NLDS 2010: Ranking the Performances
The 2010 season has indeed been "The Year of the Pitcher." This was perhaps the most common theme in the bigs and has remained so throughout the playoffs thus far. Pitching is making a comeback as hitters have been stymied at the plate by superior arms on the mound. Names like Tim Lincecum, Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels took center stage in Round 1.
There was no place for offense in the NL's 1st Round as many household name sluggers struggled mightily, some albeit in victory. Offenses were shut down by better pitching. For example, the NL's top offense in Cincinnati recorded just 4 runs in three games against Philadelphia (all 4 came in Game 2.)
The only explanation for what occurred in Round 1 could just be the entire regular season. Some of these elite pitchers appear to have gotten stronger as the year progressed and now, dangerously, they may all be at the top of their game.
Now, without further adieu, we recognize the best of the best and the ugliest of all in these slides. Feel free to leave comments as you wish.
Worst Of The Worst
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The following performances justly describe how bad the NLDS was at times. Poor performances on several levels were seen, but these stood out most.
3. Phillies Offense
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Even in dominance, the Phillies' offense, unlike their ace pitcher, was far from perfect. They collectively hit just .212 with poor performances from big-time contributors like Jimmy Rollins and Jayson Werth. It's fair to say though that the offense as a whole was a disappointment against Cincinnati.
The scary part for the Phillies is that their offense didn't have to do much in their quick work of the Reds. Their pitching sufficed and then some as their "H20" rotation went 23 out of the 27 innings and was over-powering, particularly Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels.
When their offense gets back to form, they will be nearly impossible to beat for any opponent. The Phillies have remain the Class of the NL and look to represent it in a 3rd consecutive World Series. As many have claimed over the past few years, the Phillies are an AL team playing in the NL. This presents a huge advantage against NL foes and better equips them for deeper post-season runs.
The offense must now work out the kinks for the NLCS and will certainly need to hit much better as the playoffs proceed.
2. Award Candidates: Joey Votto and Jason Heyward
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The above picture is a snug description of MVP candidate Joey Votto's post-season debut. Philadelphia's pitching never let Votto get comfortable at the plate, almost making him a decoy for the series. Not to mention the fact that the Reds hit just .123 as a team and were consistently stifled. The NL's best offense in the regular season became its worst in the playoffs. This was in large part due to the troubles that Votto faced throughout.
Votto went 1-10 in the series, and 0-7 against Halladay and Hamels in particular. This didn't bode well for his Reds, then again, neither did a Round 1 match-up with the Phillies. Votto, while he may not have been the only Red to disappoint, was of course the most noticeable.
Jason Heyward has been a non-factor for the Atlanta Braves in their series against the San Francisco Giants. He's currently 0-12 with 7 punch-outs and has let first-time jitters get to him. Heyward has not been the Rookie of the Year candidate we came to know in the regular season. Instead, he's become an afterthought in these playoffs.
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1. Reds' Defense
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The Cincinnati Reds struggled in just about all phases of the game over the past five days, but none were as painfully obvious as defensively. Their 7 errors in just three games may even be worse than their offensive performances in Games 1 and 3. Considering that they occurred in crucial moments even adds to its distinction.
The Reds looked like the Bad News Bears out there at various points in the series. From Jay Bruce's Game 2 blunder to seeing a seven-time Gold Glover in Scott Rolen struggling, the Cincinnati defense was God-awful in this series. Not to mention the fact that some of these plays directly resulted in their sweep out of the 1st Round.
It couldn't have possibly gotten any worse for Dusty Baker's club overall. From Game 1 they had to have known what was coming to them. Roy Halladay's near Perfect Game set the tone for the rest of the series.
The Best Of The Best
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As we saw in the 1st Round of the NL Playoffs, shining performances were nearly impossible to come by. Other than pitching performances, which again took center stage, nothing else was notable. But these stellar individual outings need even more of our attention.
3. Cole Hamels' Game 3
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Cole Hamels turned in one of the best starts of his career last night in Cincinnati. The Reds, a team that Hamels has historically dominated, were never able to figure out the lefty. Hamels went the distance and allowed just five hits while striking out nine hitters. This showed a turning of the page for Hamels and certainly turned some heads. But to Cole Hamels, Great American Ballpark is his second home.
If Hamels is able to handle his emotions as he did in Sunday's clincher, the sky is the limit for him. In harnessing his talent and mindset, Hamels was able to go out there inning after inning and just dominate.
Crazy, but his start was the 3rd best of the NL playoffs thus far which is saying a whole lot as all three were spectacular. Hamels was again able to stymie the Reds offense and catapult the Phillies into the NLCS once again. He now looks to be regaining the 2008 playoff form which saw him win both NLCS and World Series MVPs.
2. Tim Lincecum's Game 1
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Tim Lincecum was indeed a "Freak" as his nickname entails. In Game 1 against the Braves, he too pitched a complete game shutout and continued this 2010 "Year of the Pitcher" depiction. His 14 K's and three allowed base-runners were a feat in itself. Lincecum appears to be what will keep the Giants running in these playoffs - every five days though.
Before Roy Halladay landed in Philadelphia, Lincecum was the NL's top hurler and the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner. Lincecum remains one of the best and could get to prove his status in a potential Game 1 Showdown with Halladay on Saturday evening in Philadelphia.
Lincecum's dominance of Atlanta proves that his staff is the reason that the Giants were able to push past the San Diego Padres for the West Crown. Their offense most certainly has not been able to get it done so this leaves Lincecum and the rotation to pick up the slack. Lincecum did this and more for the Giants in Game 1.
1. Roy Halladay's Game 1 No-Hitter
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Roy Halladay's 2010 season, his first in Philadelphia has been one for the ages. One perfect game and another near perfect game resulting in a no-hitter which saw one base-runner over nine innings. This adds up to two of the most dominant pitching performances we have ever seen in the same season. Remember that the latter was in his first playoff start.
The Phillies' top ace went a complete game in an outing that may have even been more dominant than his perfection in Florida earlier this season. The Red Legs looked like a team that had lost its mojo in that Game 1 and it stuck throughout.
Halladay said after the NL East Clincher in Washington that "It's gonna get a lot funner." Something tells me that this isn't as fun as it will get in Philadelphia over the next month.
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