in 7