Your 2010 Giants are 2-1 in the World Series: MadBum Must Hunt Down Rangers

Well, couldn't expect to sweep them, though Ralph was going on and on about that happening on KNBR on Friday.  Got to tip the cap to Lewis for delivering, while Sanchez apparently is tiring due to the number of innings he has thrown.  Game 7's starter is now uncertain.

This is why I wanted the Giants to put Zito on the playoff roster, in case he might be needed.  I thought Bumgarner would be the one who would be fatigued, though.  Still, with Sanchez in question for Game 7, it could either become a bullpen game or the Giants might decide to go to Lincecum for as long as he can go, since he would have pitched Game 5 and would have had two days rest and thus on the day of Game 7, that would be his normal throwing day anyway.  It could be much like Game 6 in the NLCS, with pitchers pitching in.

Also uncertain is the lineup for Game 4.  Burrell is in a deep slump now and has not delivered in any of the World Series games he has started in.  And Sandoval did not deliver in Game 3, he looked like he was pressing again, unfortunately.  He is also a question mark as well.  With a RHP up in game 4 in Hunter, the Giants might go with Schierholtz in the outfield, Ishikawa at 1B, and Huff at DH, or at least one of those changes.  Given how lousy Hunter has been, I would be OK with making all these changes and see how it works, but Bochy don't like to make a lot of changes, so we'll see.

Don't know why the media is so down.  It just dawned on me that perhaps it is the media's fault that the general fan has been so down on the Giants.  One game lost and "the Giants stumble" is the headline on the Mercury.  No wonder some fans are suicidal about the Giants, like lemmings they follow the mood of the headline.

The Giants are still up 2-1.  They are one of the better teams in the majors on the road, and they have been especially good once Posey was named the starting catcher, they were actually among the poorer teams mid-season, but they not only rose and got better, they ended up one of the top teams on the road.

Having a great rotation does not mean that you run roughshod over every team and sweep them, though that will happen on occasion.  It means that you will outlast most teams in the long run.  It means that you will win 2 out of every 3, or so, in most series.  It means that you have faith in what the team has demonstrated it can do for half a season now:  play winning baseball.

Of course, it would help if we have more hitters other than maybe Cody Ross and Andres Torres hitting regularly.   It would be nice if Burrell stepped up, but sometimes the best hitters are slumping now (Barry Bonds was considered a poor playoff performer until 2002).  However, the two I've been hoping could step up are Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval.  Sandoval froze in the spotlight again last night, but I don't totally blame him, he hasn't been starting regularly lately.  And it would have been nice if Posey had hit that foul ball last night for a homer.

I would also be OK with moving Huff to LF to replace Burrell, give him a day to get his mind off playoffs, start Ishikawa at 1B, and give Sandoval another chance at DH.  We need to get Sandoval or Burrell heated up to improve our chances of scoring runs.  Sitting down Burrell while giving Sandoval another chance could help with getting them started.  And, unfortunately, we don't have any better alternatives, I think.

Plus, I think Ishikawa is ready for his chance at spotlight, he has hit well enough since May of 2009, both starting and mostly sitting and waiting for his chances.  Lucky for the Giants but bad for Ishikawa, both Huff and Burrell came through and hit as well as they could be expected to during the season.  Hopefully he can rise to the occasion, or rather that he can be calm for the occasion, he has said previously that when he thought too much about the situation, it would mess up his swing mechanics, but when he can leave it all up to God, that's when he's swinging freely.

Game 4:  Hunter vs. Bumgarner

I still like the Giants chances against Hunter.  Lewis is a very good pitcher, he will have good well-pitched games most of the time.  Had the Giants continued to rack up the pitches (he had over 30 after two innings pitched), they could have got him out earlier and got into the middle relievers and do more damage perhaps, as they did in Games 1 and 2.  But can't expect every game to be like Games 1 and 2.

I think Bumgarner will be able to deliver a better game than Sanchez, but for how much longer?  He was tiring in his prior start too, and he had 9 days of rest for that one too.  It might be another bullpen game with Bumgarner going 5, then get one inning from four relievers.

In any case, Hunter has had horrible starts all through the playoffs so far.  Don't really see him improving and suddenly performing well on the big World Series stage, when he could not do it on the smaller stages in less critical situations.  Meanwhile, Bumgarner appears to be an assassin with ice cold water going through his veins.  He's going to be a monster for us in the playoffs in future years, teamed up with Lincecum and Cain.  I would have to say that the Giants chances are good for winning the game and getting to 3-1.  But, as the saying goes, that's why they play the games, you just never know.

Go Giants!