Fallish Classic begins tonight! Does Florida have Fall?

In my research leading up to tonight's historic game 1, I found something very interesting. Most gambling sites offer the Phillies as a favorite, a small favorite but a favorite nonetheless. However, there are a couple that are posting the Rays as a small favorite. I asked around to some friends, and I get the exact same result, more people think the Phillies are going to win, but there is some strong belief in the Rays as well.

I think tonight is going to showcase a very interesting pitching match-up, Hamels v Kazmir. Both pitchers are left-handed and both have good hard fastballs. It will interesting to see if each pitcher has his strike-out pitch working early in the game, Hamels his devestating changeup and Kazmir his slider. I think it will be a pretty safe bet that this game will not be high-scoring.

Both teams are batting around .250 against leftys this season, with the Phillies holding a slight edge. Jason Werth will be a guy to watch for the Phillies tonight. He batted .303 against leftys on the year, perhaps not all of his at bats were against a pitcher the caliber of Scott Kazmir or on the stage as larage as the World Series, but .303 is .303 and he could be a game 1 difference maker.

For the Rays, BJ Upton is the guy to watch. He has been on a tear, and his next homerun will tie Barry Bonds' record for most homeruns in a single postseason (Upton and Evan Longoria also have a chance to break Bonds and Rich Auriela's record of most postseason homeruns by teammates). Upton wasn't great against leftys this year batting .269, but his OBP was an impressive .415! Upton's average against right-handers is higher, and his OBP is much lower. Perhaps this is due to the smaller number of at-bats, but more probable I think is that Upton sees the pitches better out of a lefty's hand. Also, Jason Bartlett has been hitting leftys extremely well all year, so it will be interesting to see if that continues against Cole Hamels.

I like the Phillies in this game 5-3. And to win the series in 6.

Who do you like?

PS: For 10 bonus points, can you name the Rays mascot without looking it up...?