Kuzul

World Series. Game 1.

Texas Rangers. San Francisco Giants.

Cliff Lee. Tim Lincecum.

Tonight.

You can’t wait. Neither can I.

We’ll come at you with lineups, game-day quotes, information and other updates throughout the afternoon and evening.

Want to know how many episodes of SportsCenter Josh Hamilton watched this morning? We’ll tell you.

Curious what Buster Posey had for lunch today? We’ll find out.

We, at Bleacher Report, will have wall-to-wall coverage of Game 1—and the rest of the series—so stick with us for everything you could possibly want to know about the game and this year’s largely improbable World Series.

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The San Francisco Giants are where few thought they would be at the beginning of the season…hell, at the beginning of the postseason. They are one win away from representing the National League in the World Series.

The Giants came into this series as heavy underdogs to the reigning two-time NL champion Philadelphia Phillies.

After shocking the world and hitting around Roy Halladay in Game 1, they have taken care of business so far at home and throw out the winner of the last two Cy Young Awards in Tim Lincecum.

Gotta love the irony here of the Phillies’ Roy Halladay likely winning the Cy Young this year with the Giants likely to go to the World Series. I’m sure Tim Lincecum will gladly accept this reversal of roles.

This was a very emotional win for San Francisco, and they need to avoid any hangover from this game and close out the series tomorrow.

If they don’t, we see two games in Philly against one of the game’s best double-barreled 2-3 punch in Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

Wednesday’s game saw the uprising of a recently dormant Philadelphia offense, which struck lightning to the tune of four runs in the fifth inning, aided by the erratic pitching of Santiago Casilla.

In the end, it was the bullpen that let down Philadelphia. Chad Durbin left a fastball up to Pablo Sandoval that put the Giants up 5-4 in the sixth inning.

After willing back to tie on a Jayson Werth double, Oswalt came on in relief in the ninth and proceeded to allow a game-winning sacrifice fly to Juan Uribe.

Aubrey Huff slid across home plate with ease and the Giants took a 3-1 series lead into the night.

Halladay will need to be very sharp tomorrow because this Giants’ lineup is an opportunistic group.

They have had Cody Ross shouldering the load so far, but in this game, everybody who was asked to do so seemingly delivered with RBI from Uribe, Posey, Huff, and Sandoval.

Lincecum will need to be sharp in this last home game of the series for the Giants. Because if he doesn’t bring all he has, this is going back to Philly.

That would be a dangerous proposition, one that this ragtag bunch can’t afford to risk.

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It took a stellar performance from Roy Oswalt to beat budding start Jonathan Sanchez. Oswalt went eight masterful innings giving up only one run and striking out nine and allowing only six base runners. What Giants fans should be upset about is manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to pitch Sanchez in game two instead of Matt Cain.

Sanchez is an excellent pitcher—albeit with a proclivity for missing the strike zone. He pitched 6 strong innings, giving up three runs, two earned, before giving up to a mediocre Giants bullpen. Cain might have been able to last later into the game—and given the Giants a chance against Brad Lidge.

Contrary to popular belief, San Francisco’s AT&T Park is not a particularly spacious park to the right field. With Cain, a right-hander, left-handers will be given a platoon advantage with McCovey Cove looming nearby. Against a homerun heavy Philadelphia lineup, it might make a difference.

But with the way Oswalt was pitching, it would have taken a spectacular performance from either pitcher to beat him. Just food for thought.

What may have been more questionable is starting Mike Fontenot at third base over struggling Pablo Sandoval. The Panda had a serious off-year, but is still better than starting a below-average hitting second baseman at third.

Next up for the Giants is Phillies third ace Cole Hamels. This year Hamels has increased his fastball velocity from a pedestrian low-90s to a highly effective mid-90s heater. Coupled with his plus change-up, Hamels consistently gets above average strikeout numbers.

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The 2010 NLCS showdown between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants is underway in earnest. With the series tied at one game apiece, the NLCS almost takes on a 5-game set feel.

Game Three of this exciting series will be every bit as pivotal as Game One promised to be. With the series even again, both teams will be vying to take the advantage.

The Phillies would love nothing more than to ambush the Giants on their home field, taking the series lead and establishing big time momentum rolling into Game Four.

RHP Matt Cain will stand ready to fend off the Phillies in the third and possibly most epic of the 2010 NLCS to date. The task will be no easy one, as the Fighting Phillies found their offensive stride and gashed the stalwart Giants pitching for six runs in their last meeting.

If the Phillies are indeed beginning to erupt in the batters-box, the Giants will need to mount their own offensive charge and let the battle become a war in Game Three.

Is it time to take the Panda off ‘Time-Out’? Has Pablo Sandoval served his penance? 

Sandoval, the furry face of the San Francisco Giants, at least in the advertising and marketing campaigns between the 2009 and 2010 – has been patiently waiting for this shot to contribute.

Patiently is no under-exaggeration either. During the 2009 regular season, Sandoval only managed 47 walks in 563 plate appearances. With only six at bats in the post season, the patient Panda has already walked twice.

Let us trace the Panda tracks back a bit – the portly young slugger wowed the National League with his ability to drive just about any kind of pitch into play. Sandoval hit a very respectable .330 average in his first full season with the Giants.

The Kung-Fu Panda hats were made, commercials were shot, merchandising schemes rained down, San Francisco was ready to celebrate another outstanding season from their young star.

As if shy of the big stage, the Panda went into hibernation shortly after the 2010 season opened up. Sandoval’s struggles at the plate this season have been widely regarded as something more concerning than a sophomore slump.

Sandoval not only lost his feel at the plate, slowly but steadily his fielding also declined. He led the team in errors (13) during the regular season.

Mike Fontenot was acquired from the Chicago Cubs during the mid-season mayhem that was the Giants front office. Fontenot proved to be a steady and dependable utility infielder. Fontenot didn’t give you exciting, he gave you consistency.

Whatever Fontenot was selling, Manager Bruce Bochy was buying. He was now able to remove the struggling Pablo Sandoval and inject a sturdy Mike Fontenot onto his starting lineup card for the NLDS and NLCS.

With Fontenot starting, and Sandoval barely able to get into the Championship series, we must take a look and make sure we aren’t keeping crucial runs off the board by making the safe choice in starting Fontentot.

First of all, how safe is Fontenot? Fontenot made a very rare but crucial bad throw in Game Two. He just got out of being charged a second error in the game after letting an unclaimed pop-up drop four feet in front of him.

How about the batting? Fontenot in the post season has had 12 at bats. He has a single and a triple, and scored a run. Fontenot has also walked once and struck out three times. His average is .167 so far in October.

Pablo Sandoval is also hitting .167 so far in October, in six at bats.

What we were supposed to be getting in Fontenot was a better glove at third base, and more consistent at bats. Sure he was never expected to have the pop that Sandoval packs, but he was expected to produce a base runner more often.

So far with some glaring mistakes by Fontenot, fueling big innings instead of vital outs for the Phillies, are we getting what we benched Sandoval for?

Again, in six at-bats, Sandoval has actually walked twice. Whether he learned his lesson, had time to reflect on his approach or just needed some time out of the big lights – I think it’s time Bochy gave Sandoval a shot in Game Three.

Cody Ross is hitting home runs like they are going out of style. If Sandoval can run into a few of those pitches, the thump the Giants have been looking for may be found just in time.

Pablo Sandoval’s numbers against Cole Hamels: .333 average, 1 double, a homer, and 1.178 OPS.

Mike Fontenot’s numbers against Cole Hamels: Zilch, in two at-bats.

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It seemed all but over. The Giants were leading 4-1 with two innings to go.

San Francisco has one of the best bullpens in baseball, but there came the Atlanta Braves, and in the blink of an eye, the game was tied.

It marked the second time that night a team came back from a 4-0 deficit to win the game, as the Braves eventually won 5-4 in 11 innings thanks to a home run by Rick Ankiel.

Now the series moves back to Georgia tied at one.

The Braves are one of the best teams at home in baseball, and the Giants will need at least one win there in order to bring the DivisionSseries right back to San Fran for a Game 5 showdown.

Here are the grades for the San Francisco Giants. 

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Game Two between the San Francisco Giants and the Atlanta Braves is set to begin in less than an hour. The Giants are coming off of a big win last night in Game One, led by a dominant Tim Lincecum. The two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 14 Braves hitters to give the Giants a 1-0 victory. Tonight, the Giants send Matt Cain to the mound. He’ll face another great young pitcher, Tommy Hanson. In case you haven’t seen it, here are the starting lineups for tonight:

If you’d like to do some reading prior to or during the game, check out this piece I wrote earlier today. I take a look at the possibility of the Giants trading for Milwaukee Brewer first baseman Prince Fielder this winter. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

For the first time in seven years, postseason baseball has found its way to AT&T Park. In the National League Divisional Series, the newly crowned NL West champion San Francisco Giants (92-70) will meet the Atlanta Braves (91-71), who also squeaked by on the final day of the season.  The winner of the five-game series will move on to face either Philadelphia (97-65) or Cincinnati (91-71).

No doubt Giants general manager Brian Sabean is spearheading an extended powwow with manager Bruce Bochy and his staff, as the rules call for the 40-man active roster to be trimmed down to 25 by Thursday’s opener in China Basin.

Although substitutions can be made in each round of the playoffs, it will be interesting to find out the composition of the final list for the NLDS, as it will undoubtedly give clues on how they intend to attack the Braves and advance to their first National League Championship Series since 2002.

All year long, the Giants’ outstanding pitching has defied belief, especially during the final month of the season. San Francisco hurlers held opposing batters to a .182 average in September and conceded three runs or less in 24 out of 26 games, a feat that has occurred only once since 1920.

However, the team’s bats haven’t fared as well, with their own dubious streak defining their offense. In the last 29 games to close the year, Giants hitters scored more than four runs only eight times.

With that said, smallball will the be order of the day in San Francisco, and the signs were evident in last Sunday’s division-clinching win over San Diego. In the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Giants in desperate need of adding an insurance run to a slim 2-0 lead, Eugenio Velez laid down a sacrifice bunt to move 245-pound Pablo Sandoval from first base.

However, the portly former All-Star’s lack of speed was blatantly clear when he was gunned down at second with three strides to spare in what became a waste of an out.

The Giants’ formidable rotation and bullpen have compensated for the toothless offense for most of 2010. Since this pattern will likely continue into the playoffs, the necessity of manufacturing runs will be at a premium in close games, where each win gets the team one step closer to the World Series.

According to the way Sabean and Bochy have handled the season to date, I have broken down the current 40-man roster and given my projections for the final 25 who will take the field for the NLDS. Starters are in bold, cuts will have lines through their names, and shaky picks up for debate will be in italics, with key stats for each player included.

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With the MLB playoffs just around the corner, San Francisco Giants are on verge of eliminating the San Diego Padres from the divisional race and claim their first NL West crown since 2003. 

Barry Bonds isn’t the big bopper in the lineup anymore and Jason Schmidt isn’t the ace of the pitching staff. 

Instead the 2010 Giants have a young catcher by the name of Buster Posey leading the way on offense and a pitching staff led by two time NL CY Young Award winner Time Lincecum.

The Giants host the San Diego Padres for a three game set that will determine the winner of the NL West as well as the NL Wild Card champion.

The Giants only need one win this weekend to pop champagne and begin talking about October baseball by the bay.

Giants’ fans must be patient waiting for their team to officially clinch.  Once they do, they should note that these five qualities will result in a deep playoff run from Buster Posey and company.

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When the San Diego Padres beat the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night, they guaranteed that the three-game series against the San Francisco Giants to end the year would be meaningful.

Exactly how meaningful remains to be seen, as the Giants continue to play good baseball.

With their own victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the good guys maintained their two-game lead on the Friars in the loss column.

Should the Gents win again on Thursday, they’ll ensure that only a sweep would prevent them from reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2003 regardless of what the Fathers do in their finale with the Lovable Losers.

But, should SF lose and SD win, then the intensity for that final weekend will be unlike anything the City has witnessed around a diamond for almost a decade. Only a game would separate the clubs in that scenario.

Granted, the Atlanta Braves could kill all the suspense because they’re only one game ahead of the Pads in the loss column. The Bravos will face the Philadelphia Phillies while the National League West front-runners are renewing hostilities.

Nevertheless, the eyes of Major League Baseball will be on AT&T Park from Friday until Sunday as one of the two remaining pennants up for grabs gets decided by the two teams fighting over the flag.

What they’ll see is San Francisco charge into the playoffs for these 10 reasons (in no particular order).

And, yes, I’m knocking on wood as I type each paragraph…

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Although you might not be able to hear it over the din of the early NFL season, Major League Baseball has opened the throttle for its stretch run.

Magic numbers are dwindling in the American League as the Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins are days away from officially clinching the AL West and Central, respectively.

Over in the AL East, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are still tussling over the pennant, but the runner-up will be the proud owner of the Junior Circuit’s Wild Card.

In other words, the only mystery is the seeding.

Contrarily, the playoff picture in the Senior Circuit is hopelessly cluttered.

The Cincinnati Reds have almost locked up the National League Central and the Philadelphia Phillies are beginning to disappear over the horizon with the NL East flag, but the NL West and Wild Card won’t be decided until the final weekend.

Which brings us to the San Francisco Giants and their portly, once-everyday third baseman, Pablo Sandoval.

The lads have exactly 12 games to separate themselves from the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, and Atlanta Braves.

The Friars—who are knotted up with San Francisco in the loss column—and the Rox—who trail both teams with an extra defeat—have 13 games left on the slate. The Bravos are one ahead of the good guys in the loss column with only 11 to play.

When the margin is so narrow and the remaining schedule is heading toward single digits, anything can happen. Eventually, however, the separation will come.

If the Gents want it to be of the good variety, the kind that will send them to the franchise’s first postseason since 2003, it would behoove all involved if “The Kung Fu Panda” found the stroke that made him a city favorite in 2009.

You can no longer say the berth depends on Sandoval catching fire because the squad has contended for so long without him, but such a development would certainly make life easier.

Unfortunately, such a renaissance seems highly unlikely at this point given the magnitude of what’s gone wrong for the voluminous Venezuelan.

The Trouble Starts on the Surface

From a macroscopic perspective, the first thing that’s gone awry is easy to spot.

Because it’s everything.

Check out the splits from 2009 to 2010:

2009—633 PA, 79 R, 44 2B, 25 HR, 90 RBI, .330 BA, .387 OBP, .556 SLG, 10 GDP

2010—585 AB, 59 R, 32 2B, 12 HR, 60 RBI, .264 BA, .318 OBP, .402 SLG, 26 GDP

There’s good, there’s bad, there’s ugly, and then there’s whatever you want to call that mess.

As you can see, Pablo’s looking at some horrendous regression in his second full season unless he scores 20 runs, hits 12 doubles, launches 13 home runs, raises his batting average 66 points, ups his on-base percentage by 69 points, adds 154 points to his slugging percentage, and erases 16 double plays from his tally in the next 48 plate appearances.

Only one thing I mentioned is literally impossible, but all of the above might as well be, since it ain’t happening.

Especially since “Little Money” has been removed from his regular spot in the lineup. Part of the motivation for the periodic hook is the overall free-fall, but it’s also got a little something to do with the next crimson flag protruding from Sandoval’s body of work.

Something Has Gone Wrong from the Right Side

Last year, the switch-hitter was a holy terror from both sides of the dish, but he was even better when gripping and ripping from the right side against left-handers.

I won’t bore you with the full array of statistics, but here are the most pertinent highlights—a slash line of .379/.428/.600 and only 15 K in 159 PA.

Now, look at the same splits for 2010.

It’s not just that Sandoval’s struggled from the right side this campaign, it’s that he’s looked utterly and comically lost while collecting the numbers to prove it. That’s how you go from the aforementioned and sparkling ’09 version to a slash line of .232/.285/.312 with 25 whiffs in eight fewer trips to the plate.

True, the train doesn’t go this far off the track for a switch-hitter without issues on both sides of the plate. Nevertheless, the drastic contrast between the right-handed performances makes it evident that the solution must start there.

Sadly, it musn’t stop there.

And It’s Continued to Go Wrong on the Road

In his young career, “The Panda” has established that he is one of the few splinters who adores hitting at AT&T Park.

The spacious confines and heavy air don’t seem to bother him as he rocked a .361 average with a 1.012 on-base-plus-slugging percentage (amongst other pretty numbers) by the San Francisco Bay in ’09.

Again, no data or split has been spared the carnage of Pablo’s decline, but his ’10 home stats don’t look as gruesome as the rest. His .326 average and .892 are, quite frankly, staggering to anyone who’s watched him closely this year.

But that old, familiar feeling returns when you place the road splits next to each other:

2009—325 PA, 36 R, 24 2B, 12 HR, 43 RBI, .301 BA, .363 OBP, .514 SLG, 5 GDP

2010—300 PA, 26 R, 13 2B, 4 HR, 22 RBI, .204 BA, .260 OBP, .296 SLG, 14 GDP

Ordinarily, you’d fixate on the fact that almost 100 points have been shaved off the batting average. Or maybe that Sandoval’s on-base percentage has dropped by over 100 points. Or perhaps that his slugging percentage is lighter to the tune of 218 points.

In this case, though, it’s pretty tough to get over Pablo’s seemingly supernatural ability to ground into about three times as many double plays despite 25 fewer plate appearances. That’s almost as inexplicable as…

Here’s the Kicker

Perhaps the most pressing issue is the set of numbers that has NOT changed.

Typically, you’d expect to see some underlying explanation for such a severe turn of events. You’d expect to see a significant decrease in line drives as the anxious batter tries to compensate, either rolling everything over as he tries to pull the ball (grounder) or trying to hit every offering into the bleachers (pop up).

Or maybe a change in plate discipline or contact rate.

But this is where Sandoval’s year gets really weird—compare the ’10 line-drive, ground-ball, and fly-ball rates to their ’09 counterparts. Better yet, compare his ‘10 plate discipline with the same on display in ’09.

No discrepancies greater than five percent and most of the statistics are basically the same.

That’s distressing, but it’s also (slight) reason for hope.

Carrying a Heavy Burden with Lady Luck Shoeing Him in the Junk

The lack of overt evidence as to the decline could mean it’s more a mental snafu than anything else—a mechanical flaw should reveal itself through the numbers.

Of course, many pundits around the Bay Area love to point at Pablito’s ever-expanding waistline as the cause of all his ills and for good reason. Let’s not mince words—dude is fat and getting fatter.

But he wasn’t exactly slim in ’09 when he was yanking the pearl to hell and gone on a nightly basis. So, while Sandoval most definitely needs to get his weight under control for the sake of longevity, I’m not so sure I buy the pounds as the root of this year’s problem.

They can’t help, but observers also have to remember that (A) this is only the third baseman’s second full year in the Show; (B) he recently finalized an arduous divorce; (C) he was expected to be the primary lumberjack for a contender; and (D) he’s a relatively young 24-year-old.

That’s a whole lot to keep track of in the ol’ noodle for what many would still consider to be a kid. With that kind of mental stress, it wouldn’t take a very large straw to break the proverbial camel’s back.

Say, a slide in batting average on balls in play (BABIP) from ..356 in 2008 to .350 in ’09 to…oh, .287 in ’10!?!?!?

Yikes, that’s one large serving of bad luck, right there.

And luck can change just as quickly as an athlete’s mindset.

Pablo Sandoval is having a brutal 2010 Major League Baseball season, that much is without a doubt.

One can only hope the jovial youngster figures out the solution and snaps back to his previous form as quickly as possible because, when he’s right, the man is a sight to behold and fun to watch.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the San Francisco Giants will get to enjoy that spectacle until 2011.

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