OT: Baseball Playoffs

[TobyTyler]

yep, same here in little league....even when i went to the infield, thought i was Willie. :-P

Ha ha! I used to try and make my hat fly off like Willie's did when I was going first to third.

 

[TobyTyler]

Damn you all are hella old, just playing.

With that said, the Giants did their October magic once again to pull off another miracle. Everyone has the Tigers winning the series, but their bullpen has issues. If the Giants can get either Lincecum or Mad Bum going once again, I like the Giants chances. Verlander is going to be tough, and he parallels Cliff Lee's run in the playoffs a couple of years ago, but it's about believing. Can't wait to see the city over the next week. I hope we pull this off, and I believe we will...

I'm hearing Tigers in 6 but I've had a feeling about the Giants in both the NLDS and the NLCS and I don't see that happenning at all. I'm supremely confident that the Giants will win it and I think they'll do it in 6, if not 5.

 

[Bemular]

Ha ha! I used to try and make my hat fly off like Willie's did when I was going first to third.

Dude - You need to stop right there! Man, watching that was as classic as watching he chase one down in deep center. Few players were as wise as Willie on the base paths.

Mays gave up many steals just to keep the bat in McCovey's hands - and many times it paid off in gems!

 

[TobyTyler]

Dude - You need to stop right there! Man, watching that was as classic as watching he chase one down in deep center. Few players were as wise as Willie on the base paths.

Mays gave up many steals just to keep the bat in McCovey's hands - and many times it paid off in gems!

Wasn't it though? Mays going first to third and running right out from under his cap was a thing of beauty.

Do you remember the catch he made at the cyclone fence in right center at the Old Stick when he and Bonds crashed into each other? I think Mays was knocked out but held on to the ball. Best catch I ever saw. I'm stunned that there is no video of it. Probably a good thing though; it might ruin my memory of it which I'm sure I've embellished over the ages.

 

[TobyTyler]

Dude - You need to stop right there! Man, watching that was as classic as watching he chase one down in deep center. Few players were as wise as Willie on the base paths.

Mays gave up many steals just to keep the bat in McCovey's hands - and many times it paid off in gems!

McCovey was another bad ass! My uncle back in the 60s had a couple of Black Labs named Mays and McCovey.

 

[deep9er]

They need to make Verlander throw a lot of pitches.

That means not swinging at the first pitch, Mr. Sandoval (well, unless they see that Verlander is throwing a first pitch fastball).

i get the logic on Verlander, but if a hitter feels it is his pitch, do swing. IMO be aggressive at the plate.

of course there may be situations, so in general be aggressive. plus you can't trust umps to be dead accurate.

 

[TobyTyler]

i get the logic on Verlander, but if a hitter feels it is his pitch, do swing. IMO be aggressive at the plate.

of course there may be situations, so in general be aggressive. plus you can't trust umps to be dead accurate.

I like what they did with Lohse last night. They knew the stat where Lohse starts out 70% of hitters with a strike and the Giants were attacking that first pitch instead of getting behind in the count. I think that unnerved him.

 

[Yoshi]

i get the logic on Verlander, but if a hitter feels it is his pitch, do swing. IMO be aggressive at the plate.

of course there may be situations, so in general be aggressive. plus you can't trust umps to be dead accurate.

A lot is being made of the Tigers' lack of defense. If you put the ball in play, you have potential Brooks Conrad/Pete Kozma type of defenders in the Tigers. Look at Delmon Young in LF - less than 40 games playing LF? How about Prince? From what I remember of him in the NL, a solid hitter but not that great of a defender.

I'd like to see the Giants manufacture runs and get their speedier players (Pagan, Blanco, Pence, and Belt) to try to steal off them. The Tigers have a good catcher, but he's not Yadier Molina.

 

[Yoshi]

no doubt pitching is key, and except for Verlander think we're right there with them? yes, even if Lincecum can do well in set-up or relief, that'll be huge.

don't think the Giants are better hitters than the Tigers, but right now they're "hot". they're also doing it in a 'timely' manner, by bunching hits together.

so will admit the Tigers look better on paper, and not surprised they're favored. also, a team can only "come back" so many times, sooner or later these "back against the wall" wins takes a toll. so lets not start 0-2.

Solid point. Not to mention, we beat the Cards without Posey and Pence, but those two can't keep screwing around in the PO's. Good grief, Posey is the NL MVP but in reality, he's not going to get pitches to hit unless Pence can get those base hits and XBH's. To me he is the key in our lineup.

 

[tallglassofwater007]

Just going to throw this out there since it ties into my post yesterday.

The Giants can thank their own for having Home Field Advantage in the World Series as Melky Cabrera was the MVP of this years All-Star game. He was 2-3 with a 2 run HR.

And Matt Cain was the winning pitcher, and Sandoval played well too I think hitting a triple and being knocked in by Cabrera

Verlander is going to be tough, and he parallels Cliff Lee's run in the playoffs a couple of years ago...

And the Giants beat Cliff Lee twice in that world series when nobody else could touch him. This really reminds me of that series. The Giants went through the playoffs with tough series (not as crazy as this year though) and the Rangers plowed through everyone. Our starting pitching isn't in the same groove it was that year but our but hopefully this one ends the same way.

 

[Yoshi]

And the Giants beat Cliff Lee twice in that world series when nobody else could touch him. This really reminds me of that series. The Giants went through the playoffs with tough series (not as crazy as this year though) and the Rangers plowed through everyone. Our starting pitching isn't in the same groove it was that year but our but hopefully this one ends the same way.

Where this parallels the Rangers series is that almost NO ONE is giving us a chance. I could really care less, because I'm all about the upsets and shocking the world...

 

[TobyTyler]

And the Giants beat Cliff Lee twice in that world series when nobody else could touch him. This really reminds me of that series. The Giants went through the playoffs with tough series (not as crazy as this year though) and the Rangers plowed through everyone. Our starting pitching isn't in the same groove it was that year but our but hopefully this one ends the same way.[/QUOTE]

They also beat the "unbeatable" Roy Halladay in the NLCS that year.

 

[deep9er]

wow, Verlander has thrown almost 60 pitches in 3 innings. so sure enough......

 

[deep9er]

and timely hitting continues, the Giants have bunched their hits....with 2 outs.

 

[SY8goat]

Pablo Sandoval is now a Legend!!!

 

[deep9er]

Pablo Sandoval is now a Legend!!!

wow, "Reggie Jackson" legend

 

[deep9er]

what is up with Pence?

 

[SY8goat]

wow, "Reggie Jackson" legend

Yeah, a World Series Legend!

 

[tallglassofwater007]

So I am watching the game at this sports bar I always go to. This Detroit fan comes in with a girl he is on a date with who is wearing a Giants jacket. He proceeds to introduce her by the wrong name to all of his friends and the tone for the entire night was thus, set.

 

[deep9er]

such a huge win, i'm estatic!

Mad Bum!