So you’re the general manager of the new Las Vegas Craps team and baseball commissioner Bud Selig comes to you with the offer of all offers.

He says, since the Craps are going to struggle this year offensively with a lineup comprised of over-the-hill veterans and unproven rookies, you get your pick of stealing either the Phillies or the Giants’ starting rotation.

“Sweet mother of all that is holy,” you say to Selig. “Those are the best starting rotations in the game!”

“Yes they are, Craps owner,” Selig says. “But you have to choose one right now.”

So which rotation would you rather have? Let’s take a look at the deets first.

Philadelphia Phillies

Roy Halladay
Age: 33
Salary: $20 million in 2011; $20 million in 2012; $20 million in 2013; $20 million option in 2014.
Career Stats: 169-86, 1,714 Ks, 3.32 ERA, 58 complete games, 19 shutouts
Accolades: Two-time Cy Young winner, two-time wins champion, seven-time All-Star.

Cliff Lee
Age: 32
Salary: $11 million 2011; $21.5 million in 2012; $25 million from 2013-2015.
Career Stats: 102-61, 3.85 ERA, 1,085 Ks
Accolades: Cy Young winner, two-time All-Star, 7-2 postseason record, 2.13 postseason ERA.

Roy Oswalt
Age: 33
Salary: $16 million in 2011; $16 million w/ $2 million buyout in 2012.
Career Stats: 150-83, 3.18 ERA, 1,666 Ks
Accolades: 2005 NLCS MVP, three-time All-Star, 5-1 postseason record, 3.39 postseason ERA.

Cole Hamels
Age: 27
Salary: $9.5 Million in 2011, Free agent in 2012.
Career Stats: 59-44, 3.53 ERA, 887 Ks
Accolades: 2007 All-Star, 2008 NLCS MVP, 2008 World Series MVP, 6-4 postseason record, 3.45 postseason ERA.

Joe Blanton
Age: 30
Salary: $8.5 million in 2011; $8.5 million in 2012.
Career Stats: 70-60, 4.32 ERA, 765 Ks
Accolades: World series champion in 2008.

San Francisco Giants

Tim Lincecum
Age: 26
Salary: Signed a two-year, $23 million contract extension in 2010; arbitration eligible in 2012-2013.
Career Stats: 56-27, 3.04 ERA, 907 Ks.
Accolades: Two-time Cy Young winner, three-time All-Star, led majors in strikeouts in 2008, led NL in strikeouts in 2008, 2009, 2010, World Series champion 2010, 4-1 postseason record, 2.43 postseason ERA.

Matt Cain
Age: 26
Salary: $6.25 million in 2011; 2012 free agent.
Career Stats: 57-62, 3.45 ERA, 906 Ks.
Accolades: 2009 All-Star, 2010 World Series champion, 2-0 postseason record, 0.00 postseason ERA in 21.1 innings.

Madison Bumgarner
Age: 21
Salary: Unavailable
Career Stats: 7-6, 2.90 ERA, 96 Ks.
Accolades: World Series Champion 2010, youngest left-hander ever to pitch eight shutout innings in a World Series game, 5th youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series, fourth youngest pitcher ever to win a World Series.

Jonathan Sanchez
Age: 28
Salary: $4.8 million in 2011; Arbitration Eligible in 2012.
Career Stats: 34-39, 4.26 ERA, 634 Ks.
Accolades: Pitched a no-hitter in 2009, World Series champion in 2010, struck out 11 postseason batters in one game in 2010.

Barry Zito
Age: 32
Salary: $18.5 million in 2011; $19 million in 2012; $20 million in 2013; $18 million in 2014 with club option $7 million buyout.
Career Stats: 142-120, 3.86 ERA, 1,651
Accolades: 2002 AL Cy Young winner, three-time All-Star, will be known for having the least-deserving contract in baseball history…oh, sorry. These were supposed to be positives.

Before we go on, let’s say that the Craps have an average-sized ballpark. It’s neither the Little League stadium the Phillies call home, nor the pitcher-friendly AT&T Park. It’s just average. (If you really need to know the dimensions before you make your decision, then leave now and go pour yourself a beer because you need one.)

Most prospective Crap owners would undoubtedly take the Phillies, and why not? They have four aces in Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels, as well as a fifth starter in Blanton who helped them win them a World Series in 2008. That group has won a combined 550 games, has struck out a combined 6,117 batters and owns a combined three Cy Young awards and two postseason MVP awards (one NLCS, one World Series).

If you’re looking for the best rotation in baseball, it resides in Philadelphia. No question, period, end of discussion.

But that isn’t the question now, is it? The question is which rotation would you rather have if you were starting a new organization tomorrow (or were the GM of this new organization, or what have you). And in that scenario, the Giants may be able to balance the scales in their favor.

The average age of the Phillies’ starters is 31. The average age for the Giants’ starters is 26.6. That’s a momentous difference to factor into your decision, especially when you consider everyone’s salaries, the fact that the Giants’ starters have already proven that they can win a World Series and given how Lincecum, Bumgarner and Sanchez still have eligibility left on their current deals (thus, are under team control for the time being).

Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez (the rockiest of the three, but still loaded with talent) have just reached their prime, while Bumgarner’s career has only begun. Zito is the trump card, but you could certainly do worse than having a former Cy Young winner as your fifth starter. Halladay and Lee don’t appear to be slowing down, but Oswalt showed some decline last year and who knows if the Phils will be able to keep Hamels and Blanton past this year because of how much money the top 3 are making.

Granted, Zito’s contract would hamstring a young organization like the Craps, but it’s nothing compared to what Halladay, Lee and Oswalt are making over the next four or five years. Eventually, the Phillies will have to make multiple decisions about what to do with their aging roster. They may win a World Series in the meantime (and they better given the expectations, which is another reason to consider the Giants’ starting five), but is it worth the future financial hell that the situation will undoubtedly create?

Maybe it is. For me, I’d take the Giants’ rotation if I were starting an organization tomorrow. I think Lincecum will eventually be talked about as one of the best ever, while Cain is a future Cy Young winner in my eyes and the sky’s the limit for Bumgarner. Again, this group has already won a World Series so they know what winning a championship demands and four out of the five starters are all under the age of 30. Nobody outside of Zito is making ridiculous money, which means I have financial flexibility when it comes to not only re-signing my starters in the future, but putting together a decent lineup as well. I want a bright future, which the Giants’ rotation provides. Lincecum and Cain (who becomes a free agent in 2012) will eventually need new deals, but only Lincecum will command Halladay/Oswalt/Lee-type money to retain.

That said, I wouldn’t bemoan anyone who would choose the Phillies’ starting five given how that’s the best collection of starters we’ll see in a longtime. And if you win one World Series as a GM, that buys you job security for years to come. Just be prepared for what happens next when you have to juggle all of those salaries while trying to fill holes at other positions (like right field for instance).

So I’ll throw the question out again: You’re the GM of the new Las Vegas Craps baseball team and you have the opportunity to steal either the Phillies or Giants’ starting rotation and not have to give anything up in return. Which rotation do you lift?

There were a plenty of Philly faith that wanted to see Roy Halladay take the mound in Game 4 of the NLCS, despite the fact that he would have been pitching on short rest. Instead, manager Charlie Manuel decided to hand the ball to Joe Blanton, who hadn’t started a game in over a month.

But even though the Giants beat the Phillies 6-5 in Game 4, the decision to start Blanton wasn’t Manuel’s costliest mistake on Wednesday night.

He’s no Halladay, Oswalt or Hamels, but Blanton is a fine starting pitcher who happens to have postseason experience. He’s not going to throw a perfect game, a no-hitter or even a shutout. But he’s more than serviceable and if you take a step back, you can understand Manuel’s thought process.

If Blanton limits the Giants to only a couple of runs..the offense eventually gets to rookie Madison Bumgarner…Phillies steal a win and then have Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels pitch on regular rest…everyone Wang Chung tonight.

And that’s exactly what happened. Sort of.

Blanton gave up one run in the first and one in the third, but the Phillies smacked Bumgarner around in the fifth and wound up taking a 4-2 lead. But after Blanton walked Andres Torres to start the bottom half of the sixth and Placido Polanco booted a routine grounder by Edgar Renteria at third, Torres was in scoring position with only one out (Polanco still got Renteria, also known as the slowest man on earth, out despite the error). Blanton then retired Freddy Sanchez on a line out to center, but Aubrey Huff singled to score Torres and cut the lead to, 4-3.

What happened next is where Manuel goofed.

Instead of allowing Blanton to finish the inning, Manuel pulled his starter after only 63 pitches and replaced him with Jose Contreras. The reliever then got Buster Posey (who had a monster night at the plate) to strike out swinging, which is what Manuel wanted, but it set in motion a series of events that eventually led to the Phillies’ demise.

In the bottom of the sixth, Manuel had to go to his bullpen again because he hit for Contreras in the top of the inning. Chad Durbin came in and promptly gave up the lead after throwing a neck-high fastball to Pablo Sandoval, who crushed the pitch into deep center to score two runs. Antonio Bastardo then relieved Durbin in the seventh, but Manuel again went to his bullpen that same inning as Ryan Madson came in for Bastardo after Posey doubled to right.

Madson persevered the 5-5 tie (the Phillies picked up a run on a Jayson Werth double to tie the game) through the 8th inning, but Manuel clearly wanted to save closer Brad Lidge for if/when the Phillies got the lead, so he went with Game 2 Roy Oswalt instead.

The move backfired, because the game never got to Lidge. Huff singled to right of Oswalt, then Posey moved Huff to third on a single down the right field line, then Juan Uribe hit a sac fly to win the game.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but had Manuel trusted Blanton earlier in the game like he trusted him to start over Halladay, maybe the Phillies would have held onto the lead and the series would be tied. It’s always easy to question a manager’s decision after the fact and you never know how the game would have played out had Halladay started or Blanton been left in. But as it sits right now, Manuel is a big reason why the Phillies find themselves in a deep 3-1 hole.

It was Juan Uribe’s sacrifice fly that scored Aubrey Huff in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Giants a 6-5 win over the Phillies in Game 4 of the NCLS, as well as a commanding 3-1 series lead.

But while Uribe may have played the role of hero Wednesday night, rookie Buster Posey was the true star.

Posey went 27 at-bats before getting the first postseason RBI of his young career. But he picked up two ribbies in Game 4 while going 4-for-5 at the plate and becoming the fifth rookie in baseball history to record at least four hits and two RBI in a playoff game. His single down the right field line in the bottom of the ninth moved Huff (who had singled to start the inning) over to third to set up Uribe’s sac fly. Without that hit (which came after Posey fell behind Roy Oswalt 0-2 in the count), who knows how that game would have ended.

Perhaps what’s most remarkable is that Posey’s hits came off of a fastball, a curveball, a slider and a changeup, which speaks to his maturity as a hitter. He also made a sensational play at the plate to haul in a short-hop by Aaron Rowand and tag out a sliding Carlos Ruiz to save a run in the 4th inning. The Phillies went on to score four runs that inning anyway, but considering the Giants won by one, that could be viewed as the play of the game.

He’s only 23, but Posey already carries himself like a seasoned veteran. He always stays within himself and he never loses his composure, which must be hard given that he’s the Giants’ best offensive player (not to mention the fact that he also calls balls and strikes for one of the best pitching staffs in baseball).

Thanks to Posey, Uribe, Huff, Pablo Sandoval (who had a huge two-run double in the sixth to give the Giants a 5-4 lead after they had trailed 4-3 heading into the inning) and about nine tons of resiliency, San Fran is now one win away from reaching the World Series for the first time since 2002.

Of course, securing that final victory won’t be an easy task. I texted our college football writer Paul Costanzo following the game and asked, “How focused do you think Roy Halladay is going to be tomorrow night? Dear, Lord…”

His response: “He may not throw a ball.”

The Giants will counter with ace Tim Lincecum, but there’s no question that they’re going to see the absolute best that Halladay has to offer. They’ve beaten him twice this year (once in the regular season and once in Game 1 of this series), but to the Giants’ hitters, it may look like he’s throwing marbles out there.

I don’t know how you can call yourself a baseball fan if you don’t tune into Halladay vs. Lincecum Thursday night. This is what October baseball is all about.

And that’s why you pony up for a veteran starter like Roy Oswalt when he’s available via trade.

Oswalt was brilliant in Game 2 of the NLCS on Sunday night, striking out nine batters over 8 innings while allowing just one run on three hits in the Phillies’ 6-1 win over the Giants. His only blemish came in the 5th inning when Cody Ross took him deep to tie the game at, 1-1. But Oswalt has nothing to be ashamed of there, because Ross has proved this postseason that he’s the greatest baseball player ever to have walked the face of the earth. (The home run off Oswalt was his fourth in the playoffs and his third in back-to-back nights in Philadelphia.)

It was also a great night for shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who has struggled mightily at the plate of late. In the seventh inning, he drove in three runs on a double to deep right off Giants’ reliever Sergio Castillo, who was trying to mop up the mess left by starter Jonathan Sanchez (who allowed Oswalt to reach on a base hit) and Ramon Ramirez (who gave up a single to Placido Polanco, which scored Oswalt to give Philly a 3-1 lead). Rollins’ double scored Chase Utley (who had been intentionally walked), Polanco and Jayson Werth (also intentionally walked) to essentially put the game out of reach at, 6-1.

For everyone but Ross, it was a night to forget for the Giants, who seemed rather content with taking Game 1 of the series and heading back to San Francisco after earning a split. Granted, that’s what road teams are supposed to do in a seven-game series and the loss certainly doesn’t diminish what the Giants did on Saturday. But they had a huge opportunity to put the Phillies in a hole and instead they came out rather flat. Even Ross’ home run was short lived as Sanchez gave up a run in the bottom half of the inning.

It’ll be interesting to see if Bruce Bochy makes any changes to his lineup for Game 3. Pablo Sandoval drew a walk in the top of the 8th after coming in to replace Mike Fontenot in a double switch in the bottom of the 7th. Maybe it’s time to give Sandoval a start to see if he can’t shake out of his season-long funk and provide the Giants’ offense with a spark. Andres Torres is a huge reason why San Fran is still playing right now, but he looks completely overmatched at the plate and the Giants don’t lose anything with Aaron Rowand in the outfield. Rowand has been brutal at the plate this year, but he has postseason experience (he won a World Series with the White Sox earlier this decade) and would be motivated to beat his former team. (The only problem is that if you bench Torres, the Giants don’t have a true leadoff hitter.)

Now isn’t the time to panic, but the Giants need more offense. Matt Cain will oppose Cole Hamels in Game 3 on Tuesday afternoon.

For all intents and purposes, Mike Fontenot was a great late-season pickup by the Giants’ GM Brian Sabean. He can play multiple infield positions, he can hit right-handed pitching and I swear that his hair is made of hay. (I don’t know how that helps the Giants, but it just does, ok?)

But he’s also Mike Fontenot. Mike, .280 with zero pop Fontenot. He’s fine. He’s meh. He’s Mike Fontenot.

As the Giants gear up for Game 1 of the NLCS on Saturday night against the Phillies, the plan is pretty simple: Pitch well, score just enough runs to eek out four wins and then head to the World Series. It doesn’t take a blogger at The Scores Report to figure out that San Fran will rely on its pitching staff in order to lift them into the Fall Classic.

But this club could sure use a little dash of the Panda right now. And not that still-lovable, yet very destructive creature that roamed AT&T Park throughout most of this season, but the very effective swing-at-everything-and-yet-still-hit-.330 beast from 2009.

Compared to the season he had last year, Pablo Sandoval was the equivalent of having a rock in your shoe this season. He batted .268 with 13 home runs and 63 RBI (despite hitting .330 with 25 dingers and 90 RBI in ’09), yet showed flashes in April and August that made you still think he was the same hitter from a year ago. Whether it was his weight, his divorce, or the fact that he may or may not have sent lewd text messages to Jenn Sterger, he didn’t perform.

But Giants fans know what kind of talent this 24-year-old kid has. He’s a pure hitter in every sense of the word and when he’s on, he’s a much heavier clone of Vladimir Guerrero. I once saw Sandoval swing at a pitch that bounced before it came across the plate and he still lined it into the outfield. He can it – he just hasn’t been.

In the last 25 regular season games, he batted just .214 with one home run. He was benched after Game 2 of the NLDS and it remains to be seen whether or not it’ll be him or Fontenot who starts tomorrow night in Philadelphia. Given San Fran’s opponent in the NLCS, it would be nice if Sandoval could show a glimpse of the hitter he was last year because again, Fontenot is Fontenot. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the former Cub gets the best of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

Yet something tells me that Sandoval can still be a weapon in the Giants’ fickle lineup and I’m willing to bet that they would overlook his shaky defense if he could re-establish himself as an offensive force. But if he continues to flail at pitches in the dirt, over his head and in the on deck circle, then “meh” will have to do.

Things have shifted a lot in MLB since I took a hiatus last weekend. Wow, have they ever shifted. The Rockies have now lost 5 in a row and are fading out of the race. The Phillies have won 11 in a row to take over the top spot. The Rays are ahead of the Yankees now in the AL East and the Twins are as hot as the Phils. The Braves are whopping 7 games back of the Phillies now. Damn, this is getting fun.

1. Philadelphia Phillies (93-61)—Peaking but maybe too soon. Still, when you have Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels, it’s not really fair. And everyone else is getting healthy now.

2. Tampa Bay Rays (92-61)—They finally overtake the Yanks, but have company up here. Still, they’ve been consistent all year and they have David Price at the top of their rotation.

3. Minnesota Twins (92-61)—Even without Justin Morneau, this is a very dangerous team. But are they peaking too soon as well?

4. New York Yankees (92-62)—When I heard the New York sports talk guys being all gloom and doom after a split with the Rays this past week, I didn’t understand it. But when you look at the remaining schedules of both teams, you get it. A loss to Boston last night probably didn’t do much for Yankees fans’ confidence.

5. San Francisco Giants (87-67)—Making for one of the most compelling pennant races, because the winner will move on while the loser may not even take the wild card.

6. San Diego Padres (86-67)—Looking back, that long losing streak came at the right time, and the wrong time, at the same time.

7. Cincinnati Reds (86-68)—The magic number is 3. I wonder if Brandon Phillips will get a Christmas card from the Cardinals’ organization this year.

8. Atlanta Braves (86-68)—Now trailing in the wild card race by a half-game. This is another compelling race that shouldn’t have been so compelling, but seriously, how do you hold off the Phils and that pitching staff?

9. Texas Rangers (85-68)—Magic number is 2, will they be the second team to clinch?

10. Boston Red Sox (85-68)—I don’t think they’ve officially been eliminated yet, but it’s getting very, very late. And what a shame for a team that really is as talented as most of the teams on this Top 10 list.

Before their sweep of the Braves this week, I would have said that the National League Wild Card is a three-team race. But now that the Rockies are putting together a very Rockie-like charge, this is definitely now a four-horse competition in the NL.

Let’s break down the contenders and make a prediction.

(Side Note: I’m fully aware that the Phillies and Cardinals still have a great chance of catching the Braves and Reds in their respective divisions, but I’m going by the standings as of Thursday, August 26. In a couple of weeks, I’ll update this list so for now, let’s just call this Version 1.0.)

Philadelphia Phillies
Games Remaining: 36
Games Back: 0
What I Like About Their Chances: I like the Phillies because quite frankly, they’ve been here before. They know what it takes to play good baseball in the month of September and their roster is chockfull of veteran players. Even though they haven’t shown it of late, the Phils also still have the best lineup 1-8 of any of the four Wild Card contenders and a three-headed monster in Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt (who has been outstanding in the month of August) and Cole Hamels. This is, by far, the most talented team of the four listed…

What I Don’t Like: …that said, this club isn’t playing very good baseball right now. In their last seven games, they’ve won only two and they were just swept at home by the Astros. Also, despite all of their offensive firepower, they’ve managed to score just 16 runs in those seven outings. They also have six more games against the Braves, who they are just 5-7 against this season. This is a club that seemingly can’t put it all together this season and you just get the sense that something’s missing.

San Francisco Giants
Games Remaining: 34
Games Back: 0
What I Like About Their Chances: All of a sudden, the Giants have become an offensive juggernaut. In their last three games (all versus the Reds), they racked up 39 runs and 53 hits. Thus far, the acquisitions of Jose Guillen (to my surprise) and Cody Ross have paid off, and guys like Pablo Sandoval and Freddy Sanchez are starting to get hot at the dish. Believe it or not, it has been the pitching that has failed them over the last three weeks or so, but if Tim Lincecum can shake out of the funk he’s in then this will be a formidable team down the stretch.

What I Don’t Like: The recent offensive explosion could be a direct result of the warm weather that San Francisco has had. You might think that’s a lame statement, but the ball jumps off hitters’ bats at AT&T Park when it’s warm and deadens when it’s cooler (which is the normal climate in the “City by the Bay”). The weather is supposed to dip back down for the Giants’ series against the Diamondbacks this weekend, so we’ll find out soon if the 39 runs was just an anomaly. Of course, the Giants’ biggest concern at the moment is the seemingly season-long funk that their ace has been in. Since throwing a gem against the Dodgers on July 30, Lincecum has posted an 8.38 ERA in four straight losses and has surrendered 19 runs on 28 hits in just 19.1 innings of work. He has shown signs of getting back on track, but it’s safe to say he’s nowhere near the pitcher he was the last two years. If he doesn’t figure it out soon, the Giants’ chances of making the postseason reduce dramatically. Another reason to hate San Fran’s Wild Card hopes is its 2-9 record against the Padres – who they play six more times.

St. Louis Cardinals
Games Remaining: 38
Games Back: 1
What I Like About Their Chances: The Cards may have the easiest route to the postseason of any of these four contenders. Out of their 38 remaining games, 22 of them are against teams with losing records. And unlike the Phillies and Giants right now, their top three starters have been lights out recently. Chris Carpenter is 3-1 this month with a 2.60 ERA, Adam Wainwright has been even nastier while posting a 1.95 ERA and Jaime Garcia has amassed a 2.84 ERA this month. Aside from pitching, let’s not forget that this club also has the best pure hitter in baseball in Albert Pujols and ample protection around him in Matt Holliday and youngster Jon Jay. For August Busch’s sake, even Pedro Feliz is contributing at the dish right now.

What I Don’t Like: Twenty-two of their remaining 38 games may be against teams with losing records, but the Cards are a very pedestrian 23-21 against those clubs. While that’s still a winning record, keep in mind that we’re talking about teams like the Pirates, Astros, Nationals, Cubs and Brewers here. In the past two weeks, St. Louis has dropped series against the Cubs, Brewers and Pirates – in the middle of a pennant race, mind you. How does this happen with a starting rotation that features Carpenter, Wainwright and Garcia?

Colorado Rockies
Games Remaining: 36
Games Back: 4
What I Like About Their Chances: This team has already proven that they can get crazy hot and at 41-20, they’re extremely tough to beat at home. Carlos Gonzalez has carried this team and as proof of their 12-10 victory over the Braves on Wednesday, the Rockies are seemingly never out of any game. Six of their final 11 series are at home so if they can pull off a couple of more sweeps like they did against Atlanta, Colorado could shock everyone and win this race down the stretch.

What I Don’t Like: Despite their success at home, this club has played like garbage on the road, posting a 25-40 record away from Coors Field this year. That doesn’t bode well for them considering they have tough road challenges coming up against the Giants, Padres and Cardinals coming up over the next month or so. Those three series could essentially make or break Colorado’s chances and considering they have the most ground to cover of any team listed here, that may be too much to overcome. They also have the worst collection of starting pitching of the Wild Card contenders and Ubaldo Jimenez has dropped two of his last three starts. (Although it’s worth noting that he still has a 2.57 ERA this month.)

Prediction:
It’s a toss up between the Cardinals and the Phillies for me. They both have more talent than the Giants and Rockies, although both are coming off terrible series against bad opponents. In the end, St. Louis’ schedule is favorable and if they don’t wind up winning the NL Central, I like them to secure the Wild Card. Again, they have the easiest road of any team listed above and if they can get their act together on the road, I think they head back to the postseason. Of course, if Tim Lincecum can get back to being Tim Lincecum and the Giants’ offense stays red-hot, the Giants are going to be extremely tough to beat in a three-game series from here on out.

Is that clear? To recap, I like the Cardinals, Phillies and Giants to potentially win the Wild Card………………and maybe even the Rockies.

Update: With their win today, the Dodgers are now only 5 games back in the Wild Card race as well, with a huge series coming up this weekend in Colorado. Hopefully L.A. sweeps the Rockies and thus, make me look like a fool for not including them in this piece.