Well, 6 days remaining in the regular season and the Giants start a final road trip starting with a 3 game series in San Diego and finish with a 3 game series against the Dodgers. After clinching the NL West last Saturday, Bochy removed Lincecum from being Sunday's starter and handed the ball to someone I never heard of and played the entire bench and minor league September call-ups. The results an obviously loss. Following a day off on Monday, Lincecum started against Arizona and looked terrible and still remains a concern. However, the Giants are now re-focused to a man and understand they have to be playing the same level of ball they have throughout September to close the season and go into the playoffs playing their best. So, starting Tuesday of this week, that level showed as they beat Arizona 6-0 and 7-3 behind Cain and Zito respectively with all hands contributing.
The NL playoffs is loaded with quality teams including Washington, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Atlanta and likely St. Louis. For the Giants to advance, their starting pitching must be rock solid. All other elements of their team, hitting and defense is in high gear. A note here that Bochy has decided that all 5 starters, Cain, Lincecum, Bumgarner, Zito and Vogelsong will be on the playoff roster (Zito was left off in 2010). He has also stated that one of them will be in the bullpen.
Which brings us to tonight's game. Vogelsong certainly will want to have one of the four starting spots (although my personal belief is that he would be the best of the 5 out of the bullpen). After a few games with a tired arm, his last outing against the Padres was very sharp as he has tweaked a couple of things in his delivery. Meanwhile, San Diego starter Verner got shelled by the Giants bats. Expect to see more of the same tonight with the Giants getting double digits in hits, putting up runs on the board and Vogelsong performing a workmanlike effort as the Giants continue to remain sharp with another win.
Year To Date Record: (10-14)(-17.36)
5* (3-5)(-13.70)
1* (7-9)(-3.66)
5* San Francisco -105
Good luck everyone!
The NL playoffs is loaded with quality teams including Washington, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Atlanta and likely St. Louis. For the Giants to advance, their starting pitching must be rock solid. All other elements of their team, hitting and defense is in high gear. A note here that Bochy has decided that all 5 starters, Cain, Lincecum, Bumgarner, Zito and Vogelsong will be on the playoff roster (Zito was left off in 2010). He has also stated that one of them will be in the bullpen.
Which brings us to tonight's game. Vogelsong certainly will want to have one of the four starting spots (although my personal belief is that he would be the best of the 5 out of the bullpen). After a few games with a tired arm, his last outing against the Padres was very sharp as he has tweaked a couple of things in his delivery. Meanwhile, San Diego starter Verner got shelled by the Giants bats. Expect to see more of the same tonight with the Giants getting double digits in hits, putting up runs on the board and Vogelsong performing a workmanlike effort as the Giants continue to remain sharp with another win.
Year To Date Record: (10-14)(-17.36)
5* (3-5)(-13.70)
1* (7-9)(-3.66)
5* San Francisco -105
Good luck everyone!
