By Matthew Kurtz

Maroon-News Staff

The World Series favorite this year has to be the Philadelphia Phillies. In the playoffs, and when the World Series is decided, more often than not the team with the most balanced offense and a great pitching staff usually rises to overcome its competition. Last year, the San Francisco Giants ended the season on top and with their loaded pitching staff it is easy to see why. With young talents Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain at the helm, baseball fans last year should not have been the least bit surprised to see the Giants beat the Texas Rangers and become World Series cham­pions. This year, the “can’t-miss” team is the Phillies. Their offense is already stacked with the likes of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, but now they have a dominant pitching staff that is unlike anything the baseball world has seen in a very long time. Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and the addi­tion of Cliff Lee makes this a pitching staff that is not only formidable but literally reads like a group of All Star selections. This staff is absolutely loaded for the post­season and if all of these studs can stay healthy during the regular season, then these Phillies can look at winning upwards of 110 games and a World Series Title. They are undoubtedly the favorite going into spring training.

By Adam Settle

Maroon-News Staff

As the great Terrence Bundley would say, “Say it a million times. Then say it a million more. And the rotation you will have said two million times is Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels. Halladay, Lee, Os­walt, Hamels. Yes!” That would be a grand total of 13 All-Star appearances, three Cy Youngs, and a World Series MVP. I would say that is a pretty good base to start with. Mix in one of the most potent lineups year in and year out with tons of postseason ex­perience, go ahead and throw in one of the best 8th and 9th inning combinations at the back end of the bullpen and you have yourself a meal fit for a world champion. The Phillies have caught the “Sawks” and the “Empire” as one of the premier fran­chises in baseball, winning four straight division titles, a national league pennant and a World Series along the way. The team comes into this year with expecta­tions of World Series or bust and should be able to shake the loss of Jayson “The Beard” Werth with the freakishly talented outfielder Domonic Brown stepping in as a possible Rookie of the Year contender. The Phils are going to win it all.

By Jordan Plaut

National Sports Editor

As a San Francisco Giants fan, it would be easy for me to choose the World Champions as pre-season favorites. They have the same amazing pitching staff, an improved lineup and looked poised to repeat. However, it is so difficult in any sport to win back-to-back championships and baseball is no different. What about the Giants’ NLCS foes, the Phillies? Phil­adelphia seems to have all the pieces to make a successful run to the tile, from hit­ting to unbelievable pitching to defense. Still, going with the Phillies is kind of a hard choice to make as a Giants fan so I’ll steer away from the NL East studs and play devil’s advocate. Instead, my choice is an American League power in the Boston Red Sox. Though they missed the playoffs last year with an 89-73 record, the Sox had to deal with a good number of key inju­ries that limited their chances for success. This year, however, Boston comes in with a healthy roster and two new proven stars in first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and out­fielder Carl Crawford. With solid pitch­ing, this tandem has the power to carry the Sox all the way to a division title. After that, they will face little competition until the World Series where a matchup with ei­ther the Phillies or Giants will likely go to six or seven games. Boston has been field­ing good teams every year since their last World Series title in 2007 and they will break though once again in 2011.