Philadelphia

Part 1 of 7

With the Philadelphia Phillies standing on the precipice of a fourth consecutive postseason berth, the focus of the team and fan base is two-fold. 

First, take care of business and nail down a fourth straight NL East crown. 

Second, take a look towards the end of year championship tourney to see how the Phillies stack up and are positioned for success. 

The playoff picture in the American League is all but set, with the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers simply dotting the eyes and crossing the tees on their way to October. 

There is a little drama left in the National League, as the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres battle it out with the Atlanta Braves for the NL wild card and the NL West division title.

In the winter before the Phillies' 2010 season, most of the talk revolved around Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, but one of the most exciting moves made by Ruben Amaro Jr. this off season was the acquisition of Placido Polanco.

I've got some bad news for you, Cole Hamels.

You might be known as Hollywood to your teammates, you might be married to a Survivor star that got naked for some chocolate (not that I watched, of course), and you may have even spent the better part of 2009 posing as a Comcast spokesperson.

But to me? You're boring.

When LHP Cole Hamels had his national coming-out party in the 2008 playoffs, I thought it would springboard him to a Cy Young-caliber year in 2009.

I predicted Hamels would win the National League Cy Young, and that prediction slapped me in the face like I would like to slap Braylon Edwards in the face for getting a DWI this morning.

To the fans of the Philadelphia Phillies, there is nothing more exhilarating than the last leg of any given season, especially when the playoffs are hanging in the balance

Oh wait, yes there is. How about dealing a crushing defeat to the team that is challenging you for first place, right?

The Phillies have masterfully put together one of the best Septembers in their recent history and have begun the process of claiming their place in yet another postseason by defeating the not so “Hot-lanta” Braves 3-1.

If they're not playing for all the marbles the next few days at Citizens Bank Park, they're playing for a lot of them.

The host Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, owners of the best two records in the National League, open a three-game series tonight with the Phillies leading the Braves by three games.

APPRECIATING RAUL

Raul Javier Ibanez won't draw any NL MVP votes this year, and he may not even be in the top five of the Phillies' team MVP vote, but the Phils' left fielder should be commended for his 2010 season.

His numbers, at first glance, are not extraordinary. In fact, they're rather pedestrian. Okay, bad idea...on to the next story.

But wait—there's more.

81-60. That is the best record in the National League to date and it is currently boasted by the 2008 and 2009 National League Champions and 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

What is it that led the Phillies to back-to-back NL championships and has now led them to the National League's best overall record with only 21 games left in the season? The answer is sheer toughness.

Since May 31st, the Atlanta Braves have been all alone in first place atop the NL East.

The Braves have seen their lead rise to as much as seven games this season, but now they find themselves only one game ahead of Philadelphia with just two weeks left to play in the regular season.

With that said, who is really the team to beat in the National League East?

Is it Bobby Cox's Braves in the legendary manager's final season or the reigning champions of the National League?