MLB Playoffs

We're down to baseball's final four as the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants are set to duke it out—beginning on Friday—to advance to the 2010 World Series.

There are multiple story lines to follow in both the ALCS and NLCS—for example, the filthy pitching matchups between the Giants and Phillies or the possibility of the Rangers making their first ever World Series—and we'll get to each of those.

After storming out to a 2-0 lead in their ALDS clash with the Tampa Bay Rays, it quickly appeared as if the Texas Rangers had taken firm control of the series and were inevitably headed to their first American League Championship Series appearance in franchise history.

We all know, and will be reminded again throughout the NLCS, about the greatness of Roy Halladay and the precision of Roy Oswalt.

Experts and baseball analysts will pound it into your head how prominent the Phillies 1-2-3 punch is on the mound. My two-year-old nephew knows they are good.

One has 27 World Series titles under its belt. The other has one postseason series victory in its 50 years of existence, which coincidentally came on Tuesday night.

After dismissing the Cincinnati Reds in the NLDS, the Phillies will face off against the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. 

Will the Giants be a minor speed bump on the road to another National League pennant, or do they have a legitimate shot at sending the Phillies home early?

Here are some arguments for both cases:

Fear the Giants

We've already seen some awesome pitching from the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 MLB playoffs. But will the Phils be able to display some equally clutch hitting as the postseason continues? Let's hope.

In the mean time, let's look back at the 10 biggest hits in Phillies' postseason history.

Keep in mind that the following rankings are not just based on the timeliness of the hit itself, but also on the relative magnitude of the game in which the performance came (basically, World Series hits count for extra).

Enjoy this trip through Phillies' history!

The sports world can be a crazy place. With all of the news stories, rumors, and general gossip floating around, it can be a terrifying place. 

But, there's no need to fear. We here at Bleacher Report are dedicated to bringing you the latest news on the most important topics in sports. From the latest on Brett Favre's sexting woes, to baseball's Championship Series', to Lana Lawless' struggles to join the LPGA, we've got it all covered. 

After a brilliant performance in Game 3 from Phil Hughes, Joe Girardi has decided to switch him and Pettitte in the playoff rotation. And not only that, A.J. Burnett is getting the nod in Game 4. 

This may come as a surprise to a lot of people after Pettitte's good outing against the Twins in Game 2, and A.J. Burnett's horrendous regular season. But you have to trust the decisions your manager makes and I'm sure Joe Girardi knows what he's doing. 

As a Giants fan and writer, I just can't get over what Buster Olney said on Bill Simmons' MLB Playoff Podcast, which I listened to yesterday.

Basically, I came away with four things:

1.) The Tampa Bay Rays have the best GM in baseball (probably true).

2.) The Red Sox are hurting in terms of the money they owe to contracts next year (true, but unnecessary considering the Red Sox aren't in the playoffs).

Although they are two very different pitchers, the Giants' Tim Lincecum and the Phillies' Roy Halladay are two of baseball's top three or four.

Saturday night in Philadelphia, Lincecum—the NL Cy Young winner each of the previous two seasons—will face Halladay, the front runner for this year's NL Cy Young, who tossed a no-hitter in his last start.

Although postseason baseball was limited to the World Series only until 1969, and the World Series and LCS until 1995, there have been dozens of classic pitching matchups in baseball history.