[luckymann]

Well the two sides engaged in this year’s World Series ended up having a fairly cushy ride down the stretch, with the Senators placed under more duress in the AL than the Orphans were in the NL, where they pretty much controlled things from early in the season.

There’s no doubt the Orphans go into the Series as fairly strong favourites. Their rotation was outstanding this year, with two 20-game winners in Wilbur Wood and Bill Parsons ably backed by Danny Duffy and Ray Phelps, leading the NL in ERA with 3.97.

The performance of the Sens’ starters, however, could perhaps be viewed in even higher regard given they basically lost their entire rotation to injury over the course of the year, finishing with a more than respectable ERA of 4.31, with 23-game winner Pete Schourek and the redoubtable Billy Hoeft doing most of the heavy lifting. The return of club captain Lou Brissie late in the season after 3 months’ absence with forearm inflammation is a real fillip for the group and improves their chances of overcoming Chicago no end. And while the role of relievers in this era is only minor, the Senators’ bullpen outstripped that of Chicago by some margin during the regular season, with their league-leading 3.71 ERA almost two full runs lower.

That being said, they’ll need to be good against Chicago’s big bats. CF Todd Dunwoody was to the 1902 season what Wally Backman was in 1901, catcher Frank Snyder is a gun and RF Jay Johnstone is the sort of impact player that can dominate these short series. They have amazing depth, with Joe Connolly, Pepe Mangual and George Cutshaw all real threats off the bench.

I mentioned Backman and you’d take his “sophomore slump" anytime, especially considering the stratospheric heights of his rookie season. He hit .368, scored more than 100 runs and drove in 71 from the 2 slot, a return that would seem phenomenal if not for the comparison to the year before. Garret Anderson made the most of being an everyday player, hitting .359 with 5 dingers and 116 ribbies, and offers Backman vital protection at 3 in the lineup. But if there is one thing that cruels Washington’s chances it is that from there - apart from CF Rudy Law and perhaps SS Orlando Arcia - the dropoff is pretty steep, meaning that if one or both of the two big guys don’t show up then they are unlikely to post enough runs to win 4 games.

All in all it should prove a fascinating series. My prediction is Chicago in 5, but I would not be at all surprised to see Washington make a real fist of it.