It Comes Down to This

For the first time in baseball history the Division Series will see all four series' go to a decisive fifth game.

The San Francisco Giants completed an improbable comeback yesterday in Cincinnati, taking three straight on the road and enabling them to reach their second National League Championship Series in three years. In the Oakland, the Detroit Tigers ended the A's Cinderella season by riding the arm of Justin Verlander all the in the American League Championship Series.

With that there is four teams left fighting for the final two spots in baseball's version of the Final Four.

Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
Tonight in the Bronx will be the 23rd time this season these two teams play one another with the first 22 being even as can be, 11 wins each. It's only fitting that two teams that battled all year for a division crown will have one game between them to decide the fate of their season, not to mention the fact they will win the season series.

Alex Rodriguez's struggles have forced
him to the bench in Game 5.

The biggest news heading into Game 5 is the decision of New York manager Joe Girardi to sit a struggling Alex Rodriguez in the most the team's most important game all season.

Rodriguez's postseason struggles, not only this season, but throughout his career, have been well documented. Many believed he exercised those demons when he hit .365 with six home runs and 18 RBIs in the 2009 postseason en route to his first World Series title and New York's 27th in franchise history.

However, he has made the last out in each of the last two Yankee seasons and hasn't hit a postseason home run in 79 at-bats. His last coming in the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The decision shouldn't come as much of a surprise after Girardi decided to pinch-hit for the 14-time All-Star in each of the last two games with the game on the line. Rodriguez has two hits in 16 at-bats this postseason with nine strikeouts. He does not have a hit against a right-handed pitcher and is the main reason why Girardi elected to sit him against Baltimore's Jason Hammel.

But in a way it's a double-edged sword for the simple fact Rodriguez has hammered Hammel throughout his career. In 22 career at-bats against the 6-foot-6 righty from Greenville, Rodriguez has eight hits, four in which have left the yard. That is a .364 average.

Veteran Eric Chavez, who started 50 games at third base this season when Rodriguez went down with a broken hand, will start in his place and bat ninth.

Chavez has only faced Hammel six times in his career with one hit, but that one hit just happened to be a home run.

Rodriguez isn't the only Yankee struggling to find his stride, in fact some players have been worse. Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher are a combined 3-for-31 with 12 strikeouts and only one run drive in. But with Andruw Jones left on the playoff roster and Brett Gardner has all of three at-bats since April 17, Girardi doesn't have another viable option in the outfield like he does with Chavez at third.

Cano is hitting just .111, but has driven in four of the 11 Yankee runs this series.

All that being said, as the old cliche goes, momentum is only as good as your next day's starting pitcher and New York wouldn't have any one else on the mound tonight in the Bronx. Girardi gives the ball to CC Sabathia after a stellar, 120-pitch performance in Game 1 of this series. Sabathia is 5-0 in six career ALDS starts and 8-3 in the postseason since joining the Yankees prior to the '09 season.

For the Orioles, their offense has struggled just as much.

Jason Hammel was the Orioles best pitcher
much of the first half and they need him
to be that in Game 5.

Adam Jones, who many believe is a dark horse in the AL Most Valuable Player discussion, and Matt Wieters are both batting just over 100 and have to drive in a run. Jones just .105 (2-for-19) and Wieters at .118 (2-for-17). Mark Reynolds and rookie Manny Machado are among the two Baltimore regulars that are batting under .200.

Nate McLouth has really carried the Orioles offense in this series with 11 total bases and a team-leading five RBIs. McLouth is also the only member of Baltimore starting eight that has a batting average over .300 (.318).

But the Baltimore pitching staff has kept the Yankee bats at bay which continues to be the best way to counter a struggling offense. The Orioles starters have posted a 1.85 earned run average through the first four games of the series, but really it has been the work of Buck Showalter and his bullpen that tell the story.

Aside of their All-Star closer Jim Johnson struggling in two of his four outing against New York and allowing six runs (five earned), the bullpen has been nails. Showalter has used six other arms out of the 'pen outside of Johnson and they have tossed 13 brilliant innings. In those innings they have allowed just one earned run and that of course being Raul Ibanez's walk-off home run in the 12th inning of Game 3. Their ERA is a video game-like 0.69 with 13 strikeouts and only have allowed 12 base runners (seven hits, five walks).

Ten different times the Orioles caught the Yankees in the standings during the regular season, but never let them pass them. Even this postseason, every time the Yankees have won a game, the Orioles have come back with a victory. Is today the day they finally pass them?

I guess we'll find out.

BAL X-Factor: Adam Jones
NYY X-Factor: Curtis Granderson

NYY wins, 4-2

Forever Young

The "Tat Man" came up huge with the teams
second grand slam in as many nights.

A night after salvaging their season and denying the Milwaukee Brewers a NLDS sweep, the Arizona Diamondbacks have made baseball fans everywhere believers in their 10-6 Game 4 victory Wednesday, forcing a decisive Game 5 Friday night in Miller Park.

It was the gutsy managing of the gritty first-year skipper Kirk Gibson and big lumber of his offense that have kept Arizona's season alive.

Milwaukee got out of the gate quickly with a first inning run off starter Joe Saunders, but the lefty was able to induce an inning-ending double play off the bat of the slugging Rickie Weeks to limit the damage. Carrying the momentum into the bottom of the inning, Arizona promptly loaded the bases against veteran south paw Randy Wolf with only one out.

Rookie Paul Goldschmidt, who became only the third rookie in postseason history to hit a grand slam Wednesday, struck out on four pitches, sucking the air out of the Phoenix crowd. But it was the big thump from one of the littlest guys on the field that sent out the biggest roar of the night.

Ryan Roberts or the "Tat Man" as they call him hit a no-doubt grand slam into the Diamondbacks' bullpen, picking up his rookie teammate by turning a one run deficit into a three run advantage.

Arizona is now only the second team in postseason history to hit grand slams in back-to-back games, joining the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers, who did it that year in the NLCS against the Fightin' Philadelphia Phillies.

The D-backs were among the majors best with three ducks on the pond in 2011. They led the league with a .387 average and ranked third in grand slams with six behind only the New York Yankees (10) and the Florida Marlins (7).

Center fielder Chris Young followed with a home run of his own, capping a five-run first inning.

While Roberts and Young are responsible for hitting the home runs, it was the decision making of their manager that put them in that position. Prior to the game Gibson made a change to his starting lineup, flip-flopping Roberts and Young, thinking it might ignite a spark and boy did it ever.

But it might have been Gibson's ingenious move in the bottom of third that may have changed their fate this postseason.

With the Brewers slowly chipping away, getting a run in each of the first three innings off Saunders, Gibson elected to pinch-hit for his starter with two on and two out. With only 92 career major league at-bats, rookie Collin Cowgill was called upon in possibly the games biggest moment.

Cowgill delivered a two-run single to left that drew even a grin from his usual stoic manager.

Second baseman Aaron Hill added a home run in the sixth while Young hit his second home run of the game, this time a two-run shot in the seventh, having Arizona total four home runs in the game. Young is the first player in D-backs history to have a multi-home run game in the postseason.

Young claps his hands after hitting becoming
the first D-back in history to hit two home
runs in a postseason game.

Brewer center fielder Carlos Gomez hit a two-run shot in the eighth pulling Milwaukee into within four, but it was too little too late as Gibson used five different relievers over the games final seven innings to get through Game 4 and knot the series at two games apiece.

While Arizona flexed their power at home, Milwaukee continues their swoon on the road. Arizona will look to become one of the rare teams to overcome an 0-2 series deficit in a best-of-five series. Game 5 will once again be a battle of the aces.

Milwaukee is now 1-4 all- time in potential series-clinching games, but are headed home where they had the majors best record during the regular year at 57-24 with one last shot to close out these pesky snakes.

For the Diamondbacks' Ian Kennedy it's a chance at redemption while it's a chance of a lifetime for Yovani Gallardo.

Dodgers Need Kemp To Win

Hopefully Kemp and the Dodgers
will have reason to smile in
2011.

The 2009 season seems so long ago, yet, not so far away for Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp.

During the '09 campaign Kemp, 26, put together his best big league season by posting a .297 average with 26 home runs and reaching the century mark for the first time in his career, driving in 101 runs.

While being productive at the plate, winning his first career Silver Slugger, Kemp was also among the game's elite on defense, capturing his first Gold Glove.

He showed he could rise to the occasion and play at his best when the pressure was at its highest, homering off St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, helping the Dodgers advance to their second straight NLCS.

2010 came with high expectations for Kemp and seemed as if he could become only the fifth member to join the exclusive 40/40 club in Major League Baseball history.

With that came a lot of pressure and disappointment.

Despite Kemp seting a career-high in home runs with 28, every other offensive category dropped off significantly from his previous season totals. Kemp's average dipped all the way down to .259 with an on-base percentage of .310. After stealing a career high 34 bases in 42 attempts in '09, Kemp's base-running also took a hit, being caught stealing 15 times in only 34 attempts. Most people around baseball even thought Kemp took a step back defensively.

Whatever happened last year, Kemp is determined to put it behind him and live up to the expectations the Dodgers have set for him, losing 16 pounds by cutting ice cream out of his diet. There was a different type of energy with the club this spring, an energy not felt not since Joe Torre's first year as manager back in 2008.

Kemp enjoyed a wonderful spring, launching five home runs and hitting .290. The Dodgers and rookie skipper Don Mattingly will need Kemp to rebound if they want to capture their third NL West title in four years.

So far the season looks promising for Kemp and Co. beating the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants on Opening Night, 2-1. Kemp went 1-for-1, scoring both Dodger runs and drawing a career-high three walks in a game.

Cy for Cole?

Hamels could win a lot of
games in '11.

The Philadelphia Phillies have arguably the best starting rotation in Major League Baseball.

With the return of left-hander Cliff Lee in the offseason, signing a five-year $120 million, the Phillies have four potential aces on their current staff. The staff has combined for 14 All-Star appearances, three Cy Young Awards, six 20-win seasons, two National League Championship Most Valuable Player Awards and a World Series MVP.

This staff has the potential to be one of the best ever assembled.

Ace Roy Halladay is coming a year where he won the NL Cy Young Award, threw a perfect game against the Florida Marlins and no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cincinnati Reds. Lee is fresh off another great postseason, this time with the Texas Rangers and second consecutive World Series appearance. Roy Oswalt has pitched in the postseason three of his ten big league seasons. Then lies left-hander Cole Hamels, who might be flying radar more than ever heading into 2011.

Hamels got back onto the baseball map last season, bouncing back from an up-and-down year in 2009, where he went only 10-11 with a 4.32 earned run average. The left-hander had high expectations heading into '09 after being named the 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP in Philadelphia's journey to their first World Series title since 1980.

Hamels has since battled back to being a front of the line starter for the Phillies, getting backing to his old form throwing the ball in the mid-90s last October.

This could have been attributed to less pressure with numerous brand names in the rotation along side him.

Hamels could be a sleeper for this year's NL Cy Young Award.With a staff that has four potential 20-game winners in the same season, Hamels seems to have the biggest upside. Still only 27, Hamels has yet to reach his full potential and could break out this upcoming season. The lefty will be matched up most of the season with opponents No. 4 four starters when indeed they are No. 4 starters, Hamels, however, is not a No. 4 starter on any other staff in the big leagues.

That could be a formula for a lot of wins for the season ahead and another trophy to add to his already decorated cabinet.