[QuantaCondor]

The California Quantum Condors and the Aina Haina Parakeets meet in the P425 World Series. Here's an overview of the matchup:

SEASON:
The Parakeets get home field advantage, usually irrelevant for lefty teams but relevant here because they suppress lefty power whereas the Condors are a pro-lefty power field. The Parakeets claim a 102-60 record in season, whereas the Condors played as a WC team with a 89-73 record.

PITCHING:
The Condors, despite playing in a slightly more batter-oriented park, have allowed only 679 runs against during the season, good for 6th overall. They have been carried by below-average seasons from CC Sabathia and 97 Clayton Kershaw, but career seasons for Eddie Plank and Brett Anderson. They will carry only 2 RHP into the WS matchup, adding four LHP from the bench for this lefty-on-lefty matchup. Their strength is starting pitching, posting the 4th best starter ERA in the AC but only the 7th best relief pitcher ERA. However, the strong lefty contingent is sure to overperform seasonal standards, as the matchups are very favorable despite the lefty-boosted park.

The Parakeets have allowed 737 runs during the season, good for 11th overall in the league. They opt for a complementary pitching approach: Four lefty SPs flanked by a nearly full arsenal of RHP relievers. Of note is the new addition of Lefty Gomez to lead the rotation, acquired specifically for this series. The RHP filling the bullpen may prove to be a liability, but SE Garber and Bruce Sutter may be good enough to not have to care about the matchups ahead. The lone lefty reliever, Howe, may need to play a lot of innings this series.

Overall, the Condors have proven to have the stronger staff throughout the season, and the new additions in the pen might help shore up their weakess there.
PITCHING ADVANTAGE: CALIFORNIA


BATTING:
The Condors, opting for a slightly more power-heavy lineup, have not nearly been as strong during the year as the Parakeets. They are led by SE Votto, 95 Gehringer, and 84 Erstad in this lefty-heavy series, with 98 Yaz being shut down by the regular lefty SPs.

The Parakeets hit for average, and it gets them a LOT of runs. They are led by SE Sisler, God Garry Maddox, and 90 Sam Rice, along with 87 Boggs and Tony Gwynn. One thing is for sure: they will hit lots of singles and doubles in the series.

The Condors lead in HRs between the teams, but the Parakeets have been an outstanding hit-for-average team, batting .291 which is good enough for 1st in the league. Both teams go for heavy GAP hitting, but the heavy average and the run performance (870 vs 789 favoring the Parakeets) show an obvious edge in favor of the Parakeets.

BATTING ADVANTAGE: AINA HAINA

DEFENSE:
Here's the positional breakdown, California vs. Aina Haina:

C: Burgess vs. Burgess (43)
1B: 87 Carew (68) vs. SE Sisler (58)
2B: 95 Gehringer (95) vs. 91 Collins (115)
SS: 84 Pesky vs. Pesky (103)
3B: 89 Boggs (89) vs. 87 Boggs (72)
LF: Erstad (102) vs. Sliding Billy (81)
CF: Dykstra (106) vs. Maddox (103)
RF: 98 Yaz (94) vs. Dykstra (100)

Condors take the advantage at 1B, 3B, LF, while the Parakeets take the advantage at 2B and RF. 2B is an important position, but it might not be enough to overwhelm the upgrade at other defensive spots. It's close, and maybe the numbers might suggest the Parakeets by a nose, but the performance would give this to the Condors who posted a +32.8 ZR this season compared to +14.8 ZR for the Parakeets.

DEFENSE ADVANTAGE: TIED

OVERALL THOUGHTS:
This looks to be a very competitive series. California seems to have the pitching advantages, but Aina Haina has an enormous batting advantage as well as home field advantage for 4/7 games. I think this is going to come down to the wire, but I'm going to side with the pitching as I think we've seen that decide lots of close WS finals in the past.

PREDICTION: California in 7