Postseason Knowledge

By Michael Izzo

Roy Halladay is unquestionably a future Hall of Famer…
The National League favorite for this year's Cy Young Award pitched a perfect game during the regular season as well as the second no hitter in postseason history–in his first ever postseason appearance! Add that to his already impressive resume and EP thinks he just pitched himself into Cooperstown.

(The Phillies acquired Halladay from Toronto in a three-way trade last December.)

Granted, he has a few years left to pitch, but he shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. If you were able to watch Halladay's postseason no hitter live then consider yourself lucky because we may never see that again during our lifetime.

…But Cliff Lee is even better
When Lee takes the mound, teams don't ask "How do we beat him," they ask "how can we get past him so we can try to hit the next pitcher?" Lee's numbers in his first three postseason starts this season are nothing short of astounding. He pitched 24 innings, struck out 34 batters, and won all three games while walking only one batter and giving up two earned runs. Opponents are batting a meager .151 against him. But can his arm hold up deep into October? Only time will tell.

(In 15 regular season starts for Texas, Cliff Lee went 4-6. He is 3-0 in the postseason.)

Hitting isn't everything in the postseason…
Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain, Brian Wilson, Cliff Lee, CJ Wilson, CC Sabathia, Andy Pettite, and Mariano Rivera. These 12 pitchers are the ones putting fans in the seats. Halladay has been lights out for the Phillies and Cliff Lee has taken the Rangers on his back.

(Giants' closer Brian Wilson had 48 saves this season.)

But not enough can be said about the incredible job of the Giants rotation so far this postseason. San Francisco is only one win away from winning the National League Pennant and they have their pitching staff to thank for it. In New York, grizzled veteran Andy Pettitte has shown why he has the most postseason wins of all time. You can have the best hitters in the league, but pitching will win almost every time.

...But clutch hitting is
How do you beat Roy Halladay? By sending Cody Ross to the plate, apparently. Ross almost single-handedly stole a win from Halladay in Game 1 of the series with two homeruns against the Phillies' ace. We have yet to find the definitive hitter of this postseason, but Cody Ross is definitely making a strong argument.

(The Giants claimed Cody Ross off waivers on August 23.)

How about the hot bats of Robinson Cano, Ian Kinsler, and Josh Hamilton? All it takes is one bad pitch to ruin a great performance. Just ask Andy Pettitte, who gave up a two-run homer in the first inning to Hamilton in Game 3 on Monday.

AJ Burnett cannot handle the pressure
Following a shaky first season in pinstripes (Burnett finished 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 2009), the $82.5 million pitcher showed Yankee fans what it really meant to underperform this season, going 10-15 with a 5.26 ERA. Burnett is well on his way to joining the elusive ranks of such Yankee, ahem, greats like Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown, and Carl Pavano.

(Burnett ranked second in the American League with 15 losses this regular season.)

His first postseason start proved that he just can't pitch a complete game. After 5.2 innings of good ball, he gave up a three-run shot to give the Rangers the lead. Nobody can doubt his talent, but Burnett is a head case and if the Yankees can make it to the World Series, his performance will be even more crucial.