The Philadelphia Phillies Have Been here before. After Being Swept Out of the 2007 NLDS by a red-hot Colorado Rockies team, the Phillies have appeared in two straight World Series, and you'd better Believe they'll be disappointed with anything short of a Third Straight Trip.
The Cincinnati Reds haven't been to the playoffs in 15 years, let alone a World Series. It's presumptuous to Think That they're just happy To Be here, though. This is a Team Focused and ready to go to work.
Yet there's no denying That as impressive and surprising as the Reds Have Been this year, they're the underdogs, and the Phillies Are The Juggernauts.
Coming into the 2010 season, the Phillies Already DRM Took an offensive team and added more elite pitching Thurs replace the outgoing Cliff Lee. They added Roy Halladay (who is likely Thurs pick up his first Cy Young Award today) before the season, then managed Thurs pick up Roy Oswalt at the trade deadline. With the two Roys baffling Opposing lineups, former ace Cole Hamels Can be content Thurs pitch the third, Which Gives Philadelphia a huge advantage over Any team They face.
All That they'll need pitching talent, though, the Reds Because I Certainly Do not have Any Problems scoring. Presumptive NL MVP, Joey Votto Leads A Team That Is 4th in runs scored (787, Yikes), 4th in OBP (.338), and 4th in slugging Percentage (.436). Votto is the heart of the offense, Obviously, But guys like Scott Rolen, Jay Bruce, and Brandon Phillips are no slouches, either.
So When The Reds are up to bat, we Should see "some epic battles. But what about "when the Phillies come to the plate?
Clearly, the Phillies Are not the red hot offensive team in Cincinnati That is, But They do alright for themselves. You May have heard of guys like Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth. These guys do not have too much trouble putting runs on the board, and there's a reason They won 97 games this year, good for best in the Majors.
Meanwhile, the Reds' pitching staff Might be generously described as "not too bad." Bronson Arroyo is the ace on the staff with an ERA of 3.88, But after him, the rotation falls off a cliff. They Might need to win by two games for the Reds Himself To Have a Chance at Taking this series, Because Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, and Travis Wood Probably Will not. (Yes, I know Almost Wood pitched a perfect game this year. Yes, I know it Came against Philadelphia. But guess what? The Reds lost That Game.) They Might Also need phenom Aroldis Chapman To Come Up Big in a game or two . If You Have to Stake Your Hopes on a rookie has pitched the WHO (and pitched excellently, I Admit), just 13.1 innings this year, I'm not convinced you've got a good chance at winning.
Here's The Other Thing I'm Worried about. Cincinnati won 91 games this year, Which was a huge surprise. HOWEVER, of Those 91 wins, 49 of Them Came against NL Central foes. Clearly, you can not control your schedule, But it's a little alarming That They Could not Manage a winning record outside Their division. They pounded the likes of the Cubs, Astros, Brewers, and Pirates on a regular basis-. That Alone Is not Enough reason for me to Them Completely discount (after all, a scoring differential of 105 is nothing to scoff at), But it does give me pause.
Philadelphia, HOWEVER, won 44 games against division and Their 43 games outside of it. This is a good team, no matter WHO they're playing. (That scoring differential of 135 looks pretty good, too.)
Frankly, I do not think the Phillies are worlds ahead of the Reds, but i think they're better Enough That Is not this going to be a close series. The Reds had occurred Their fun with a dream season and a trip to the playoffs. It's just a pity That They Will not Be Able to win a game there this year.
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