Kuzul

So far in the 2010 NLDS we have seen one dominating sweep from a team seeking their third straight World Series appearance and another series go back and forth with three thrilling games so far.

The Phillies have already clinched their spot in the NLCS with an easy three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, including a no-hitter from Roy Halladay.

In the other series we have seen some dominating pitching along with some late inning heroics throughout the first three games. Right now the Giants lead the series 2-1 but honestly it could have gone in any number of directions.

So what have we learned from these two drastically different series? 

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Hey there, baseball fans. Die-hard baseball fan Evan Adrian  here, live blogging game 2 of the Reds-Phillies NLDS. Let’s see if Roy Oswalt can follow Roy Halladay’s lead and shut out the National League best Cincinnati Reds‘ offense.

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The Cincinnati Reds had a rude welcome to the 2010 MLB playoffs.

The Phillies’ Roy Halladay threw an absolute gem. The Reds couldn’t even muster a hit off the leading candidate for NL Cy Young. He threw 104 pitches, with only 25 of those for balls.

That is incredible.

It didn’t matter what team Halladay was facing, he has a buzz-saw. So the Reds have to keep that in mind when Game 2 begins on Friday night.

Sure the Reds haven’t scored a run against the Phillies in 30 innings, all at Citizens Bank Park

Sure they have been shut out by the same team in three consecutive games for the first time since the Cubs did it in 1982.

But here is why the Reds can bounce back against the Phillies in Game 2.

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(This article will also include my awards for the American League and National League).

To an extent, I believe in sabermetrics.  I don’t tout ERA and batting average with RISP as individual statistics, but as team statistics, even if an individual player must come through when it counts.  Both are still important to have, but neither are a good way to evaluate an individual player.

Last year, I argued that Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners should be the American League Cy Young winner.  This year however, I don’t think so.

It appears that baseball fans in recent years have caught a bad case of Sadecki-itis.

I don’t care about how good Hernandez’s ERA is or how many strikeouts he threw: Awarding the top honor for pitching to someone that went 13-12 for a team that won 62 games is exactly why people are losing interest in pro baseball.

To put it simply, it’s abhorrent.

In 2009, Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals and Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants both won the honors for Cy Young.  Greinke finished 16-8, while Lincecum finished 15-7.  At least, in the case of Greinke, he had dominated early that season, while the Giants had a respectable record of 88 wins.

The Mariners, plain and simply, have stunk.  Strikeouts are boring, because people want to see wins.  To some extent, how hard is it to be the best player on a team that no one takes seriously?

And here’s the irony of eye-popping stats: The New York Yankees have performed better as a whole when Alex Rodriguez has been at his relative worst.

Awarding league honors to the best players from bad teams, like I said, is exactly why fans have generally stopped caring about pro baseball.  You may think it’s in the interest of fairness to award the hard-luck guys, but at the same time, the league needs viable stars in order to generate revenue.

It is what it is.

I’m an A’s fan, and they have plenty of hard luck players.  But even I know that the league wouldn’t be in business without New York, Chicago, and Boston, not by shear size of those markets but by consumer willingness to spend money.

So get over it.

These days as well, I would submit to you that there’s no such thing as a hard-luck pro baseball player, when even mediocre talent can make upwards of a million dollars per year.

To me, it’s the same as describing a 6’2”, 295 lb NFL lineman as “smallish.”

Now that I have made my spiel, here are my AL and NL awards.

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During the regular season, quality baseball, consistent pitching, and measured tactics are the key to victory. Come October, and these methods go out the door. It’s all about who can hit the most homeruns. Outside of simply including the Yankees starting nine, here are the most prolific power hitters in the 2010 postseason.

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Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when I grow yet another hideous playoff beard.

My wife hates it. It’s itchy. It’s ugly. It’s embarrassing. It has no redeeming qualities. And to make matters worse I have to shave my mustache which is incredibly patchy and unbalanced. This results in an Amishesque look which is none too becoming. That said, it has to be done and that’s all there is to it.

Sorry wifey.

While I realize that the vast majority of you are here for my playoff beard analysis and predictions, we will instead take a look at game 1 of the National League Divisional Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds.

Here goes.

PHILLIES

The matchup is intriguing. Philadelphia is coming off two straight trips to the World Series and yet they continue to show a hunger to reach the pinnacle of baseball once again.  The injury-riddled 2010 version of the team often showed no resemblance to the one that torched the National League in 2008 and 2009.

And yet here they are again, anointed the favorite to once again lay claim to the National League Championship.  They are the team to beat and they know it.

An unparalleled starting rotation fronted by Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels form an intimidating top three. The drop off to Joe Blanton is precipitous, but as the Yankees proved last year, a dominant trio can get the job done. And this Phillies threesome trumps the Yankees.

Much was made of the Phillies offensive struggles this year, though the team hit its stride when it mattered most. While the greatest strength of this team is its starting pitching, its offense isn’t far behind.

And while the stars didn’t shine as bright as they have in years past, the depth of this lineup is what truly separates it from the rest. There are no easy outs.

The loss of Placido Polanco could hurt the Phillies though I believe him to be their most replaceable starter.  Wilson Valdez should fill in nicely at third base equaling Polly’s sure-handedness while providing a stronger arm and perhaps a bit more range.

At the plate, Valdez is a downgrade but he did manage to hit .313 in the months of September and October.  He is also faster than Polanco which should not be overlooked.

I believe the absence of Polanco hurts the team more in terms of depth as I do not see a significant downgrade in their starting lineup. Danger could present itself if Jimmy Rollins re-injures himself and Polanco’s back does not allow him to return to the field quickly. The Phillies do not want to have to play Greg Dobbs regularly, if at all.

REDS

There is a soft spot in my heart for Cincinnati as I once played alongside (OK, OK, mostly watched from the bench) Chris Heisey, a reserve outfielder on the team. I wish him the best, but sadly I cannot say the same for the rest of the Reds.

Cincinnati has two very scary hitters: Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. Votto’s crushed the ball all year long, but it took until the final two months of the season for Bruce to come on. The former #1 prospect in baseball is still just 23 years old and he mashed 15 of his 25 home runs in his final 33 games.

In addition to their left-handed stars, the Reds have a nice mix of veterans and to fill out their lineup. Scott Rolen provides playoff experience and leadership as well as a solid bat and a great glove. Brandon Phillips can be a sparkplug, though he has struggled of late, possibly due to injury. Jonny Gomes, though streaky, once again provided great production.

Perhaps the biggest offensive key for the team could be the play of Drew Stubbs who has provided more pop in the Major Leagues than he did in any of his Minor League stops.

Pitching wise the Reds boast a solid bullpen but cannot matchup with the Phillies starting pitchers. Of course, no other team in baseball can do that right now.

Edinson Volquez pitched well in his final four starts of the year, but these starts came against Pittsburgh, Arizona, Milwaukee and Houston. With 62 2/3 innings pitched on the year, throwing Volquez in Game 1 is a roll of the dice, but I don’t think Dusty Baker has a great alternative. When healthy Volquez was an ace, and if he is back to that form, he will give the Phillies trouble.

Wrapup/Today’s Game:

We’ve got about an hour to go before today’s game so I’d better get this wrapped up, incomplete as it may be.

Roy Halladay takes the mound against Volquez. This is a mismatch, but Volquez does have the raw stuff to come up big for the Reds.

If Halladay can prevent Votto and Bruce from hurting him I don’t see the rest of the lineup doing much damage. The Doctor will be pumped and I wouldn’t be surprised to see an erratic first inning by him. I’d be shocked however if he doesn’t provide his typical 7 or 8 strong innings.

Volquez might cruise through the lineup his first time through, but this Phillies team is patient. Volquez walked 35 batters in his 62 2/3 innings this year (Halladay walked just 30 in 250 2/3 innings!) and walks turn solo home runs into two and three run bombs. Not good!

That’s it, have to go shave now for the last time in hopefully about a month.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 2010 NLDS has arrived and it has pitted David against Goliath.
 
It’s the mighty Philadelphia Phillies against the “happy to be here” Cincinnati Reds.
 
Going from 78 wins to 91 is an outstanding achievement. The Queen city enjoyed quite the celebration when the team went out to Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati to celebrate the teams’ first postseason appearance since 1995 on Monday.
 
But is that it? Are you satisfied Reds fans?
 
The media has given the Reds a minuscule chance of beating the mighty Phillies—the same team that has gone to back-to-back World Series, winning one of them.
 
Critics look at the ridiculous rotation of H2O: Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels and think the Reds are screwed. They see All-Stars Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Jason Werth, and Shane Victorino and think the Reds young pitching staff is screwed.
 
Not so fast my friend.
 
Led by Dusty Baker, managing his fifth postseason with his third different team, the unproven Red have to show poise and maturity when they take the field against a weathered Phillies team.
 
They also have absolutely nothing to lose. All the pressure is on the home team.
 
With 22 wins in their last at-bat in ‘10, the Reds are very familiar to playing the underdog role. Sure ESPN radio host Colin Cowerd has called the Reds “frauds” all year. Sure they have an awful record against the other three NL teams in the postseason, 10-19 to be exact. Sure there starting pitcher doesn’t feature a single “ace”.
 
But think about all the times this club has been doubted throughout the “big 162”. They were picked to finish third in the majority of preseason predictions. A .500 or better record was the bar that was set.
 
After an embarrassing home loss to the Padres in mid-April, the Reds seemed destined for yet another long season.
 
As the season rolled on most expected the St. Louis Cardinals to eventually catch the Reds after they captured first place in May. After being swept in a four game set at Philly to end the first half, the doubters again emerged.
 
The brawl series had everyone more than convinced that the little team that could ran out of steam.
 
Well here they are, predicted by none and given no respect by all. Now the Reds once again find themselves facing the same scenario. So how can this miracle upset occur?
 
Cincinnati committed just 72 errors this season. That’s the third-fewest in the National League, and their fielding percentage of .988 was second best in the NL. The Phillies committed 83 errors.
 
The Reds were the highest-scoring team in all of the NL. If a game comes down to one swing, there are few better to have on your side then soon-to-be MVP Joey Votto, whose 37 homers and 113 RBI beat the numbers of any Phillies player this season.
 
The Reds had six players with at least 18 home runs (the Phillies had five). They hit more homers than the Phillies 188-166 and had a significantly higher team average (.272-.260).
 
And if the Phillies’ pitchers have a weakness, it’s the home run, their 131 homers allowed is tied for second in all of baseball.
 
If the Reds starting pitching can hold the potent Phils lineup to three or four runs a start, the Reds power can do the rest.
 
But that is certainly a big IF.
 
Walks will destroy you and Reds pitchers walked 108 more batters than the Phillies in 2010. That was a large factor in Philadelphia’s notably better ERA (3.66 to 4.03).
 
Should rookie Travis Wood be in the rotation? He is the only Reds lefty starter and had a perfect game into the ninth inning against the Phils in July.
 
Problem is, the Philies line-up was banged up, it was their first time seeing Wood, and he has only pitched in the majors since June. So there is no need to second-guess Baker. Look for Wood to be the first one out of the ‘pen if a starter falters early.
 
Bronson Arroyo has been rocked by the lefty-latent Phillies line-up. Edinson Volquez was pitching in Single A ball last month. Johnny Cueto has been known to get overly emotional in big moments.
 
These are legit concerns and what everyone is looking at. It’s obvious: Phillies three-man rotation> the Reds three-man rotation.
 
The Phillies are finally healthy after being banged up for most of the season. All of the mashers have returned.
 
So you can see why most think the Reds are going to get eliminated very quickly.
 
The Red Legs must rely on their potent line-up filled with power, stellar defense around the diamond and the bullpen to carry them. Aroldis Chapman will be used to lock-up the lefties in big moments. Arthur Rhodes and Nick Masset are some of the best middle-relievers out there.
 
The Philies bullpen is not nearly as intimidating as the starters. Getting to the ‘pen early will be a huge advantage for the Reds. Hanging tough with the Phils through the first six innings will be the key. A tie game in the seventh is a big Reds advantage.
 
The Reds will have to dig deep to pull it off, especially with the weight of 15 losing seasons in a row on their collective backs.
 
On paper this series should be a breeze for the Phillies…but that’s why they play the game…

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The Cincinnati Reds have been a dark-horse pick by a lot of fans for a few years and the team put it all together in 2010. Dusty Baker is now taking his third National League team into the playoffs.

Will this be the year he gets that ring?

The Reds offense, led by slugger Joey Votto and lead-off hitter Brandon Phillips, gets to face the toughest staff in the postseason in the Philadelphia Phillies.

If momentum is the next day’s starting pitcher then I love the Phillies’ momentum when they can throw out Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt.

The Reds are also a great story in that they were in the NL Central where the St. Louis Cardinals were prohibitive favorites. At the start of the season, I thought that there would be no way the Cards would not make the playoffs. Tony LaRussa dealt with a myriad of injuries and at the end of the season. They looked more like an old team than a title contender.

The Atlanta Braves are also a very nice story. They led the NL East over the Phillies for a good portion of the season until the Phils finally overtook them in September. Bobby Cox is back in the postseason in his final year as the Braves manager.

The collapse of the San Diego Padres was a real surprise in the last quarter of the MLB season. A team with a limited payroll that actually picked up some bats for their meek offense in July simply fell apart down the stretch. They did survive a 10-game losing streak with the lead but that skid allowed the San Francisco Giants to make up a lot of ground. 

The Giants and the Padres look like the same team: loaded with pitching but lacking in offense. Will the Giants get enough offense to get past the Braves in the NLDS?

It looks like the Braves and Phillies will meet in the NLCS. In 1993, the Phillies shocked the Braves in the NLCS so will the tables be turned 17 years later?

Why not? Look for the Braves to go on a magical run.

The American League was supposed to be dominated by the Yankees and Red Sox again. That has not been the case as Boston suffered through a horrible season of injuries. At a critical time of the season, the Yankees have big questions about their pitching.

CC Sabathia looks like a Cy Young winner but after that the Yankees might be in trouble. I am not going to worry about Mariano Rivera so if the Yankees do have late leads, they still have the hammer to close out the games.

The thing is, will they have late leads? The Twins are going to go without Justin Morneau but they have been without him since early July and they still played the best baseball in the fourth quarter of the season.

Morneau has been out with a concussion for three months. It really makes me fret for the NFL players who sit out a week after they suffer the same injury. I applaud the Twins and Morneau for putting safety first and the story worked out as the Twins are back in the playoffs.

But they have never beat the Yankees in the playoffs.

The Texas Rangers are back in the postseason for the first time since 1999. This is a franchise that has never won a playoff series and they get matched up with the Tampa Bay Rays. It is all about timing and Josh Hamilton’s injury could not have been at a worse time. This is a fun Ranger team that has a chance to make some noise and they have their best player returning from a rib injury.

No one ever said that life was fair.

Still, I like the Rangers to get past the Rays as Tampa Bay has no home-field advantage to speak of. They had to give away 20,000 tickets to “sell out” their moribund stadium after they clinched a playoff berth. Their catwalk also cost them a game this season and the rules have been modified to account for that quirk of Tropicana Field.

Now, the Yankees also have always beaten the Rangers in the playoffs but this is not the same Rangers team. I think that they will find a way to get past the Yankees as long as they don’t trail late in the game.

Josh Hamilton was the AL MVP but he won’t win it due to his late-season injury. I do expect him to have a huge impact in what will be a magical run by the Rangers.

I am a real sentimental guy and that makes it tough for me to go against Atlanta. I look for the Braves to finish off their magical season with a World Series win over the Texas Rangers.

Let’s now take one final look at the issue of parity in the MLB. 16 out of the 30 teams were at .500 or better. That is a very good sign of the health of the game. The Reds and Giants returning to the playoffs is also a good sign as well as the Padres staying in the race until the last day of the season.

The run of the Tampa Bay Rays is sadly coming to an end after this postseason. I do realize they have prospects aplenty in their farm system but losing the likes of Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena will have them in a temporary decline. Joe Maddon is a great manager and I hope he can keep this thing rolling in Tampa Bay.

The best farm system in baseball belongs to the Kansas City Royals. That means that the Royals might have a window opening soon to be relevant again. As a Cleveland fan, I do enjoy those windows and understand that we have to suffer through seasons like 2010 to get to those windows.

As a baseball fan, I sure wish that the windows for small market teams could stay open longer.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

MLB’s second season gets underway Wednesday. 

While the Yankees, Twins and Phillies have been postseason mainstays recently, the Giants, Rangers and Reds are back for the first time in years; the Braves are making their first appearance since 2005 and the Rays are looking to complete some unfinished business from 2008.

Every October provides a chance for young guys and traveled veterans that spent their careers with historically poor teams to get a shot at MLB’s postseason for the first time.  Some can’t handle the pressure of the sport’s biggest spotlight, while others step up to new heights.

Young guys like Andruw Jones (1996), Derek Jeter (1996), K-Rod (2002), Josh Beckett (2003), Bobby Jenks (2005), Adam Wainwright (2006) and BJ Upton (2008) instantly made a name for themselves with breakout postseason performances in their first trips.

Meanwhile, veterans like Scott Brosius (1998), Carlos Beltran (2004) and Matt Holliday (2007) paved the way for big payouts by making breakout first impressions in October.

The following slideshow will include my 15 candidates for breakout performers in their first appearance in the postseason.  These are in no particular order.  Leave a comment if you disagree with my choices or think I missed someone.

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The grind of the Major League Baseball regular season has finally come to an end and for those fans that had the patience to stick with their favorite team over that 162 game marathon, they are now bracing themselves for the sprint that is the MLB playoffs.

Despite how entertaining it might be to watch your favorite team play a four game series against the Pirates, it’s time for the playoffs to usher in a new brand of baseball where everything matters just a little bit more.

Every pitch, every managerial move, every strike, and every walk matters more, simply because you no longer have the time to make up for bad play in the postseason.

When October starts, you have to get things right the first time and if your team is lethargic or sloppy out of the gate, they will probably be sitting on the couch in a matter of days, contemplating whether or not to rip the speakers out of their television so they won’t have to listen to Joe Buck anymore.

While success in October is a team effort, it’s hard to deny that the baseball playoffs are a time where individual players shine the brightest and can single handedly turn around a game or even a whole series with one swing of the bat or one dominant pitching performance.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the most important player for each playoff team as we eagerly await the start of the 2010 postseason.

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