2010 NLCS Game 2: PHI 6, SF 1

Jonathan Sanchez pitched very well in Game 2, especially considering what he faced. The strike zone was terribly inconsistent and the defense by the Giants was painful to watch. The results were good, and could have been a lot better if those factors hadn't been in play. Sanchez a year ago would have fallen apart in the face of that; tonight, he limited damage in a potentially explosive 1st inning, and got stronger throughout the game. But none of it mattered, because the Giants (sans Cody Ross) simply could not hit Roy Oswalt. Looking at the game now, you had to figure it would be hard for the Giants offense to score against both Oswalt and Halladay. It's simply not likely for two great pitchers to give up many runs to a weak offense in back to back days.

Andres Torres struck out 4 times tonight. This is an issue. But what is to be done? He hasn't been the same since his appendix operation, and he was probably already going cold before that. In the playoffs, he has been pretty terrible at the plate; a few balls have been hit hard and caught for outs, but for the most part he just can't make contact at all. The thought of Aaron Rowand taking his spot scares me, but I wouldn't hate it if it was just for one game, to see what happens. But we have to remember something: Torres might look awful at the plate right now, but he is still a Gold glove caliber centerfielder, playing with an immobile left fielder. He still has value, and more than just a little. The best thing that could happen would be a change of approach, where he tries to go for contact more and use his speed. But who knows if a 32 year old career minor leaguer is capable of making an adjustment like that.

Cody Ross was the only true offensive force tonight, hitting his 3rd HR of the series. He just missed a 4th later in the game as well. It'll be fun to see what he can do against Hamels, a lefty who he has crushed, on Tuesday.

Even though Jeremy Affeldt struck out Ryan Howard in the 7th inning with runners on, I thought it was a strange move. Here was Ryan Howard, the powerful hitter who just can't hit lefties much, and Bochy leaves Lopez in the bullpen. What was he waiting for? Anyway, after Howard struck out, they intentionally walked Jayson Werth to get to Jimmy Rollins. And Rollins did something he's barely done all year: hit. The game was over after his bases clearing double. The Giants would get some baserunners on, but they really had no shot. They can be very happy with the 1 win they got in Philly: they now have 3 in SF, and 3 very winnable games. I will say, I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I can watch baseball without the nerves. Cliff Lee and his undefinable K/BB ratio, at Yankee Stadium? Sounds good to me.

Oh, and Raul Ibanez looks terrible at the plate. Just miserable.

2010 NLCS Game 1: SF 4, PHI 3

So much has been made of the fact that most of these Giants have no postseason experience. We've all heard about how this is Aubrey Huff's first postseason in his professional career. Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner are rookies who made great contributions during the regular season and have delivered so far in the postseason. Jonathan Sanchez clinched a playoff spot for the Giants and pitched a gem in his first ever postseason start. Tim Lincecum pitched one of the best games in playoff history. But nobody has talked about Cody Ross, who has also never been to the playoffs. It makes sense; he wasn't particularly impressive during the regular season, but he is quickly becoming the offensive hero for the Giants this postseason. In game 1 of the NLDS, he drove in the only run of the game. In game 4, he hit a home run to break up Derek Lowe's no-hitter and drove in the eventual game-winning run. And tonight, he hit 2 home runs off of the best pitcher in all of baseball, a pitcher who had just thrown a no-hitter in his last start. Even Mat Latos thinks that was a pretty great waiver claim.

Obviously, the big story coming into this game was the starting pitching. Both Lincecum and Halladay had pitched historic games the week before, and this was the most anticipated playoff pitching matchup in a long time. Neither pitcher was as dominant as last week, but they were both pretty good. The box score probably doesn't even show how good they were because the strike zone was ridiculous for both pitchers all night. Really, it was horrendous, but it's been talked about enough, so I won't elaborate. Still, besides a couple of mistakes to Cody Ross, a Pat Burrell RBI double (that Raul Ibanez probably should've caught) and a Juan Uribe single up the middle, Halladay was pretty good. Besides a couple of home runs from Carlos Ruiz and Jayson Werth that probably wouldn't have been homers at AT&T Park, Lincecum was great. His final line looked like this: 7 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, and 8 Ks.

Bruce Bochy made some decisions that were again criticized, and I'll quickly defend him one more time. His decision to use Nate Schierholtz as a pinch runner for Pat Burrell in the top of the 6th was not received well. It would've normally been pretty early to take out Burrell, but on Uribe's single up the middle, Schierholtz scored and Pat Burrell would not have. It was the decisive run in the game. Bochy also brought in Brian Wilson for a 4-out save, and I don't know why people would have a problem with it, but some did. Brian Wilson was the best reliever in the National League during the regular season. That should be the end of that argument.

Lastly, I hate pointing out the negatives in a win, but with the bases loaded in the 9th inning and 1 out, Andres Torres had an abysmal at bat. He swung at 3 straight sliders, two of which were very much out of the zone. Torres had a great season, but that can't happen again. That could've ended very badly for the Giants.

I lied, that wasn't the last thing I'm going to say. That win was huge. I mean, you should never expect to win a game against the Phillies in Philadelphia when Roy Halladay is pitching. And the Giants have what could be a very favorable matchup tomorrow with Jonathan Sanchez pitching against Philly's lefty-heavy lineup. So today's game was huge. It may not have been a 0-0 pitcher's duel, but it certainly lived up to the hype.

NLCS Preview: Giants, Phillies, and the Significance of Matchups

In less than 24 hours, the Giants and Phillies will begin Game 1 of the 2010 NLCS at Citizen's Bank Park. We've waited long enough; the Giants won Game 4 of the NLDS against Atlanta all the way back on Monday. But before Andres Torres doubles off Roy Halladay on the 2nd pitch of the game tomorrow, let's take a look at some important players in the series. I'll give the pitching matchups for each of the first 4 games, then expand within that context to key position players:

Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum - I'd like to think that the Giants could repeat what they did to Halladay in April this season, getting 10 hits off him and handing him his 1st loss. This is unlikely, though. There's no reason to think that a Hall of Fame pitcher like that can't shut down the Giants. Then again, there's no better reason to think he'll throw another no hitter. If the Giants do hit him, it will be thanks to an aggressive approach. Halladay is always in the strike zone. His season high for walks was 3, and he only did it twice. On the other hand, he gave up 10+ hits in 7 starts (but not a ton of runs in those games, strangely).

In the 7th month of Tim Lincecum's "worst" year as a pitcher, he is in fact as good as he has ever been. His playoff debut showed that. There are 4 Phillies with 15+ PAs against Tim: Howard, Utley, Rollins, and Victorino. The latter 3 all have done very little against him, hitting below .200. Howard, on the other hand, has 3 HRs off him, with a .409 OBP in 22 PAs. If you remember Lincecum's 1st start in the big leagues, it was at AT&T Park against the Phillies. He went 4+ innings, giving up 5 hits, 5 runs, 5 walks, and striking out 5 (these were the days when he was throwing 99 with little command). 2 of those 5 runs came on a shot Howard hit over the center field wall. Howard's high OBP in that very small sample size wouldn't be so concerning if he wasn't also slugging nearly .900. Even with only 22 PAs, it's a match up to be wary of. It would be fair to say that Halladay and Lincecum are pretty much evenly matched for this game.

Roy Oswalt and Jonathan Sanchez - Oswalt struggled in his start against Cincinnati, and this, combined with his 1-3 record against the Giants this season, makes him appear to be a better matchup for SF than he actually is. Sure, he has a 1-3 record, but he pitched well against them in each of those starts, not great, but well. These two games in Philly will not be easy to win with the pitchers they have on the mound.

Jonathan Sanchez pitched masterfully against Philadelphia at CBP in August, and that is part of the reason for him getting the Game 2 start rather than Matt Cain. There isn't much to be said for Sanchez's numbers against the Phillies' batters, because of the small sample size (yes, that is a theme today), but the fact that he is a lefty power pitcher against a lineup with 3 good hitter left handed hitters is something. On second thought, we can eliminate one of those lefties from the situation: Chase Utley hits better off left handed pitchers than right handers. Slightly less power, but better on base, resulting in a rare 8 point same sided wOBA platoon advantage. Howard is the opposite. Despite okay platoon numbers in a short season this year, he is notoriously poor against left handers. Raul Ibanez's platoon difference isn't as drastic, but this could be for the simple fact that Ibanez isn't nearly the hitter Howard is overall; Howard still rakes righties. Because two of their important hitters having this weakness, Sanchez could have good success on Sunday.

Cole Hamels and Matt Cain - Hamels' numbers against the Giants are not good, especially at AT&T. But the decision to pitch him in Game 3 rather than 2 is right in my estimation. Hamels gives up more HRs than most other good pitchers, including Oswalt. There's little reason to think that Hamels simply can't pitch at AT&T, a better park for limiting HRs than CBP. His poor numbers are simply not indicative of much. Hamels could very well pitch another shutout on Tuesday afternoon. He's that good. One player on the Giants that does have significant appearances against Hamels is Cody Ross, from his time in Florida. And he has hit Hamels well, which is no surprise given Ross' great propensity to hit left handers. Perhaps he will be a hero once again.

Ryan Howard has great numbers against Lincecum, but Chase Utley has arguably more of an edge on Matt Cain, hitting .467 with 3 HRs in 15 PAs. Once again, 15 is very small, but it's hard not to remember the time Cain nearly hit Utley in the head with a fastball (unintentionally) and Utley got back in the box and homered into McCovey Cove. Cain is pitching Game 3 because he is more of a flyball pitcher than Sanchez, although Sanchez gives up more HRs per flyball and walks more batters. I would have picked Cain to start in Philly simply because I believe he is better prepared mentally for such a start. If I can venture into pseudo sports psychology for a moment, I'll borrow the good idea that a fellow Giants fan on Twitter had, that Cain could use his "demotion" to the 3rd spot as motivation to be extra sharp. I normally don't bother with theories of extra motivation like that, because athletes have enough motivation in Game 3 of a postseason series. But for Cain I'll make the exception. I think he goes out and shows everyone just how strong he is.

Joe Blanton and Madison Bumgarner - If there is one game that the Giants are the favorites in, it is Game 4. While many would say that Philly's top 3 edge out each of the top 3 in the Giants rotation, there is no question that Bumgarner, only 21, is a better pitcher than Blanton. Blanton, with a 4.83 ERA this season, and 4.30 lifetime, is potentially more dangerous as a starter to the Phillies than Zito would be to the Giants. None of his postseason starts the last couple years have been disastrous, but he'll probably have a short leash. If somehow the Giants held a 2-1 lead going into Game 4, I wouldn't be surprised to see Roy Halladay pitch. Yes, they wouldn't be facing elimination in that game, but if they lose, they have to face Lincecum the next day.

With the blister on his finger, it might be hard for the Giants to pitch Lincecum on short rest in Game 4 should they face the same situation. No matter the series situation, Bumgarner will almost surely be the starter. He hasn't pitched well at home, but that is once again just a product of randomness. Logic just doesn't support the idea that a pitcher would naturally be incapable of pitching well in a neutral park like AT&T. Bumgarner is only 21, and he very well could struggle against the Phillies, but I think he is one of the wild cards for the Giants. He is a rare example of something the Giants have that the other team doesn't: a more than decent 4th starter.

A few thoughts on some players not yet mentioned - Ryan Howard has declined as a player, and hitter, this year, and Jayson Werth has become the Phillies 2nd most dangerous hitter behind Utley. He strikes out a lot, which is good because the Giants pitchers are all strikeout pitchers to a certain degree. But if he gets hot, he hits the ball FAR. And team that hit ball far, go far.

Earlier in the season, the Giants were known as a team that you could steal on, mainly because their pitchers didn't have great pickoff moves or fast deliveries to the plate. Then teams suddenly started getting caught a bit more. Gerald Demp just wasn't havin it. The Phillies are one of the best base stealing teams by percentage, and Shane Victorino is the most prolific. Remember the Lincecum debut I detailed above? Well, in that game, Victorino was picked off, and managed to avoid being tagged by running straight towards the pitcher's mound, then back toward 2nd base. He wasn't called for running out of the baseline. On Sunday Night Baseball, Joe Morgan called this "ESTABLISHING the baseline here, then ESTABLISHING it here". Ever since then, I've hated Victorino. Blame Joe Morgan and that awful explanation.

We're gonna have to watch out for Carlos Ruiz; he's apparently become something of a cult hero in Philadelphia. And for good reason: he's had a great season as their catcher, hitting .302/.400/.447. Yes, a .400 OBP for a catcher many of you may not have heard of.

I'm gonna finish with a look at both bullpens, with a few more thoughts on lefty matchups. Earlier today, Andrew Baggarly wrote about the importance of the Giants bullpen lefties in this series. With Howard, Ibanez, and Utley (Bochy will likely still go with that matchup for Utley even though it is wrong), the Giants will be needing more than Javier Lopez. Jeremy Affeldt will be on the roster, and possibly Dan Runzler.

The bullpen is the one area where the Giants are undoubtedly stronger. Brad Lidge has not had a great season, but has pitched well lately, and was able to brush his playoff demons aside the last two postseasons with the Phillies. Brian Wilson, however, is a better closer right now, period. Other than Lidge, the only legitimately good reliever they have is Ryan Madsen. The Giants bullpen isn't perfect at all, but they have at least a few Ryan Madsens: Ramon Ramirez, Santiago Casilla, and Sergio Romo. Yes, Sergio Romo. Now is not the time to give one of our best relievers the "Joe Nathan Felipe Alou" treatment.

Should the Giants Make Any Roster Changes for the NLCS?

Actually, the Giants have already made one change.

Today we learned that after Tim Lincecum pitches game 1 of the series, Jonathan Sanchez will be pitching Game 2 and Matt Cain will go for Game 3. Cain is still a better pitcher than Sanchez, but I see the reasoning behind the move. In his only start of the year in Philadelphia, Sanchez was rather brilliant. In 8 innings he allowed just 2 hits and 1 ER with 2 BB and 7 Ks. The Phillies' ballpark is also very small, and Sanchez does give up fewer flyballs than Cain, even though the difference isn't huge. The Phillies lineup has a lot of left-handed hitters too. Ryan Howard, one of Philly's best hitters, is significantly worse facing left-handed pitching and has always had trouble against Sanchez (3-for-14, 7 Ks). However, Sanchez does allow more baserunners and is generally more erratic. I don't really have a problem with the move, but I guess after all of these great starts, I'm waiting for bad Sanchez to come back. Cain is more consistent and I generally have much more confidence in him than Sanchez.

As for the rest of the pitching staff, it doesn't look like anything will change. I will not back down on my stance that Zito should be on the roster, but I realize the fight is over. In a 7 game series a long reliever is even more important and Guillermo Mota wasn't even used in the NLDS. I don't see the harm in having Zito, just in case. But the Giants, like many fans, don't seem to think Zito can effectively pitch out of the bullpen. It's okay, I'm over it.

It is also unlikely that any changes will made for position players even though the offense was atrocious against Atlanta. I guess there's not much they can do besides playing better. When Jose Guillen was originally left off the roster, it seemed like it was because he wasn't healthy, but the situation still seemed a little unclear to me. Would Guillen have made the roster if he was healthy or was it because the Giants wanted someone more versatile on defense? I think a healthy Guillen would have made it. We haven't heard anything about Guillen's health, so I assume he's still hurting. If healthy, I still think he's a better option than Rowand, particularly since Rowand was just used as a pinch-hitter, not a defensive replacement in the NLDS.

So.....I guess this post just told you that Cain and Sanchez switched spots in the rotation, which you probably already knew. Oh well. Keep an eye out for NLCS Pitching and Offense Previews in the next couple of days.

2010 NLDS Game 4: SF 3, ATL 2

The San Francisco Giants have beaten the Atlanta Braves in the 2010 NLDS, and will move on to face the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL pennant. It will be a tough task for the Giants: Philly has won the the last 2 pennants, and they are probably better than they have ever been in the past 3 years. We will have previews for the NLCS throughout the week, leading up to Game 1 on Saturday at Citizen's Bank Park. Right now, though, we need to look back at this game, another game where the Giants somehow got past the Braves.

Bruce Bochy went with Madison Bumgarner instead of Tim Lincecum today, and Bumgarner did what he was supposed to do. He wasn't perfect, but he kept the Giants close in a game where the hitters looked completely puzzled by Derek Lowe. Bumgarner had a normal game for him, giving up some hits, but only walking 1 (An up and coming Cliff Lee perhaps? Probably not, but I can dream). Brian McCann hit a sacrifice fly for the Braves first run in the 3rd inning. The game stayed 1-0 until Cody Ross homered in the 6th inning. A big moment for Ross, the last "mercenary" added to the Giants this season. Bochy decided to keep Bumgarner in the game, and in the bottom of the 6th inning, Brian McCann once again did the damage, hitting the first pitch he saw into the bleachers. Yet Bochy still stuck with Bumgarner, and he was able to finish the inning. He pitched 6 good innings for the Giants on the road in the playoffs. That's a lot for a 21 year old rookie.

In the top of the 7th inning, the Giants finally got to Derek Lowe, or as the TBS broadcasters affectionately called him, "Derrek Lee". Lowe simply lost his command, walking Aubrey Huff, giving up an infield single to Buster Posey, and then walking Pat Burrell. Juan Uribe then hit a ball into the hole at shortstop. It was a tough play, and a double play was going to be impossible, so the Giants definitely had tied the game. But Alex Gonzalez's throw to 2nd base pulled Omar Infante off the bag, and everyone was safe. Aaron Rowand pinch hit for Mike Fontenot, and struck out. But then Cody Ross came up again, and was the hero as he singled into right field. Posey scored, and it took a great throw to cut down Pat Burrell at the plate. The Giants had taken the lead. Santiago Casilla worked a good 7th inning, then came out for the 8th. With 1 out, Bochy somewhat strangely kept Casilla in to face the best hitter on Atlanta, the left handed hitting McCann. McCann singled. It would have been better to go to Javier Lopez at that time. But Casilla got Alex Gonzalez to ground out (Gonzalez has been a huge disappointment for Atlanta), and then Bochy went to Lopez to get Heyward. And Lopez struck him out. The Giants hit into 2 double plays in the 8th and 9th innings, so 1 run was going to have to be enough for Brian Wilson. Wilson didn't have a clean 9th inning, thanks to a once again inconsistent strike zone. He walked 2 batters with 1 out, but then struck out Infante, and got Melky Cabrera to ground into the series winning force out.

2010 NLDS Game 3: SF 3, ATL 2

The San Francisco Giants showed tonight that they can rally back just as well as the Atlanta Braves, with a little help and a few errahs. Through 7, the star of the game was Jonathan Sanchez, who exceeded all possible expectations for his playoff debut. I was worried last night that Sanchez just might not be able to handle the pressure of a playoff game on the road. As good as he has been, he isn't Cain or Lincecum. But Sanchez was more than able to handle it. He was superb, striking out 11 Braves in 7.1 innings of work, allowing only 2 hits (and none till Tim Hudson's 6th inning single) and most importantly, only 1 walk. With Barry Zito being dropped from the rotation and NLDS roster, the Giants asked for Sanchez to be something of a third ace, and he delivered. The Giants held a 1-0 lead after 7 1/2 innings. They had made Tim Hudson work, but only had the one run to show for it, hitting dismally with runners in scoring position.

It looked like maybe 1 was gonna have to be enough, as happened in Game 1. But as we said before, Sanchez, at his best, still isn't Lincecum, so Bruce Bochy couldn't keep him on the mound forever. With 1 out and a runner on in the 8th inning, it appeared Bobby Cox was going to have Troy Glaus pinch hit. Bochy brought in Sergio Romo, and Cox promptly pulled back Glaus in favor of left handed hitting Eric Hinske. Hinske, after falling behind in the count, got a hanging changeup and homered just left of the foul pole in right field, to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. This was a crushing blow. The question is, did Bruce Bochy make a mistake?

Well, maybe. Although I think it would have been ridiculous for Bochy to not let Romo pitch simply because of a bad outing on Friday, facing Hinske wasn't a great matchup at all. But would Jonathan Sanchez against Troy Glaus have been safer? I don't know. And when Romo was brought in, and Hinske was announced, there was no way to fix it. Romo had to face him. It was hard to watch Bochy get out managed there by Bobby Cox, but I can't honestly say how I'd have done it differently. And you'll see soon, that Cox using Glaus AND Hinske in that 8th inning did not help him later.

Because the Giants would not be put away. Travis Ishikawa worked a walk with 1 out in the 9th. Andres Torres struck out on a very questionable pitch. Then Freddy Sanchez singled up the middle. The Giants had hope. And Aubrey Huff, the best hitter all year, but slumping badly so far in the series, reached out and pulled a ball into right field that Jason Heyward just couldn't quite get to. Ishikawa scored and the game was tied. Then Buster Posey came up, and he too reached for a pitch, hitting it somewhat hard towards 2nd baseman Brooks Conrad. And Conrad, the poor guy, did what he had been doing all game. He fucked it up. He let the ball go under his glove. The Giants took the lead with 2 outs in the top of the 9th, a completely improbable happening.

Bochy went to his closer, Brian Wilson, to get the final 3 outs against the heart of the Braves order. Wilson struck out Jason Heyward on a very low outside fastball. Heyward had reason to complain, but then again so did Andres Torres in the top of the inning. Derrek Lee, who just is not a scary hitter anymore, popped up. Brian McCann, the one big threat in the Braves lineup, singled on a groundball that Freddy Sanchez ranged to get to, but couldn't handle. The Braves would have had Matt Diaz coming up, but he was replaced for defense in the top of the inning by Nate McClouth. Perhaps if Bobby Cox hadn't used two of his powerful pinch hitters in the 8th inning, the weak hitting McClouth could have been replaced. But he had to bat, and grounded out to end the game. It looked like the Giants couldn't lose Friday's game, but they managed to. After Hinske's Turner shaking HR in the 8th, there seemed to be no way for the Giants, who had been quiet with the bats all day, to win this game. But they managed to.

This means Madison Bumgarner will pitch tomorrow instead of Tim Lincecum. It's the right move. Considering it is not an elimination game, there is no reason to pitch Lincecum on short rest. In the case that he is tired and the Giants lose, they have to win Game 5 without him. Instead, they go with a very competent pitcher, Bumgarner, and try to win. And if they don't, they have Lincecum fully rested on Tuesday at AT&T for Game 5.

2010 NLDS Game 2: ATL 5, SF 4

That really hurt.

I honestly don't want to re-live this game by writing about it, but I'll do it for all two of you who can't live without our recaps (Just kidding, I know we have thousands of readers. You all just aren't the commenting types). Anyway, if there was one thing that you could complain about from last night's game, it would be the lack of offense. Well tonight, the offense got started early. In the 1st inning, with 2 runners on, Pat Burrell hit another huge home run to give the Giants a 3-0 lead right away. They added another run in the next inning, making the score 4-0. With another good pitching performance, 4 runs should've been enough.

And Matt Cain did pitch well. He wasn't nearly as good as Lincecum, but no one was expecting that. Cain's final line looked like this: 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks. Not a bad outing at all and Cain gave the Giants a great chance to win.

The only thing is, the normally dominant bullpen did not come through at all tonight. In the 8th inning with the score at 4-1, set up man Sergio Romo came in and quickly allowed 2 singles and was taken out. Bruce Bochy decided to bring in Brian Wilson for a 6-out save. Not too many people seemed to disagree with the move at the time. And you know what? It was the right move. After having 5 days off, Wilson had plenty of energy to go for 2 innings and in a pressure situation, you want your best pitcher in the game. Unfortunately, a throwing error from Pablo Sandoval allowed a run to score. 4-2. Then after a sac bunt, leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, Wilson allowed a 2-run double off the bat of Alex Gonzalez. Score tied 4-4. All of a sudden, people were going crazy angry, criticizing Bochy for bringing in Wilson for a 6-out save when he's never done it before. Pretty convenient, huh? Listen, I don't care if closers are supposed to get the save in the 9th inning. That 8th inning situation was the real save situation. Putting in your best pitcher there is the right move. And remember, Pablo Sandoval's throwing error was HUGE. That wasn't Wilson's fault. If they get out of that situation with the lead, more than likely they win that game. Unfortunately, he didn't get it done tonight, but I still trust him more than anyone in the 'pen to get it done on most nights. And we need to mention that this is why it was the right move to let Lincecum finish the game last night. Lincecum is a great pitcher, and while this bullpen is pretty good, bullpens are never a sure thing. Great pitchers usually are.

You know, I've always been a person who criticizes a lot of Bochy's moves. But after seeing the way some people criticize his moves without any merit, I feel sorry for the guy. Tonight, he was also criticized for taking out Pat Burrell to start the 7th. We all know Burrell isn't great defensively and when you're facing a very bad offense and you have a great pitching staff and a 3-run lead, defense needs to become a bigger priority. It was absolutely the right move to bring in Schierholtz at that point. He was criticized for bringing in Sergio Romo to start the 8th. Damn you Bochy for not using that big ol' head of yours to predict the future! How could you not know that Sergio would allow 2 singles with no outs?? I mean, seriously? Romo has been the 8th inning set up man for the last few months of the season. Bochy managed this game exactly the same way he has all year. Why are the things that have worked all year being criticized today? Because they didn't work? Because a bad defensive player makes a costly error? How is that Bochy's fault? Sometimes the PLAYERS mess up. Sometimes the things that have always gone right, go wrong. It happens. You can't just choose to blame the manager any time you want. Bochy has definitely made a lot of questionable moves and maybe sometimes he gets a little lucky, but he did manage this team to 92 wins and the playoffs this year. This loss was entirely NOT his fault.

Of course, even a bad offense will score if you give them enough chances, and that's what the Braves did. Rick Ankiel hit a ball off Ramon Ramirez into the cove, giving the Braves the 5-4 lead. Even more frustrating, the inning before, with the bases loaded and 1 out, our God, our savior, Buster Posey, grounded into the inning ending double play. Didn't see that coming. Very, very painful. Fuckin' Bochy.

I'm bitter. Rick Ankiel is going on the Hate List, even though I'm not sure he's worthy. But bitterness makes you irrational and I'm okay with that.