If the giants win this series, and i pray to god they do not (because i hate them more than anything ever), it seems very likely that the reason will be their pitching staff--and not just Lincecum and Cain, but the entire staff, down to the absurdly deep bullpen and its amaglam of right and left handed weapons. the Phillies' lineup did not look great against inferior pithching from Cincinatti in round 1, and the Giants third starter (Sanchez) is far better than any of what Cinci had to offer in the NLDS.
While Brucy Bochy seems to alternate between asleep-at-the-wheel and standing-on-the-panic-button in terms of bullpen management, its a neary Bochy proof pen because anyone other than Javier Lopez against righties, or Chris Ray again anyone, is likely to render outs.
As long as bohcy does not overreact to one or two bad outings (as he did with Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson in the NLDS), the Giants will have the atvantage in any game in which they have a lead after the starters are gone.
The Phils however, are a stronger team from top to bottom. They have significantly fewer weaknesses than the garbage SF lineup that Sabean threw together from the trash dump of the other 29 teams. Even with Jimmy Rollins at far less than 100%, the core of their lineup is patient, has power, and Utley and Werth specifically, are great, disciplined hitters who can do more than merely wait for the pitcher to make a mistake.
I will take Philly's top 3 starters by a hair over the Giants, I will take the Phils defense by a big margin, and I will take the bats and baserunning by a country mile.
The Giants are not going to be the pushovers the Reds were. That said, Phils in 6.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tampa Vs Rangers Divsion Series
Because Tampa is the best team in the AL, because they have homefield, an because the Rangers best players are simply not healthy, I believe the Rays win this series. Whether they win it in 4 games or 5, I am unsure. The first game is gigantic. Cliff Lee vs David Price. Arguably the 2 best lefties in baseball head to head in game 1 of the entire playoffs. This cannot be beat. I am ecstatic. The Rays have the best defense I have ever seen. They cannot hit like Texas throughout the lineup, but they create more runs than do the Rangers. The Rays have 2 stud hitters: Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria. Beyond that, the lineup is guys who do things the right way: move runners, steal bags, 1st to 3rd on a single, etc.
The Rangers are capable of winning this series, but as of today, and for what it is worth, the Rangers lost every single road game this year vs the other three AL playoff teams.
That stat may not matter as the slate is wiped clean, but its a hurdle that must be overcome, and I dont think the Rangers will do it.
The Rangers are capable of winning this series, but as of today, and for what it is worth, the Rangers lost every single road game this year vs the other three AL playoff teams.
That stat may not matter as the slate is wiped clean, but its a hurdle that must be overcome, and I dont think the Rangers will do it.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Twins stupid trade
Twins dealt a top 3 minor league catching prospect (wilson ramos) for a right handed closer for a bottom 3 mlb team ( Mike Capps, Nationals)
To say the Twins made a dumb deal is an understatement. I cannot believe that a team that loses in round 1 of the playoffs year in and year out, is content to go after a subpar doppelganger of their closer Jon Rausch.
The Twins need a starter, badly. The Twins need legit bullpen help, badly. But Capps hardly qualifies as much help at all. He is really Jon Rausch without the trailer park neck tattoos.
They have better get 1b Justin Morneau back quickly. What were they thinking?
when they had the chance to get Cliff Lee a few weeks back, why not put Ramos with some other prospects and actually make a difference making deal?
If Twins win the division, it will be by 1-2 games, thats for sure.
To say the Twins made a dumb deal is an understatement. I cannot believe that a team that loses in round 1 of the playoffs year in and year out, is content to go after a subpar doppelganger of their closer Jon Rausch.
The Twins need a starter, badly. The Twins need legit bullpen help, badly. But Capps hardly qualifies as much help at all. He is really Jon Rausch without the trailer park neck tattoos.
They have better get 1b Justin Morneau back quickly. What were they thinking?
when they had the chance to get Cliff Lee a few weeks back, why not put Ramos with some other prospects and actually make a difference making deal?
If Twins win the division, it will be by 1-2 games, thats for sure.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Giants 2k10
Buster POSEY FOR MVP
i am not joking
he is the best rookie ive ever seen
ANYONE who thinks sabean should have left him down last year doesnt realize that they would have made wildcard with posey
SABEAN IS HORRID
giants win west
period
renteria is worthless
so is pablo
pablo will be on dATELINE in 10 years: 500 lbs and broke and on drugs in some south american country
plenty of guys have done it,hamilton did crack. but he is special.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
AL Central Corrections
Well, boy was I wrong. Not entirely sure how the Chisox are in first, or how they are winning every game they play, but they are. I was pretty sure theyd be under 500, and didnt think there would be over 2 teams in the central with more wins than losses. Whats even stranger is how bad the Twins are.
I knew the loss of Joe Nathan would hurt, but the bullpen and starters are even worse than I could have imagined. I am not giving up on them yet, I do think they are better then the Tigers, but this is not a very good team. Its surely not a 90 win team. They have zero pen, they dont have a #1 or even a #2 starter, and they have three below average pitchers following Liriano and Pavano, the only two decent ones they have. Slowey, Baker, and Blackburn are garbage, all of them, and no division winning team can start those 3 crumbums in the same rotation.
I was shocked they did not get Cliff Lee before Texas did, because this team had to have him to have any chance in the playoffs. But over the last 3 weeks, I have come to the realization that this is not even a playoff team, much less one capable of winning a playoff round.
So, sadly, and with regret, I think the White Sox win this division, with no bigger reason than they have one of the worst bullpens in the league, by far. They find ways to blow big leads, small leads, road leads, home leads. The lefties cant get lefties out, the closer is mediocre, if that, and the lineup outside of Morneau and a major down year Mauer, has been pretty average itself.
Coupled with rookie studs Austin Jackson and Brandon Boesch in Detroit, along with big bounceback years from Chisox OF's Alex Rios and Carlos Quentin leads me to say the Twins are a third place team.
I knew the loss of Joe Nathan would hurt, but the bullpen and starters are even worse than I could have imagined. I am not giving up on them yet, I do think they are better then the Tigers, but this is not a very good team. Its surely not a 90 win team. They have zero pen, they dont have a #1 or even a #2 starter, and they have three below average pitchers following Liriano and Pavano, the only two decent ones they have. Slowey, Baker, and Blackburn are garbage, all of them, and no division winning team can start those 3 crumbums in the same rotation.
I was shocked they did not get Cliff Lee before Texas did, because this team had to have him to have any chance in the playoffs. But over the last 3 weeks, I have come to the realization that this is not even a playoff team, much less one capable of winning a playoff round.
So, sadly, and with regret, I think the White Sox win this division, with no bigger reason than they have one of the worst bullpens in the league, by far. They find ways to blow big leads, small leads, road leads, home leads. The lefties cant get lefties out, the closer is mediocre, if that, and the lineup outside of Morneau and a major down year Mauer, has been pretty average itself.
Coupled with rookie studs Austin Jackson and Brandon Boesch in Detroit, along with big bounceback years from Chisox OF's Alex Rios and Carlos Quentin leads me to say the Twins are a third place team.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Will Giants keep winning with the current team?
I woul not say the Giants have been a surprise, they are on pace for around 85 wins, they win at home and lose on the road. I think we all saw this last year and pretty much expected the same thing in 2k10. The Giants continue to have stellar pitching, even with the sub-par year (for him) for Tim Lincecum. The bullpen, one of the best in baseball last year, has shown itself to be rather pedestrian thus far, though closer Brian Wilson has emerged as a top 10 MLB reliever. Barry Zito has bounced back and is having a solid, above average season, though hardly earning the $15 mil per year he collects from Giants' brass. Matt Cain is his usual self, several good games, a few bad ones, then several more good starts. Pretty much the same can be said of lefty Jonathan Sanchez, another up and down young starter. Lefty setup man Jeremy Affedlt has been pretty lousy, and he was arguably the Giants best reliever last season, putting out fires at will. The Giants seem to have trouble understanding Guillermo Mota is garbage, though sooner or later they will figure out (most likely later as is always the case with these slow-learning retards that run this team).
It took about 6-8 weeks, but Bruce Bochy finally realized Aaron Rowand is garbage and should not be an everyday outfielder, instead inserting sparkplug stud defender Andres Torres, who at 32 years old, is having a career year. His glove has saved the Giants no less than 3 games by my count, and its only June. RF/LF/1b Aubrey Huff has shocked us all, setting himself on pace for 20+ hrs, no small feat in this ballyard. Utility infielder Juan Uribe is having a career year as well, on pace for 100 RBI's and 20+ homers. Overweight, overrated, and idiotic Pablo Sandoval has done nothing for almost 3 months, other than swing at every pitch he sees, ground into a double play per game, and eat more food daily than most humans consume in a week. If he can turn his season around, the Giants have a shot to make the playoffs.
The problem with this team is their offense doesn't travel. They are built for this park, they thrive in front of their home fans, but they are a below average road team. This team is capable of losing to anyone in baseball on the road, and last week they proved it by losing 2 @Houston. They do not seem to be able to hit righties (team BA 260), they dont drive in runs (23rd in baseball), and they do not hit for power (19th in homers).
So once again, as expected, the Giants pitching will have to carry them. And last year it did, very nearly making the playoffs. The problem this year is San Diego has pitching and a pen no worse than the Giants, and the Giants cant beat LA or SD. My initial lean going into this season was the Giants could win the wildcard, and they still may, but with the rise of Atlanta, the Mets, and the Padres, along with decent play so far from LA and Colorado, I would say the Giants will be on the outside looking in, unless they can get some bullpen help sometime in the next month.
The division will come down to the last week, and the Giants surely have the chemistry to do it, but their division is tough and this team does not win on the road. Until they start working pitchers on the road, especially righties, they will continue to win 84-88 games every year, and miss the playoffs as well.
It took about 6-8 weeks, but Bruce Bochy finally realized Aaron Rowand is garbage and should not be an everyday outfielder, instead inserting sparkplug stud defender Andres Torres, who at 32 years old, is having a career year. His glove has saved the Giants no less than 3 games by my count, and its only June. RF/LF/1b Aubrey Huff has shocked us all, setting himself on pace for 20+ hrs, no small feat in this ballyard. Utility infielder Juan Uribe is having a career year as well, on pace for 100 RBI's and 20+ homers. Overweight, overrated, and idiotic Pablo Sandoval has done nothing for almost 3 months, other than swing at every pitch he sees, ground into a double play per game, and eat more food daily than most humans consume in a week. If he can turn his season around, the Giants have a shot to make the playoffs.
The problem with this team is their offense doesn't travel. They are built for this park, they thrive in front of their home fans, but they are a below average road team. This team is capable of losing to anyone in baseball on the road, and last week they proved it by losing 2 @Houston. They do not seem to be able to hit righties (team BA 260), they dont drive in runs (23rd in baseball), and they do not hit for power (19th in homers).
So once again, as expected, the Giants pitching will have to carry them. And last year it did, very nearly making the playoffs. The problem this year is San Diego has pitching and a pen no worse than the Giants, and the Giants cant beat LA or SD. My initial lean going into this season was the Giants could win the wildcard, and they still may, but with the rise of Atlanta, the Mets, and the Padres, along with decent play so far from LA and Colorado, I would say the Giants will be on the outside looking in, unless they can get some bullpen help sometime in the next month.
The division will come down to the last week, and the Giants surely have the chemistry to do it, but their division is tough and this team does not win on the road. Until they start working pitchers on the road, especially righties, they will continue to win 84-88 games every year, and miss the playoffs as well.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
New post about phils/ giants/ part 1
Its been LONG time, for which i am to blame.
My favorite team (Phils) has been destroyed for a month, and my least favorite, the Giants, has been rollin' like Nolan. Now, one of these is an abberration, and one is not. As to which is which, perhaps youll be surprised.
Phils troubles for a month:
Basically, for a month, the Phils have won one of every 3 games. They have taken, I think, like one or two series, been THROTTLED by the Bosox, Braves,Mets and other teams with other names. The problems are many. Joe Blanton has been terrible, and he was supposed to be their third best starter. Instead, their third best starter is a dude who is like 50, Jamie Moyer. Well, if youre relying on a 50 year old dude , you may have a problem. Another problem, Jason Werth has done nothing for a month. Literally nothing, utterly killed them. They also miss Jimmy Rollins. Believe me, theres maroons out there who have no clue about baseball and think Rollins is a 260 hitter or doesnt get on base enough, or whatever. But there are glue guys, engine guys. Guys like Chone Figgins to the Angels, Ichiro to the Mariners, and Ian Kinsler for the Rangers. You lose an MVP, you suffer. They replaced him with a nobody. Thats a huge loss. They also have to deal with a good division. Apparently the Mets are good. Who the hell knew? So now the Nats have hung around so long, they called up this 22 year old stud and he dominates. So the Nats are now in it , or think they are. So the Nats..... I am done saying "so the nats, " because frankly, I dont believe it. They are not this good, they arent even good. They have no pitching, their pen isnt very good. No way. So will the Phils turn it around and win division? I lean towards yes. They cannot play worse, they are too good. They have to get Rollins back, and when they do, they will start winning. I am not saying they make the world series, because right now they wont. But its early June, so i wont count them out till August unless some serious shit goes down.
I will be back to do Giants tomorrow.
My favorite team (Phils) has been destroyed for a month, and my least favorite, the Giants, has been rollin' like Nolan. Now, one of these is an abberration, and one is not. As to which is which, perhaps youll be surprised.
Phils troubles for a month:
Basically, for a month, the Phils have won one of every 3 games. They have taken, I think, like one or two series, been THROTTLED by the Bosox, Braves,Mets and other teams with other names. The problems are many. Joe Blanton has been terrible, and he was supposed to be their third best starter. Instead, their third best starter is a dude who is like 50, Jamie Moyer. Well, if youre relying on a 50 year old dude , you may have a problem. Another problem, Jason Werth has done nothing for a month. Literally nothing, utterly killed them. They also miss Jimmy Rollins. Believe me, theres maroons out there who have no clue about baseball and think Rollins is a 260 hitter or doesnt get on base enough, or whatever. But there are glue guys, engine guys. Guys like Chone Figgins to the Angels, Ichiro to the Mariners, and Ian Kinsler for the Rangers. You lose an MVP, you suffer. They replaced him with a nobody. Thats a huge loss. They also have to deal with a good division. Apparently the Mets are good. Who the hell knew? So now the Nats have hung around so long, they called up this 22 year old stud and he dominates. So the Nats are now in it , or think they are. So the Nats..... I am done saying "so the nats, " because frankly, I dont believe it. They are not this good, they arent even good. They have no pitching, their pen isnt very good. No way. So will the Phils turn it around and win division? I lean towards yes. They cannot play worse, they are too good. They have to get Rollins back, and when they do, they will start winning. I am not saying they make the world series, because right now they wont. But its early June, so i wont count them out till August unless some serious shit goes down.
I will be back to do Giants tomorrow.
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