Baseball

By Ryan of The Sportmeisters

About The Philadelphia Phillies:

The Phillies march into the NLCS by virtue of winning a four game series against the Colorado Rockies.

In the NLDS, the Phillies were led by six players hitting above .300 in the series.  Leading the charge were RF Jayson Werth (.357, two home runs) and Shane Victorino (.353, home run). 

Because the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have made it to the postseason nearly every year this decade, it’s easy to forget that these teams have not had much success in October in recent seasons. The Yankees’ ALDS sweep of the Minnesota Twins earned them a berth in the ALCS for the first time since 2004. The Angels advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2005.

Given his druthers, Joe Girardi would like to start C.C. Sabathia in Games One, Four, and Seven for the pennant. This would allow him to use a three-man rotation, with the others consisting of A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettite. That's possible, because of one day breaks after Game Two and Game Five.

But early indications of heavy showers, hence a rainout on Friday, could nix this plan. Then the first two games would be pushed back a day, with no break between Games Two and Three.

All fantasy owners know that closer is one of the most unpredictable positions to draft. Just look at this season, where David Aardsma and Ryan Franklin (just to give two examples) emerged from relative obscurity to help buoy fantasy bullpens. With that said, let’s take a look at an early shot at ranking the Top 15 fantasy closers, though a lot of things will cause this list to change, potentially drastically:

Nick Johnson, the player that came to the Marlins in the final minutes of the trade deadline, is now a free agent. 

To obtain Johnson, the Marlins had to send starting pitcher Aaron Thompson to the Washington Nationals.

Nick is known for his patience at the plate. During his '09 season he posted a .426 on base percentage—which leads all free agents.

He may not have very good power numbers, but if a team needs consistency he provides it.

During his 35 games with the Marlins, he walked 36 times and was consistently on base every time Hanley was at the plate. 

It has been exactly 14 years and six days since that fateful evening in October when the Mariners toppled the mighty New York Yankees to advance to the 1995 American League Championship Series.

(Apologies to Jonathan Swift)

Following the infamous Game Three baserunning error, Nick Punto may be one of the most hated men in Minnesota. He ignored the (possibly late) stop signal from third-base coach Scott Ullger in favor of the roaring crowd. Punto probably ended up costing the Twins a run in that fateful Game Three, which ended up being the last of 2009, and the last in Metrodome history.

But that one mistake cannot replace a surprisingly solid season from the veteran utility infielder.