Clarkdog

Hey just another Sox Fan in Chi-Town, here to wish the Fish the best of luck in the Series. Your team is exciting and fun to watch, and I really looking forward to seeing them shock their AL opponent. As much as the media and hype surrounding the Cubs cast you guys as underdogs. In baseball, it has to be settled on the field. And it's never who you think is the best team is that wins - it's always the team that plays best that wins. No doubt the Marlins outplayed the Cubs. Bartman or not. Good Luck!

Not to anyone's surprise here in Chicago, no one is addressing the fact the Marlins accomplished exactly what they needed to do in the first two games of the series: 1. Steal a game in Chicago to take home field away from the Cubs and go into Miami with series even at 1-1. 2. Set the tone for the series, with aggressive and balanced play, and a disciplined approach at the plate. Even in last nights loss - Prior only struck out 5 yet threw 118 pitches (83 strikes) to 31 hitters. It showed that even with the big lead the Marlins battled him with a disciplined hitting approach to make good contact with the best pitch they could(not wildly swing to hit a 600 ft. home run like the Braves did), and did not back down. They just could not get the timely hit. The Cubs offense was the story and that is only beacuse Penny could not hit his spots. The Cubs are not that explosive an offensive team capable of derailing a pitcher who is on. If the Marlins take the same approach to Wood, and Redman can pitch well, you will see a tight well played ballgame whose tempo will be dictated by the Marlins. Pierre and Castillo nedd to get on more frequently that is the biggest key.

The key to the series (to me) as a Sox fan in support of the Marlins: - The Flubs led the NL/MLB is Strikeouts: 1,404 (MLB Record) - The Marlins had the third fewest SOs (hitting) in the NL (978) - The Flubs had the third most SOs (hitting) in the NL (1,158) - The Flubs are a middle of the pack defensive team - The Marlins are the second best defensive team in the MLB - The Marlins are in the top half of the NL offensively - The Flubs are in the bottom half of the NL offensively - The Flubs have the edge in pitching with a 3.83 ERA/1.32 WHIP compared to the Marlins 4.04 ERA/1.34 WHIP If the Marlins can avoid the strikeouts, be patient and work counts, shorten thier strokes and put the ball in play to force the action - they can win. These teams are fairly even. The Flubs pitching gives them the air of a favorite. But the pitching has relied heavily on strikeouts, take that away with some Marlin plate discipline and the Flubs lose a dimension that is paramount to their recent success. Think about it : 162 games = 4,374 outs; The Flubs got 32% of their defensive outs this season from strikeouts.

I too am a Sox fan from White Sox Interactive. Wish you guys the best and will be here in Chicago pulling for the Fish!