This is it folks, October baseball is here. The Phillies have won their third straight NL East title and own the second best record in the National League. They will face the Colorado Rockies, the winners of the NL Wild Card because the #1 Dodgers can not face a division opponent in the first round.
The Phillies finished the regular season with the second best record in the NL at 93-69, one more win than last year's championship team. The Rockies were 92-70, three games behind the Dodgers in the West. The Phillies won the season series 4-2.
Random facts: Harry Kalas' last game he called was in Colorado when Matt Stairs hit a walk off homer back in April. JA Happ pitched a complete game shut out versus the Rockies back in August. The last time these teams met were in the 2007 NLDS when the Rockies swept the series 3-0 and went on to get swept in the World Series by the Red Sox. The Rockies are 74-42 since Jim Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle.
Schedule: (I'll update the probables when they are known)
Wed. 10/7; 2:37 PM - COL: Jimenez, U @ PHI: Lee, Cl
Thur. 10/8; 2:37 PM - COL: Cook, A @ PHI: Hamels
Sat. 10/10; 9:37 PM - PHI: TBA @ COL: Hammel
*Sun. 10/11; TBA - PHI: TBA @ COL: TBA
*Tues. 10/13; TBA - COL: TBA @ PHI: TBA
*if necessary
Teams by position:
1B: Todd Helton, at 36, is still one of the best hitting first basemen in baseball. He hit .325 on the season but saw his power numbers drop a bit, hitting only 15 homers and 86 RBI's. Ryan Howard is one of the best power hitters in the game. He led the majors with 141 RBI's and was second only to Albert Pujols in homers (45). He batted .279, 28 points higher than last years average.
2B: Clint Barmes isn't anything special for the Rockies but he did hit 23 homers. He doesn't compare at all to the Phillies best player and best two-bagger in the league, Chase Utley. Utley certainly is the man but Barmes can be a dangerous bat in the bottom of the order.
3B: Garrett Atkins and Ian Stewart both will see time at this position due to Stewart's poor batting average vs. lefties (.178). Pedro Feliz is one of the top fielding third basemen in the league and has had a career highs in hits, RBI's and OBP.
SS: Troy Tulowitzki is such an incredible athlete. He has also been probably their hottest player since August 1, batting .348 with 13 homers and 40 RBI's. He is also one of the best fielders in the game. Jimmy Rollins is a very similar player and is the catalyst to the Phillies offense.
OF: Dexter Fowler, Seth Smith, and Brad Hawpe are a very good and very reliable offensive outfield. Carlos Gonzalez will also get plenty of playing time for the Rockies. Hawpe has really cooled down since the break. Fowler is their lead off man and is the spark to their offense. Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth are all enjoying all star years. Victorino led the league in triple and is a very speedy CF who can track balls and throw out runners. Werth is having an amazing year in his first full year, hitting .268 with 36 homers, 98 runs, and 99 RBI's.
C: Yorvit Torrealba and Chris Ianetta could split time due to Ianetta's .296 average vs. lefties. Carlos Ruiz is one of the best defensive catchers in the game but his offense still sucks.
Rotation: This unit for Colorado is going to be without lefty Jorge de la Rosa, their leader in wins (16). Jason Marquis had a great start to the season but really tailed off down the stretch. Ubaldo Jimenez was already named the Rockies game 1 starter and Aaron Cook will go in game 2. The Phillies will look to Cliff Lee for game one and Cole Hamels for game 2. Both eat up innings and can throw a lot of pitches. They will be followed up by the consistent Joe Blanton, JA Happ, or the best big-game pitcher Pedro Martinez for games 3 and 4.
Bull Pen: Huston Street went 35-37 this year in saves, something the Phillies wished Brad Lidge would do (31-42). Jose Contreras, Matt Daley, and Rafael Battencourt will be the guys to set up Street. The Phillies pen is injury riddled and the closer role is a mystery. I wouldn't be surprised if Charlie Manuel sticks to his guns and closes with Lidge. He won't be hesitant to go to Ryan Madson or Brett Myers if Lidge can't get the job done. The pen will also be without JC Romero and Jamie Moyer for the season and Chan Ho Park for this series.
Manager: Jim Tracy replaced Clint Hurdle, who was fired early in the season. He rallied the Rockies and got them to where they are. Charlie Manuel has one ring under is belt and is looking to go for two. He kept this team together even when they were struggling. Be is the second manager to lead the Phillies to three straight division titles (Danny Ozark in 1976-78).
Lineups:
COL: Fowler, Gonzalez, Helton, Tulowitzki, Atkins, Torrealba, Hawpe, Barmes
PHI: Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Werth, Ibanez, Feliz, Ruiz
Series prediction: The Phillies are the better team but the Rockies are on fire. Should be a tight series; Phillies in 4.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment