Roy Halladay

We all know, and will be reminded again throughout the NLCS, about the greatness of Roy Halladay and the precision of Roy Oswalt.

Experts and baseball analysts will pound it into your head how prominent the Phillies 1-2-3 punch is on the mound. My two-year-old nephew knows they are good.

After dismissing the Cincinnati Reds in the NLDS, the Phillies will face off against the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS. 

Will the Giants be a minor speed bump on the road to another National League pennant, or do they have a legitimate shot at sending the Phillies home early?

Here are some arguments for both cases:

Fear the Giants

What an incredible LDS highlighted by Roy Halladay’s no-hitter. We saw the Rangers over the Rays in five, the Yankees sweep the Twins, the Phills sweep the Reds and the Giants top the Braves in four.

I went 3-1 in the LDS, with my blemish coming when I picked the Rays. I wish I had do-overs. This year’s LCS looks amazing. We have a classic David vs. Goliath story in the AL, and a mouth-watering pitching dual in the NL. Let’s run it down:

If the Wild Card system in Major League Baseball had any remaining detractors entering this season's Division Series round of postseason play—and it did—the pair of excellent series (San Francisco-Atlanta and Texas-Tampa Bay) may have wooed them all.

The Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies are in their respective league championship series thanks in large part to their pitching aces Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

Lee mowed down the Tampa Bay Rays by going 2-0 in 16 innings and allowing only two runs. 

Halladay is throwing in his first postseason ever. He only has one start, but it was a dandy has he no-hit the Cincinnati Reds, only the second no-hitter in postseason history.

A rollercoaster ride of a season saw the Phillies at 48-46 in the middle of July, seven games behind the Atlanta Braves and fading quickly. Fast-forward two and a half months, and the Phillies have been crowned National League East Champions for the fourth consecutive season, thanks to an incredible 49-18 surge at the end of the season.

Admit it, you’re enjoying these baseball playoffs. The excitement. The do-or-die nature of every game. Brian Wilson’s epic beard-mohawk combo that makes him look like a guy begging for change outside McDonald’s.

The—

Wait, what’s that? You’re not enjoying these playoffs? Really? Maybe I’m the only one.

The MLB playoffs are in full swing, and we have already seen our fair share of memorable moments in the respective Division Series games. However, the Phillies have been the talk of October thus far, thanks to Roy Halladay's no-hitter, and their dominant sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.

The Phillies are coming off of their fourth straight NL East title, and have been to the World Series in each of the past two seasons. In this day and age of free agency, a three peat in the World Series is a legitimate dynasty, and the Phillies seem to have all the components to do just that.

Yesterday the San Francisco Giants came from behind to beat the Braves 3-2 and advance to the National League Championship Series. It was their second such victory in as many days and the fourth one run game of the four game series.

The path for the Philadelphia Phillies was far smoother. Roy Halladay threw the second post-season no-hitter of all-time, and Cole Hamels tossed a five-hit shutout as the Phillies easily swept the Cincinnati Reds.

Phillies’ ace RHP Roy Halladay thew a no-hitter in his FIRST ever playoff appearance, in the same season he threw a perfect game.

Doc cruised right through the Cincy lineup, whiffing eight batters and allowing only a fifth-inning walk as the only blemish on an otherwise perfect scorecard on his way to making baseball history.