Kuzul

In Baseball Between the Numbers: Why Everything You Know About the Game is Wrong, Nate Silver and Dayn Perry tackled a question that had mystified fans and analysts for more than a century: What are the most important qualities for a team to have in the playoffs?

Through the magic of statistics, Silver and Perry found that only three aspects of the game had any correlation with teams doing well once they got to the postseason. The results: Good defense, a lights-out closer, and a pitching staff’s strikeout rate.

After re-reading their essay last week, I started to wonder how this year’s best teams stacked up in terms of these core qualities. So I did a bit of research and found some interesting results.

I ranked each of the eight playoff teams in all three categories, using FanGraphs’ ultimate zone rating for fielding and Baseball Prospectus’ win expectation above replacement to measure closers. Then I took each team’s average rankings and sorted them that way. 

The results are by no means conclusive—I certainly don’t advocate using this list as the end-all be-all—but it’s interesting to see what the math has to say instead of just waiting to hear Joe Morgan’s idiotic rant du jour.

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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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After 6 long years, the Giants have finally made the playoffs. However, it took 162 games, 5 new starting position players, 3 new bullpen pitchers, a new starting pitcher, an appendectomy, several manly beards, and a lot of torture. Everyone should now take a moment to take a deep breath. Breath in ———- and exhale. Feel better? Good, we have work to do.

It would be a pity for the Giants and the fans alike to put in that much effort to just sit back and rest on our laurels. The journey is not over, that’s the best part of the postseason. Lined up for the Giants in the NLDS are the Atlanta Braves, similarly winning their last game to sneak into the playoffs.

Giants fans and players alike haven’t waited this long to simply fold in the NLDS. In order to make sure the Giants will play for a pennant, they will have the make sure that these 5 different assertions are made to achieve victory.

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The Oakland Athletics have a history of talented and interesting players.

The club was born in Philadelphia in 1901, left for Kansas City in 1955, and finally settled in Oakland in 1968. They are the proud owners of nine world series titles, trailing only the Saint Louis Cardinals (10) and the New York Yankees (27).

37 Athletics are enshrined in the baseball hall of fame and there are certainly more to come.

My criteria for this list includes: statistics, defense, aura, and longevity with the team.

There’s no scientific formula here, but be assured, I conducted thorough research.

I’ll only take into account players statistics when they were on the A’s, dismissing contributions they made with other teams. The numbers listed will reflect this.

I will also include non-players (managers, announcers, etc.) that had a significant impact on the organization.

Without further ado, here are the Top 25 Oakland Athletics.

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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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The Giants have a magic number of one.

The only way the Giants do not win the division is for the struggling Padres to win four in a row against San Francisco.

What I am trying to say is that it’s over.

For those who have commented on my articles, I will say it: I was wrong. But I did say the Giants would win the division at the beginning of the season.

Since that’s out of the way, we can move on to what we all want to know. Who should be on the Giants 2010 postseason roster?

Any player added to the roster by September 1 is eligible for the postseason, and it is only a 25-man roster. Teams can also change rosters between series. This roster is only for the National League Division Series.

The easy choices are the following:

SP: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, Barry Zito

RP: Brian Wilson, Sergio Romo, Jeremy Affedlt, Javier Lopez, Santiago Casilla

INF: Buster Posey, Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval, Juan Uribe, Mike Fontenot

OF: Pat Burrell, Andres Torres, Jose Guillen

That is 19 guys. With six spots remaining, we have to take a closer look at who they have and who should be in.

There are 10 pitchers on that roster. Who else should be added to that staff?

Ramon Ramirez? Dan Runzler? Chris Ray? Maybe Guillermo Mota?

This is a team that has struggled more to score runs and may not carry as many pitchers to let more hitters on board.

San Francisco will probably go to a four-man rotation, meaning one of the lefties in the rotation will go to the bullpen. That would give the Giants three lefties in the pen.

Probably enough.

Ramirez maybe the only addition to the roster from the staff.

Now the hitters/defenders. The candidates are Cody Ross, Nate Schierholtz, Travis Ishikawa, Aaron Rowand, Edgar Renteria, and Eli Whiteside.

Whiteside is in because they need a backup catcher.

Ross and Schierholtz have come up huge in clutch situations and are the defensive replacements in the outfield. Ishikawa has been the Giants’ best pinch hitter all season and could provide some very good defense at first base.

One spot remaining. Pitcher or hitter?

For my last roster spot, I go back to the 2004 Boston Red Sox.

In game four of the ALCS, Dave Roberts stole second base late in that game and went on to comeback and win the game and the series.

Speed kills.

With that statement, I give my last roster spot goes to Darren Ford. He never has to pick up a bat. He doesn’t ever have to play defense.

All he would have to do is run the bases and wreak havoc on opposing pitchers and catchers.

As I am writing this, FP Santangelo named his 25-man roster and the only difference is Ford for Eugenio Velez.

I’m glad to hear I am not the only one to think this is the roster that should play in the NLDS.

One step at a time and the final step is to win Friday night. But after Friday night, this is what matters.

The best 25 men for the job.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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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It is almost a daily topic now. Which Giants offense will show up?

The pitching has held up its end of the bargain and is pitching like a playoff team should. Not so much for the offense.

San Francisco has not allowed more than three runs in 16 straight games. This is tied for the fifth longest streak since 1900. They have thrown four shutouts during the streak.

The last team to have at least 16 were the 1981 Oakland Athletics. An impressive feat no matter what era you live in.

The problem is the Giants have not taken full advantage of it.

San Francisco is 10-6 in those 16 games, and it has scored more than three runs five times (5-0). This means, if you do some quick math, its record in all those other games is 5-6.

The Giants have scored three or fewer runs in 11 of the 16 games and have been shut out four times.

Could this be a random chain of events where the Giants are meeting each pitcher at their best? It is a possibility but not very likely.

The four shutouts were thrown by Tim Stauffer (replacement starter), Randy Wolf (4.24 ERA), Clayton Kershaw (first career complete game and shutout), and Randy Wells (4.28 ERA).

The offense has scored 58 runs during the month of September. That is good enough for 3.05 runs per game. But if you take away the two games where they scored 10 and nine runs, that leaves you with 2.29 runs per game.

The Giants are hitting .215 as a team for the month and have shown little sign of consistency.

This team’s offense has become feast or famine. The latter has been winning more often than not.

Are they still in the race? Yes. Could the offense get better? I suppose. Bottom line, are they winning? Yes.

The pitching staff is on an historic pace but they cannot continue this torrid pace up. The Giants should not have to rely on the pitching to allow two or fewer runs to win.

Huff and company better show up or they will be on vacation come October.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Giants’ season-long chase after the San Diego Padres has finally paid off. San Francisco is half a game back of the Padres.

Getting here has been a lengthy and remarkable pursuit marked by the resilience and dedication of the boys in orange and black.

And it isn’t over. Much will depend on how the Giants play their last remaining games.

And yet there are some things beyond the Giants control that may happen to hamper their run at NL West Pennant.

Let’s take a look at 10 key things to watch for down the stretch for the Giants.

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The San Francisco Giants did three significant things during their humongous four-game series against the San Diego Padres. Call it a pleasant coincidence that the team also won three of the weekend contests.

By taking three of four in Petco Park, the good guys exorcised some serious demons in a personal house of horrors. Since the start of the 2009 campaign, the Giants had only won three of the last 14 contests played in the Friars’ home. You have to imagine the lads enjoyed doubling a two-year win total in four days.

More importantly, the trio of triumphs moved the Orange and Black into a virtual tie with the Fathers atop the National League West—one up in the win column, one back in the loss column, and only percentage points behind the technical front-runners.

Finally and most importantly, San Francisco showed that it was strapped in for the 2010 stretch and ready to make a hard charge at the playoffs. By pennant or by Wild Card, SF seems intent on reaching Major League Baseball’s second season.

And that development has to disturb the other contenders from the Senior Circuit.

Though we’re not yet sure who will be vying for the NL’s ticket to the World Series, any team hoping to be one of those fortunate four can’t be relishing the prospect of a date with the City’s nine.

Here are the top 10 reasons nobody wants to see the San Francisco Giants in the postseason.

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