NLCS Preview: Equal Pitching and Equal Bullpens Equals a Great MatchUp

Jesus. It's been 20 years since the Dodgers made it this far. 20 damn years. I was four. Ronald Reagan was still in office. Communist Russia was still around. And the Dodgers did this . Literally, every team in the N.L., except the Brewers (lol), has made it to the NLCS since the Dodgers were last in it. The Giants, Cardinals, Mets, Pirates, Marlins, Diamondbacks and Braves all went at least twice. Take a minute to think about that. From the start of this year's playoffs, the Phillies had the obviously easier path to the NLCS. The Brewers had trotted out CC Sabathia too many times on short rest and were completely devoid of a bullpen, making the best of their efforts, but with all things being equal, the Phillies still had the better offense, pitching, and bullpen, and the wild-card team didn't stand a chance.  The Dodgers ended up beating the heavily-favored Cubs in their NLDS matchup on the strength of a fluky grand slam by James Loney and the super-human pitching performances from Chad ... (link)