Hopefully when the Giants came back home they brought back with them their bats.
Photo credit to Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images, and photoshop credit to Grant Brisbee/McCovey Chronicles

Through five games with the Cardinals, the Giants are winners of two of five, but are going to need to win both of these last two games if they want their season to continue. The Giants are no stranger to comebacks with their 0-2 deficit being overcome in Cincinnati, and St. Louis is no stranger to being up 3-2 in an NLCS as they were last year against Milwaukee before they doubled them up 12-6 away from home. In my opinion, the Giants will get quality starts (by the definition) out of Vogelsong, and then out of Cain, but from there, they will need the bats to contribute. With two games to know, it’s good to know who’s been supplying the offense, and who needs to be woken from their slumber.

Finding the gaps and getting on base: 

#2 hitter Marco Scutaro (NLCS: .429/.429/.524. Postseason: .293/.326/.366)

#3 hitter Pablo Sandoval (NLCS: .286/.318/.571. Postseason: .310/.318/.571)

#1 hitter Angel Pagan (NLCS: .261/.292/.478. Postseason: .209/.255/.419)

Please wake up soon. Like 4:37PM PST today soon: 

#5 hitter Hunter Pence (NLCS: .105/.150/.263. Postseason: .154/.175/.231)

#7 hitter Gregor Blanco (NLCS: .133/.316/.267. Postseason: .207/.343/.414)

#4 hitter Buster Posey (NLCS: .167/.286/.167. Postseason: .189/.302/.351)

#6 hitter Brandon Belt (NLCS: .214/.313/.286. Postseason: .148/.258/.185)

Probably doing what’s expected: 

#8 hitter Brandon Crawford (NLCS: .235/.278/.294. Postseason: .214/.313/.321)

To have four of your hitters — especially some of your most powerful — being extremely sub-par and still have two wins is a gift from the baseball gods themselves. Marco Scutaro has been a dreamboat while Pablo has been hitting enough to super-avoid the fat narrative, but his jersey did bail on him on that pulled HR in the last game so nevermind. If the top third of the lineup continues to set it up for the middle of the order, they’re going to at least get those rare hits when the top three are on base to support Ryan and Matt, otherwise the Giants are going to be left looking at a box score like Game 3′s 11 left on base and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

The game started with the first points going to the Lynx, but the Fever were quick to respond and the game went back and forth. Though it was close, the Lynx took the lead 12-8. Shortly after that the Fever took the lead with the help of two steals in a row 15-12. The Fever did a really good job with defending the Lynx making it almost impossible to get close to the basket. Also making it easier for the Fever to steal the ball. The Lynx went for four minutes without scoring a single point, soon after that the first quarter ended with the Fever on top 21-16.

The Lynx had a rough time making shots and missing the rebounds, which was surprising because they were the top defensive and rebounding team of the WNBA in the regular season. Because of that the Fever pulled ahead and lead at the half 45-27. In the first half the Lynx only had one assist, they were also the number one team for assists in the regular season.

In the third the Lynx still had not  found their rhythm and the Fever led by 30 at one point. Needless to say the Fever kept leading at the end of the third 70-38. The largest Finals gap of victory is held by the L.A. Sparks who beat Chicago back in 2001, that was a 28-point win.

By the fourth quarter the Fever were exhausted and were starting to have trouble with their shooting, but they still held off the Lynx from scoring. And the Fever wrapped up the game and won 76-59. One of the Fever’s star players was Shavonte Zellous, not a big shooter for the Fever but made a huge difference with her 30 points (a career high) and encouraging her team throughout the game.

The Fever now lead the series 2-1 and one more win will win the WNBA Finals. The next game will be on Sunday October 21st at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indiana the game will be shown on ESPN2 @ 8:00. Fans again are encouraged to wear red in support of the Fever. One of the reasons for the sell out game was thanks to the Indiana Pacers for providing 4,000 tickets to give away to fans. The Indianapolis Colts did that on Saturday the 20th as well with giving away 2,500 tickets and will also be attending the game on Sunday. Different Indiana teams are coming together to cheer on fellow teams in their road to victory. This next game for the Fever will deffinately be one to watch.

The Game 5 lineup for the Giants:

For the Cardinals, who have inserted Beltran in the 2 spot after hours of treatment on his knee:

Game starts at 5:07PM PST. Let’s not worry about this being the last one. Let’s worry about #RallyZito being something that we believe actually had an impact on a game when it actually didn’t, but we won’t care to believe that.

Friday October 19th, 2012

Kyle Holland:  The 2012 postseason has been all but “normal” so far, considering all division series went to 5 games. Conclusion? The NLCS has yet to disappoint. The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants. Both teams had to battle to even still be playing to this point. The Giants had to come back down 0-2 and beat the hot Cincinnati Reds in three straight games in Cincinnati.

The Cardinals, after first having to win the play-in wild card game, had to beat the Nationals, who had the best record in baseball. To make it worse, the Nationals were up 6-0 in game 5… and blew it. Both of these teams have a lot of fight, and experience this late in the season.

There is something unique about the Giants and Cardinals facing off in the 2012 NLCS. This is the first time in MLB history that the last 2 world champions are playing in the LCS (the Giants in 2010 and the Cardinals in 2011).

In game 1, the Cardinals jumped out to an early lead in the top of the second. Yadier Molina ripped a line drive and  2011 playoff hero David Freese hit a two-run home run to give the Cardinals the first lead in the NLCS. In the fourth, the Cardinals would add to that lead with two doubles, an RBI line drive by Jon Jay, and a two run home run by Carlos Beltran. That is until George Kontos could finally retire the Cardinals allowing 4 runs.

The Giants would answer quickly in the bottom of the fourth, when Scutaro led off with a single. After the Cardinals retired two straight batters, the Giants’ bats exploded. This included a single by Hunter Pence, an RBI single from Brandon Belt, and a bases clearing triple from Gregor Blanco. Brandon Crawford doubled to score Blanco before the Cardinals could finally get that final third out.

With not much more excitement in game one, except for a small threat by the Giants in the fifth, the Cardinals would win 6-4 and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

The story of game 2 was all Marco Scutaro and Matt Holliday. In the top of the first inning, Matt Holliday slid late in to second base to take out Scutaro, creating fear in the mind of all San Francisco fans. Although Scutaro got up and walked it off, his hip was clearly still bothering him throughout the game.

In the fourth inning, Giants winning 2-1 at this point, Scutaro got his retribution. He poked a single to left field that Holliday misplayed. All three runners on base all scored, with Scutaro ending up at second to give the Giants a 5-1 lead. This would prove to be more than enough, even adding 2 insurance runs in the 8th, as the Giants would win a 7-1 laugher to even the series at 1-1.

Game 3 was all about the Giants leaving runners on base. Kyle Lohse, pitched 5.2 innings, giving up 7 hits and the Giants could only cash one run in. They definitely had their chances leaving 11 runners on base and going 0 for 7 with runners on base. Matt Cain allowed all three runs, all earned, through his 6.2 innings. The 3 runs would be enough to for the Cardinals, as they beat the Giants 3-1 to take the all important game three and go up 2 games to 1.

The Giants decided to hand the ball to Tim Lincecum in game 4, a must win game for the Giants. The first inning looked like a continuation of his regular season, allowing 3 hits and a walk, but escaping with only two runs allowed. Hunter Pence would answer in the top of the second blasting a home run, and his first RBI of the postseason.

Not much happened until the second half of the fifth when the Cardinals would add 2 more runs. A single by Matt Carpenter, followed by an RBI single from Holliday would add another run. Molina then singled in Holliday to give the Cardinals a 4-1 lead, before reliever George Kontos would come in and end the rally.

The Giants had a threat going in the top half of the sixth. After Ryan Theriot got out to start the inning, Angel Pagan and Scutaro had back to back singles for first and second one out. Buster Posey hit a sac fly to right field to advance Pagan to third and the Giants had first and third, two outs. Pablo Sandoval ended the threat by grounding out to second base and just like that the Giants best chance of the night was ended.

In the bottom of the sixth the Cardinals tacked on 2 more runs. With no outs, Adam Wainwright would sac bunt Daniel Descalso to third and Pete Kozma to second with one out. Jon Jay would then double to center to score both runs. Guillermo Mota ended up getting the last two batters to fly out but the damage was done, with the Cardinals now leading 6-1.

The Cardinals would end up holding on to the lead, while holding off one last attempt by the Giants, including a 2-run home run by Pablo Sandoval, to beat the Giants 8-3, now making every game an elimination game for the Giants here on in.

The Cardinals are right where they want to be. Up 3-1 in the series, the Giants must now win three straight if they want to play in the Fall Classic. However, with a chance they may be without Beltran, the Cardinals are really going to have to dig deep if they are going to finish off the Giants and have a shot at beating Detroit in the World Series. If the Cardinals can eliminate the Giants, they have a great chance at winning back-to-back rings.

(*The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com*)

Welcome our newest Baseball Intern, Kyle Holland! You can find Kyle on Twitter (@TheKHolland13) – be sure to follow him and send all your comments!

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Today is Barry Zito’s day. People haven’t rooted for him to succeed this hard since Game 5 of the NLDS in 2012.

The Giants have won twelve straight starts behind Barry Zito.

Barry Zito has only allowed 1 postseason HR in all his years with the Giants

Barry Zito’s ERA+ in 2012 was the highest it’s been since 2010.

Barry Zito has not given up a home run to the eighth place hitter in the lineup all year.

Barry Zito’s postseason ERA is 3.45.

Barry Zito in his one start against the Cardinals in St. Louis on August 7th went 6.2 innings. In #RallyZito fashion, the Giants won. It was the beginning of his 12-game winning streak.

Get ready to party tonight, San Francisco fans. Barry Zito is bringing your boys home tonight.

Thanks to the internet for all the Barry Zito photos. You guys are the best. 

In The Dark Knight Rises, Bane, during one of his beat-downs of Batman, declares this to the Caped Crusader:

Peace has cost you your strength! Victory has defeated you!

In context, it makes sense: a ruse by Batman and Commissioner Gordon had allowed Gotham to, seemingly, become free of the crime and corruption that had been long plaguing the city. But once a true threat emerged once again, the city, and the since-retired Batman, were not prepared to face it, having grown complacent and overconfident over the years. Only after being defeated do Batman and Gordon become the people they must be in order to rid Gotham of Bane’s threat.

The same can be said for the New York Yankees. It was once said that rooting for the Yankees was like rooting for U.S. Steel, but, as Jim Caple noted in his seminal The Devil Wears Pinstripes, even U.S. Steel isn’t what it once was, but the Yankees have kept winning. Now, rooting for the Yankees must be like rooting for Wal-Mart, or, as Michael Rosenberg wrote, Goldman Sachs. There is no question whether they will be successful, the question is only whether they will be successful enough by their standards. “Their standards” are now a zero-sum game: they must win the World Series or their season- no matter what happened in it- will be a failure. They have won so much that they have changed their meaning for winning. They’ve won so much that they have their own definition of winning.

However, this seemingly-driving philosophy of a title or bust has, ironically, led to a complacency amongst both the team and their fans. They have seemingly decided that, since they are the Yankees, they should just be expected to make it to the World Series, as if putting on the pinstripes will cause their opponents to forfeit the regular season and first few rounds of the playoffs. The fans, judging by how many empty seats were present in the playoffs this year, feel the same way. Of course, this also is partly because of the complacency that the Yankees have acquired over the years as they’ve gotten drunk on success: they have become even more corporate, uncaring about the average fan. Once, back at the old stadium, it was a place for the people. Oh, sure, there were plenty of expensive seats that only hedgefund managers, rock stars, actors and politicians could afford, but there were also plenty of places for the common man, whether high up or deep in the bleachers. Then new stadium, however, dropped all pretense: the most expensive seats were literally separated from the rest by a moat of concrete walkways, and the number of upper-deck seats- traditionally the cheapest seats- were decreased.

The Yankees, no doubt, figured that their success would mean that people would pay any price for their ticket. They were wrong.

So now, the most successful franchise in baseball (but not sports) must look deep into it’s soul. It has been beaten and embarrassed. But will they rise, or will they continue with their old ways, ignoring the fans and their own history while sacrificing their happiness and soul?

Given the fact that the old ways bring lots of money, I’d doubt it. But, hey, you never know.

The visiting Giants:

The home team Cardinals:

The talk of the town is that Scutaro is back in the lineup, and that the game could see a large volume of rain delays. We may not even start this game until the late afternoon, but as Cardinals coach Mike Matheny has said, “This is the Midwest, and we know that can change right away,” so we’ll see. Here’s the forecast (game time in St. Louis is 3:07PM):

That’s a lot of projected precipitation as well as thunderstorms. In case you were wondering, at 10PM CST the precipitation chances are at 10%, but keep in mind MLB will also have to consider the field conditions after the downpour. Here is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch talking about the what-ifs for a rain out. You also have to wonder how the managers will handle their starting pitchers — will they actually roll Cain and Lohse out if the game starts on time, or will you see a George Kontos-Joe Kelly matchup to start things off? Update: Bochy plans on starting Cain, doesn’t want to have starting a reliever “bite him” in the butt like he said it did in LA a few years ago.

Some articles to help you get ready for the game:

• ESPN Stats and Info’s article on Kyle Lohse’s slider, and some Giants notes
• Matt Cain’s slider and his release point, from Fangraphs
• Game 3 Preview from Baseball Prospectus

Justin Verlander cruises, Tigers top Yanks in ALCS Game 3 | HardballTalk.

Lohse on the podium first. On starting Game 3:

“Pretty excited [about Game 3 start]… keep going, doing the things I do, keep things simple.”

“We’ve had our ups and downs as a rotation… things haven’t worked out; can’t put more pressure on yourself because you need to, I’m going to approach it the same way… controlling my part of the game.”

“We’re not looking past anything but the next game.”

“I suppose it’s going to rain again tomorrow, I’m used to that.” (73% chance of rain all afternoon)

“It’s fun [facing Matt Cain], pretty much everyone you’re going to go against in the playoffs is going to be good, it’s going to be a fun challenge to match Cain. He’s had a lot of success in this game and he’s a very good pitcher. I’m going to go out there and do everything I can to match him, and I’m sure he’s going to do the same.”

On replacing guys like Pujols, La Russa, etc.:

“The important part is we put in pieces like Beltran, you’re not going to replace Tony [La Russa], but Mike’s done a great job… There was a lot of turnover, but a lot stayed the same… we have good chemistry, veteran leadership, I think those things are very important in getting us back to where we are right now.”

On Dave Duncan’s effect on him:

“He got me to realize the importance of control rather than velocity… you mature and move on with guidance, and figure out what kind of pitcher I can be. It’s no secret I rely on first pitch strikes, I rely on contact, not pitching for strikeouts, trying to get guys out in three or four pitches.”

On going from Minnesota to St. Louis and how he’s changed/matured:

“I’m a completely different pitcher. I used to (try and) blow it by guys in the AL at 94, and you can’t really do that. I have a sense of what I’m going to do right now. Trying to get hitters to hit my pitch, and through the years of being here in St. Louis, working with Duncan it’s like a light went on… A lot of the guys I get to pop up are out in front of my change ups.”

On the Giants lineup:

“It’s a tough lineup, they got guys up and down the lineup that can hurt you at certain spots. I’m going to try and keep the guys off the bases before Posey. They have some lefties in there… and kind of remind me of Atlanta’s lineup… I haven’t faced [the Giants] this year, and normally that favors the pitcher, we’ll see.”

———————

Mike Matheny at the mic now.

On Lance Berkman’s availability and having to replace him:

“That’s unfortunately how things go, that you have guys that can’t get out there and fortunately for us we had Allen Craig in time to step up for him, as well as Matt Carpenter. Lance kept fightin’ and fightin’ trying to get back, but just too much on the knees. We’ll put our options together and figure out what gives us the best chance, all things considered.”

On being at home:

“We love being at home. It was a good week on the road, the guys played well, and we enjoy playing in front of the fans.”

On Kyle Lohse this year:

“Kyle’s consistency has been the most impressive thing, you’ll see teams watching him, but it’s his execution that makes him the pitcher he’s been for us from Opening Day to the Postseason; tells you about his skill and his physical and mental capacity.”

On bullpen use:

“We’re not as concerned about the starters outings [in terms of length] with the days off, our team like most team’s foundation is the starting pitching, and if they’re not successful you’re fighting an uphill battle most of the time. We’re looking forward to some quality starts because we know that’s what they can do, and that’s the kind of staff we have. You’re going up against good offenses and you got to figure a way to adjust.”

“I’d like my starters to go 9, but we’re going to use everyone we have to, but Joe Kelly and Trevor Rosenthal have deserved their spots, and to give guys like Mujica two days off is big. You saw in Game 1 they did a phenomenal job… Kelly could start, and that’s why he’s being used as a swing guy at the moment.”

On 2002 incidents and yesterday’s slide:

“That was a long time ago, we play this game with passion and intensity, this is something we take really serious, and respect the game. Some times things go certain ways [like in 2002], as far as yesterday’s game goes, it was a player trying to make a hard play for his team, and you hate to see what happened [to Scutaro].”

“[Holliday] was concerned about Scutaro’s health, he reached out, I heard his comments first hand, that he wouldn’t have slid so late, I have never seen him making an act of trying to hurt somebody. He was trying to play the game hard, and trying to break up a double play.”

“The more the slide is talked about like this, the more it lingers. Every team handles adversity differently, and I understand no player likes to see another one of their players hurt, and our team would be on the exact same boat [if the roles were reversed]. We hope the rest of the results are good. We play hard, and we know they play hard, that’s the way the game goes.”

On the lineup:

“To me, we’ve got a team playing pretty well. We’ve had some recent games here that would suggest you’d be crazy to do anything different. I don’t see any changes in the near future.”

On Jon Jay:

“Jon Jay to me has played a Gold Glove caliber center field. He takes charge and [Holliday and Beltran] respect him. As much I’ve talked about Yadi Molina and what he brings to this club and it’s difficult to place value to, I’d say Jon Jay does the same thing.”

On the weather:

“We’ve seen the forecast, and we understand how it can go, we’re going to anticipate playing on time. We’re just going to be here, we’ve been in that holding pattern before. We’ll have the mindset we’re playing on time and then make adjustments accordingly.”

That’s the extent to which MLB Network let the general public listen in on the press conference. Game 3 will be 1:07PM PST on FOX.

The Fever were without one of their star shooters Katie Douglas, who stayed back in Indy due to a badly sprained ankle in their last game against the Connecticut Sun. Despite their set back the Fever took the  lead 7-3. But the Lynx tied the game up 14-14, the Lynx took the lead 17-16 but was not able to keep that lead and the Fever were back on top and remained on top at the end of the first quarter 25-20.

The Lynx were having difficulties with their shooting and it was really affecting them as the Fever pulled away more as time went on. All of the Fever players stepped up and played their very best against the WNBA’s top team. Closer to the end of the half the Lynx were starting to catch up a bit but the Fever held them off and had the lead at the end of the first half 43-40.

One of the problems that helped the Lynx catch up was the Fever’s trouble with rebounding. The Lynx are one of the top leading teams in rebounding, so in order for the Fever to continue to have the lead, is to out rebound the Lynx. In the third quarter the Fever were starting to get into trouble as the Lynx went on a 8-0 streak and tied the game @ 50. After that Lynx took the lead for only the second time since their lead (17-16) and the Lynx have the lead at the end of the third 58-56.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter the game went back and forth between the two teams and were separated by only two points. The Lynx were the top defensive team in the WNBA in the regular season. So in order for the Fever to win they would have to beat their defense first. Finally the Fever managed to pull ahead 65-61. As the game went on both teams got more physical and the game got more intense. But in the end the Fever came up on top and won the game 76-70.

Tamika Catchings did a good job in the game but struggled near the end, but throughout the game she showed great strength and leadership with getting 20 points for her team. Erlana Larkins played a big part in the game with 16 points and 15 rebounds. With several major blocks and steals she was an important player for the Fever.

The Fever now lead the series 1-0. Game 2 will be on Wednesday in Minnesota again @ 8:00 on ESPN. If the Fever continue to play like they did last night they stand a good chance at winning the WNBA Finals.

Cardinals:

Giants:

Fangraphs posted an article on the difficulty of stealing off of Chris Carpenter, so if Bochy and company look at their numbers, they probably won’t run on Carpenter. Don’t forget Molina is already an above-average CS catcher to boot. Kind of wished they saw Jason Motte is a reverse-platoon pitcher though (fares better against LHH than RHH). Oh well, that’s why I’m sitting on my couch and they’re in the big boy chairs.

Chris Carpenter allowed seven hits in his start to the Nationals, but only one was an XBH, so the Giants are going to need to do a better job of breaking him than the Nats did. Breaking him like they did Lance Lynn would be preferable, but to the point where they are winning. We’ve seen how both of these bullpens can shut down the opposition. The Giants don’t need the big fly to win, but they do need their big bats to contribute to the cause.

Carlos Beltran is a good player, and he was a good player with the Giants, too. So why is everyone booing him?

At the trade deadline in 2011, Brian Sabean and the Giants knew their offense was in trouble. Buster Posey was out, and they needed a legitimate force in the lineup to try and get them back to the postseason where as we know, anything can happen. As the non-waiver trade deadline approached, the Giants traded top prospect Zack Wheeler to the Mets for switch-hitting OF Carlos Beltran. As you know, the Giants didn’t make the postseason in 2011, and Carlos Beltran was not re-signed by the Giants, but by the St. Louis Cardinals for a two-year, $26MM contract.

Fast forward to yesterday and Carlos Beltran gets announced and the boo-birds come out. Here are the reasons why I believe they came out:

1) Belief that since Carlos Beltran did not take the Giants to the postseason, he did not help the team.

It’s a very convenient narrative, and one that also possibly drives the AL MVP vote. One baseball player cannot do everything to get his team to a postseason. However, I have big problem with the idea that Carlos Beltran didn’t contribute:

Beltran was discussed yesterday ad nauseam, so I feel like this article is a dead horse and my writing is the beating. I don’t see how those stats suggest Beltran didn’t do anything. Oh, and of his 7 HR, 5 were at home, so don’t suggest he didn’t four-bag it at AT&T.

2) Carlos Beltran didn’t sign with the Giants, therefore he hates the Giants.

Beltran, and I believe SF beat-writer Henry Schulman, have said that the Giants never called Beltran or his people to discuss a deal. Baseball is a business, and I have no problem with Beltran’s people not calling the Giants since that could be used as leverage against them in a deal. Beltran got a good deal with the Cardinals, and the Giants with their self-induced salary cap wouldn’t have been able to offer that.

Beltran also cannot give you back Zack Wheeler, so move on from that.

3) He’s one of the Cardinals best players and we boo the best players.

Well, at least that one’s consistent when all the other teams come in.

The Giants were one up on the Diamondbacks at the beginning of August in 2011, but it’d be foolish to say that “selfish Beltran didn’t contribute and that’s why the Giants finished 8 back.” If you really believe Beltran was bad, I don’t know what to tell you, and if you were pro-Mike Trout for AL MVP and anti-Carlos Beltran then you really have me confused, yet convinced you’re living through your own convenient lens. A baseball deal was made, it didn’t work out for the Giants. Not everything is 2010 November parades.

Lineups for today shouldn’t surprise anybody. The Cardinals:

and the Giants:

Game time is 5:15PM PST and will be on FOX. Nightmare scenario is that Tim McCarver may be allowed to call some of the game by himself because Joe Buck is also doing the play-by-play for the NY Giants-SF 49ers game.

Leadoff hitter, Jon Jay (LHH):

Looks like if you let him get his arms extended, he’s going to do alright for himself, but also he will chase away and can get locked up inside.

#2 hitter and switch hitter, Carlos Beltran:

For a guy with as many homers as he does, you might expect more red, a la Joey Votto, but you’ll notice if you pitch up to him, he will destroy you. Interesting that right down the middle was as poor as it was.

#3 hitter and former NL West rival, Matt Holliday:

Something like this was what I was expecting for Beltran but for Holliday he’s got that red all over the place except up and in and low and away.

Cleanup hitter, Allen Craig:

Talk about a low ball hitter, right? Must love golf.

#5 hitter and brother to other catchers Yadier Molina:

With all that red all over the place it’s a wonder how you pitch him, but he will go out of the strike zone for you from time to time.

Next in the lineup, postseason hero David Freese:

These stats only take into account the regular season but when it’s back-against-the-wall time for Freese, I don’t think he has any blue boxes, only purple (for 0 PA) and red boxes.

Daniel Descalso’s next (LHH), and he had a big Game 5 for the Cardinals:

A rather unimpressive zone, but if you get lazy, he can still set it up for the bottom of the order or bring in the runners on base.

Lastly, Mr. Emotional, Daniel Kozma:

Rafael Furcal was placed on the DL on August 31st, so you can understand why there’s an even smaller sample for Kozma, but it looks like he handles pitches decently when they’re in the strike zone.

Now just imagine if you had to memorize stuff like this for all of these hitters, pinch hitters, and now their tendencies on different pitches as well. I mean, you’d also be getting paid at least around a half-million a year, so yea, it’d be worth it.

During the long off season, I will highlight some (or all?!) of the 2012 roster – their accomplishments, best plays, muffs, stats, and endearing moments.

May 16th — St. Louis 4, San Francisco 1 (AT&T Park)

May 17th — San Francisco 7, St. Louis 5 (AT&T Park)

August 6th — St. Louis 8, San Francisco 2 (Busch Stadium)

August 7th — San Francisco 4, St. Louis 2 (Busch Stadium)

August 8th — San Francisco 15, St. Louis 0 (Busch Stadium)

August 9th — St. Louis 3, San Francisco 1 (Busch Stadium)

The Comeback

The Cardinals were one strike away from being done. Again. Then Yadier Molina took two balls for a walk. Then they were down to their last strike on three pitches, once again. Then David Freese, Postseason Immortal, took three balls to load the bases. Daniel Descalso singled on the next pitch, and all of a sudden, Drew Storen and the Nats found themselves clinging for their lives, and after Pete Kozma took two quick strikes, then two balls, singled in Freese and Descalso. The Nationals couldn’t rally, and the Giants headed home as the Cardinals champagned themselves in Washington. Carlos Beltran tweeted that the Cardinals got to San Francisco around 6:00AM PST this morning and will have the day off while the Giants have an afternoon workout on tap.

Sunday: Game 1, 5:15PM PST, FOX: RHP Lance Lynn vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner

Postseason Performance: Lynn relieved and threw in 4 G, 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K’s. MadBum started Game 2, threw 4.1 innings, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K’s. My fear is that Bumgarner is fatigued, and he will get a chance to show he’s not, likely in two starts because sweeping this St. Louis team is very unlikely in my opinion.

Monday: Game 2, 5:07PM PST, FOX: RHP Chris Carpenter vs. RHP Ryan Vogelsong

NLDS performance: Carpenter started and surrendered 7 H in 5.2 IP, 2 BB, threw 2 K’s, but saw no runs cross the plate in his start. Vogey threw in Game 3 and despite a slow start, pitched 5 innings, gave up only 3 H, 3 BB, K’d 5, and only 1 crossed the plate in their extra inning thriller. Carpenter just came back, so it must be nice for the Cardinals to have a relatively fresh arm on their staff in October.

Wednesday: Game 3, 1:07PM PST, FOX: RHP Matt Cain vs. RHP Kyle Lohse

With Wainwright throwing only 53 pitches on Friday, I’m speculating he’ll get the call here and push Lohse to Game 4. Nevermind that.

NLDS performance: Matt Cain started twice, but never got past the 6th inning, going 10.2 IP, giving up 11 H, watching 6 ER cross the plate, while walking 3, and striking out 9. Lohse has been a key to keeping his team in the game to advance past the Braves and the Nationals, striking out 11, walking 2, and surrendering 8 hits in 12.2 IP.

Thursday: Game 4, 5:07PM PST, FOX: RHP Tim Lincecum vs. RHP Adam Wainwright

Postseason performance: Lincecum struck out 8 in 6.1 IP, and not walking anyone in his two appearances while Wainwright was great in Game 1, but left it up in Game 5 and left early and if he continues to do that, he will get punished even by the less powerful Giants offense.

*Friday: Game 5, 5:07PM PST, FOX: LHP Madison Bumgarner vs. RHP Lance Lynn

*Sunday, October 21st: Game 6, 1:45PM PST, FOX: RHP Chris Carpenter vs. RHP Ryan Vogelsong

*Monday, October 22nd: Game 7: 5:07PM PST, FOX: RHP Adam Wainwright vs. RHP Kyle Lohse

* — if necessary

Playoff Offense: Cardinals — 38 runs, 50 hits in 6 G, Giants — 18 runs, 32 hits in 5 G

Averaging more than 6 runs/game, and 8 hits/game, you’d think the Cardinals had just squared off against the Rockies in Coors Field, but instead they took it to two different playoff teams from the NL East and hit. That’s pretty intimidating considering the Giants really didn’t until their last two games. As for the players that did work, Carlos Beltran (2 HR, .409/.500/.818 in 22 AB) will be the player everyone types “should of” so much that the joke will get old, especially after his 30+ HR, 10+ SB season. Allen Craig has been getting his as well, posting a .348/.444/.609 in 23 AB while manning the 1B spot. Then there’s the infamous David Freese, whose .381/.440/.524 in 21 AB who always seems to be doing something positive for the Cardinals. These three hold the 2, 4, and 6 spots in the lineup, respectively, so you can understand how the Cardinals have been scoring as many runs as they have. On the other side of the pillow has been Yadier Molina, NL MVP vote-getter, and remarkably cold, with a .095/.296/.095 line in 21 AB and leadoff hitter Jon Jay, going .167/.222/.250 in 24 AB. I don’t expect them to stay down forever.

The Giants had only three  guys get on base over 30% of the time, and while the Cardinals had five, the Giants highest OBP guy in the playoffs, Gregor Blanco (.375) would rank fifth on the Cardinals for OBP, so needless to say, the Giants don’t necessarily have hitters that are as “hot” to the degree that the Cardinals have been. I like to think the Reds pitched better than the Nationals though, or at least I hope so. Back to Blanco in his 14 AB, he went .286/.375/.571 with his 1 HR included, and Pablo actually had a higher AVG than OBP in his 21 AB with a .333/.318/.571 thanks in large part to his sac fly. Angel Pagan (.150/.217/.350 in 20 AB) and Marco Scutaro (.150/.227/.200 in 20 AB), whose NLDS numbers are overall pretty unattractive started to hit again as the series started to end, so hopefully that rise in hitting will continue against St. Louis.

Their Bullpen is on Fire

St. Louis has Trevor Rosenthal (97.6), Jason Motte (96.8), Mitchell Boggs (95.8), and Joe Kelly (94.4) that all have high velocity stuff, so the Giants go from facing one good bullpen from Cincinnati to a hard throwing one in St. Louis. If those guys can locate, watch out.

Series Prediction

The Giants are likely to be billed as the underdog, but the Giants have proved before they can score runs… at least when they leave AT&T Park.

Game 1: Cardinals win (Bumgarner unable to adjust, Cards mash)

Game 2: Giants win (Vogelsong vintage as Carpenter makes enough mistakes for Giants to win)

Game 3: Cardinals win (Cain still struggling)

Game 4: Giants win (Timmy throws a gem)

Game 5: Giants win (Bumgarner gets his revenge)

Game 6: Giants win (Cards still have trouble with Vogelsong as bullpen slams the door, but not without some of that classic torture)

Should be a wild series, and the fun starts tomorrow.

No, this isn’t metaphorical. This is the actual gravesite where we’re going to make Storen dig his own grave.

It’s hard to be funny at a time like this. *Makes farting noises by putting hands over mouth* Did that work? No? I didn’t think it would…

The Nationals were eliminated from the playoffs in a heartbreaking way tonight. I can’t really comprehend what just happened. There’s no real point to me continuing to write this. As I said, it’s tough to be funny, and that’s what we hope to offer you in our posts. Currently, I just can’t offer up anything like that.

Wait.

*Makes fart noises again*

Still nothing?

Didn’t think so…

Outside of Adam Wainwright in Game 5, the Cardinals pitching has been pretty stellar, holding the Nationals to under 4 runs each game.  If you read an earlier post I wrote this morning you know the Cardinals have put some routs on the Nationals, and their offense has been alive and kicking during their time in the Postseason, like they realize it’s important to score runs to win. Their bullpen features some fireballers, and prospect Shelby Miller has joined their staff, which if you ask me, really isn’t fair.

The Giants need their starting pitchers to step up and their bats to become more consistent once their series against the Cardinals begins on Sunday. A repeat of 2002 where the Giants beat the Cardinals would be very much welcome, but of course with a happier ending. The Giants and Cardinals split the season series at three-a-piece.

Here is the schedule for the series that everyone outside of San Francisco and St. Louis will hate to watch:

Game 1, 5PM PST, FOX: Sunday, October 14th: Cardinals @ Giants

Game 2, 5PM PST, FOX: Monday, October 15th: Cardinals @ Giants

Game 3, 1PM, FOX: Wednesday, October 17th: Giants @ Cardinals

Game 4, 5PM, FOX: Thursday, October 18th: Giants @ Cardinals

Game 5, 5PM PST, FOX: Friday, October 19th: Giants @ Cardinals*

Game 6, 1:30PM PST, FOX: Sunday, October 21st: Cardinals @ Giants*

Game 7, 5:00PM PST, FOX: Monday, October 22nd: Cardinals @ Giants*

* – if necessary

From @JackoBeam, this is pretty awesome

While the Giants chill in Ohio for another day waiting to figure out where they’ll go, we as a nation of sports fans have been blessed with two more Game 5′s to soak in and enjoy. The good thing about there not being four games on today is I actually got some exercise in so my legs don’t feel like they did absolutely nothing like they have been the last two days. While I’m sure people within the Giants fanbase are discussing who’d they’d rather see the Giants face off against, I warn you that the answer may not be as obvious as you may think. Or maybe it is. Maybe the numbers Nationals and Cardinals have put out is a reflection of how poorly/well they match up. Maybe it’s a sign of something more. Maybe you should start watching the game more and get your nose out of the spreadsheet, you nerd blogger Stuart Jones.

The Bat Leading the Charge: 

Sure, David Freese is doing well again in the postseason (.353/.400/529 in 17 BA), but Allen Craig is the shining star you may not know enough about (.421/.500/.737 in 19 AB). With a crowded OF, Craig has been playing some 1B and although he does not have the prototypical build of a 1B (6’2″ 210 lb of Cardinal), he has the numbers to justify his being there (see: 22 HR in the regular season).

Like David Freese, popular baseball player Ryan Zimmerman is batting at an above average level (.375/.353/563 in 16 AB) but middle infielder teammate Ian Desmond has been more consistent in getting on base against the Red Birds (.467/.467/.533 in 15 AB).

Desmond (left) and Craig (right) leading their teams to two victories a piece

Letting Their Arms do the Talking: 

Washington, known for their great NL East run and superb pitching have been rather lackluster this series from the mound, posting an even worse ERA than the Giants (5.40 to 4.11), and have a higher OBP against (.301 to .365), and SLG% (.361 to .450) than the Cardinals overall. Yes, the Cardinals have a lower SLG% against than the Nationals have OBP against, and even though the Cardinals have played one more game than the Nationals, they have only faced 3 more batters than them (61-58). The Cardinals lead the remaining three NL teams in K/9 (STL 8.59, WSH 8.49, SF 8.41), but the Giants lead in K/BB (SF 2.87, STL 2.63, WSH 1.57).

Blowouts and One-Run Games: 

As their series stands two-a-piece, the Nationals have won both of their games by one-run (3-2 and 2-1), while the Cardinals just sat on a light pole and pooped on the Nationals sitting on the ground picking their nose in their two wins (12-4, 8-0). Understandably, this would lead to the Cardinals having better hitting stats than not just the Nationals, but everyone participating in the NLDS. Their R (29), HR (6), OBP (.337), SLG (.422) lead all NLDS contenders, although STL’s Wild Card game is also included in those stats. Only the Reds (.261) had a better team batting average than the Cardinals (.242, WSH .215, SF .194).

No matter what happens tonight, go Giants.

So in Conclusion: 

If you’re watching the game tonight (5:30PM PST on TBS) and cheering for one team or the other, know why you’re doing it. If you’re doing it because the Cardinals are the lower seed and you don’t want to face “the better team,” well, you might not be doing it right. If it’s because the Giants would get home field advantage and you have some sweet tickets to those games and you love Game 1′s, then OK, I get it. If you’re rooting for the Nationals because they’re cold right now which means they will stay cold, well, you might not be doing it right again since such small sample sizes aren’t necessarily predictive of how someone(s) will do in the future. My suggestion: watch the game, get familiar with the players, and be glad the Giants are still in it.

It was a slow start for both teams as almost two minutes went by without either team scoring. Eventually the Sun got the first points of the game, that would be the only points the Sun would get for awhile as the Fever quickly took the lead 9-2. It was obvious the Sun were having difficulties with their shooting. Five minutes into the game Katie Douglas, one of the star players for the Fever twisted her ankle very bad and had to go to the hospital for x-rays. Needless to say she was out for the rest of the game. But that didn’t seem to faze the rest of the team, in fact it seemed to cause them to play better, and the Fever had the lead at the end of the first quarter 18-10.

As the game went on it got more physical between the two teams as both were trying so hard to get the final place in the WNBA Finals. But the Fever defense was on top last night with the score 25-16. This was the biggest lead the Fever have had in this entire series, but it would not be their biggest lead of the game. The Fever still had the lead at the end of the half 43-24.

In the third quarter the Fever kept their lead of 20+ points over the Sun, but getting closer to the end of the quarter the Sun started to make their baskets. Briann January was having a bit of an off night compared to the past four games but she still played a big part in keeping the Sun from scoring and getting 12 points as well. Fever keep the lead at the end of the third 68-48.

All of the Fever players stepped up last night, Tamika Catchings did really well last night and got 22 points for her team. Jeanette Pohlen who has not played much since the end of the regular season got 14 points as well. The Fever won the game 87-71.

The Fever will now go onto play against the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Championship Finals. Game 1 and 2 will be in Minnesota and Game 3 and if necessary Game 4 will be in Indiana. Game 1 will be on Sunday October 14th a@ 8:00 on ESPN2.

The black power salute doesn’t send the same message coming from Jayson. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Did the Nats win: Was Onannes a fish-goddess of Chaldean myth? (Yes)

Was it fun to watch: The ending was as gratifying as sex. Only this was the first time I’ve felt satisfied thanks to a man’s powerful wood.

Visceral Emotion of the Game: A lingering uncertainty as the best way to go about explaining the excitement-induced mess I made in my pants to the laundromat.

On a day where most of the country watched two of our leaders debate some of the most contentious issues that impact our nation, there is one issue that is certainly not for debate: Jayson Werth is the greatest baseball player of all-time. If you don’t agree with that you’re probably from the past, when Jayson Werth was nothing more than a loathsome hairy man who spent most of his time in Philadelphia. But as that role has been filled by Scott Hartnell, Jayson has found his new place as the single greatest baseball player to ever live.

Many Nationals have often vied for the title of greatest in the past. Some examples:

• Livan Hernandez – Greatest Caloric Intake.
• Nick Johnson – Greatest Mustache (Sarcastically).
• Joey Eischen – Greatest pitcher of all-time.

Not all of them won, like poor Joey, who fell just a tad short. But even as Livan and Nick succeeded, their “greatest” titles didn’t mean much in the long run (aside from taking a few years off Livan’s life). Jayson, on the other hand, is the first National who can proudly claim that he is the greatest without anyone arguing the fact, because I don’t listen to other people’s opinions.

Now, throughout the final weeks of the season, Stephen Strasburg’s shutdown was a big deal. Just recently, reports came out that GMs around the league are furious with Mike Rizzo for the decision to shut Strasburg down. Today, the reason for their anger became very clear. It’s because Strasburg’s shutdown gave Ross Detwiler a chance to pitch, and Ross Detwiler is a fucking badass who takes massive shits on opposing lineups. GMs were secretly fearful of unleashing the beast that is Detwiler because they knew their teams would have no chance. But this must have been our sinister plot all along. Sinister in that Detwiler is a lefty.

The National Det has risen to an unprecedentedly high level, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. I wouldn’t be surprised if the National Debt increases as well, after the government decides to invest billions in Detwiler jerseys and bobbleheads. Maybe to offset that increased spending we can cut other areas. But we certainly can’t cut the defense budget, because we need to hire coaches to keep working on Ian Desmond so he doesn’t make silly errors like he did on Thursday.

Detwiler pitched 6 innings, allowing a single unearned run. He did as well as anyone could have hoped Strasburg to do, so I certainly hope all this criticism about Stephen’s shutdown is ignored going further. Hey, it’s not like I ever worried so much about it that I set aside rations and a secret bunker to hide in when DC rioted after the Nationals were eliminated from the playoffs…

Not only was our starter great, but so was our bullpen. Now I know what you’re saying. “This team didn’t have a bullpen on the postseason roster! At least I didn’t they think they did after nobody showed up to pitch in relief the last two days!” Well we didn’t let any of those frauds pitch. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team locked them all in the dungeon we keep Tom Gorzelanny in when we don’t want to frighten company.

It was not a normal reliever who came in to pitch the 7th, but rather a starter. A starter who was on his throw day, so we figured why not throw him in there. Thankfully, the throw puns end here as this man did not throw the game. Jordan Zimmermann pitched a single inning, striking out all three batters he faced on 12 pitches. It was K, after K, after K for this white man of German origins. He was dominant, and took care of those threatening our Nationalsism.

Tyler Clippard and Drew Storen came in to pitch the 8th and 9th respectively, allowing a baserunner each but striking out batters for 5 of their 6 outs. It’s nice to see these two working harmoniously with one another again. I know a breakup can be tough, but its good that they are trying to stay friends and not make things uncomfortable for those around them.

Now back to the offense. Which for 8 innings consisted entirely of Adam LaRoche. LaRoche hit his 2nd home run of the series to give the Nationals their lone run for much of the game. This is the most powerful, impactful Adam Bomb perhaps of all time. Just think of how many lives were impacted. How so many people experienced tremendous grief and agony upon it being dropped, while on the other end hundreds of thousands celebrated as it helped propel us towards victory. I just hope that the radiation from this blast doesn’t disfigure St. Louis fans. While I may detest the team, I wouldn’t wish disfigurations upon any group of people after seeing how Philadelphians struggle to deal with that affliction every day. But at least Philly deserves it.

But again, the real hero was Jayson Werth. This man hit the biggest home run in this team’s history, perhaps even this franchise’s history. At one point 126 million dollars seemed like a lot of money to spend on Jayson Werth. But while he had produced arguably good results up until this point, he produced something to validate the contract on Thursday. We’re all smiling now, despite having spent so much money on something that seemed so senseless and miserable for a long time. It’s like we all had braces.

All in all, today’s win was amazing to watch. Nothing could have made me smile more. Well, except this picture:

Because this picture is hilarious. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Most telling stats of this game – the Reds were 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Enough said.

San Francisco Giants at Cincinnati Reds – October 11, 2012 | MLB.com CIN Recap.

I stopped counting with Zito because I kicked him out, and would think the Giants do as well. However, maybe you consider Lincecum piggy-backing him. Anyway, considering all this, here is my rotation for the NLCS:

Game 1 — LHP Madison Bumgarner

Game 2 — RHP Tim Lincecum (Zito in the ‘pen)

Game 3 — RHP Matt Cain

Game 4 — RHP Ryan Vogelsong

You could switch Cain and Vogelsong, but I just don’t see it happening in the end. Would imagine the Giants think on it and don’t announce it until sometime tomorrow.