NL Divisional Series Preview (Who cares about the AL)

October baseball is finally here again. Tomorrow the Phils will take their first step to trying to repeat as World Champions. The last team to repeat was the Yankees back in 1999 and 2000. Despite all the arguing about Lidge and the Phils, and the bull pen, I think we can all agree on one thing here, and that is for the Phils to repeat as WFC's. The Phils head into the division series with only one question mark. This question mark seems to be the headline everywhere. While the offense, defense, and starting pitching are all there, the one thing that got us there last year remains in question. Our bull pen remains a major concern for the World Champs, but time will tell if they are ready to step it up as a whole and close the door in the 8th and 9th innings, no matter who it is.

The Phils will look for redemption against the Rockies from when they beat our asses back in 2007. This is a whole new team that knows what it takes to win. I don't care how hot the Rockies are, the Phils should dispose of them fairly easy and move on. The Rockies head into the division series with the second best record in baseball since June 4th, second to the Yankees. They can hit the ball, and have pretty good starting pitching, but their bull pen is also a concern. Huston Street is coming off of a shoulder injury, and Franklin Morales is up and down. Look for the Phils to jump on the starting pitching early and often. Well rested, the Phillies bats SHOULD come alive tomorrow.

Prediction: Phils 3 - Rockies 1

Both the Dodgers and the Cards have some question marks going onto their series as well. The Dodgers starting pitching is all over the place, and the Cards really struggled down the stretch. Kershaw looks like he will be back in the rotation after he was injured by running into a wall and separating his shoulder. Billingsley has not won a game since July, and Kuroda was shelled in his last outing. The Cards can hit, we all know that, but they cannot hit lefties. This will come into play in the NLCS, but not against the Dodgers. Look for the Cards to sweep the Dodgers in the best of 5 Division Series. With Carpenter and Wainright in a 5 game series, the Cards are just way too tough to beat.

Prediction: As I said the Cards sweep the Dodgers