MLB WORLD SERIES 2010 : Rangers vs. Giants at San Francisco, California, USA. Don't miss the much-anticipated the world series. It's time for the hardcore baseball fans to move on to the WORLD SERIES opening bell. For those holding a microscope over the game, go ahead and keep it here live. Excited fans from either teams predict this match as one of the spectacular matches of this postseason.
Match Scheduled:
Date: 27 October 2010
Airtime: 07:57 PM (ET)
Location: San Francisco, California, USA
Competition: World Series MLB Postseason 2010/11
Live/Repeat: Live
The wait is over.
Fans in the Bay Area have waited eight long years since their beloved Giants have played for baseball's ultimate prize and thankfully for them, there are few similarities between the team that lost in seven games to Anaheim and this current edition.
Not to discount the Barry Bonds-led Giants that nearly won the franchise's first World Series since 1954 but pitching typically wins titles, not hitting.
And when you don't win the arms race, the more complete team tends to win. See Anaheim, 2002.
The former statement spells both good and bad news for this San Francisco ballclub. The bad? The Texas Rangers are, in a vacuum, the better team.
They have the top offense in the majors - with speed on the basepaths, are strong defensively and possess one of the best postseason pitchers of all-time in Cliff Lee.
Might as well put the ginger ale on ice, right? Not so fast.
For all the talk about a World Series devoid of big market teams (and one might argue that's not true), big name stars (again, untrue - see Lee, Josh Hamilton, Tim Lincecum) and no Yankees, Red Sox or Phillies (true), it has to be one of the more intriguing series in years. Finally, the adage of "good pitching beats good hitting" will be put to the test.
"The two best teams are playing," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "That's the way it should be."
And it says here there are two reasons why the Giants are capable of being the last team standing in 2010: Pitching and Bochy Ball.
Bruce Bochy, in his fourth season with the club, is one of the best managers in the game thanks to his knack for coaching in the moment and his ability to get the most out of his team, something he did with regularity during his 12 seasons in San Diego.
Bochy's decision to use his ace, Lincecum, in relief in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series on one day of rest proved, in hindsight, to be the wrong move. Lincecum lacked velocity and did not have command of his breaking pitches. Bochy's move, though, was the type of urgency fans and critics demand from managers in all-or-nothing baseball.
Another example of Bochy's unformulated approach to the game comes in the form of a Panda Bear. And, judging by Pablo Sandoval's sudden extinction this postseason, you get the sense the man they call "Kung Fu Panda" has taken his nickname literal.
Bochy has relegated the Giants' best offensive player from just a season ago, when the third baseman hit .330 with 25 homers and 90 runs batted in, to the bench due to a season mired in inconsistency despite, at times, showing flashes of his undeniable talent. That, and a team-high 13 errors have forced Bochy to leave his star-in-waiting on the bench for the club's most important games of the year. It's bold. Most managers are content to make-or-break with their stars, yet it's a move that has so far paid off.
And by taking his act to the American League, "Bochy Ball" can only get better.
For starters, Bochy can pencil in Sandoval's bat back into the lineup without conviction as the designated hitter in Texas, thereby rolling the dice on a proven hitter that can help an inferior Giants offense and in the process, not compromise the team defensively. It bears mentioning that Sandoval's replacement at the hot corner, Juan Uribe, is not exactly the next coming of Mike Schmidt.
But for a team carried by MVP Cody Ross' hot bat in the NLCS, the Giants will need Kung Fu Panda to be more like the player who helped his club win Game 4 with his two-run double in the sixth than the team mascot if they hope to put runs up on the board against a formidable staff in Texas.
Alternatively, the DH rule is likely to play in the Giants' favor during games in San Francisco as well. With Bochy's squad holding home field advantage in the series, the Rangers will be faced with the dilemma of how to use Vladimir Guerrero in Games 1 and 2 and, if necessary, 6 and 7.
Washington has stated that Guerrero will start Game 1 in right field, therefore exposing one of the few weaknesses Texas has; Guerrero's defense. It's a scenario that almost certainly benefits the Giants, no matter which way Washington decides to use the veteran.
To that point, the Giants should have the edge in situations where home park rules take over. At AT&T Park, experience will be on Bochy's side as Washington has only interleague play to credit for managing the more involved NL game. That's where the Giants' pitching, namely their depth of starting pitchers, will give Bochy plenty of options late in games - especially if the series goes the distance.
Bochy has already shown a willingness to use his ace on one day's rest, and could counter a strong Rangers offense by summoning the likes of Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner as a segue to closer Brian Wilson if necessary.
And therein lies the one quantifiable advantage the Giants have over the Rangers; pitching.
In looking at the "probable" pitchers for the series - a word used in its most literal sense at this time of year - San Francisco has the clear edge if you consider the only favorable matchup for Texas would be Game 1 (and possibly Game 5) in a battle of aces, Lee and Lincecum. And as well as Lee has pitched this postseason, which has been nothing short of phenomenal, when you're talking about Lincecum, you're talking about the reigning two-time NL Cy Young winner. And forget about his relative struggles this year, the Giants ace has been lights out when it matters, sporting a tidy 1.93 ERA and 29:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over three postseason starts.
"They are a very solid team," Washington said. "They can certainly pitch, and when you get to this point, pitching is the most important thing. They showed they can stay in ballgames and get timely hits. That's what they do."
The Rangers are the popular pick to win their first World Series in franchise history. But if popularity prevailed, these two teams wouldn't be in the series to begin with.
