Roy Halladay

The playoffs are when legends are made. You can be a great player in the regular season, but if you fail in the playoffs, then you will be served a cold dish of doubt and ridicule.

Nobody wants to be Mr. May.

Just ask Alex Rodriguez. Until last year he was considered Mr. Regular Season, a choke artist, a joke, and overpaid. He still may be overpaid, but he has a ring on his finger to keep him happy.

In the 'Year of the Pitcher,' the batters never stood a chance.

There were five no-hitters thrown (but really six), including two perfect games. There were also nine one-hitters, and a major-league debut that featured 14 strikeouts by a certain Stephen Strasburg.

Several pitchers, among them Felix Hernandez, Roy Halladay, and Ubaldo Jiminez, have had so many jaw-dropping performances this year that they could populate this top 10 list all by themselves.

But 2010 was no ordinary year. It was the pitcher's year.

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.

Roy Halladay is known as perhaps the greatest pitcher to ever pull on a Blue Jays uniform; some would say that it is without a doubt that he is.

That could be quite intimidating for a young pitcher in the rotation with him.

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. 

Though the 2010 season in Major League Baseball has not quite ended, most fans have an idea of who they think deserves awards to symbolize their excellence this year.

Some votes should be extremely close, while others may not be as close as expected.

Here are my predictions for the 2010 MLB Postseason Awards for debate and perhaps even ridicule by all the experts out there.

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A solid ace is the most important part of any postseason rotation. In 2001, the Mariners were clearly the most talented team in the league, having won a record 116 games.

But they ran into the Yankees' Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina and lost in a mere five games. Whatever team's pitching proves most consistent will be the team that wins the World Series.

While the Padres are still mathematically in the race, their loss tonight has given them a nearly impossible task...and for that reason, their pitching has been left off this list.

With his 97-pitch complete game shut out of the Washington Nationals, Phillies starter Roy Halladay sent the Phillies back to the postseason for the fourth straight year.

Soon after, pitching coach Rich Dubee announced that Halladay would be the Phillies Game 1 starter in the NLDS, it will mark the first time in Halladay's career that he pitches in the postseason.

Part 2 of 7

The Philadelphia Phillies current era of success has been built around a nucleus of talented players. Some players have come and gone, but that core has been present through the team's rise and current reign as one of baseball's elite teams. 

Players such as Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels are at the center of the core and have served as the key catalysts to the organization's ascension from an "also-ran" to an elite ball club.