On Thursday, the MLB playoffs will continue with the start of the 2009 NL Championship Series featuring the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies take on the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Entering this series, the Dodgers find themselves preparing for a rematch of the 2008 NLCS, where the Phillies went on to win the series in five games.
The big question for the Dodgers this year is which Manny Ramirez will show up? The 2008 version where he had a .533 batting average with 2 homeruns and 7 RBI’s or the 2009 NLDS version that had a .308 average with only 2 RBI’s?
If Ramirez is unable to step up, the Dodgers will need to rely upon the hitting tandem of Matt Kemp and Andre Either. In the NLDS, Either powered the team’s offense with a .500 batting average with 2 homeruns and 5 RBI’s. Kemp was another story, managing only 2 hits in 14 at bats.
While the Dodgers hitting helped carry the team through the regular season, many have overlooked a solid pitching staff led by Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw will need to reduce the number of hits he gave up during the 2009 NLDS if he is going to have a chance to corral the hitters of the Phillies.
Chad Billingsley, who did not pitch during the NLDS, will need to shake off the memories of 2008, where he went 0-2 with a 18.00 ERA in 5 innings of work, when the Dodgers call him out of the bullpen for long relief.
The Philadelphia Phillies will be looking to repeat the regular season performance against the Dodgers where they won four of the seven games they played.
When it comes to offensive firepower, the Phillies are full of it, starting with Ryan Howard. During the NLDS, Howard had a .275 batting average with 3 doubles and 6 RBI’s. If Howard beings to struggle, second baseman Chase Utley will be there with his .429 average, 5 runs, 1 homerun, and 2 stolen bases.
Ultimately the man who will set the tone for the Phillies is shortstop Jimmy Rollins. He will need to improve upon his performance in the NLDS where he hit .263 with 1 extra base hit and 5 strikeouts.
The Phillies pitching staff is led by their mid season acquisition, Cliff Lee, who pitched 16.1 innings while posting a 1-0 record with a 1.10 ERA and 10 strikeouts.
Aside from Lee, the Phillies will need either Cole Hamels or J.A. Happ to step up their performance from the NLDS. The two pitchers worked 8 innings while giving up 13 hits with a combined 7.87 ERA with 2 walks and 9 strikeouts.
The deciding factor in this series could be the closers of both teams. Brad Lidge’s 11 blown saves from the regular season has been well documented. Even though he has been solid with 2 saves in 1.1 innings of work during the NLDS, Phillies’ fans have to be nervous.
The Dodgers will be relying upon Jonathan Broxton who gave up the game winning home run in Game of the 2008 NLCS. Broxton pitched 3.2 innings in the NLDS with 1 save and a 2.45 ERA with four strikeouts and zero walks.
In the end, the Dodgers hitting and pitching will be too much for the Phillies whose starting pitching will ultimately doom them not to repeat.
Prediction – Dodgers Win Series in 6 Games
