I can’t tell you how much this pains me to say this being a diehard Giants fan. But a noble journalist puts his allegiances aside.
Here is an in-depth comparison of two teams, in amazing detail and quality (HD detail and quality). The main determinant in the series, I believe, will be the powerful offense of the Phils…and the three-runs-is-a-chore offense of the Giants.
As the 2010 post-season delves further into October, the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies are the last two National League teams standing.
The National League Championship Series between these two clubs will begin on Saturday, October 16th – in Philadelphia.
The Phillies jumped all over Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds, sweeping Dusty Baker and company right out of the playoffs. While it may be tee time in Cincinnati, the Phillies are resting, laying in wait for the Giants.
In San Francisco there lies another brand of baseball. The Giants secured their NLCS ticket in four games, sending Atlanta home for good in 2010. Shipping off Bobby Cox was no easy task, each game being decided by a single run.
On paper and before your eyes, the Phillies have been the team to beat coming into the playoffs. They feature top notch pitching, a fearsome lineup, and oodles of playoff knowledge in the dugout.
One thing is for certain with the Giants, they can pitch. It is the other things like hitting, and oh maybe more hitting that are less certain.
The Giants squeaked by the Braves, getting just enough runs to win by the narrowest of margins. This will not fly against the Phillies. If the Giants want to have a chance against a true juggernaut like Phillie, they will need certain players to step up and deliver big time.
It’s been written all over the blogosphere how the Cincinnati Reds have self destructed in their NLDS series against the Phillies. A series that was wrapped up in the minimum three games on Sunday night.
But how much of the errors that other teams make are the result of bad timing, poor fundamentals or bad luck and how much can be attributed to the lurking presence of the Phillies causing teams like the Reds to feel the pressure of having to play a perfect game to win?
Though no one knows for sure, it’s a valid question, as the Reds built their NL Central title on playing solid fundamental baseball all season and now suddenly they can’t seem to make the plays when needed.
Well, this much we do know: the sight of H20 can make any team nervous. Against the Phils big three of Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt, teams know they won’t get very many opportunities to shine and must play their best baseball to have a chance, especially in a short series.
So let’s take a look at how the intimidation factor might play against the remaining teams going forward.
Roy Oswalt got roughed up in his first postseason game for the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, giving up three earned runs in just five innings in what would eventually become a Phillies’ Game 2 victory. This was on the heels of Cliff Lee’s first postseason appearance with the Texas Rangers, in which Lee went seven innings, allowing only one earned run with 10 strikeouts and no walks.
So will Oswalt or Lee guide their newly adopted teams to postseason glory? If past midseason pitcher acquisitions are any indication, the odds aren’t good. Let’s have a look.
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 Philadelphia Phillies finished the regular season with a 97-65 record, which was the best in Major League Baseball this season.
The Phillies are favored to win the World Series for the second time in three years. With one of the best offenses in baseball and a starting rotation compared to the Braves power pitchers in the 1990s, the Phillies are on the verge of creating a dynasty.
Even if the Phillies win a world championship, how can this team improve for 2011 and beyond?
Here are 10 players this Phillies should pursue over the offseason…
The playoffs are here yet again boys and girls and that means raucous crowds, high pressure situations, and games that start after my bedtime.
The divisional series crank up Wednesday night with three exciting games on tap to fill your hearts with joy.
So sit back, relax, and let the wave of playoff baseball rush over you, here is what you can expect in terms of each match-up in the divisional round of these 2010 playoffs.
The Philadelphia Phillies are the favorite to win the 2010 World Series.
Oddsmakers in Las Vegas have called for a rematch of the 2009 World Series since the beginning of the season.
Bodog.com has the Philadelphia Phillies as 21/10 favorites. The New York Yankees are 7/2 and the Tampa Bay Rays are not far behind at 9/2.
Let me preface this article by saying that I DO believe that the Phillies will win the World Series.
Philadelphia is not only the best team in baseball, but also the hottest team.
No team wants to play in Citizens Bank Park.
No team wants to pitch to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth. Not to mention Carlos Ruiz, a .302 number EIGHT hitter.
No team wants to start a series by facing Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels.
Charlie Manuel’s team should win their second championship in the last three years.
However, it is possible that the Philadelphia Phillies will not win the World Series.
Any one of or a combination of these five reasons will be a fine explanation of what went wrong.
The Philadelphia Phillies are in a good place. It’s a place most young kids, high school standouts, and college athletes covet.
The sporting pinnacle.
You’re on a team—your own team—that you helped build with your own hands and you are enjoying success year after year.
This is what Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and the rest of the gang are experiencing now.
They’ve clinched four straight National East crowns, and they find themselves standing alone at the top of the mountain as the hottest team in the MLB.
They’ve even held the league’s best record for a good part of the final stretch this year.
It’s hard to bet against the Phillies right now, with so much going well for them.
Among many different things that work in their favor, I was able to consolidate them into 12 different things, beginning with…
With his 97-pitch complete game shut out of the Washington Nationals, Phillies starter Roy Halladay sent the Phillies back to the postseason for the fourth straight year.
Soon after, pitching coach Rich Dubee announced that Halladay would be the Phillies Game 1 starter in the NLDS, it will mark the first time in Halladay’s career that he pitches in the postseason.
Halladay has been one of the most elite pitchers in baseball over the past decade. Despite being near the top the league every year statistically, his Toronto Blue Jays were never able to overcome the Yankees or Red Sox and later the Rays.
This brings up the point: Who are some other Phillies starters whom, regardless if they had been with the team a long or short while, made their playoff debuts in red pinstripes.
Here are a couple notable starting pitchers who made their first career postseason starts with the Phillies.