WS Game Four Recap

Let me start by saying I was wrong. Travis Ishikawa and Nate Schierholtz didn't have great games. They were a combined 0 for 7. For what it's worth, though, Schierholtz was nabbed of an RBI single by a great Josh Hamilton catch. And, surely, they played a role in Madison Bumgarner's eight-inning three-hit gem. They were solid on defense. Lastly, maybe playing Ishikawa allowed Aubrey Huff to focus on his offense and hit that two-run homer. At the very least, it allowed the Giants to have Huff's bat without the defensive inconsistency he brings (he's a solid defender usually, but is prone to errors).

I was wrong, though. Whatever...Giants won!

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Now, on to the good stuff...Madison K Bumgarner: youngest pitcher ever to win a postseason game for the Giants; youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series game for the Giants; fifth youngest pitcher ever to start a World Series game; Fourth youngest pitcher ever to win a World Series game.

That was the stuff of legends. Eight innings, three hits, two walks, six strikeouts. One Ranger reached second base, and that was only due to an error by Juan Uribe.

Bumgarner achieved a game score of 80. That's the highest game score achieved by a Giant in a World Series since Jack Sanford achieved an 84 in Game Two of the 1962 World Series. That's also the highest game score achieved by a left-handed starter for the Giants in a World Series since Carl Hubbell in Game Four of the 1933 World Series.

He's the youngest left-handed pitcher in history to toss eight or more shutout innings in a World Series start.

From ESPN:

"The Giants are the 5th team in the last 35 years to throw a shutout while allowing only 3 or fewer singles (and no extra-base hits) in a World Series game. Each of the 5 teams are NL teams, and they all went on to win the World Series."

"Buster Posey becomes the 7th catcher in World Series history to hit a home run while catching a shutout."

"The Giants now have 4 shutouts this postseason. That ties the 1998 Yankees and 1905 New York Giants for the most in a single postseason in major-league history."

Best rookie battery in history. Mr. Bumgarner and Mr. Posey. The Bumgarner Battery. The Posey Posse. Hmm...my logo is ingenious. Props to the designer, Zachary Chiang.

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How great is it that the three Giants to drive in runs in this game (Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, Andres Torres) were the three best offensive players this year for the Giants? Huff had a two-run blast off of Tommy Hunter. Posey had a solo shot to dead center. Andres Torres knocked in a run with an RBI double. It was frustrating when these guys, who have carried this team all year, were struggling at various times during the postseason. They're locked in now.

Why couldn't Edgar Renteria do this during the regular season (besides, of course, the first week)? Three singles and a run scored. I certainly didn't see this one coming.

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I was right about one thing. Madison Bumgarner is much, much, much better than Tommy Hunter. Hunter lasted four innings, allowing two earned runs. He threw a total of 83 pitches though. Bumgarner went twice as many innings, throwing 106 pitches.

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All the Giants need to do is avoid a three-game losing streak. That's it. And then they're World Champions. They have the upper hand in a lot of ways. They have home-field advantage for two of the next three games. Their bullpen is more rested (Rangers used five pitchers in Game Four). And they have the psychological advantage for tomorrow -- their starter beat the Rangers' starter (Tim Lincecum beat Cliff Lee) in Game One.

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October is over, and with it goes Rosstober. Cody Ross' hit streak came to a halt in Game Four. It's disappointing, but he'll definitely put together several more streaks in 2011. So now comes the question? What will next month be -- Posember, Huffember, Torresember, Lincenember? We'll just have to wait and see...

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Pat Burrell's playing tomorrow. I'm not personally expecting much, but I'm hoping for a lot. One day of rest can do wonders.

WS Game Three Recap

Jonathan Sanchez was rough: 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 HR, 4 BB, 3 K. The big blow was a second-inning three-run blast by Mitch Moreland, who was batting in the nine-hole. It's funny because going into this series, that's the person I would've picked to watch out for. I knew very little about him, except that he could work the count, and that he was good enough to be a starting first baseman for a team playing in the World Series. Why in this case? It's always the one you least suspect -- he was batting ninth. Anyway...I didn't expect much out of Sanchez going into this game for several reasons:

1. He was coming off of a bad start
2. Pitching on the road
3. Pitching in a hitters ballpark
4. Facing a lot of right-handed hitters
5. The Rangers have a good running game, so it doesn't help that Sanchez walks a lot of hitters
6. Sanchez isn't great at controlling the running game

He did poorly, but the two home runs he allowed were to left-handed hitters. The walks cost him though. Bengie Molina, who was walked in the second inning, scored on the Moreland homer and a walk issued to Vladimir Guerrero marked the end of Sanchez's night. It's scary to think that this could potentially be the Game Seven starter in the World Series. You never know what to expect with him.

Colby Lewis, on the other hand, was remarkable: 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 HR, 2 BB, 6 K. He was just masterful in terms of hitting the corners, and the Giants couldn't do anything. The lone mistakes were solo home runs allowed to Andres Torres, and yes, you guessed it, Cody Ross.

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Jonathan Sanchez aside, the one player that sticks out in this game is Pat Burrell. He is scuffling right now. He went 0 for 4 with four strikeouts. At what point do you start playing someone else out there in left field? This is the World Series, after all, so hesitation could be very costly. The way I see it, he's in there for two reasons: he walks, and he hits bombs...but he's .158 in the postseason overall, with 19 strikeouts in 38 at-bats. His performance in the World Series is even worse, as he's gone 0 for 9 with eight strikeouts. To his credit, he does have two walks. But if he can't get a hit tomorrow, I don't want to be seeing him in Game Five, against Cliff Lee, who already silenced Burrell's bat in Game One. Tommy Hunter isn't a great pitcher. He shall be a good test of Burrell's bat. If Pat the Bat can't get anything done in Game Four, sit him. His defensive incompetence is already enough of a liability. They don't need his bat to be costing them games (not that they lost Game Three just because of him).

Is anybody open to the idea of Nate Schierholtz possibly starting in Game Five? It would solidify the Giants' defense (I can think of few outfield defenses that are better than Ross/Torres/Schierholtz) and he's a career .354 hitter against left-handers (he would face Lee). Not to mention, he's 1 for 1 with a walk and an RBI single in the World Series thus far. Just an idea. All I know is, solid defense can make the difference between a win and a loss. The way Burrell's playing right now, I want Nate out there.


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DHing Pablo Sandoval didn't work. He went 0 for 3 with a strikeout and a double play. With a right-hander on the mound, I would like to see Travis Ishikawa at first base with Aubrey Huff as the DH. Better defense, better offense. Sounds like an improvement to me.

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No worries here. Giants just need to win one of the next two games. Game Four is a matchup between Madison Bumgarner and Tommy Hunter, and frankly, Bumgarner's a much better pitcher. Game Five is Cliff Lee, pitching in Texas (where he has a 5.00+ ERA in his career), against the team that destroyed him in Game One. I think the Giants have a good chance of winning one of those games...This way they return home with a 3-2 series lead, and only need to win one of the two games at home in order to win the World Series. Oh yeah, and Matt Cain will be on the mound in Game Six. Can we win Game Six? Yes we Cain. Oh, do I get joy out of saying that.

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Here's yet another SF Giants song. This one's by DJ E-Rock:

WS Game Two Recap

Matt Cain has been the Giants' best starter this year. I said this same exact thing on September 30, and it still rings true. In the postseason, he's been as good as...ever. He's looking like a legendary pitcher. Want some proof?

He's gone three consecutive postseason starts with 6+ IP and 0 ER allowed. This has been done by only six other pitchers in the history of baseball:

Rk		Strk Start	End	Games	IP	ER
1	Kenny Rogers	2006-10-06	2006-10-22	3	23.0	0
2	Burt Hooton	1981-10-13	1981-10-21	3	20.2	0
3	Jon Matlack	1973-10-07	1973-10-17	3	23.0	0
4	Whitey Ford	1960-10-08	1961-10-04	3	27.0	0
5	Waite Hoyt	1921-10-06	1921-10-13	3	27.0	0
6	Christy Mathewson	1905-10-09	1905-10-14	3	27.0	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/28/2010.

Whitey Ford and Christy Mathewson? If you ask me, that's some pretty good company.

His 2010 postseason ERA is a perfect 0.00...he's allowed just 13 hits in 21.1 innings thus far. He's struck out 13. Cliff Lee, who's been proclaimed one of the greatest postseason pitchers of all time, has an ERA of 2.51 in the 2010 playoffs.

His WS Gm 2 line: 7.2 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 2 BB. The strikeout numbers weren't impressive, and he got a little help from the defense (Nate Schierholtz, for example), but he certainly didn't disappoint. He was able to induce popouts to shut down the Rangers.

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Edgar Renteria and Aaron Rowand combined for five RBIs and three runs. They've been criticized, scrutinized, disparaged the entire season for injury-marred sub-par offensive seasons. They were overpaid (Renteria is making $9MM this year and Rowand is making $13MM this year), but they've come out and done the job when it's mattered most -- in the World Series. Rowand is batting .375 this postseason (8 AB) with a couple of runs and a couple of RBIs. Renteria has batted just .240 but he's played solid defense and scored five runs.

Were they grossly overpaid? Yes, of course. But they're proving that they aren't worthless. They can contribute, even on the big stage.

This team was built around veterans. Those are the kinds of players Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean love -- ones with experience. They have Huff, Sanchez, Uribe, Renteria, Ross, Rowand, and Burrell as veteran position players, all players with veteran experience (especially Huff, Burrell, and Renteria). Renteria has logged over 60 postseason games in his career. Maybe that's having a positive impact. Maybe -- just maybe -- it wasn't such a bad idea to build this team based on the philosophy that experience is ideal. It certainly seems to be playing a role in these postseason games.

As far as Rent and Rowand go, this will go down as one of their best (if not the best) games they've had in a Giants uni'. There was the home opener, in which Renteria hit a ninth-inning game-tying shot off of Billy Wagner and Rowand got the walkoff single. There was the game in '09 (I believe August 30) in which Edgar Renteria hit a grand slam to give the Giants a 6-5 lead over the Colorado Rockies. Today's game tops their best moments as Giants.

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This has been almost too easy. The Giants have scored 20 runs in their last two games. These are World Series games, though. This is supposed to be top-notch baseball, fierce, tight, tense competition between the best in the game. The Rangers have failed to match the Giants' level of play. It seems to all be coming down to the thing the analysts blatantly ignored: the bullpen. When choosing the Giants as underdogs in each postseason series, the media has sized up the Giants' offense as weak, and therefore come to the conclusion that the other team was better. They've been overlooking the bullpens, though. The Giants used relievers for seven scoreless innings to win NLCS Game 6, the pennant-clincher. Does any other postseason team have the bullpen depth to have done that? I seriously doubt it. The Rangers' bullpen has allowed 11 earned runs over the last two games. The Giants' bullpen? Three earned runs.

Derek Holland walked three Giants on 13 pitches. I can't honestly think of a Giants pitcher that would do that. I doubt Bruce Bochy would let a Giants reliever walk three consecutive batters. These games have been handed to us.

It's almost sad, because there's been very little torture. Finally, the pieces have come together. Everybody is hitting...there was always the potential in every Giants bat -- from Torres to Renteria (yes, Renteria has always had potential). Finally, this potential has come to fruition, all at once.

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These next three games are looking good.
Game Three: Colby Lewis is a flyball pitcher, and he'll be pitching in a hitters park, The Ballpark in Arlington. Although his home/road splits don't show it, I think the Giants will benefit from the longball in this game.

Game Four: Madison Bumgarner is a much, much, much better pitcher than Tommy Hunter. 'nough said.

Game Five: Cliff Lee. The Giants have gained a psychological advantage over him after destroying him in Game One. Throw in the fact that Lee has a career 5.07 ERA pitching in Texas and you have a good outlook.

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Bruce Bochy is showing that he is a good manager. At the end of the regular season, I would've been outraged at the notion of him winning Manager of the Year. I found Bud Black to be much more competent. But Bochy once again made critical, intelligent decisions. He brought in Nate Schierholtz in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement, and Nate promptly made a great catch. His decision to bring in Javier Lopez in the eighth inning with two outs to face Josh Hamilton worked out well too.

And...his decision to throw Lincecum in Game One and Cain in Game Two was highly successful.

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Ross extended his hit streak to nine games. He's moving up on the list of top Giants postseason hit streaks. I'll post the stat table tomorrow.

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TWO MORE WINS.

The Giants: DH Options

There was a very good article on Fangraphs (by Dave Cameron) about the Giants DH options.

Basically, the Giants will have to face a minimum of two leftys in their three games in Texas. They'll face CJ Wilson in Game Three, and Cliff Lee in Game Five, and they might (although I doubt it) face the lefty Derek Holland in Game Four. That means, ideally, their DH would be able to hit left-handed pitching.

Dave Cameron proposes four options in his article:

1. DH Pablo Sandoval. This could work...Sandoval has a good power bat, and the Giants would certainly benefit from having a different guy manning third base. The clear problem here, however, is that he hasn't hit well against left-handed pitchers this year. He's batted just .227 with one home run from the right side in 2010.

2. DH Pat Burrell. Put Aaron Rowand in the outfield. This is not an option that I am very enthusiastic about. Pat Burrell has never had success in his career as a DH (you might remember that he was designated for assignment earlier this year, after doing a terrible job as the Tampa Bay Rays DH). As Dave Cameron points out, he’s a career .209/.306/.348 hitter when not playing the field." I don't think it would be fair to put Burrell in a position that he's uncomfortable with, especially if it's being done merely so the Giants can fit Rowand's bat into the lineup. Even if the Giants did DH Pat Burrell, I would prefer that they use Nate Schierholtz in the outfield. They'd have better defense, speed, and Schierholtz actually has hit leftys well in his career (.354/.390/.500). <--- that's no mistake. He's seriously been that good against LHP, although it is bloated quite a bit by luck (.414 BABIP vs. LHP in his career).

3. DH Aubrey Huff. Put Travis Ishikawa at first base. This is an attractive option from a defensive standpoint...not that Huff is a bad defender. Ishikawa is top-notch though. The problem here is quite obvious, and it's the fact that Travis Ishikawa is a left-handed hitter. He has not had much success against LHP in his career,  with a .230/.288/.246 slash line. In these one-run games, though, defense is quite important. His glove certainly outweighs his lack of offensive ability.

4. DH Jose Guillen. I don't think there's any reason this should be done whatsoever. I don't care that Jose Guillen is a right-handed hitter. He's old, slow, hasn't played in weeks, and his bat isn't even good -- he strikes out a lot, rarely walks, and doesn't hit with much power. So no. This is not an option. I doubt he'll even make the World Series roster.

So what's the best option? In Game Four, if Tommy Hunter pitches, DH Aubrey Huff and put Travis Ishikawa at first base. The Giants will benefit both defensively and offensively, as Travis Ishikawa is a good defender and can hit right-handed pitching well. In Game Three, I'm fine with trying Pat Burrell. I suppose putting Aaron Rowand in the outfield might work, as he is a right-handed hitter, and would benefit from the fact that the Rangers stadium is a hitters park. If DHing Burrell doesn't work, then the Sandoval option can be attempted for Game Five. When in doubt though, go with what will help the team defensively. Ask Brooks Conrad. Ask Chase Utley. Ask anyone that's played in the postseason so far. Defense has made a huge impact in these tight games, and I would hate to see the Giants lose because Aubrey Huff bobbles a ball, Pat Burrell can't get to a ball in time, or Pablo Sandoval overthrows first base.

The options aren't great. I think they just need to go with what's working. If someone's hot in Games One and Two, don't stop playing them...