The Phillies will be difficult for the Yankees or the Angels on a serious note.
Pedro Martinez's level of pitching certainly could replaced the troubles that Cole Hamels is seriously having.
Their bench though will seriously be in question through in the ultimate stage, as Matt Stairs is their only bench guy that really could strike fears into. But in the ultimate stage of the Senior Citizen circuit, for a second consecutive year, the Philadelphia Phillies have proven that they are without a doubt the best team in the National League.
And tough luck for the Dodgers. Game 4 was their chance to turn the series around. Instead, Jonathan Broxton gets haunted again by Game 4 against the Fanatics, and Joe Torre falls one step short of returning to the World Series.
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Probably the key decider of this series, of all things, was the bullpen pitching.
Clearly coming into the NLCS, the Dodgers bullpen was well considered the best bullpen. Kuo, Sherill, and Broxton certainly gave them an edge over the struggles of the defending World Champions bullpen.
But boy, the Dodgers big arms, especially Broxton and Sherill, really cost them the series and their first pennant in more than 20 years.
Give full credit to the Phillies bullpen though. They really held strong through it all, a true bend but don't break bullpen that got the crucial outs at all times outside of Game 2 (thanks to Chase Utley's error). And it will be interesting how Charlie Manuel uses not only Chan Ho Park, but whether Ryan Madsen, who was their best reliever all year, will remain in the set up role behind a rejuvenated Brad Lidge.