As for the actual baseball . . . With pitchers battling miserable conditions, the Phillies will have too much firepower.
Phillies in 4
Sam Donnellon
Almost every Phillie had a set role as they entered last postseason. Starters started, setup guys set up, closers closed.
Everyone knew who the ace was, who the pinch-hitters were, the pinch-runners, the late-inning defensive guys. It was pretty push-button.
Not this year. If the Phillies repeat as champions, it will have little resemblance to last year's run. There was a lot of guesswork in naming the roster yesterday, a lot of hope and dreaming when it came to setting up the pitching for their short series with the Colorado Rockies.
The Rockies know who they are. The Phillies are leaning too heavily on muscle memory.
Rockies in 5
Paul Hagen
Unlike last season, when pitching carried the Phillies to the world championship, they probably will have to outslug the Rockies to get past the first round. And they got a break when it was announced that Jorge De La Rosa, the Rockies' only lefthanded starter, would miss the entire series with a strained groin.
The problem is that both Ubaldo Jiminez and Aaron Cook are capable of keeping the Phillies' big boppers in the park. If they can do that, the games should be close. And if the games turn into a battle of the bullpens, on paper at least, the Rockies have to like their chances.
Rockies in 5
Marcus Hayes
For those behind the scenes, the enduring image of 2007 wasn't Pat Gillick's fire-sale announcement that the Phillies wouldn't contend for 2 years, or the Phillies-fed implosion of the Mets, or even the division clincher over the Nationals.
