NLCS Preview: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers will face off with Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series beginning on Thursday. Both teams are playing well, which makes this a very interesting series. The Dodgers looked like bums right after they were swept by the Phillies in late August, but they picked their game up and have played well enough to win the N.L. West easily. The Phillies have been more of a consistent team, but they have their bumps. The offense was very shaky for half of the summer and was shaky in the NLDS. But pitching has stood up and protected this team. So let's get into some in-depth previews. Let's start with the offense. Offense I see many similarities between these two clubs on offense. Both teams have trouble hitting on some days and explode on others. Both teams also have a few hot players but few cold players as well. But there is one big difference between these two offensive clubs: reliability. Yes, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell did not ... (link)