Moving on.  We have quite a cute little pitching battle to look forward to.  Game 1 is the marquee matchup between pitching superstars Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee.  Cliff Lee’s 2010 postseason numbers have been off the chain.  Lee is 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA the past two years in the postseason, and has struck out 34 and walked 1. Lee also threw a complete game in Game 5 of the ALDS. He has a 0.75 ERA this postseason, while pitching a total of 24 innings in 3 games, and an impressive 3.18 ERA cumulative for the entire 2010 season.  Pitching for the Giants on Wednesday night, Tim Lincecum has a career 3.04 ERA and a 2010 postseason ERA of 1.93.  However, Lee’s stuff this postseason has been pretty nasty in the best way.  He made an impressive and powerful Phillies’ lineup look like the Pittsburgh Pirates.  All pitching well this postseason, Matt Cain has had a 0.00 ERA this postseason, Colby Lewis a 1.45, Jonathan Sanchez a 2.93 and C.J. Wilson a 3.93.  Needless to say, tough pitching is going to be on exhibition from both sides during the 2010 World Series.

The Giants seem to have the better bullpen, and certainly some of these games will be tight in the later innings.  In terms of closers, Neftali Feliz has been pretty damn good, but is virtually untested in postseason play.  However, Brian Wilson, freaky beard and all, has done the job in sticky situations this postseason, and has gotten the big out when absolutely necessary.  Unfortunately, he’s caused some ulcers in his 9^th inning appearances this postseason.  Wilson needs to have better command of his stuff, and cannot fall behind as often as he did against Philadelphia.  Ultimately, his backdoor cutter is going to have to be on-point against the powerful Texas Rangers, who are often looking to demolish a fastball mistake.

But ultimately, this World Series will come down to offense and the big bats of the Rangers.  There is no doubt in my mind that this will become a battle between San Francisco’s ace pitching staff and the Rangers’ stacked lineup.  And quite frankly, once Cody Ross cools down (history and his career dictate that he most certainly will), what potency do the San Francisco Giants really have offensively? They have offensive talent sprinkled throughout their lineup, including the phenomenal Buster Posey, but the Giants lineup top to bottom is simply not intimidating… at all.  Cumulative, the Giants had a .257 batting average this season.  Meanwhile, the Rangers have big-time bats like Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, Vladimir Guerrero, David Murphy, Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, and Elvis Andrus.  And these threats come from both sides of the plate.  And let us not forget that Josh Hamilton is currently showcasing why he is becoming one of the preeminent ballplayers in the league.  The Giants pitching staff will need to bring their best off-speed stuff to each and every game if they hope to keep Hamilton off the bases.

The Giants will not be able to keep Elvis Andrus off of the bases, at least not entirely, and their defense will need to be spectacular.  And unfortunately for the Giants, Chase Utley isn’t playing second base for the Rangers this time around.

The Texas Rangers win the World Series in an exciting 7-game series.

2010 World Series Preview Courtesy of Yours Truly is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip

(Cole Hamels, Douche Extraordinaire)

Following the Phillies’ victory on Monday night to extend the series to Game 6, Brett Myers had some choice words for Cole Hamels in the aftermath of his recent wimpy, diva-like statement concerning his exhaustion and eagerness for the end of the season.  The quick version is that Hamels whined, after failing yet again in Game 3, “I can’t wait for it to end.  It’s been mentally draining.  At year end, you just can’t wait for a fresh start.”

I could see a statement like that coming from a walking catastrophe like Jose Contreras, or from someone whose team failed miserably this year, like the Chicago Cubs, but for fuck’s sake, your team is in the World Series!  AGAIN!!!  FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW!!!

So apparently while in the clubhouse, Myers walked past Hamels’ locker and said, “What are you doing here? I thought you quit.”  Hamels is said to have responded with an expletive, the nature of which I am not aware.  Before things got to fisticuffs, with Hamels trying to make open-hand contact with Myers’ cheek and Myers yanking on Hamels’ bowl-cut, Myers was led away by a team official.

The word is that Hamels’ comments didn’t sit well with many a Phillies teammate, but I guess Myers was the only one with the balls enough to say anything about it.  Hamels tried to explain away the comments by reiterating his “love of the game” and “love [for] for city of Philadelphia,” but it seems clear to me that Hamels is just another prima donna who will take his over-sized paycheck and obscenely long off-season to go sail his humongous yacht around the world while taking baths in beluga semen, or whatever it is rich assholes do with their free time.

Even though he was the World Series and NLCS MVP last year, I think all fans can take solace in the fact that Cole Hamels is only getting more and more average over time.

Myers Confronts Hamels Following Game 5 is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip

Just as sure as the sky is blue, the sun rises in the east, and Tom Cruise is gay, Brad Lidge is certain to choke when it really matters.  Actually, it’s a relief because sometimes, when the world feels all topsy-turvy, I know I can look to Brad Lidge for the consistency my life lacks.  I can simply turn on the TV during the spring, summer or fall and a wave of relief will wash over me as I am assured that, yes, everything is as it should be.  Just as long as Brad Lidge is up there on the mound in the 9th inning, ripping the hearts out of fans from coast-to-coast, I know there is always a reason to smile.

Lidge said after the game, “I felt good.  I felt like it would be one of those innings that would be a good quick inning.”  Traveling out of the Never-Never Land Mr. Lidge resides in, what really happened is stated below:

[Damon] fouled off three consecutive nasty sliders. Lidge then missed with two fastballs. Then he threw two more fastballs, which Damon fouled off…. But Damon wouldn’t go away.

Damon’s single to left seemed innocent enough, but the urgency of the inning immediately was turned up when Damon broke for second on the first pitch.

Whatever the explanation, Lidge lost it. All that nasty stuff he had for the first three batters of the inning was gone. He immediately plunked Teixeira on the elbow. Alex Rodriguez then came to the plate. Second base was open — with Mariano Rivera looming in the bullpen, it didn’t really matter if the Yankees scored one or two or three runs — so Lidge could have pitched around Rodriguez. He wanted to pitch him inside. His second fastball was inside, but not far enough. Rodriguez smoked it into the left-field corner for a two-run double. (Fanhouse.com)

 As avid a National League supporter as I may be, there is something so wonderfully silly and ridiculous about the obscene amount of chances Brad Lidge has been getting.  Why is he cut so much slack?  Did he save a bunch of orphans from a building engulfed in flames?  I guess it really just goes to show how low the overall talent level is amongst Major League relief pitchers.  Even Jeff Fassero had a long MLB career!

Lidge Blows It, Hard, And Over-And-Over Again is a post from: The Baseball Chick - Baseball News, Updates, Fantasy Advice, Rumors & Gossip