Philadelphia Phillies

It's been written all over the blogosphere how the Cincinnati Reds have self destructed in their NLDS series against the Phillies. A series that was wrapped up in the minimum three games on Sunday night.

But how much of the errors that other teams make are the result of bad timing, poor fundamentals or bad luck and how much can be attributed to the lurking presence of the Phillies causing teams like the Reds to feel the pressure of having to play a perfect game to win?

Hey everyone, baseball fanatic Evan Adrian here, live blogging game 3 of the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cincinnati Reds. Cole Hamels will attempt to close out a sweep of the Reds. Cincinnati turns to Johnny Cueto, hoping the right-handed fireballer can keep this series alive.

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The Philadelphia Phillies are not the New York Yankees.

If you hail from the Bronx, or are an ardent supporter of the pinstripers, feel free to snicker, or insert your "uh, duh" comments if you want to, but this article is not as much about you or your team as much as it is about the Phillies.

Jamie Moyer has continued to prove his doubters wrong each and every time he picks up the baseball, but after another surgery his career may just be over.

In the beginning of the season Moyer, 47, had the same amount of wins as perennial Cy-Young contender, Roy Halladay. Moyer and Halladay may have been members of the same team, but they could not have been more different.

Conventional wisdom heading into last night's game seemed to suggest that Roy Halladay's historic Game 1 masterpiece might have provided a devastating psychological edge in the Phillies-Reds NLDS series. 

The thinking was that the Reds might be demoralized to the point of believing they had no chance in the series, especially as they were staring at the back two-thirds of "The Big Three." And, conversely, the Phillies would be brimming with the necessary confidence and energy to overwhelm their rivals.

Roy Oswalt got roughed up in his first postseason game for the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, giving up three earned runs in just five innings in what would eventually become a Phillies' Game 2 victory. This was on the heels of Cliff Lee's first postseason appearance with the Texas Rangers, in which Lee went seven innings, allowing only one earned run with 10 strikeouts and no walks.

So will Oswalt or Lee guide their newly adopted teams to postseason glory? If past midseason pitcher acquisitions are any indication, the odds aren't good.  Let's have a look.

Four errors, three hit batsmen, two innings where the seams came off the baseball, and one massive implosion.

That pretty much sums up the Cincinnati Reds’ performance in Game 2 of the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds lost to the Phillies 7-4 and now are on the brink of elimination.

On Friday night, the Phillies went up 2-0 against the Cincinnati Reds, coming back from behind to win 7-4. The Fightin' are on their way to Ohio and on their way to an NLDS series victory.

Think that is impressive? Well, you ain't seen nothin' yet, Phillies phans. This team is not only on the verge of competing for a World Series title, this just may well be the start of something truly special.

Um...can you say D-Y-N-A-S-T-Y?

In a sport where style points (luckily) don't count, the Phillies played a little "prettier" than the Reds in claiming a 7-4 victory and a 2-0 lead in their best of five NLDS.

In Game One, Roy Halladay was the clear star; in Game Two, the Phils mostly benefited from the largesse of their visitors.

After two exhilarating games the Philadelphia Phillies have more than shown exactly why they are not only the number one team in the National League, but  why there are the NLDS' top "student'.

Being down four to nothing, and dealing with a Reds team that's not only pulled out all the stops, but also debuted their "secret weapon" only to have him (Chapman) retired faster than his own 100+ MPH fastball.

The Reds seemingly crumbled under the pressure of a Phillies team that is as methodical as it gets when it comes down to getting back into a game.