Comeback Cards do it again!!!!! This has been a fun past couple of years as a Cards fan!!! Who needs a Pujols when you got a Beltran!
Nats and Cards both look tough, I was leaning toward playing the Cards and getting homefield. The Nats had our number in the regular season, though I don't put too much weight on regular season play when the playoffs roll around. Maybe having Beltran for half a season helps us scout him out? Cards have more experience of those two teams though. Bumgarner's game 1 start is huge. Our SPs have been a bit shaky. Feels like if he comes in and gives a 2010 postseason Bumgarner performance he'll settle every one down, get us an early lead, and save the bullpen a bit.
So much for settling everyone down. Didn't realize how many righties the Cards have in their lineup. Here's to hoping our RHP look better against them (Timmy was already looking sharp). Heaven help us if we're relying on Zito for more than 3 innings against them.
He had the worst ERA in the league among all qualified starters. Hes still got pretty good stuff but had major control issues all season. Did a bit better the second half of the year, especially on the road, but Vogelsong and Zito still easily out performed him down the stretch. None the less, he was told he would be starting in the playoffs. But when the G's were getting their butts kicked early in game 1 against the Reds, Bochy put him in out of the pen. I believe tonight was his third game out of the pen and hes been really good so far. Most thought he would probably start this series after two very good showings against the Reds. Bochy tried to salvage tonight's game by burning him. He's had limited innings though so I wouldn't completely rule out another start. Most likely they'll roll with Zito on a VERY short leash and expect Lincecum to be ready to throw a few innings in game 4. As an aside, Lincecum has long been known for barely warming up and being really laid back as far as his pitching days go. Zito has a stringent routine and the smallest wrinkles completely throw him off. He can't come out of the pen. Vogelsong is unapproachable, reportedly to the extent that he can be a major asshole, on his days to pitch. Plus hes easily one of our top 3 SPs. Lincecum takes a few minutes to warm up, if that, hes competitive on the mound but nothing bothers him off the mound, hes had games where he's had hour long rain delays and continued to pitch and pitch well. The starters this season are nowhere near as consistently good as in 2010. Lincecum has become the safety blanket long reliever when one of our guys is getting lit up.
Gracias. I vaguely remember ERA problems earlier in the year, but was unaware it was still affecting him. I guess thats a pretty good long man to have out there
The discussion I've heard from people smarter than myself is that he's probably fatigued. He really fell off in September and its been on-going. His velocity has dipped from being consistently 91-93 to floating around 90. Hes pitched a LOT the last three years. Could be he has a nagging injury that hes playing through as well. Like I said though, when I saw that Cardinal lineup I knew it was going to be trouble. They crush LHP.
Pumpkins? We got game 2. Definitely needed it. Gotta love Vogey. Not only shut them down but saved our bullpen. Game 3 feels like another must-win to me though. Obviously they're all huge games in the playoffs, but its a Cain start and you don't know what you're getting out of your starters the next two games (Timmy/Zito/MadBum). Despite the Reds series and the early 0-1 deficit in this series, I still feel like this is not a come from behind team. They're better at it than the 2010 team was but they're still a team who needs to get ahead and play as the front runner as often as possible. Complete bullshit slide by Holliday too.
