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San Francisco Giants have been one of the hottest teams in all of Major League baseball since the start of September. After a rough August that saw them play unimpressive baseball to the tune of a .464 winning percentage for the month, they have bounced back to be one of the best teams in baseball.

Players like Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Buster Posey, Aubrey Huff, and Juan Uribe have all been key parts of this resurgence. 

September was a great month for the Giants, as they went 18-8 while taking control of the NL West. There are a number of factors that contributed to their September success, and these factors will carry them all the way to a World Series title this fall. 

First and foremost is their starting pitching. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez all sport sub-four ERAs and all have the ability to shut down any team on any given night.

In a short series, these three pitchers would scare a team of any quality, even the teams in the AL with prodigious offenses like the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Lincecum went 5-1 with a 1.94 ERA in September after a dismal August in which he won zero games. He has figured out mechanically what was wrong and is now back to being the dominant ace that won two Cy Young Awards before the age of 26.

He is the perfect top-of-the-line starting pitcher that any World Series winner needs anchoring their staff.

And when Lincecum comes out after eight innings, they have one of the most powerful closers in all of baseball to hand the ball to. His electrifying fastball has made Brian Wilson one of the best closers in baseball this year. He has converted 47 saves while posting a 1.83 ERA.

Being able to turn playoff games into eight-inning contests can make or break a postseason; the Yankees and Mariano Rivera can attest to that. 

Aside from great pitching, the San Francisco Giants have the veteran leadership needed to win a title. Players like Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, Aaron Rowand, and Edgar Renteria have all played in World Series games and can let the younger players know what to expect in the Fall Classic. 

The veterans are not just there because of their experience either. These guys can really hit. Aubrey Huff, another veteran player, has experienced a rebirth in San Francisco, putting up numbers that are carrying the offense.

Though he wasn’t the first option for the Giants when looking to sign free agents this offseason, he has been a revelation at the plate. Huff leads the Giants in every major offensive category while playing great defense at first base, committing only three errors there all season.

Finally, it would be impossible to say that the Giants are going to win the World Series without mentioning Buster Posey.

Perhaps the most talented young player in the game today, all Posey has done since being called up in late May is put up a line of .313/17/66 with an OBP of .365. He has accomplished all of this while playing catcher, one of the most demanding positions in the field.

With Posey behind the plate and in the middle of this Giants lineup, they will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. 

Expect the San Francisco Giants to put all of these components together to capture the 2010 World Series title. 

Mike Osterberg is a student at Penn State University and a writing intern at BleacherReport.com. Follow him on twitter @Mike_Osterberg.

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A solid ace is the most important part of any postseason rotation. In 2001, the Mariners were clearly the most talented team in the league, having won a record 116 games.

But they ran into the Yankees’ Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina and lost in a mere five games. Whatever team’s pitching proves most consistent will be the team that wins the World Series.

While the Padres are still mathematically in the race, their loss tonight has given them a nearly impossible task…and for that reason, their pitching has been left off this list.

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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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Don’t ask. It’s a bad idea.

The only reason the suggestion even need be entertained is because it’s already been put forward. People who over-analyze everything and think they know which of the final six games of the season will be most important are calling for the Giants to pull Barry Zito from the starting rotation and get Tim Lincecum two starts this week.

Some folks want manager Bruce Bochy to start the final week of the season by virtually announcing that Sunday’s regular season finale against the Padres will be for all of the playoff marbles—thus, he absolutely needs Lincecum to pitch it.

Thank heavens panic-driven keyboard jockeys or armchair pitching coaches aren’t calling the shots for San Francisco.

The Giants shouldn’t alter their starting rotation in the final week of the season in order to get Lincecum two starts, including one on Sunday.

Monday’s off day gives the Giants the opportunity to rejigger the rotation to pitch Lincecum on regular rest Wednesday against the Diamondbacks, then again on Sunday against the Padres to end the season. It also allows them to keep Zito from starting even one of the regular season’s final six games.

The Giants have a young pitching staff that has bounced back from a horrible August. Fans insisting that Lincecum pitch Wednesday so that he can pitch again on short rest Sunday are assuming they know that the NL West race will come down to the last day of the regular season. They’re also forgetting how poorly an apparently worn-out Lincecum pitched in August.

Lincecum’s on track and he’s pitching as well as he ever has. So, fans who believe that a sure-thing exists in the final week of the season are better off agreeing that Lincecum should pitch Wednesday against the Diamondbacks when his regular spot in the rotation comes around.

There are no sure things in the National League playoff race, obviously, but one can reasonably expect a strong outing by Lincecum against Arizona on Wednesday.

Mess around with the rotation to get Lincecum an extra start and suddenly the Giants are taking a starting rotation that has carried them to first place with six games left and turning it into a panic-induced hodge podge.

Jonathan Sanchez starts on Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, followed by Madison Bumgarner on Wednesday. Lincecum is due to start on Thursday. That leaves Matt Cain to open the San Diego series, followed by Zito on Saturday and Sanchez on Sunday.

The case can be made for keeping Zito out of the rotation, sure. But, that would be to overlook that the veteran left-hander has come within one out of three quality starts in his last four outings.

Quality starts? Zito? Three in his last four games?

Yep. A quality start only requires that a starter pitch six innings and give up three runs or fewer.

Zito got hit around in Saturday’s loss to Colorado—that turned out to be a game the Giants should’ve won long after he was gone. Before that, though, Zito gave up two runs in six innings against the Brewers and just one unearned run in 5 2/3 in a 1-0 loss to the Dodgers. The lefty gave up two runs in six innings in a 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on Sept. 8. In fact, Zito struck out seven and walked just three versus Arizona.

Take a deep breath and admit that the Giants should’ve won Zito’s start against the Rockies. And, really, could’ve won with two measly runs when he faced the Dodgers. Wins in those games and, all of a sudden, nobody’s talking about re-working the rotation right now.

No one really wants the Giants’ playoff fate to come down to Lincecum pitching on three days rest on Sunday. At least, no one in their right mind wants it to come to that. The fear that Zito will pitch poorly on Wednesday and that Sanchez will wind up pitching with a playoff spot on the line Sunday is what drives the notion to move Lincecum up one game to start on Thursday.

Oh, fans are also hoping Bochy is planning to manage for seven shutout innings from just four starters in every game this week.

Insane.

The guy’s a big league manager and he’s going to manage under the assumption that the Giants will score runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday—enough, at least, that three well-pitched games will enable the club to sweep Arizona and keep the pressure on San Diego.

Then, Bochy will count on his team getting another strong performance from Cain against the Padres on Friday, followed by the club scoring enough runs Saturday and Sunday so that solid outings by Zito and Sanchez will vault the Giants into the playoffs. (It’ll be all hands on deck Sunday if the playoff spot is on the line, so Sanchez will have every starter waiting to work if he or the bullpen needs help.)

It wasn’t that long ago that some of the folks calling for Lincecum to pitch twice this week, once on three days rest, were saying he was done. Finished. Kaput.

They were even suggesting he rework his offseason conditioning program because, after that horrid August, it was clear that the two-time Cy Young winner needs to be stronger to pitch better down the stretch.

Now, those same people want Lincecum to pitch Wednesday, just so he can hump up and trot out again on Sunday in what they seem oddly certain will be a must-win game against San Diego?

When a pitcher is pitching as well as Lincecum is, the last thing he needs is to have his schedule changed. Can he pitch on regular rest Wednesday and, in theory, pitch well on short rest Sunday? Yeah, sure.

Can Bochy be certain that Lincecum won’t pitch eight shutout innings and lose 1-0 when the bullpen yields an unearned run on Wednesday? No. If that were to happen and the Padres were to win on Wednesday, it would only increase the chances that the Giants entire season will rest on what happens on Sunday.

Big league managers in Bochy‘s position plan to make the next game a must-win affair. There’s no more important game on the schedule than Tuesday’s against Arizona. 

It’s foolish to think that the Giants can plan to earn a playoff spot by getting optimum performances from Sanchez, Bumgarner, Lincecum, and Cain in the final six games of the seasons. They might get six great starts from those four…or they might need six runs to even stay in the game on Thursday or Friday.

Build the rotation solely to get to a one-game season with Lincecum on three days rest on Sunday and the Giants are begging to find their season rest on the shoulders of Ramon Ramirez, Dan Runzler, or Santiago Casilla…on the season’s final day.

Do the Giants want Zito and, at some point, the bullpen on Wednesday against the Diamondbacks?

Or, do they want to risk the chance that the Giants’ fate will be determined on the last day of the season and rely on Lincecum, on short rest, and the bullpen against the Padres?

The five guys in the starting rotation have gotten this team to the brink of a playoff spot. Bochy‘s done a pretty nice job ignoring the media and fans who keep insisting he’s a bonehead who just happens to have his club in first place.

Bochy should expect the Padres to open play Tuesday tied with his club for the NL West lead. Then, he should manage to win on Tuesday and Wednesday—while, maybe, the Padres are losing two straight. That would put the Giants up by two games with four to play.

There’s as much chance that the Giants, or Padres, will enter the final series three games behind with three games to play as there is that the season will come down to Sunday, right?

Thursday’s game against Arizona is a thousand miles away. Only someone who doesn’t pay close attention to how the unexpected is the norm in a baseball playoff race can even see Sunday from here.

Stay with the rotation that’s gotten the Giants to this point—and count on the offense and the bullpen that’s done enough to put the Giants on the brink of a playoff spot.

Ted Sillanpaa is a Northern California sports writer and columnist. Reach Ted at tsillanpaa1956@gmail.com.

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Major League Baseball’s regular season is about to end, and the postseason is about to begin. BetPhoenix has the latest odds for the MLB playoffs, and the odds of each team to win the World Series. Once the playoffs begin, any team can make a run for the World Championship.

Here is a look at the teams in the National League, and their chances to win a World Series.

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The saying goes good pitching beats good hitting. It’s actually more than a saying. It’s a reality. If you have a dominant pitcher on his game, there is not a hitter on the planet that can hit him.

Painting the black. Hitting your spots. Changing speeds.

It is something the Giants pitching staff has done very well for the past 18 games. They have not allowed more than three runs in a game since September 4.

No pitching staff in the modern age has put together a better stretch. In fact only two other teams since 1900 have put together such a stretch, the 1916 New York Giants (19) and the 1917 Chicago White Sox (20).

This means every man from the ace of the staff to the last bullpen guy is getting the job done. Every last pitcher is hitting on all cylinders.

In September, the Giants have a team ERA of 1.44 with a WHIP of 0.82. The starting staff has a combined ERA of 1.85, and the bullpen has given up two runs in 51 innings. That comes out to a 0.35 ERA.

With all of this recent September success, a question remains: Can this continue into the postseason? Can the Giants pitching staff ride this momentum into October and make an impact?

October baseball has always been about strong pitching and clutch hitting. Let’s focus on the pitching.

The type of guys that usually flourish in the postseason are hard-throwing control pitchers. It so happens the Giants have those. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Jonathan Sanchez provide that in the rotation.

All these guys can get the strikeout if needed and have proven so. Sanchez and Lincecum will have over 200 strikeouts this season. Cain is currently at 165, but as Giants fans have seen, when he needs one, he can get one.

Santiago Casilla, Dan Runzler, and Brian Wilson provide that out of the bullpen. Hard to argue with guys who throw in the mid-to-high 90s.

In fact, if you were to go back through the Giants’ history and look at past pitching staffs, this could be the best pitching staff the San Francisco Giants have ever had.

Are there individual exceptions? Yes, but there has not been an entire staff that has dealt in the team’s history.

Think about any of the pitching staffs of the 90s and early 2000s…pitching wasn’t that trustworthy.

Think back to the 1989 team. Why did they lose the World Series to the Athletics?

Oh, right. Steroids…I mean lack of pitching.

From beginning to end, it is tough to find a weakness in the pitching staff. In the playoffs, though, it is about matchups.

If the playoffs were to start today, San Francisco would be hosting the Cincinnati Reds.

Playoff experience will be a wash in the series. The Reds have not been to the playoffs since the 1990s, and the Giants not since 2003.

There are key guys who have been there before (i.e. Scott Rolen, Barry Zito, Juan Uribe) but the teams as a whole will be in for a new experience.

The Giants are 4-3 against the Reds this season. They split their first series in Cincinnati and took two out of three in San Francisco.

The series in San Francisco was the worst the pitching staff had looked all season. It was the middle of August and the starting pitching was falling apart. Lincecum could not buy a win. Zito looked like the 2007 version of himself. Hitting off Madison Bumgarner was like hitting off of a tee.

But there was one guy who the Reds could not figure out. That person was Cain. In his two starts, he allowed two runs in 17 innings (two wins).

Tim Lincecum did not face the Reds this season.

In a short series, the Giants arms could neutralize the Reds bats. The difference could be the type of player Joey Votto turns into come October.

Cain might be the person you start twice in this series (if necessary). Recent success should have much to do with that decision.

A four-man rotation seems to make the most sense at this point. Roll with Lincecum, Sanchez, Cain, Zito. They have varying styles and having lefties in the rotation for teams like Philadelphia and Cincinnati is always helpful.

If the Giants pitching can keep up the torrid pace, they will be a team no offense will want to face.

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Everyone knew the San Francisco Giants’ starting pitching would be the team’s strength heading into the 2010 season.

However, even those lofty expectations didn’t prepare the Major League Baseball world for what would unfold in the month of April—the starters came out firing bullets.

Extremely accurate and effective bullets.

Tim Lincecum roared from the gates (1.27 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 43:7 K:BB) and three of the other four starters were right on his heels.

Barry Zito (1.53 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 24:11 K:BB), Jonathan Sanchez (1.85 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 33:13 K:BB), and Matt Cain (3.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 16:4 K:BB) did their best freakish imitations.

However, the lads cooled considerably when the calendar began turning pages as Lincecum embarked on a Cy-Young-self-seeking journey that lasted several months and “Baked Zito” regressed badly.

That and the presence of the original (and underwhelming) fifth starter, Todd Wellemeyer, killed any historical talk regarding the Gents’ rotation.

Of course, things have changed.

Rookie-phenom Madison Bumgarner grabbed the No. 5 slot in late June, and the 21-year-old hasn’t shown even a slight hint of relinquishing it.

In fact, you could make a strong argument that the grizzled veteran, Zito, is the weakest link at this point.

When a 32-year-old former Cy Young could be the worst option in a rotation, it’s time to think about attaching “all-time” to any flattering description.

But, first, let’s take a closer look at the suspects:

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By the time the San Francisco Giants take the field in Colorado Friday night, there will be nine regular season games left.

I’m not sure there is anything regular about them. In these remaining games, the Giants will face the Colorado Rockies who are very much in the hunt AND the division leading San Diego Padres.

Through today (9/23), the Rockies are 3.0 games out of first place, and dropping three in a row to Los Angeles and Arizona.

The Giants and Rockies clash for three games over the weekend. If you are starting to see a trend here, you nailed it.

When you consider the importance of the final three games against the Padres next weekend, do not under appreciate what is about to happen in Colorado.

A sweep by the Rockies this weekend will leave the Giants all but out of the playoffs for certain.

San Francisco must win this series if they want to keep San Diego in their cross-hairs for next weekend.

In order for that to happen, there are five things the Giants must do….

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Starting in Feburary, when spring training begins, MLB experts and fans begin their preseason predictions by selecting Division, MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year winners.

But there are many twists and turns during an MLB season.

Most of the time these predictions go sour (unless you’re me who correctly predicted all four AL playoff teams and at least two NL playoff teams—once in a while a person gets lucky with these things). 

With just over a week remaining in the season, here are five storylines MLB experts and fans didn’t see coming.

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