MLB Playoffs

The Texas Rangers have dominated the New York Yankees in this series. They have outscored them 30-11, outhit .307 to .198, and the Yankees are only hitting .154 with runners in scoring position. Aside from the top half of the eighth inning in Game 1, the Rangers have dominated the Yankees in every way. C.J. Wilson dominated Yankee ace CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee dominated Andy Pettitte and Colby Lewis dominated Phil Hughes.

After three games into the 2010 NLCS, we have already seen as many confusing turn of events as one could've imagined.

But for the Philadelphia Phillies, being down two to one in the series is a by-product of their own design in many ways.

This is not to say the Phillies are playing bad necessarily, rather, just making some key errors that favor the competition.

Let's take a look at how the Phillies have graded through three crucial games in the NLCS, since at this point, it becomes ever so important to really tighten any loose bolts.

Before the game yesterday, Cliff Lee facts were trending on Twitter (#cliffleefacts). Some of the facts were ridiculous, such as "Cy Young won five Cliff Lee Awards", and "Neftali Feliz does not have to come to the game when Cliff Lee pitches, because Cliff Lee needs no closer."

This just in: Cliff Lee is good. I mean really good.

Cliff Lee could pull a Ron Burgundy right now: "Hey everyone, come see how good I look!"

Sometimes when you are getting ready to stare fate in the face, you may not be ready for the outcome.  Especially if you've seen it before.

Enter the New York Yankees.

When Josh Hamilton grounded out to end Game 1 on Friday night, a game where the Texas Rangers let a 5-0 lead slip away in their own ballpark to the dreaded New York Yankees, eventually losing the game 6-5, I sent the following message to my friend via Facebook chat:

"Series over."

"Yup," he replied.

Because there was no way the Rangers were going to be able to recover from a loss like that in a seven-game series. 

The Texas Rangers could very easily be up 2-0 on the New York Yankees right now and quite frankly should be.  They blew a huge opportunity on Friday night and they know it.  These MLB Playoffs are all about seizing the moment and making the most of your opportunity.  While the Rangers have done that well thus far in October, they could have had the defending World Champions on the ropes.  Now, the series turns to the Bronx with Cliff Lee opposing Andy Pettite in a pivotal Game 3 on Monday night.

Surprise, surprise.  A 2010 playoff game ended up being all about pitching.

Game 2 of the National League Championship Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants ended up being a story of the two starting pitchers:  Roy Oswalt and Jonathan Sanchez.

Oswalt pitched an absolute gem, throwing eight innings of three-hit baseball, allowing only one run while striking out nine and walking three.

There may be nothing in professional sports that quite measures up to starting the final game of a seven-game playoff series in Major League Baseball. It can either mean going home, moving on, or winning it all.

Before the advent of the expanded playoff system in 1969, only two teams were eligible in MLB, the pennant winners of the American and National Leagues. For 66 seasons this was the accepted format, and the Fall Classic brought us many great memories from that period of time.

It was the matchup everyone was waiting for: Tim Lincecum vs. Roy Halladay. Roy Halladay pitched a no-hitter in this postseason's first game, while Tim Lincecum threw a two-hit shutout complemented by 14 K's.

In Game 1 of the NLCS, however, neither pitcher lived up to the expectations of a 1-0 game.

The 2010 ALCS is tied at one game apiece.

The New York Yankees couldn’t muster together another comeback win last night and the Texas Rangers won 7-2.

Phil Hughes followed in CC Sabathia’s footsteps with another not-so-great performance from a Yankees starter. They’re human, just like the rest of us, and nobody is perfect.

The postseason isn’t built for chances or mistakes.