2009 Major League Baseball League Championship Series
The 2009 Major League Baseball League Championship Series begin Thursday with the defending world champion Philadelphia Phillies taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The other series, the Angels and the Yankees will begin on Friday.
The Phillies opened as a slight favorite to return to the World Series at many places, but the Dodgers are now slight favorites at nearly every sportsbook, while the Yankees are good-sized favorites over the Angels.
National League Championship Series
The Los Angeles Dodgers will be out for a bit of revenge, as the Phillies eliminated the Dodgers in this spot a year ago on their way to winning a world championship.
The Dodgers won the regular season series 4-3 between the two teams.
Both teams have impressive line-ups, as the Dodgers led the National League in hitting and the Phillies led the National League in runs scored. There's no real advantage to either team, so the series is likely to come down to pitching, and much like the Dodgers vs. St. Louis series, the Phillies have a slight advantage in starting pitching, while the Dodgers have the better arms coming in out of the bullpen.
The Phillies actually played better on the road this season than they did at home, which should help negate the Dodgers' home-field advantage, and while the Phillies are known to have a great left-handed batting line-up, actually fared better against left-handed starting pitchers than they did against right-handers over the course of the year.
The Dodgers started off great at home before tailing off slightly, but were still one of the better home teams in baseball. Los Angeles figures to see plenty of left-handed pitching and the Dodgers also tailed off a bit against lefties after a fast start.
It's difficult to determine the true strength of the Dodgers, as they were never really threatened from making the playoffs. While their final-week slide made the division title a bit interesting, the Dodgers had already clinched at least a wild card spot some back.
I have to believe the Dodgers' edge in relief pitching is the difference here, as Los Angeles led the National League in hitting and runs scored from the seventh inning on during the regular season, which could spell trouble for the Phillies. While Brad Lidge saved the final two playoff games against the Rockies, have to believe the Dodgers' edge here makes the difference.
Next, we'll look at the American League.
