NL East

The 2010 season for the New York Mets didn't end the way anyone wanted, least of all the fans. We suffered through another season of disappointment, highlighted by season ending injuries to Jason Bay and Johan Santana. There were some bright spots in the Mets' season. The emergence of Ike Davis and Josh Thole showed the Mets' minor league system isn't as weak as previously thought. R.A. Dickey gave Mets fans something to cheer about down the stretch and David Wright had a great bounce-back season after a disappointing 2009.

There is something timeless about fathers and sons and knuckleballers. Flying to New York City to visit my parents, I pondered the question of how to help my about-to-turn 79 year old father celebrate his birthday later that week. A suitable gift is always easiest to find for one who has little or wants a lot.

The "if necessaries" have evolved and have become absolutely necessary; they couldn't be more necessary if you deliberately tried to make them be so much. 

It was absolutely imperative on Thursday night that the San Francisco Giants finished off the Philadelphia Phillies. Silently, a loss in Game 5 seems harmless. The urgency hides behind, "Oh, it's OK, just get back out there and get the win in Game 6."

It can happen, yes. But here is what has been surrendered by the San Francisco loss on Thursday night:

By Cooper L. Train

In a game steeped in desperation, the Philadelphia Phillies came alive to send Game 6 of the 2010 NLCS back to Philadelphia, and the good doctor provided the cure for the woeful Phillies at just the right time.

But for the Phillies, the importance was in HOW they won this game.

Miscues in the field, lack of power, nearly zero base stealing: All of these things have plagued the Phillies and prevented them from either closing out a winnable game, or stopping the Giants.

Let's take a look at how Philadelphia fared this time around, as we get ready for Saturday.

A terrific NLCS between the Phillies and Giants will continue Saturday in Philadelphia. Notes from Game 5 are below:

To force a Game 6, the Philadelphia Phillies offense needed to figure out San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum. They did not, but, helped by an umpire’s blindness, a bad hop, and a hit-by-pitch, enough runs were scored against the the unorthodox right-hander to send the NLCS back to Philly.

Believe it or not, the Phillies could actually have the upper hand in their latest quest to be crowned champions of the National League.

After falling behind to the San Francisco Giants three games to one, the Phillies pulled out a very close win in Game 5 by a score of 4-2. But even though they got the win, it wasn't pretty. Roy Halladay was off his game, the Phillies' offense continued to look incompetent, and the Giants' home crowd was at a roar for most of the game.

While the Florida Marlins may have their hands full with finding their next manager and signing Dan Uggla to a contract extension this offseason, they face an uphill battle in fixing what was broken throughout the 2010 season, bullpen aside the catcher position gave the Marlins headaches all season long. 

I'd compare it to the Marlins buying a brand new battery and having to change it every few days, which translates to every couple of weeks for the Marlins who went through an assortment of them this past season. 

At the age of 40, Japanese right-handed reliever Takashi Saito gave the Atlanta Braves a very solid season in a year in which they desperately wanted to win it all, knowing that legendary manager Bobby Cox was going to retire after the season ended.

In his sixth Major League Baseball season, Saito posted the following stats:

Games played: 56

41 hits in 54 IP

69 Strikeouts

2.83 ERA