Are the Indians Really the Underdogs?

143-61. No, thats not the score of an Hawaii/BGSU football game. Its the difference in payroll between the two contenders for the crown of American League Champion. The Red Sox spent approximately 143 million dollars for their 96 victories. The Indians spent 61 million dollars for their 96 wins. Naturally, the Indians would be looked at as the underdogs in this series. However, a closer look at the talent on both rosters reveals a different story.

I used a system to rate each player expected to be on their respective 25 man rosters. They were given a ranking in one these categories:

MVP: (5 points) The very top in terms of talent and performance.
All Star: (4 points) A great player, in the top 5 or 10 at his position
Solid: (3 points) Is in the top half of the league at his position.
Average: (2 points) Does well enough, but not considered a standout.
Below Average: (1 points) An ERA above 5.00 or BA below .250.

And here is the breakdown, one through twenty five

Indians Red Sox
1. Sabathia-MVP Beckett-MVP
2. Carmona-MVP Schilling-All Star
3. Westbrook-Solid Dice K-Solid
4. Byrd-Average Wakefield-Average
5. Borowski-Solid Papelbon-MVP
6. Betancourt-MVP Gagne-Solid
7. Perez-MVP Okajima-MVP
8. Lewis-Solid Delcarmen-Solid
9. Mastny-Average Timlin-Average
10. Fultz-Average Lopez-Average
11. Laffey-Average Lester-Average
12. Martinez-All Star Ortiz-MVP
13. Sizemore-All Star Ramirez-MVP
14. Hafner-Solid Lowell-All Star
15. Peralta-Solid Youkilis-Solid
16. Lofton-Solid Pedroia-Solid
17. Garko-Solid Varitek-Average
18. Blake-Average Drew-Average
19. Cabrera-Average Crisp-Average
20. Gutierrez-Average Lugo-Average
21. Shoppach-Average Mirabelli-Below Average
22. Barfield-Below Average Cora-Below Average
23. Gomez-Average Hinske-Below Average
24. Michaels-Average Ellsbury-Solid
25. Nixon-Average Kielty-Below Average

Indians Team Score: 72
Red Sox: 71

Indians Starting Pitchers: 15
Red Sox Starting Pitchers: 14

Indians Bullpen: 22
Red Sox Bullpen 22

Indians Pitching Staff: 37
Red Sox Pitching Staff: 36

Indians Line Up: 26
Red Sox Line Up: 28

Starting Pitchers, Top 4 Relievers, and Line Ups
Indians: 57
Red Sox: 58