A dynasty is born, just like we all predicted

Ha. What a lie. No one saw this coming. Well except for me, kinda.

I think once the ball got rolling during the NLDS though, we were all convinced that the Giants would take these playoffs and make them their bitch.

It's been the story all three times-- unfolding differently, yet the same. They just get rolling, the pitching shows up when it needs to, and the rest is history.

Of our three World Championships though, this one was the least expected, and the closest contested. Sure 2012 required multiple massive comebacks in the NLDS vs. Cincinnati and the NLCS vs. St. Louis, but the World Series was a 4-0 breeze against Detroit.

There were no such breezes in 2014. In fact, it was nothing but a strong and steady headwind.

The way in which this team ground out series wins one after the other, how they won big games on the road, and how they bounced back after tough losses was nothing short of incredible.

The way this mix of young and experienced players gelled together and turned this into another winner was unexpected, and a joy to watch.

Between Bruce Bochy's steady hand, Panda's consistency, and all the clutch plays-- Ishi's NLCS Walkoff, Panik's insane double play, Morse's unexpected contributions... it's just hard to put it all into words. But hey, that's October for ya.

This cute Colorado isn't worthy of Madbum.

And is there anything else you can say about Madison Bumgarner that hasn't been said already? He is a monster among men, a pillar of strength, and the type of dedicated, broad-shouldered, fearless man on which this country was built and why it has prospered.

High enough praise for him? Probably not.

Just like his World Series MVP present, the mid-sized Chevy Colorado. It could never be enough.

This is a metaphor for Bumgarner. Ford or Ram work too.

Get that man a Silverado 3500 dually 4x4 with the Duramax Diesel. Madison Bumgarner ain't no sissy gas engine. He's a big ol' American diesel capable of pulling 20,000+ pounds of steer. He has the torque and dependability to pull an entire organization and city with him. Without his brute force and excellence, this team would've been stuck on the side of the road in Pittsburgh.

If Bum is the truck, Bochy's driving, Pence is the fuel, Panda is the dual heavy duty batteries, and Buster is the tires. The rest of the players make up various parts, and Hunter Strickland is in the trailer passed out drunk and being carried along as dead weight. But enough of all that nonsense.

We'll all remember each World Series title for different things. For obvious reasons, nothing will top the feeling we got for the 2010 title. The delirium and euphoria of the first time could never be replicated. 2012 was the one we all got to enjoy, the icing on the cake. 2014 will forever be etched as the title that clinched the Dynasty-- the Madison Bumgarner World Series; the "House Money" run that no one expected. It is as unique and beautiful as the other two.

I can say that no matter what happens for the rest of my life as a Giants fan, that my life was made-- THREE TIMES-- and no one can ever take that away. Even if they never sniff another title as long as I live, I'm satisfied.

But I'll always want more. Let's do it again.

Giants clearly being targeted

Things are tense around baseball these days, no?

You've got Manny Machado being a dick against the A's multiple times, the Red Sox and Rays having an "unwritten rule" pissing contest, and now, twice in a few games, two different teams have intentionally drilled two of the Giants' best hitters.

Things are different than they used to be, that's for sure.

In the old days.. like 10 years ago... you used to be able to hit their guy after they hit yours. Then both sides would get a warning, and that would be that. Now a guy could be tossed immediately for an HBP without obvious intent (Bud Norris) or inexplicably allowed to stay in the game after an obvious beanball (David Price). You never know how umpires will deal with things these days.

What should've happened on Sunday after Wheeler hit Pence for no reason, is we hit one of their guys. On Monday, some no-name nutsac Washington reliever hits Morse for no reason. We should've hit Werth or LaRoche, or whomever. That's the way this should work.

And FYI, I'm not tossing around hitting someone with a 90+ mph fastball lightly. The fact remains that they did it first, this isn't tiddlywinks or some sissy 12 year-olds' soccer league in Mill Valley. This is the big leagues.

If they want to take umbrage at being disciplined within the diamond and want to throw hands, let hands be thrown, and you sort it out later. Baseball is a man's game, and if you allow people to take an inch without consequence, they'll take a mile, and you'll still have bruised ribs.

Unfortunately, you never know how self-policing in baseball will go these days.

Now you've got veteran umpires parading around creating umpshows and young umpires trying to assert control by wildly tossing around warnings and ejecting everyone in sight for protecting teammates.

The Giants have never been much on brawling or retaliation, but they have also not been a team that instigates things. I honestly can't name any events off the top of my head when we've had a pitcher purposefully hit someone out of the blue. I also can't name too many egregious in-game celebrations, dickhead Puigesque bat flips, or violations of unwritten rules.

To me, the Giants play the game the right way, and have so for years. I'm biased yes, but we're the good guys.

In fact, we're very good. 20 games over .500 good.

And that my friends, is why there's a giant target on their backs.

They're winning too much, smiling too much, and having too much fun for Zack Wheeler and the loser Mets or Aaron Barrett and the Gnats to handle.

Wheeler I suppose I get. He was beaten by the team that traded him, and he didn't like it. Okay, well next time be better. Don't drill someone in the ribs. That's called being poor sport and an asshole. It's immature, and Hunter Pence and I won't forget it.

Judging by this story though, this wasn't the first, and won't be the last time Zack Wheeler is involved in some sort of brouhaha. He managed to stir up "ethnic tensions" in the minors by drilling his own teammate. Maybe I don't mind the Beltran/Wheeler swap so much after all.

As for the Nationals, I don't know what Barrett was doing, and neither does Morse. For a guy who openly recounted fond memories to the D.C. media yesterday about his time with the Nats, he sure as heck couldn't understand why he was hit. You could see him afterwards in the dugout talking to Posey, staring out at the field with his face scrunched up into confusion.

Well, I'll answer your question sir. They hit you because you're good.

What I do know, is that Barrett clearly acted on his own accord or on behalf of a teammate. There's zero chance manager Matt Williams would call for a beanball out of the blue. He's better than that, and we all know it.

With Madison Bumgarner the only guy on the roster (RIP Eli Whiteside) that openly shows some will and fire to confront the forces of evil, he will likely be the only one who will do anything about the open season that has been declared on Giants hitters.



Bumgarner fears no evil.

Bruce Bochy can talk about how he didn't like these HBPs and Krukow can promise retribution from the booth, but we all know nothing will happen, and the Giants will do nothing. They never really have.

What they will do though is keep winning, and likely take the high road-- something I would be unable to do. More power to them though.



Giants pulling it together despite a bad Panda

Sometimes things click, and sometimes they don't. For these Giants, the offense has once again come back to life, and the bullpen has been excellent. Despite the loss in Pittsburgh on the the play at the plate (today I hate replay), we're looking at a first place team 8 games over .500.

How are they doing this? Well, it's really Giants baseball at its finest give or take.

At AT&T Park thus far, these Giants have managed to earn a 10-5 record, but lest we forget that it could easily be a 5-10 mark. Along the shores of the Cove, they're only managed a middling .251 average, with a 7th worst mark of only 40 extra base hits.

How then have they managed such a solid record? Winning one run games with great pitching.

Even when our starters have been less than stellar, these guys are managing to put up just one more run than the opposition-- the averages tell exactly that. The offense is putting up 3.9 runs a game. The pitching has allowed a league low 44 runs at home, and yes, that equals 2.9 r/pg.

One run games at home you say? Well I never!

On the road though, despite what it seems, these guys have an even worse team average (.236), but surprisingly score almost one more run per game (4.8 r/pg), and their opponents score about 4 runs a game.

That's actually about right when you think about how AT&T Park affects the numbers.

What's just odd about these guys is that they've had hitting that to the eyeball appears to be vastly improved-- and yet the averages are middling, the RISP is only .246, and the power production at home is weak.

This is just one of those cases when averages aren't telling the entire story and a case when the sum of this team's parts add up to something better than you'd expect.

Essentially this lineup has a dead spot or two (excluding pitchers) every time it rolls out there. It's the creaky spot in the floor and the ungreased hinge that wakes up your parents at 3am when you try to sneak back into the house drunk in high school.

Those dead spots are essentially Pablo Sandoval and any non-regular that plays that day.

How bad are these non-regulars? They are terrible. More on that later.

I'm not going to give too much crap to Brandon Hicks, whose been a nice surprise with the longball, but he's still hitting just .208-- very Mark Reynolds-ish. But as long as we're looking at him, let's note that he hits .150 at home, .270 on the road, and has a .313 average with RISP. Curious, but still a decent replacement for Old Man Scutaro and his bad back.

Sandoval meanwhile...

Seriously dude, what the hell? I've seen you in bad streaks before, but this... this is something else entirely. Everything seemed to align nicely for you to have a massive contract year. But alas, you've changed too much. Your smaller waistline hasn't helped you at the plate, and now your mental problems stemming from pressure have gotten the better of you.

I refuse to believe that this contract situation has not affected him, because even he is normally incapable of such consistent ineptitude. It's as plain as day though, he quite simply has sucked, and isn't doing any of the things he normally does.

Thankfully, while trying to figure out his 2014 patterns, Eno Sarris over at Fangraphs had already figured it all out.

His conclusions? Panda is no longer swinging at the first pitch.

Huh?

Seems crazy that the guy who we drill into the ground year after year for swinging at the first pitch could have possibly slowed his roll to his own detriment. But maybe his most maddening habit was helping him after all.

From Sarris at Fangraphs:

So he’s swinging less and reaching less, but unfortunately, he’s also swinging at pitches inside the zone less, too. But it turns out, *when* he’s swinging is much more important than *which pitches* he’s swinging at. Look at his swing percentage on the first pitch over the course of his career: 

Credit: Eno Sarris from Fangraphs.com

That's good work, Eno.

This is more than an anomaly. This is a guy trying to overhaul his entire approach at the plate and failing miserably.

You're seeing him force himself into taking pitches and starting off more often with an 0-1 count. Throw in a couple lousy swings, and you have yourself a .168 average with a 22% strikeout rate-- a full 7 points higher than his mark last season. He's not swinging, then swinging, missing, or making outs too consistently for this to keep itself up. Instead of that $100 mil his slimewad agent is looking for, he's going to end up on the free market with an unsightly qualifying offer looming over his head and a career worst year to his name.

Other dead spots? How about the entire bench? Arias, Perez, Blanco, Adrianza? Horrendous. Not sure, but if they keep this up, we're probably talking historically bad.

With the lone exception of Hector Sanchez, who's shown signs of life recently and has done a nice job behind the plate, we're talking about one of the worst-hitting benches in baseball.

Luckily they're all slick with the glove, because this is bad news. Arias, Perez, Blanco, and Perez are a combined 17-123 for a nauseating .138 average, 3 extra base hits, and 0 HR (as of 5/6).

No one expected any of these guys to put on a Pink Floyd Dustin Pedroia laser show, but Jesus, this is bad.

Lord knows Bochy tries to get these guys in there to kickstart them and give their main guys a breather, but at some point, I'd rather have a tired regular than a sub .200 hitting bench guy making routine plays then routinely grounding out. At some point, we're going to have to think about pulling up a hot bat from Fresno like Nick Noonan and rolling the dice.

As for pitching, it has been all about Tim Hudson and The Bullpen (which should be a band name immediately). Huddy has been worth every penny and then some, and the bullpen has been huge. While Bumgarner has been hit or miss (mostly hit in his last few starts), and Cain, Timmy, and Vogey are all a coin flip these days, Hudson has allowed more than 2 runs only once, and has been an absolute pillar of strength every fifth day. He's one of those guys that I just wish we'd had on our team earlier in his career-- not that it even matters, because he's pitching like a Cy Young candidate.

The only guys in the bullpen with an ERA over 1.88 are Gutierrez (3.60), (Huff, DL, 3.86) and Petit, who got lit up as an ill-prepared spot starter for Cain. His ERA before that start was 2.61 as a mostly bullpen oriented swingman.

Casilla has been a monst, and Jean Machi has been unbelievable. And in case you didn't know, Machi and his 5 wins (I know, I know) are leading Major League Baseball.

BITCHES!

I honestly like the way things are going with this team. There's always room for complaint and improvement, but with the run production they've managed, plus a stalwart bullpen, I think this team will be in 1st place a good chunk of this year or bare minimum knocking on the door.

Giants could be seriously good, but also mortal

I waited a week to jump in here and write something intentionally, as to not overreact about such a small sample size. Seeing as though week one ended on a pretty lousy note in LA, I feel as though we've all been doused with a little bit of reality after a pretty sizzling start.

We're not going to win 110 games. Belt isn't going to break Bonds's HR record, and Pagan won't hit .450 the rest of the way. But what we do know, is that this 2014 incarnation of our beloved Giants could be-- and I emphasize could be, as good or better than the 2012 Champions.

For once, the lineup appears to be well... really good. There's a pretty nice mix of power and contact throughout the lineup, and honestly, I think the days of finishing in the bottom 5 in runs scored and HRs is over. Prior to the season, we all looked at the lineup on paper and thought, "Wow. If this goes right, and that guy stays healthy, and this guy continues getting better, we could score a lot of runs."

Well, things are beginning to fall into place, now aren't they? Every single one of our power hitters has hit a HR, and effing Brandon Belt has 4. FOUR HOME RUNS! Like... seriously?

Seriously. I saw them.

The Belt development is the single most important event to happen to this lineup since I don't know when... probably since we added Pence via trade.

Forget what he's on pace for, but instead just sit back and acknowledge that Belty has finally figured it out, and is a legitimate power hitting corner infielder. Many of us knew it was a matter of time, others thought he would never pan out and were on the Brett Pill Crazy Train to nowhere.

With what we've seen so far. Belt is not only a lock for 25 dingers and an .800+ OPS with good defense, but we're talking potential all-star selection.

I know it's only 7 games, but this metamorphosis began last year with the grip change, and you all saw how he improved. This didn't just come out of nowhere.

Someone who did kinda come out of nowhere was Brandon Hicks, or Brandon #3, or B3 for short. Is that going to catch on? No? Okay, I tried though.

A former 3rd round pick of Atlanta, Hicks was a long shot to make the team at all. Now he's making some serious noise at the plate. The guy is doubling, hitting home runs... all out of nowhere. Of course, he'll probably cool off, but just the fact that there's a guy on our team capable of replacing Scutaro that has pop? Just what the doctor ordered... as long as Bochy doesn't take too many ABs away from B3 in favor of Adrianza so that he cools off.

Another guy the doctor ordered is Mike Morse. Man, it sure is nice to have him on this team. I know he's a bit injury prone and he will strike out a good deal. But the guy can hit. He's contributed in a number of different ways at the dish, including a crazy bomb in LA that went like 450 feet. Also, he hasn't hurt us defensively yet, and the 7th inning Gregor Blanco substitution thing seems to work just fine.

All in all, I could not be happier with this lineup right now, save for Scutaro basically hanging in career limbo with this bad back of his. I asked Twitter and Facebook recently that if all they got out of Marco's $20MM contract was this picture and the 2012 World Series, was it worth it? There was a resounding yes, and a couple smart asses that said he was re-signed after that. Yeah geniuses. Thanks for that.

Now the pitching, I'm not so sold on. Of all the idiotic things John Kruk rambled on about on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, the one thing that I hate to agree with but do is, "I don't know if the Giants have the pitching to get done this year."

Sucks, but from what we've seen so far, it might be true. As I see it, there are two guys-- Madison Bumgarner and Tim Hudson-- that are going to be rock solid performers every 5th day. There's Matt Cain, who will be somewhere between decent and good, and then there's the Wild Cards, Lincecum and Vogelsong.

Granted, Vogelsong did very well in his first start, and I think that's a seriously encouraging sign. Let's keep our fingers crossed on him. However, we need to face the possibility that he may begin to suck and will be run out of town in a more delicate fashion than Todd Wellemeyer once was. We owe Vogey that much.

Lincecum is probably going to have another season of 4.50-4.75 ERA ball with maddening starts of equal parts brilliance and gopher balls. That's been the trend the last two seasons, and I just don't see it changing unfortunately. His propensity to give up the long ball and get bogged down in big innings will be his undoing half the time, and that's what we'll likely get. A beloved .500 pitcher-- like your smartphone a year and a half into your two year Verizon agreement. Completely maddening.

Cain to me is the most concerning. He's beginning 2014 much the way he began 2013-- by giving up HRs in bunches and bunches. Just like last year, it's concerning as hell, but there's evidence to suggest that he can avoid these things somehow. It's as if he's cruising along, and things are fine, then boom-- gone. Two batters later? Gone again. I just don't understand.

It should be of course noted that last season Cainer did improve toward the second half of the year, and cut down on the long ball. If not, I'm afraid, he'll be more in the Lincecum category than the Bumgarner one, and that's not going to win us that 3rd even year World Series in a row.

And John Kruk will be right.

We can't have that.

So everyone, take the first week for what it was-- a week, but just know that this team has the potential to be seriously good, and that it's probably going to come down to pitching-- just like every other year.

And I hate the Dodgers.

Giant pitching questions this offseason

Firstly, I apologize for not writing much in the waning moments of the 2013 season. It just got too depressing, too frustrating, and the same issues were being discussed ad nauseum by every source and blog between here and Timbuktu (which is in Mali, in case you're wondering). Mali is the same place that "Would Be" Champions shirts get sent. Even they are discussing whether the Giants will re-sign Tim Lincecum, while clad in 2007 Rockies World Series Champions shirts.

The pitching issues facing the Giants following an embarrassing World Series defense-- if you call what they did in 2013 defending a championship-- are long and well-documented. But, let's do it again, just for old time's sake.

Under club control with buyouts

Barry Zito ($7MM buyout)
Ryan Vogelsong ($6.5MM club option w/$300k buyout)

Unrestricted FAs

Chad Gaudin
Javier Lopez
Tim Lincecum



"Analysis" (Look at me, I"m a blog analyst! I think I'm cool!)

To me, Zito is gone; he just has to be. He had his sendoff, he got his curtain calls, and we had the lovefest. Giants fans are the most sentimental in baseball, and that's fine. I love being part of such a loving group of fans. But let's be real. Enough is enough with Zeets. He's not good, he never really was, and yes we appreciate the great performances in the 2012 postseason. I wish him the best, but it can no longer be on my team as a player. I'd welcome him to the coaching staff.

Vogelsong is an interesting case. He showed signs after his return from injury that he was capable of being a starting pitcher. But he also showed some signs that he was the horrendous first half pitcher in 2013 during the back stretch. I know he's a stubborn, chainsaw-angry, motivated son of a bitch, so I'm willing to give him another shot if I'm Brian Sabean. However, I buy him out of his deal at $300k, and say, "Look man, we like you here, and we don't think you're finished, but based on last year, we can't justify $6.5 mil. We'll offer you the $300k, plus a base of $2 million, and we'll incentivize (is that a word?) the shit out of your contract. Cool? Now excuse me while I answer my Moto Razr flip phone."

If Vogey says no, then I wish him the best as well. He's a good dude, a better story, and was an inspiration.

Chad "Grope-din" is a guy I'd like back. Assuming this whole "groped a woman on a gurney at 4am in a Las Vegas hospital" thing was a misunderstanding-- or rather there was a better explanation than him being absolutely shitfaced and a complete scumbag, then I'd like him back.

Gaudin was an invaluable part of the Giants' staff last season, and kept things from getting completely "Houston Astros bad" when Vogelsong went down. That of course weakened the bullpen, but his versatility was a necessity in 2013. A 2-3 year deal in the $10MM range isn't out of the question, and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets way more from another desperate team. He was obviously fatigued from all the extra groping innings that piled up on his arm, and is better suited as a long man in the pen and part time swingman starter. Regardless, he's a helpful piece, and I'd like him back.

Javier Lopez is an absolute necessity to be back. He sported better numbers than 2012 and shows no signs of slowing down-- especially against lefties. That's his job, he does it well, and a raise from the $4.25MM he made in 2013 is certainly warranted. If I'm Lopez, I look at the $5MM Affeldt is guaranteed through 2015 and say, "I'll have what he's having, plus a full tank of gas, a bloomin' onion from Outback with extra sauce MIND YOU. I'M TIRED OF RUNNING OUT OF BLOOMIN' ONION SAUCE."

Pay the man.

And now to Timmy.

I'm not going to go through why we like Lincecum, we all know his history with the team. As Tim McGraw might've said, "We like him, we love him, and some of us want some more of him."

Unlike Tim McGraw in his song about a hot chick, Giants brass and fans are a bit divided on whether bringing back Lincecum is the correct move.

He showed signs of life in 2013 after a 2012 regular season that could be described nicely as embarrassing. Still, he finished with a 4.37 ERA while making $22 million last year. Among the 79 qualified starters last year, that ERA mark is tied with Wily Peralta of the Brewers for 11th worst in baseball. If you're into WAR, which I'm not, he placed 16th in the league at 1.6 games above average. He walked people at the 10th highest rate in baseball, and his overall numbers are just hit and miss-- just like his starts.

I say he's all even-steven with the Giants when you think big picture. He outperformed small salaries early in his career and underperformed with big salaries recently. He won 2 CYs, 2 Championships, threw a no-no, and if this is the last we see of him, I'm okay with that.

But, if he's willing to be reasonable about his value and accept a deal in the neighborhood of $6-8MM a year for 2-3 years with incentives, then I'm fine with having him back.

Anything more than that, and he can go back home to Seattle and toss fish around with Pete Carroll in the rain.

I hate the Seahawks.

Pitching staff big picture

Beyond Cain and Bumgarner, the future is murky.

Assuming Zito and Vogelsong are not back, and the potential departure of Lincecum, we're talking about replacing 60% of the rotation-- and possibly needing to place its insurance policy, Chad Gaudin.

Sabean has some work to do, and I just hope this team doesn't have to overpay for pitching in some sick Zito-like scenario just to plug a couple holes.

With its present outstanding questions, there's no way this team can be considered a World Series contender. If Vogey, Timmy, Gaudin, and Lopez all return, and someone like Petit gets a shot at the rotation, we're basically the same as last year.

And last year, we were terrible.

Let's not get hung up on names and remember that the goal is improve from year to year. Unfortunately, that's not easy, especially when you don't have Magic Johnson Guggenheim Time Warner Cable money to blow on expensive booze and unnecessary shiny things that break after a year of regular use-- like a Jaguar with 80,000 miles on it.

Free Agents aren't abundant this year, and the good ones (including Lincecum) will receive the dreaded "qualifying offer". Teams like the Giants are able to offer its FAs a Q.O., which is an average of the 125 top salaries in baseball-- almost like the NFL's "Franchise Tag". This season it works out to around $14MM.

If a team thinks it'll lose an FA and is okay with the possibility of that player accepting the 1 year, $14MM deal, then the team that signs said player will forfeit their 1st round pick (unless they have a top 10 pick), in which case they forfeit their 2nd rounder. The team that lost the FA then receives a "sandwich pick" in between rounds 1 and 2.

This may work to the Giants' advantage if they lose Lincecum to another team after offering him the QA. However, by the Giants stupidly winning games at the end of the season (I blame management), they are slated to have the 14th pick in the draft, which is unprotected.


If the Giants sign someone like, let's say, Bronson Arroyo, who always kills us and would put up great numbers in a big ballpark like AT&T, the Giants will lose their 1st rounder to Cin
cinnati (assuming the Reds have offered Bronson the Q.O.

Arroyo would also fit in perfectly, as we have one departing guitar player in Zito. Plugging in another guitar player ensures that the McCovey Cove Starship won't miss a beat.


------Side rant-------

In case you're wondering, the Giants (SO STUPIDLY) won 2-3 games more than they should've. Had they benched their starters and tanked, they'd have had a protected top 10 pick.

I will never in my life understand the benefit of winning any games in a lost season like 2013, especially when this scenario was at stake. They needed to take a page from other sports like the Indianapolis Colts in their "Suck For Luck" year.

I never want to see my team lose, but winning those extra 3-5 games that they did at the end of the season only hurt their situation this offseason and weakened their hand.

------End of rant-------

Notable Free Agents starting pitchers include:

Roy Halladay (37), Josh Johnson (30), Matt Garza (30), Ervin Santana (31), Ricky Nolasco (31), Chien-Ming Wang (34), Bronson Arroyo (37), Paul Maholm (32), AJ Burnett (37), Hiroki Kuroda (39)...

There are others, but they aren't worth really mentioning on this list.

Check out MLBTR 2014 FAs here.

As you can see, the list isn't extensive, and Lincecum will likely benefit from this. However, if the Giants are able to re-sign Timmy for a reasonable rate, plug an effective Yusmeiro Petit in as a 5th starter, and add someone like Bronson Arroyo, we'd be talking about a pretty solid rotation. Not amazing, but goddamned solid.

Josh Johnson also intrigues me, but the guy is a walking injury report, and his 2013 campaign in Toronto was horrendous in the starts that he did make. He had bone spurs removed from his forearm a week ago, and may be a good buy low opportunity for someone with a decent contingency plan (like Chad Gaudin or Ryan Vogelsong).

There are more questions than answers at this point in regard to the pitching staff, and it's going to take money to fix. Heath Hembree will likely be a part of the bullpen, and that will help, but we can't depend on the Eric Surkamps and Mike Kickhams of the world to step into the rotation anytime soon.

There's a gap in the starting pitching pipeline right now, and the best talent not named Cain or Bumgarner the Giants have right now isn't in the form of Major League ready starting pitching. They have 3 guys-- Kyle Crick, Clayton Blackburn, and Chris Stratton-- that all project to be good big leaguers, but they're just not quite ready. All have yet to pitch above High A San Jose, and are a year or two away.

When they are ready to pair with Cain and Bumgarner though, we're looking at a talented group. Until then we're in full-blown hole-filling mode.

As I said... more questions than answers this offseason.

Hitting rock bottom never looked so good

My all SF rally beer didn't work. :(

As I drink my sorrows away with my (supposed) rally/jinx beer that I purchased during the 7th inning of the Homer Bailey no-hitter, I can't help but try to cheer myself up. The first thing I did was post a video of Buster Posey's NLDS granny against Nutsac Latos. The next thing I did was think about how to cheer up the rest of Giantsland without blowing smoke up everyone's ass.

Welp. Here goes...

As I detailed in my last post, the NL West is weird and lame. If the D-Backs end up winning their rain delayed game against the Mets, we're 4 games back of 1st. If they lose, we're still just 3.5 games back.

A team playing this badly has no business being in 1st right now, this is true. But hey, it's attainable and it's right there for the taking. Arizona hasn't gotten a win out of a starting pitcher in like a month, and neither Colorado or San Diago have made their move. It's like a division stuck in a vacuum.

The schedule doesn't get any easier on paper. We play a pretty much all teams above or near .500 other than Milwaukee, the Mets, and Florida (who plays us tough). There are a ton of divisional games remaining, and those are all opportunities to get hot and take out the rest of the NL West, one foe at a time. Easier said than done, clearly.

The month of July brings some relief in the form of the all-star break, and 15 home games-- all 15 taking place after this Reds series (with only 6 road games mixed in).

There's also the matter of help on the way. The non-waiver trade deadline is arriving soon.

This team needs a couple days off and an infusion of talent. Is Alex Rios a savior? No, but not once this season has this team managed to run on all cylinders.

The starting pitching (minus Kickham) is trending in the right direction. Cain/Bum are pitching much better and even Zeets has only given up 7 earnies in his last 18 IP. Get Gaudin back, and we're looking at a decent staff.

Obviously, our hitters have to wake up and we need more consistent bullpen appearances, but these type of things just click randomly sometimes. We just need everyone to start getting on board at the same time. That's how teams get hot and make runs. We have 3 legitimate top 50 hitters, including the reigning MVP, and some other guys that can't possibly hit worse. Panda and Crawford are in season-worst slumps right now, they can only get better.

We've been down to the wire in the playoffs before, and won it all. Just remember.

You'll see, this team has its run left in them. And if you don't believe me, just go home and look at pictures of our two World Series trophies.

Expecting the unexpected

Completely unbelievable. 

It's not torture, and it's not surprise. It's just completely unbelievable.

I warned you to expect the unexpected. The unexpected is now an understatement.

What we all witnessed in Game 1 was the same thing we all witnessed in Game 7-- complete and utter domination of a team that was expected to take care of the Giants like a garden hose rinsing dirt off a walkway.

You know it's a good thing when 22 of 27 ESPN "experts" pick the Tigers to romp all over the Orange & Black. It's also a great thing when the best pitcher in the game is tagged for 5 ER and is reduced to an ungracious little jerk who all but blamed a mound visit by pitching coach Todd Jones for Pablo Sandoval's second HR.

That's what this team does to people.

They take reigning World Champs, defending AL Cy Young/MVPs, and every expert's darlings, and completely take them by storm.

You could clearly see the shock of the faces of the Tigers both during and after the game. It was a collective, "What the F--- just happened?"

Not only were they handled by a suddenly dominant Barry Zito (crazy right?), but they were demoralized by Panda's historic 3 HRs, and countless dinks and drives by Scutaro, Pagan, and even Zeets himself. Then you have a wicked Freak Lincecum roaring out of the bullpen and throwing a flawless two and a third. I'm a Giants fan who's seen or heard almost every game this year, and even I last night was saying, "WTF just happened?"

I don't know how they're doing this, but they are.

It's a long series, and Detroit will win a game or two before it's all said and done, but it's extremely difficult not to get ahead of ourselves here. I don't see the resilience or heart in the Tigers that I see in our guys, but they're certainly capable of taking the lumber to us at some point and shutting us down with Anibal Sanchez.

What we all saw last night was an incredible show of Ruthian (or Sandovalian) proportions with a side of epic #RallyZito action. Simply inexplicable, but fact.

In Game 2, the Giants send to the mound Madison Bumgarner, who has been more bum than MadBum in the playoffs. If Bochy and Rags say they've fixed his mechanical issue, who am I to judge? These two, along with the rest of the coaching staff have combined to create nothing but magic. Let's just hope Bumgarner is fixed better than Jose Valverde was fixed.

Game 2 starter Doug Fister is from Merced and grew up a Gyros fan. He's going to be fired up and hasn't pitched in nearly two weeks. People can debate the layoff factor all they want, but it's going to hurt the sinkerballer tonight. Like Verlander before him, the Fistmeister is going to be overamped and rusty.

He's likely not going to give up any HRs, but I'll bet you anything the Giants tee off on him, executing a veritable laser show that would make Pink Floyd jealous.

I have to say, I am enjoying this World Series so much more than 2010. Even though we killed the Rangers and it was incomparably exciting, it was still nerve-wracking and completely emotionally exhausting. I feel like this time around, we're all able to take it all in better. Especially after our Game 1 romp, I think I'm able to look around (so to speak) and really revel in the moment without the neurosis and paranoia that came along with the Torture.

Regardless, we don't know what tomorrow holds, so enjoy this Giants fans! You never know if you'll be back!

A little too much leash

Loyalty and trust are two of the greatest things in the world. You trust your gut, you're behind your guys and you believe in them. I get it.

It's a long series and Sunday's loss in Game 1 doesn't kill us. Far from it.

I have to say though, this first loss against the Cardinals lies squarely on Bruce Bochy's shoulders. Obviously Bumgarner gave up the six earnies and two back-breaking home runs, but he shouldn't have been in the position to let Carlos Beltran go yard.

Am I an armchair quarterback? Yes. Absolutely. I'm not on the team. I'm just like you. This is what I was saying during Bumgarner's disastrous inning chronologically (bottom to top):

Not trying to toot my own horn, but you know, I'm just saying. I couldn't have possibly been the only one thinking these things? Right?

So many times we second guess our managers and coaches during games. We don't have anywhere near the experience or knowledge as these leaders, but it's still easy to see when a guy just doesn't have it that night.

I think of all of Bochy's flaws as a manager-- as minor as many of them are in the grand scheme of things-- his loyalty to his starting pitchers is simultaneously the most positive and detrimental.

Hell, he's an old catcher and he fights for his starters the same way he did back when his knees allowed him to squat and catch nine innings. I think it's admirable, I really do. All season, he allowed Lincecum to hang himself with the extra leash-- same with Vogelsong and Bumgarner in the second half.

As admirable as that quality is in a manager, it seems like probably 6 or 7 times out of 10 letting a guy work out his problems on the mound ends in failure. There of course are times when a guy will have a lousy couple innings and then right his ship, but this is the playoffs. Time is of the essence.

That's all I'll say about Boch. I don't want to rag on the guy, because he's gotten it done before and he's gotten us to this point. He's a great manager, he really is. He doesn't trust youngsters and he likes his pitchers and catchers, and that goes hand in hand with being an old-school backstop.

Random thoughts

• Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma are not going away. They were clutch against the Nats, they contributed down the stretch, and they are going to be pesky little weirdos the rest of this series
• I found out that the Peninsula's own Descalso grew up an A's fan. Not cool bro...
• I know a guy named Danny Descalso. No relation. 
• Lance Lynn is probably better suited coming out of the 'pen and the Giants took advantage of him. No Jaime Garcia will do that to you. Too bad a certain someone was left in the game too long and gave up six runs.
• Chris Carpenter won't give up more than 3 runs. Bank it.
• If there's one weak spot in the Cards' pitching staff, it is poor situational pitching and mismanagement by Mike Matheny. At some point this series, Mike will put the wrong guy in at the wrong time and we will benefit.
• Is Jason Motte the best closer ever to only have one pitch at one speed? He's obviously better than Jose Valverde.
• Seriously, he has a 98 mph fastball, and that's IT.
• Beltran has now taken Zack Wheeler AND Game 1 of the NLCS from us. Time to give something back dude. How about a costly error?
• Tony Bennett is a beast.
• Can you remember a more disappointing sports day? Niners getting embarrassed by a new arch-enemy during the afternoon and the Giants losing a playoff game at night? BRUTAL.
• I blame Joe Buck, who called the 49ers debacle at Candlestick, then proceeded to ruin our day further by taking a "trolley" to AT&T and imposing his lousy announcing, stupid face, and Cardinals cheerleading on us.

• It was pretty obvious that a lot of people were coming from the Niner game based on the early inning empty seats. Lucky bastards.
• Bumgarner didn't get any better after his awful outing against Cincy. He now has a postseason ERA of 11.25. That is the ERA of a guy who just doesn't have it. AT ALL. He belongs in the bullpen until further notice. I love you Madison, I do, but we both know you're lost.

Let's get Game 2!

The NLCS: Fighting magic with magic

"Amazing that we've gotten to this point," say...

...both the Giants and Cardinals.

"There were a couple times that we looked dead in the water," say...

...both the Giants and Cardinals.

"But we love the makeup of this team, and we've done it before," say...

...both the Giants and Cardinals.

It's true. I can't think of two teams whose recent postseason exploits more closely resemble one another. One team was down 2-0 with the task of winning 3 in a row on the road, the other was down by 2 and down to its last strike on the road. Both teams pulled it out and now the battle of postseason magic will play out in the 2012 NLCS.

No offense to the American League and its fancy Prince Fielders and Bronx Bombers, but this NLCS is the hands down must watch series and WILL go down as one of the greatest playoff series of all time. You thought the Giants' NLDS series was torture? Wait'll you get a load of this one.

How improbable is it that the last two World Series champs will face off in this series? Most Cardinals fans had given up long ago this season. Trust me-- I know (my girlfriend is a Cards fan, more on that next post).

I've watched more Cardinal games than you, and heard waaaaayyyy more about them than I care to. That benefits me now as I size up our opponent heading into Sunday.

This is a very evenly matched pair of teams and both have the "it" factor I talk about. There's magic in both of them and both teams are laden with postseason heroes up and down the roster.

They've got the bigger sluggers, we have the better bullpen. We perhaps have the edge in the starting rotation now that Lincecum seems to be progressing up to the mean, but other than that, these teams match up very well.

The one thing that Cards fans will tell you is that they don't win many close games. They blow teams out early and hold on. Despite their recent postseason performances (and 2011's for that matter), they've struggled to reach their potential all season, despite a deadly lineup.

Conversely, you could say our lineup has overachieved and that our pitching has failed to live up to its ability. We've gotten the clutch hits we've needed and have overcome horrendous performances from Timmy all season to run away with the West.

You can certainly say that the NL Central was much tougher than the NL West-- a valid point. How then do you explain how the Cardinals struggled to land a secondary Wild Card berth when their only competition was the useless losing Dodgers and a surging Brewers team that had come back from like 233 games back?

Not to take anything away from what St. Louis has done in the playoffs this season, but they had a pretty disappointing season-- while I can say that in general, the Giants have had a successful 2012.

Granted, the Cards were without Chris Carpenter most of the season (until now) and are now without both Rafael Furcal and Lance Berkman. We'll see your injuries with the losses of Brian Wilson and Melky Cabrera.

Speaking of Carpenter-- what an absolute gamer. He had a rib removed to alleviate pressure on a nerve that affected his pitching arm. Once declared out for the season and potentially headed for retirement, he pulled something resembling a Ronnie Lott to get back on the field. Commendable.

FYI, that rib is now in a jar in his daughter's room.

The point of all this is that we're in an up and down series that will likely go the full seven games. In order for the Giants to win, they need to keep STL's sluggers in check early and prevent late inning magic by the likes of Allen Craig and David Freese (or Kozma... or Descalso... as the Nats found out).

If the Giants hit anywhere close to what they did in Games 4 and 5 in Cincinnatti, they win the series, no doubt. We all know we can't expect that to happen. We need all hands on deck to win this series, but we can take care of it.

Cain and Bumgarner need to get it together and Affeldt needs to be healthy. Other than that, I'm confident that we can take care of business. Never give up!

With my intimate knowledge of both teams, here's how I stack them up with letter grades below:

Prediction: Giants in 7

Overall Offense

Giants: B-
Cards: A

Offensive Power

Giants: C-
Cards: A-

Overall Defense

Giants: A-
Cards: B

Starting Pitching

Giants: A-
Cards: B+

Bullpen

Giants: B+
Cards: C+

Closer

Giants: B
Cards: A-

Bench

Giants: B
Cards: B-

Manager:

Giants: B+
Cards: C

Come-from-behind-ability

Giants: A-
Cards: B+

Bonus Category: Team Broadcasters

Giants: A+
Cards: D+

So far, so weird...

I believe by definition, that the first 7 games of this season have been a mixed bag. We've been swept, we've been embarrassed, we've been disappointing.

But simultaneously, we've been exciting, we've been heroic, and we've been promising.

Only with the Giants could such contrasts hold so much value at the same time.

I mean, we've got Tim Lincecum on one hand-- "The Ace"-- with the worst ERA in all of baseball.

Then we've got Barry Zito, the "Useless Money Pit", with the best ERA in the league.

I can't explain any of it, and I don't believe anyone else can either, but things are looking up thanks to a suddenly viable offense and at least two of our starters settling down and nearly throwing no-hitters back to back.

Thoughts and musings:

-- It sure is nice to see Bumgarner and Cain settle down and dominate the way they should. Bum took a no-hitter into the 6th in Denver on Thursday, and Cain threw a one hit shutout in the home opener on Friday.

I wish I had a cool stat about those performances, but all I know is that Cain's one hitter was literally the best Opening Day pitching performance by a Giant ever.

-- Lincecum's struggles are serious, and they're not going away. This is reminiscent of a couple Augusts ago when he couldn't strike out his grandmother and effed up his mechanics. Krukow says his release point is off. I don't know. I'm not a pitching coach, but he is seriously off, and when he's off, he's the worst pitcher in baseball-- even worse than Zito. At least when Zito is awful and disgraceful, all he does is walk guys. Lincecum hangs balls up there like batting practice, which is much worse.

I have faith that he will find his groove again sometime this season, but it isn't just something that gets fixed overnight by finally sleeping in your own bed or lighting up a doobie.

-- This is why I'm comfortable giving Matt Cain $112.5MM and I'm becoming a little more skeptical of committing more to Lincecum.

-- Good Lord! Who are you people and what have you done with the Giants' anemic offense? As we speak, we're in the top two in the National League in runs per game. Isn't that incredible? So much of it is thanks to our new acquisition, Melky Cabrera, whom I thought wasn't very good.

Well! Thank you for proving me wrong and then making me eat dirt Melkman! You've really impressed all of us so far.

Dude. He's hitting .414.

-- The Brandon Belt thing is getting uglier. Re-enter stage right, Nate Schierholtz, who managed to hit two home runs in his only start of the season. How can you keep a guy like him buried on the bench now? How can you sit Huff, who now has a HR to go along with a .990 OPS?

Hell, how can you sit Pill (.333 avg, 2nd on team) or Hector Sanchez (.300, 3 RBI) in favor of Belt?

You can if, and only if, you are 100% committed to Belt being the 1B of the future, at the expense of current ballgames. Some argue that Bochy should be doing this, because he pretty much promised to do as much.

Well, I am of the opinion that Brandon Belt, as talented as he is, and as good a hitter as he was in Spring, needs to produce a little bit while he's in there to warrant more starts.

Every other guy I just mentioned has been as hot as Kate Upton at the plate to start the year, and Belt has looked like a newly-birthed baby giraffe. I think one day he'll be very good, and it might be this year at some point, but I cannot justify playing him over Huff, Pill, Hector Sanchez, OR Nate Schierholtz at this point.

Let's hope he gets his stroke and confidence back the next time he gets a start, because .091 with 5 strikeouts in 11 at bats is not going to cut it on a roster that is suddenly brimming with offensive ability.

-- Jeremy Affeldt is fired until further notice...

-- Speaking of terrible hitting, Angel Pagan seems to be exactly who I thought he was. Paging Gregor Blanco...

-- Let's give Zito some credit where it's due. The guy came out of the sewer to make one of the most impressive starts I've seen since Matt Cain just one upped him on Friday. How he did it? I have no idea, but he did. He showed that he's capable of goodness or perhaps really goodness, if he just has his shit together.

I won't hold my breath for a good season from him because he's teased us before in the first half of seasons, but IF he is able to string together a year with 14 wins and an ERA of 3.50, it will do wonders for our playoff chances and his own confidence... especially with Vogelsong returning on Sunday. It's possible that we could have 5 really good starters-- something we'd love to have.

-- Hector Sanchez seemed to have a lot to do with Zito's comfort level. I am absolutely thrilled by this development. It has a two-pronged effect. Sanchez can flat out rake, and is an ultra-dangerous weapon to have. Seriously? A 22 year old, switch-hitting catcher that makes Zito better? YES PLEASE!

I also like the idea of Sanchez being Zito's personal catcher. It means that there's a little more method to the starting lineup madness every week.



The season is young, and we've had our hiccups, but the ship has almost completely righted itself, and I for one am excited!

Now... let's get Timmy fixed...

We've seen this movie before, Giants fans

Firstly, apologies for not writing much in the last couple weeks. This whole "job" thing is really putting a cramp in my evening sports watching/writing.

Secondly, the last post was about the "Dynamite" video with Keenan Cahill, Weez, and Boss Ross. I'd like to clarify:

Before that video, I'd never heard of Keenan Cahill. Secondly, I didn't watch the video all the way through to see the fundraiser thing at the end. I honestly thought he was a funny little 10 year old kid. Swear to God. So, if anyone was offended by me calling him a "chubby nerd", I hope you understand that I had no clue the kid had a disease or that he was an internet sensation. Obviously I should do more research on amusing internet videos. Now that that's out of the way...

The Giants, are well... still the Giants.

As the title says, we've seen all of this before:

-- Our proven veteran SS sucks major ass (Tejada instead of Renteria)

-- DeRosa's wrist is hurt (although he's in Tuesday night's lineup)

-- Pablo's contributions are missing (this time due to injury, rather than retardation)

-- Highly paid players struggling to start the year (Huff)

-- Zito contributing absolutely nothing in exchange for the Gross Domestic Product of Micronesia

-- Unexpected contributions from players expected to do nothing (Rowand, Fontenot)

-- A total random career minor leaguer making a major impact (Vogelsong instead of Torres)

-- Timmy is Timmy

-- A bunch of improbable comeback wins out of nowhere

It honestly goes on and on, and frickin on.

But hey, this is why we watch, and why we love these guys.

With a sweep of Colorads this past weekend, I really think things are starting to get better... at least I feel like consistency is setting in.

The early injuries to Brian Wilson, Sandoval, DeRosa, Ross, and Torres have really thrown a crazy ass monkey wrench into the unpredictable, yet well-oiled machine that is the San Francisco Giants.

Ross's Sunday offensive outburst and Wilson's rediscovered groove only lend credence to my theory.

Throw in Bumgarner and his last three starts (5 ER in past 3 starts after 16 ER in his first 4), and I think this team is trending in the right direction.

Huff is still struggling, Buster hasn't hit his stride, and Burrell is still a massive question mark, but overall, this team is making me feel more comfortable about life.

The emergence of Mike Fontenot as a serviceable SS and bizzarely-- as a decent 3rd place hitter, means the totally washed up Miguel Tejada can now join Mark DeRosa on the bench as one half of the righty-righty, sub-par backup-infielding $12.5MM combo known as DeJada.

Suddenly this whole Jose Reyes for Zach Wheeler nonsense sounds better.

Speaking of which...

Myke Urban single-handedly blew the Reyes "interest" and "internal discussion" thing totally out of frickin proportion.

I have had internal discussions about marrying Scarlett Johansson and taking Taylor Swift out to dinner too.

The point being...

OF COURSE THE GIANTS BRASS HAS TALKED ABOUT JOSE REYES. HE'S IN THE LAST YEAR OF AN EFFING CONTRACT AND HE'S A TOP 30 PLAYER. HE'S A WELL-DOCUMENTED TRADE PIECE OF A BANKRUPT, USELESS TEAM.

That being said, excellent job getting your name out there Myke. And I really do like him as a Bay Area sports personality... but look...

Jose Reyes is an injury-prone, money-hungry luxury item. Not only does he run on premium fuel, but when you buy him, his warranty only lasts 12,000 miles, you pay a $6,000 gas guzzler tax, his floormats run $600 apeice, and they nail you with a bogus California emissions fee.

It's like yeah, I'd love to buy a 500hp, $200K Aston Martin DBS convertible, but if I have to give up my high speed internet, and DVR service (Zach Wheeler) and have no guarantee of keeping the car long-term, I'm gonna opt for a $43k Dodger Challenger with 470hp.

You catch my drift?

Anyway, as I said, we've seen this all before, and we can't freak out about anything. This is a slightly different version of the same team we know and love. The frustrations will be there, the illogical struggles and surprising comebacks will continue.

As I said so many times last season: just sit back, and enjoy the ride. It's gonna take a while.

We're almost there: It's ours to lose

This just keeps getting better and better.

Before it's all said and done, it's about to get sweeter than any of us could have imagined back in April.

Back in April, Rowand started over Torres, Posey was in Fresno, Wellemeyer was our 5th starter, Burrell was DH'ing in St. Petersburg, and Madison Bumgarner was... a concern to say the least.

Remember? He had a terrible Spring, was throwing 85, and everyone was freaking out! Some people thought he was injured. Some thought we were dumb not to trade him while his stock as a prospect was high. More thought he had gone all Rick Ankiel on us and would never recover.

I was one of those freaking out... thinking he'd been rushed; thinking he'd need more seasoning and time to iron out his mechanical problems. I feared the worst. I prayed to God I didn't see anything at the bottom of my screen mentioning Madison and the most feared words in the Baseball Language: Dr. James Andrews.

Thank God none of that ever happened. Sure enough, after a couple months in Fresno, slowly but surely, Bumgarner came back around. His velocity increased back to respectability, and his stock slowly began to rise again.

Bumgarner's was not quite the odyssey of an Aubrey Huff or a Rick Ankiel, but within the framework of one season, it mirrors the Giants' season as a whole. It is quite possible that if you were to choose just one Giant's season that best represented the "hero cycle" that is the 2010 San Francisco Giants, it would be Madison Bumgarner.

As it turned out, in one of the biggest games of our lifetimes, this 21 year-old country boy with ice water in his veins shut down one of the best lineups assembled in the last 20 years. He threw mostly fastballs that varied in speed from 89-94, and kept professional hitters off balance all night. He can barely buy a beer, and he made Vladimir Guerrero, who drove in 115 runs in '10, look like a confused old lady.

Bumgarner, who I refer to as "The Carolina Kid", seems like he has "it". We said that about Timmy in '07. Remember?

His demeanor and mentality lead me to believe he would be an excellent military sniper. One of the most skilled jobs in all the world, a sniper must be silent, patient, alert, steady, and strong. You can't blink. You can't make a sound, and if you so much as shake an iota, your shot misses by 10 feet. Madison Bumgarner has a steady trigger finger.

As it were, The Carolina Kid and his steady trigger finger, at all of 21 years old, has led our beloved baseball team to within one win of a World Series title.

ONE MORE GAME!

Are you kidding me? Who the hell are these guys? How do they keep doing this? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE???

It's not like I doubted the Giants could get to the playoffs and do some damage in the first round, but I don't think any of us could have expected to be in a situation like this.

About 5 minutes after the dust settled, I said out loud-- partly to my dad, and partly to no one-- "We're up 3-1. I can't believe it. We're up 3-1. This is really happening."

There is simply no apt way to describe the feeling most of us have right now. Over a lifetime as fans, we devote tens of thousands of hours, spend thousands of dollars, and invest immeasurable amounts of emotion in our teams. We do all this in hopes that when it's all said and done, someday we are in a position like we're in right now.

We are one game from the World Series.

I almost don't even want to say it. I feel like we're in the 7th inning of a perfect game... shhh! Don't say it!

With another dream Lincecum/Halladay matchup set to begin Thursday evening, we must remind ourselves that this series is not even close to being over. Halladay is capable of shutting us out, as is Roy Oswalt during a potential Game 6 in Philadelphia. With that said, here are my observations from Games 3 and 4.

Game 3

-- Matt Cain was an absolute monster. After a horrible performance in the regular season's final series against San Diego, I was worried about him a little bit. After a tough luck loss against Atlanta, I felt a little better. But after Tuesday's performance, I fully expect to win whenever he starts.

-- Cain and Buster Posey are what you call "old souls". With Cain, a longtime veteran at the age of 26 and Posey, a 23 year old rookie, there is a calming presence that the two of them bring to the table. I imagine that their quiet, confident demeanors, steady emotions, and workmanlike attitudes rub off on their teammates-- and I'm not talking about only the young ones.

They act as though they've been there a million times, although neither has. I tell you, if all hell broke loose, you'd want those two guys around... and not just because they're both country boys who could probably get a seized up motor running and tie a clean Carolina rig onto 10 lb. test mono-filament line. They basically set the example of what a big league ballplayer is supposed to be. Truly remarkable considering their ages.

-- Edgar Renteria on Cain's performance: “CAIN IS UNBELIEVABLE. WHEN I SAW HIM IN THE FIRST INNING, I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE A BIG GAME FOR US. JUST TRY TO SCORE ANY RUNS.”

-- And how good has Javier Lopez been? Silent Assasin? I like it.

Game 4

-- Madison Bumgarner again looked solid. His 6 strikeouts seemed to be par for his course lately. He battled, but didn't have his best stuff. Hey, he was better than Philly's 4th starter, Joe Blanton.

-- Santiago Casilla can be extremely erratic at times. He's been pretty solid up until this series. He worries me a bit. Some of these bullpen guys look like they're "leaking oil".

-- Cody Ross--- excuse me, Cody "Boss" had another huge hit. Remember when all you jerks were mad at him for that error he made in RF a month ago? I told you he was a good player. He is simply on a hot streak that not even he can comprehend. As good as our pitching has been, Mr. Rosstober has been equally important... and I don't see this stopping anytime soon.

-- Sandoval got a huge double. Nice to see. It gave us the lead, and it gave him a boost of confidence.

-- Sandoval immediately took this boost of confidence, and grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and one out. In case you were wondering, that was double play #26 on the season.

All Pablo needed to do was hit the ball into the outfield for a sac fly. He is a continuing liability at the plate, and I will continue to dislike him until he becomes a smarter baseball player.

And look how important that run was! WE NEEDED THAT RUN! Because...

-- Bochy doesn't get it. He still doesn't friggin get it. SERGIO ROMO CANNOT BE TRUSTED! I don't care that he rebounded after that run-scoring hit he allowed. This is the playoffs and he obviously is not pitching well enough. I know Bochy is a player's manager and he LOVES "sticking with his guys", but if there are two guys that cannot be trusted to get out of tight, inherited jams, it's Romo, and to a lesser extent, Casilla.

And back to that Sandoval GIDP... NOW DO YOU SEE, YOU MORON ZOO ANIMAL PANDA! GET THE RUN HOME!

-- Andres Torres has probably earned himself a start after showing signs of life in the past two games.

-- Nate Schierholtz is now an automatic out. He is officially approaching Rowand territory in hitting uselessness, and I honestly think he should start laying down a bunt up the 3rd base line ever time he hits until they start playing him in.

I met him once. He's a good guy, and I don't like disparaging good guys, but he is just not a good hitter, and is at a career crossroads. Right now, he's looking like a career 4th or 5th OF and defensive replacement. I know it's extremely difficult to produce without consistent at bats, but this is getting ridiculous.

Stretching back into the regular season, Schierholtz is 5-29, a .174 avg.

-- Ryan Howard and Chase Utley look lost for the most part.

-- Buster Posey was 4-4 after appearing tired and "slumpy" in the past couple games. I think the last time I said he was tired he hit a huge home run against San Diego.

And my God, what a play at home plate today. On a crazy/great throw by Rowand, Posey kept the game from getting out of hand with an amazing play at the plate. This guy is incredible.

-- Pat Burrell has a great eye. That is all.

-- Home Plate umpire Wally Bell was horribly inconsistent. This crew has been a disaster overall. Ted Barrett in Game 3 was the only guy worth his salt. Cousins, Iassogna and Bell were just not good. While Cousins and Iassogna don't know the difference between a ball and a strike, Bell just can't seem to remember whether he or not he's going to maintain a zone or just start anew each batter.

-- Charlie Manuel made a couple questionable decisions. Firstly, why leave a young Antonio "Diabeto" Bastardo to face Posey after he was brought in to face Huff, a lefty on lefty matchup? After all, Bastardo doesn't have much experience and righties like Posey hit .300 off of the bastard in '10. Why not bring in Madson right there?

-- The whole Oswalt thing was bizarre. I know he's awesome and everything, but why not bring in Lidge for the 9th? I know it wasn't a save situation, but if you're down to the bottom of the barrel, do you think it's wise to use a guy going on 2.5 days rest? And oh yeah, It was more like 4 hours rest, because Oswalt threw a scheduled side session before the game.

And this move came from the guy who didn't want to start Roy Halladay on three days rest, leaving Blanton available for long relief work. Philly fans want Manuel's head on a platter right now. And they may get it.

-- I just checked the comment feed on the Philly.com game story. HILARIOUS. I just wish I could get Sylvester Stallone to read them all in his Rocky voice. Here is my favorite:

"Can we keep the Phillies biggest annual October choker Rollins nailed to the bench. He got picked off in the 2nd. He ended both the 4th and 5th innings by striking out with runners on. In the 7th he booted a tailor made double play that could have lost the game. In the 8th he comes up with a runner on 2nd, no outs and pops up. The next time someone calls this career .224 October hitter a big game player, they should be put in jail."

Philly fans are so much more entertaining when they're losing... hahaha

-- How huge was Juan Uribe? He comes into the game cold, and immediately makes a helluva play to nail Ross Gload at first. Say what you will about his range, but he is an above average shortstop and I want him back in 2011.

-- Oh yeah, and he also hit a sac fly to win the game. See Pablo, that's how you do it. What an exhilarating moment for Giants fans. Juan Uribe became only the 4th player in Giants history to hit a walkoff RBI. Wild.

Did anyone have success with the radio delay?

The ideal NLDS roster... and reality

Now that our playoff-clinching victory high has turned into anxious impatience for the NLDS to begin, it's time for rampant speculation and widespread knowitallism.

Yup. This is why you read stuff.

To keep it simple, there are some interesting rules for playoff rosters. Read away:

To be eligible for a team’s playoff roster a player must be on any of the following: (a) the 25 man active roster, (b) the disabled list, (c) the bereavement list, or (d) the suspended list as of August 31st at midnight. The only exception is that a player on the 60-day disabled list may be replaced by another player from the team's 40-man roster (as of August 31) who plays the same position (i.e. position player for position player, or pitcher for pitcher), with the approval of the commissioner of baseball.

Sooooo with all that said. If I'm Bochy and Sabean, this is my 25 man NLDS Playoff roster, and I'll throw some explanations of why I would even bother making a list that probably won't be a reality come Thursday. Indulge me.

Infielders/Catchers (8):

Aubrey Huff
Freddy Sanchez
Juan Uribe
Pablo Sandoval
Mike Fontenot
Edgar Renteria
Buster Posey
Eli Whiteside

Outfielders (6):

Andres Torres
Cody Ross
Pat Burrell
Jose Guillen
Nate Schierholtz
Darren Ford

Pitchers (11):

Tim Lincecum
Matt Cain
Jonathan Sanchez
Madison Bumgarner
Ramon Ramirez
Javier Lopez
Santiago Casilla
Jeremy Affeldt
Sergio Romo
Chris Ray
Brian Wilson

Left out: Travis Ishikawa, Dan Runzler, Guillermo Mota, Barry Zito, Aaron Rowand, Eugenio Velez, Manny Burriss, etc.

This is a bold list. Renteria over Ishikawa? No Zito AND no Rowand? Ford?! Yes, yes, and a million times yes.

Rationale:

Zito left out

I almost feel like quoting the Dany Heatley Sharks commercial. Aw what the hell. Dany Heatley/Barry Zito is a lousy pitcher, but he's a great hockey player/guy. Heatley couldn't throw a strike, and neither could Zito on Saturday in a crucial game against San Diago. He was trying... he really was. Barry Zito wanted so badly to do well, and he didn't have it. He hasn't really had it since September 19th. And although that wasn't that long ago, his most recent performances have been alarming to say the least.

Yes, he's a veteran, and yes, he once did well in the playoffs with Oakland, but that only pulls so much weight. With all due discretion and sensitivity... that was like 8 years and 5 miles per hour ago. Furthermore, the game he started against San Diego WAS a playoff game. It was a must win, just like a potential game 4 at Turner Field would be.

How could you justify Zito on the roster? I don't get it. If indeed we need a 4th starter (which we likely will), how is Zeets a better option than Madison Bumgarner?

Zito's pros: Veteran, has pitched in big playoff games before, had a 2.84 ERA in a stretch of starts from 9/8-9-19, his lone start against the Braves came in Atlanta in which he threw 7 innings of 2 run ball and struck out 10.

Zito's cons: Has a near 9.00 ERA in his last two starts with a 9.00 BB/9 rate, cannot come out of the bullpen, has a 5.09 ERA on the road this season, and would be a wasted roster spot if a 4th game isn't necessary, was booed on Saturday and reportedly aggressively heckled by drunken GTL enthusiasts in the Marina on Sunday night.

Bumgarner's Pros: In 10 road starts this season The Carolina Kid has a 1.91 ERA. In the month of September, he has a 1.13 ERA and opponents hit only .246 against him. Has amazing poise for someone his age. He can work out of the bullpen if necessary and has done it recently. He is from North Carolina and would not be affected by any strange weather.

Bumgarner's Cons: He's a 21 year old rookie who has never pitched this many innings in a year before, let alone in a playoff game.

In addition, arguably the Braves' best hitter, Jason Heyward, hit only .249 against lefties this year. Neutralizing the powerful rookie is key.

Ford vs. Rowand:

Rowand hit a clutch HR on Friday, he makes $12.5MM this year, and would gladly engage in some form of masochism or self-mutilation if it meant he could play sometimes. That being said, he doesn't offer much to the team. For the last 3 months, this once proud baseball player has been reduced to a cheerleading ghost, a constant reminder of how much better we are with Andres Torres and what an absolute albatross his contract is.

It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but I can't feel too bad for the guy. He's filthy effing rich, he has a World Series ring from his days in Chicago, and I'm sure his wife is pretty good looking.

The case for Ford is a stretch. This isn't a video game or fantasy baseball. And yes, I know he never got big league at bat and he hit .251 in Richmond. What I also know is that there is a profound lack of speed available on this team without him. With Torres and to a lesser extent Schierholtz the only fast baserunners on the team, Ford could be an insanely valuable weapon in the late innings. Think Dave Roberts for the Red Sox... how'd that work out?

The fact that Ford was brought up on the last day of August made him eligible, and it was a smart foresighted move by Sabean and Co. The kid can play some OF if absolutely necessary, and as we saw in the game against Colorado, the guy can flat out fly and win a game for you with his legs. This probably won't happen, but that's my argument, and I don't get what angle Rowand has for making the playoff roster over the speedster.

Renteria:

This guy is banged up, old, and I have no idea what he has left. He is a backup at best, and it's a mystery what we can expect from him. That being said, he's a repeated playoff hero and has a severe knack for clutch hits. Even this year, his avg. with runners on is higher than his avg. with the bases empty. In addition, he's the best backup option to Juan Uribe. Although Fontenot can play SS, it is risky to have only one backup middle infielder available.

Ishikawa:

Ishi is a good guy and he's been a great pinch hitter and late inning defensive replacement. Unfortunately, there is just no room for him. He is best suited for late inning at bats, but the Braves employ two filthy lefties as their 8th and 9th inning guys, making him veritably useless. Perhaps next round.

Bullpen:

It's too bad we can't take all these guys, because Runzler and Mota are solid arms. Unfortunately they both experienced injuries late in the season and haven't made enough appearances lately to prove that they are indeed "back". Mota pitched great against SD the other day, and Runzler seems to be working out the kinks, but unfortunately they don't make the cut.

As for what will probably happen? Well, it's probably not as pretty. As Murph and Mac pointed out Tuesday morning on KNBR, the Giants are a very conservative organization that doesn't make any rash decisions and are not known to ruffle feathers. Sacking both Zito AND Rowand from the active roster would cause a bit of a media storm and would be a minor distraction. Also, we're talking about $30MM of dead weight sitting on the bench...

...Oh well

If I were to make a bet, I would say that the Giants ruin my perfect roster by keeping both Zito and Rowand over Ford and Ray. Doesn't make sense baseball-wise, but it's a reality. Let's hope Sabes gives this a read.

Coming up tomorrow, a look at the Braves, how the lineups match up and pitching schedules.

PS: My playoff guarantee made over a month ago came true. Trust in the Dodgerhater!