1/30/08

Superbowl MLB: Part II

Here at 108 Red Stitches, we're growing weary of the constant debate and speculation regarding which baseball team has the best chances of winning the World Series. So we bring you part two of our two part installment of "Superbowl MLB; A Look at Which Baseball Team Could Win the Superbowl". Part II covers the National League Contenders. (Part One: AL)
For argument's sake, well use only a handful of teams to compare, one's that are normally (or would be considered) World Series Contenders. To balance out "position eligibility" catchers will equate to the team's position known as the Center and the team's front line starter will be considered the Quarterback. Every other position is fair game. Realizing that there aren't enough baseball players to fill out a football team, we'll base our studies on the theory that "Offense Wins Championships". Based on 2007 Season Rosters. Let's Continue.

New York Mets:

O-line: Paul LoDuca, Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, Shawn Green, and Ramon Castro make up one of the most un-inspiring offensive lines in the league. Not only are they slow, they're creaky old men who'd likely spend anywhere from 6-8 games a season on the Physically Unable to Perform List.

Quarterback: Pedro Martinez starts the season as the QB and gets nailed on the first play of the game. He's out for the rest of the season allowing for a Bledsoe/Brady type situation where John Maine comes in and leads the team to the playoffs.

RB/FB: This one is a obvious. Jose Reyes in the open field is probably as dangerous as Reggie Bush or LT. The only problem is his offensive line shuts down faster than a cupcake factory does when Artie Lange leaves town. Carlos Gomez acts as a good second option to give Reyes a breather.

WR/TE: Pretty decent receiving duo with Beltran and Wright. After those two, the depth chart is pretty scary looking.

Defensive Highlight: This team would need to put up 35-40 points a game to remain in the playoff hunt. They have no end-game. Sounds oddly similar to last season.


St. Louis Cardinals:

O-line: Yadiar Molina anchors a scruffy o-line. Alongside Molina; Scott Spiezio, Scott Rolen, Chris Duncan, and Jason LaRue

QB- Jason Isringhausen would make a fine QB due to his career. Being both a starter and a closer allows Izzy to have the emotional and mental makeup of a good QB that'll pace his team throughout the first 3 quarters, and then know how to finish off the opposition in the 4th.

RB/FB- The run game is almost completely ignored. Due to the fact that any of their big guys who might be considered RB material are manning the O-line, the running came suffers. But that's not the end of the world because:

WR/TE: Albert Pujols is Cardinal version of Antonio Gates. He'll block for the run, helping out a weak run game, but in the Red Zone he's a huge target that will cause huge mismatches. Rick Ankiel and Adam Wainwright fill out the two receiver slots.

Defensive Highlight: The Cards offense is simply put; awful. Chris Duncan will have to go both ways in order to spark some life into a defense that quickly bottoms out.

Unlike their American League Counterparts, the National League (after second thought) probably doesn't have enough man power to fill out a decent football team. The lack of a DH in the NL causes teams to pick up more arms and more guys that are decent hitters (off the bench, not off a screen pass). Sure some teams have guys like Ryan Howard and Carlos Lee (who wouldn't pay money to see Howard level Pedro Martinez in the backfield).
Who wouldn't love to see Greg Maddux kick a game winning field goal against the Rockies, only to find out seconds later that Clint Hurdle called a timeout, causing Matt Holiday to block Maddux's follow up kick and hear the announcer scream Troy Tulowitski at the 40, the 30, the twenty.... TOUCHDOWN TULOWITSKI!!!

Ah, one could always dream.

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