4 Giants, 0 Rangers

Even though no one is watching this series, you have to appreciate the pitching that is happening. The Giants to a 3-1 series lead over Texas, that leaves them pretty much dead in the water.

The Giants turned to their young rookie Madison Bumgardner to win this one. Bumgardner was in a groove all game as he tossed 8 shutout innings with 3 hits and 6 Ks.

Aubrey Huff and Buster Posey backed their young lefty with home runs. The Giants are actually a real cool story. They are led by rookies and nobodies and are about to win the World Series.

The next game is a pitching match up for the ages as Cliff Lee takes on Tim Lincecum.

Box Score

MLB Playoffs: Yes They Cain!

Matt Cain emerges out of the shadows of the ace's to throw a gem which led the Giants to take a 2-0 lead in the series.

People fail to realize over the course of three starts against Atlanta, then Philadelphia, and now Texas, Cain is 3-0 and his ERA is zero. He did allow a run against the Braves, but it was unearned, so that's 21 1/3 innings this October with a 0.00 era. Pretty good stuff.

Enough with pitching though, the Giants hitting has been impressive to say the least. In 2 games they have 20 runs. That's 1 more than they had in the whole Philly series.

Now here is where I shit on Bob's boy Derek Holland. Derek Holland walked the bases-loaded to Aubrey Huff, Mark Lowe walked Uribe. Old friend Edgar Renteria followed with a two-run single. Then Pinch-hitter Aaron Rowand hit a two-run triple against Michael Kirkman (another one of Bob's boy), and Andres Torres doubled in a run.

They scored seven runs with 2 outs in the 8th.... Ouch

Anyways, it's headed to Arlington.

MLB Playoff Recaps: That Lee Guy Is Overrated

11 Giants, 7 Rangers


With Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee pitching the last thing I expected was 18 runs this game.

Cliff Lee just didn't have it yesterday as he went 4.2 innings with 7 runs (6 er) and 7 Ks.

Freddy Sanchez sprayed balls down the lines. Cody Ross and Aubrey Huff hit line drives up the middle. Juan Uribe launched a shot far, far over the wall.

The Giants battered him and the bullpen, with Sanchez hitting three doubles and keying a six-run burst in an 11-7 romp Wednesday night that looked even more lopsided.

Box Score

Giants vs Rangers World Series

I don't know if the ratings will be there but I'm pretty excited for this World Series. it's really 2 teams where it is hard to dislike. Game 1 will be Cliff Lee vs Tim Lincecum which will be the most exciting match up, but there are also a lot of interesting stories here.

For SF:
the gang of outcasts that have came together to win. Aubrey Huff, Edgar Renteria, Juan Uribe, Pat Burrell and Ramon Ramirez. They have a lot to prove and have been playing that way.

We get to see Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez who aren't very well known, but solid pitchers.

Fear the Beard, Brian Wilson.

For Texas;
CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis are really nice stories.

Obviously we will be getting a lot of Josh Hamilton stories, but it is impressive. Even though the god stuff is a little much.

Neftali Feliz will become the "Best' closer in baseball.

Nolan Ryan is a cool dude.

So far I have predicted this whole playoffs correctly

So I'll continue my streak and say the Rangers win 4-2.

Phillies Force Game 6

The legend of Roy Halladay seems to grow with each passing game. Already throwing a no-hitter in the playoffs, now he out dueled Tim Lincecum, who beat him last time and he did it on only one good leg.

Halladay pulled his groin, and had to ride a bike in between inning to keep lose. Yet, he was still able to pitch 6 inning allowing only 1 run. Tim Lincecum also had a great game going 7 innings allowing 3 runs (2 ER) with 7 Ks. Even with these two Aces having solid games, the game ball has to go to the Phillies bullpen up pitched 3 scoreless innings, especially Ryan Madson who struck out the Giants' 4-5-6 hitters in the 8th, and Brad Lidge finished with a perfect 9th for his 2nd save this postseason.

A Huff error in the 4th ended up leading to the winning run for the Phillies, but Werth also put the game away in the 9th with a solo HR. Still, like has been all season the story was the pitching.

Now the series heads back to Philadelphia. Roy Oswalt will face Jonathan Sanchez in Game 6.

MLB Recaps: Too Many Roys

6 Phillies, 1 Giants

Oswalt pitched eight superb innings, Jimmy Rollins drove in four runs and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Francisco Giants 6-1 Sunday night to even the NL Championship Series at one game apiece.

The Giants did what they needed to do as the split the games in Philly. Jonathen Sanchez has a little Dice K in him with constantly flirting with danger.

Yankees/ Rangers Series 1-1
The Rangers should have won game 1 when they chased CC out of the game, but bounced back when CJ Wilson shut the Yankees down. Series travels to New York now.

DC 2010 MLB Preview: San Francisco Giants

2009 Record: 88-74

Pitching:

Tim Lincecum
Matt Cain
Jonathan Sanchez
Madison Bumgarner
Barry Zito

This rotation remains superb. Tim Lincecum is as good as his two Cy Young Awards say he is, and there's nothing to suggest any sort of dropoff. Matt Cain would be an ace on a lot of other teams. Jonathan Sanchez has had some ups and downs, but he did pitch a no-hitter last year. Madison Bumgarner, one of the top pitching prospects in the majors who made his MLB debut late last year shortly after his 20th birthday. Kind of amazing when you have all that talent and you are only a 4 starter. Zito is horribly overpaid, but as far as being a backend of the rotation guy is much better then most on other teams.

Hitting:
C - Molina
1st - Huff
2nd - Sanchez
3rd - Sandoval
SS - Renteria
LF - DeRosa
CF - Rowand
RF - Schierholtz

Having Zito as your 5th starter might be nice, be is comes with a heavy price. With him making over $18MM a year the Giants have a hard time spending money on offense. We have seen for the past couple of season that the Giants just can't score runs. I think this offseason they have somewhat improved that. Huff had a bad year last season, but he can be a 25-30 HR guy, and if he does he will be a nice addition to the middle of that offense. Pablo Sandoval is a star in the making, he should be able to build off nice .330 BA, 25 HR, and 90 RBI season. One would think with the additions the Giants have made he will have a chance to knock in more runs. Still, overall this isn't a great offense, but they might not need it with the pitching staff they have.

Overall:
I really like the Giants this year. There aren't too many teams that will put out a better pitching staff then what the Giants have, so as long as they stay healthy they should rack up the wins. I don't love their offense, but I do think it improved enough to get them over 90 wins.

Predicted record: 94-68

Giants Sign Aubrey Huff

"We mentioned Friday how Aubrey Huff was waiting for a team to come calling. The patience paid off over the weekend and Huff is headed to the San Francisco Giants in a deal that will be announced this week. Huff will play first base by the bay, a move that will allow the Giants to keep Pablo Sandoval at third base and slot free agent signee Mark DeRosa in left field (ESPN)."

I really like this signing by the Giants. People forget that Huff is only a year removed from hitting .302 with 32 HRs and 108 RBI in Baltimore. He had a terrible year last year (yea he was on my fantasy team), but he could rebound, and with the pitching the Giants already have they just need some offense to become a contender.

Lincecum Wins 2nd Cy Young Award

"Giants ace Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young Award on Thursday for the second consecutive season to become the first repeat winner since Randy Johnson, emerging from one of the tightest votes in the history of the honor (Sportsline)."

Little bit torn on this one. Lincecum once again had a great year, but Carpenter I may have had the better one. Lincecum was 15-7 with a 2.48 ERA, 261 K's in 225.1 innings, while Carpenter was 17-4 with a 2.24 ERA, 144 K's in 192.2 innings. I guess it was close enough that the K's and innings got Lincecum his 2nd in 2 years, which is the first time that has happened since Randy Johnson. So basically he is fucking nasty.

DP and I were talking last night and I came up with the thought that Bedard would be a great fit on this team. He can probably be bought at a relatively low price (compared to the Lackeys of the world), and if he could stay healthy would give them a sick rotation of...

Lincecum
Cain
Bedard
Bumgarner (watch out for this kid)
Zito

That's a nice rotation, but they would still need to add some offense (pickup Dye, maybe trade for Dunn, ect).

Lincecum Charged With Marijuana Possession

You can't be surprised by this...

"San Francisco Giants star pitcher Tim Lincecum is facing misdemeanor marijuana charges following a traffic stop in his home state. Washington State Patrol spokesman Steve Schatzel said Thursday that the 2008 Cy Young Award winner and former star at the University of Washington was pulled over for speeding on Interstate 5 in the town of Hazel Dell, about four miles north of the Oregon border, on Oct. 30. An officer approached Lincecum's 2006 Mercedes and smelled marijuana as the pitcher rolled down his window. Schatzel said Lincecum immediately complied with a request to hand over the drug and a marijuana pipe from the car's center console. The amount measured was 3.3 grams. Schatzel said police consider that a small amount for personal use, well below the maximum of 40 grams before possession is classified differently and carries a more severe penalty (ESPN)."

Honestly this is barely news. Nothing will come of it other then he is going to get made fun of all the time since he looks like a pothead. I would rather have my player smoke pot then drink, and I mean that. Anyways, I love Lincecum and really think he has the best shot at finishing a season with an under 2.00 ERA at some point in his career, but for him to ever get 20 wins he is going to need the Giants to finally get some hitting.

Red Sox Have Deal Ready For Bay?

"The word by the bay has the offensively-challenged Giants making a pitch for Jason Bay, but the Red Sox will make a serious effort to retain the free agent outfielder. John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the Red Sox will offer Bay $60 million over four years, an offer that the Giants might consider topping. Bay lives in Seattle and Shea notes that "he could commute with Tim Lincecum." The Chronicle reported Saturday that the Giants will not be in a rush this free agent season (ESPN)."

I don't think the Sox have much of an option, they have to keep Bay. Boston's offense obviously has some question marks, but it looks a lot worse if you delete Bay from that lineup. Unless the Sox can make some big splash by trading I expect them to do everything in their power to keep this guy. If Boston was going to make a trade I would like to see them to focus on starting pitching (Felix, Halladay, ect).

Penny to Giants

The San Francisco Giants signed Brad Penny, and plan to start him Wednesday night. The Giants are tied with the Rockies for the NL Wild Card lead. And if John Smoltz's rebirth in the NL is any indication, Penny should do well in the Senior/Lesser Circuit.

-The Commodore

NL Teams Looking At Penny

"As Brad Penny, who was told by Boston Red Sox officials Wednesday night that he is being released, is being moved through waivers, at least three NL contenders -- the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants and Florida Marlins -- have expressed interest in the veteran right-hander, sources said (ESPN)."

If I was an NL team I would grab him. If we have learned anything this year, we have learned that the NL is the AL's farm league. It is a joke (excluding the Phillies), so Penny will probably sign with one of these teams and be nasty down the stretch...

Firesale Continues Pirates Trade Sanchez To Giants

"The Giants acquired Sanchez and made it a convenient switch for the three-time All-Star hours after double-play partner and shortstop Jack Wilson was traded to Seattle. The teams announced the swap following the Giants' 1-0, 10-innings victory -- so Sanchez merely had to change clubhouses to join his new organization, which is in the thick of the NL wild-card race. San Francisco sent minor league pitcher Tim Alderson to the Pirates for the 31-year-old Sanchez, the 2006 NL batting champion (Sportsline)."

The Giants are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since 2003 and have had4 straight losing seasons, but this year they are 1/2 game up on the Rockies for the Wild Card spot. This move gives them another bat, which they desperately need. Sanchez is hitting .296 with six home runs and 34 RBI, but has been having some knee problem lately, so that could be a concern.

The Pirates did get a decent return in this deal as Tim Alderson was the Giants 4th best prospect last season. He is known for having an "unconventional delivery", and his best pitches are his mid 90's fastball and a curveball that is getting better by the day.

Randy Johnson Joins 300 Club

"Johnson became the 24th pitcher to reach the milestone, and he did it as a mature pitcher, not the overpowering tangle of arms and legs who was all about strikeouts early in his career. He walked two, struck out two, allowed only an unearned run and threw 50 of his 78 pitches for strikes. He faced four batters above the minimum and got shutout relief from his bullpen (ESPN)."

Randy Johnson played most of his career has the angry head hunting power pitcher, but over the past couple of seasons he has transformed himself into more of a "pitcher". What I mean by that is he no longer has the stuff to overpower guys, but he still is affective by placing his pitches in the right spots, and out thinking hitters. This may be the last time we see a guy get his 300th win, so it is a very special day. In a time when very few pitchers pitch more then 6 innings you have to give credit to a guy who has been so good for so long. ESPN has a poll question of who is the most likely to do it after Randy, and to be honest no one is even close, and I really do not think we will see anyone do it in our life time. So congrats Randy enjoy the Hall of Fame.