What does Chicago say about Phils? They are team to beat!

[njriverman]

Phillies loom as biggest threat
Cubs view them as their toughest potential opponent in NL playoffs


September 21, 2008
BY CHRIS DE LUCA
Now that they've clinched, it's finally safe to consider the burning question facing the Cubs: Which team in the National League would they least prefer to meet in the playoffs?

An informal poll of Cubs personnel, who didn't want to be identified discussing potential playoff opponents until a berth had been clinched, indicates the Philadelphia Phillies present the biggest threat.

Hard to argue with that thinking, considering the Phillies are the only team among the potential NL playoff opponents who boast a winning record (4-3) against the Cubs this season.

The Phillies have power, especially at their little ballpark, solid starting pitching and a reliable bullpen. They have one other factor that should worry every potential October opponent: They're one of the hottest teams in baseball entering the homestretch.

''With what our hitters can do, the rest of us can just do our part,'' closer Brad Lidge told reporters Thursday. ''I think we're better than our record, and I think we're starting to play like that. I really like our chances now.''

Lidge has been a key to the Phillies being where they are today -- on the doorstep to a second consecutive trip to the postseason, something they haven't done since 1980, when they last won a World Series, and '81. The closer discarded by the Houston Astros entered the weekend 38-for-38 in save chances, compiling a 1.93 ERA along the way.

Not bad for a pitcher who opened the season on the disabled list, casting doubts on the Phillies' bullpen.

There's another reliever residing in the Phils' bullpen who had been left for dead by baseball standards. The Cubs dealt left-hander Scott Eyre to the Phils on Aug. 7. Eyre, who was 2-0 with a 7.15 ERA in 19 outings for the Cubs this season, never had earned manager Lou Piniella's confidence, straying from the pressure situations that landed him a three-year, $11 million contract before the 2006 season.

Since joining the Phillies, Eyre was 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 15 outings entering the weekend. And he has earned manager Charlie Manuel's trust enough to work with fellow lefty J.C. Romero setting up Lidge in the late innings.

''I worked my way into some better situations,'' Eyre said.

''The first day I got here, I said I didn't care when it is I get to go out there and help us win. I love pitching, and I love being out there. It's more fun when the game's on the line.''

As many friends as Eyre left behind in the Cubs' clubhouse, you can bet he'd love a chance to show his new stuff against his old team in October.

Pitching has been the key to the Phillies' success all season, and they have a rotation that combined for 11 shutouts entering the weekend.

And they have the most power in the NL, with their 201 home runs entering the weekend eclipsed only by the White Sox (217) in the majors. Entering the weekend, sluggers Ryan Howard (46), Chase Utley (31) and Pat Burrell (31) had combined for the same number of home runs as the Minnesota Twins and far more than the San Francisco Giants (90).

Without taking anything away from the Manny Ramirez-fueled Los Angeles Dodgers, the Jerry Manuel-guided New York Mets -- who host the Cubs for four games this week at Shea Stadium -- or the same Arizona Diamondbacks who dusted the Cubs last October, the Phillies offer the most reasons to worry.

''We're playing good baseball -- getting guys on early, moving them over, executing and pitching lights out, as you can say with Brad Lidge,'' starting pitcher Cole Hamels said. ''It's something we have to continue because it's only going to get tougher. Things aren't going to get easier as the pressure builds.''



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Yea Phils!