Phils Boast Most Talent in MLB

Take a step back from the regular season and begin to think about playoff baseball.

It is about power pitching, experience, defense, and timely hitting. Most of all, it is about match-ups and I will take the Phillies roster over any team in the playoff picture. Needless to say, I really like the Phillies chances of repeating as World Series Champions.

Starters: Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton, and Pedro Martinez.

The Cardinals have a nice one-two punch with Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter but luckily the Phillies will only face them in a seven game series were depth players a larger role.

Line-up: Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, and Carlos Ruiz. The first six batters on the team have made an all-star team, five did so this season. Speed. Power. Average---they've got it covered. Utley and Howard will likely finish in the top 5 in MVP voting.

Bench: Matt Stairs and Greg Dobbs (lefty), along with John Mayberry and Ben Francisco (righty), have the pop needed in the late innings from both sides of the plate.

Bullpen: No, I will not even attempt to make an argument for the Phillies bullpen as the best of the playoff teams but I do think it is definitely strong enough to accomplish the job. All they have to do is stay healthy and get mentally prepared for the most important month of the season.

Defense: Pedro Feliz, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino should all be in consideration for a Gold Glove. Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, and Jayson Werth are all solid at their positions as well. No Pat Burrell liability on this squad.

Here are my playoff predictions:

National League
Phils over Rockies Cardinals over Dodgers

Phils over Cardinals

American League
Yankees over Twins (or Tigers) Red Sox over Angles

Yankees over Red Sox

Philadelphia Phillies over New York Yankees

Bring on the Yankees...then Alicia Keys and Jay-z can change their song "Empire State" to "Keystone State" and every time they say New York we'll say Philly.

Other Philadelphia teams:

Flyers are 2-0! A shutout in the first game and then 5-2 win over the Devils...it will be a good year on Broad Street.

Eagles should have two easy wins coming their way against Tampa Bay, followed by Oakland.

Sixers start their preseason schedule tomorrow.

The Rise and Fall of Brad Lidge

How the mighty have fallen.

This will be the fourth and, I pray, final time I write about Brad Lidge blowing a save. The same Phillies closer who was perfect last season. He finished 4th in Cy Young voting and 8th in MVP ballots in 2008.

Now, his stats are looking eerily similar to the horrendous year in 2006 only worse!

Tonight, he lost his 8th game of the season, has blown his 11th save, and increased his ERA to an unheard of 7.48. One run lead, bottom of the ninth....Phillies have a problem. I have ignored this obvious concern to the best of my ability but I can no longer turn a blind eye to how pathetic Brad Lidge has been this season.

I am not sure what season was more remarkable and beyond belief: the success of last season or the failure of this one.

This Phillies squad has everything, and I mean everything, a championship ball club needs.

Pedigree (defending champs), power (4 guys over 30 home runs), speed (Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Werth, and even Ryan Howard), defense (2 or 3 potential gold glove winners), starting pitching (AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee, League and World Series MVP Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton having a career year, possible NL Rookie of the Year JA Happ, and a future Hall of Famer named Pedro Martinez), and even a solid set up man in Ryan Madson.

The only ? is the mental state of Brad Lidge. Physically, he must be fine because he still has nice velocity with his slider and fastball.

I thought his perfect season last year was a sign he was past the Albert Pujols saga.

However, it seems the fans in Philadelphia are reliving what happened in Houston a few years ago.

I have offered various opinions on what to do regarding Lidge and the closers role in general. Nothing has worked, although Charlie Manuel gave Ryan Madson his fair share of opportunities to no avail.

Post Season play begins in 2 weeks and the magic number remains at 5. The Phillies are a team that everyone fears, but Brad Lidge is one pitcher that batters are happy to face at the moment.

Don't count him out yet. You must have faith because the Phillies will continue live and die with Brad Lidge as their closer this season. Like it or not.