It doesn't matter who is on the mound when an offense puts up 13 runs.

The Philadelphia Phillies have shown resilience, heart, and very solid pitching in somehow amassing the best record in the National League during a strange season that could have derailed a lesser group.

At Citi Field—a mausoleum of a stadium that has not been kind to the Fightins in 2010—they rode three hits by Carlos Ruiz and solo shots by Ryan Howard and Chase Utley to defeat the hapless New York Mets, 8-4.

It's been 66 years since the National League has seen a three time National League champion.

The year was 1944 when the mighty St. Louis Cardinals won their third straight pennant after finishing first in the NL with a 105 win season.

Not since David Wright's May slump have there been any serious rumblings about the Mets trading their star third baseman, but the question has recently been posed: Would Wright match up well with the Boston Red Sox, and would a trade be possible this winter?

It is clear to me now, as if it wasn't before that the Mets ace, Johan Santana was using steroids in the early portion of his career. How do you go from being a Rule V draft pick in 1999 to getting a contract that pays about $23 million per season? How did he go from being a mediocre reliever to an All-Star caliber pitcher who won two Cy Young Awards? Please don't tell me it was because he watched game-tape.

2010 presents us with some of the most compelling playoff races in recent history. With the Padres slipping in the NL West, the Phillies taking over in the NL East, and possibly the two best teams in baseball -- the Rays and Yankees -- battling it out in the AL East, the last 20 games could bring about many surprises.

This year has been a crazy year for the Phillies.  There have been many ups and downs, and there may be many more to come.  The team has had some injuries, they have had some slumps, they have had some winning streaks, etc.  To sum it all up, they've basically had everything.  And for the most part, they have still done good throughout it all.  Here are some of their main strengths and main weaknesses.

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When the Minnesota Twins got Matt Capps in a trade with the Nationals, Twins fans cheered.

This ushered in the era of another fantastic arm in the bullpen, a fill-in or replacement for Joe Nathan if he can't return to form, and an upgrade from Jon Rauch.

Chris Nelson has been known as the shortstop that the Rockies drafted the year before Troy Tulowitzki. He had been a career minor-leaguer, battling injuries most of the way through his journey.

For the first time in years, the Baltimore Orioles are playing a new role in the American League East: the spoiler. 

Now, as a team that was hoping to win 80 games this year, being the spoiler for other teams’ playoff hopes is still a disappointment no matter how you want to word it.

However, the fact that the O’s have been competitive against the likes of the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays is a very positive thing for a team that was beyond terrible for most of this season.