Coaching Staff Stability

I saw this coming, we were lucky it didn't happen two years ago but Ron Wotus is the first member of this great Giants coaching staff to have an opportunity to interview for another teams manager job. He will be interviewing with the Colorado Rockies for their manager position. Obviously, I wish him luck but I would like to keep the coaching staff together as much as anything. However, even if he doesn't get this one, it is a matter of time before he is managing his own team.

Giants Free Agent List

Below is a list of this year's free agent list from the Giants. Players age is in parenthesis.

Jeremy Affeldt (33) I think this veteran lefty is a key reliever that should be brought back for another couple of years.
Melky Cabrera (28) No reason to bring him back and I would be disappointed if they even made an offer
Guillermo Mota (39) Might retire, if he doesn't I would not offer him a contract
Xavier Nady (33) It is worth checking his price tag to come off the bench and serve as a 4th or 5th outfielder
Angel Pagan (31) Rumors have him asking for 3 plus years with around 10 mil per. Can't blame him for asking but the money could be better spent elsewhere. I would like them to look into both Hamilton and Bourn before they pay this price. Pagan was great but he has never been that good before and at 31, I would not expect to get the same performance for the next 3-5 years.
Brad Penny (34) Not needed at all, hasn't been the same in years.
Freddy Sanchez (34) Hasn't played much since his 2010 playoff heroics. If you can get him for a year at around the league minimum, I would consider it.
Marco Scutaro (37) I would give him a 2-3 year deal and let him retire as a Giant.
Ryan Theriot (33) It will be interesting what kind of offer he gets, I think he spends the rest of his career as a backup. If they don't bring back Sanchez, they may want to bring back Theriot.

Hamilton to the Giants?

I will have more on the upcoming free agency period in the coming days but I found this interesting and it makes sense to me. Below are the odds for where Josh Hamilton will end up signing.

Who will sign Josh Hamilton next?                    Amazon World Series Gear
        

San Francisco Giants 3-1
Atlanta Braves 5-1
Texas Rangers 5-1
Philadelphia Phillies 7-1
New York Yankees 9-1
Chicago Cubs 9-1
Boston Red Sox 9-1
Pittsburgh Pirates 10-1
Toronto Blue Jays 10-1
Los Angeles Dodgers 15-1

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2012 Award Season

Now, with the postseason over, MLB is set to begin releasing their awards. I will go over some of the awards that we could see Giants players receiving. *Note, not counting the Hank Aaron Award or the Comeback Player of the Year Awards that Posey has already received.

• Buster Posey Silver Slugger

The Silver Slugger Award is annually handed out to the best hitter at each position. As far as catchers are concerned, this is a no-brainer.

• Buster Posey NL MVP

There seems to be little doubt that Buster will be named the National League's most valuable player. Not only did he have a huge offensive year but he was the second best defensive catcher in baseball this year. Although Ryan Braun had another incredible year, the voters will not give it to him because of last year's PED scandal. This is unjust however because his suspension was over-turned and he put up better numbers this year with no mention of PEDs. However, the fact that the Giants won their division and Braun could not get the Brewers into the postseason does mean that Posey should win the award anyway.

• Matt Cain Cy Young Nominee

Although Cain likely won't win this year's Cy Young, he will probably finish up there in votes after a career year. I just thought that was at least worth a mention here.

If You Recognize Him Please Report it

World Series Review

Well, it may have lacked drama but I certainly enjoyed the end result of this year's world series. It was the lowest rated in history but I see that more as a baseball problem than a Giants/Tigers problem. There was a story that you could have sold to America but you would have had to do it outside of New York and that is not something that Bud Selig understands. So, much of America missed this year's fall classic because it did not feature the Yankees, Red Sox or, to a lesser extent, the Phillies. The east coast was absent and baseball doesn't sell beyond that very well.

They could have sold the best pitcher in the majors and the best hitter in the majors against a team that refuses to die. They could have sold the pugnacious play of the Giants against the old school American League style of the Detroit Tigers. They could have sold the comeback stories that were all over the Giants, from Posey to Zito to Sandoval and so on. However, they didn't sell any of that. Well, actually they did but the ratings reflected the major problem, they didn't sell it early enough. The reason nobody outside of Detroit and San Francisco cared is because you didn't pay attention to the Giants this year and you forgot about the Tigers. Baseball should have reminded you but they gamble ratings by selling certain teams in certain markets.

So, for those who may have missed it, you missed some good games and great stories. In game one, you had Pablo Sandoval humbling the most feared pitcher in the game and the Giants knocked Verlander out before the 5th inning. That capped a string of 10 games in which the Giants had knocked 7 starting pitchers out before the 5th inning. However, it was the only time in this series as the final three games were mostly pitching dominant. In game two, you had the gritty Doug Fister surviving an early line drive off his head while pitching into the 7th and not allowing a run to score through six against the mechanically improved MadBum who delivered another 7 shutout innings in the world series. The Giants used small ball and took advantage of the weak Tigers bullpen to win 2-0 and head to Detroit leading the series by that same count.

In Detroit, the pitchers continued to outshine the hitters. In game 3, Ryan Vogelsong and Anibal Sanchez battled early mechanical flaws to combine for just under 13 innings of pitching and just 2 runs allowed.  Both runs came in the top of the second before Sanchez could settle in. Despite chances all night long, Volgelsong and the Giants bullpen continually turned them aside. The 2 runs held up and the Giants took a commanding 3-0 lead. Then, game four, when it seemed like you could jump on the Tigers early and rip their hearts out instead you got the best game of the series. The two teams traded punches all night until the Giants played small ball in the top of the tenth to put the series away.

There was a lot to like about this series, if you wanted to give it a chance. Tim Lincecum was a huge story heading into it because you weren't sure how much of a factor he would be. As it turned out, he came up big in getting out of potential threats in the 6th inning of games one and three. Both times, he went on to pitch two more innings of dominant baseball. The freak was a huge factor in the series despite not getting a win or a save. He was the X factor that the Tigers had no answer for. Maybe America didn't see it but we all did and we won't soon forget it.

Ready for a Parade?

San Francisco will celebrate it's latest champion with a ticker-tape parade on Wednesday morning beginning at 11 a.m. The parade will go from the foot of Market St. to the Civic Center Plaza. You might wanna get out there early, like even Tuesday afternoon. Last time we celebrated this, over a million people attended. It should be a hell of a party and hopefully this is becoming a trend. I certainly wouldn't mind these parties every year or two.

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MVPanda

Congratulations to Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval for a historic postseason culminating in a historic world series MVP performance. Sandoval and NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro dominated the Giants offensive headlines this postseason and were extremely impressive over the past 4 weeks. In the World Series, the Panda started with 3 home runs in game one and was followed by 5 hits over the final three games. He was incredibly impressive and, for a guy who barely played in the last world series run, this is one of the best comeback stories in postseason history.

Along with his power tear of six home runs in sixteen playoff games, the Panda also had a Giants team record 24 hits this postseason. He surpassed J.T. Snow's 2002 playoff total of 22. Along with the huge hits, Sandoval surprised much of America with his excellent defense throughout the entire playoff run. There was not much Sandoval did wrong this month and there aren't many Giants you can be happier for tonight.

Thank you Sandoval for showing us all the endless desire that you have to be the best in the world.

Giants Sweep in Extras

Well, credit the Detroit Tigers for not laying down tonight. They came to fight and put up a good one. Max Scherzer pitcher really well, their bullpen pitched well, Miguel Cabrera flexed some MVP muscle but in the end, all of that was not enough to prevent the San Francisco Giants from celebrating their second world series title in three years. I will keep this recap short, I am guessing you saw the game and give you my thoughts.

This game was all about our best showing their stuff. Cain once again delivered a strong start with the chance to eliminate an opponent. He was not on top of his game but as we all know, he can compete even when he is a little off. He held the Tigers offense in check for seven solid innings and turned it over to a quality bullpen. Affeldt was impressive, striking out the three best hitters in their lineup, in the 8th and Casilla got it through the 9th. Romo came in and got the save.

The offense was handled by Pence, Belt, Posey and Scutaro. Aside from Belt, those are the guys we typically count on. Pence and Belt had back to back extra base hits to put the Giants on top first. Posey answered the Cabrera homer with his own two run shot. Then, in the 10th, small ball paid off again as the Giants got a leadoff hit, sac bunt and clutch 2 out rbi single from the clutch hitting Marco Scutaro.

This was the perfect example of the 2012 Giants tonight and an epic way to cap off what had been a World Series that lacked drama despite two of the first three games being very low scoring and close. This Giants team delivered every thing we asked for the past four months and I hope you all celebrate safely. We will have a parade at some time this week so get ready!

Offseason Plans

Those of you who may have come to enjoy my blog might wonder what will become of it within the next few weeks after the buzz of the world series dies down. You should still check in here for my take on the offseason transactions, rumors and buzz. I plan to write at least a few times a week and when something interesting is going on, I will post much more frequently than that. As for the MVPosey facebook page, I plan to keep that up and going for fans that may or may not care about what I have to write. I won't put everything I write on there because some of it won't be as important. Therefore, I encourage those who enjoy my blog to bookmark it, click the box to follow it and please comment on here and share it with your social network (aka, your facebook, pintrest, twitter friends).

As for my future plans for all of this, it is my goal for this to someday get big enough to where I can create an interactive, fun and exciting website for Giants fans. That is something I have always dreamed of and I hope that we can accomplish it together. If you have any ideas or thoughts on this or anything else, please feel free to drop me an email. Thank you all for your support and making this journey to a title something I will always remember. The Giants have the best fans in the world and I have enjoyed my discussions with many of you and look forward to getting to know more of you.

Now, game four is set to begin shortly, let's close out this series and get ready for another parade!

Just Close it Out-Matt Cain Time

Well, here we are just one win away from a second championship in three years. This team has been dominant for the past week and I am going to keep this preview simple. The message is the same and the result should be as well. The Tigers, at this point, seem uninterested and the Giants are on a mission for another parade. Matt Cain, fittingly, gets the ball in a few hours to try and get us there.

After the Giants final home game of the regular season, it was Matt Cain that said the goal was to play for another month and then have a parade. Expect him to be focused and ready for tonight's game, with the chance to finish on a high note. Let's not forget, he has been here before. After the epic comeback in Cincinnati, it was Matt who took the ball in game five and shutdown the Reds until the bats busted it open off of Latos. After another comeback against the Cardinals, the Giants turned to Matt again in game seven. Despite not having his best stuff that night, he battled through it and shut out the Cardinals for 5 and two thirds. Well, we ask him to do it one more time tonight. He has become the guy we turn to when it is time for the kill.

The Tigers are ready, their fans have given up and their players look shell shocked. Now, it is just a matter of finishing the job. There maybe no pitcher better qualified for the job. Cain will go to the hill tonight with a strong postseason resume. When he starts the game he will have just a 4-2 career postseason record but he will also bring in an amazing era of 1.83 in 44 and a third career postseason innings. Matt has been our guy for years, often in the shadow of Tim Lincecum, and this game is all about him and his moment in the spotlight. The drama of this series is over, we know the end result already, so now it is all about cementing the legacy of the great Matt Cain.

Another Award for Buster

Before last night's game, Buster Posey and Miguel Cabrera received their respective leagues Hank Aaron Awards. The Hank Aaron Award is given annually to each leagues best hitter. Posey became the second Giant player to win the honor, Barry Bonds won it three times (2001, 2002, 2004).

In coming back from last year's devastating injury, Posey's numbers exceeded everybody expectations and hopes. He led the league in hitting, surpassed 100 rbi and hit 23 homeruns. While Miguel Cabrera's triple crown season was amazing, I would argue that Posey's season was even more impressive when you factor in the position that he played. Buster had an amazing season and it will soon be capped by a world series trophy for the Giants and his first MVP award.

Game 3, Rip Their Hearts Out

I know, I am late writing this recap, I wanted to sleep on how I would really word this. As a Giant fan, I am really excited right now because we are about to win our second title in the past three years and this team is really young too. So, it is likely that this team will be a factor in the postseason for the foreseeable future. However, as a baseball fan, I am a bit disappointed in the Tigers and their fans. As good as the Giants have played, by the end of last night's game, it felt like the Tigers and their fans were just there to watch.

This is the world series, if your team is here, you need to make some noise and show some heart. The Tigers are being dominated in this world series and I expected the motor city fan base to make some noise and provide some energy to a beaten and bruised team. Instead, Pablo Sandoval gets cheered for a first inning single just as loudly as the first strike of the game off the bat of Anibal Sanchez. For a fan base that I thought was pretty passionate, I am embarrassed. Baseball needs better from it's fans. Even if your team gets dominated and swept in the world series, you should be their celebrating and appreciating the fact that they still got further than 28 other teams. Show us some heart tonight Detroit.

So, back to the game, Vogey and Sanchez battled control problems early but both starters did really well at getting by with less than their best stuff or control. Vogey got by with the assist of two double plays and stellar pitching in the 5th to get out of a bases loaded one out jam. Sanchez battled erratic control most of the night but gave his team a very solid start by allowing just two runs over seven innings. The Giants were pleased to see Hunter Pence build upon the good finish he had to game two of the world series by walking to start the second to start the games only rally. Gregor Blanco then got into one of the early mistakes by Sanchez and made him pay with an rbi single. Then after Hector Sanchez struck out, Brandon Crawford picked him up by delivering a two out single to score Blanco with the games second and final run.

With the Giants leading, the Tigers continued to threaten by getting at least one runner per inning from the 3rd through the 8th. However they were continually put away by the combination of Vogey and Tim Lincecum, who came in to get the final out of the 6th and delivered another strong 2 and a third innings of shutout baseball. By the 9th inning, with a dead crowd, when Romo came out to close the door the game had the feeling of a blowout instead of a two run difference. Romo got the Tigers in order, assisted by a great catch by Blanco and the Giants all but finished off the Tigers in the world series.

Now, this afternoon, the Giants will have a 3-0 lead and their ace on the mound. The sweep seems to be the humane thing to do now. Let's put them out of their misery. When the series concludes, the MVP will be given to Pablo Sandoval who has had two hits in each of the last two games after his huge 3 homer and 4 hit game one. There is no drama in this world series and now it is just a matter of when we celebrate. Then it comes down to when we have the parade. Orangetober is almost over, get ready to celebrate with your boys.

Game 3 Preview

With a 2-0 lead in the World Series, Giant fans are feeling very confident. The Giants have dominated the Tigers bullpen, knocked out their ace and silenced their bats. However, the enthusiasm should be tempered slightly. In any series, their is never a real advantage until one team loses at home. That has yet to happen here but tonight is the Giants first opportunity to change that in Detroit against Anibal Sanchez and the Tigers.

Sanchez is a guy that should concern Giants fans because of his career numbers against them, in 5 starts he has an  E.R.A. of under 2 and has shut them out in 2 of those. That is some own-age and it certainly grabs your attention. If his slider is sharp and he settles into a rhythm then it could really be a tough test for the Giants hot lineup. The Giants will need to get after him early and make sure he doesn't settle in.

Meanwhile the Giants will hand the ball to the steady Ryan Vogelsong who has allowed one run over seven innings in all three of his starts this postseason. Vogelsong has been the most reliable arm for the Giants this postseason. He pitches with a chip on his shoulder and I am sure he will go out there thinking about all the people who never thought that he would get to this spot in his career. It will be interesting to see how the Tiger hitters do against Vogelsong because they have been much better all year against right handed starters.

This is easily the biggest game of the series and I expect it to look much more like game two than game one. Both pitchers should be able to contain the offenses and the game would then come down to execution and maximizing opportunities. The Giants are in for a dog fight, I don't like the prospects of facing Sanchez at all but the Giants have shown that they can turn around numbers all year long. Here are my keys to a Giants victory.

1) Don't Allow Sanchez to Settle in
If Sanchez gets his slider working and has success early, it will be a very tough test for the Giants hitters. They really need to find a way to get to him in the first couple of innings.

2) Rally Vogey
If Sanchez does what I think we should expect him to, it would be essential for Vogelsong to deliver another stellar start. Just keep pace and keep the Giants in the game.

3) Get into and Feed on Their Bullpen
Even if the Giants can't score much off of Sanchez, they can get him out of the game by running up the pitch count, much like they did against Fister in game two. If they can get that done, they will get much better pitches to hit against the Tigers pen. 

That is what I think the Giants need to do to try to get this series to 3-0 but I must emphasize that this is the toughest matchup the Giants have had in this series and it should be a great test for the best team in baseball.


 



 

The Weather Factor

News flash, Detroit tends to be cold this time of year. Right now it is 50 degrees and it is expected to be 46 by the time the game starts. Tomorrows forecast is similar and Monday it will be about 5 degrees less. So, that will certainly impact play this weekend but it will impact both teams. I don't really see it as a big advantage for either side. A lot will be made of it by the media but it is something that none of these players are particularly used to. It is cold and baseball is more of a summer game.

From the pitching side of things, the thing they will worry about the most is their grip. The cold, dry temperature could make it difficult for both sides and that will impact breaking balls much more than fastballs. Anibal Sanchez, the Tigers starter, relies heavily on his slider so this will be a point of emphasis for him. While Ryan Vogelsong relies much more on his fastball than his offspead stuff. From an offensive stand point, the cold temperatures could impact the carry of the baseball and take away some power from the teams.

The weather is what it is and at this level you just have to play through whatever the conditions are. I don't expect the players to worry about the cold at all. They all know what is at stake this weekend and that will be their focus. While the media will want to remind you how cold they are, the heat of whats at stake should be more than enough to warm the players. At least it will be dry the entire time the series is there. At this time of year, that is all you really hope for.

Property of Pablo

So, this is an old story that is making some noise again. A fake picture of Justin Verlander is making it's way around the internet again. A fan, who bears a resemblance to the Tiger ace, posted this pic of himself wearing a property of Pablo Sandoval t-shirt in Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field this past summer. Obviously, after game one of the world series, it is garnering much more attention than this young man ever anticipated. Somebody should copyright this immediately and market it because it could take off. Oh, crap, I should do it but I am too busy sharing it with the rest of you.

Giants Name Posey Game 3 DH

As most expected, Bruce Bochy has named Hector Sanchez as the game 3 starting catcher and Buster Bosey will get a day off from the field as the teams designated hitter. Other candidates for the DH spot could have included Aubrey Huff, Xavier Nady or Joaquin Arias playing third and Pablo Sandoval serving as the DH. However, Huff has chronically bad knees and Arias has hit much better off of lefties than righties. With Anibal Sanchez, another right hander starting for the Tigers, this looks to be another rather easy and smart choice for the Giants skipper who has not had many mistakes this postseason.

Road Warriors-World Series Edition

Well, each series the Giants have started at home and each round they have gotten a little better. Against the Reds, they lost the first two, then they split with the Cardinals and now they head to Detroit with a 2-0 lead. Momentum is clearly on the Giants side and, with the next 3 games in Detroit, they need to capitalize on it. While the numbers suggest that the Giants are in firm control, only 11 out of 52 teams has overcome an 0-2 hole to win the world series, the Giants should know how quickly that can all change.

The Giants have dominated the Tigers hitters thus far in the series but the Tigers have played much better at home all year including these playoffs. They are yet to lose a game at home and that is the test that the Giants face. Detroit is now 54-31 at home for the year and 41-46 on the road. Clearly they are looking forward to turning the tide of this series in their own ballpark. So, we won't see anymore embarrassing outfield throws by Delmon Young for a while and we will have to find a DH for up to the next three games.

As impressive as the Tigers are at home, the Giants may be more impressive on the road. They finished the regular season winning 26 out of their last 37. In the postseason, they became the first team all year to sweep three games in Cincinatti (who had the same home record as these Tigers) and took just one out of three in St. Louis. So, they head into this winning 30 out of their last 43 away from AT&T park and that is something they can take a lot of confidence in. Detroit is not a friendly place for visitors to play but the Giants don't really seem to mind hostile environments.

The goal is to win two games and not worry about coming back home for anything more than a parade. However, if they fail to do so, they do have homefield on their side again for game 6 and 7 if necessary. The Tigers are the ones who have to make a statement now. At this point, they know what the Giants are all about and they should come out ready to make a statement tomorrow night. Tomorrow nights game is huge for this series, if the Tigers lose they would face a near impossible 3-0 deficit with Matt Cain due to throw the clincher. If the Tigers win tomorrow, no matter what, they get Verlander back on the hill for game five in front of the home crowd. While the Giants want to end this series in Detroit, the Tigers just want to extend it back to San Francisco. It should be fun to watch the Giants momentum battling a raucous Tiger fan base and a rejuvenated Tiger team.

Not Just Lucky

This happens every year and it is rather humorous. A team catches some breaks and makes others and you end up getting the fans who call the team lucky. Nobody ever wants to give credit, especially when their team had a strong year and didn't win the championship. There is always going to be something you can point at and say, "if that didn't happen, it would be a lot different." This Giants team is no different and if you look enough, you will hear it all.

They are lucky the Dodgers fell apart because the Dodgers were a better team. Yeah, I will give you this one. The Dodgers were a lot better, in April and May. After the first 32 games, they were 7 games ahead of these Giants. From that point on, they were 14 games worse and essentially a 500 team. There really was not much of a race this year. The Giants were the better team and once the NL MVP, Buster Posey, got confidence in his leg holding up the Giants took off and the Dodgers had no chance.

Well, fine but they are lucky they got a run off Bailey before he even gave up a hit in game three of the Division series and even luckier that Cueto got hurt and Rolen made an error to extend the series. Yeah, Bailey hit a quick runner, then walked the next guy and the Giants took advantage. There is nothing wrong with that at all, it is manufactured baseball. As for Cueto, he had a terrific season but last I checked, he is not Roy Halladay. He is a good pitcher and the series may have gone differently had he not gone down but injuries happen. Rolen's error was not an unforced error either. Joaquin Arias was hustling down the line and put a lot of pressure on Rolen. Luck did not beat the Reds, the Giants did.

There are a lot more examples I could bring up; the Lynn error in the NLCS, the ball hitting the bag in game one of this series, etc. People are always going to try to bring you down or discount what your team accomplishes, especially if they feel like their team had a good shot at winning it all. Just smirk and move on. This isn't a video game, this is a real game played by real men and things don't always go the way you would expect. If they did, why the hell would you watch?



 

Madison Bumgarner Loves the Big Stage

Well, the Giants needed a great game from Madison Bumgarner tonight because Doug Fister really brought it. With a little help from the defense and great mechanics, that is exactly what the Giants got. Bumgarner went 7 strong shutout innings allowing just 2 hits, walking two and hitting one. He was only in trouble once and Marco Scutaro picked him up with a great relay to throw Fielder out for the first out of the second inning. Then with Delmon Young at second and one out, he got Peralta to pop out and struck out Garcia. After that the Tigers never got another runner into scoring position against Bumgarner who finished with 8 strikeouts and reminded us that he is a player for the biggest stage of all.

Fister was more than ready to trade shutout frames with Bumgarner but the Giants did a great job of running his pitch count up. Heading into the 7th, Fister was already at 108 pitches and Pence had a won a great battle to leadoff with a single and the pitch count got us into the pen. Drew Smyly came in and was not sharp at all, walking Belt and then allowing Blanco to roll one up the third base line that Cabrera elected to hope would go foul. With the bases loaded, Smyly calmed enough to induce a double play off the bat of Crawford as Pence came in for the games first run.

After Casilla had another strong showing in the 8th, the Giants kept punishing the Tiger pen. After a leadoff walk to Pagan, Scutaro had a rare strikeout. With Sandoval batting, Pagan stole America a taco and the Tigers elected to walk the Panda intentionally and bring in Octavio Dotel to pitch to Posey who walked on four pitches. With the bases loaded for the second straight inning, Pence fell behind 0-2 and battled off some tough pitches before coming up with a productive out on a sac fly. Phil Coke then came in and got Belt to strike out to end the inning but not before the Giants scored a huge insurance run to turn over a 2-0 lead to Sergio Romo. The Giant closer came in sharp and retired the Tigers in order.

It was a great game that really showed the biggest advantages the Giants have in this series. They matched the Tigers starting pitching, played great defense and took advantage of the weakness of the Tigers bullpen. Now, with a strong 2-0 lead, the Giants head to Detroit with Ryan Vogelsong looking to put a strangle hold on the Giants second world series title in three years. There is still work to be done but the Giants clearly look like the deeper team against the top heavy Tigers.

How Can we Land in Detroit With a 2-0 Lead

Well, so this is what playing a series from ahead feels like? The Giants have never led in a series this postseason until now. In a couple of hours they will try to extend their lead to 2-0 over the Tigers. Madison Bumgarner will try to prove that he has corrected his mechanical flaws against a solid veteran Doug Fister. If Bumgarner struggles, it appears that Tim Lincecum will be able to come in for a couple of innings after throwing just 32 pitches in his dominant game one appearance. Meanwhile, the Tigers bullpen was taxed last night and after another terrible appearance, we probably will not see Jose Valverde much or at all for the remainder of this series. Which means that now neither team has the closer they expected to have way back in February. So, here is how I expect the Giants to get the 2-0 edge we are all hoping for.

1) Feed off the Momentum
The Giants are hot right now and when you are hot you just want to go on the attack as soon as possible. The Tigers are now well aware of how dangerous a hot Giants team is and they need Fister's veteran presence to slow the snow ball down. With a scorching Panda and a warming Posey in the middle of the order, the Giants need to have Scutaro and Pagan put Fister into pressure situations.

2) Get Posey and Pence Producing
Our 4-5 guys have not produced a whole lot this postseason and a lot of fans are concerned about it. However, players of this caliber don't stay cold too long. After Sandoval's historic three homerun night, it is time for Posey to offer him some protection because I guarantee that Sandoval will not see many quality pitches if Posey doesn't build off of his own 2 hit game last night. As for Pence, it is time to lay off the sliders and just wait for the fast ball and punish it.

3)Forget Dominant, Just be Good Enough
 Bumgarner has not thrown well this postseason or heading into it. In the second half, there was a steady decline in his performance that we should be alarmed about. Hopefully the extra rest he has had since his NLCS start and the mechanical adjustments they claim he has made help him get back to the fiery young strong willed pitcher we all know he can be. He doesn't need to be great, he should only need to be good. Hold down the Tigers for 5-6 innings of 3 runs or less and the Giants should be able to win the game.      

4) Put Pressure on the Tigers Defense
The funniest thing I saw in game one was Delmon Young's little league toss home on Zito's rbi single. That is a microcosm of why I hate the DH and love National League baseball. The Tigers have three guys in the field that really would be better served in a DH role. At home, the Giants need to take advantage of that. Drop down some bunts and put pressure on the corner infielders, when a ball is hit to Delmon Young test him, etc. We saw what pressure does to mediocre fielders against the Cardinals and now we are facing a team that is even worse. Feed on their weakness.

5) Get into Their Pen Early
This will be a key all series because it is the biggest advantage the Giants have. With Valverde, likely, done for most of the series, the Giants need to expose the mediocrity that is the Detroit Tiger bullpen. Fister will be a tough guy to do that against because he typically gets outs early in counts. That means you just gotta hit him on a consistent basis. Keep attacking and get him out and then take advantage.

That is how I think the Giants get their 2-0 lead

The Panda Makes Verlander Look Very.....JV

We saw history tonight and it was epic. We all heard about how great Verlander was coming into the World Series. He deserved all the praise, he is the best in the game right now. However, Pablo Sandoval is not impressed by his resume or his fastball. He was locked and loaded tonight. Not only did he homer off of Verlander twice, he also took the Tigers best reliever deep for the hat trick.

What our Panda did tonight is historic and it sets a great tone for the rest of this series. Beating Verlander is one thing but humiliating him is another. This was an epic statement by a player that was not even allowed to play in the world series two years ago. Folks, this is what legends are made of. Come what may in the remainder of this series, Pablo Sandoval is on top of the world right now.

Game 1 Recap

Well, that went pretty well. The Giants rode momentum straight through Verlander and the Tigers to take a 1-0 series lead. Pablo Sandoval flexed his muscle all night long with three homers and a bullet for a single. Verlander was never able to settle in and incredibly was the 9th opposing starter to fail to make it into the 5th inning. He never had it and the bullpen didn't look much better. Albuqurque was solid, aside from a little run in with the powerful panda but Valverde had another blow up and I doubt we will see much of him the rest of the series.

The Giants got another stellar start, their 6th in the last 7 games, by Barry Zito. He allowed just one run in five and two thirds innings. Nothing short of spectacular. Bochy made a good choice by pulling him out of a jam in the 6th and bringing in our secret weapon, Timmy Lincecum. The Freak was locked in from the word go, striking out 5 of the 7 men he faced in two and a third perfect innings.
With the game locked up in the 9th, another great move, Bochy elected to turn it over to Mijares and Kontos. It is always good to try to get guys who have never been on this stage a little experience when you can. No better situation that an 8-1 lead in the 9th. Kontos struggled a bit and Affeldt had to come in and finish things off.

Another positive sign in the game was Posey looking much more comfortable and confident at the plate while collecting two hits and an rbi. It is hard to see this team winning a world series if Posey didn't break out of his slump. Pence continues to struggle and just needs to settle down and get back to swinging at strikes.

One of the biggest stories of this game was the stellar defense by the Giants and the lack of defense played by the Tigers. Miguel Cabrera, Delmon Young and Prince Fielder all look like designated hitters and it showed tonight with Miggy lacking range and Young showing off a little league throwing arm. Meanwhile, Blanco, Crawford and Posey all had stellar days defensively. If this continues, it could be huge in this series.

Game One Keys to Victory

Justin Verlander has been outstanding this postseason and his goal is to set the tone in the world series for the Detroit Tigers. He is well qualified for the job and his resume is quite impressive, to say the least. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder will look to have his back offensively and they are quite the formidable duo. This will be a tremendous test for the Giants but I don't think it is time to stop believing yet. Hell, this series is 0-0 right now. We didn't give up when it was 0-2 in Cincy or 3-1 in St. Louis, so why quit now. Here is how our boys can beat Verlander and the Tigers tonight.

1) Ride the Momentum to an Early Lead
It can't be under-stated that the Giants have won 3 games since the last time the Tigers played. Any momentum they had after sweeping the Yankees is gone now. Having this game in San Francisco is even bigger because of how the last round went. The Giants are on fire right now and they don't have to knock Verlander around but if you can get a run or two on the board early we can that snow ball effect going.

2) Keep the String of Great Starts Going
Zito does not have to match Verlander strike out for strike out in this game. His job is just to give us 6-7 innings of quality baseball, while allowing 3 runs or less. Against Verlander, it would be nice if it was less but 3 runs would be fine. Coming off of his best start as a Giant, Zito looks ready for the big stage.

3) Get Verlander out of the Game
The Giants did a tremendous job in the NLCS of getting to the Cardinal bullpen and that is something that has to continue into tonight. Get deep in counts, foul off pitches, and just battle your ass off at the plate. Verlander is a machine but if you can get 20 pitches an inning out of him he won't be out there in the 7th. Their bullpen is weak and that is the biggest advantage the Giants will have in this game. Get to the pen and punish their mistakes.

That is how I think the Giants will get this series to 1-0 tonight! Your thoughts are welcome. If you like what I have to say, please share it with via social media.
Let's Go Giants!

How I Would Like to the Freak Utilized

We all love Timmy but I don't think that he would serve us best in the rotation in the world series. This postseason, he has pitched 4 times (1 start and 3 relief appearances) and the results have been mixed. As a reliever, he has been stellar and given the team a chance to win every time. As a starter, he wasn't horrible but his command was worse and he was not as effective. It seems pretty clear that the best way to utilize him would be out of the pen.

As a reliever, Timmy feels like a secret weapon. It really feels like we have our Freak back when he comes into the game and just lets it go. When he starts, I don't know if he is just to fired up early on or holding back early on to try and get deep into the game. Maybe it is a combination of the two. Coming out of the pen, he just lets loose and gives ya all he has as long as he is in there.

His relief appearances this postseason have given me confidence that, even without ever getting the lost velocity back, he could get back closer to what we all remember him being. His issues feel much more psychological than physical at this point. Getting away for a while could be very helpful in getting past that. Maybe he will never win another Cy Young award but he can still be a very good starter for us in future seasons.

For now, let's go with where he looks more comfortable. His relief appearances are something the Tigers will have to game plan for and that is like a secret weapon of sorts. If a starter looks shaky early, go ahead and get the freak loose and have him ready to come in and settle the ship for 3-4 innings. If a game goes extras, he is certainly a guy I would love to see in there. Make him a weapon and not a liability.

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Keys to Beating The Tigers

Well, here we are with the post NLCS clinching celebration and it is time to move to really getting ready for the 2012 world series. In previous posts, I have focused on introducing you to the Tigers. Now, I am going to break down the keys for this Giants team to beat them. It should be a tough series but we are really used to that by now. So, here is what I believe would be the keys to winning another world series trophy.

1) Get the Pitch Count up on Their Starters
The difference in talent between their starters and relievers is very substantial and I don't expect the Giants to particularly matchup very well against the Detroit rotation. However, if you can get deep into counts frequently you can get them out of the game and do some serious damage off of their relievers.

2) Continue Pitching Deep into the Games
The Giants are still playing because our starters came to life after game one of the NLCS. In the last 6 games, they shut down a good Cardinal lineup 5 outta 6 times. Now, facing a better rotation on the other side that is even more crucial. The Tigers lineup is similar, in strength, to the Cardinals. Obviously, the middle of the Tigers lineup is more star studded but they aren't quite as deep as the Cardinals.

3) Put Pressure on Valverde and the Rest of Their Pen
It sounds like the Tigers are going to put Valverde back into the closer role after his repeated implosions in both rounds of the AL playoffs. He, and the rest of their pen, will give you opportunities to beat them and the Giants have got to capitalize. If the Giants can steal a game late, obviously, that would really help. The opportunities should be there, it is just about capitalizing.

4) Beat Verlander Once
This is the toughest one and maybe the biggest key for the Giants. Verlander is a weapon that we will probably see twice. If the Tigers win both those games, the Giants then have to win 4 out of the other 5. That is not an enviable situation to be in. Verlander is pitching as well now as he ever has.  If the Giants can find a way to beat him, that would send a huge message to Detroit about what we are all about.

5) Ride the Momentum into Game 1
The Giants have won three games since the Tigers last played a game and that, along with starting at home, can be a big advantage for the Giants. I have never been a fan of time off in the postseason, for this very reason. The Tigers are essentially being penalized because the Yankees were non-competitive. If the Giants take advantage of that, they can beat Verlander right away and the rest of the series looks much easier.


That is what I hope to see, let's go Giants.

The Little Scooter

As the NLCS comes to a close, I have to express my appreciation for the soon to be named series MVP. Marco Scutaro has been nothing short of amazing, not just in this series, since he put on the orange and black. When the trade happened, shortly after the Dodgers acquired Hanley Ramirez, I thought that he would help but I did not expect him to really be a difference maker. It is great to see that he has greatly exceeded my expectations.

I knew he was gonna come in and do a solid job in the two hole by working the count and moving Pagan along. His glove work was solid and I knew he would not be a liability their. In every way though, he surpassed what any of us could have expected. His glove work has been spectacular and he didn't just move Pagan along, he drove him in quite frequently in August and September. It seemed to kind of happen when nobody else was watching too. This NLCS he is having is shocking America. By now, we aren't shocked anymore. This is Marco Scutaro and now the baseball world knows what he does in a Giants uniform.

Thank you Marco for showing the world what Orangetober is all about.

Tigers Breakdown

With a 7-0 lead now and the bases loaded in the 3rd inning of game number 7, I am pretty comfortable in previewing the Detroit Tigers. Since they are soon to be our opposition and not the Cardinals, I figured I would help out my followers who may not follow much of the American League.

The Tigers made some noise this past offseason when they surprised the baseball world by signing Prince Fielder to hit behind Miguel Cabrera (who won the triple crown this year). Many predicted that they would be here but for much of the year they looked like a major letdown. Honestly, I don't really feel like they earned their playoff birth as much as the White Sox gave it to them with a mini collapse in September. Well, they have made the most of it and they have played remarkably well this postseason.

In the first round, they had an awesome 5 game series against the A's that they really only survived because of the incredible arm of Justin Verlander who picked up 2 of their 3 wins in the series. They then went on to play the Yankees and were nothing short of dominant in sweeping out the evil empire. This postseason they have dominated with their starting pitching. Much like most of the regular season, their bats have not performed up to their career resumes but they still deserve a ton of respect. The big weakness, that we will have to try to feast upon, is in their bullpen.

Most, if not all, of you are probably aware of the issues that their closer Jose Valverde has had this postseason. He is not the only arm that you can take advantage of out of their pen that has had some issues this year. Their top setup man, Joaquin Benoit gave up 14 homeruns this year and they don't feature a late inning pitcher with an era under 3.50. Simply put, they should be easier to touch up than the Cardinal starters and certainly will be a break once you get the starters out of the game.

The two key players that I think you may want to watch out for, as Giants fans, are Austin Jackson and Al Alburquerque. Austin Jackson is a very solid leadoff guy, much like Angel Pagan, who is a power speed threat and he can really set a good tone for a middle of the order you will not want to take on with runners in scoring position. Alburquerque missed much of the year with an arm injury but he has certainly put that behind him. He is a hard thrower with a killer slider who has 85 strikeouts in 57 big league innings. With the issues they have had with their other relievers, and the trouble the Giants just had against the hard throwers out of the Cardinals pen, Alburquerque could play a big part in the World Series.

So, now you know a little more about our next opponent. Let's go Giants.

This is Do or Die

Game 7, here we are. With little to nothing from the duo of Pence and Posey offensively, the Giants have been the definition of a great team in this NLCS. The pitching has stepped up and the Giants series MVP has been the scrappy and tough Marco Scutaro. Now, after trailing 3-1, the Giants are one step away from a second trip to the fall classic in 3 years. This is how I think they need to try to get there.

1) Attack Strikes from Lohse
In game 3, Lohse and the pen held the Giants to just 1 run despite many great scoring threats. I don't think the Giants should try to do anything differently this time around. Create opportunities for the middle of the order and get Posey and Pence swinging at strikes. The zone for our run producers has expanded as the series has gone on and it needs to shrink back now. Lohse will give you something to hit, you just have to wait for it and do some damage.

2) Another Quality Start
 The pitching has been stellar this series. All the fox announcers wanted to talk about was how dangerous the Cardinal lineup was. After 6 games, the Cardinals have produced just 19 runs and 14 of those came in two games. There bats are dangerous but so are our arms.  Cain is more than capable of continuing the trend of great starting performances and we just need to see the same guy we did in game 3. Throw strikes, trust the defense and stay out of the middle of the plate.

3) Score First
 In a do or die game like this, as the home team, you want to ride the emotion as long as possible. The crowd will be crazy early and you want to ride that energy throughout the game.  Cain is a fly ball pitcher going against a powerful lineup. If you can get a couple of runs early on, suddenly that power can only do so much. Let Cain relax and not worry about a solo homer because he is pitching with a lead.

Those are my big three keys, let's hear yours.

Game 6, What Needs to Happen

Well, in typical 2012 fashion, the Giants are back home for game 6 of the NLCS against Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals. The trip to St. Louis was not what many of us would have hoped for but the team did what it had to do by winning one game and bringing the Cardinals back west with them. There are a lot of positives that I think Giant fans can take out of the 3 games in St. Louis. The starting pitching looked much more like we would have expected and the bats remained quiet but you have to feel like they are just overdue. So, here we are with the Cardinals up 3 games to 2. Here are my keys to getting to a game 7.

Another Quality Start
The starting pitching struggled for the first 6 games of this postseason but the last four have been much more like we would have expected. In the last four games, Giants starters have averaged 6 and half innings and only allowed a total of 8 runs. It all started with Volgelsong in game 2 and we really need him to continue the trend tomorrow night. If he can go deep in the game it means two things; first it means that you are still in the game or ahead and second it means you can set it up for a very strong bullpen late. Both of those would be very good signs for another back against the wall win.

Attack Carpenter Early in the Count
 By now, we have all heard the resume for Chris Carpenter in the postseason and if you aren't impressed you simply aren't paying attention. He is not the guy you want to face in this spot. However, we beat him last time and I still question whether or not he is the same guy physically. Let's hope that he isn't. However, the key to beating Carpenter has always been not falling behind him in counts. He is a strike thrower and he thrives when he gets ahead of hitters. There are guys in our lineup that can feast on this approach. This is the spot where you can see a potential big game from the heart of our order. Sandoval and Pence, in particular, are excellent ambush hitters and they need to be especially aggressive on first pitch fastballs by Carpenter. There are guys in our lineup that can work the count and make sure that you get bullets out of his arsenal and they should continue with that approach but our aggressive hitters need to be extra aggressive against Carp.

Get Buster Going
Buster Posey is our MVP and this team would not be in the playoffs period without him. He had a huge hit against Cincy to put that series away and we have all been waiting patiently for him to break out in this series. This is when we need to see the hitter we all know that he is. Posey is certainly due a break out game and it needs to happen now. If you want a positive sign, he did get a hit in game 5 and he is 3 for 6 lifetime against Carpenter. He needs to settle down and get back into the strike zone. In St. Louis, the signs were there that he is pressing and a veteran pitcher like Carpenter can pick that apart if you don't correct it. When Posey is on he doesn't go outside of the zone unless it is a hanger that he can do some damage with. We desperately need more discipline from our superstar now. If he has a good approach then he will break out but if he is overly aggressive we may go out.

So, those are my keys to game 6, let's hear yours and go Giants!

Road Warriors

After last nights dominant performance by the Giants, the NLCS is tied at 1-1. Heading back to Stl., the cards are probably feeling just fine about that. They played very well at home, winning 50 games, in the regular season and they have home field advantage for the series until the Giants win again. This is where they wanted to be and now it the task of the Giants to do what they have done for the past 3 months, win on the road.

Needing to win away from home is nothing new for the 2012 edition of the Giants. They have been here before and done it better than any team in baseball, at least during the stretch run and into the postseason. Although the pitching has been better at home, the bats have been the story on the road. The Giants led all NL teams in runs per game on the road and, this series, you can expect that to continue. If you look at the damage done in games one and two, with a heart of the order that combined for 3 hits and 0 rbi, fans should feel very good. Given the struggles of the Cardinal starters, pretty much all year, there is no reason not to expect an explosion from Sandoval, Posey and Pence soon.

The goal for the next three games is to win two and bring it home with a chance to clinch behind Volgelsong on Sunday. Obviously, it would be nice to take all three like they did in Cincinnati and be done with it but that probably won't happen twice in a row. Winning one would not be terrible scenario either because it would setup Vogelsong and Cain in games 6 and 7 but then the challenge is trying to beat Chris Carpenter twice in a series. That is something I would like to avoid but with this team I still would believe that they will find a way.

Likely pitching matchups for the next two:

Cain vs Lohse
      This one could be tough, while I expect Cain to bring his a game and show much of what he started with in the Reds clincher, Lohse is having a great year and is coming off his best playoff start against the Braves. If Lohse is on, this could be a typical Cain start with little offense on either side. The key will be the Giants being aggressive with Lohse but not trying to drive it really. He doesn't give up a lot of homers or walks but he can be hit. If the Giants can get guys on, this could be the game where the heart of the order comes through.

Lincecum vs Wainwright
    Another very intriguing matchup. If the freak can translate his relief success to a starting role then this is the one I feel best about. However, if we see the Lincecum we saw most of the year, this could be a shootout. This is not the same Adam Wainwright we have seen in the past. This year's version was much like Lincecum with a few more spots of brilliance sprinkled in. However, with a good hitting approach, I expect the Giants to score off of him. He has a tendency to walk too many guys and give up big extra-base hits. This is the type of pitcher that guys like Scutaro and Posey can feast on. Again, the outcome of this one will likely depend upon which Freak we see.

Keys to the NLCS

This is what we have all been waiting for, in 22 hours the next step to the title begins. The Giants begin the NLCS at home against a tough and under-rated defending champion Cardinals team. There is little doubt that the Giants are the better team but the Cardinals will not be an easy out. Here are some of the keys to watch for, if you want the Giants to move on.

 1-Hit and score at home This has been a problem all year for the Giants and they need to improve if they want to continue their playoff run. They have the bats, one through 6 they are very good. What makes the Giants dangerous is that they have guys who know their roles. This is a Cardinal staff that you can expose if each guy does their job. Just battle and keep the line moving because the Cardinals will score.

 2-Get quality starts This may not sound like a problem, given the names the Giants throw out there but the rotation really had a rough time against the Reds and the Cardinals have a great lineup. The Giants offense is better than it was in 2010 so we don't need great starts but we need some quality. The bullpen is very strong but the rotation has got to set them up. If the Giants starters get into the 7th they will have a great opportunity to win.

 3-Get the top of the order going In the second half, Pagan and Scutaro set the table as well as any 1-2 combo in baseball and you saw Posey, Panda and Pence take advantage of RBI chances. If you don't get on, you can't score. Posey is, no doubt, our MVP but he needs to hit with guys on and less than two outs. In the regular season, the Giants went 51-18 when Angel Pagan scored and they went 2-0 against the Reds when he scored. Baseball is a game of numbers and you want the numbers in your favor.

 4-score first Logic would dictate that in baseball scoring first would be a huge advantage, for the Giants it certainly is. This team went 38-9 in the second half when they scored the first run. At home, this will be an even bigger key. AT&T park can get into hitters heads but, if you score early, you are able to relax much more. Pitching with a lead can lead to the Cardinals getting more aggressive and we have the strike out pitchers that could take advantage of this.
 Those are my keys, let's hear some of yours.

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