THE NEW YORK Yankees celebrated their 100th anniversary last year.

 

The Florida Marlins are noting the 10th season of their existence this year.

 

The Yankees have won the World Series 26 times.

 

The Marlins have had two winning seasons.

 

The Yankees have had players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra.

 

Notable Marlins have included Charlie Hough, Edgar Renteria, Bobby Bonilla, Jeff Conine, Craig Counsell and Gary Sheffield. Mike Piazza played five games for Florida in 1998.

 

The Yankees are the Bronx Bombers.

 

The Marlins are the Fish.

 

The Yankees wouldn't even think about having a mascot.

 

The Marlins have Billy the Marlin and cheerleaders who wear skimpy costumes and dance between innings.

 

The Yankees are the ghosts that roam their historic stadium.

 

The Marlins play in a football stadium named for a bankrupt clothing line.

 

The Yankees have won the American League East 6 straight years.

 

The Marlins made it to the playoffs as a wild card.

 

The Yankees are regal in their pinstripes.

 

The Marlins' uniforms feature baby blue, although they call it teal.

 

The Odd Couple World Series gets under way tomorrow night. It might not be the matchup that fans worldwide or the big cigars at Fox might have dreamed about - that would have been Cubs vs. Red Sox - but it certainly has an intrigue all its own.

 

Once viewers have adjusted their sights, most will probably assume the Yankees will win. After all, the Yankees always win. The Marlins won once, in 1997. Within 2 weeks, the fire sale was well under way. Call it the Curse of Wayne Huizenga.

 

And that would be a bad assumption.

 

The fearless prediction here is that the Marlins will continue the magic carpet ride that started when Jack McKeon replaced manager Jeff Torborg in mid-May.

 

In the last 4 months of the regular season, Florida had the best record in baseball.

 

They upset the heavily favored Giants in the division series.

 

They beat the sentimental-favorite Cubs in the championship series. Beat them after falling behind by three games to one. Beat them on the road by getting past twin aces Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

 

This is a good baseball team. Get used to it.

 

The Marlins are a confident bunch, a confidence that has fed off their own success as well as a delight in confounding those who have written them off so many times.

 

The Yankees, of course, are confident and battle-tested as well. But they are also coming off an enervating American League Championship Series against their archrival Red Sox, a series that will probably best be remembered for 72-year-old Yankees coach Don Zimmer going one-on-one with Boston righthander Pedro Martinez.

 

This has been a disquieting year for the Yankees. Owner George Steinbrenner set the tone during the offseason by ripping shortstop Derek Jeter and upbraiding manager Joe Torre and his coaching staff for not being demanding enough.

 

Torre has dropped broad hints at times this season that this has been his toughest year.

 

In strictly baseball terms, the Yankees are showing some cracks. Roger Clemens is 41 and has already announced his retirement. David Wells is 40 and, at least by reputation, has been awake long enough to be 10 years older. Mike Mussina is 0-3, 4.66 in the postseason.

 

First baseman Jason Giambi was batting .216 entering last night's game, but then hit two home runs in the victory. Third baseman Aaron Boone was hitting .161, but sent the Yankees into the Series with an 11th-inning homer. Relievers Jose Contreras and Jeff Nelson have also struggled.

 

The Marlins, on the other hand, always seem to pick each other up. When A.J. Burnett was hurt, Dontrelle Willis lifted the team. When Miguel Cabrera arrived from the minors, Todd Hollandsworth cheered from the bench.

 

Vladimir Nunez, Tim Spooneybarger and Nate Bump all played integral bullpen roles early in the season and then graciously gave way to Braden Looper, Chad Fox and Ugueth Urbina. Mike Lowell couldn't get back in the lineup after a broken hand because the team was playing so well. He bided his time...and came back with a big home run.

 

Catcher Pudge Rodriguez has risen to the occasion after spending most of last offseason looking for a job, fighting the perception that he was past his prime. He was named MVP of the National League Championship Series, driving in a record 10 runs. In the playoffs, he is batting .333 with at least one hit in each of the 11 games.

 

The Yankees have history and tradition.

 

But, by Halloween, the Marlins will have another World Series trophy. :thumbup

 

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/ba...all/7034616.htm

Hmmm.....interesting. GO FISH!!

I told you! Everyone in the free world will be rooting for Florida!

Good article, but I laughed out loud when I read that Vladimir Nunez played an integral role early in the season. Yeah, he was integral in helping us lose.

Well thats that I guess.

 

 

We have now become the "fun sentimental favorite"

 

 

excellent