Tag: Matt Cain (Page 3 of 7)

      2010 World Series Prediction Thread: Rangers vs. Giants

      October 27, 2010 /
      The Rawlings Sporting Goods Company has released the official baseball in St. Louis on October 25, 2010 that will be used for the 2010 World Series between the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants when that series begins on October 27, 2010 in San Francisco. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      Full disclosure: I’m a massive San Francisco Giants fan. The first time I sat down to watch a baseball game from start to finish was in 1989 when the Giants played my hometown Cubs in the NLCS. Will “The Thrill” Clark put on a clinic in that series and I was hooked ever since.

      Of course, the A’s went on to sweep the Giants in the Fall Classic that year and I was introduced to the torture that is San Francisco baseball. From “The last pure pennant race” in ‘93, to Edgar Renteria’s base hit in ‘97, to Mark Gardner’s dud in a one-game playoff against the Cubs in ’98, to Bobby Jones’ one-hitter in ’00, to…well, to 2002. I don’t like to mention 2002 outside of how I wish Scott Spiezio grew up playing ping-pong instead of baseball.

      It goes without saying that it’s been a while since the Giants were this good and it’s been even longer since they won a title. People like to talk about the Cubs’ championship drought, but the Indians and Giants are right behind them.

      With that in mind, I won’t play coy: I’m rooting for the Giants. I won’t be objective and damn it, I don’t have to be either. Giants in 7. No, wait – Giants in 4.

      Actually, I see the Rangers taking Game 1 because, well, Cliff Lee doesn’t lose in the postseason. Ever. I see the Giants taking Game 2 with Matt Cain (the most underrated pitcher in baseball) on the hill and then the rest of the series could go either way. If the NLDS/NLCS Game 2 Jonathan Sanchez takes the hill in Game 3, then San Fran could steal the first game in Texas on Saturday night. But if NLCS Game 6 Jonathan Sanchez rears his ugly head, then the Rangers could easily win, 27-1. (That lone run coming on a Cody Ross home run, of course.)

      The Rangers are favored for a reason. They have the better lineup from top to bottom, their pitching staff isn’t as good as the Giants’ but they can certainly hold their own and Lee is unbeatable. They also have that “destiny” thing about covered with this being the first time they’ve ever reached the World Series.

      But the Giants, my Giants, are somewhat playing with house money. Nobody expected them to win the NL West this year and even fewer people thought they’d beat the Phillies in the NLCS. Yet here they are, plugging along without a care in the world and no idea that they’re not supposed to win. Their pitching staff is great, players like Ross are having unprecedented success this postseason and their bullpen (thanks to Brian Wilson, Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affedlt) is nearly unhittable in the later innings. If they can continue to get timely hitting from Buster Posey, Aubrey Huff and Juan Uribe, they’ll have a shot.

      They can win this thing.

      Giants in 7.

      Who are you taking?

      External Sports, MLB

      Which starter should the Giants throw in Game 1?

      October 25, 2010 /
      San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum in the 2nd inning during the National League Championship Series at AT&T Park in San Francisco, on October 21, 2010. UPI/ Bob Larson Photo via Newscom

      Tim Lincecum says he fully expects to start in Game 1 of the World Series Wednesday night against the Rangers. But after pitching in the 8th inning Saturday night against the Phillies in Game 6 of the NLCS, Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy has a tougher decision than people think.

      By the time Wednesday rolls around, Matt Cain will have had a full week of rest after pitching in Game 3 of the NCLS last Tuesday. If the Giants were to throw him Game 1 of the Fall Classic, that would give Lincecum four days of rest if the Giants wanted to start him Game 2 on Thursday (and why wouldn’t they?).

      But that would mean the Giants wouldn’t have their ace in Games 4 and 7 if they were facing an elimination game. If possible, clubs always want to throw their best pitcher Game 1, so that if they needed him later in the series he would be available. Lincecum only threw 16 pitches on Saturday and while he would be working on only three days rest, he should be fine to pitch the opening game.

      That said, it’s not like Cain can’t get the job done. He’s proven to be one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball and after the Giants burned through their bullpen Saturday night thanks to Jonathan Sanchez’s dud performance (he lasted only two innings before being pulled), they could use a bull like Cain to throw seven or eight innings.

      But it all comes back to throwing your ace in Game 1, which is why I think Bochy will inevitably tab Lincecum as his starter. If the Rangers pound him, then so be it. But the Giants need to have their ace available later in the series if need be. Guys can rest in December.

      External Sports, MLB

      Matt Cain, Babe Ross help Giants take lead in NLCS

      October 19, 2010 /
      Aug. 12, 2010 - San Francisco, California, United States of America - 12 August, 2010: San Francisco Giants MATT CAIN.

      I’m not a pitching coach and my hectic sports blogging schedule prevents me from ever becoming one, but if I may offer up some advice to the Phillies’ starting staff: Figure out a way – someway – to get Cody Ross out. Because dude is killing you.

      Once again, Ross donned a red cape and an “S” on his chest for the Giants, as he singled home Edgar Renteria in the fourth inning to give his club a 1-0 lead. Aubrey Huff followed through with another single off starter Cole Hamels later in the inning and the Giants went on to beat the Phillies 3-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the 2010 NLCS.

      Ross, who has to be the most unlikely postseason hero for the Giants (outside of Eugenio Velez – now that would be something), is now hitting .348 in the playoffs, with four home runs, seven RBI, eight hits, three runs scored and three walks. It’s amazing to think that he probably wouldn’t even be playing right now if it weren’t for Jose Guillen’s back injury.

      Of course, if not for Matt Cain’s dazzling pitching performance, Ross’ latest heroics may not have mattered.

      I’m running out of adjectives to describe the pitching that we’ve seen so far in the NCLS. Cain limited the Phillies to just two hits while pitching seven scoreless innings to pick up the first postseason win of his young career. He threw 119 pitches and while he walked three and hit two batters, he also struck out five and got in and out of jams all afternoon. It was also his first career win against the Phillies, who were shutout in the postseason for the first time since the 1983 World Series.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, MLB

      Giants making the right decision to start Jonathan Sanchez in Game 2

      October 14, 2010 /
      San Francisco Giants pitcher Jonathan Sanchez delivers a pitch to the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of their MLB National League Division Series baseball playoff game in Atlanta, Georgia October 10, 2010. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATESSPORT - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      Every manager would love to have the problem Bruce Bochy currently has. He has to set his rotation for the NLCS (which starts this Saturday in Philadelphia) and even though Matt Cain is arguably the Giants’ second best pitcher, he won’t be starting in Game 2.

      That responsibility falls on Jonathan Sanchez, one of two lefties San Francisco will throw at the Phillies’ struggling lineup in the best-of-seven-game series. (Rookie Madison Bumgarner is the other.) Sanchez will get the nod over Cain because Bochy prefers to go righty (Tim Lincecum), lefty (Sanchez), righty (Cain), lefty (Bumgarner), when laying out his rotation.

      It’s the right move given the Phillies’ lineup and the ballpark they play in. Chase Utley is a left-handed hitter, as is Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez. All three of them can hit for power and given the Little League stadium that they play in, they can do some damage against a hard-throwing pitcher like Cain who relies on his fastball.

      But Sanchez’s go-to pitch is his slider, which is much harder to hit out of the ballpark than a fastball. In other words, he’s the better pitcher to throw at Citizens Bank Park (where Game 2 will be played) and considering he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Braves in Atlanta on Sunday, he obviously doesn’t have any qualms about pitching on the road in a pressure situation. (Although that certainly wasn’t the case earlier in his career when he was an emotional roller coaster in every start.)

      The Giants have a huge mountain to climb if they want to reach the World Series. The Phillies have the best collection of talent of all of the remaining teams and their pitching staff is expected to put the clamps down on San Fran’s offense, just as the Braves’ starters were able to do in the NLDS. That means the Giants’ spectacular pitching staff will have to be even more spectacular (maybe even perfect) if this club hopes to move on.

      But Bochy can only put his players in the best position to win and then trust that they’ll execute. There’s a possibility that Sanchez could get destroyed in Philadelphia and then Cain blows it in Game 3. However, in setting his rotation the way he is, he’s arguably giving the Giants their best chance to win. Now they just have to go out and execute.

      External Sports, MLB

      Plenty of blame to go around for Giants’ collapse in Game 2 of NLDS

      October 9, 2010 /
      San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Brian Wilson (38) reacts to making an out in the 9th inning against the Atlanta Braves during Game 2 of their MLB National League Division Series baseball playoff game in San Francisco, California October 8, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      There’s no shortage of blame for the Giants’ collapse Friday night in Game 2 of the NLDS.

      Had Pat Burrell not turned Derrek Lee’s sixth inning single into a double by kicking the ball in left field, maybe the Braves don’t score on the next play to cut the Giants’ 4-0 lead to 4-1.

      Had Sergio Romo not allowed the only two batters he faced in the eighth to reach base, maybe Brian Wilson allow three runs to tie the game at 4-4.

      Had Pablo Sandoval honed his craft at third base during the regular season, he wouldn’t have helped Wilson give up those three runs by making a throwing error in that fatal eighth inning.

      Had Andres Torres played fundamental baseball and lifted a sac fly into the outfield instead of striking out with runners at first and third with one out in the seventh, the Giants would have finished with five runs instead of four.

      And had sensational rookie Buster Posey not grounded into a double play in the bottom of the 10th with bases loaded and only one out, the Giants would be up two-games-to-none in their best of seven series with the Braves.

      But alas, things didn’t go the Giants’ way last night and they only have themselves to blame for their 5-4 collapse. Like so many times throughout his career, they wasted another fine performance by Matt Cain and once again like so many times throughout the past couple of years, their offense couldn’t step up when the club needed it to.

      Give credit to the Braves, who never gave up despite trailing 4-0 after only two innings. Starter Tommy Hanson settled in after giving up a 3-run dinger to Burrell in the first and the bullpen was absolutely outstanding the entire night. Kyle Farnsworth stepped up enormously in extra innings when Billy Wagner went down, and got the double play in the bottom of the 10th that allowed Rick Ankiel to hit the game-winning homer in the 11th (which was an absolute moon shot into McCovey Cove).

      Now the series shifts to Atlanta for two games, where the Braves finished with a NL-best 56-25 home record. They’ve also seized all the momentum and can close out the series at home on Monday if they can scoop up two more wins.

      We’ll see what the Giants are made of over these next three days, because they’ve definitely put their backs against it.

      External Sports, MLB

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