The New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies have won their respective Championship Series and will play in the World Series, starting this Wednesday evening.

Here is my take on the matchup as to how it will play out and who may call themselves World Series Champions 2009:

World Series 2009

New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies

The Yankees open the series at home thanks to a 4-3 victory of the AL in this year’s All Star Game. They beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 6 games, making it possible to operate with a 3-man rotation once again. Rumour has it the Yankees don’t consider Chad Gaudin World Series material. Joba Chamberlain will likely remain in the bullpen. That makes CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte (the pitcher with the most postseason wins) the designated starting pitchers.

The Philadelphia Phillies will most likely operate with a 4-man rotation. Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Pedro Martinez are locks. Joe Blanton seems most likely to become the 4^th starter. Cliff Lee will start in Game 1 and the matchup with CC Sabathia is probably the best the MLB has to offer right now. Charlie Manuel has not announced a starter for Game 2 yet but I expect Pedro Martinez to get the nod. Cole Hamels has been better at home during the regular season and Pedro Martinez has experience pitching a playoff game in New York against the Yankees.

If you compare the top 3 starters with each other I’d give the Phillies a slight edge, but if you compare the 3-man rotation of the Yankees with the 4-man rotation of the Phillies the advantage is on the side of the Yankees.

The closers Mariano Rivera (NYY) and Brad Lidge (PHI) come into this Series with 3 saves apiece in 3 save opportunities.

The bullpen of the Yankees has been as solid as expected, accumulating an ERA of 2.28. Phil Hughes improved his ERA from 9.00 to 5.79 in the ALCS and Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera boast ERA’s of 2.70 and 0.84 respectively.

The bullpen of the Phillies is one if the reasons why they got this far. They give up nearly one run less compared to the regular season and Chad Durbin as well as Brad Lidge have yet to surrender an earned run.

I still have more faith in New York’s relief pitchers when the game gets to the final innings.

The line-ups of the Yankees and the Phillies are both very talented and powerful. The Yankees were batting better in the ALCS than in the ALDS but only have 3 players - Derek Jeter, A-Rod and Melky Cabrera - with a batting average of over .260 in the postseason. They have 5 players with an OBP of over .360. Alex Rodriguez has been absolutely outstanding with a OPS of 1.517. I still would like to see a bit more from Marc Teixeira.

The Phillies are still not batting very well against lefties, where they have a batting average of .189 in the postseason. Bear in mind that 2/3 of the Yankee rotation are southpaws! It should be pointed out, though, that the OBP against lefties is at a respectable .355. The Phillies were batting better in the NLDS. They have 5 players who are batting over .260 in this postseason and the exact same players have an OBP of over .360. It is hard to decide who’s been more impressive, Ryan Howard or Shane Victorino, but you shouldn’t overlook catcher Carlos Ruiz who is very productive from the the 8^th spot in the line-up. Chase Utley and Jayson Werth did not have their best stuff in the  NLCs and hopefully can step it up a notch in the World Series.

I like the Phillies line-up a bit better if the Yankees go for a 4-man rotation. If the Yankees opt for a 3-man rotation, and this is the more likely scenario, then I favour the Yankees line-up over the Phillies.