Before I start this post detailing Philadelphia's incredibly high chances of winning their second World Series in the past 3 years, I just have to get one thing out of the way:
Roy Oswalt, I still hate you. A lot. You are not a good pitcher; rather, you finally have a good team behind you. If you were any good, your record in Houston would have been better. You're not worth the hype you're getting, and you're damn sure not worth the money you demanded. You've got one of the best teams behind you. I could have a 7-0 record with the Phillies behind me too. Kindly retire and leave the game forever, please.
Gosh, I already feel a lot better. Now, onto why these Phreaks will make me cry by the end of October.
First, I truly don't know if the Yankees will repeat. Their bats have been hot, but the defense (especially the pitching) has suffered lately. Worst of all, Mariano Rivera can't seem to get his pitch under control anymore, leading to a few blown saves in the most crucial part of the season. Everyone's mechanics have to get better if they want to bring championship number 28 to the Bronx this year, because it sure would be nice not only for the Yanks to repeat this year (as they used to do years ago), but against the same team they won number 27 from as well. And for all we know, they could be beaten out by Boston in this next week for the wild card. However, Boston's injury woes will prevent them from making an impact against the Phillies: aside from David Ortiz, they have no bats powerful enough to beat out the Philadelphia pitching.
Second, the Rays are one of the best teams in the game, but they're still too cocky for their own good. Lest we forget, the Phils are the ones who nearly swept them in the 2008 championship, and not a whole lot has changed for the Rays, at least not enough to get a different outcome should the two meet in the Fall Classic again. Lately, they've failed to even ensure a playoff spot in a time when their closest competitors were falling to the wasteside, courtesy of the team underneath them. So who's to say they can get a repeat of 2 years ago and flip it around?
Third, whether the Twins or Rangers can beat out any team in the AL East (and then do it to the other one, or possibly each other) or not, they could face a surging Phillies team in the championship. For the Twins, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau are absolutely essential for a legitimate shot at bringing home a World Series to Minnesota for the first time since 1991. Without either of them, or if they can't deliver at the plate, the rest of the team will have to pick up a major amount of slack. The Rangers are lucky enough to have Cliff Lee pitching for them, guaranteeing a win in any game, especially one against the team he pitched in the World Series for just last season. However, with Ian Kinsler not performing the way he should, and having dropped a few games immediately after clinching the division, Texas' hopes are wavering.
As far as the teams opposing the Phils in their own league, it seems like the only team that could really pose a threat is the Cincinnati Reds. With Joey Votto, Jonny Gomes, and Jay Bruce still managing to take care of business offensively, and Aroldis Chapman holding wins for pitchers while frying the pitch speed radar guns, they're the biggest internal threat to the Phillies making a 3rd consecutive World Series appearance.
As far as San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta and Colorado go, they'll all be too tired from fighting with each other for the 2 remaining playoff spots that they won't be rested enough to take on the white-hot Phillies, so I don't believe any of them can pose a true threat to their postseason hopes.
For Philadelphia themselves, all the pieces of the puzzle have really fallen together. They have the same players, or comparable ones of the same caliber, as they've had the past few years, only this time, their pitching is even better than last year. I mean, as good as Cliff Lee and (ugh) Pedro Martinez are, I'd rather take Roy Halladay and (UGH) Roy Oswalt, especially in October. Cole Hamels is just as good, if not better, as he's been last year and before. With Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley finally all back and healthy, and players like Jayson Werth, Placido Polanco, and Raul Ibanez lighting pitches up as they've quietly been doing all season, I think it's a good bet that these boys might take the championship trophy back to Philly yet again. I can only hope they'll have to go through my Bronx boys first.
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