One down, three to go...

As if there was any doubt, the Giants once again pulled out a close game. And once again, Cody Ross and Tim Lincecum showed up in a HUGE way.

You know I don't write recaps, I write observations and analyze the hell out of stuff. You all watched the game anyway. So here goes:

-- Lincecum looked a little out of sorts early and didn't have the command he showed in his shutout 14K performance against Atlanta. Much of this can probably be attributed to a blister problem on his pitching hand. Despite Giants management downplaying the issue, it was obviously bothering him.

As solidly as Roy Halladay pitched, Lincecum was better. Most impressive about that is that he basically did this with two pitches behind his back. His curve and slider were not there, so he was basically going at the most fearsome lineup in the NL with a fastball and changeup...

-- I couldn't believe Bochy trotted Lincey out there to pitch the 7th inning after he was "leaking oil" (Krukowism) in the 6th. Again, the guy proves everyone wrong by perhaps establishing his best rhythm of the entire game, going 1-2-3, and even mixing in a couple soft-breaking sliders. To me, that is the epitome of guts and "leaving it all out on the field". Throwing sliders hurt his finger, he was over 100 pitches, he had 45,000 sleazebags whistling at him, and he pulled out that 7th inning like a stud.

The guy never ceases to amaze and surprise me.

-- If you didn't get the whole whistling at Lincecum thing, Philly fans were catcalling at Lincecum due to his magnificent, lustrous hair. It was if they were drunken, union construction workers sexually harassing an attractive woman walking by during their 2 hour lunch break.

Obviously Phillie fans have a thing for guys with long hair. Haha.

-- Tim Lincecum on the whistles from Phillies fans: "I was thinkin I must have a really nice butt, because I sure heard a lot of em."

-- Cody Ross was an absolute gem of a pickup (as if we didn't already know that). It is truly remarkable how a guy Sabean picked up simply to prevent the Padres from improving has now carried the offense through the NLDS and now onto the NLCS.

He was meant to be a 4th outfielder, a free pickup meant to replace Jose Guillen in the 6th inning as a defensive replacement. Now look at him. Ripping the Braves, killing the Phils.

-- Cody Ross became the first 8th place hitter to hit two dongs from the 8th spot in the playoffs since Chad Curtis did it in 1999.

-- Ross joins Garrett Anderson, Marlon Anderson, Luke Scott, and Corey Hart as the only guys to ever hit two dongs off of Halladay in the same game... regular season or playoffs. (Thanks to Cam Inman for that one)

-- Yes. It's true. Cody Ross, "The Pride of New Mexico" wanted to be a rodeo clown as a kid.

-- The Giants once again failed to bring home a runner from 3rd base with less than 2 outs. Not only that, but Andres Torres struck out in Panda-like fashion against the erratic Brad Lidge.

-- Speaking of Torres. He got one to fall, but the man ain't right. I don't know if he's tired, his appendectomy is bothering him, or if he's just too nervous. Perhaps the playoffs are really meshing with his ADHD to create a perfect storm of ineffectiveness. Regardless, I am worried about him.

-- Andres Torres is now 5-21 in the postseason, with 1 stolen base, 0 runs, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. He's been a catalyst all season. This is killing our mojo. Thank God for Cody Ross.

-- Javier Lopez is an absolute monster to lefties. He made Ryan Howard look like an medicated old schoolmarm. This particular deal by Sabean, perhaps the least heralded, ranks just behind Burrell and Ross in importance to the team.

Since Lopez's arrival to San Francisco for Joe Martinez and John Bowker, he has thrown 19.2 innings of 1.40 ERA ball, with a 19 K's and an opposing batting average below .160

-- There are a lot of horrendous home plate umpires out there, namely Crawford, Bucknor, and West, but Darryl Cousins is up there with the worst of the worst.

It's as if the man has zero peripheral vision, cannot bend his neck to look down, and believes all strikes are around the letters. There were no corners or strikes around the knees and he was just plain all over the place. He was screwing both sides all night, and guys like him should not be affecting playoff games. There simply needs to be more accountability for lousy home plate umpires.

-- Raul Ibanez is a liability for the Phils in LF. He's like a statue out there missed a catchable ball by Burrell to "blow the game open"

-- Nice to see Juan Uribe finally get a clutch hit and drive in a run

-- Check out this video of a Phillies fan puking onto the field during a Freddy Sanchez foul ball. At least he didn't puke on an off-duty cop and his children like the last time.


Perhaps nearly as epic as Ashkon's "Don't Stop Believin'" Giants remix, is Frankie Boots's "Lincecum, F Yeah"... set to the tune of Team America's "America, F Yeah"

Probably not safe for work... Good thing it's the weekend.



-- If you were complaining about Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly, well, you're still complaining about the announcing.

My quote is "Joe Buck and Tim McCarver: Ruining baseball since 1996".

Buck sounds like a depressed, blase, out of work actor with a trust fund and McCarver sounds like a senile old drunk. Fox is the worst. It wouldn't be so bad, but the KNBR feed is even further off live TV for Fox than it was for TBS. I'm talking 12 or 13 seconds ahead. I find myself only watching the TV for replays. It's truly unbelievable that in today's society with all this technology, we have to deal with this kind of mind-numbing and frustrating commentary. I swear to God I would do a better job sitting at home in my underwear doing play by play with my dog Rosie as the color commentator.

Does anyone have a way of "DVR'ing" the radio to slow it down??

Looking forward to game 2 and Oswalt versus Sanchez:

-- Oswalt has a career 3.61 ERA against the Giants. Interesting that in teams in which Roy has 15 or more starts starts against, he has surrenders the second highest ERA against San Francisco.

Oswalt Career ERA (15+ starts)

CHC, 3.82
SF, 3.61
MIL, 3.59
STL, 3.19
WAS, 3.10
PIT, 2.54
CIN, 2.81

In 2010, Oswalt is 1-3 in 4 starts against the Giants, and he has a 3.33 ERA. His last start, a win, came as a member of the Phillies. Also of note is that King Roy has a 1.76 ERA at Citizen's Bank Park in 2010.

As for Jonathan Sanchez, his road ERA is noticeably lower than his home ERA (2.86/3.26).

In addition to that, Sanchez is 2-0 against Philadelphia in 2010 with an incredible 1.38 ERA (2 ER in 13 IP) and a .114 BAA.

Looks like a great matchup to me!

And BTW, I predicted on Facebook/Twitter before the game that the Giants would win Game 1 3-1, beat Oswalt in Game 2, and lose to Hamels in Game 3. Giants in 6. Proof below.