Getting there is half the battle

This year was a banner year for the Cincinnati Reds.

Sure, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and company destroyed their postseason dream, but the Reds advanced to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.

Sure, the Reds got swept by the Phillies in the National League Divisional Series. But the Twins also got swept by the Yankees.

In all honesty, as a Reds fan, I don't feel sad at all.

I think it was a great year. A banner year.

The Reds showed growth this year, for the first time in many seasons.

I've always told my friends, it was easy for me to begin looking forward to the National Football League season starting in the past, primarily because the Reds were out of the playoff picture by the summer months.

But not this year.

Sunday evening, I found myself flipping between the Reds' game and the Philadelphia Eagles-San Francisco 49ers game.

It became obvious, at least to me, that the Reds were going to have difficulty plating any runs against the Phillies Sunday night early in the game. Especially with the way Cole Hamels was pitching.

Hamels finished the complete-game, 2-0, with nine strikeouts.

The postseason got off to a bad start for the Reds when Halladay no-hit them in the first game of the series.

Then, Cincinnati had troubles fielding the ball in the second game.

But through the three-game series, the Reds managed just 11 hits.

Offense and defense. All year, these were the Reds strong points.

But both fell back to the ground against Philadelphia.

This series ended up finishing the way most would have believed.

Philadelphia advanced. They have played in the past two World Series and are expected to reach the series again this year.

The Phillies are a very good team. But to hear the word Dynasty tossed around when discussing their dominance of the NL lately is a little premature.

Let's see how far they advance this year.

The Phillies will now face the San Francisco Giants in the NL Championship Series.

The Giants are not slouches. They have a very good pitching staff as well.

For those who love offense in baseball, this series may not be the one to watch.

Rather, this could be a lot of 2-1, 3-2, 1-0, games.

While I love tossing out predictions left and right, predicting who will be in the World Series this year may not be as easy as thought.

However, I still think the Phillies and Yankees will be playing for baseball's ultimate crown this season.

Again.

Still, the way the Reds played this year? They have nothing to be ashamed of. They played well and finally made the playoffs.

For Cincinnati, this year could be the start of something.

And that's why getting there is half the battle.