Dodgers Look To Stay Hot in Philly

The National League Championship Series begins tonight, as Derek Lowe takes the mound for the Dodgers against Cole Hamels and the Phillies in Philadelphia. I mentioned the starting pitching of the Dodgers yesterday, but the return of Rafael Furcal to full health has also been crucial to the late-season surge exhibited by L.A. His table-setting presence at the top of the lineup eases pressure on Russell Martin, and we saw just how effective he could be as he gave Carlos Zambrano fits in Game Two of the NLDS series against the Cubs. Besides Furcal, Manny Ramirez's presence has provided not only instant barrages of offense, but has helped Andre Ethier see better pitches and allowed him to find his stroke on his way towards a strong September. I do believe the Phillies will swing the bats better in this series, but Jimmy Rollins must be the catalyst at the top of the lineup because I don't think Charlie Manuel can rely on his big boppers to carry the load.

Starting Pitching Has Dodgers Primed

Twenty-five years later, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies meet again in the National League Championship Series. While the Phillies received some strong starting pitching efforts in their NLDS series with the Brewers, I give the edge slightly to the Dodgers in this series because of their own starting pitching. Derek Lowe is 4-0 in his last six postseason starts. and he was as excellent a pitcher in baseball in August and September. His hard sinker is beautiful and his slider has been on the last few months. Chad Billingsley has a moxy about him that I like, and Hiroki Kuroda was very good against the Phillies this season. And will the Phillies' offense be able to produce--Dodgers starting pitching aside?

Trail Blazers center Greg Oden made his NBA debut last night, playing his first game since the 2007 national championship game with Ohio State. Oden finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes of play and looks to finally be healthy again. I've had reservations about Oden's chances for NBA success--and I know it was just a preseason NBA game--but the kid looked good. By the way, Rudy Fernandez looked good, too. Kevin Pritchard is building a really nice team in Portland that has a lot of versatility, size and skill.

Rays, Red Sox to Meet in ALCS

The Tampa Bay Rays won their American League Division Series, eliminating the Chicago White Sox in four games with a 6-2 win early Monday evening at U.S. Cellular Field. Rays center fielder B.J. Upton blasted two homers, and the Rays bullpen dominated once again, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings and allowing only one hit. Starter Andy Sonnanstine pitched into the sixth inning, expressing a calm demeanor on the mound while allowing only two solo homers. The White Sox offense never became untracked in the game, managing a meager four hits, including two solo home runs. Chicago's roller coaster season finally ended after winning three straight games against three different opponents to close out the regular season, including a one-game playoff with the Twins to decide the AL Central Champion.

Meanwhile, rookie Jed Lowrie stroked a game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth to send the Boston Red Sox into the American League Championship Series against AL East rival Tampa Bay. Boston received seven more scoreless innings from Jon Lester, making it 14 ALDS innings without allowing an earned run for the southpaw. Game One of the ALCS will be played on Friday evening.

Sox Survive, Phils Advance

John Danks kept the White Sox season alive--again--pitching 6 2/3 gritty innings to help Chicago stave off elimination against the Tampa Bay Rays in their American League Division Series. Aided by production out of the lower part of the order, Danks handed the ball over to a steady bullpen with a 5-3 lead--and that's exactly where the game ended, forcing a Game Four today. Unheralded veteran journeyman DeWayne Wise once again was an offensive force for the Sox, doubling home two runs during a three-run fourth against Tampa starter Matt Garza to give the White Sox a 4-1 lead and breathing room for Danks. The southpaw was certainly the story once again on Sunday. After tossing eight shutout innings in Tuesday's AL Central tiebreaking win over the Twins, Danks struck out seven and snatched some momentum from the Rays, who will now face Gavin Floyd this afternoon, as the right-hander looks to send the series back to Tampa for a Game Five.

The Philadelphia Phillies, meanwhile, advanced to their first National League Championship Series since 1993 with a 6-2 Game Four victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. The Phils jumped on veteran Jeff Suppan for five runs in three innings, and will now move on to play the surprising Los Angeles Dodgers, who stunningly swept the Cubs in the other NLDS. Mid-season pickup Joe Blanton was stellar again, allowing just one run in six innings with seven strikeouts, while Pat Burrell hit two home runs and knocked in four.

So the Phillies and Dodgers will have an extended break to rest before opeing their best-of-seven NL Championship Series on Thursday in Philadelphia. I still can't get over the fact that for the second straight postseason, the offense for the Chicago Cubs absolutely failed to show up. The Cubs came into the series with the NL's best average with runners in scoring position during the regular season. However, they batted just .179 (5-for-28) in such situations this series, while the Dodgers hit .333 (11-for-33) after struggling in this category all season long. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Cubs will never win a postseason series with Alfonso Soriano leading off and Aramis Ramirez being looked upon as a go-to hitter. GM Jim Hendry has some serious tweaking to do to this roster in the offseason, although it'll have to be done with the impending sale of the team.

Windy City Blues As Sox, Cubs Fall

The Tampa Bay Rays opened up postseason play for the first time in franchise history in style Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg, defeating the Chicago White Sox 6-4 in Game One of their American League Division Series. The Rays overcame a third-inning DeWayne Wise three-run homer behind two Evan Longoria blasts, a solid James Shield start and another commanding bullpen outing. The atmosphere at Tropicana Field was raucous--and the place was shockingly filled to capacity. To the fans' credit, though, they were into the game from the very first pitch to the very last celebrated Rays punchout.

Meanwhile, White Sox starter Javier Vazquez continued to show manager Ozzie Guillen that he indeed is not a big-game pitcher. Guillen questioned Vazquez's ability to deliver in big games before the start of a crucial series with the Minnesota Twins two weeks ago, and Vazquez responded with a poor start. Thursday afternoon at Tropicana, Vazquez gave up six earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, putting the Sox in must-win mode early this evening when Mark Buehrle takes the hill against Scott Kazmir in Game Two.

But unquestionably the biggest story of the day is the shocking ineptitude of the Chicago Cubs in the 2008 postseason. Already trailing in the series after an absurdly poor Game One performance by Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano went from dominant in the first inning to putrid in the second as five Dodgers runs crossed the plate--aided by two head-scratching Cubs errors on potential double-play balls--stunning and silenting a raucous Wrigley Field crowd. For the second consecutive game, the Cubs' offense was nowhere to be found. But the Dodgers certainly brought their clout, as Russell Martin's three-run double highlighted the five-run second, and Manny Ramirez hit his Major League-record 26th postseason homer. Holding a 2-0 lead in the series puts L.A. in an enviable position. Teams that have held a 2-0 lead in the NLDS are unbeaten in 16 series, and have gone onto sweep 13 times.

Dodgers Slam Cubs in Game One

Wow. At some point we really do have to wonder if the multiple curses of the Chicago Cubs are for real. Pitcher Ryan Dempster had been absolutely dominant at home all season long, yet he walks seven Dodgers--including the bases loaded--before James Loney belted a grand slam to absolutely take the life out of the Wrigley Field capacity crowd. The Dodgers, who won only 84 regular season games, beat the Cubs 7-2, and the North Siders now must turn to Carlos Zambrano in Game Two tonight to even up the best-of-five series at one game apiece. Dodgers starter Derek Lowe gave up a two-run home run to Mark DeRosa--and that was it. I know postseason experience is often overrated, but the former World Series champion looked in command all night in pitching L.A. to a huge Game One win.

White Sox Claim AL Central

Pitching once again on three days' rest, young southpaw John Danks allowed a meager two hits in eight innings and veteran slugger Jim Thome launched a LONG home run as the Chicago White Sox won the American League Central division title last night with a 1-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The Sox improbably defeated a third different team in three consecutive days to capture the crown after the team looked to be dead following a three-game sweep last week at the Metrodome. But the Twins, who lost two of three at home to Kansas City, could not put the final nail in the coffin this past weekend and were unable to win in front of Chicago's raucous crowd. Young right-hander Nick Blackburn nearly matched Danks, but Thome was able to connect on a solo homer to lead off the seventh to provide all the scoring the Sox would need. The South Siders now join the North Side Cubbies in the playoffs for the first time in the same season since...1906...the year the Sox beat the Cubs a crosstown series that more than a few fans are dying to see this year. I certainly consider myself lucky in operating out of the Windy City.