[SSW]

No threads about this yet. So, I thought I'd just post my thoughts after Game 2 in the 2014 NLCS .

The Giants took Game 1 on the strength of Bumgarner's 7 2/3 innings of shutout pitching and a couple of Cards fielding/pitching miscues. The Giants bullpen only had to pitch 1 1/3 innings, which Romo and Casilla were able to handle, and it didn't matter that the Giants left TEN men on base.

However, that wasn't the case in Game 2.

The Giants had more than enough chances to win this game, but failed to do so because their bullpen gave up 3 solo home runs in "relief" and the Giants left too many men on base in scoring position without scoring any additional runs which could have put the game beyond reach despite the homers.

The Giants bullpen, which has been their strength until now, clearly failed in relief. The starters (Peavy & Lynn) pitched to a 2-2 tie so that was a push. I didn't expect the HR mistakes from Machi or Romo (although Romo has blown more than a few "saves" recently), but Strickland is the big question. He already gave up 3 HRs to the Nationals (2 to Harper who is a left hand fastball and one to A. Caberra, a switch hitter batting left handed) and now has given up 1 to the Cards (to Adams who is another fastball hitting left hand hitter) in these playoffs.

WHY is Bochy still giving Strickland the ball? I hope that the 4th post-season HR to Adams puts an end to anymore Strickland appearances -- at least against any left hand hitters.

The high LOB # plagued the Giants throughtout the Nats series, but they were somehow able to work around it, largely due to Nats mistakes. They almost got away w/it again today w/a passed ball, a wild pitch and a botched double play from the Cards (after leaving another NINE men on base and after failing to score any more runs in the top of the 9th w/the bases loaded), but this time the Giants bullpen also made mistakes and they couldn't score any more runs THAT THEY NEEDED when the opportunities arose. So, in my view, the Cards didn't "win" Game 2, so much as the Giants "blew" it.

Hopefully, the Giants bullpen can get their #$%$ together and the Giants hitters can actually hit in a run with men in scoring position. If they can, they should be able to take the series but, if not, it'll go to the Cards by default.

[Finnegan]

Nothing to add, that's on target.

[tbone28]

Giants baseball....TORTURE

all over again

[SSW]

This series is really close. Comes down to fundamentals.

The team that has made the most mistakes in each game so far has lost. It happened in Game 1, Game 2 and now Game 3.

After giving up 4 runs to the Giants in the 1st, Lackey found his control and shut out the Giants thru the 6th and the bullpen continued w/3 more shut out innings thru the 9th. In the meantime, the Cards nibbled away at the 4-0 lead until they tied game w/yet another solo homer which knocked Hudson out of the game.

Bochy probably left Hudson in too long, which was a mistake. Hudson had pretty good stuff but not quite as good as he had against the Nats but he was at least able to hold the Cards to a 4-4 tie. The bullpen failed us in Game 2 by giving up 3 solo homers after Peavy was relieved, but in Game 3 the Giants bullpen was able to hold off the Cards for 3 2/3 more shutout innings.

So, no more mistakes from either team until the bottom of the 10th. Then Choate gives up a walk and a hit and then throws the ball away on Blanco's bunt (like Bumgarner did against the Nats). Giant's win 5-4. Game over.

The Giants have been the team to make the fewest mistakes so far and they'll win the series if they continue to do so.

GO GIANTS!!!!

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by tbone28

Giants baseball....TORTURE

all over again

It may be torture, but the Giants have won 2 World Series in the past 5 seasons and they're working on a 3rd. As a fan, that kind of torture I can handle.

[bmw1racer]

As a Dodger fan, I can't root for either team (here come the bottles and eggs).

Go American League pennant winner (preferably the Cinderella Royals)!

[SSW]

Game 4 -- GREAT Game!!!! Best game of the series.

The bats for both sides finally woke up. A hard fought back and forth game with a lot of managerial moves that was ultimately decided by a couple of fielding errors and a stronger Giants bullpen.

It was clear that Vogelsong didn't have good stuff from the start. Neither did Miller. Both gave up 1st a 1st inning run and got knocked out early.

In the top of the 2nd, Vogelsong gave up another run. Cards up 2-1. In the top of the 3rd, Vogelsong gave up a double and a single to score another run and with 2 outs gave up yet another post-season solo HR to Wong, who has been one of the best hitters (and fielders) for the Cards this series, to give the Cards a 4-1 lead. Volgesong got the final out and that was the end of the game for Vogelsong.

In the bottom of the 3rd, the Giants come back with an RBI by Posey and another RBI by Pence. Cards lead 4-3. In the bottom of the 4th, Miller gets
2 out and gives up a walk when he's relieved by Choate to face Belt (lefty on lefty) who gets the final out of the inning.

Petit comes in for the Giants at the top of the 4th and shuts out the Cards for 3 innings thru the 6th. The Cards bring in Martinez in the bottom of the 5th, who manages to not give up a run despite 2 walks. Missed opportunity by the Giants.

The Cards then bring in Gonzales at the bottom of 6th hoping to get some solid middle relief from him BUT it doesn't work. Gonzales only lasts 2/3 innings after giving up 3 runs due largely to fielding errors by Adams, who failed to deliver the ball on a FC to the plate after a bunt by Blanco that scored Perez and who went for a double play on a hard hit grounder to 1st (instead of throwing to the plate) which allowed Crawford to score when Adams' throw to 2nd was wide. The Cards then bring in Maness who gives up a single to Posey which scores Blanco from 2nd. Giants lead 6-4.

In the bottom of the 7th, Maness gave up a single and a double to start the inning but was able to get out of trouble w/o giving up a hit with good fielding by the Cards and poor followup hitting/running by the Giants. Another missed opportunity by the Giants to score more runs, which fortunately weren't needed. Neshek gets 3 quick outs in the bottom of the 8th, the last Giants at bat.

Five Giants pitchers combine to throw the final 3 shutout innings from the 7th thru the 9th. Casilla closes out the game by striking out Carpenter and Holliday after getting Decalso to pop up and giving up a single to Jay. Petit, who again gives the Giants great relief, gets the win. Gonzales got the loss.

Interestingly, Bochy chose to bring in Machi rather than Stickland to face Holliday (righty on righty) in the top of the 7th. Before facing Machi, Holliday was 2 for 3 and was hitting the ball well. Machi gave up a single to Holliday but at least it wasn't a homerun which would have tied the game at 6-6. I think this choice indicates that Bochy is NOT going to risk giving Strickland another chance to pitch in the playoffs (or WS, if we get there) unless he ABSOLUTELY has to do so, given that Stickland has already given up 4 HRs in the playoffs. Just too much risk involved to do that.

Although mistakes ultimately decided this game too, it was the BEST game so far in terms of each team battling back and making strategic decisions in order to try to take the initiative. Bochy again comes out on top in terms of the decisions made and the Giants now lead the series 3-1.

Won't call it for the Giants yet because the Cards have a very good team and it was the Giants who came back from a 1-3 deficit to beat these same Cards in the 2012 NLCS but we've got Bumgarner back on the mound for Game 5 and, if he's got his "stuff," we should be in a good position to win the final game and go on to meet the Royals in the World Series.

GO GIANTS!!!!

[tbone28]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

It may be torture, but the Giants have won 2 World Series in the past 5 seasons and they're working on a 3rd. As a fan, that kind of torture I can handle.

Yes, I'm well aware of this little fact. Born and raised in the city. "Torture" was the theme of the 2010 season, hence my post...

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

As a Dodger fan, I can't root for either team (here come the bottles and eggs).

Go American League pennant winner (preferably the Cinderella Royals)!

+1

[bmw1racer]

Giants win in stunning fashion: A walk-off home run by Travis Ishikawa.

Somewhat glad to see the Cards get thumped out of the playoffs, since they bounced out the Dodgers...

That said, GO ROYALS.

[SSW]

Another GREAT game for the Giants!

Bumgarner and Wainwright were both a little shaky starting out but were able to get through the 1st 2 innings w/o giving up a run BUT both of them had trouble in the 3rd and 4th innings -- Bumgarner more than Wainwright.

Bumgarner gave up a run in the top of the 3rd on a walk and a double over the head of Ishikawa who misplayed a fly to left and then Bum gave up 2 HRs -- 1 to Adams (who you'd expect) and the other to Cruz (who has hardly hit anything during the series. Cards lead 3-2.

Wainwright gave up a single to Blanco and a HR to Planik in the bottom of the 3rd and got into trouble again in the bottom of the 4th by giving up a double to Pablo and a walk to Pence but then Belt lined out to Wong and Pablo got doubled off at 2nd. However, Wainwright then walked Ishikawa and there were still 2 men on base at 1st and 2nd but then Crawford struck out. Wainwright squeaks out of trouble and the Giants squander the scoring opportunity.

The both Bumgarner and Wainwright settled down after that and Wainwright pitched a shut out through the 7th as did Bumgarner through the 8th. Bumgarner retiring 13 in a row and Wainwright retiring 10 in a row doing it. Their stat lines looked about the same. Bum threw 98 pitches-72 strikes, gave up 3 runs on 5 hits w/2 walks and 5Ks. Wainwright threw 97 pitches-61 strikes, gave up 2 runs on 4 hits with 2 walks and 7Ks. The critical different was the extra HR that Bumgarner gave up.

However, in the bottom of the 8th Neschek, the Card's setup pitcher, came in to relieve Wainwright and immediately gave up a HR to pinch hitting Michael Morse. This made up the difference between Bumgarner and Wainwright. Game tied 3-3.

Top of the 9th, Casilla came in to close out the Cards and to give the Giants a chance to win the game in regulation. However, Casilla didn't have good stuff; probably because he has never pitched in 3 games in a row, which he was doing tonight. Casilla gave up a walk and a hit. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Wong got to 1st on a FC w/a hard grounder between 3rd and 2nd, which Pablo deflected and Crawford was able to field for an out at 2nd, leaving men on 1st and 3rd. If that ball got through the hole, the Cards would have scored a run. Affeldt then came in to get the final out with runners on Wong "stole" 2nd; it was uncontested, no throw was made. Casilla then walked Cruz. BASES LOADED! That's it for Casilla. Affeldt came in and got Taveras to ground out on a play that he fielded himself. Disaster averted.

BTW, it scared the sh*t out of me to see Strickland warming up w/Affeldt during the top of the 9th. If Strickland came in to pitch to Taveras (who hit a HR earlier in the series off of Machi in Game 2), the score probably would have been 7-3 Cards. Thank goodness Bochy when w/Affeldt instead.

Then Matheny tries to pull some magic out of his hat by putting his starter Wacha in relief in the bottom of the 9th, because he really had no other choice. He needed a pitcher who might be able to give him some long relief (like Petit has been doing for the Giants) because he didn't know how long the game would go. Rosenthal's stuff was suspect and Gonzales was tired after being able to to the job in the last game. All the rest of his pitchers were late relievers not suited for long relief. So, Wacha was it.

However, Wacha had not pitched for 20 days; trying to recover from a shoulder injury. Wacha immediately threw a couple of 95+ mph heaters (and the announcers thought all was well w/Wacha) but he then gave up a single to Pablo on a hanging change-up. Wacha got Pence to fly out next but then walked Belt on 4 straight balls. 2 on and 1 out. It looked like Wacha had already lost his control. Ishikawa came up next. He doesn't have a great batting average but he almost hit a ball out of the park in Game 3 but only got a double because the ball was knocked down by the wind. Wacha threw him 2 balls inside (that made it 6 balls in a row) and then Ishikawa connected on a fastball up in the strike zone for a walk off 3 run HR!!

Giants win 6-3 and win the National League Championship Series 4-1 BUT it wasn't easy.

Despite the 3 run difference, the game was extremely close both teams made the same number of "mistakes" resulting in the 3-3 tie as of the bottom of the 8th. The Giants made more mistakes in the top of the 9th but were able to recover and get out of the inning w/o giving up another run. Then the Cards make the final mistake by giving up the 3 run homer to Ishikawa, who went from being the goat for not properly fielding the fly ball in the 3rd to becoming the hero by hitting the walk off homer in the 9th.

Amazing!!!

Neither the Royals or Giants, who were both wildcard teams, were expected to make it to the WS. Like the Giants and Cards, the Giants and Royals are very similar teams that "win" in very similar ways. They both play fundamental baseball, have good defense & good bullpens and take advantage of mistakes . made by their opponents. The Giants probably have the edge in starting pitching and the Royals have the edge in base running. Hitting is probably a push. The bullpens are close too, but the KC bullpen can throw some real heat with control which is not something the Giants can do. So, it looks to be a very tough match up and it should be a great World Series. Hopefully, the fact that the Royals swept the Giants in their 3 game inter-league series this year won't be a factor. It will at least give the Giants some scouting info upon which to develop a strategy for beating the Royals in the series.

GO GIANTS!!!!!

[dagolfpro]

Should be a great matchup. KC bull pen looks tough.

[SSW]

Some additional observations about Game 5:

The Giants had NOT hit a home run in the playoffs since October 4 -- 14 days ago -- when Belt hit one in the top of the 18th inning against the Nats in Game 2 of the NLDCS -- around 242 (or so) previous at bats. I was beginning to wonder if the Giants would EVER hit a home run again but today's game resolved that question.

Today the Giants scored ALL of their runs off homers -- 2 by Panik, 1 by Morse and 3 by Ishikawa -- which in a way is payback for the way the lost Game 2 in the series during which the bullpen gave up 3 homers in relief to the Cards -- 1 by Stickland, 1 by Machi and 1 by Romo -- to lose that game.

Morse was lucky to be in the game. He was out for the 2nd 1/2 of the season due to an oblique muscle injury (the same problem that forced Molina out of the series), was only put on the NLCS roster a few days before it had to be finalized and only had 3 other batting appearances in the series before he hit the homer today. Did it totally cold, which is pretty amazing.

Ishikawa came up from the minors and played for the Giants as a 1st baseman from 2006-2010. He was sent back to the minors in 2011, was picked up by the Brewers in 2012, played for the Orioles and Yankees in 2013 and for the Pirates during spring season in 2014 until he was designated for assignment and picked up again by the Giants in April, where he played w/the AAA Fresno Giants until Morse was injured and he was converted from a 1st baseman to left field.

At one point he was so despondent about his languishing MLB career that he was thinking about giving up. So, I guess good things do sometimes happen to people who don't give up. However, chances are that, if Ishikawa is still w/the Giants in 2015, he'll probably be the odd man out, because Morse will get his left field position back and Belt will remain on 1st. BUT, for now, all is good for Travis Ishikawa.

It's also interesting to note that two Asian American baseball players hit walk-off home runs in games during this series. Kolton Wong in Game 2 and Ishikawa in Game 5. Kolton also distinguished himself w/the quality of his play (both hitting and fielding) during this series, which helped to overcome the bad press/image he got when he got picked off 1st in Game 4 of last year's World Series -- the 1st pick off to ever end a post season game. Except for the walk off homer, Ishikawa hasn't distinguished himself (hitting or fielding) in the playoffs all that much.

There aren't many Asian -- let alone Asian American -- players in MLB, but most of the Asian players are foreign born. Apart from Travis and Kolton, the only other Asian American players (who were born in the US and have at least one parent of Asian heritage) that I can think of are Tim Lincecum, Shane Victorino, Brandon League and Kurt Suzuki. I'm sure there are a few others, but I can't name them now. So, for 2 Asian American players to have such a prominent role in this series is quite remarkable.

Here are some additional interesting "facts" published by ESPN about the Giants winning the NL Pennant and advancing to the World Series:

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/po...o-world-series