Kuzul

The Philadelphia Phillies should be the favorite to not only represent the National League in the World Series, but they should be the favorite to win the World Series title.

The Phillies have the best three starting pitchers in baseball: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt.

They also have home field advantage up until the World Series where they have a record of 54-30.

They have an offensive lineup that is coming together and can hit with the best in baseball.

They also have experience. They made it to the World Series in back-to-back years and have won the NL East four-straight seasons.

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The Phillies are looking very good.  They just clinched the National League East for the fourth time in a row, and they are going to head into the postseason soon.  Earlier in the season, we probably wouldn’t have expected this, but here they are, looking great.

With October coming up and a playoff berth guaranteed for the Phillies, it brings up a big question:  Will this team do as good of a job in the postseason as they have done in the last few years?

The Phillies have won three consecutive division titles and two consecutive National League titles.  They have had a very good team in the past, so I am going to talk about this team versus the teams in the past three years.

I will arrange it into three categories:  additions and losses, advantages and disadvantages, and similarities and differences.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are the hottest playoff team in baseball right now, sporting the MLB’s best record at 94-63. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games and recently had an 11-game winning streak. They are playing outstanding baseball and look to be in postseason form, and have also clinched their fourth consecutive NL East title.

With the Phillies playing this well, can they be stopped? They have been to the past two World Series, and won it all in 2008. It will take a lot for a team to stop the Phillies once the postseason starts.

The Phillies look like they will coast through the playoffs to another World Series. It is very possible that the World Series will be their first true challenge. With that being the case, lets look at 10 reasons the Tampa Bay Rays currently are the biggest threat to the Phillies.

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It began in Washington on April 5, and fittingly, it has ended in Washington with the Philadelphia Phillies crushing the Washington Nationals, 8-0 en route to a divisional clinch.

And with every ending comes a new beginning.

Now, Dem Phightin’ Phils will begin the process of gearing up for their fourth postseason berth in as many years.

And they do it HEALTHY!

Jimmy Rollins will return as soon as today, and the rest of the musketeers are in good health and playing at an incredibly high level.

But the Phillies will have to utilize a couple of things in order to survive the bevy of teams that they could face.

Let’s take a quick look at what lies ahead for the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Part 1 of 7

With the Philadelphia Phillies standing on the precipice of a fourth consecutive postseason berth, the focus of the team and fan base is two-fold. 

First, take care of business and nail down a fourth straight NL East crown. 

Second, take a look towards the end of year championship tourney to see how the Phillies stack up and are positioned for success. 

Should they do the expected and wind the magic number to zero, the Phillies appear better positioned for postseason success than anytime in their 127-year history. 

This assessment traces to seven key advantages that at this point appear to make them the favorites to be the last team standing— each of which will be detailed leading into the playoffs.  

Advantage 1: “The Big Three” Starting Pitchers

The most obvious and likely largest advantage is the Phillies top three starting pitchers. “The Big Three” or “H2O” as they have been billed present a formidable challenge for any opponent. 

Last year, with Hamels seemingly suffering from a season-long championship hangover, a mid-season trade brought a new ace in the form of Cliff Lee. The former Cy Young winner quickly won the hearts and minds of fans and teammates alike with a spectacular three month stint.  

Lee demonstrated pitching mastery as well as role model leadership qualities. Tremendous intensity, laser-like focus, and a fearless demeanor accompanied him to the mound every time he appeared on the lineup card. 

Fast forward to 2010. A much debated tandem of trades sent Lee to Seattle while netting a new ace in Roy Halladay in the offseason. 

Then, somewhat surprisingly, GM Ruben Amaro swung a huge deal prior to the mid-year trade deadline that brought Houston Astros stopper Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia. Despite a misleading 6-12 record at the time, scouts still believed the newest Roy still possessed dominating stuff. 

Meanwhile, after a slow start that resembled 2009, Hamels found his fastball, command, and Mojo. He also added a cutter to his repertoire that started to pay dividends. 

Not surprisingly, the heat of the pennant chase motivated Oswalt to offer up his best work of the season. His pre-trade losing record now stands at 13-13 after going 7-1 with a 1.76 ERA in a Phillies uniform. 

From day one, Halladay has pitched as advertised, racking up a 20-10 record with a 2.53 ERA. For good measure, Halladay threw in Major League Baseball’s 20th perfect game. 

Perhaps even more importantly, he has exhibited the same leadership qualities embodied by Lee that has a way of motivating an entire staff. 

And, clearly, each of “The Big Three” invokes a subtle challenge to one another through their own work.  

The five and seven-game formats of the postseason allow teams to go with a four or even three-man rotation. Obviously, this only serves to enhance the advantage of possessing three top tier starters. 

Another benefit is that as good as each pitcher is individually, they are arguably better together.  Rather than bearing the weight of “ace” status, the pressure is disbursed amongst the trio. 

In the postseason, that could bring a psychological lift to both pitcher and teammates by eliminating the  “must win” pressure.  The three should be “locked, loaded, and relaxed” knowing another ace is waiting in the wings. 

This season’s National League contenders will surely bring some good pitching, whether it’s the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, or Colorado Rockies. Matt Latos, Jon Garland, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe, Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, and Ubaldo Jiminez— all can be good to great. 

That being said, no trio tops that of the 2010 Phillies. Exactly what Ruben Amaro had in mind.    

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Roy Halladay has been an ace for the Phillies this year.  He is 20-10 with a 2.53 ERA.  But with a division title just beyond the Phillies’ grasp, there are a lot of questions about how Halladay will perform in his first postseason.

Although he pitched very well for both the Phillies and the Blue Jays, the postseason is new to him.  There is a lot of debate about whether his playoff performance will be as good as his pitching in the regular season.  I am going to talk about why Halladay will dominate in what could be the biggest opportunity of his career.

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With the Atlanta Braves coming into Philadelphia this week for a three-game series, the Phillies couldn’t have it set up any better.

On Monday evening the Phillies had a three-game lead over the Braves in the National League East and still had three games at Atlanta remaining on the schedule.

If Philadelphia wanted to lock up the N.L. East crown, this series would go a long way towards popping the champagne.

And that’s precisely why manager Charlie Manuel had his best three guys ready to take the mound.

Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt were all scheduled to face the Braves.

One quick sweep later and the Phillies can breathe easy with a six-game lead. Meanwhile, the Braves cling to a half-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card race.

A month ago Atlanta looked like they were in control of the division. A Hollywood ending was unfolding: a division title and playoff run in Bobby Cox’s final season as the manager of the Braves.

Except too many people discounted the ability and experience of the Phillies, if that’s even possible to do with a team that has represented the N.L. in the last two World Series, winning one of them.

Fast-forward and the Phillies have run off 10 straight wins and sit days away from clinching a playoff berth.

With Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt all doing their part to anchor a rotation that has quickly become the best in baseball, the Phillies have become favorite picks to reach the World Series again this fall and perhaps win their second title in three years.

As a preview to October and a hat tip to those predicting the Phillies will win it all, we look at six of the most important Phillies who will determine whether or not the city is crowned champions in 2010.

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When it comes time to renew a player’s contract, make trades, or sign free agents, major league general managers can seem incredibly cut-throat and can be perceived as demonstrating little loyalty to their players.

But when major league general managers change jobs, they are often stricken with a dose of loyalty, and will often seek to acquire many of the prospects and youngsters they developed during their time with the previous team.

It is the reason Sammy Sosa went from Texas to the White Sox to the Cubs at an early age, as Larry Himes went from being the White Sox GM to being the Cubs GM. It is the reason the Cincinnati Reds were littered with former Twins under Wayne Krivsky, and it is the reason the Washington Nationals were littered with former Reds under Jim Bowden.

And so it is that Ed Wade, the current Houston Astros GM and former Philadelphia Phillies GM, has also had his imprint on his current and former teams during the last four years. As the Phillies have become World Champions and the Astros have become Phillies-South, players developed, signed, and traded by Ed Wade have made their mark on both teams.

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In sports, the ability to win on enemy turf often distinguishes the contenders from the pretenders.

That’s proven to be true during the 2010 MLB season, particularly in regards to the marathon-style NL East race.

The Phillies, who begun the season just 22-30 away from home, have now won 17 of their last 20 on the road. The 2010 season will mark the seventh straight season in which the Phillies have had a winning record when needing room service. Simply remarkable.

Then again, maybe it’s not too remarkable, since these Phillies seem to prove every year that divisional standings only matter at the end of September, not at the end of July.

Remember the type of rhetoric that was being thrown around on sports-related radio, TV, and web pages in early July? You remember, right? Try not to laugh…

The Phillies were not going to win the NL East in 2010 because the division was so dramatically improved. 

The Braves and Mets were motivated by and hungry for success, while the Phillies were emotionally and physically drained from all the baseball they had played the past two seasons, and had grown (gasp) complacent.

Of course, the experts prognosticating Philadelphia’s free-fall from greatness in early July forgot to take both Atlanta and New York’s incompetence on the road into consideration.

By Independence Day, the Braves and Mets were both “lights out” at home (30-10, 28-12 respectively). However, each team had an underwhelming 18-24 record on the road.

In the 10 weeks since, both teams have learned how difficult it is to win seven out of every 10 games at home, while neither has ever been able to rectify their road woes.

Being a road warrior is the signature of a champion, and longtime Atlanta skipper Bobby Cox has always known it.

From 1991 to 2005, Cox’s Braves were perennially one of baseball’s best road teams and finished all but two of those division-championship seasons with a winning record on the road (1996 and 2005).

Still, Bobby’s upstart 2010 Braves spent much of the past three months in first place, as it took the veteran Phillies a pretty long time to begin rounding into October form.

By the end of July, Philadelphia had lost 23 of its previous 32 road games. The last time the Phillies suffered through that bad of a prolonged stretch on the road was back in 2003, a telltale year in which the Phils were dynamite at Veterans Stadium (49-32) but were ultimately undone by their inability to win on the road (37-44).

Philly hasn’t suffered a losing season away from home since, and has made winning on the road a staple in its very own twenty-first century glory days.

The 2007 Phillies won their last six games in Shea Stadium against the Mets. As it turned out, every one of the wins was critical.

The 2008 Phillies won all nine of their games in Turner Field against the Braves.

The 2009 Phillies averted disaster by starting the season 24-9 on the road, despite beginning the year 13-22 at home.

The 2010 Phillies recent excellence away from Citizens Bank Park has placed them on the doorstep of a franchise-record fourth consecutive division title.

Of course, the Braves hopes of a NL East championship aren’t dead yet. They still have six road games remaining and end the regular season with six more at Turner Field. But for Atlanta, it all might be too little, too late.

The Phillies meanwhile, when it comes to winning on the road, have once again shown that it’s better to do it late than never.

And that’s a cliché that suits this club just fine.

By the way, since July 8 the Phillies are 27-10 at Citizens Bank Park. That too is the sign of a team who’s “for real.”

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If they’re not playing for all the marbles the next few days at Citizens Bank Park, they’re playing for a lot of them.

The host Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, owners of the best two records in the National League, open a three-game series tonight with the Phillies leading the Braves by three games.

The two teams will meet again in Atlanta October 1-3 to close the regular season after playing two series apiece against their other divisional rivals.

One has to think that the Phillies—barring a sweep at the hands of their Southern rivals—are in the driver’s seat for the NL East crown and an easier path (on paper) through the playoffs.

Taking two out of three will put them in great shape, and a sweep of the Braves will make the division theirs for sure, barring anything 1964-like. I’m not looking up to the heavens as I write this.

While both teams covet the division, the NL math says the following. With the Reds in great shape in the Central and the Cards unable to get going, five teams will be playing for three available playoff spots. In other words, any two of the Phillies, Braves, Giants, Padres, and Rockies will not make the playoffs. With a 2.5-game lead in the wild card, the Braves are in pretty good shape for that consolation prize.

So, how did the two teams get here, and what’s likely to occur at CBP the next few days?

The Braves, with extra motivation to give skipper Bobby Cox a memorable final season, have played inspired ball all year, even when faced with a bit of adversity.

Chipper Jones, their most recognizable player and one of the best players in baseball the last 15 years, has struggled through an injury-marred campaign in what may be the last season of his Cooperstown-worthy career. The former MVP has been on the shelf since August 11, freezing his decidedly non-chipper stats: .265/10/46.

No. 2 pitcher Derek Lowe has struggled with a 14-12 record and 4.12 ERA, while their other veteran, ace Tim Hudson, has had a fine season (16-8 with a 2.61 ERA).

It may be to the Phillies’ advantage that neither Lowe nor Hudson, having started the Braves’ last two wins at Citi Field, will not face the Phils this week.

Offensively, the Chipper-less Braves don’t really scare you, yet they have managed to score only 13 fewer runs than the mighty Phillies this year, a negligible difference over the course of 150 games. Their two most recognizable names remaining in the lineup have had solid years.

Jason (the J-Hey Kid) Heyward, who just turned 21, will finish his rookie season with close to 20 homers, 80 RBI, and 90 runs while drawing a lot of walks, as well as his first All-Star appearance.

Catcher Brian McCann, already a five-time All-Star at age 26, is a solid receiver who leads the Braves in both homers and RBI.

As you wonder who else would start for the Phillies among Braves regulars (and McCann and Heyward would be close calls over Carlos Ruiz and Jayson Werth), you may consider two other All-Stars: Omar (“Thanks for picking me, Cholly”) Infante, a glorified utility infielder who is hitting .337, and Martin Prado, a second baseman by trade who has manned Jones’ hot corner while again hitting over .300 and is in the process of scoring over 100 runs. But would you take those two over Chase Utley and Placido Polanco?

First baseman Derrek Lee came over at the trade deadline from the Cubs, and the veteran still plays a good first base and provides occasional pop—including a towering grand slam yesterday at Citi Field. Other than that, the lineup does not seem to do a whole lot, yet the Braves manage to score about as many runs as the Phils (and good for fourth in the NL). Just like the Phillies, they attack you until the third out of the ninth, and beyond if needed.

Manning the hill against the Phillies will be the hard to spell and usually hard to hit Jair Jurrjens, who missed 10 or 11 starts this season and has not yet matched his 2009 form of 14-10/2.64. Just 24, this guy is really good—when on.

Two other young pitchers, Tommy Hanson (23) and Mike (“I’m almost a”) Minor, 22, will get the ball in games two and three. Hanson has followed up a stellar rookie season with pretty good stats, including a 3.62 ERA, but has only a 10-11 record to show for it. Minor has shown lots of promise but is also saddled with a 5.84 ERA in his seven starts.

Bullpen, you ask? Our old friend, the sometimes combustible Billy Wagner, has been typically puzzling. The seven-time All-Star is 7-2 with a terrific 1.43 ERA and a microscopic 0.83 WHIP. He has saved 35 games yet has also blown seven. With all his faults, one would presumably trade the erratic post-2008 Brad Lidge for him unless one values clubhouse chemistry.

The Phillies, two-time defending league champions, find themselves once again as the team to beat in the National League. How they got here is also a tribute to their manager, Charlie Manuel, every bit as much as the 2010 Braves are a testament to Bobby Cox.

It seems like just yesterday that this columnist (one can be more of a “homer” on Bleacher Report) was praying for the Phillies to somehow get lucky enough to land a wild card spot and to have a relatively healthy team once they got there.

Witness that Wilson Valdez has played in more games this year (100) than team leader Jimmy Rollins (82) and has a higher batting average. Superstars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have suffered stints on the DL, and the injury bug has probably hit the Phillies as hard as any team this year not playing in Fenway Park.

In a 2010 campaign that has seen the Phillies battered and bruised and sometimes sleepwalking, they somehow appear to be the class of the NL once again. The biggest reason? A three-headed monster (which I have nicknamed H2O) at the top of their pitching rotation, consisting of Cy Young Award front runner Roy Halladay, the improved, battle-tested Cole Hamels, and longtime Astros ace Roy Oswalt. All have been amazing since Oswalt gratefully accepted his get-out-of-mediocrity pass from Houston.

H2O is scheduled to start the three games of this showdown, and in that order. While it bodes well for the Phillies, one would be foolish to count out the Braves, and it would behoove all Phillies fans and baseball fans in general to watch all nine innings and prepare to watch an extra-inning game or two.

Knowing a sweep would virtually lock up the NL East for the hometown Fightins, the prediction here is that the Braves will find a way to win one of the games. If this holds true, the Phillies will extend their division lead to four, and the Braves will still be on top of the wild-card hunt.

In other words, the Phillies and Braves may very well face each other again even after October 3, and for even bigger marbles than this series offers.

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