Kuzul

This is the final installment if a seven-part series predicting the records of each team, and now the playoffs.  The teams that make the postseason in this installment are based off of previous ones.

Now that the 2011 season is closer than ever, and Opening Day is only eight days away, we writers are giving our preseason predictions, and these are mine.  Through careful analysis of records, schedules, transactions, and more I have compiled my postseason picks.

Now, it’s time to break them down.

Matchups in the postseason are incredible, and they always provide fireworks.  The ability to play five or seven games against your opponent is what makes baseball great.  The best teams usually come out on top, but sometimes we have surprises, like the 2008 Phillies or 2010 Giants.

These next slides are my predictions of each postseason series, and breakdowns of each series.  Sure, the postseason is over seven months away, but it’s never too early.

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The American League West is the only division in baseball with four teams. In baseball, size of your division is no matter, and the AL Champion Texas Rangers proved that in 2010.

Even though they are small, the AL West provides no fewer dramatics than other divisions, and they provide more than most. Three of the four teams in the AL West came within 10 games of each other for the division crown.

The AL West belonged to the Texas Rangers in 2010, but did the offseason shift the balance of power?

This is part six of a seven-part series predicting the records of every team by division, and then predicting the postseason matchups and results (links to the other divisions and date of the postseason can be found on the last slide).

So, with no further ado, let’s break down the tight race for the playoffs in the AL West.

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The American League Central came down to six games at the end of the season, with the Minnesota Twins beating out the Chicago White Sox.  This was the Twins’ second straight title in a division that can really go to any of the teams (except maybe Kansas City) on any given year.

Having been beat out and not tasting the postseason for several years, the rest of the division went out and did some shopping on the Hot Stove to try to secure a playoff spot for 2011.  This has led to three teams emerging as the best and brightest of the division.

The division is a tough call this year, with some more star power coming to help the teams that were close to the playoffs.

This division is so close that it could just come down to who stays healthy this season.

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Formerly known as the Wild Wild West, the National League West came down to the very last day last season, when the San Francisco Giants topped the San Diego Padres to clinch the division.  This is part three of a seven-part series predicting the records of the teams in the MLB by division and then the postseason.

The West created fireworks again in the postseason, when the Giants surprised everyone by beating the wild-card Atlanta Braves to win the NLDS, the three-ace Phillies for the NL pennant and the Texas Rangers for the World Series title.  San Fran was partying hard last year, but can the Giants do it again?

The NL West may not have acquired any big stars during the offseason, but the moves that were made were big all the same.  Even if they didn’t acquire them, there were still big names floating around the NL West, but not in a good way.

Last season the division was incredibly tight, but will it be this year?  Well, you’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

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Spring Training is in full force now, and we now have some insight into the teams of the MLB.

This piece is second in a series of seven, each predicting the records of teams in each division and then predicting the entire postseason (the schedule for which can be found on the last slide).

During the offseason, the Brew Crew did come winter cleaning of their roster, the Cards lost their two aces, and all four other teams in the Central made some interesting moves.  Now that the chips have fallen from the offseason, it is time to start predicting how the teams will do in 2011.

So, with no further ado, let’s get this started.

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The Philadelphia Phillies’ prospect Domonic Brown recorded his first hit of spring training today against the Pittsburgh Pirates.  The at-bat was bittersweet, however, because Brown fractured his wrist, an injury that will most likely require surgery.

Brown saw some action up in the Majors in the second half of the 2010 season, batting .210 and recording three doubles and two home runs in only 62 at-bats.  Brown was in a fight for the right field spot in the Phillies’ outfield this season, and it looked as though Brown would platoon with Ben Francisco, but with the injury Francisco should win the position outright.

With this recent injury, the Phillies and their fans are all disappointed, since Brown is the No. 4 prospect in the MLB according to ESPN.

Although many people believe it a tragedy, Brown’s injury is actually a good thing for the Phillies.

Brown is an underdeveloped player at this point, and he is not ready to come into the MLB.  Brown struggles mightily against left-handed pitchers, hitting a pathetic .077 against them.  Brown was absolutely terrible against lefties, and he did not have enough time to work against them last season.

If Brown and Francisco were to platoon as planned, Brown would have only batted against right-handed pitching.  While he may have done better against those righties, he would not have had any time to develop against lefties, and there would be no way that he could develop further like that. 

If that situation were to occur, Brown would not be able to become a better player.  Brown would have been talent wasted.

Because Brown broke his wrist, he will have to recover, and then rehab in the minor leagues.

The Phillies will not rush Brown back, and he will learn to hit those pesky lefties while in the minors again.  When Brown can hit both types of pitchers, he will have the potential to become a great player…the type of player everyone expects him to be.

In the meantime, Ben Francisco will take over the position.

Francisco has the potential to bat .275 and hit 20 home runs if he plays every game of a season, and he is a good right-handed bat…something that the Phillies are missing since Jayson Werth left.

Overall, from Domonic Brown’s injury, Brown will get more time to develop, Francisco will get the chance to be an everyday starter, and the Phillies will gain a powerful right-handed hitter.

While Brown’s injury seemed devastating, it helps the Phillies more than it hurts them.

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Pitching is a vital part of the game, and with the Phillies rotation we are expecting a few World Series championships.

With Cliff Lee going along with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, we are all expecting the greatest starting rotation of the decade, or even of our lives!

This has sparked a lot of historical comparisons, to the Braves of old and to others.  This got me thinking, “Who are the best pitchers in Phillies’ history?”  This slideshow is devoted to just that.  Covering 3 centuries (19th, 20th and 21st) of Phillies’ history, here are the top 25 pitchers of the franchise.

3 Things To Remember:

1. All stats are with team unless specified otherwise.

2. Some of these players are very old and there are not many if any pictures of them.

3. Some rankings had to be adjusted according to era..

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Unless you live under a rock–and even maybe then–you have heard about the Phillies signing Cliff Lee to go along with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in a starting rotation that many consider the best of the decade.  This four-man rotation is the best in baseball by just about any stat category, but is it enough to win them the pennant?  The Phillies are projected to win the NL East easily, and to make a good run into the postseason, but is it a lock?  Not quite is the answer.  The Phillies have almost solved the puzzle for the 2011 season–and possibly beyond– but need to add one or two more pieces such as a shut-down reliever or a right-handed hitter.  These ten guys are all available, and if the Phillies acquire any of them, they should just about clinch the NL Pennant–FYI, this isn’t a ranking since they should all clinch them the NL Pennant.

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Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels. This is an amazing starting rotation, but is it enough to win the NL East? 

The Phillies are the talk of baseball, and they are projected to win the NL East, but is it really a guarantee? 

The answer is no.

As a Phillies fan, I consider myself unbiased on the subject, and I have picked up on a lot of their struggles during last season (many of which have not been addressed).

I know many of you out there want to hear about how the Phils won’t be the best team ever since there are 29 other teams in the MLB, so here they are, the 10 reasons that the Phillies might not win the NL East (in no specific order).

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Four aces is almost a guaranteed win in poker. However, the Phillies’ “four aces” will not guarantee them any more World Series rings…yet.

Even with the addition of Cliff Lee, the Phillies are not on a plateau above the rest of the MLB.

As an avid Phillies fan, I consider myself to be unbiased on this subject, and though I wish it were not true, I believe that the Phillies are going to be knocked out in the NLCS or World Series.

The Phillies have an amazing starting rotation now; however, they will not be able to finish games with their bullpen. The Phillies seemed to be fixing their bullpen late in the season, but they do not have the shutdown bullpen they had during their 2008 World Series run.

In ’08, the Phillies had a perfect Brad Lidge (41-of-41 in the regular season and seven more saves in the postseason), whose only blown save was in the All-Star Game, and a shutdown “Bridge to Lidge” in Ryan Madson. Besides Lidge and Madson having career seasons, the rest of the bullpen was clutch, and the entire team pitched well when it mattered, having a 3.07 ERA in the postseason.

The bullpen was the backbone of the ’08 team, and even though they only had a few good starters, the bullpen held the opposing team whenever they had to.

The Phillies had great starting pitching last year too, with Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt (acquired via trade with Houston) making up H2O, and they doused many teams whose offenses were on fire. The Phillies also proved that starters are not enough for a winning team.

H2O pitched well, and Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick and the rest of the starters weren’t too shabby either. However, you can shut out every team, but you won’t win without an offense. The Phillies offense is just too inconsistent to pull off a postseason run, especially when the best pitchers are still around. The Phillies’ starters did reasonably well against the Giants in 2010, but the offense just couldn’t help them out.

An offense that struggled last year will be worse this year if not addressed. The Phillies lost Jayson Werth to the Nationals, and though Werth did not have a great 2010 season, his All-Star production is to be replaced by second-year player Domonic Brown.

Brown had a decent start in the majors, but he is still young and inexperienced and cannot be relied upon to be as cool in the postseason as All-Star Jayson Werth, who has already been there three times with the Phillies.

Losing Werth was a big loss, and in an aging lineup like Philadelphia’s, which includes seven of eight batters who are 30-plus years of age (and have been riddled with injuries), the Phillies need to acquire a more consistent bat that that of 31-year-old Ryan Howard. Howard struggled mightily in the playoffs, and his strikeouts are a major area of concern.

If the Phillies lineup can stay healthy or add another bat, they will manage, but asking such an old lineup to stay healthy is asking a lot.

If the Phillies do not acquire a good bat and/or stay healthy, as well as a decent bullpen arm (perhaps Chan Ho Park again), then they will most likely lose in the playoffs.

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