Baseball

Last night’s NLCS game followed a script very familiar to Phillies fans.

The team scratched out a first-inning run, helped along by the miscues of their opponent.  They got key contributions throughout the lineup.  The unexpected hitting star continued to shine.  They were patient and did some damage against an opposing reliever.  The relief ace was lights out.  And they won the game thanks to some late-game heroics.

After four game into the NCLS, we have ourselves quite a matchup, but with contrasting results.

The Phillies have looked consevative, out of sync, and at times, without that fight that has made them who they are.

The Giants, on the other hand, have looked cool, crisp, and methodical which are the very tratis that helped them win the West.

Last night's game was a little indicative of the aforementioned.

While it's hard to put a grade on a game that was really based around well hit and placed balls, there are some specifics that could've made a difference.

If you're like me, you weren't quite mentally ready for the early start time that came with Game 5 of the ALCS.

Like a Saw sequel, it just felt rushed. Only hours earlier, the Yankees had bumbled their way to a lopsided Game 4 loss to the Rangers at the Stadium.

There are moments, often times in the postseason that legends are born and stories are written, when a team is most noticeable for assembling a spectacular sequence in October. Just a few weeks ago, the San Francisco Giants were seen in a tight, tense race with the San Diego Padres, but clinched a playoff berth and since then the club has been a magical story in a wonderful reemergence.

Zack Greinke certainly finds himself on the list of players who disappointed in 2010.  After posting a 2.16 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, while striking out 9.5 batters per nine innings in 2009, he was considered one of the elite pitchers in the game.  Unfortunately, his numbers ballooned in 2010:

10 Wins
220.0 Innings
4.17 ERA
1.25 WHIP
181 Strikeouts (7.4 K/9)
55 Walks (2.3 BB/9)
.314 BABIP

Call it a transition year. Call it an unlucky year. Call it whatever you want, but the 2010 Boston Red Sox simply failed to meet the expectations of management, fans, and baseball pundits across the country.

There are a handful of factors worthy of blame here, including general manager Theo Epstein's reluctance to part with prospects to shore up the bullpen or acquire a top-flight pitcher like Cliff Lee. But pointing fingers is no way to win a World Series.

The San Francisco Giants are where few thought they would be at the beginning of the season...hell, at the beginning of the postseason. They are one win away from representing the National League in the World Series.

The Giants came into this series as heavy underdogs to the reigning two-time NL champion Philadelphia Phillies.

After shocking the world and hitting around Roy Halladay in Game 1, they have taken care of business so far at home and throw out the winner of the last two Cy Young Awards in Tim Lincecum.

The San Francisco Giants are up 3-1 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series and are one win away from a trip to the World Series.

If I would have told you in March that this would be reality, you would have looked at me and laughed. You might have thought the Giants picked up a big time hitter while trading away Madison Bumgarner or Jonathan Sanchez.

Well, there is no big hitter, but the pitching got even better.

There's no doubt about it. That was a heart breaker. And while the Phillies have their Big 3 lined up to attempt to climb out of the hole they find themselves in, they'll be facing a Big 3 every bit as formidable—at least in these playoffs—of the Giants.

So what went wrong in Game 4? Well, the Phillies finally scored some runs. Five of them in fact. But they had chances to score more.

Every bit as important (and fatal) was poor run prevention. Here's what I saw happen in Game 5:

When the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira couple of years ago in the offseason, they thought they were going to get a guy who could be Mr. October. They thought they would have a leader.

But they've gotten nothing so far out of their petulant star. His injury served as a symbol of what has gone wrong for him in October.

The only good thing Teixeira has done is provide protection for Alex Rodriguez and play good defense. That’s all well and good, but for the money he is being paid, he should be doing better.