This year’s free-agent class is fairly weak overall. This is true of the available outfielders as well. There is a lot of good talent at the top of the class, but from there, it declines fairly quickly.
With many teams looking to fill a hole in their outfield, you can expect a few bidding wars to occur over some of these players.
The San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers will begin the 2010 World Series tonight. This Series has a much different feel to it for many baseball fans. Neither of these teams was expected to make it this far. In fact, many were banking on a 2009 World Series rematch between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. Yet, this pairing shows how baseball has evolved, especially in this month of October.
The Texas Rangers’ deadly lineup and a horse in Cliff Lee gives them the obvious edge on paper. Though, these attributes alone cannot guarantee a World Series victory. Other starters will need to step in and help Lee as well. Even the bullpen will be important for Texas, especially if these games are close. To date, their bullpen has been awful this post-season.
The San Francisco Giants slayed a “giant” to get to the World Series. They defeated the defending two-time NL Champion Phillies. They put their own dynamic on the series and made quick work of Philadelphia. Their pitching has been solid all season long and now must be at their best.
The 2010 World Series will commence on Wednesday evening from San Francisco. It can last as long as nine days or as few as five. It should be interesting to see how this unlikely World Series will play out.
Pitching matchups will be at the forefront, but this slide show will attempt to go even deeper. I will examine all things that need mentioning and present fun facts for each game.
Here are some major league reasons to watch this 2010 World Series between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants.
Much has been said and written about the Giants lackluster offense.
The team batted .257 in 2010, finishing sixteenth while the Rangers hit .276 and finished first.
On the other hand, both teams did hit 162 Home runs finishing tied for tenth.
But pushing aside generalized offensive statistics, something strange happened during the course of the year that only keen eyes were privy to.
The Giants cut up opposing teams’ aces.
Here’s a list of the best ten National League pitchers in 2010 using Earned Run Average, then what the Giants did against them.
Josh Johnson: The Emperor’s New Clothes
From May 13th, 2010 to July 22nd, 2010, Josh Johnson pitched six innings or more and gave up two earned runs or less in 13 straight starts, a major league record.
Yet, on July 27th he came into AT&T Park in San Francisco and got roughed up.
He gave up three earned runs in seven innings and his historic streak was over.
During his streak he dominated the Phillies (twice), Rangers, Colorado, Dodgers, and Tampa Bay among others.
Sure, the Giants lost the game 6-4 with Johnson getting a No Decision, but the point is they roughed up the best of the best, ended the streak, and showed the Emperor without his clothes.
Johnson’s season began to spiral downward after that with his ERA going from 1.61 to 2.3.
So how did the supposedly anemic Giants manage eight hits and three walks versus the hottest pitcher in the universe?
Adam Wainwright: Good is not Great
On May 24th, Adam Wainwright laced ’em up versus Barry Zito at AT&T park.
Nine innings later, Wainwright had his first loss of the season as the Giants won 2-0.
Zito’s stuff that night was electric as he gave up only three hits while striking out 10 in eight innings of work.
The offense didn’t pound Wainwright into the ground, but they scratched out a respectable two runs and seven hits to get the job done.
The cast of no name misfits proved their mettle against arguably the best pitcher in baseball over the last three years.
Roy Hallady: Meet Cody Ross
Not only did the Giants beat Halladay in game one of the NLCS, they marred him in game five and scorched him on April 26th for 10 hits, five earned runs, and his first loss of the season.
His ERA went from 0.82 to 1.80 on that night in April.
How did such a mortal offense give such an immortal legend fits all season?
Jaime Garcia: Not so Fast, Rookie
On April 23rd, the Giants got to the rookie phenom for 7 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, and 3 walks over 6 innings.
They won the game 4-1. And while it was still early in the year, Garcia’s ERA jumped from 0.69 to 1.42.
Garcia would shut them down later in the year to finish 1-1, despite his 2.7 ERA for the year.
Roy Oswalt: Wile E. Coyote
Roy Oswalt must really, really, really hate the Giants.
Not only did he go 0-3 against them during the regular season with Tim Lincecum showing him the difference between owning Cy Youngs and wishing, but they eventually knocked him out of the playoffs.
Even when he finally got a win against them in Game 2 of the NLCS, he turns right back around a few days later and earns the loss in the ninth inning of Game 4.
Then, he gets cut up again in Game 6 and while not getting the loss he certainly didn’t pitch well enough to get the victory.
How much is he wishing he forced his way onto the Texas Rangers instead of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Twenty years from now Roy Oswalt is still going to have nightmares about the San Francisco Giants.
The funniest thing is he’ll think back to their average offense and just scratch his head in bewilderment.
Tim Hudson: Kryptonite
Hudson is the only pitcher in baseball this year who the Giants just didn’t get. Not ever. All year.
Including the playoffs, Hudson went 1-0 with two no decisions.
In 22 innings, he gave up only 10 hits and two earned runs.
Yet even though he was untouchable, the Giants won Game 2 against the Braves in the NLDS.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
R.A. Dickey: Speaking of Lucky
Giants didn’t play him this year. Lucky for him.
Ubaldo “U-boat” Jimenez: A Game He’d Like to Forget
Jimenez starts against the Giants in 2010 netted a 2-2 outcome with him earning two wins against one loss.
His no decision against the Giants on July 3rd, however, was his worst of the year.
The Giants massacred an erratic Jimenez while feasting on seven earned runs in six innings. It was the most earned runs he gave up in 2010.
In his two wins, Jimenez was his typical dominant self. But on September 1st with the stretch run beginning, the Giants beat him 2-1.
Lincecum beat him in that game and also showed him the difference between owning Cy Young awards and wishing.
Clayton Kershaw: Dodger-meat
The Giants went 2-2 in games started by Kershaw in 2010. His two losses include a combined 13 innings, 11 hits, 6 walks, and 6 runs.
Despite his dominant stuff, the Giants kept him honest.
Mat Latos: Keep Your Mouth Shut, Kid
Mat Latos had the Giants number early in the year, but by the end of the year he wished they would just go away.
He faced them six times during the season, and in those six starts the Padres went 2-4.
The Giants offense got to him enough and at the right times, to keep him vexed. Even to the point he started trash talking.
Then on the last day of the year with the Padres still holding an outside shot at the postseason, the Giants clawed him into his grave, beating him 3-0 on October 3rd.
Conclusion
So what gives? How does an average offense manage to cut up aces. Reason, common sense, and statistical analysis would suggest the Giants struggle mightily against aces.
But they don’t. They didn’t.
Because… heart, courage, and pride don’t cater to reason.
The Giants offense is an overweight, poor, uneducated father who God has blessed with the most beautiful daughter in all the land.
He knows he is barely worthy to be her father, which makes him all the more stalwart and prideful in protecting her.
He would cut any man’s throat who even thought to impugn his daughter’s beauty and grace.
He is humble, but always ready to defend her, especially against other maidens across the land.
Cliff Lee is a very pretty princess, but he comes nowhere close to matching the beauty of the Giants pitching staff.
And so the overweight, poor, uneducated father that is the Giants offense will cut him, again and again, until he’s dead.
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The San Francisco Giants can smell the pennant.
After an impressive Game 3 win behind Matt Cain and Cody Ross, San Francisco has a 2-1 edge in games in the 2010 NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies. Game 4 will be played Wednesday in San Francisco, where the teams will also duel in Game 5 before (potentially) heading back to Philadelphia.
The Giants have to feel good about taking the lead for the second time in this series, after the two-time defending National League champion Phillies rallied to rout the G-men at Citizen’s Bank Park in Game 2 of the set. Manager Bruce Bochy looks like a genius for the myriad adjustments he has made as the series has progressed, and the offense has done just enough to support the stellar pitching staff.
Going into Game 4, the Giants have their foot on the throat of Charlie Manuel’s crew. The series become a very dicey proposition with a Phillies win, but if San Francisco can pull out a victory to go up 3-1, the series is all but over. Ten things will make or break the Giants’ effort to move within shouting distance of their first pennant since 2002. What are they?
Read on.
Game 1 of the NLCS was supposed to be an epic pitchers duel between two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and no-hit wonder Roy Halladay.
Instead, both pitchers did not have their best stuff, though Halladay continued where he left off with retiring the first seven Giants he faced.
Then, No. 8 hitter Cody Ross stepped into the batter’s box.
Ross has an unimposing figure, being 5’10” and 195 pounds, and had a career batting mark of 3-for-16 against Halladay before the game.
However, that changed in a hurry.
Ross turned on two inside fastballs for home runs to help the San Francisco Giants win 4-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The 30-year-old journeyman provided the necessary spark for the Giants to overcome Halladay. The first homer was in the third for a 1-0 edge.
After Carlos Ruiz tied it with his own blast, Ross put his team ahead 2-1 in the fifth.
In the sixth, Buster Posey singled and then Pat Burrell doubled him home. Juan Uribe finished the scoring with an RBI single for the 4-1 lead.
Jayson Werth had a two-run homer to cut the deficit 4-3, but Giants’ relievers Javier Lopez and Brian Wilson shut the Phillies down.
Ross, a right fielder claimed on waivers from Florida on Aug. 21, also had key hits against the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the NLDS.
He homered and had the go-ahead RBI to win the series for San Francisco.
Not bad for Ross’ first postseason.
And Halladay is now a peg lower after his legendary no-hitter, giving up eight hits and four runs in seven innings.
Having Ross and his teammates beat the Phillies’ ace could give them confidence when facing Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.
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Alright, the NLCS field is all set. It is going to be the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants. The uniforms have been washed, the shoes have been shined, let’s throw on our Roy Halladay replica jerseys and get to the ballpark.
We’re going to be playing some championship baseball in just . . . five days?!?!?!
Uh, okay.
(Psst: who’s in charge of scheduling around here? Oh right; the networks.)
Anyways, in order to attempt to hold your attention for the next week while we wait for baseball to come around again (seriously, the All Star Break isn’t this long), I’d like to present 10 Fun Facts regarding the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco Giants, and the National League Championship Series.
As the 2010 post-season delves further into October, the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies are the last two National League teams standing.
The National League Championship Series between these two clubs will begin on Saturday, October 16th – in Philadelphia.
The Phillies jumped all over Joey Votto and the Cincinnati Reds, sweeping Dusty Baker and company right out of the playoffs. While it may be tee time in Cincinnati, the Phillies are resting, laying in wait for the Giants.
In San Francisco there lies another brand of baseball. The Giants secured their NLCS ticket in four games, sending Atlanta home for good in 2010. Shipping off Bobby Cox was no easy task, each game being decided by a single run.
On paper and before your eyes, the Phillies have been the team to beat coming into the playoffs. They feature top notch pitching, a fearsome lineup, and oodles of playoff knowledge in the dugout.
One thing is for certain with the Giants, they can pitch. It is the other things like hitting, and oh maybe more hitting that are less certain.
The Giants squeaked by the Braves, getting just enough runs to win by the narrowest of margins. This will not fly against the Phillies. If the Giants want to have a chance against a true juggernaut like Phillie, they will need certain players to step up and deliver big time.
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.
Tonight, a showdown in San Francisco could pop the top off of what up until now may have been this year’s most underrated story in sports: the San Francisco Giants clinching an MLB postseason appearance for the first time since the Barry Bonds era.
The lack of Bonds’ bat seems to be getting filled for the time being by left fielder Pat Burrell, who knocked in all the runs the bay area Tall Boys needed to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night along with seven nasty innings from pitcher Tim Lincecum.
Burrell, despite his season .250 batting average, is earning his nickname of
“Pat the Bat” at the most clutch possible time for the Giants in the regular season.
The Chicago Cubs helped the Giants take care of business by beating the Padres Wednesday night as well with just a single run scored.
The Giants, currently on a four-game win streak, need only one victory to clinch a playoff spot over the Padres as of Friday night’s game. If SD wins, the Giants will need to finish their series with two victories to clinch.
Though the Giants are hot and the Padres seem to have fizzled—finding just about every way possible to lose in the last days of the 2010 season—the Giants are expecting a juiced San Diego team to face them Friday night.
“We want San Diego to come in,” said Brian Wilson, the Tall Boys’ closer, to news reporters regarding the game. “We want to play good baseball and that’s what we’re going to get. That’s the way the story’s been written this year.”
And what a story it might turn out to be; though the playoff picture has been painted in less exciting colors than many MLB writers and bloggers might have liked, you can bet a raucous crowd will be in attendance throughout the series in San Francisco this weekend hoping the tint turns in favor of orange and black.
Expect the media to jump all over the post-Bonds bandwagon should the Giants and their fans get that wish.
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