NL East

My friend Robert and I were eating at a campus bakery shop this afternoon when we saw a fellow college student sitting in the booth across from us wearing a Shane Victorino Philadelphia Phillies jersey shirt. On her laptop was the ESPN Gamecast of the Phillies Game 1 matchup against the Cincinnati Reds.

Wow! Roy Halladay just pitched a playoff no hitter for the Phillies.

I'm trying to remember the last time I remember a no-hitter in the playoffs. I'm sure Sandy Koufax had some. No? Curt Schilling? No? The Big Unit? No? All those Atlanta Braves guys? No?

Okay! You're forcing Stan Silliman to Google. I'm too old to Google.

Don Larsen? The perfect game in the 1956 World Series? Geez, what was I doing October 8, 1956? Hmmm?

Roy Halladay, the Philadelphia Phillies' prized offseason pick-up via trade with the Toronto Blue Jays, got his first postseason start Wednesday evening in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds.

ALDS: Tampa Bay Rays (96-66) vs. Texas Rangers (90-72)

While I really like this Texas Rangers team, I have to give the edge to Tampa Bay. The Rays have had the Rangers number, especially at home. Tampa Bay has won its last four overall against Texas, and 17 of its last 22 at home in this series. Tampa Bay won all three of its home games against Texas this season. The Rangers played below .500 ball on the road this year, and ultimately not having home field should cost them in this series. 

Part 6 of 7 Phillies Championship Advantages

Professional sports teams have been known to win championships without it. 

Sometimes sheer talent and fortuitous circumstance converge together to achieve a successful outcome. 

Sometimes a team simply catches fire and makes an unlikely championship run. 

In an era of baseball that has been controlled by the big market teams, this year’s playoff landscape is certainly different from past seasons.

All right, maybe it isn’t completely different—the crop is still led by the usual suspects from New York and Philadelphia.

Still, the familiar names of the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels will not be heard in playoff baseball this year.

Patience is a virtue, everything happens for a reason, good things come to those who wait, Rome wasn't built in a day, and you have to look before you leap.

Cliches aside, the Mets (and us fans) will have to be patient in finding out who will be running the show next year and hopefully beyond.

For almost three years now, I have had to listen to Braves fans complain over and over again about Mark Teixeira and what his trade in 2007 did to Atlanta’s future. When one looks at what Atlanta gave up to acquire Tex for two half seasons of non-playoff baseball, it’s kind of hard not to be upset if you are a Braves fan.

With the MLB playoffs just hours away, many fans are inevitably experiencing their own version of postseason baseball butterflies.

But it isn’t just the fans that are trying to quell their nervousness; it’s also a handful of players who are playing for more than just a shot at the Fall Classic.

No pressure, really.

Lurking in the dugouts of the eight remaining teams are a collection of various players who are not only trying to help their respective teams advance in the playoffs but are also trying to prove their free-agency worth.

The Mets have begun their offseason transactions by relieving Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel of their duties.  This came as no surprise to fans as Manuel's contract expired once the season ended, and Minaya still had not proven himself to be a GM that will make the moves necessary.