Friday we get a sneak preview to what I believe will be this year's World Series.
Now, neither of these teams are exactly favorites, but they both have what it takes to get them to the championship - pitching.

The Padres are perhaps the best pitching staff in baseball with an impressive staff ERA of 3.02. What's even more important - none of the Padre pitchers walk anyone. They get a lot of first-pitch strikes which keeps the team in every game.

They have Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, a legitimate ace in Jake Peavy and an under-the-radar (eventual) No. 2 in Chris Young. They round out the rotation with homeboy David Wells and an up-and-comer Justin Germano.

The bullpen solidifies any flaws with former Sea Dog Cla Meredith and Scott Linebrink setting up future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman.

Chris Young is one of my personal favorites. He plays with a certain intensity exhibited by his, err, tiff with Cubs first baseman Derek Lee. Young is going to appeal the suspension for that incident. Good luck.

[Secretly I think the spat was over my fantasy baseball team. Both were once teammates on Walsh's Warthogs and this was the first meeting since Derek Lee was shipped to get Young's teammate Jake Peavy. But that is an entirely different story.]

Speaking of Peavy...

He is the ace. He has incredible presence on the mound and has brought last year's ERA (4.09) down to 1.98. Incredible! That's quite the accomplishment even in the National League. He's got more Ks than anyone not name Erik Bedard.

You also have to give some credit to San Diego's defense. They have only committed 38 errors this season (7th in MLB). You add that all up and you have yourself a winner.

But I am curious how the acquisition of former Cubs catcher Michael Barrett may have on the club. Barrett had a few issues while in Chicago - a fight with Carlos Zambrano and another spat with pitcher Rich Hill may have forced the trade.

A catcher having blowouts with his pitchers can't be good.

On paper the deal makes a lot of sense. Barrett gets a shot at the playoffs. The Cubs save money (even if they are playing more than $1.5 million of Barrett's salary) and they rid themselves of any bad blood.

Barrett's fantasy value may have decreased, however. Barrett was hitting clean-up for the Cubbies for a spell. He'll be further down the line with the Padres. Plus, the size of Petco will reduce his home run potential.

It could be an interesting weekend; capped by Sunday night's game: Peavy vs. Beckett.

As we know defense and pitching win championships. These teams have both.

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