After six months of waiting, the World Series is finally upon us -- and it's a doozy this year. For the first time in a long time it actually seems like the two best teams and not the two teams who just happened to get hot at the right time.

The Phillies and Yankees are remarkably similar, which would seem to point to a six- or seven game series.

Both teams are built upon strong, home-grown foundations. The Yankees have Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. The Phillies counter with Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard. That's eight of the game's premier players divided evenly on the sport's biggest stage.

Both clubs also have tremendous power: The Phils led the NL in home runs, doubles, runs scored, slugging percentage, total bases and hit by pitch. They finished second in stolen bases, with 119 swipes.

On the other side, the Yankees led the Junior Circuit in runs, hits, home runs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases.

As for the pitching, the Yankees were tops in saves and strikeouts, and pitched to a 4.28 ERA. The Phillies led the NL in no category, but accrued a 4.16 ERA.

All in all, I give the Yanks the edge because of their hammer at the back of the bullpen, Mariano Rivera. They'll win in seven games.