Four Scouting Keys to World Series

In Advanced Scouting, MLB FanHouse's professional talent evaluator breaks down the playoffs from a scouting perspective.

Unless you are a fan with a rooting interest in this World Series, it's nearly impossible to not appreciate how good of a matchup this World Series is. Both the Phillies and Yankees have dominant aces they can rely on, sluggers that pound the ball with the best of them, and tenacious hitters who seem to make every at-bat an epic battle.

In such an even matchup, it's difficult to find glaring edges for either club, and that is where advanced scouting can come into play. Knowing how to pitch a certain dangerous hitter in order to neutralize him or what to look for against a particular pitcher could be what wins or loses a potentially tight series such as this. So, where are those holes each team can exploit and what will it take for them to come out on top?

---

---

In meetings before any series, there are scouting reports a coaching staff will go over. There are also key questions they will ask themselves and attempt to answer. Both the Phillies and Yankees have had those discussions. How will we attack Alex Rodriguez? What's the best approach against Cliff Lee? All these things and more will be key questions the two teams try to answer as they develop their strategies. There are a few questions in particular that could play big roles in this series.

Phillies: How To Hit CC Sabathia

This one, for obvious reasons, is not an easy question to answer, but you can bet that the Philly staff is doing their best to produce good strategies to hand to their hitters. For the most part, if CC has his game together it's going to be difficult to beat him regardless. Sometimes, though, facing Sabathia is like beating the clock. As large as he is, he takes a couple innings to round into form and get his mechanics under control. If you can get to him in that early window you might be able to do some damage.

Even a not quite right Sabathia is no easy task, so hitters will have to go up there with a plan. CC likes to establish his bread and butter, the changeup, early on the outside part of the plate. He'll continue to go to it until he finds his command. With a feel pitch like a changeup, it can take a little time to get it right. Before that pinpoint command of his pitches kicks in by the middle innings, he may make some mistakes up in the zone with it. The Phillies' right-handed hitters should be looking on the outside part of the plate early in the game and trying to drive the ball to right field. If they can sit on one of those changeups and he leaves one up, that's where the damage can be done. It's a small window but it's likely their best shot.

Yankees: Stopping Ryan Howard

Keeping Ryan Howard under control at the plate will be at the top of the Yankees' priority list in this series, and as they comb through their advanced scouting reports they won't find many hole. There are a few weaknesses here and there, though, and they'll do their best to exploit. The actual approach to handling Howard isn't rocket science, but rather executing without making a mistake.

The Yankees have the personnel to keep the slugger somewhat controlled, as they can run two superb southpaws out to the mound in their rotation and also have two lefty relievers with above-average raw stuff they can bring out of their 'pen. As the Yankees' advanced reports likely read, this isn't a hitter you just stay away from; he needs to be attacked with the fastball along the waistline. If New York is looking for a big out in the late innings, expect it to be Phil Coke and not Damaso Marte jogging out of the 'pen. Marte has the superior breaking ball but going away with off-speed offerings may just be playing into Howard's hands. Coke, on the other hand, has the fastball that can reach 95 mph and has shown he can reach the inside corner on lefty sluggers. He could be a difficult task for the Phils' RBI man.

Yankee pitchers' A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, David Robertson, and Joba Chamberlain are probably the individuals New York would like to keep away from Howard as much as possible. All of them rely on the breaking ball to combat left-handed hitters and have had their issues getting to the inside corner with the fastball at one time or another. Right-handed pitchers of this style do no match up well with Howard. If you can't get inside, he will do some serious damage.

Phillies: Surviving the Middle Innings

Perhaps better than any other team, the Yankees lineup makes adjustments on the fly. One approach is not enough. If you're a starting pitcher with the intention of getting these guys out the second and third time through their order, there will need to be changes in your strategy. Many pitchers have been able to survive a few innings, but keeping them down for a full start is the real challenge.

Pitchers like Cliff Lee know how to establish secondary pitches right off the bat then use the fastball more and more as the innings go by. The lineup could be a challenge for Cole Hamels, however. As he's shown in a couple of his postseason starts, he goes to the fastball early and has been burned by the home run ball.

Yankees: Staying Off the Lidge Slider

Brad Lidge has been declared "back" by many. Fom a scouting standpoint, his stuff and command is definitely not yet where it was last year at this time, but his slider has been tight and sharp of late. The Yankee bats are likely to see a steady diet of sliders, as his fastball command just isn't quite there -- he's been leaking it back towards the middle of the plate when he does throw it. If he can stay just close enough to the zone to tease them with the slider, he might be able to give them some trouble.

Frankie Piliere spent the last three seasons working as a scout, most recently in the professional scouting department for the Texas Rangers in 2009. He now serves as the National Baseball Analyst here at FanHouse.