Honolulu Rainbow Warriors (97-65)
vs
Vancouver Tragedy Twins (107-55)
THE MATCH-UP- In a match up that few would have predicted when the season started, two teams making their first WS appearance will face off. The Rainbow Warriors in particular are a surprise given the recent dominance of Baltimore and Norfolk in the AL. This season's team from the Aloha state was a very good one. The team was very balanced (not unlike Vancouver) ranking 2nd in the AL in runs scored, 6th in team ERA and was also one of the better fielding teams in the AL. During the postseason, the Warriors defeated the red-hot Scottsdale Camels in four games, and the Cinderella Scranton Wild in six. Offensively, the team has been led by Bill Howell. In ten games, Howell is leading the team in average (.410) and hits (16) and also has 2 home runs and ten RBI. It will be an interested decision for Honolulu's manager on what to do with Howell, as four of the seven games won't feature a DH. Will they put Howell at C and bench regular starter Samuel Walker? The decision will be even tougher because Walker is also hitting very well these playoffs: .290 with 3 doubles and 6 RBI. The team has kept up their solid fielding as well. They've only committed 3 errors and 3 '-' plays with 9 '+' plays. That fielding has really helped the pitching. The Rainbow Warriors have a team ERA of 3.55 in the playoffs. The young Dominican Jose Mondesi had really come into his own on the Warriors' run to the WS. In his three starts, he is 3-0 in 19 innings with a 2.37 ERA. The road to the WS for Vancouver was different than Honolulu's. The Warriors were able to dodge the AL's traditional heavyweights on their way to the pennant. The Twins had no such fortune. They had to defeat two of the NL's most decorated franchises: Milwaukee and Pittsburgh. Those two teams have combined to win the NL pennant in five of the last seven seasons (the other two being won by Chicago). While both of those squads had slightly down seasons, that doesn't diminish the accomplishment. Milwaukee was plagued by inconsistency and injuries for the first half of the season before getting (mostly) healthy and putting it together late to win the division. They were still the defending WS Champs and featured a talent laden squad. Pittsburgh has also been dealing with injuries and age, but still featured a rotation with All Stars at the top. The Twins defeated both squads in convincing fashion, sweeping the Titans and eliminating the Polar Bears in five games, giving them a 7-1 record so far. The pitching is obviously rested and ready for their chance at a title. Their offense has been led by their young 2B Willie Rodriguez. The budding star is using the playoffs to break in to baseball superstardom. In 8 games, he has 13 hits (including a double and a team high 4 home runs) with a .333 average and is leading the team with 9 RBI. While their fielding hasn't been as flashy as the Warriors, they have been steady with 3 errors and only 1 '-' play. When this season started, the Twins envisioned Harold Paquette and Benny Bonilla as an All Star tandem that would take them to the next level. During these playoffs, Paquette has been everything they hoped he would be when they gave him that max contract, 5 years, $110M. In his 3 starts, he is 2-0 in 19 innings with a 0.95 ERA. As good as he's been, Bonilla has been that bad. In his 2 starts, 10 innings of work, he has given up 8 ER for an ERA of 7.20. If Bonilla continues to struggle, this series could go either way. Both lineups are fairly evenly matched, but Vancouver's 1-2 pitching tandem, combined with Honolulu losing a DH in four games, gives the Twins an edge. Vancouver wins in six.
