NL East

From the beginning of the season this year felt different for the Atlanta Braves. Walk-off wins were the norm and despite the Braves nine game losing streak in May the team came together to take the lead in the NL East while the Phillies were dealing with injuries.

Even as the Braves lost key players (Chipper Jones, Kris Medlen) they kept winning close ballgames. Late in the season, the Braves were overtaken by the Phillies, but the Braves seemed like a lock for the playoffs as recently as this past Friday morning.

Almost a week ago, the Phillies wrapped up yet another playoff berth. For the fourth straight year, Philadelphia will get to witness October baseball.

However, this season, it feels a bit different. For the first time, the Phillies appear to be entering the postseason with unquestionably the strongest roster in the National League.

They have the best record in all of Major League Baseball, and have the highest run differential in the NL as well.

Anticipation has turned into entitlement. This year, fans aren't just hoping for a World Series berth; they are expecting it.

What an unbelievable Saturday it was in the National League. The Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants are proving that the last win is the hardest to get.

Sorry Blanton. You have really helped the Philadelphia Phillies out the past few years when we needed you. But Joe, we just don't need you this year.

In their 127-year history, this is the most dominant top end of the rotation for the Phillies. If you doubt that, just ask yourself if there has ever been a Phillies team that you have been more confident in.

The New York Mets finish their season tomorrow, which is a relief for the fans who have suffered with this team the whole season, one injury and non-baseball headline after another has ravaged this team.

While there is plenty of blame to go around, most of it falls on the players who did not execute or consistently play hard or smart fundamental baseball.  Many changes are expected to be made to the roster and very few people are guaranteed jobs entering next season.

In most respects, 2010 has not been a great year to be a Mets fan.  The team will finish under .500 for the second straight year, and it now appears that the height of the Wright-Beltran-Reyes era may have come and gone with a disappointing loss in the 2006 NLCS.  Philadelphia won the division again, the Atlanta Braves have re-emerged as a threat now and for the future, and yesterday's headlines exploded with rumors that the manager and GM were on thin ice.

Since the franchise was born 127 years ago, the Philadelphia Phillies have never finished the season with the best record in the MLB.

Their 11-5 win over the Atlanta Braves, coupled with a loss by the Tampa Bay Rays, have given the Phillies a 2.5-game lead over the Rays, with two games remaining.

Part 4 of 7 Phillies Championship Advantages

As they say, timing is everything. After a highly challenging 2010 season wrought with unending obstacles, that little bit of wisdom might particularly ring true for the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Mets catcher of the future Josh Thole drilled a 3-1 pitch off Tyler Clippard for a walk-off homer to give the team a 2-1 victory in 10 innings tonight. The home run was Thole's third of the season.

It was great to see Tyler Clippard get burned by the Mets. Most Met fans remember that Subway Series game a while ago now, when Clippard threw six innings of one run ball in his Major League debut. Well, we finally got you back, Tyler.

It feels the same way every time the local teams capture a playoff spot, your instantly transported back to your childhood and the feelings that those teams evoked.  The Phillies evoked those emotions on Monday night, clinching their fourth straight division title and securing home field advantage throughout the playoffs.