Sizing Up Baseball's Triumvirate.

While nothing is life is ever a given, it's pretty clear to anyone who pays attention to baseball that three teams rise above all going into the 2010 season. The Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox are all equipped to make a run for the title. All three bring great hitting, pitching and defense to the table, as well as considerable postseason experience. This week's article will focus on how the Phillies pitching matches up against the Red Sox hitting.

Phillie pitchers vs. Red Sox hitters

Quietly lurking on the 2010 horizon is the impending rise of the Boston Red Sox. Two year removed from their 2007 title, the Sox will be looking to overtake the Yankees and prove once again that the Curse of the Bambino is long gone.

Key to the Red Sox 2004 and 2007 success was the dynamic one-two punch of Ramirez and Ortiz. Old age and steroid testing has ended that gravy train. Manny is gone, as is his replacement Jason Bay. Mike Cameron will continue to defy father time by manning center-field (with Ellsbury taking left) in 2010. Despite his consistency, he's no where close to Ramirez with the bat. Ortiz is still around, but is a shell of the hitter he was when the Red Sox first got him. No longer able to play the field, Ortiz's role in recent years has been strictly as a DH. And in 2009, he failed in that role as well. It is hard to tell how much of his decline could be due to PEDs, old age, or just a regular slump. Fortunately for the Red Sox, Mike Lowell remains a solid DH option if Ortiz proves to be a dud in 2010 as well.

While the Red Sox may not have their powerful Manny-Ortiz duo, they make up for it with a pretty deep and balanced lineup. Leading off are two homegrown stars in Ellsbury and Pedroia. These two give the Red Sox two of the game's best table setters. Both are fast, can get on base, hit for some power and play great defense. Scutaro gives the Red Sox another potential table setter at short. Depending on how things go with the other hitters, the Red Sox could decide to move one of Ellsbury and Pedroia to the middle of their order.

Behind the table setters are a string of very good hitters. Ortiz, Lowell and Cameron have been discussed already. There is also Beltre, Youkilis, Martinez and Philly favorite J.D. Drew. These guys can hit, but none are as dangerous as Manny and Ortiz were a few years back. Drew has always been regarded as having one of the best swings in all of baseball. But without the motivation of playing for a new deal, he seems content being an average hitter. In a short playoff series, Drew could be a world beater if he actually cared about winning. Youkilis has emerged as the Red Sox's best run producer. His OPS over the last two years has actually been better then Ryan Howard's, and he is pretty darn good with the glove as well. Victor Martinez gives the Red Sox very good production from the catcher position, and is a switch hitter to boot.

Beltre is the wild card here. Signed at the age of 16 by the Dodgers, Beltre has always been regarded as a potential phenom. His last year in Los Angelos seemed to indicate a realization of this potential. Unfortunatly the deep walls of Safeco field and injuries seemed to have kept Beltre's offensive production to just average levels. In Boston, Beltre's line drive power might prove quite fruitful with the Green Monster in left. While a repeat of his last season in LA is probably not likely, it is possible that he could put up an OPS in the .850-.900 level.

Besides Lowell, the Sox also have Varitek and Hermida on their bench. And in a game at the Bank, they'd probably have Ortiz as well. The Red Sox might end up having the best bench in all of baseball in 2010.

The 2010 Red Sox lineup won't be as dangerous as the 2009 Yankee lineup. However, they might be as good as the 2010 Yankee lineup. It's a deep and balanced lineup with good on-base guys at the top and solid run producers all the way down to the number nine spot. And with their bench, they will have pinch hitters they can use during a World Series game at the Bank. Phille pitching has already been discussed in part one of this article. To summarize, Phillie starting pitching as well as the bullpen should be slightly improved in 2010. And there is still the very strong possibility that the Phillies bring in another quality starter by the trade deadline.

The Phillies probably won't get shelled by this lineup like they did in the 2009 World Series. But they probably won't be able to shut them down either, even with Doc or Cole on the mound.

Written by krukster