Halladay photo taken from Google Images

There are two schools of thought when it comes to fantasy baseball starting pitchers. The first states that you should grab some quality starters early in your draft (or use keeper spots for holding onto them). The second theory states that starting pitchers are way too inconsistent and therefore you should ignore pitchers until late in your draft. The best strategy probably lies somewhere squarely in the middle of the two. Whichever approach you take when crafting your fantasy baseball roster, you will want to at least grab one of the following top tier fantasy baseball starting pitchers. After all, under standard 5×5 fantasy baseball rules, half of your statistical categories will be determined by your pitchers.

1)     Roy Halladay (PHI) –

The reason many fantasy owners forsake starting pitchers until the later rounds is due to the fact that pitchers can be wildly inconsistent from year-to-year. Then there is Halladay. He is the most consistent elite pitcher in the game. He is also the best in the business. Money in the bank.

2)     Cliff Lee (PHI) –

If you can’t get Halladay, you don’t have to look very far for the second best fantasy baseball starting pitcher. Doc’s teammate Lee was possibly the best pitcher in the game after June 1^st last season. A poor start to the season had some fantasy owners panicking early but with his peripherals in line, there was no real reason to doubt him. Expect another great season in 2011.

3)     Tim Lincecum (SF) –

His 4 year LOW in strikeouts was the 220 he put up last season. Both his WHIP and ERA were better in 2011 over his 2010 numbers. With any run support at all, he could easily put up 20 wins. He’s a fantasy stud.

4)     Justin Verlander (DET) –

Topping many experts’ lists for 2012, there is no doubt the Tigers ace had a monster season last year. However, he has traditionally struggled in April and last year was the first his ERA was below 3.37. The strikeouts have always been there and once he puts up back-to-back monster years, he’ll move up the list. For now, he’s just behind the big boys.

5)     Felix Hernandez (SEA) –

So long as you temper your expectations in regard to Wins, “King Felix” is a good bet to deliver some great fantasy stats in 2012. His ERA rose by over run from 2010 partially due to a 40 point increase in BABIP as his xFIP remained steady. Seattle can’t be much worse than they were in 2011, so a few more Wins wouldn’t completely surprise. Get him.

6)     Clayton Kershaw (LA) –

Deemed the best pitcher in the NL by the BBWAA in 2011, Kershaw has always had nasty stuff. His only issue in the past was his control. He cut a whopping 1.49 BB/9 off his numbers from 2010. Can he keep that control intact? Possibly; however, until we see it consistently, Kershaw falls just shy of the top of the list.

7)     C.C. Sabathia (NYY) –

A free agent, where Sabathia ends up will affect his fantasy value. If he stays in the Bronx, the prolific Yankees offense will lead to another monster Win total (19, 21 and 19 over the past 3 seasons). If he lands elsewhere, expect him to continue to amass innings and strikeouts with his usual aplomb. He’s about as reliable as they come.

     Dan Haren (LAA) –

Haren is reminiscent of Greg Maddux in the sense that he is about as exciting as a bowl of Jell-O, yet he continues to put up great stats year-in and year-out. Discounting the first half of 2010, Haren has been rock steady with his ERA and xFIP over the past 4 seasons. For some reason, he has never put up big Win totals despite amassing huge innings year after year. He’s very good but not quite elite.

9)     Jon Lester (BOS) –

Picked by many to be a top 3 starting pitcher prior to 2011, Lester always seems to fall just short of the best in the business. He is yet to put up a season ERA under 3.00 and higher Win totals are expected from a pitcher with his stuff and Boston’s offensive punch backing him up. Draft him at the low end of the top ten starting pitchers and you’ll do just fine.

10) Madison Bumgarner (SF) –

On June 21, 2011 Bumgarner faced the Minnesota Twins in an inter-league game and gave up 8 ER while retiring only 1 batter. It was one of the worst performances in fantasy baseball history. All young pitchers will take their lumps. Bumgarner rebounded to be one of the best control pitchers in the game in the second half last season (19 BB after the break). He’s primed to break out big time in 2012. Watch for it.

When considering fantasy baseball starting pitchers for 2012, if you are able to solidify your roster with one of these top ten pitchers, you will find the remaining depth at the position is favorable in building around your staff ace. Save taking chances for the later rounds and grab a keeper for the front end of your rotation and you’ll give yourself a better chance at locking up half of your 5×5 stats. Good luck in 2012!

One factor that was not prevalent last year is the number of injuries that the Giants have faced this year. Already, they’ve lost Andres Torres, their center fielder, Barry Zito, a starting pitcher, and Pablo Sandoval, their third baseman. Sandoval, who lost weight during the off season, showed himself to be back in his 2009 form– with good range at third base, and a solid bat in the lineup. Sandoval should be back in seven weeks, Zito, who sprained his foot should be back in, I believe, a couple weeks, and Torres is due back soon, as well.

There are other factors which have not helped the Giants– a general slump in hitting on the team. Aubrey Huff, Pat Burrell, Buster Posey and Miguel Tejada are all not hitting up to their usual batting averages. Several other hitters have picked up the slack– Aaron Rowand and Mike Fontenot are doing well but not well enough to cover for the whole team.

Of course, now there are rumors starting to spread that the Giants are looking at trading for Jose Reyes of the Mets. He is in the last year of a huge contract, and is available. While he is also a very talented and versatile player, the question then becomes how much do they have to give up to get him? Jose Reyes does also have a history of injuries. All of these issues must factor into whether or not the Giants are going to pursue Reyes.

I think that the Giants players might be feeling stressed because of the success of last season. I do think that they’ll relax and re-find the success that they had last year. This will come from being a veteran ball club, along with having some young talented players as well. It will also come from having the injured players go through rehab and come back healthy to help the team win some games.

The Giants have not completely collapsed and they are not too far back in the standings to make up the ground. In fact, everyone in the NL West is pretty much bunched together. I think that the Giants and everyone else in the NL West may be fighting it out until the end of the season. Right now, it looks like the Rockies may have the early advantage. It remains to be seen if their pitching will hold up over the course of a long season.

One of my personal highlights of the season, aside from Opening Day and the World Series flag-raising ceremony, was the presentation of the World Series rings. I had, of course, never seen that ceremony before in San Francisco. It was spectacular to watch the Giants players come on the field in their gold-lettered uniforms by their uniform numbers. The ovations for each player called to the podium were fantastic with the loudest cheers being for Tim Lincecum and Buster Posey. However, to me, the highlight of the whole ceremony was when the Giants brought out four of the six living Hall of Famers, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry, and the great Willie Mays for them to receive their World Series rings. The only ones not present were Juan Marichal and Monte Irvin. That, to me, was such a profoundly beautiful moment that it almost defies description.

The game that night early in the season versus the Cardinals was a great game too. It truly did resemble the torture of the games of last year. It came down to the Giants losing, 2-1, in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Giants mounted a two-out rally, and had runners at first and second base. Miguel Tejada was the batter, and the pitcher went to a full 3-2 count on him which started the runners going with the pitch. Tejada hit a drive to left center field which was knocked down by the wind. The Cards’ center fielder, Colby Rasmus, got a glove on the ball as he attempted to make a basket catch deep in left center field on the warning track. The ball popped out of the centerfielder’s glove and landed on the warning track. Both runners scored, and the Giants snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. It was a spectacular victory!!

While this game was at the beginning of April, and at the start of the baseball season, it certainly felt like a kind of continuation of last year’s season. And, now, it is time to move past the celebration of 2010 and into the 2011 season. I do kind of find it hard to believe that we are one month into the new season. There is not much more that I can say other than I hope that this season exhibits all of the excitement and only a limited amount of the torture from last season. Go Giants!!

Photo taken from Google Images

The San Francisco Giants are the 2010 World Series Champions, the champions of the baseball world. They are the champions for the first time since 1954, and for the first time in San Francisco. Nothing can ever take this away from them. Wow!!! I cannot think of anything that more that can express my feelings of joy and relief. It will take months before the smile comes off my face. Maybe, by Spring Training, but I seriously doubt it. Opening Day, perhaps?!

I have gone through such a wide array of emotions in the last twenty-four hours. I have wept tears of absolute utter joy, and danced under a champagne shower. I have waited for this since I was a thirteen year old boy in 1978. Now, the years of hope and frustration have been washed away by a river of pure joy.

I have seen better Giants teams than the 2010 Giants, but not one with more heart. This is a team that truly relished the absolute joy of winning– together, as a team. This is also the team that so-called experts said wasn’t good enough. “They won’t get past the Braves, the Phillies, the Rangers.” Well, the Giants certainly proved them all wrong. I do take great joy in this, as well.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy once referred to this team during the post-season as a “team of misfits and cast-offs.” I absolutely love the characterization of this team. This is a team without a superstar, and they never needed one. I think that the city of San Francisco and Giants fans embraced this team, because San Francisco, while a spectacular city, is a city of underdogs, misfits and cast-offs. And San Francisco does take pride in this.

The five game World Series against the Teas Rangers was spectacular!! The Giants pitching was fantastic!! The Giants pitching shut down the two most offensive teams in baseball, the Phillies and the Rangers. Giants pitching, lead by Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner, totally stifled the big bats of the Rangers: Josh Hamilton, Vlad Guerrero, and Nelson Cruz. I also did enjoy the television shots of Nolan Ryan looking so profoundly unhappy, like he was eating something unpleasant, along with the former President, George W. Bush. This is a former President, who in eight years, so disliked San Francisco that he never visited here, the first President in over one hundred years not to come to San Francisco.

I just knew that if the Giants could keep the game tied going into the middle innings that the Giants had a great chance to win the game, and the Series. That is exactly what good pitching will do for you. That is exactly how it was for the Giant for their whole play-off run. Bruce Bochy out-managed Bobby Cox, Charlie Manuel, and Ron Washington. Bochy was absolutely brilliant getting every advantage that the Giants needed to win. Bochy got the best match-ups for his hitters and his pitchers.

One of the things that I absolutely love about this team is that all season long, day-by-day, there were different heroes every game. The fifth game of the World Series was no different. To me, the heroes were Tim Lincecum who threw eight innings of one run ball and Edgar Renteria, who hit the three run home run to eventually win the game. There is some speculation that Renteria may retire, and this is a great way to end one’s career. Renteria’s career started in 1997, capped by getting the Series-winning hit in extra innings while with the Florida Marlins. One thing that I absolutely loved was that Aubrey Huff put down a beautiful sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning to help the game-winning rally. Huff not only had never put down a bunt this year, but he had never put one down in his whole major league career. Amazing!! It looked absolutely text book, like the kind of bunt you would have gotten from Brett Butler. It was just a beautifully-executed bunt, and it was an integral part of the Series-winning rally.

I watched the game at my neighbor, Diane’s house where we jumped up and down when Renteria hit a three run home run, and when Brian Wilson struck out the last hitter of the game, Nelson Cruz. We ran outside splashed champagne on ourselves, and howled at the moon.

I receive a call from one of my childhood friends, Lincoln Mitchell, who had introduced me to baseball. He was calling from out of the country (Georgia), and had been watching it on Armed Forces Television. Lincoln conferenced in his brother, Jonathan, and we babbled at each other, talking about the game, the Series, and our years of fan-dom.

After that I returned calls to friends who knew of my passion for the Giants and how long I had waited for this magical moment. Then, I headed into San Francisco to join in the revelry. San Francisco was a mad house, totally insane, especially at Powell and Market Streets, where the police lined the streets.

Another one of my childhood friends, John Maschino, was in town visiting from San Diego. John and I had the bizarre pleasure of watching Jonathan Sanchez throw the first no-hitter in thirty-three years for the Giants, a year ago July, while we had both muttered that we weren’t thrilled about seeing Sanchez pitch. We were able to get together and walk around downtown San Francisco. Finally, we were able to find a liquor store to get a bottle of champagne. I couldn’t help, but laugh to myself as a cop car drove by, the police officer leaned out the window to make sure that the champagne bottle was still closed. We waited until the police drove off to open the bottle, toast each other, and pour it on each other. It was a long time coming. John, Lincoln and I had also gone to Game 5 of the 1989 NLCS when the Giants won their first pennant in twenty-seven years.

The subway BART ride back to the East Bay was filled with fun and frivolity, as the BART car passengers sang and cheered. Several of the younger fans asked me how long I had been waiting for this. I choked up and replied, “since I was thirteen years old in 1978.

I have reflected about all the Giants teams and players that I’ve seen, and all the history. Believe me, when I started writing this blog in March and April, I never in my absolute wildest dreams ever expected that this team, the 2010 Giants would win the World Series Championship. I am so glad that my years of faith, devotion and hope have finally paid off. And, I get my one last true dream to become a reality. I get to see to parade come down Market Street to Civic Center celebrating a World Series Championship.

No Answer for Tim Lincecum (Photo by Icon SMI)

In the wake of the surprising but deserving San Francisco Giants winning the World Series came word that numerous riots broke out on the city streets. Is there any plausible reason for this adolescent behavior? What have fans become? Why, after a big victory in sports do fans have to act like idiots (Here’s a link to the scene)? If this were an isolated incident it would be better tolerated, but rioting has become the norm.

“Hey, my team won so I have the right to pull you out of your car and beat you, then set the block on fire.”

This trend is disgusting but not surprising as witnessed by the boorish actions of fans in the stands at nearly any sporting event. It has gotten out of hand. Why should so few spoil it for so many? What has our society become? Can’t we just relish the moment without having to witness careless acts of stupidity?

As for the Series itself, the adage that good pitching beats good hitting was never so prevalent as in this post-season.  We watched Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and to a lesser extent, Jonathan Sanchez simply dominate good hitting teams.

The Braves were first to bear witness to this. While not necessarily an offensive heavyweight, they were nonetheless helpless at the plate.

Next came the Phillies who have a better lineup yet were turned into a steady parade of zombies traipsing to and from the dugout. They were so locked up, tied up, confused, and dazed that not even Houdini could help them.

Then came the real test. The Texas Rangers led the American League in nearly every offensive category yet during the Series the only thing that was offensive were their feeble attempts at hitting. How many times did we observe Rangers’ batters swing at pitches in the dirt, outside the zone, above the zone and anywhere else but in the zone? It was sheer frustration that caused this as if they were thinking “If you’re not going to give a pitch in the zone, I’m going to swing anyway, damnit!” It was like having a complete lineup of Vladimir Guerreros’.

This Giants team was an idyllic makeup of other teams’ rejects and wonderful rookies. The starting seven fielders in nearly all the games were players General Manager Brian Sabean picked up at the recycling center:

Aubrey Huff signed late in the offseason because he could not get a decent offer.

Freddy Sanchez was a payroll markdown from the Pirates.

MVP Edgar Renteria

Edgar Renteria. The Series’s MVP was playing on his fifth team in the last seven years. Were it not for Kung Fu Panda’s bat going into hibernation, he may not have played at all.

Juan Uribe was signed as a free agent in 2009 for stopgap purposes until a younger player in the system (Emmanuel Burris?) could take over. He hit 24 HR drove in 85 and played three positions.

Pat Burrell. Cut by the Rays, the Giants signed him put him in the lineup where he hit 14 HR’s. Never mind that he did a good imitation of Matt Reynolds in the Series, his acquisition was key in the pennant drive.

Andres Torres. He, who spent 12 seasons in the minors before Bruce Bochy apparently noticed some intangible that other organizations overlooked.

Cody Ross. Why on earth did the Marlins waive him? Well, it’s the Marlins. No one was hotter at the plate during the playoffs than Ross.

Combined with home-grown Buster Posey, the aforementioned pitchers, and “Fear the Beard” Brian Wilson, the Giants 2010 season was truly extraordinary.

Who thought that their two highest paid players Barry Zito and Aaron Rowand would be a non-factor?

C’mon, who picked the Giants to even win their division much less the Series?

This was a joyful ending to another great season of baseball regardless of the actions of a few morons.

Ace SP Tim Lincecum photo by Icon SMI

This must have been a close series MVP race between Renteria and Lincecum! If Renteria actually does retire, what a way to go!

I was also impressed with the post season play of rookie catcher Buster Posey and OF Cody Ross who was a waiver wire pick up! The Giants pitching was just outstanding and in the end, they just beat the silent Ranger bats.

I would have liked this series to have gone 7 games and I am surprised that the first few games weren’t closer, but in the end, I think this series was better for baseball than a Phillies/Yankees rematch!

Here’s some video from on the Giants 2010 World Series victory!

And here are the Giants World Series stats brought to you by Baseball-Reference.com

<br /> Report Created on <a href=”http://www.baseball-reference.com/” mce_href=”http://www.baseball-reference.com/”>Baseball-Reference.com</a><br />

The play-offs, thus far, have been incredible with great pitching and clutch hitting. The Giants certainly took care of the Braves beating them three games to one. The most impressive game was Tim Lincecum striking out fourteen hitters and only giving up two hits, winning 2-0.

Well, once the Giants got past the Braves, it was on to face the Phillies. Surprise playoff hero Cody Ross hit two home runs off Phillies ace Roy Holladay, to spur the Giants to a 4-3 win. The Giants lost the second game, 6-1, despite a good a starting pitching performance by Jonathan Sanchez.

Game 3 of the 2010 NLCS was truly special!! I went to the Public House, which is a bar and restaurant right next to AT & T Park. I got there early for the Mac/Murphy Show on the Giants’ flag ship radio station KNBR broadcast in the morning. I sat down at a table, and started talking with some other Giants fans. A very nice woman, Consuelo, came in and joined our table. She said that she had an extra ticket for the game. I said that I would buy her breakfast in payment for her extra ticket. This worked out great!! We all talked about our passion the Giants, and our history with them. It was very special!! We also all got together after the game to hang out and celebrate their win.

One of the highlights of the pre-game party was the appearance of Ashkon, who has done a great Giants highlight video on Youtube, which has had over 650,000 hits. It is wonderfully creative, and truly touches the soul of what it means to be a Giants fan, with Giants highlights and pictures of fans. My only regret is that I’m not in the video, but it is truly great!!

Oh, did I forget to mention this? Yes, the Giants did win, 3-0 behind a spectacular effort by Matt Cain. He threw seven innings of shut out ball, and the bullpen finished it up. The Giants got clutch hits by “who else?” Cody Ross, Aubrey Huff and Freddy Sanchez. This win gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the NLCS, and put the Giants in the drivers’ seat.

Photo of Ryan Cavan taken from Google Images by Ashlee

Another highlight of the game was the people that Consuelo and I sat next to were not only great Giants fans, but that their son, Ryan Cavan is a minor league second base man playing in the Giants farm system. He’s played for the Giants n Augusta, GA, and will play for the San Jose Giants next year. Ryan grew up on the South Bay Peninsula and played college ball at UC Santa Barbara. Another story of a local guy trying to make good!! I could hear the pride in his parents’ voices as they spoke of him. I also believe that the parents both realized how difficult it is for Ryan to make it as a professional baseball player. I do wish Ryan all the luck, and I do hope that he does continue the Giants’ tradition of being a good second base man, and that he does play one day at AT & T Park.

I had the great fortune and pleasure to watch the Game 4 win with my neighbor and dear friend, Diane. We’ve been watching games together for many years. And we do share a great love of the Giants and all things orange and black, including Halloween. It was a very exciting game, with the lead going back and forth several times throughout the course of the game. There were also so many Giants heroes in the game– Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson out the Giants bullpen pitched great! Aaron Rowand throwing out a runner at home plate, Buster Posey with two clutch hits, and a ninth inning hit, which helped to set up the win, Pablo Sandoval who had a bad year after hitting .330 in 2009 even came through with a clutch double to drive in the tying and lead runs in the sixth inning. And of course, Cody Ross, with another clutch hit. Oh, and don’t forget Juan Uribe who got the game-winning sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth to score Aubrey Huff. This win puts the Giants one win away from going to the World Series. With a pitching match-up of Tim Lincecum vs Roy Holladay it should be a great game!!

If you had told me that the Giants would be so close to going to the World Series in March or April, I would have thought that you were absolutely insane. Of course, this is not the same Giants team that existed in April or May. It is a team of gamers and I love them. The only thing I can do is hope that this Orange October continues to roll on…

Day One!

Photo of Phillies Ace Roy Halladay by Icon SMI

After six games played (4 in the AL and 2 in the NL) we have seen the second No-hitter in playoff history (the last one was 54 years ago by Don Larson) by the Phillies Ace Roy “Doc” Halladay over the Reds in game one. The second game of this series is playing tonight at 6pm (EST) on TBS.

Before that game, Rangers Ace Cliff Lee pitched seven strong innings only allowing one run off a Ben Zobrist HR with one out in the seventh inning. He also struck out 10 Rays batters! The Rangers went on to win the game 5-1.

In the nightcap that day (Wednesday, October 6th) neither Yankees Ace CC Sabathia (an AL Cy Young Award candidate with his 21-7 record) nor Francisco Liriano (AL comeback player of the year) pitched too well, each giving up four earned runs. The Yankkes won that game 6-4.

Day Two!

The first game of the day saw Ranger 2009 closer CJ Wilson pitch 6.1 scoreless innings against the AL East Champion Rays in a 6-0 victory to take a 2 games to none lead in the series. Wilson struck out 7 Rays in his outing!

In the Middle game of the day (last night: Thursday, October 7th) 38 year old Yankees pitcher won his 19th playoff game of his career with seven strong innings only allowing two runs. The Yankees now lead that series 2 games to none*. They move this series onto New York for games three and four (if needed).

*only the New York Yankees of earlier this decade (either 2000 or 2001) have lost the first two games at home in the division series AND came back to win the next three games and move onto the League Championship Series.

Photo of Giants Ace Tim Lincecum by Icon SMI

In last night’s game we saw the Braves veteran (and 2004 Red Sox playoff hero**) Derek Lowe take on the Giants Ace Tim “the Freak” Lincencum. Lowe pitched well going 5.1 innings and allowing just one run while striking out 6 it just wasn’t enough to beat “The Freak”. Lincecum threw a complete game 2 hitter AND, if that wasn’t enough, set a Giants playoff record by stricking out 14 Braves! The second game of this series is playing tonight at 9:30pm (EST) on TBS.

To recap, that’s 3 shutouts, 1 one run game and 1 two run game thrown by the 6 starters so far. Most of the bullpens, except for maybe the Twins, have been almost as good as the starters.

This is what October baseball is all about if you ask me!

Ace SP Tim Lincecum photo by Icon SMI

goes 0-5 with an ERA over 7.00. On the other hand, I did see the offense get white hot against the Cincinnati Reds. The Giants were losing one game 10-1 in the fifth inning, and they came back to take the lead, 11-10, only to finally lose the game in extra innings. It was the biggest comeback in team history. If only they had been able to win the game…

The Giants also acquired two players in mid-August for their stretch drive, Mike Fontenot from the Cubs and Cody Ross from the Marlins. I do not think that I’ve seen a team change the entire nature of it’s team this much since the beginning of the season; they have elevated the team chemistry and the talent level. Perhaps, in 1987, when the Giants traded for Kevin Mitchell, Craig Lefferts, Dave Dravecky, Don Robinson, and Rick Reuschel to win the NL West.

The other thing that I find interesting about this time of year is the prospects and extra players who are called up by all the teams, and their impact on the pennant race. This isn’t just the players on those teams fighting to make the play-offs; it is also those players on teams with no chance of making the play-offs who will have an impact. I have two specific examples in mind– for the Giants, it was Ron Pruitt in 1982 and in 1993 it was Armando Reynoso of the Colorado Rockies. With a week left in the baseball season and not much time left in his career, Ron Pruitt came off the bench for the Giants in a critical situation to hit a game-winning pinch-hit single against the Astros. While the Giants were eventually eliminated by the Dodgers the last weekend of the season, it did keep them in the race and it made Pruitt a Giants legend, albeit briefly. I do appreciate the contribution of those players who are just trying to finish their careers lost in the glamour of great players. In 1993, the Giants had an outstanding team with a great offense, a great defense, and not quite enough pitching. The Giants won 103 games, and waited until it was too late to pick up another pitcher. The Braves were aggressive, picked up another bat, Fred McGriff and overtook the Giants at the end of the season. One thing that did have an impact during the course of the season was that when the Giants were facing the Rockies, a first year expansion team, and they had one pitcher, Armando Reynoso who pitched against the Giants like he was Cy Young. He beat them several times over the course of the season, and this definitely had an impact on the final standings. I do always find it interesting to see who will be the heroes and helpers of the 2010 baseball season.

And, how are the Giants doing as they enter September? It looks like Lincecum may be back on the right track after he pitched eight innings of one run ball against the Colorado Rockies. “The Freak,” Tim’s nickname, actually got the win against Rockies ace, Ubaldo Jimenez when Giants’ September call-up and speedster, Darren Ford, who was on second base, took third base on a ball that bounced only five feet away from the Rockies catcher, and scored when the Rockies catcher threw the ball into left field for an error allowing Ford to score the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning. Questions do still remain about the other pitchers in the rotation– Barry Zito, and Jonathan Sanchez. Can they pull it together for the rest of the season?

Aside from how the Giants are doing, there are other factors that matter, as well. One is how the Padres are doing. They’ve now lost seven games in a row, and are only three games ahead of the Giants in the NL West at the time of this writing. The Padres have not had a bad stretch in 2010, and maybe they are starting to feel the pressure since they are a young and inexperienced team. The Phillies are two games ahead of the Giants in the wild card race. I’ve never been a fan of the wild card, and I would rather win the NL West, but I’ll take the play-offs any way that I can get them.

Another factor that does matter is which teams are playing the Giants, Padres and Phillies during the final month of the season. Those teams will determine who makes the play-offs and who goes home to watch it on the couch. The Giants now have twenty-eight games left, of these games, sixteen are on the road and twelve are at home. Six games are against the Dodgers, buried, but they may have an impact on the race, six are against the Arizona Diamondbacks, seven are against the Padres, the Giants’ primary rival, three against the Cubs and three against the Brewers. This means that the Giants have a lot of games left against the NL West, along with quite a few games against teams that are below .500. As I mentioned previously, just because a team is below .500 doesn’t mean that they’re not dangerous. They are all very dangerous to one’s post-season hopes.

I do love when people say that they cannot follow baseball. To me, this signifies that the person may have a short attention span, which is too common in today’s world. Baseball is a game of concentration, along with strategy. It does combine the best elements of a team sport along with individual confrontation between the pitcher and the hitter. I also think that the best examples of sports literature are those which examine the history and strategy of baseball. The literature of other sports just cannot express itself the way that it can for baseball.

The Giants’ 2010 season has been part roller coaster ride, and part rocket ship. They have played at times great, and at times mediocre. I love that they have added so much talent during the course of the season. I do love when I hear people say that if a team loses or doesn’t make the post-season it is the result of this one game or another. There are maybe a dozen games where you snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, or you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It just happens; it is the nature of the game. I think that this is why people fall in love with baseball and come back, season after season. I never knew that I would still love this game thirty eight years later after falling in love with it when I was thirteen years old. Former Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton once said, “You stand there holding the ball, and in the end it is the other way around, the ball is holding you.” How true this is….

Image via Wikipedia

Below you will find an analysis of Tim Lincecum‘s pitching mechanics as compared to other pitchers.

Some pitchers are current day pitchers as well as including how he compares with selected Hall of Fame pitchers like Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, etc.

Catcher

Brian McCann .265-10-34, 2010 Yahoo! ADP: 37- McCann battled eye issues again this season and that could easily have played a role in his 2010 struggles.  He’ll be 27 in 2011 and the big season is coming eventually.

Matt Weiters .236-6-26, 2010 Y! ADP: 98 – Weiters was a popular breakout selection this season but he has disappointed mightily.  We are very impatient when it comes to fantasy sports.  He has the talent, but sometimes it takes a little bit longer for guys to find their groove at the game’s highest level.  Patience will pay off.

First Base

Mark Teixeira .243-13-53, 2010 Y! ADP: 10 – He is very quietly starting to turn around a very uncharacteristic season.  The hole that he dug himself is likely too deep to completely pull himself out of.  He should still be a 1st rounder next season, but he is likely to make plenty of fantasy managers very happy by falling to the 2nd round.

Image via Wikipedia

Prince Fielder .262-18-36, 2010 Y! ADP: 12 – The discrepancy between where Prince should be drafted and where he is drafted in 2011 is likely to be fairly small.  However, he is doing a nice little “on-year/””off year” sort of deal.  If you’re the superstitious type, you may also believe that Prince is going to deliver a monster season in 2011 at a small discount.

Billy Butler .320-8-42, 2010 Y! ADP: 78 – Butler is not having a poor season by any stretch of the imagination.  However, he is leaving a little bit to be desired in the power category.  He is not going to fall off the map in 2011 drafts, but he could be passed over by managers looking for more power production.

Second Base

Chase Utley .277-11-37, 2010 Y! ADP: 5 – Utley was already struggling a bit before his thumb injury so he is surely headed for a position in the late-first/early-second round range in 2011 drafts.  Again, someone will be presented with a nice gift on draft day.

Ian Kinsler .299-3-26, 2010 Y! ADP: 18 – The high ankle sprain that Kinsler suffered in Spring Training seems to have had a significant lingering effect on his power and speed production.  His situation is similar to Butler’s.  The MVP-caliber season is still in the cards.

Gordon Beckham .206-2-20, 2010 Y! ADP: 132 – 2010 has just been a nightmare for Beckham after such a promising rookie campaign in 2009.  Its hard to imagine him not outproducing his 2011 draft position – wherever it ends up.

Third Base

Aramis Ramirez .177-6-23, 2010 Y! ADP: 55 – Yeah, he’ll be 32 heading into the season and will turn 33 in June, but he’s still got some juice left in the tank.  A career .281 hitter, A-Ram will be a really nice discount at 3B after the top guys are off the board.

Pablo Sandoval .269-6-32, 2010 Y! ADP: 33 – Sandoval will be interesting because after what could end up as a sub-par 2010, there will be a lot of noise regarding “who the real Sandoval is”.  To be honest, Kung Fu Panda will probably make my upcoming Potentially Overvalued list as well.

Shortstop

Jose Reyes .277-6-32, 2010 Y! ADP: 45 – Of course you can’t forget about the 19 swipes.  Reyes is another guy who won’t be going down as “Value Pick of the Year” in 2011, but when he’s himself he is a borderline first rounder and certainly a Top-20 player.  Even though he’s a 2010 All-Star it is possible that he gets skipped over a few too many times in 2011 drafts.

Stephen Drew .268-4-28, 2010 Y! ADP: 183 – The tools are there somewhere.  Nobody knows if he’ll be able to put them together in 2011.  Chances are you won’t have to invest much at all to find out.

Outfield

Curtis Granderson .226-7-22, 2010 Y! ADP: 56 – His groin injury in May has probably played a part in his lack of stolen bases (6) and his work against LHP has been less than poor.  It usually takes new Yankee a year to feel comfortable.  He’ll produce nicely in 2011.

Grady Sizemore (DL) .211-0-13, 2010 Y! ADP: 25 – His stock has been on a two-year plummet.  He is too young and too talented to just fall off of the map.  His knee injury, as odd as it may sound, could be a blessing in disguise as it’ll allow his elbow to fully recover.  If he gets back to 100% he’s got my endorsement for Comeback Player of the Year and Best Value of 2011.

Jacoby Ellsbury .250-0-3, 2010 Y! ADP: 25 - Ellsbury’s season has been lost to this point as he has only played nine games due to fractured ribs.  He won’t fall too far in 2011, but at least if you draft him you will get to pay market value instead of overpaying like those who drafted him in 2010 likely did.

Carlos Quentin .229-13-50, 2010 Y! ADP: 180 – The numbers that you see to the left are the result of a recent hot streak.  That is how bad his numbers have been this season.  This is another guy like Drew who has the talent but it is just a matter of whether or not you’ll see it.  Nothing wrong with gambling with a 20th round pick.  The chances are good that he could end up there in 2011.

Starting Pitchers

Justin Verlander 10–103–3.85–1.15, 2010 Y! ADP: 56 – Barring a hot second half – something that Verlander is very capable of – his stock is likely to regress in 2011.  It’s not that his numbers are poor this season.  It’s just that the discrepancy between the numbers he’s posting and the numbers people expected will cause people to pass over him.

Zack Greinke 4–92–3.94–1.20, 2010 Y! ADP: 28 - See Justin Verlander.  I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if Greinke’s stock falls into the Verlander tier.  Fine with me.

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Tim Lincecum 8–121–3.28–1.30, 2010 Y! ADP: 10 – Failing to live up to a first round selection is the best way to create negative buzz and to drive your stock downward.  Personally, I think it’s even worse when you’re a pitcher.  “The Freak” hasn’t looked like himself in 2010 but 2011 will present a golden opportunity to draft a staff anchor at 1-2 round discount.

Relief Pitchers

I’m not even going to name any specific players here because relief pitching is all about taking advantage of the random guys who emerge out of the shadows each and every year.  Jon Rauch, Ryan Franklin and Andrew Bailey are just a few guys who emerged out of absolutely nowhere to claim a closer’s job.  There are countless others who are not getting saves but are still dealing.  The key with closers is to just make sure you do not overpay.

That was a quick list of guys to pay close attention to for the remainder of the season.  Granted, many of the names above are not going to make it out of the first three rounds and a lot will change between now and the end of September.  2011 fantasy baseball success starts in 2010 though.

Don’t get a late jump on the competition.