Kuzul

Game One of the NLCS featuring the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies is set to begin in less than an hour. Tim Lincecum will lead the Giants against Roy Halladay and the Phillies in one of the most anticipated games in recent Playoff memory.

The Phillies enter the series as the prohibited favorite, but anyone underestimating the Giants and their pitching staff is making a mistake. Even with Halladay throwing only the second no-hitter in postseason history in the NLDS, the Giants starting staff was every bit as dominant as the Phillies’ staff.

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Acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier starred with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in the hit movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.

Guess which team will show up hungrier in this year’s American League Championship Series?

The actors in this year’s Major League Baseball saga may not win any Oscars or Golden Globes, but they have a chance to have their names etched in eternity as stars and winners nonetheless.

Starring for the defending World Series champion New York Yankees will be Joe Girardi, with co-stars Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, C.C. Sabathia and Derek Jeter.

Statistics aside, the Yankees may have the best batting lineup since the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals—the Gas House Gang.

The Gang featured five .300 hitters, including mammoth slugger Ripper Collins.

Which hitter will rip the opposing pitching staff apart? I predict it will be Josh Hamilton.

Playing the lead role for the Texas Rangers will be their once-beleaguered manager Ron Washington.  His supporting cast includes Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, David Murphy, Ian Kinsler, Vladimir Guerrero and Cliff Lee.

The Rangers are no slobs themselves when it comes to hitting.

The first African-American manager in the 49-year history of the Texas Rangers, “Wash” is on the cusp of becoming the first black manager to hit the AL pennant lotto since 1993.

Clarence “Cito” Gaston was the last to do it. 

Born in San Antonio and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, Gaston was also the first African-American to win the World Series (1992).

He was also once with the Atlanta Braves, and roommates with “Hammering” Hank Aaron.

Gaston has been quoted as saying that Mr. Aaron taught him “how to be a man, how to stand on my own.” 

Wash stood on his own for a little while during the 2010 MLB preseason, when he admitted to cocaine use. 

But team president Nolan Ryan provided his manager with some much needed company by predicting a 95-win season.

“We will win,” the former flame-throwing pitcher declared.

Now a part-owner of the Rangers, Ryan almost hit a bulls-eye with his bold prediction. 

His team finished the regular season at 90-72, and won the AL West division by nine games. 

This will be Wash’s first appearance as a manager in the ALCS, and Texas’ fourth postseason run ever.  The franchise has only won four playoff games entering into this year’s pennant series.

Needless to say, this will be the first time the Rangers have played in baseball’s version of the Final Four.

Their lone playoff victory before beating Tampa Bay 3-2 in a five-game series came in Game 1 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees.

The Yankees have pummeled the Rangers in every one of their four postseason series.

Which team is hungrier? It seems to me that they both are ready to gorge on equal amounts of home runs and extra base hits.

What will separate these two offensive juggernauts is pitching. 

Enter stage right Mr. Lee. 

The Yankees wanted to acquire him from the Seattle Mariners, but Ryan was widely viewed as winning a victory over the vaunted Yankee front office in sealing the deal.

The Rangers have dealt with 23 different managers in their history, and the only other one to guide them to the playoffs was the late Johnny Oates. 

As a result, he was named the 1996 Co-American League Manager of the Year. 

Joe Torre of the Yankees shared the award with Oates.

Oates and current Baltimore Orioles manager, Buck Showalter, were very close friends.  The Rangers retired Oates’ uniform number 26 in 2005.

Washington replaced Showalter as manager of the Rangers in 2007.

Showalter sported jersey number 26 as an Oriole this season in honor of Oates.

Washington had a mediocre career as a former shortstop and second baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles, the Cleveland Indians, and the Houston Astros.

His main claim to fame was breaking up Odell Jones’ May 28, 1988 no-hitter with one out in the ninth inning.

Washington was sent in to pinch-hit for Jay Bell, batting ninth. 

After he hung up his cleats for good in 1989, his former Astros manager, Art Howe hired him as the A’s first base coach in 1996.

He was then promoted to third base and infield coach, and he served in that role from 1997-2006.

His players adored him to the point of handing him some of their official MLB accolades.

Washington helped to develop six-time Gold Glove recipient Eric Chavez, and shortstop Miguel Tejada.  Chavez gave Washington a Gold Glove trophy, signed “Wash, not without you.”

That sentiment was shared by Ranger’s general manager Jon Daniels after the Game 5 win against Tampa Bay.

 “Manager of the Year, right here boys,” Daniels proclaimed to reporters in the ALDS celebratory club house.

Hero Cliff Lee won’t pitch until Game 3 in the ALDS, and hopefully in Game 7 for the Rangers.

Ron Washington and current Yankee first baseman Mark Teixeira had a rift over their different approaches to batting. 

Teixeira was traded three months later to the Atlanta Braves in July 2007, but he was reportedly being shopped before the rift.

I believe the Rangers pitchers will send a text message to their former star. 

It could read something like: “Tex, without you.”

I predict the so-called “Evil Empire” will fall in seven games to the Rangers, and that Ron Washington will be named 2010 AL Manager of the Year.

His boldest move was perhaps slotting SS Elvis Andrus in the lead-off spot.  Wash’s base-running aggression against the Rays helped to get his team to this point.

Considered plodders on the base paths, New York may play possum in the running department.

The Yankees may have played possum to finish second to the Rays, but possum is a delicacy in certain parts of Texas—so I hear.

The Rangers swept the Yankees in September. 

Texas will clean the New York house with an ALDS triumph in seven games.

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We all know, and will be reminded again throughout the NLCS, about the greatness of Roy Halladay and the precision of Roy Oswalt.

Experts and baseball analysts will pound it into your head how prominent the Phillies 1-2-3 punch is on the mound. My two-year-old nephew knows they are good.

The dynamic duo acquired in highly publicized trades before and during the season have allowed Ruben Amaro Jr. to enjoy his Monet moment. He, after all, helped create these October masterpieces.

As for San Francisco’s late-season transaction, their guy was an afterthought. He was page-two news on a front page bursting with big names and blockbuster deals that transpired during baseball’s 2010 season.

This wasn’t Cliff Lee to Seattle or Texas. Brian Cashman doesn’t bother with guys making under $5 million. A team wouldn’t sacrifice a prospect to gain his services in return. He’s not going to throw a no-hitter this October nor steal Derek Jeter‘s postseason moniker anytime soon.

Maybe you know his name, maybe you don’t.

Cody Ross was placed on waivers by the Florida Marlins in late August. A couple days later he was claimed by the Giants whose reported intention was to blockade divisional foe San Diego from adding him rather than bolster their own lineup. San Fran, at the time, really didn’t have a place for him in the outfield.

Ross was simply a pawn in the playoff chase chess game out West.

Story continues below

Using our MLB simulation engine we “played” the NLCS Best-of-seven series 1,001 times.

In the table above you will find each team’s chances of advancing to the World Series and how often they win in four, five, six or seven games. As you can see, the most likely scenario is the Phillies beating the Giants in six games 21 percent of the time.

You can view the box scores and summaries of Philadelphia’s six-game series win below.

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This is nothing new for the well-traveled fifth-year veteran who has traded his Dodgers blues for Cincinnati red and Florida fish all in the same season.

But where it started, is where I started, back in 2003 with the Toledo Mud Hens. Cody played while I interned. Ross was a major part of the Tigers’ Triple-A offense that season.

He banged out 135 hits, 20 home runs, 61 ribbies and hit .287 for Toledo earning him a September call-up where he played in six games for the Tigs.

The Mud Hens fanbase truly embraced Cody in ’03. He even reached the pinnacle of having the franchise create and promote his bobblehead.

That’s respect.

“Cody Ross quickly became a fan favorite during his time in Toledo,” public relations director and Mud Hens broadcaster Jason Griffin said. “It was evident very early that he was destined to be a quality major leaguer. It is fun to watch him do well in the playoffs.”

We fast-forward seven years, past the trades for players to be named and get over the Giants’ chess match with the Padres and focus on what Ross has meant to this San Fran team five games into the postseason.

Batting eighth in Game 1 of the NLDS, he reached base twice and collected one of only five Giants hits. It proved to be a big one because his single to left drove in the only run of the game.

Then in Game 4, when Derek Lowe once again looked unhittable, Ross provided the offensive punch his team needed. Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, the guy hitting before the pitcher smacked a solo shot to left to tie the game at 1-1.

Ross wasn’t done.

An inning later, after the Giants rallied to tie the game at 3-3, Ross delivered again with a single scoring the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run.

Talk about your pawn stars.

It should be noted the Marlins were interested in keeping Ross, but the front office was engrossed in promoting outfielder Cameron Maybin to get him some playing time when the rosters expanded.

So, in a way, Ross has Maybin to thank for his opportunity this October.

And, in a weird twist, Ross and Maybin both have the Tigers to thank for drafting them.

It’s transactional irony worthy of the front page.

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Below is a game-by-game summary and related box score of our simulation’s predicted results.

Tim Lincecum has been known to do it with his arm, but with his stick?

In 246 career at-bats, “The Freak” has never hit a home run for the Giants. That was until he went deep in Game 1’s simulation of the NLCS. The chances of a Lincecum long-ball are so rare I won’t waste your time with all the zeroes following the decimal.

To make the feat even greater, the Giants’ No. 1 starter hit the homer in the top of the eighth inning to give his team a 5-3 lead. Some good wood to match his lights-out effort on the mound, allowing three ERs in eight innings.

Roy Halladay lasted seven innings allowing four earn runs on 11 hits. It was a far cry from his dominant performance against the Reds in the NLDS.

The Giants break serve and take Game 1 of the NLCS winning 5-3.

We knew the pitching matchups in this series would be worth the price of admission.

Okay, maybe not. But we were hip to the fact that hitters would play second fiddle to the hurlers.

Matt Cain would go the distance, while Cole Hamels’ five walks would come back to haunt him in Game 2.

Juan Uribe‘s ground-rule double in the sixth tacked on an insurance run the Giants would need in the ninth.

Cain, cruising to that point, allowed Ryan Howard to take him deep. The solo shot cut the San Fran lead to one, but MC finished what he started and got pinch-hitter Mike Sweeney to fly out and end it.

The Giants take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series as both teams head to the West Coast.

The Phillies found themselves in one of those must-win situations.

Roy Oswalt answered the call. Boy, I’m sure Charlie Manuel is stoked (as stoked as Manuel can get) that Ruben Amaro Jr. pulled the trigger with the Astros to bring the stud pitcher to Philly.

Oswalt went eight strong, striking out 12, while only allowing one Giants runner to cross home.

San Francisco’s Jonathan Sanchez got roughed up in Game 3 serving up five earned runs in his eight innings on the hill.

Chase Utley was the main dude at the plate for the Phillies going 3-5 with two RBI.

Philadelphia has life in the NLCS winning Game 3, 5-1.

The Giants elected to start the rookie in Game 4 against Roy Halladay. Now, they may be regretting it.

Bumgarner couldn’t get out of the fifth inning before he allowed six runs on nine hits.

That’s all Roy Halladay would need to bounce back from a rough outing in Game 1. Though he did allow five hits, the Phillies ace did not give up a run in his eight innings of work.

Jose Contreras came on in the ninth to seal up the 6-0 victory.

Jimmy Rollins provided the offense with his 2-4, three RBI and HR effort at the dish.

The Phillies break back to even the series at two all heading into Game 5.

Except for a turbulent bottom of the third, Cole Hamels was a San Francisco treat to watch.

The Phillies took a commanding 3-2 series lead behind the southpaw’s eight innings of work. Although he did allow nine hits on the evening, Hamels controlled the bleeding by holding the Giants to two runs.

Tim Lincecum and the Giants fell behind 4-0 in the first and could never recover. Sergio Romo allowed three more runs in relief to hand the away team a 7-2 win.

The Phillies now return to Philly up 3-2 and in prime position to close out the NLCS in front of a home crowd.

The guy with the best batting average in the series picked the right time to collect his first hit of the night.

Placido Polanco’s bottom-of-the-ninth single to right off Giants closer Brian Wilson sent Carlos Ruiz home as the Phillies win the NLCS in dramatic fashion.

The Phillies head to the World Series with a 4-3 win over the Giants.

Moments prior to Polanco’s game-winner, Giants manager Bruce Bochy was ejected from the game for arguing a ball four call to Shane Victorino. The walk sent Ruiz to third.

The Giants did own a 3-2 lead in the eighth, but Jimmy Rollins connected off of reliever Ramon Ramirez sending a single to right and knocking in Chase Utley to tie the game.

Brad Lidge, seeing his first action of the series, struck out the side in the top of the ninth before the drama unfolded in the ninth.

The 2010 Philadelphia Phillies are headed to the World Series with a 4-2 series win over the San Francisco Giants.

Check out the ALCS preview from WhatIfSports.com.

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What an incredible LDS highlighted by Roy Halladay’s no-hitter. We saw the Rangers over the Rays in five, the Yankees sweep the Twins, the Phills sweep the Reds and the Giants top the Braves in four.

I went 3-1 in the LDS, with my blemish coming when I picked the Rays. I wish I had do-overs. This year’s LCS looks amazing. We have a classic David vs. Goliath story in the AL, and a mouth-watering pitching dual in the NL. Let’s run it down:

ALCS: New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers

I would absolutely love for the Yankees to get knocked out. It could happen too. The big thing here is that the Rangers will only be able to use LHP Cliff Lee once, since he’s projected to start Game 3. If he starts again, it’ll be on short rest – something he’s never done. Lee has been insane in the playoffs : seven starts, 6-0 record, 1.44 ERA, .185 batting average against and 9:1 K/BB ratio. In five of those starts, he has pitched at least seven innings without a walk.

Lee has four starts in which he struck out 10 and walked none — only four other pitchers in playoff history have done that, with Lee being the only one to repeat said performance. Tuesday night, Lee became the first pitcher to strike out 11 in a winner-take-all postseason game. In the ALDS, he set a postseason series record with 21 strikeouts without a walk.

That said, the Yankees can hit him – he’s 6-4 with a 4.42 ERA lifetime against the Yanks. Keep an eye on Lee throwing inside on righty bats. The Yanks’ rotation is a bit of a mess, but it looks like LHP C.C. Sabathia will go on short rest should the series go seven.

The Bronx Bombers come in as the rested team, but their lackluster starting pitching remains the biggest concern. That said, if LHP Andy Pettitte stays Mr. October, anything is fair game. Call me crazy, but the Rangers are a very similar team build to the Angels of the early 2000’s – they run like crazy.  They’ll make it close, but the Yanks prevail. I pray that I’m wrong, I really do – I’d love to see the Rangers advance given all they’ve been through, but I just don’t see it happening.

Pick: Yankees in 7

NLCS: San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies

What a pitching matchup! Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez vs. Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels. Sign me up!

Starting July 31, the Phillies have gone 30-5 in games started by H20. In the LDS sweep over the Reds, the Phils limited Cincy to four runs in three games, and held the highest-scoring team in the NL to a .124 average. Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history, and Hamels threw a shutout in Game 3, making them only the second pair of teammates in the divisional era (from 1969 on) to throw shutouts in the same postseason series.

Starting September 1, H20 is 15-1. But, the Giants hit all three of them this year: Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels combined to throw 45 innings against San Fran, and they allowed 51 hits and 24 earned runs (a 4.80 ERA).

Don’t count of the Giants’ rotation, either – In four games against the Braves in the NLDS, Giants’ starting pitchers posted a 0.93 ERA, the third lowest starters’ ERA by an NL team in any postseason series. Lincecum pitched one of the greatest games in playoff history in Game 1 of the LDS: a two-hit, 14-strikeout gem in a 1-0 win.

Lincecum made one start against the Phillies this season, pitched 8 1/3 innings, allowed three hits, two earned runs, walked one and struck out 11. Cain threw well in Game 2 against the Braves, but the bullpen blew it. Sanchez has an ERA just north of 1.00 in his past eight starts. In two starts against the Phillies this season, he is 2-0. In 13 innings, he has allowed only five hits, two runs, walked seven and struck out 13.

LHP Madison Bumgarner is going to come in under the radar, having a 1.43 ERA in his past seven starts.

Let’s take a look at the closer’s situations. RHP Brian Wilson led the NL in saves with 48 and had a 1.81 ERA, walked 26 and struck out 93 in 74 2/3 innings. He tends to throw heat away to get batters to chase, but if he starts running it on the black, he’s nearly impossible to hit off of. In the LDS, he threw four scoreless innings and struck out five.

RHP Brad Lidge has been here before, both pitching well and terrible. Since August 1, though, he’s been “Lights Out” Lidge again. He’s thrown 24 2/3 innings, allowed 10 hits, two runs and struck out 25.

Could this series come down to middle-relief? The Giants’ pen was great all season, but stumbled against the Braves. The opposite is true for the Phils – a poor season with a strong LDS. On an aside, Buster Posey is epic. He’s accomplished so much in such little time. Not enough credit goes out to him.

If the Phils beat the Giants, they will become the first NL team to reach the World Series three years in a row since the 1942-44 Cardinals. My biggest fear is that the Giants’ bats fall asleep. The Phillis bats are too consistent, and I think that’s the difference-maker here. The Giants are the masters of one-run wins, but are they capable of holding the Phillies to a mere one-run lead? I don’t think so. My season-long prediction of Phils over Yankees in the World Series looks like it’ll be put to the test.

Pick: Phillies in 7

Although I’m new to B/R, I’ve been making previews and predictions through my website for each of the big-four sports. You can take a look at my playoff prediction accuracy below:

NHL
2007-08: 12-3 (80%)
2008-09: 10-5 (67%)
2009-10: 9-6 (60%)
Total: 31/45 = 69%

NBA
2007-08: 11-4 (73%)
2008-09: 9-6 (60%)
2009-10: 11-4 (73%)
Total: 20/30 = 67%

MLB
2008: 5-2 (71%)
2009: 4-3 (57%)
Total: 9/14 = 64%

NFL
2008-09: 9-2 (82%)
2009-10: 7-4 (64%)
Total: 16/22 = 73%

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I apologize for this post coming out so late, but with a late New York Jets game last night and a busy day at work, I really didn’t have much time to write.

That being said, I thought Game 4 of the Atlanta Braves-San Francisco Giants NLDS was a pretty awesome game.

For that matter, I thought every game in this series was pretty amazing. Four games and each game decided by one run. I take that any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

That is some serious nail-biting time if you are a fan of either of these teams. I don’t have any rooting interest in either of these teams, and I was nervous in all four games.

Unfortunately for the Braves, they came up on the short end of the stick in three of those games. The Giants once again won 3-2 in Game 4 to send them to their first NLCS since 2002 and send Bobby Cox into retirement.

This game was like all the rest in this series: tightly contested, solid pitching by both teams and one or two plays that really decided things.

The Braves had a 1-0 lead going into the top of the sixth, and Derek Lowe was just dealing. I have followed Lowe for 14 years, and for the first five innings I have never seen him as good.

His slider was ridiculous, and he hadn’t allowed a hit in 5.1 innings. That is until Cody Ross came to the plate. Lowe threw a rare flat slider, and Ross sent it into the left field bleachers.

It’s amazing who become heroes in the postseason. One of the main reasons Ross is even on the Giants is because they wanted to keep him away from the San Diego Padres. If the Padres don’t show interest in Ross, then there is a very good chance he never becomes a Giant.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Braves came right back as Brian McCann ripped a HR to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. But just like in Game 3, the Braves couldn’t hold the lead.

The Giants scored two runs in the seventh thanks to a couple of walks, a couple infield singles by Buster Posey and Juan Uribe and another timely hit by Ross.

Of course, the biggest decisions of the game was the decision by Cox to leave Lowe in the game with two on and one out in the sixth. The classic second-guess says that Cox should have pulled Lowe and let Peter Moylan face Pat Burrell.

I believed at the time and still do even knowing the results that Cox was correct in sticking with Lowe. Lowe to that point still only had allowed two hits, the Giants weren’t hitting the ball hard against him and Burrell was 0-for-2 coming into that AB.

People want to compare that situation to the Grady Little and Pedro Martinez situation in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, which is complete nonsense. The two situations were completely different.

The New York Yankees started to knock Martinez around pretty good that inning, and it was clear he was spent. Lowe was still dealing, and the Braves needed a ground ball in that situation, and who better to throw a worm burner than DLowe?

The Giants went into the ninth with a 3-2 lead, and Brian Wilson closed the door. Albeit it wasn’t pretty, he got the job done.

Here are some other observations from Game 4…

Madison Bumgarner was clearly pumped for this game. He averaged 91 mph on his fastball throughout the season but averaged 93 last night.

His adrenaline should have cost him because he was leaving a lot of balls up in the zone early. If the Braves weren’t so inept on offense, it could have hurt him.

Note to Brian Wilson: YOU THROW 97 MPH—STOP NIBBLING!

The Giants seem like this hodgepodge of players, but when you watch them on a day in and day out basis, they really play well as a team.

Classy move by the Giants saluting Cox at the end of the game.

Wilson might have gotten the “save” last night, but the real save should have gone to Santiago Casilla. He struck out two and allowed just one baserunner in 1.2 innings of work. Despite looking like he drank five Red Bulls prior to coming out to the mound, he did a phenomenal job of holding the Braves in check.

The Giants’ starters finished with a 0.93 ERA in this series.

The Giants will now play the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, and Game 1 will be Saturday night in Philadelphia. Roy Halladay vs. Tim Lincecum is must watch TV.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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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

Rumors of Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder being traded to the San Francisco Giants are nothing new. In fact, Fielder to the Giants has been talked about in both Milwaukee and San Francisco for a couple years now. However, the time for talk is over. The Brewers and Giants need to come together this winter and make a deal for the All-Star slugger.

Fielder, who is coming off a down year in which he hit only 32 home runs and drove in 83 runs, is arbitration eligible this winter before hitting the free agency market after the 2011 season. Most insiders feel he will get anywhere between $15-17 million in arbitration this winter. 

The Giants have been searching for a big bat in the middle of their lineup since Barry Bonds’ departure after the 2007 season, and Fielder would more than fill that void. In 2010, Giant hitters had a line of .257/.321/.408. Fielder, even in his down year, had a line of .261/.401/.471. He has a career on-base percentage of .385 and has slugged .535 in his five full seasons in the Majors. 

The long-standing concern for Fielder has been his durability. Critics will always voice their doubts for Fielder’s long-term health given his size, but he has more than proven his value to a club for an entire season. Since becoming the Brewers’ full-time starter at first base in 2006, he has missed a grand total of 13 games. Injuries should be of no more concern for Fielder than they are for any other big-league player. 

In return for the 26-year-old, the Brewers would want some of the Giants deep pitching. GM Doug Melvin tried to stabilize the rotation after the 2009 season by inking Randy Wolf and Doug Davis to free agent deals, but the Brewers still had little improvement over their 2009 performances. Only the Diamondbacks and Pirates finished with a worse team ERA than the Brewers’ 4.59. 

Wolf got off to an awful start, while Davis spent the majority of the season on the DL. Even team ace Yovani Gallardo struggled through a prolonged slump for six weeks in July and August. 

If anything was shown by the Giants in Game 1 of the NLDS last night, it was that Tim Lincecum can put a team on his shoulders and carry them in the Playoffs through the early rounds. However, if the Giants want to take the next step to an elite-level team and compete against a team like the Phillies, they need that big bat in the middle of the lineup. Fielder, even in a down year like 2010, would be a significant upgrade over Aubrey Huff.

What makes now even more of the right time to go after Fielder is the asking price by the Brewers. When rumors of Fielder to the Giants first surfaced in 2008, many thought Matt Cain would be the one heading to Milwaukee. While Melvin would now jump at the chance to get Cain, that ship has long-ago sailed away. 

Speculation earlier this summer had the Giants sending Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, and a prospect to Milwaukee. If that package would still be available, Melvin should personally drive Fielder to San Francisco. He might as well pack up the Golden Gate Bridge as well, since he’d already be robbing the Giants’ organization.

The more likely scenario would now see either Sanchez or Bumgarner be dealt to Milwaukee along with a mid-level prospect. Even if Brewer fans would be unhappy with that return, Melvin should still jump at the offer. Sanchez still has two more years until he reaches free agency, while Bumgarner would be under team control until after the 2015 season. 

Either lefty would fit in quite well to the below average Brewers’ rotation and give the team three quality pitchers to depend upon. Melvin could then go after a free agent this winter, and the Brewers could suddenly have a very good rotation heading into the 2011 season.

GM Brian Sabean and even some Giant fans may be hesitant to take on Fielder’s large waistline and contract, but they shouldn’t be. Even though the organization already has committed contracts in the neighborhood of $77 million for 2011, Fielder could very well be the final piece to a championship puzzle. 

The rotation would still be well above average and teams would be forced to deal with a motivated Fielder going into a contract season. If you are inclined to look at trends, he is also slated to have a big season in 2011. In odd number seasons, Fielder has a career batting average of .293. In 2007, he hit a career-high 50 home runs, and he led the league with 141 RBI in 2009. 

If Sabean or the fan base need any other convincing for taking a chance on Fielder, they need only look at the Giants history in San Francisco. 2011 will mark the 53rd season in the city for the team, and they have yet to win a World Series while on the West Coast. I don’t know of any fan that wouldn’t trade away a quality pitcher in order to have a very good shot at immortality. Of course, knowing Sabean, the obvious isn’t always the logical choice. 

To read more by Jesse Motiff, click here. 

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Last night was the most dominating playoff performance by a Giants starting pitcher possibly ever.

Complete game, two hits, 14 strikeouts.

It was only Lincecum’s second complete game of the season. He also matched a career high in strikeouts. He struggled a bit in the first inning but figured it out after that.

Lincecum seemed to be overly excited and gave up a leadoff double to the Braves’ Omar Infante. The double seemed to settle him down and Timmy was able to pitch his game.

He was in complete control.

The question now remains, how will Matt Cain follow this performance?

If there is a pitcher on the Giants’ staff that has always seemed born for playoff baseball, it is Cain. He has been San Francisco’s most consistent pitcher all season but had his worst outing of the year last Saturday against San Diego.

Cain has a 2-2 career record with a 4.03 ERA against the Braves.

He is usually as stoic as can be on the mound. It doesn’t ever seem like anything bothers him. Tonight will be the night to find out for sure.

The mystique of the playoffs has worn off for the lineup and for at least one pitcher. If Cain commands the strike zone, as he usually does, then it should not be much problem for him.

Seeing Lincecum pitch as he did may ease Cain for his start. But if he begins to struggle and become predictable in his pitch selection, it could be a long night for Cain.

One thing Cain is used to dealing with, playoffs or not, is lack of run support. The Giants had opportunities last night to score runs and were only able to capitalize once.

The case could be made that Infante should have made that play. If he had, they may still be playing right now.

The Giants have an opportunity to take a stranglehold on the series before taking the flight to Atlanta for Games Three and Four (if necessary). Atlanta does not play well on the road but is the best home team in the National League.

Cain is the key. Pitching is the key.

Cain was built for the playoffs. Now, it’s time to prove it.

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With a gem of a shutout by Tim Lincecum, it’s hard to look at game one of the NLDS through anything but rose colored glasses for Giants fans.

The Incredible Hulk (Lincecum) pitched a two hitter, struck out 14, broke a Giants postseason record for Ks in a game, and tied a major league record for most Ks in a postseason debut.

But as great as Lincecum was, Lady Luck was even greater because Atlanta Braves starter Derek Lowe was also dealing.

Buster Posey led off the 4th inning with a single.Then, Pat Burrell swung and missed for strike three on a hit and run.

Posey slid into second base and tried to dodge the tag of 2B Brooks Conrad. Posey joked after the game, “I’m glad we don’t have instant replay.”

It was his first stolen base at the Major League level. And probably his last.

After Uribe struck out, Braves Manager Bobby Cox intentionally walked Pablo Sandoval so Derek Lowe could square off against Cody Ross.

Lowe would try to dance around Ross with Lincecum on deck and an open base.

But Lowe made a mistake and threw a 2-0 pitch too close to the plate.Ross smashed it to the left of third baseman Omar Infante.

Lady luck took over as Infante misplayed the ball.

Even though it was scored a single, anyone watching the game could see it was a misplay and should have been ruled an error.

So the Giants tripled up on luck in the inning to score the only run of the game: Posey’s stolen base, Lowe’s mistake, Infante’s error and Cox’s gamble in not intentionally walking Ross.

You may recall the reverse happened to the Giants earlier in the year versus Colorado when Bochy let Lincecum nibble at Clint Barmes.

Barmes got a hit and Colorado won the game, so maybe the Giants were owed one.

In any event, this game was decided in the tiniest details.

Most of the Giants postseason games probably will be.

Which makes the other managerial blunder so hard to take.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Posey led off with a double and got to third on a fielding error.

After Burrell struck out, Juan Uribe walked to give the Giants runners on first and third with one out.

This was the nail in the coffin moment. If the Giants put another run or two on the board, that was it.

Cox knew it, so decided to turn Pablo Sandoval around by making a pitching change to lefty Jonny Venters.

It was Bochy’s turn to return serve.

He could have pinch hit Aaron Rowand or Edgar Renteria, and in case Cox fired back he had lefties Fontenot, Ishikawa, and Schierholtz ready as well.

But with several options, he just let Cox’s serve go right by him.

Giants fans all knew what the most probable outcome was: Pablo Sandoval would ground into a double play. It would probably be a first pitch swing, and out of the strike zone.

It doesn’t take any statistical analysis or a PhD in probability theory to know it was a terrible, terrible move by Bochy.

It was like torturous slow motion as the exact thought in the back of every Giants fan manifested itself on the field.

So on a night that might inspire cautious optimism, it’s important to remember reality.

Thank Lady Luck and hope the Braves keep playing bad defense.

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Speed kills.

Ask the Yankees circa 2004 when a stolen base by Dave Roberts in the bottom of the ninth kept the Red Sox—down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series and 4-3 in Game 4—alive and propelled them forward to the greatest comeback in baseball history.

Or maybe you could just look at the 1982 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers.

That season the Brewers lead all teams with 216 home runs, 30 more than next closest team. Last in the league that season were the Brewers’ World Series opponents, who hit just 67 home runs, 149 fewer home runs than the Brewers!

However, the Cardinals did steal 200 bases that season, second in the league to the Rickey Henderson-led Oakland Athletics and 35 more than the team with the third-most stolen bases.

In the seven game World Series between the two teams, the Cardinals stole seven bases compared to the Brewers one on their way to a World Series title.

With the importance of speed writ large in the history of Major League Baseball’s playoffs, let’s take a look at the 10 fastest players in this year’s postseason.

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