Well it’s mid-October and the San Francisco Giants are still playing baseball. Honestly, I’m still having a hard team believing this, considering this was a team that I witnessed get swept by the Oakland A’s back in May, and were made to look absolutely foolish by the Padres for most of the season. But none of that matters now as Brian Sabean somehow managed to turn this rag-tag bunch of unwanted veterans and emerging youngsters into pennant contenders.
So now the big question is, how in the hell do the Giants beat the Phillies? For most people it doesn’t seem possible, but there’s plenty of reason to keep up hope. First of all, let’s look at how that supposedly impenetrable Phillies rotation did this year against the Giants.
Roy Halladay – 0-1, 6.43 ERA
Cole Hamels – 0-1, 7.36 ERA
Roy Oswalt – 1-3, 3.33 ERA
So really, there’s plenty of reason to doubt that Phillies pitching will absolutely dominate this Giants line-up like everyone expects them to. Of course in the last month or two, these three pitchers have been just about perfect, but then again, so have Lincecum, Cain, and Sanchez. So basically we can all expect to see one of the best pitched post-season series in history.
Now looking at the Phillies line-up, that’s were things get a little distressing. Yes, you’ve got you’re Utley’s and your Howard’s and to a lesser extent your Victorino’s. The Giant’s lineup on the other hand has Buster Posey, a glorious man-child sent down from the heavens with the sole purpose of rectifying this otherwise mediocre offense. Plus you’ve got those crafty veterans like Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, and Juan Uribe who we can only hope will come up with those big hits when we need them most.
I’m also hanging on to the idea that Matt seems to remind us of with each coming postseason, and that’s the fact that this is only seven games, and anything can happen in seven games. So are the Giants as good a team as the Phillies? I’m gonna have to say no, not really. But that’s what’s made this team so much fun to root for all season long, they’re the lovable underdogs, and who am I to say that they can’t pull off one more miracle? So all I really have left to say is GO GIANTS!