“Team identity” will decide the series.

When there are clear, articulable reasons for favoring one team, just say it… “I like the Dodgers’ power pitchers,” “They’re rolling right now, just beat the Cubs,” etc.

Instead you just sound like you’re favoring one outcome and finding ex post reasoning to justify your decision.

FAIL!

Eduardo Perez is a disgrace to Baseball Tonight, which is saying something because the baseball analysis provided there is often borderline criminal. Perez makes Eric “EY” Young and Kruk look like geniuses.

The Dodgers got Manny late and they got Furcal back very late in the season.

The phils swept the dodgers in philly (with manny, sans Furcal I believe) the phils got swept in LA (I don’t know who they did or didn’t have)

It’ll come down to the pitching I believe, If Myers pitches like Myers can and BLanton pitches over his head like he did yesterday I really like the phils chances.

The bats of Utley and Howard MUST awaken from their slumbers as well.

And if the starting 3rd baseman and catcher could learn how to take major league at bats by thursday that would be awesome

The Dodgers look like the slightly better team on paper, though it’s close across the board.

Their lineup rates a tiny edge over the Phillies, mostly by virtue of the yawning gap between Martin and Ruiz. At every other position it’s close to a tossup one way or the other; were Utley fully healthy, I’d take him in a big way over DeWitt, but as is, I’d call it only a slight edge. Rollins/Furcal, Kemp/Victorino, Howard/Loney, Ramirez/Burrell… all pretty close.

In terms of bench, the Dodgers probably have a bigger advantage—certainly they’ve got more money sitting idly, but even if you’re talking marginally useful, Pierre >>> Taguchi, Nomar >>> Bruntlett, etc.

The Phils’ rotation probably has a higher ceiling: if Hamels and Myers are at their very best, I like them better than Lowe and Billingsley. Moyer and Kuroda is more or less a wash, and right now I take Blanton over Kershaw or Maddux.

I like the Dodgers’ bullpen a bit better than ours, solely because of Broxton: when that guy’s on, it’s almost inconceivable that he allows anything.

Home field helps us a bit.

If I had to make a prediction right now, I’d say, without a ton of confidence, Phils in 7.

I do go to bed with said pangs of uncertainty hoping they don’t start Ruiz. I guess I should just get used to it? Seriously: did Coste die?

Just got to hear Charley Steiner and some other boob on XM 175 talking about how Red Sox / Dodgers is the matchup “everyone really wants to see.” I guess with Steiner it makes sense (Dodgers guy).

I really, really want to see them get their Cheerios peed into.

These commentators just have to come up with ridiculous theories so they can show you that you know nothing and they know everything. Like Kruk saying last week that the left side of the infield will determine the outcome of the Phillies/Brewers series – it’s all crap. If they said “more runs and better pitching will determine the outcome,” they’d be right. But, they’d prove they know nothing more than we do (which is also right).