The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant! The Giants win the Pennant!
ogc thoughts
Wow, what a series, what an ending!
Travis Ishikawa, gaining redemption for misplaying the flyball earlier, giving the Cards their first run, hit a three-run homer for a walk-off win in the bottom of the 9th, just like billions of kids have dreamed of doing.
Meanwhile, NLCS MVP Madison Bumgarner pitched well enough, while coughing up a couple of homers, and despite all the strike thrown, not that many strikeouts, to keep the team close, after giving up the 3 runs after 4 innings pitched, shutting down the Cards for another 4 innings, getting us to the point where Michael Morse could hit a homer in the 8th to tie the game, then Ishi came through in the bottom of the 9th.
And oh, how fortunes can change in just one year, Wacha, after winning the NLCS MVP award last season, he's used in the whole series until now, pitches third of an inning, ending with a 81.00 ERA for this series.
Can't forget Joe Panik hitting the team's first homer of the NLCS, two run homer to put the team ahead after the Cards scored the first run on the ball that Ishi misplayed. After all these runs scored without hits, the Giants score six runs in this game with the long ball, a solo, a two-run, and the walk-off three-run.
Congrats to the Giants! Good luck in the World Series!
Go Giants!
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/breaking-down-madison-bumgarner/
ReplyDeleteThis is an older article but wanted to share it, on Madison, very good analysis. I also commented there:
Great article, loved it!
Thought I would add this factoid, makes the above seem even more amazing: when he joined the Giants, he didn't know how to pitch.
That is, he didn't understand his mechanics well enough to know when he is getting away from a good mechanic. He couldn't tell what he was doing mechanically when he was successful pitching. That's why Dr. Tidrow was called in early in his second season to come in and fix his mechanics, he wasn't feeling it.
So this article and all the great quotes are amazing to me, to see how far he has come from his early days as a raw pitcher.
I was reading your article and it made me realize that Bumgarner is kind of a mix of Cain and Lincecum. Bumgarner has the raw talent that Lincecum had (not that Cain didn't have plenty himself, but Lincecum clearly had more) and has combined it with the maturity and competitiveness that Cain brings to the game. A great combination for greatness in any sport, a deadly combination for opposing teams.
Huddy is getting the opportunity to pitch in the World Series for the first time in his 16 year career. Anybody had the same wish: that he would scream out, word for word, what Will the Thrill said in 1989, about waiting for this his whole life?
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