I'm still sick and tired so this will be short and sweet. The San Francisco Giants have won their first ever World Series. The Giants first Series victory since 1954, when they were in New York, came in grand fashion.
They beat the Texas Rangers 3-1 in game five to take the series 4-1. The only thing that would have been better would have been celebrating at home in front of their fans.
Edgar Renteria won MVP. Yes, that is correct, you read that right...
With the game-deciding three-run homer in the seventh, Renteria was 7-19 with six runs, six RBI and two homers in the Series. No one was particularly spectacular for San Fran, which is why they are such a great story. Lincecum was good, Cain was fantastic but only threw one game and there is no one really good on their offense.
Giants win the Series 4-1. Renteria = Series MVP. Crazy world we live in. Until next season.
To start, I just want to say that this Series could be the greatest pitching duel of my generation: Cliff Lee, C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis vs. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez
It is basically, old veterans who worked hard to get there vs. young studs taking over...
I'll come out and say it right now, I like to Giants to win the series and it is not because the Yanks lost to Texas.
I think the Giants pitching staff as a whole is a lot better than the Rangers, and I'll take a veteran closer in Brian Wilson over a rookie (Neftali Feliz) any day.
The pitching will probably determine the series because the over/under for the entire thing is probably about 13 because of the pitching. Lee will probably take game one because while Lincecum has been really good, Lee has been unstoppable. The guy had pinpoint control and absolutely wicked movement on his pitches.
Cain and Sanchez, I believe, are better than Wilson and Lewis. The Giants have had timely hitting and somehow have scored enough to win games. Five of the Giants post season wins have come when scoring three runs or less. The Rangers have yet to win a game when scoring that little.
Different players have risen to the top for San Fran, as Cody Ross caught fire against Philly pitching and had a great NLCS. Aubrey Huff is playing like he is in his 20s again, and "small ball" is proving to be a winning style of play.
I don't feel like talking too much about Texas, but I will praise their relentless and aggressive playing style. They run as much as they can, and Josh Hamilton can hit the crap out of the ball. Let it be known, if you walk him, Vlad and Cruz can also kill the ball.
Elvis Andrus will make a name for himself as one of the top young shortstops in the MLB in the World Series. Watch out for this kid.
Philadelphia has the best team in the league, hands down.And it’s not even that close.An absolutely lethal head of the rotation with Doc Halladay and Cole Hamels, backed up by a stud lineup.It’s almost unfair.Yet despite this, the division will probably still produce the wild card team, speaking to the strength of…
The Braves starting pitching.A top four in the rotation of Timmy Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Jair Jurrjens, and Derek Lowe is enough to keep them competitive in every game.That, and the fact that Bobby Cox is in the last year of his contract makes them a sympathetic playoff team.Sadly, sympathy won’t get them past the Phillies, and they’re still less pathetic than…
Your New York Mets.This team has everything on paper.Again.But the injury bug hasn’t looked too kindly on this team in awhile.Will David Wright return to David Wright of old?Will Carlos Beltran live up to his potential/ contract?Will Jeff Francoeur remember how to check a swing?Will Johan Santana be able to start 160+ games?The pieces are there, but the results will be puzzling.
The fish look to be in a very similar spot to their same state AL East pals.Decent starting pitching, good young talent, and a division that is nearly impossible to win based on the level of competition surrounding them.Any other division and they compete for the title.Here, they’ll be lucky to finish outside of the basement.
Well, maybe not that lucky.The Nationals aren’t a good team.Young players to build around like Stephen Strasburg make this a fun team to watch, but they won’t contend for a playoff spot.
NL Central
This division is loaded with power hitters to the point where it’s almost not fair.So ranking them based on pure slugging seems the right way to go.And if we’re going to do that, can anyone bet against Albert Pujols?Me thinks not.
Derek Lee comes sliding into second as far as pop at first goes.Last season he put up arguably his best stats since the 2005 year when he threatened for a triple crown until August.The Cubbies aren’t particularly strong, but they’re not lacking much.Which should be enough to finish just above .500 and place in second, just ahead of…
Cincinnati.A healthy Scott Rolen makes this a solid team in the infield.And that Joey Votto kid is an all-star in the making.But there’s not enough on both sides of the ball yet.
Milwaukee will be an entertaining team to watch so long as Prince and Ryan Braun keep the ball moving, but you know your pitching is week when the number one on your roster is Yovani Gallardo.
Houston and Pittsburgh tie here as teams going in opposite directions.Houston is bottoming out, with the careers of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman fading away.Meanwhile, Pitt looks to the future with Andrew McCutchen, but that future is at least two or three years out.
NL West
This entire division is up for grabs, with four teams legitimately talented enough to make noise come playoff time.But the one team that would be the most threatening in October baseball?The Giants.Does anyone want to see Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain?That’s what I thought.
The Dodgers offer the most serious threat to the Giants hopes of a division crown, with a very different approach to victory.As good as San Fran is at pitching, the cluster of Andre Ethier, Manny, and this soon to be perennial all-star Matt Kemp are just as good at hitting, if not better.
Colorado has Ubaldo Jiminez, who could quickly become a dark horse Cy Young candidate by the summer.If this lineup stays healthy, they could threaten the division too.
Just as Arizona can.Standing toe to toe with Timmay and Cain in San Fran are Dan Haren and Brandon Webb in the desert.A healthy return for Webb suddenly makes this lackluster team a force.
Sadly, San Diego has no such magic.Apart from Adrian Gonzalez, this team is Triple A with very little hope.
So here’s to another fantastic season of baseball, of sinking line drives, sliders in the dirt, and dominating closers.Cheers.
Okay, I know it's a day late...but better late than never
Week 3:
The Down
Washington Nationals - Grapefruit League
Sure, the first thing you think to yourself has to do with it being spring training and these games being pointless. I couldn't agree more. However, I just wanted to make it known that the Nats have yet to win a spring training game. Yes that is correct; they are currently 0-10. This being in a league before the season starts in which "never-was's" are the primary competitors. Even I hope that they can pull it together and have a decent season. Good luck. The Dirty
San Francisco Giants - Cactus League
By now, it wouldn't surprise me if you stopped reading because this is pretty much a post about spring training baseball. Well, I chose the Giants because they are in first place in the Cactus League, and the National League as well. Don't be surprised if this group of young players pulls together and has a season similar to the Rays a few years back. They certainly have pitching talent with Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum, so we will see if they can compete with the rest of the division come regular season time.
