Kuzul

The San Francisco Giants lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 5 of the 2010 NLCS. The Giants lead the series 3-2 but must now return to Philadelphia for Game 6 and Game 7 if needed. They are only one win away from from earning their fourth National League pennant since the team moved to San Francisco in 1958. It would also be the team’s first pennant since 2002.

If Game 7 is needed, the Giants can place their champagne dreams on hold for next season. The window of opportunity for them to advance to the World Series is growing ever shorter. The Phillies have been the most dominant team in the National League for the past three seasons, advancing to the World Series in the past two seasons.

I believe that the Giants have all of the tools necessary to split the final two games in Philadelphia. I also believe that they are at a severe disadvantage in a Game 7, should it be necessary.

Here are 10 reasons that Game 6 is a do or die game for the Giants.

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What are the 10 ways the Phillies can turn the NLCS around and become the first NL team since the 1940s to reach three straight World Series?

Thank you for asking.

After doing nothing against Matt Cain and Co. in Game 3, how do the prohibitive National League favorites right the ship? 

Can they afford to lose Game 4, pinning their hopes on H20 to carry them the next three games?

How can they revive their offense? It has been somewhat erratic in the regular season, yet it is still one of the best lineups in baseball and much better (on paper) than the Giants.

Does their ever-faithful skipper Charlie Manuel need to make any changes?

Check out my 10-point prescription for how the Phillies can turn around this series. Some points may be obvious, one or two may be satirical, and a few may even be insightful.

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Jacoby Ellsbury had an injury-shortened season for the Boston Red Sox after he collided with the freight train otherwise known as third basemen Adrian Beltre and fractured four ribs on April 11. He appeared in only 18 games, hitting .192 and stealing seven bases after leading the AL with 70 steals in 2009.

Ellsbury also came under fire from his coaches and teammates for rehabbing his injury in Arizona instead of traveling with the team. With rookie Ryan Kalish seemingly ready for the big show, could Ellsbury now be expendable?

He’s still an electric player. He twice led the AL in stolen bases and, though his .344 career on-base percentage is not particularly good for a lead-off hitter, he did still manage to score 98 runs in 2008 and 94 runs in 2009. He’s also an exceptionally good fielder and isn’t due to become a free agent until 2014.

The Red Sox could use Ellsbury as a major trade chip to fill up other holes on the roster. Here are 10 trades that would help make Boston into a World Series contender in 2011.

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The 2010 ALDS was probably one that I will say I hadn’t seen before for one reason alone. The home team didn’t win a single game the entire series.

Texas took the first two games in Tampa and the Rays repaid them by taking two in Texas to bring the series back to their home stadium for game five. They still couldn’t get it done as Texas took game five to move on to the ALCS.

It’s widely known that the Rays’ front office is planning on cutting payroll from this past year which means they will probably not re-sign a few of the free agents that are on their list.

Here are 10 things the Rays can do to get to the 2011 ALCS despite their lower payroll.

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We’ve already seen some awesome pitching from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 MLB playoffs. But will the Phils be able to display some equally clutch hitting as the postseason continues? Let’s hope.

In the mean time, let’s look back at the 10 biggest hits in Phillies’ postseason history.

Keep in mind that the following rankings are not just based on the timeliness of the hit itself, but also on the relative magnitude of the game in which the performance came (basically, World Series hits count for extra).

Enjoy this trip through Phillies’ history!

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The MLB playoffs are in full swing, and we have already seen our fair share of memorable moments in the respective Division Series games. However, the Phillies have been the talk of October thus far, thanks to Roy Halladay’s no-hitter, and their dominant sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

The Phillies are coming off of their fourth straight NL East title, and have been to the World Series in each of the past two seasons. In this day and age of free agency, a three peat in the World Series is a legitimate dynasty, and the Phillies seem to have all the components to do just that.

So here is a look at what makes the Phillies great, and the reason that this group could very well go down as one of the best teams in the history of the National League when all is said and done, and if they take home the championship as many feel they will.

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Roy Halladay’s no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLDS is without question the greatest starting performance in Phillies’ playoff history. But it certainly isn’t the only great one.

Here are the 10 best postseason starting pitching performances in Phillies’ history.

Keep in mind that the following rankings are not just based on the excellence of the pitching line itself, but also on the relative magnitude of the game in which the performance came (basically, World Series performances counts for extra).

Enjoy this trip through Phillies’ history!

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The big story of this Yankee season has been the starting pitching, so it is no coincidence that this list has only four batters included.

The Yankees have had disastrous seasons for how much they are paying both AJ Burnett and Javier Vazquez.

So it is without question that the Yankees need to address the top five arms on the squad and shore up their rotation when it comes time to make their offers to free agents this winter.

Without further ado, here are the 10 players that New York should take a run at this winter.

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Unless something dramatic occurs at the McCourt divorce trial, it’s very safe to say that Frank McCourt will maintain control of the Los Angeles Dodgers heading into 2011. Even if Jamie finds herself on the winning end of Judge Scott Gordon’s decision, it’s quite possible that the appeals process could take up to several years, which would leave Frank in control indefinitely.

With Frank as chairman, the budget structure is likely to be similar to what the Dodgers utilized this year. It could be slightly less if Frank intends to make some type of an effort to reverse the overwhelming debt that he and his wife have brought onto the club over the past five years.

In the offseason, General Manager Ned Colletti will be faced with a number of very difficult decisions. Outside of the number of players who are eligible for arbitration, it’s conceivable that Colletti may be willing to deal several players to address numerous needs if the team does indeed have any shot at improving.

The trade market this winter may be difficult for Los Angeles, as a handful of Dodgers players may have seen their trade values drop as a result of poor performances in 2010. Colletti will be the chief orchestrator of putting together the squad for next year, and it will be no easy task considering the free-agent market is about the slimmest it’s been in recent past. If there’s no value in potential trades, the free-agent market could be the best option to improve, but payroll dollars will need to be freed up first to make any big market acquisitions possible.

In order to create the dollars to spend, the Dodgers will need to say farewell to at least a few players, whether it be by non-tendering a player, trading a player, or losing in arbitration.

The following slides show seven players Los Angeles may decide to move before the beginning of next year, and explain why these particular moves would be beneficial for the Dodgers moving forward.  

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These past two seasons have seen the Orioles graduate more top prospects than nearly any other franchise. 

According to Baseball America’s 2009 top prospects list, four members of the Orioles top 10 graduated to the Majors, and eight of the top 29.

This season, the team has seen five of the top 10 players move on to the greener pasture that is Camden Yards, including prospects number one (Brian Matusz), two (Josh Bell), and four (Jake Arrieta).

The result is that the Orioles organization is pretty bereft of top-level talent. The first-year player draft helped a bit with that, infusing some much needed talent in the form of five-tool shortstop Manny Machado, reliever turned starter Daniel Klein, and the stable of projectable arms like Parker Bridwell, Clayton Schrader, and Matthew Bywater. They were also able to snag hard-throwing reliever Wynn Pelzer in a trade with the Padres.

But in terms of homegrown talent, the Orioles feature one of the least impressive compilations in baseball. Aside from Machado and Zach Britton there aren’t many sure-fire future big-leaguers, which means ranking the organization is mostly about projection.

Last year, I did my best to rank the Orioles top prospects (through 30) and I hit on a few guys that Baseball America didn’t rank too highly: Brandon Cooney, Ronnie Welty, and Jesse Beal. Unfortunately, I also drank the Kool-aid on guys like Brandon Erbe, Pedro Florimon Jr., and Kam Mickolio.

This year, I’ve expanded the list to 40, although I won’t go one-at-a-time with each prospect until I hit the top 30, same as last year. 

I’ll try to do my best to provide some solid background on each player, especially the ones that nobody has ever heard of, and then give a couple takes on each guy, a little bit from Baseball America and a little from the general public’s perception, but mostly my projection of how helpful I think each prospect will be to the big league team going forward.

Feel free to let the discussion juices flow.

Enjoy!

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