When the Phillies return to action on Saturday, for Game 1 of the NLCS, they’ll be taking a big step up in competition from the Reds to the Giants. At the risk of beating a dead horse, you win with pitching in the postseason, and the Giants clearly have the only group of starting pitchers in baseball that can match-up with the Phillies. Objective baseball fans across the country should be thrilled with the pitching match-ups they’ll get to see every single night in this series.
The Giants are a storied franchise, as they were one of the original teams into the league in the 1880’s and they’ve had plenty of success throughout their history. Legendary manager John McGraw led them to 9 NL pennants (and 3 World Series titles) in the early-1900’s. They won two more World Championships, including one led by Willie Mays and another legendary manager, Leo Durocher, in 1954, before leaving New York City behind and moving out to Northern California in 1958.
Will The Thrill
In their time in San Fran, they’ve had periods of decent success. There were the late-80’s teams led by Will “The Thrill” Clark and, of course, the Barry Bonds era in the late-90’s/early-00’s that produced a string of 8 straight years where they finished 1st or 2nd in their division. But the Giants have yet to capture another title since their move out west, a 56-year drought that is surely starting to wear on some of the older Giant die-hards.
They return to the postseason this year for the first time since 2003, since that Bonds era ended, and I wouldn’t be the first one to point out the irony of them being led into this NLCS by a 5-foot-nothing, 160-pound, 26-year-old pitcher, with a laid-back personality (Lincecum), rather than a surly veteran with such a grotesquely altered physique that steroid rumors hung over him like a dark cloud for the last five years of his career.
To preview this 2010 edition of the Gigantes, we’ll go through their team player-by-player, like we did for the Reds last week, and break out the old Momentum Meter once again to see which Giants are coming in hot, and who’s scuffling, based on a 1-5 rating.
Starting Line-Up:
1. Andres Torres- CF: .268/.343/.479, 16 HR, 26 SB. This 32-year-old seemingly came out of nowhere to have an excellent season and take the CF job away from Aaron Rowand. After very brief stints in the majors early in the decade, he spent all of ’06-’08 in the minors. Apparently during that time he began taking medication for ADHD. Whether that’s the reason or not, he returned to the majors last year and was productive in 150 AB’s before his breakout season this year. A switch-hitter that is far better from the left-side.
- Momentum Meter: 1. He’s hit well below the Mendoza Line since September 1st, and that’s not including his 2 for 16 showing in the NLDS. Might we see our old friend Rowand if his struggles continue?
2. Freddy Sanchez- 2B: .292/.342/.397, 7 HR, 47 RBI. Very much in the Placido Polanco mold, he’s a 3-time All-Star and won the batting title in 2006. Not quite the defensive player that Polanco is, but still solid at second.
- Momentum Meter: 4. Also was 2 for 16 against Atlanta, but he hit .333, with 6 of his 7 homers, in August and September.
3. Aubrey Huff- 1B: .290/.385/.506, 26 HR, 86 RBI. This unfortunately-named first baseman has had an under-rated career, but its been under-rated because he’s been unable to find consistency from year-to-year. He had a good one this year and he’s one of the main reasons the Giants find themselves back in the playoffs. He’s a lefty but has handled left-handed pitching well this year, including a big hit off a lefty in Game 3 of the LDS. Still, Charlie will look to put Romero on him if the situation presents itself.
- Momentum Meter: 3.
Phenom Catcher
4. Buster Posey– C: Make no mistake: this rookie is the best hitter in the Giant line-up. I saw him play in SF in his second game after being called up in late-May, and he had 3 hits, after also picking up 3 hits in his debut the day before. He’s a natural born hitter, with great command of the strike zone and the strength to hit the ball out when he gets a strike. He’s also thrown a very solid 37% of would-be base-stealers.
- Momentum Meter: 4. 8 home runs since September 1st (though his average dipped) and 6 hits in 16 LDS AB’s.
5. Pat Burrell– LF: .252/.348/.469, 20 HR, 64 RBI. In the LDS, the Phils faced the most hated former Phillie (Rolen), and now they’ll face the most beloved former Phil, Pat the Bat. I fully expect him to get a big applause in his first AB on Saturday. Much has been made of Pat’s struggles since he left Philly, but since the Giants acquired him in June, he’s basically been the same hitter he was in his last couple of years in Philly. That may not sound overly impressive, but he was the 5-hitter for our title team in ’08. He’s slugging .509 in close to 300 AB’s with SF. Of course, with two more years of age added to his legs, it will be interesting to see how he fairs in left field and on the base paths.
- Momentum Meter: 4. 13 homers since August 1st, including a 3-run shot in the LDS.
6. Juan Uribe– SS: .248/.310/.440, 24 HR, 85 RBI. One of the fattest shortstops you’ll ever see and, no, that doesn’t do him any good defensively. With the bat, he likes to put that weight to good use and swing for the fences, which helped him achieve career-highs in HR and RBI this year. All in all, not a very good player, but I think the Giants feel like they need all the run production they can get in there.
- Momentum Meter: 2. His batting average has been plummeting throughout the season, culminating with just one hit in the LDS. Capable of hitting one out at any time though.
7. Mike Fontenot– 3B: .283/.331/.375, 1 HR, 25 RBI. Hard to say if it will be Fontenot or Pablo Sandoval here, but it looks like Fontenot may have taken the job. Sandoval has had a hugely disappointing season, after being the Giants best hitter by far in ’09, and Fontenot is a huge upgrade defensively. I think the Giants would be smart to go with Fontenot here, because every run will be so important in this series. Adding a better glove and some more speed to the line-up can only help.
- Momentum Meter: 3.
8. Cody Ross- RF: .269/.322/.413, 14 HR, 9 SB. Just acquired from the Marlins in late-August. Installing him as the right fielder is another sign (along with Fontenot at third) that the Giants are trying to address their defensive shortcomings. Ross has mostly been a CF in his career, so he has above-average range for a RF. Jose Guillen could also get a shot in RF during this series, with Ross possibly moving to CF for the games started by Hamels.
- Momentum Meter: 4. He’s proven himself to be a capable hitter over the last couple years in Florida. He was struggling a bit this year but he’s been rejuvenated by the move to SF, and he delivered a couple big hits in the LDS.
Starting Rotation:
The Freakish Game 1 Starter
Tim Lincecum: 16-10, 3.43 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 212 IP. Do you think somewhere Jevon Kearse is bitter that another athlete stole his “The Freak” nickname? Or is he just bitter in general about his whole career? Anyway, this was Lincecum’s third full season in the majors, and the first two both ended with Cy Young Awards. This season will not end that way, as Lincecum had much-publicized struggles throughout the year, culminating in an August that saw him go 0-5 with a 7.82 ERA. It definitely looks like he’s identified and corrected whatever issue he was having, and he’s been throwing as well as ever since early-September, which is really bad news for opponents. Since August, he’s thrown less fastballs and relied more on his devastating change-up and other off-speed pitches.
- Momentum Meter: 5. 6-1, with a sub-2 ERA since the start of September, plus a 2-hit shutout in Game 1 of the LDS.
Matt Cain: 13-11, 3.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 223 IP. He’s always been overshadowed by Lincecum, but the 26-year-old Alabaman is also one of the best young pitchers in the game. The best pitch for this powerfully-built, workhorse is his fastball, but he also has a plus change-up along with curve and slider.
- Momentum Meter: 4.
Jonathan Sanchez: 13-9, 3.07 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 193 IP. His potential was obvious for a few years before he really improved his control this year and had a great season. He still has the ability to get wild, but he has “swing-and-miss” stuff, as they say. If his control is there, he’s very difficult to hit. Allowed 2 runs in 13 innings vs. the Phils this year. He throws fastball, slider, change-up.
- Momentum Meter: 5. 1.06 ERA in his last 8 starts, including Game 3 of the LDS.
Madison Bumgarner: 7-6, 3.00 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 111 IP. 21-year-old rookie was the 10th overall pick out of high school in ’07. A really impressive rookie campaign and showed a lot of poise in his postseason debut on Monday night. He’ll almost certainly start Game 4 of this series.
- Momentum Meter: 5. Like every other Giants starter, he’s coming in hot, with a 1.43 ERA in his last 7 starts.
Bullpen:
Brian Wilson- Closer: 1.81 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 48 saves, 74 IP. Arguably the best closer in the NL this year, as he led the league in saves to go with his sparkling ERA. He’s sporting a pretty gnaryly beard for the playoffs. Relies on a mid- to high-90’s fastball and a good cutter.
- Momentum Meter: 5. Four earned runs allowed in his last 32 IP, including 4 shutout innings in the LDS.
Santiago Casilla– RHP: 1.95 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 55 IP. 30-year-old spent the last few seasons as a mediocre reliever for the A’s, but the move across the bay apparently did wonders for him. Looking at the numbers for all these Giant pitchers, you have to think pitching coach Dave Righetti must be doing a fantastic job. High-90’s fastball, with slider and curve.
- Momentum Meter: 5. A 1.13 ERA over the last two months of the regular season. 1.2 scoreless innings in his lone appearance of the LDS. May have replaced Sergio Romo as the main set-up man.
Sergio Romo- RHP: 2.18 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 62 IP. 3rd-year California-native emerged as a very good 8th-inning set-up man this year. Relies on a really good, sweeping slider that is very tough on right-handed hitters.
- Momentum Meter: 2. Came into the playoffs pitching well, but two poor outings in the LDS may have cost him his 8th inning job, especially considering he’s more effective against righties and the Phils have a lot of lefty bats.
Javier Lopez- LHP: 2.34 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 58 IP. Veteran lefty spent the last few seasons in Boston and came to the Giants in a trade deadline deal with the Pirates this year. Lefties hit .162 off him this year. He’ll be their go-to guy for Utley, Howard, and Ibanez.
- Momentum Meter: 5. Has a 1.42 ERA in his 19 innings since the Giants acquired him.
Ramon Ramirez- RHP: 2.99 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 69 IP. Also acquried at the trade deadline, he came over from the Red Sox. Features a mid-90’s fastball and a good, power slider.
- Momentum Meter: 5. Allowed a ridiculous 2 earned runs in 27 innings after the trade. Maybe another successful reclamation by Righetti. He did surrender a run in 2 innings in the LDS.
