[PilotMan]

1984 World Series Preview


Now that we've overcome our status as the underdogs in the NLCS we are now the heavy favorite in the World Series. Not only do we have the home field advantage, we come in knowing that we just knocked off the best team that baseball has seen in decades. Not only did we win, we won twice, on the road. We defeated a team of killers and awared winners. A team that probably has the Cy Young and MVP winners on it. We have to be feeling good, but will it be too much?


The Blue Jays took care of the Twins in a hotly contested, tight series. Normally NL teams struggle on the road because they typically don't have the big bat that can fill in at DH. That shouldn't be a concern for us. You can expect a balance of Stubbs, Foster and Kittle, a group that combined for 29 homers on the year, to handle that job. We could also see Andre Thornton getting some playing time on the road too. He was sorely underused, but he did hit .305 in a mostly pinch hitting role.


That's a two way street, because we're also going to be facing the Blue Jays at home without the DH. The Blue Jays DH is none other than the Penguin, Ron Cey. Cey hit 19 homers and had 78 RBI's, but his -1.3 WAR was one of the worst in the league. Dangerous to face, but also not without his weaknesses like his .635 OPS and 138 K's.


The Blue Jays lineup is a strange mix of young and old. In the starting lineup they've got Fernandez (22), Barfield (24), Moseby (24), and Upshaw (27) on the young side. The old duffers are Lacy (36), Schmidt (35), Cey (36), Garner (35), and Dempsey (35). You'd have to think that time isn't on their side. The Rotation is the same with Stieb (27), Leal (27), Thurmond (28), and Reuschel (35). Their closer is 41- year old Ron Reed who didn't have the greatest ALCS.


Of the 9 Blue Jay starters 6 of them reached double digits in homers. George Bell, who hit .309 and 24 homers has found himself on the bench. He could play at DH, but it's been Barfield who took his place on the field. For defensive reasons in all likelihood. Barfield is one helluva defender. I don't see why Bobby Cox is keeping Cey at DH, rather than go with Bell who is more dangerous.


Neidenfeur is back for the series. We lucked out that we didn't need him more in the NLCS, but it's great to have him back in the pen. John Franco loses his roster spot. That leaves Hooton and Howe as the set up men.


Stieb just pitched game 6 so we're not going to see him for a couple games. That might be a good start for us. As for our rotation, we're right where we want to be. Fernando will start game 1 in LA.