Phillies vs. Brewers NLDS

The last time the Brewers faced the Phillies, the Phillies swept. The Phils outscored the Brew Crew 26-7 if that gives people a little foreshadowing as to what will occur this time around. At that same time they were on the verge of collapsing and the eventual firing of their manager Ned Yost. Less than 3 weeks later and they meet again.

Questions coming into the series:

How effective can C.C. Sabathia be on 3 days' rest?
What CC has done for this team is outstanding, without him the Brewers don't make the playoffs. Sabathia has pitched 3 games with only 3 days rest and will soon be pitching his fourth. He has pitched under immense pressure when his team has needed him the most and he has delivered. This coming from a guy that knows he won't be pitching for Millwaukee come next year. He won't be able to pitch Game 1, but everyone knows that Sabathia will lock up a W for the Brewers come Game 2. Possibly giving another masterful performance such as the perfect game that he achieved against the Cubs this past sunday.

Will the Brewers pitching hold up against the Phillies?
Doesn't look like it. Things aren't good when Brewers management have to have a meeting about their Game 1 starter. The Brewers will rely heavily upon Yovani Gallardo and Jeff Suppan to get big outs for them to contend in this series. Ben Sheets will not be pitching due to his injured elbow which makes matters worse. Its risky putting Gallardo in for Game 1 because of his youth, but he has great stuff and against the Phillies, the Brewers will need great stuff out of their starters.

Who is the key to this series?

None other than......Brett Myers. Some might say that it is ludicrous, but its the truth. Cole Hamels will get the job done in Game 1 going on full rest. But it is Brett Myers who the Brewers should worry about because he will be matching up against Sabathia in Game 2.There is some cause for concern though, in his past 2 starts he has allowed 14 earned runs in 8 1/3 innings. With Brett pitching to what he is capable of doing the Phillies rotation looks pretty scary.
Brett Myers

Starting Pitcher
Philadelphia Phillies
Profile

2008 Season Stats

GM	IP	W-L	BB	K	ERA
30	190.0	10-13	65	163	4.55

Who leads the charge for the 3-headed MVP monster?
Its pretty obvious that the Phillies will rely on Ryan Howard's bat for the playoffs. No other player is clicking on all cylinders like Howard is and his September numbers will get him a lot of MVP consideration. His September numbers were absurd: .342 average, .848 slugging percentage, 10 home runs and 28 RBIs have been matched in baseball history only twice, by Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg in 1940 and Babe Ruth in 1927, the year in which he hit his 60th home run. Howard is one of the streakiest hitters in the game, but as long as the guys ahead of him get on base count on this guy to drive them in.

Brewers leaning to the right helpful?
The Brewers lineup includes 7 right handed hitters and they hit 23 points higher against left handers (.269 as opposed to .246). And here is where the tricky part comes in, the Phillies Hamels and Moyer are both left-handers. The good thing is that Hamels ranked among the N.L. leaders against right handers by holding them to a measly .215 average. Expect the Phillies to try and bring in right handed relief to stop the Brewers.

Conclusion:
Some see this as a close series, but I just don't see it that way. Yes CC will keep them in this series, but they just don't have enough quality arms starting or even out of the bullpen. This one will come down to the battle of the bullpens, the Brewers need to score early to gain the momentum because the Phillies are known for come from behind victories, which puts added pressure on the Brewers bullpen to come up big. For the Brewers to make this series close it will come down to the bullpen. For the Phillies to breeze by them it will come down to how effective Myers is as the #2.

Phillies in 4.