Playoff Preview, Phillies vs. Reds Part 1: Will the REAL ‘Big 3’ Please Stand Up?

This is the first part of our Playoff Previews guest series.  It comes from my good pal Steve Sullivan, a certified Reds Fan. He has been gracious enough to offer his insights throughout the entire series with the Phillies and hopefully for him and the Reds, the World Series.  A big thanks to Steve as I'm looking forward to reading future posts. 

As a long time follower and a first time blogger for Ben’s Baseball Bias, I am extremely honored to be able to provide for your baseball entertainment this series of entries on the Phillies/Reds NLDS match-up. 

To preface this preview let me first come clean and admit to the world that I am a huge Red’s fan.  Now don’t stop reading just yet.  This isn’t going to be some homer essay on how the Red’s are headed to the World Series (we are) or that we’re the team to beat (duh), because there is not enough bias in me, or alcohol, to conclude that we have even the slightest of chances against the Phillies (I’ve already bought a Red’s broom).

Why you might ask?  Well the answer to that question will come in the form of a very complicated analogy …

With all of the talk and coverage over Lebron James choosing Miami for the future location of his talents, I can’t help but make the comparison between the Miami Heat and the Philadelphia Phillies.  For this analogy to work, please see my conversion chart below:

Dwayne Wade = Cole Hamels

The Phillies have long been Cole Hamel’s team, made more than crystal clear when the Phillies made their World Series run in 2008 behind the efforts of the World Series MVP’s arm.  Hamels had a mediocre 2010 season as far as wins and losses are concerned (12-11 in 33 starts), but had his first career 200 K season.  Coupled with his career high in strike outs, Hamels managed a 3.09 ERA this season which matches his career low.  Hopefully the Red’s hitter’s can sneak up on him like random grenades early because that will provide them with their best chances at knocking him out early.  As most of the dangerous bats in the Red’s lineup come from the left-side of the plate (Votto, Bruce), the Red’s will more than likely need that ‘randomness’ to come from an unlikely source (Stubbs, Gomes, Hernandez, etc.) to have any shot versus this effective south paw pitcher.

Chris Bosh = Roy Oswalt

Although Oswalt was the final piece to fall for the Phillies and Bosh was not in the case for the Heat, they both were leaving teams that had no hopes in making the playoffs and as virtually the only stud left on their respective teams.  Both are capable of, and have a history of, taking over a game whenever they are in the zone.  Let’s not forget that neither of these guys should be a go to guy on a team.  Bosh for obvious reasons and Oswalt, well his best years seem to be behind him.  But boy does getting traded to a World Series contender make you feel young again.  With the Astros in 2010, Oswalt was 6-12 with a 3.42 era.  His record is a bit deceiving as the Astros offense provided about as much support as a saggy mattress, but with that being said, in just 12 starts with the Phillies he has compiled a 7-1 record with a 1.65 era.  O and did I mention that Oswalt is a certified Red’s Killer, 23-2 , sub 2.75 era in 31 career starts versus the Reds.  The law of averages has to kick in at some point right? 

Lebron James = Roy Halladay

Although Halladay didn’t hold an ESPN special announcing his where his talents were being transferred to, he certainly is one of the few players in baseball that has enough star power to garner such an announcement.  The trade that sent Halladay to Philadelphia sent a shockwave through baseball that rivals Yokozuna’s bonsai splash. Now if you really need me to fill space with Halladay’s statistics then you just haven’t been following baseball in 2010. I will give you a high level overview of his regular season:

·        Perfect Game

·        9 Complete Games

·        21 wins

·        A relatively successful Facebook page

·        Side note:  Kenny Powers > Roy Halladay

You get the picture?

All joking aside, at the end of the 2010 playoffs we may be talking about these three pitchers as the best playoff rotation in the history of baseball.  The Red’s have their hands full and I haven’t even mentioned the Phillies offense.  In the next post I will talk about what the Red’s need to accomplish in order to be successful against the Phillies.  So until next time, keep it clean and pristine!