Gom

Go Halos! LOL!

Flashback of Ortiz killing this guy...thank God he's not pitching for us anymore.

Another bad call by the ump. Great play by Rollins, but he was safe. This is getting annoying in the post-season.

Give Francis credit. He is pitching lights out.

How nervous are you guys right now? My nerves are shot already, and we don't play until tomorrow.

I actually think your starting pitching is better, Kilo. I think Schilling and Pettitte are a push. I think Clemens and Matsuzaka are a push, but Mussina is plain garbage, and I put Lester ahead of him. I think Beckett is better this season than Wang.

I'm looking for the 10-9 games from this series, and 1-0 games from the Backs-Cubs series.

Definitely the over. I see six complete inning for Roger, 4 hits, 3 BB, 2 runs. Exiting with a 5-2 lead.

It's funny how you guys call Clemens a fraud when he is arguably the best pitcher to ever don a Red Sox uniform. How about Schilling with red paint on his sock? Both of these guys are hard core gamers. If they can move, they'll play.

I would take Pettitte, Clemens, and Mussina over Matsuzaka, Schilling, and Lester in the playoffs any day of the week.

Of course. But why did you put up Schilling and Pettitte's numbers? Pettitte goes in game 2, Schilling in game 3. How does that make any sense?

Keith Law's Scouting report. Enjoy. The one-time Cardiac Kids end up on the right side of a tremendous September collapse, erasing memories of a 1964 pennant race no one really remembers anyway. This year's club features some of the best hitters in the game, an ace lefty starter who's still flying somewhat under the radar and a workhorse bullpen with members who pitched better the harder they were worked. The Phillies are now the 13th National League franchise to make the playoffs in the wild-card era, leaving only Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Washington on the outside. The Phillies also became the fourth franchise GM Pat Gillick has brought to the playoffs, and though most of the key players were already in the system when he took the job, his first move -- trading Jim Thome for Aaron Rowand, freeing a spot for Ryan Howard about a year after the kid was ready -- made this playoff appearance possible. Strengths This team can rake. The Phillies led the NL in runs scored, scoring 39 runs (5 percent) more than Colorado and 76 more than Atlanta, the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in that category. The top of their lineup is a tough gantlet for opposing pitchers to run through, with four of the top 25 or so hitters in the league this season in their top five spots. Chase Utley was easily the most valuable player on the Phillies this year, and he would have won the MVP award in a rout if his hand hadn't been broken by a pitch thrown by John Lannan in late July. The lineup is all the stronger because each of those five top hitters has a different strength and a different weakness: • Jimmy Rollins has a quick bat and a very short path to the ball, producing a lot of contact and a wide hitting zone. However, he lacks patience and swings early in the count, especially at first-pitch fastballs. From the left side, he's particularly vulnerable to breaking balls below the zone, whether in at his feet or away. From the right side, he has better plate coverage and is tougher to beat without changing speeds and locations, except when he beats himself by jumping at pitches too early in the count. How They'll Win • The Phillies' best chance to win is via brute force: Score early and often and let manager Charlie Manuel loosen his white-knuckled grip on the pitching hook. The strength of their top five hitters makes this plausible. • Manuel will go to J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Brett Myers in some order, even asking them to get 12 outs to preserve a lead or keep a close game from getting out of hand. • Cole Hamels gives them a shot in any game he starts, and against righty-heavy lineups, Jamie Moyer has a shot to roll out six good innings if he can spot his fastball. • Utley has outstanding bat speed and is the toughest out in the Philly lineup. Despite an awkward setup with a lot of extra movement, he adjusts very well to changing speeds and is willing to go the other way in any count, even taking outside fastballs to left. He's slightly vulnerable to big breaking balls from left-handed pitchers, but has never shown a huge platoon split. He hits the ball middle-in as well as anyone in the Phillies' lineup. • Howard, on the other hand, does not like left-handed pitchers. He still can punish their mistakes, but he clearly doesn't see the ball as well from them and doesn't adjust well to off-speed stuff from lefties. Against righties, however, he's a monster, crushing all types of pitches, and shortening up when he needs to on changeups over the plate or middle-in. Right-handers might try changeups away or fastballs very far in, but if one tries to come in and doesn't get in far enough, Howard might put one off the Liberty Bell. • Pat Burrell -- whose fan club should be called Burrell's Hive -- isn't much of a fan favorite, but he does two things well: take pitches and hit homers. He lays off of a lot of pitches other hitters would chase, including breaking balls under his hands (from a RHP) or at his feet (from a LHP). Of course, he also takes a lot of pitches other hitters would drive; even with two strikes, he often is looking for the perfect pitch to hit, and good pitchers don't offer the perfect pitch to hit very often (or else they wouldn't be good pitchers). His ideal pitch is a fastball middle-out he can hit out of the park. He, Utley and Howard all work the count extremely well. • Rowand's fluky 2007 is going to net him a big payday this offseason. He has an all-out swing and gets his head off the ball early, but he's able to take balls middle-out and pull them, flashing average power and not missing mistakes. He has a lot of weak areas, especially on the ball in: Hard stuff in on his hands, fastballs up and in, and sliders down and in from lefties all give him trouble. Those five hitters combined for 155 homers, 183 doubles and 367 walks. To give some perspective, six NL teams (including the Cubs) hit fewer than 155 homers in 2007, although everyone drew at least 367 walks. How They'll Lose • Anyone behind Cole Hamels is a candidate to get blown out, and the Phillies don't have the bullpen to keep a game close for six or seven innings. • Charlie Manuel also has shown an itchy trigger finger for pitching changes -- not John McLarenesque, but not far behind, either -- and he's a constant risk to overmanage in tight spots. • Despite the diversity of weaknesses among the Phillies' best hitters, an opposing pitcher with good command of a three- or four-pitch repertoire can succeed against them, especially if he's left-handed and starts with a leg up on Ryan Howard. Philly's ace starter is as good as they come, even if he isn't usually mentioned in the same breath as Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb. Cole Hamels is a bit of a finesse left-hander, although the term doesn't do him justice because he misses bats left and right with two plus secondary pitches: a 75- to 77-mph curveball with a big two-plane break and the best left-hander's changeup not thrown by a guy named "Johan," a 77-80 pitch with tumble and run that often gives it as much movement as a short breaking ball. Even his fastball, a bit below average at 84-88 mph, has good run, and he is able to spot it to both corners of the plate. Hamels has plus command of all his pitches and even better control, and he shows a great feel for pitching for someone without a lot of pro experience. Defensively, the Phillies are solid up the middle, although perhaps not quite up to their reputation. Rollins is an average defensive shortstop; he makes the highlight play and has a plus arm, but his hands are a little rough and his footwork isn't great. Utley is among the best at second base, with as much range as any intermedista in the league. And although Rowand is best-known for his penchant for running into walls without regard to the consequences for his proboscis, he has average range and an average arm, although he could stand to hit the cutoff man rather than trying to throw through to third base all the time. Weaknesses After Hamels, the rotation gets shaky. Kyle Kendrick has been a fan favorite, but his stuff and his numbers don't speak to his having a big future. Kendrick's repertoire is fringe-average at best. His fastball is 85-90 mph with a little sink, but it straightens out way too often; his curve is 78-83 with a soft, short break. He has excellent control, but he's homer-prone and probably always will be, and with a well below-average changeup, he gets torched by left-handed hitters. Jamie Moyer is pitching largely on feel and on a great changeup right now. He's 80-83 with his fastball and has to keep it down to survive. His changeup, 74-78 mph, runs in first, then fades away from right-handed batters, and it's his go-to pitch in big situations or with two strikes; he'll double or even triple up on it, even though it becomes less effective the more hitters see it. Against lefties, he'll mix in a slow-roller curveball with good spin and surprising depth, but it's a little too easy for righties to track. Question Marks • How much more do Tom Gordon, Brett Myers and J.C. Romero have in the tank? • What will Charlie Manuel do if -- or when -- one of his non-Cole Hamels starters gets pounded early? • Can the Phillies score enough runs to make the previous two questions irrelevant? Kyle Lohse has good stuff -- he's a definite candidate to become Jason Marquis this winter and get a three-year deal everyone laughs at -- but mediocre command; he's a little better as a fastball-slider reliever, although his durability is valuable in the rotation. For the sake of everyone involved, let's just hope he gets the nod here over Adam Eaton. The Phillies' bullpen was a huge part of their September run, but the piper will be by sooner or later, and he doesn't give terms. J.C. Romero appeared 20 times in September. Tom Gordon, who has pitched this year with a slight tear in his labrum and has been running on fumes for two years, pitched 18 times in September. Brett Myers missed two months with a shoulder strain, had worked as a starter his whole career before a panicked move to the bullpen in April and pitched 16 times in September. The Phillies might not have had any choice but to ride these guys hard to get to the postseason, and all three were very effective down the stretch, but at some point -- maybe in October, maybe next year -- the heavy workloads will start to take their toll. Finally, the Phillies' defense on the corners ranges from average to awful. Howard is terrible at first base, enough so that the Philly owners might propose that the National League adopt the designated hitter for the 2009 season. He's not agile around the bag; he doesn't stretch well to receive throws; and his hands are unsure when the ball is hit to him. Wes Helms and Abraham Nunez have below-average range at third. Burrell is slow and reacts late to balls in left. Only Shane Victorino, solid average in right with an average arm, rises above "liability" status among the team's four corner guys. And although Carlos Ruiz is considered a smart catcher and good receiver, he's more than a little prone to the mental mistake.

From Keith Law of ESPN. Enjoy! These are not your father's Colorado Rockies. The Rox finished eighth in the NL in home runs this year, but they allowed the fifth-fewest home runs, giving up one less than the Mets, who play in a great pitcher's park. That stinginess with the long ball allowed the Rockies to finish eighth in the NL in ERA, their best showing ever. Some of this can attributed to the humidor, which has transformed Coors Field from an insane hitter's park to a good hitter's park. But some of it's due to the turnover of their pitching staff, which is now filled with modest-stuff guys who keep the ball down and throw strikes. They also feature a pair of exciting power arms who were thrown into the rotation by circumstance. Strengths The Rockies' pitchers owe a debt of gratitude to their tremendous middle-infield defense. Troy Tulowitzki may win the NL Rookie of the Year Award, and his defense (and the defensive troubles of Ryan Braun) is a big reason why. Tulowitzki has outstanding instincts at shortstop, good range in both directions and a 70 arm (on the 20-80 scouting scale). He's also a wizard coming across the bag on the double play. Meanwhile, his keystone partner, Kaz Matsui, a shortstop in Japan, also shows excellent range and sure hands. A lot of balls that would go through other infields up the middle or in either hole are stopped and converted into outs by the Rockies. Behind those two, center fielder Willy Taveras covers a lot of ground in the outfield, although he has a fringy arm and may not make the postseason roster due to injury. Neither of his replacements (Ryan Spilborghs or Cory Sullivan) covers the same amount of territory. How They'll Win • Even if their starter doesn't strike many hitters out, the Rockies can keep their opponents off the board by turning balls in the middle of the field into outs. • At home, their power hitters are at their best, and they have as big a home-field advantage as any team in the playoffs. • On the road, they'll need more from their pitchers and/or defense, or a big step up from the hitters who've gotten a little too used to playing in the thin air. Colorado also has one of the most effective bullpens in the game, led by a Panamanian ground-ball machine named Manny Corpas. Corpas has a long, loose arm action, and he generates plus movement on his two-seamer with good sink and tailing action. He throws strikes and pairs it with an average slider that he uses to keep hitters off his fastball. He's joined in the 'pen by the man he replaced, former closer Brian Fuentes, a sidearming lefty with a solid-average fastball and a short slider. Fuentes has the ability to run his fastball in hard on right-handed hitters and then can work his slider on the outside corner. They've even received effective relief work from some very unlikely sources: incendiary right-hander LaTroy Hawkins (good fastball but iffy command) and journeyman reliever Matt Herges, one of the heroes of the play-in game. Their starting staff may have benefited from strong defense up the middle, but injuries led the team to call up two of its best pitching prospects, and both threw well down the stretch. The team's ace is Jeff Francis, a lefty with a fringy fastball (84-88 mph) that cuts away from left-handers' bats. He exhibits outstanding command and a solid-average curve in the 70-73 mph range. His changeup is average with a little fading action. But righties do get a good look at him, and opposing managers will probably go to platoon arrangements when they can. Behind him is Franklin Morales, one of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the minors before he was recalled. Morales works consistently in the 93-95 mph range, and his ball gets in on hitters quickly. He's particularly tough on lefties because of his curveball, a big, two-plane breaker that he commands better than his fastball. Behind him is longtime prospect Ubaldo Jimenez, whose career has been slowed by injuries and control trouble. He walked 99 batters this year between the minors and majors, but his walk rate actually improved when he reached the big leagues. He's primarily a thrower, working in the mid-90s, and lacks a plus secondary pitch. His changeup is the best of the lot. How They'll Lose • Too many balls to third base or into the outfield corners will add up to extra runs for their opponents. • Other than Jeff Francis, everyone in the Rockies' rotation has below-average command or control and poses a risk to get blown out of a start early, even more so if the other team has a patient lineup. • The back end of their bullpen was great in the play-in game, but guys like LaTroy Hawkins, Matt Herges, and Jorge Julio are too risky to use in high-leverage situations. The core of the Rockies' offense may not be as good as the raw numbers indicate, but they do have several dangerous hitters in the middle of their lineup. Todd Helton hasn't hit for the same power he showed in past years, but he can still turn on a fastball middle-in, and he shows outstanding plate discipline and pitch recognition -- working the count to try to get a pitch he can drive and using the whole field when he gets two strikes. Matt Holliday has good raw power and murders fastballs early in the count. Tulowitzki likes to get his arms extended and has even more raw power than he showed this season. Weaknesses The Rockies' No. 1 weakness, as it has been throughout the history of their franchise, is the road. No Rockies hitter slugged .500 or better on the road this year (six managed the feat in Denver), and the team slugged 82 points higher at home than on the road. Humidor or no humidor, there's something that Rockies hitters like about hitting at Coors Field and dislike about hitting on the road, and it could work against them in the postseason. As good as the Rockies are defensively up the middle, they're very shaky on the corners. Brad Hawpe is a first baseman playing right field out of necessity. His range is very limited, and he gets terrible reads on balls. Holliday is better in left, but not good. He takes some bizarre routes to balls and finds himself spun around too often for someone playing in such a big outfield. Garrett Atkins has long been considered a candidate to move from third base. Although he's better now than when he first came up, he's never going to have great range, and his hands are only so-so. Still, he deserves some credit for cutting down on his errors this year. Question Marks • The Rockies will be at a home-field disadvantage in every series. Can their offense produce enough on the road to overcome it? • Can we realistically expect Franklin Morales and Ubaldo Jimenez to continue their outstanding September performances as their workloads mount and they face playoff-caliber offenses? • Can Matt Holliday, Troy Tulowitzki, and Garrett Atkins succeed when they're facing better pitchers with better pitching plans every day? Their pitching staff allows a lot of balls in play, which is usually asking for trouble in a hitter's park with a big outfield, but it has worked this year because the Rockies' defense up the middle is so strong. Against high-contact offenses in October, however, those extra balls in play are going to be more damaging, and the team's defensive shortcomings on the corners will be part of the reason why. Their lineup has a strong core, but other than Helton and Hawpe, Colorado is not a disciplined club. Holliday and Atkins are both looking fastball, especially early in the count, and can be beaten by a pitcher with a good secondary pitch and the feel to use it 0-0 or in fastball counts. Tulowitzki's swing can get long, and he can be beaten with sliders and curveballs moving away from him, and on fastballs up. Hawpe is a classic left-handed hitter who's looking for the ball down or over the plate, and he'll chase balls up and in. Outside of that group, they have some mediocre hitters often batting high in their lineup -- players like Kaz Matsui and Willy Taveras. Neither of them walks or works the count. Matsui looks to pull the ball way too often for a player with below-average power, and he's at a disadvantage against pitchers who'll go hard in at his hands or down at his feet with off-speed stuff.

Yes. Mainly because Pettitte will have pitched game two. Did you parents have any children that lived?

With the disparity in the skill level between Beckett and the rest of your staff, and also playing at home, [the first game is always more important for the home team in the best of 5], it is more important for you guys than us to win game 1. We can go home with a split feeling better than you going to Anaheim with the same. As for my book, I am now taking advance orders. I take Paypal. :harhar:

You guys need to win game 1. If you lose with Beckett, you are in serious trouble. Serious.

You guys will lose tomorrow, and it's all Schillingouttheks fault. He started the game thread a day early. He jinxed you. Ban him.

Leave him alone yankees228. I never said the Red Sox comeback wasn't the greatest comeback ever, everyone who knows how to read knows that. He's a little slow. Don't make fun of the guy for being illiterate. He's a Sox fan, after all.

METS TO WIN IT ALL!!!!

I need to stop doing crack.

I thought Lester made the roster. My bad.

NYY BOS PHI CHI NYY PHI NYY 6 games MVP: Arod [God, please let it be so]

Nope. Not at all. I just don't have as much confidence in my team as you guys have in yours. Not for any other reason other than the fact that the post-season is really a crapshoot in my mind. I will say this, I like the Yankees chances better overall, but I like the Sox's chances in the first round more. If you can figure that out, you are sharper than Jack Bauer.