Matt Cain will not necessarily strike you out. But when he's on, he will take the sting out of your swing. You will be a tick late on the high fastball or out in front of the change-up. You'll get a few hits -- even badly hit balls find holes once in a while -- but you probably won't drop the hammer blow.
The magic formula today started with Cain, who outdueled Cole Hamels. Hamels only gave up two very hard-hit balls, by my count: Cody Ross's RBI single in the fourth and Aaron Rowand's double in the fifth. Huff's RBI single that followed Ross was a hard grounder just out of Brooks Utley's reach, and Rowand scored when Utley couldn't knock down Freddy Sanchez's knuckle-ball liner. Hamels had more Ks, but Cain kept coaxing off-balance swings in big situations. My favorite was in the 3rd, two on and two out, when Cain threw a curve and three change-ups to Utley, who check-swung off his front foot and grounded weakly to short.
Part Two of the formula was bullpen. Lopez was unbelievable, again, and Brian Wilson cruised through the ninth despite Rollins' off-the-wall single -- the one time Wilson came in with a fastball. I know this is beating a dead horse, but broadcasters Buck and McCarver on Fox have hit a new low. They simply refuse to discuss anything interesting about the game. McCarver's old Nehru jackets? Sure, let's chat. AJ Burnett? Wrong game, but why not. With Wilson on the mound, they started talking about this article, which showcases Wilson's smarts and eccentricity -- but also his pitching philosophy. Of course they focused on the personality. It's quite a personality, but do these dipshits ever talk baseball? I'm not a Joe Morgan fan, but at least Morgan sees things on the field and discusses them. He talks baseball.
Back to the formula: Cody Ross. He dug out a fastball below the knees, slightly toward the outer half, and ripped it. The Phillies' formula is about to change from "Don't throw Ross a fastball down and in" to "Don't throw Ross a fastball." Why would you? Why risk missing across the plate, or middle-in? The key guy for the rest of the series is going to be the guy who bats after Ross.
Also, Credit Burrell for the walk that led to Ross's at bat. People Magazine voted Pat as having the Sexiest Plate Discipline on the Planet. So, so hot. And credit Huff for making decent contact -- once again this post-season -- against a tough lefty. (After seeing today's lineup, I tweeted that Huff was so far 3-for-4 against LHP in the playoffs. If you're not following me @leftymalo, you can also see my tweets in the tweet-box under the advertisement to the right.)
I'm not looking past Game 4, but I love that the Giants have Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Cain lined up for Games 5, 6 and 7. I think it'll go that far. And I think the formula will work more often than not. The Giants have scored 19 runs in seven playoff games, and they're 5-2.
More later.
The magic formula today started with Cain, who outdueled Cole Hamels. Hamels only gave up two very hard-hit balls, by my count: Cody Ross's RBI single in the fourth and Aaron Rowand's double in the fifth. Huff's RBI single that followed Ross was a hard grounder just out of Brooks Utley's reach, and Rowand scored when Utley couldn't knock down Freddy Sanchez's knuckle-ball liner. Hamels had more Ks, but Cain kept coaxing off-balance swings in big situations. My favorite was in the 3rd, two on and two out, when Cain threw a curve and three change-ups to Utley, who check-swung off his front foot and grounded weakly to short.
Part Two of the formula was bullpen. Lopez was unbelievable, again, and Brian Wilson cruised through the ninth despite Rollins' off-the-wall single -- the one time Wilson came in with a fastball. I know this is beating a dead horse, but broadcasters Buck and McCarver on Fox have hit a new low. They simply refuse to discuss anything interesting about the game. McCarver's old Nehru jackets? Sure, let's chat. AJ Burnett? Wrong game, but why not. With Wilson on the mound, they started talking about this article, which showcases Wilson's smarts and eccentricity -- but also his pitching philosophy. Of course they focused on the personality. It's quite a personality, but do these dipshits ever talk baseball? I'm not a Joe Morgan fan, but at least Morgan sees things on the field and discusses them. He talks baseball.
Back to the formula: Cody Ross. He dug out a fastball below the knees, slightly toward the outer half, and ripped it. The Phillies' formula is about to change from "Don't throw Ross a fastball down and in" to "Don't throw Ross a fastball." Why would you? Why risk missing across the plate, or middle-in? The key guy for the rest of the series is going to be the guy who bats after Ross.
Also, Credit Burrell for the walk that led to Ross's at bat. People Magazine voted Pat as having the Sexiest Plate Discipline on the Planet. So, so hot. And credit Huff for making decent contact -- once again this post-season -- against a tough lefty. (After seeing today's lineup, I tweeted that Huff was so far 3-for-4 against LHP in the playoffs. If you're not following me @leftymalo, you can also see my tweets in the tweet-box under the advertisement to the right.)
I'm not looking past Game 4, but I love that the Giants have Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Cain lined up for Games 5, 6 and 7. I think it'll go that far. And I think the formula will work more often than not. The Giants have scored 19 runs in seven playoff games, and they're 5-2.
More later.
