Want to know the best way to send a message in the playoffs? Have your pitcher toss a no hitter in your first postseason game.
Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay did just that in the Phillies opening playoff game last Wednesday night against the Cincinnati Reds. As impressive as the second no-no in postseason history was, it should also be noted that Halladay did it in the first postseason start of his career.
Talk about having ice in your veins.
The Reds might as well have given up after that game. There was no way they were going to come back from getting no hit in the playoffs. That type of momentum is just too much to overcome.
The problem is, I can't see any team overcoming the Phillies in this year's Major League Baseball playoffs.
I am of the opinion that great pitching will always beat great hitting and the Phillies have great pitching. They have a rotation that boasts three aces in Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.
Those three pitchers won a combined 43 games this season and struck out 623 batters. Halladay may have thrown a no hitter in the division series, but the other two weren't too shabby in their own right. In game two, Oswalt went five solid innings, and Hamels tossed a complete game shutout, striking out nine in the process to clinch the series on Monday.
As the Phillies head to the NLCS to defend their back-to-back National League pennants, they do so in my mind as the overwhelming favorite to capture not only another pennant, but the World Series title as well.
The Phillies finished the season 97-65, which was good for the best record in the league. This gives them the power to choose which NLCS game set-up to choose. This is significant because it gives Philadelphia the choice of going with a three-man rotation as opposed to a fourman rotation.
A three-man rotation consisting of Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels, where Halladay, arguably the best pitcher in the game, would pitch twice in the series? Game over. Sorry rest of the league, I just can't see an offense that could overcome that.
However, even if you solve its pitching, Philadelphia also boasts one of the league's most prolific offenses. Philadelphia finished second to the Reds in runs scored this season on the senior circuit. Leading the way are sluggers Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth. But the Phillies lineup is scary from top to bottom.
With the pitching and offense that they have, it's no wonder the Phillies cruised through the season as the best team in the National League. They can win any type of game, doesn't matter if it's a pitchers duel or a slugfest.
The Phillies will meet the San Francisco Giants in the National League Championship Series. The Giants post the only rotation that can even hold a candle to Philadelphia. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez could give the Phillies a run for their money if the series turns into a battle of the pitchers.
If they can get by San Francisco, a team from the offense heavy American League awaits in the World Series. The three teams left in the American League playoffs, the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers were the first, third and fourth highest scoring teams in baseball.
It is these high-powered teams that could pose the biggest threat to Philadelphia's title hopes. Oswalt and Hamels have struggled against American League teams in the past, so Halladay's experience in the AL could prove to be the difference. Halladay spent over a decade in Toronto, consistently facing potent offensive teams in the AL East such as the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox.
The Rays have a solid rotation with Cy Young candidate David Price leading the way, along with an offense that averaged just about five runs per game this season.
Will a 2008 rematch be enough to take down the Phillies? I really don't think so. Price looked like a young pitcher in his first postseason in losing game one to the Rangers, and the Rays need him to perform like the ace he is if they get a chance to take on the Phillies.
Philadelphia looks just about unstoppable so far this postseason, and dispatching the Reds as quickly as they did proved that. If I had to put money on it, I would bet that the Phillies' trio of aces and potent, high-scoring offense will lead them to their second World Series title in three years.
Still just upset about the Athletics leaving Philidelphia? Think Roy Hallady will ever give up a hit this post season? E-mail Ryan at rmevans2@wisc.edu.
