2010 NLCS: Phillies vs. Giants

Feel free to make a prediction.

I predict that ...http://images.chron.com/blogs/askacat/hatcat.JPGwill win another game.

so apparently madison bumgarner is washed up at age 20

― mookieproof, Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:08 PM (5 months ago)

will the phillies need to use a 4th starter in this series? if not then they're the favorites

is this BeeOK?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyVdbfyvwso

I predict that even the Philly and SF haters will get stoked for DOC VS BIG TIME TIMMY JIM!!!!

Stoked!!

What I'm hoping for: Giants in 6, with two perfect games from Halladay.

my prediction is that every game will be scoreless through 7 and then big time lols from r0m0, wilson, u mad son, and lidge.

Is Blanton the Phillies #4?

I say Philly in 6.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/43/img02171.gif

the best

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykug0n81qRg

mmm, Champagne porn

Brian Wilgetsonned

someone tell me what the fuck is up with brian wilsons beard. dude looks like this:

http://www.unathleticmag.com/wp-content/uploads/hollywood_hogan.jpg

Pretty reasonable comparison.

At least Sergio's beard isn't dyed.

they both look like Wooly Willy to me.

Giants:Phils :: Braves:Giants

Phils in 6, and if it only takes 4 or 5 that wouldn't surprise me either.

Phils in 5.

I would love to see the Giants surprise people and make this a long series, but my gut tells me Phils in 5.

I'm surprised it's unanimous for Philadelphia. I see the rotations as more or less even through the first three starters--edge to Phillies, but close enough that it could go either way.

Very good point except that you overlooked the small fact that the Phillies have one of the best offenses in baseball and the Giants have one of the worst.

The offenses are very not-equal. xpost!

It could but realistically, it won't go either way. This season has been 'torture' 'cause even if we won, we've been barely scraping by a run or three every game all season and it's hard to really set a line-up when no-one is really sure whose hitting streak is starting and whose is slumping.

if you go position-by-position, the phillies are pretty much even or win everywhere except in the catcher spot, and tbh ruiz good so it's not like posey is matching up with some ausmus type.

FACT: Eli Whiteside was one of the reasons SF pwnx0red DocHalladay earlier this season.

Actually to continue this devil's advocacy, I'm pretty sure SF took the season series with PHI (no google) and roughed up Halladay/Hamels and even roughed up THE ALMIGHTY Roy Oswalt as well (w/ Houston at the time).

Phils in phive

April: SF wins 2/3 at At&T

August:PHI wins 2/3 at CB Park

xp They split the season series (they both won two out of three at home.)

And Oswalt beat us at home.

To be clear, I meant in Philly

I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows, and that the role of Jack Morris/Bob Gibson/Bret Saberhagen/Howard Ehmke will be played by Tim Lincecum. Giants in 7.

bOLd PREDELICTION:

PHI in 7

Oswalt throws another perfect game. Halladay and Hamels continue to "shit the bed" TM DR. MORbiuS MD.

you overlooked the small fact that the Phillies have one of the best offenses in baseball and the Giants have one of the worst

True, but I subscribe to the cliche that pitching--starting pitching especially--is at a premium in the postseason. And if the front three for both teams are at their very best, I don't know that relative offensive strength will mean all that much. Close games all, could go either way. Not saying the Giants will win, just that I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they did.

And I agree with Morbius that Lincecum is the key. After a pedestrian season by his own standards, I get the feeling he's hyped to carry his team all the way.

True, but I subscribe to the cliche that pitching--starting pitching especially--is at a premium in the postseason.

I watched great pitching get the Braves to the postseason for 14 straight years, with one championship to show for it. In October, it's the bats that make the difference imho.

The Braves are a good counter-argument, but, besides the fact that they seemed to live under some ungodly postseason curse, I'd point out that a) the teams who beat them in the Series, the Yankees, Twins, and Blue Jays, had excellent pitching too, and b) you can find any number of big-hitting teams--the Gonzalez-led Rangers, turn-of-the millennium Mariners, any Rockies team, etc.--that sank like a stone in the playoffs. Again, all I'm saying is that if you start with Lincecum, Cain, and Sanchez, I think you've got a much better chance of winning than people might think.

The Rockies weren't such a good example...thought they'd made the playoffs more than just three times. They sank like a stone twice; the other time they went to the World Series, then sank like a stone.

This year, those 3 pitchers won a combined 42% of their starts this year against teams that were wholly inferior to the Phillies and in fact, those "big three" barely compiled a winning record this year.

Trying to find the stats showing the terminal decision of a pitcher's non-decision start... anyone? I know TV guys always spout this stat.

You guys are convinced the Giants are overmatched. Let them play the games and we'll see who's right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf0j1rmZVbM

this is new to me

You guys are convinced the Giants are overmatched. Let them play the games and we'll see who's right.

This thread is also a poll, though.

brian wilson looks like a motherfucker with some dark secrets

There will be a day game in San Francisco. Unfortunately, it's a weekday. Lotta Tweeps are saying that's because Fox doesn't want to preempt "Glee" on Tuesday night on the East Coast. Here is the schedule. All times are Pacific Daylight Time and mark the start of the Fox broadcast. First pitch is a bit later.

Game 1: Saturday at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m.

Game 2: Sunday at Philadelphia, 5;00 p.m.

Game 3: Tuesday at San Francisco, 1:00 p.m.

Game 4: Wednesday at San Francisco, 4:30 p.m.

Game 5: Thursday at San Francisco, 4:30 p.m.--*

Game 6: Saturday at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m.--*

Game 7: Sunday at Philadelphia, 4:30 p.m.--*

*--If necessary

Home team disadvantage?

Home teams are 4-11 in the playoffs so far.

BeeOK, I assume those times you posted are PST?

yeah, got it from the San Francisco newspaper

Game three needs to go into extra innings -- like 20.

Home teams are 4-11 in the playoffs so far.

I know, Joe Sheehan tweeted that

http://www.mocksession.com/30fps//2010%20October%2023%2023%2038%2039.jpg

Wilson gets credit, definitely. That pitch was almost unhittable. Wilson did his job, Howard looked dumb.

FOX track had that as a strike

i don't think you guys understand baseball -- when you're facing a guy like wilson who throws 90% fastball at 98 mph, if you're sitting on a fastball, which howard should've been, you can't just adjust & swing at a breaking pitch -- you pretty much just have to hope that it's a ball

Yes--even if you're Ryan Howard, even probably if you're Willie Mays. (Maybe not if you're Ichiro or Vlad Guerrero.)

That's only part of the story, IMO. It's not a pitch he can drive, but he can foul it off. Of course that can be easier said than done, and Howard isn't exactly a contact hitter. Which is why Wilson threw it.

you know the phrase that the hitter got "frozen" -- that's what it means -- you see a pitch that you didn't expect & aren't prepared for & your brain literally can't make you swing before the ball passes you

i don't think you guys understand baseball -- when you're facing a guy like wilson who throws 90% fastball at 98 mph, if you're sitting on a fastball, which howard should've been, you can't just adjust & swing at a breaking pitch -- you pretty much just have to hope that it's a ball

― J0rdan S., Saturday, October 23, 2010 11:48 PM (6 minutes ago)

uh it started thigh-high - if he was sitting fastball he theoretically could have swung over the top of it

i mean yeah he got tooled - 2 strikes and season on the line you have to hope to be able to foul it off at least

it sounds so easy!

xp Or hope it's low and gets called a ball.

Jordan S.: This is ILX. Whether it's fouling off hellacious 3-2 breaking balls with the season on the line or navigating legislation through Congress, we've got it all covered.

I never doubted this outcome.

brian wilson has to be an elaborate joke

i think he's actually a method actor that's really good at baseball

that was one hell of a pitch by wilson. you can't even say what howard "should have done" because there are no good options with that pitch

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/43/img02171.gif

You meant to post that to the Unintentional Homoeroticism thread right?

why is brian wilson not a noted source of lols??

it looks like there is a ghost in the background

that doesn't bode well for their world series imo

that was one hell of a pitch by wilson. you can't even say what howard "should have done" because there are no good options with that pitch

― call all destroyer, Saturday, October 23, 2010 11:16 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark

finally some fucking sanity

I think I've been saying exactly the same thing...

I don't think you have because you don't understand baseball like JS.

http://i56.tinypic.com/72yvs5.gif

did think it was a bad (and hesitant) call.

IT WAS A STRIKE on the MOST OVERRATED, OVERPAID SLUGGER of the last ten years.

Also, I SHIT ON YOUR FACE, PHILADELPHIA, YOU ASSHOLE TOWN!

ahahaha

The most exciting baseball game I've watched in ages.

I hope they all got diarrhea from cheesesteaks after the game too

congrats to the Giants. hope y'all beat the tar outta the Rangers.

and Mets fans make Red Sox fans seem human. i guess i'd turn into a subhuman cretin, too, if i rooted for an organization that makes the Knicks seem well-run and classy.

why is brian wilson not a noted source of lols??

― call all destroyer, Sunday, October 24, 2010 6:23 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark

Seriously! I mean, people wear fake Brian Wilson beards to the ballpark! How great is that? And how hilarious was the picture of a clean shaven Wilson when he came to bat?

The most exciting baseball game I've watched in ages.

― macaroni rascal (polyphonic), Sunday, October 24, 2010 9:47 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

I think this was the best postseason series in years.

Nice post-game wrap-up from the Phillies locker room:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=5722405

In the back of Howard's mind he thought Wilson might throw him a fastball, but he didn't expect it. All year, teams had stopped throwing the Phillies fastballs in fastball counts, a result of enhanced scouting, and the byproduct of years of offensive success. At some point, opposing teams would finally figure out how to pitch the Phillies, and it appeared that this year, when Philadelphia went through several offensive ruts, they finally did.

So realistically, Howard knew that Wilson would likely throw a breaking ball. When it came, Howard was not surprised. He simply didn't think it was a strike. So he didn't swing.

I LOOKED AT THE PITCH A NUMBER OF TIMES LAST NIGHT, AND I'M STILL NOT SURE WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS A STRIKE.

Wait a minute--caps and uncertainty don't go together well.

More important, I think, is whether or not it's a pitch that actually gets called a strike most of the time (50-50, maybe), and whether or not the umpire was calling that pitch a strike on that particular night (I only watched about half the first six innings, so maybe someone else can answer that). Only thing I know for sure: it was an amazing pitch.

To clarify: if the ump had been calling the low borderline pitch a strike all night, it was a strike; if he hadn't, it wasn't.

Same article: "I thought it was down," Howard said. "[Home plate umpire Tom Hallion] paused before he made the call. It's a tough way to end the season. If you're going to call it, don't hesitate.

As I said above, I thought the umpire paused too. Which doesn't mean he made the wrong call; it does suggest he wasn't 100% sure himself.

On the other hand, I'm not sure I totally believe Howard's contention that he didn't swing because he thought it was a ball, not because he guessed wrong on the pitch. I'm sure a hitter would much rather admit to guessing wrong on the call than being fooled by the pitcher.

lol Eisbaer. nuthin personal buddy, but I saw a lot of subhuman cretin reaction shots in the late innings last night, and those people had two consecutive pennants to improve their character.

I had no idea Guillermo Mota was on the Giants, btw. The horror!

also, Oswalt should've been ejected for the HBP in the IBB situation.

Man-baby Ross seems like the worlds nicest dude.

I hope they all got diarrhea from cheesesteaks after the game too

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Sunday, October 24, 2010 3:54 AM (15 hours ago) Bookmark

rude!!!

but otm

http://img89.imageshack.us/f/giantsseinfeld.gif/

http://img89.imageshack.us/f/giantsseinfeld.gif/

"The biggest hit of the Giants' whole season was a home run by Juan Uribe to an area where he hadn't hit a home run for at least five years."

http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2010/10/24/1771911/congratulations-san-francisco-giants

That picture I was trying to post above is here:

http://bit.ly/cFyG3k

omg!

i do like how buster's just hanging out

who's behind posey & sanchez

No, who's on first