The Reds Have The Blues.

For the third time in 4 consecutive playoff berths, the Philadelphia Phillies are headed back to the NLCS after a 3-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds that included the second no-hitter in postseason history courtesy of the Doc, Roy Halladay. Even the casual reader of this blog knows just how I feel about this insanely strong Phillies team: I have no doubt that they'll make it back to the World Series for the 3rd straight season, and I have a feeling that they'll win it all again. And considering the way Cincy went down, they really didn't fight a whole lot. The Reds' offense had 11 hits adding up to 4 runs over 3 games, a far cry from Philadelphia's 18 hits and 13 runs. Poor performances at the plate by Joey Votto (still a leading candidate for the NL MVP), young power hitter Jay Bruce, seasoned veteran Scott Rolen (with a World Series ring from the 2006 Cards), and Jonny Gomes all helped contribute to the minimal offense, and the plays in the field were not much better: the Reds committed 7 errors in 3 games, compared to Philly's 3. Overall, there was no way this Reds team was going to advance by taking down the Phillies. It seemingly just can't be done.

The Yankees fan in me hates myself for typing the blasphemous phrase I just wrote when I said the Phillies are still my pick to win it big, but I can be realistic: if the Bronx Bombers make it back to The Show, it'll be difficult to contend with the baseball equivalent of Miami's Big Three: the almost-unfairly dominant 3-man rotation consisting of Halladay, Roy Oswalt (ugh), and Cole Hamels. When it comes to pitching, New York doesn't stand a chance even against the likes of Kansas City or Pittsburgh. As anyone well knows, during the 4 days between CC Sabathia's starts, it's easy to silence the Yanks defensively. While I still like the chances of a lineup that boasts Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano (and that's just the infield), pitchers like A.J. Burnett (Philadelphia gets the best pitcher around, and we get Toronto's consolation prize?) and Phil Hughes that have failed spectacularly, and Andy Pettitte has really shown that he's been pitching for 14 years straight (when and if you could find him off the DL), do little to instill faith in the believers.

However, when talking about fans that may have a little too much faith, we turn to the Braves (oh yes, you disgustingly rabid Atlanta fans, it's a paragraph about why the Braves will not advance...if you're too detached from reality to believe this, please shut your computer down right now). They're lucky to be in the division that they're in: there's no way they would even have a chance to get past the first round if they had to face Philadelphia right off the bat. But they look like they won't even get past San Francisco. Dropping a game to Tim Lincecum is understandable, of course...14 strikeouts normally does not yield a victory in your team's favor. But Eric Hinske even had a pinch-hitting game-tying home run today, and thanks to a Brooks Conrad error, Freddy Sanchez scored the game-winning run. Just because the Braves have finally made it back to the postseason for the first time since 2005, everyone around where I live suddenly believes that this is the year for the 4th World Series win in the team's history. For the love of God, what on earth would make you believe that? They can barely beat the Giants! The Giants, man! They let the San Diego Padres have the lead in the division almost all season before barely reclaiming their respectful place at the top (let's face it, that division is the most up in the air of all 6)! And yet you can't knock the crown off their heads with Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson, and Tim Hudson? What good would advancing do? So you could get annihilated by the surging Phils? Jason Heyward's just a kid, after all...does he really need to experience that kind of heartbreak in his very first season? THINK OF THE KID!!

The Braves ought to take a page out of the Rays' book. Tampa Bay somehow came from the brink of elimination to tie things up in this series against the Rangers. Does home field advantage mean nothing anymore? The Yanks won both games in Minnesota, and both the Rays and Rangers won their games as visitors. Unfortunately for the Rays, they're going to be in the same situation they were in Wednesday, facing Cliff Lee at home, and we all remember (if you're a Yankees fan) how that turned out. However, thanks to timely homers by Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and Carl Crawford (who's also had a nice few stolen bases in this 4-game stretch), Tampa Bay has managed to win the last 2, absolutely essential to even be in this position. As I've said since the matchup was determined, this series would be the one that was hardest to predict the winner in (if I were smarter, I would have also expressed how this would be the only series to play out all 5 games, but I don't seem to have that kind of foresight).

So, things might be shaping up for a possible rematch of the 2009 World Series, and the Reds go the way of the Twins: quietly and without much of a fight. All that's left to see in the division series is to see if Atlanta will do some of the same, and who will threaten New York's further advancement.