Philadelphia Phillies Tickets - Phillies Back Where They Belong

The Phillies haven't exactly taken the most usual route to reach the top of the N.L

. East, but after an injury-plagued season and battles with inconsistency, Philadelphia is in line to take home their fourth consecutive division title. Though the Braves won't go away without a fight, the Phillies have the most talent in the National League and are finally healthy enough to gear up for the postseason.

The 2010 season began with analysts calling the Phillies the best team in the National League in decades. With ace Roy Halladay coming over from Toronto, it seemed that only Charlie Hustle and the Big Red Machine from the 1970s could hang with the Phillies, a team that boasts MVP candidates throughout their lineup and arguably the best pitcher in the game in Halladay. Though much of the starting rotation was suspect, most assumed that the American League style of lineup would be more than enough to cruise to 100 wins.

But a 162-game regular season has a way of bringing teams back down to Earth. After being handed the division before the season started, the Phillies started with shortstop Jimmy Rollins headed to the D.L. and then have since suffered key injuries to Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and others. While the Phillies struggled to find run production out of their makeshift starting lineup, suddenly the youthful Braves had separated themselves in the division, which they led every day from May 30 to Sept. 7. While many Braves fans thought that rookie Jason Heyward was in store for a good rookie season, few thought he was capable of anchoring a lineup and nobody knew that Martin Prado was one of the best second basemen in the league. With the injuries mounting and the starting rotation struggling, even Halladay, it seemed that the Phillies may have been all hype.

Still, the Phillies have to be given credit for battling through injuries and staying within striking distance throughout the season. Role players like Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino have put together nice seasons to fill in for their shifting lineup and the Phillies simply wouldn't be where they are without them, even though neither directly sells many Philadelphia Phillies tickets. Fittingly, it was even Polanco who delivered the clutch base hit in the eighth inning on Sept. 7 against the Marlins, sending them into first place for the first time in more than three months.

The other reason the Phillies have remained in the hunt, of course, has been Halladay, who shook off a couple of rough patches and has been nothing short of brilliant in the second half of the season. Halladay improved his record to 17-10 and E.R.A. to 2.36 in the course of his torrid post-All-Star break pitching, which could very well give him the type of credentials to win the Cy Young. As advertised, Halladay has also been an absolute workhorse and hasn't gone less than seven complete innings since July 23 and has gone less than six innings just once all season.

Cole Hamels has also picked it up in the second half and new acquisition Roy Oswalt has shown flashes of dominance, making for a three-headed monster atop the Phillies rotation that is just about as good as any team in the league. Since coming over from Houston, Oswalt is 5-1 with a 2.30 E.R.A. and hasn't lost a decision since July.

Even if the Braves do manage to pull it together and reclaim the division, a task that seems to be a daunting one at this point, the Phillies should still be in position to win the Wild Card. Though many certainly backpedaled from their original proclamations when the Phillies were struggling to keep up with the Braves, it appears that the Phillies could once again be in the driver's seat of not only the division but potentially the entire National League as well.

by: Pat Smith

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