Apter Hours--NLDS: No Nicknames Needed

Well, it's that time of year again. Yes, again. In the early 2000s, Phillies fans could only dream of a red October, and now it has come true for the fourth consecutive season. The 2010 campaign has been plagued by injury but through the help of players such as Wilson Valdez, Ross Gload and Mike Sweeney, the Fightin Phils clinched the best record in Major League Baseball for the first time in their franchise history. Over the past couple of weeks, the Phillies three ace pitches have collected many different nicknames for themselves. To name a few...The Big Three, The Bermuda Triangle, H20. These so called "cute" nicknames can be used for media, t-shirts, etc but I do not really see the need for a nickname here. The names speak for themselves. Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt are what the Phillies championship hopes will dwell upon and they have shown that they can be extremely clutch down the stretch.

The Phillies will be facing off against the Reds in the NLDS. Cincy is making their first playoff appearance in 15 years and have some of their own weapons that Phillies pitching will have to worry about in the first round. The question is, do the Phillies have some of their internal worries that take priority over what the Reds bring to the table?

Going into the postseason, all of the injuries throughout the season may come to the Phillies benefit. They enter the playoffs with their healthiest lineup all year, but have some players that will need to step it up to regain form. The most notable, of course, is Jimmy Rollins. J-Roll has played only about half of the season and has had injuries to his ankle and hamstring, two very important parts of his game. Rollins, known for his base-stealing, is not at full strength. Stats and records show that the team does better with Jimmy in the lineup but his condition begs a few questions. Is he capable of hitting lead-off? No. Shane Victorino has thrived in the one spot and should be placed in that position in the postseason, without a doubt. Placido Polanco is in a different situation. Polanco has opted to wait until the offseason to have surgery on his elbow, which has gotten a share of cortisone shots. Polanco has played through the pain and remains and integral part of this offense. He is one of the players who is almost guaranteed to get on base the majority of the time. Rollins needs to prove he can carry this team and he is not as banged up as he is said to be and Polanco needs to continue to do what he is doing. I have a lot of faith in the Phillies middle of the lineup because of their success in October, leading the team to a 23-7 record. Domonic Brown and Greg Dobbs filled the final spots. With an ailing Rollins and Polanco, Dobbs can provide infield depth while brown can give bench power and speed.

When the Phillies announced their NLDS roster, Kyle Kendrick, Danys Baez and David Herndon were left off of it. They opted for an extra lefty in Antonio Bastardo and to go with only ten pitchers total. They will go with the three man rotation of Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels. Halladay is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in four career starts against the Reds. Oswalt is 23-3 with a 2.81 ERA in 34 games against the Reds and is undefeated at Citizens Bank Park. Hamels is 6-0 with a 1.07 ERA in seven starts against Cincinnati, including 3-0 with a 1.67 ERA in four starts in Cincy, which is why he was chosen to start third. The starters are in line and #4 starter, Joe Blanton, will be available as a long man in the bullpen. The only question lies within the bullpen. While Jose Contreras, Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge have been solid, questions remain about the consistency of JC Romero. He seems to have picked it up as of late, but seems to go deep into counts. In the playoffs, deep counts and walks take a toll on the team and cannot be accepted. Although many experts are worried about Lidge, he has been very solid under postseason pressure and has been lights out in September and October. The starting pitching is, without question, the strength of the staff and the bullpen needs to show that they can get outs when needed.

With the dominant starting pitching in hand and a healthy lineup, I believe the Phillies will topple the playoff eager Reds in four games. They will move on to face San Franciso in the NLCS, who will take care of Atlanta in five. Until next time...GO PHILS!