WASHINGTON — Here’s the reality: The Giants were not the best team in baseball this year. I’m comfortable saying that. But they will end up winning it all. Here’s why. The year is 2014. The last time the Giants won the World Series was 2012 — the time before that, 2010.
The rules of chance will tell you that winning every even-numbered year is a silly argument … but how about a little baseball magic? A number of Giants from 2010 and 2012 are still on the team, hungry to bring the Commissioner’s Trophy back to San Francisco for the third time in five years.
Beyond the juju, in both 2010 and 2012, it was all about getting hot at the right time. In 2010, much like this year, the Giants didn’t secure a playoff spot until the final weekend of the regular season. But the Giants went on to beat the Atlanta Braves in 4 games, the Phillies in 6 games and the Texas Rangers in 5.
In 2012, the Giants were good, but not as good as the Nationals, who had 98 wins. But as we know, the best record does not necessarily amount to a World Series. It’s about teams with momentum that win tight ballgames with great starting pitching and an even better bullpen. In that postseason, the Giants lost their first two games to the Reds in San Francisco, then went on to win three must-win games in a row, all in Cincinnati. They won those games behind the likes of Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval and Ryan Vogelsong — three key players also on the 2014 roster.
When the Giants went on to the NLCS to take on the Cardinals, they fell behind 3 games to 1, creating a situation in which they again had to win three must- win games to advance — and they did. They went on to the World Series and swept the Detroit Tigers, a team that boasted Cy Young winner Justin Verlander and the first Triple Crown winner since 1967, Miguel Cabrera.
Now, a look at how the Giants win it in 2014:
Wild Card: The Giants have to win their Wednesday night game in Pittsburgh to advance to the NLDS. Manager Bruce Bochy announced 18-game winner Madison Bumgarner will be taking the mound. The 2014 Willie Mac Award winner is 11-4 with a 2.22 ERA on the road this season. He’s also not afraid to help his own cause, leading all pitchers with 4 homers and 15 RBI of his own.
While the Giants will start their ace, the Pirates’ third-best pitcher, Edinson Volquez, will take the mound for Pittsburgh. The Giants were 58-44 vs. right- handed starters this season.
NLDS: After the Wild Card game, the Giants will then take on the NL’s best team, the Washington Nationals. With 96 wins, the Nats again proved themselves as a fantastic team. But the same was true in 2012 — the Nats went into Game 5 of the NLDS confident and collected. They went up 6-1 in the fifth inning. The Cardinals loaded the bases. Long story short, there were wild pitches and costly walks. And even though the Nats were leading 7-5 in the top of the ninth with two outs in D.C., there was a sense that they could mess it all up. The Nats lack playoff experience and are under a lot of pressure this time around.
Additionally, a five-game series should help the Giants’ cause. The Nationals’ pitching is their greatest asset. But in a short series, the Giants would only face one pitcher two times, most likely Stephen Strasburg.
Veteran (and former Cy Young winner) Jake Peavy would start Game 1 for the Giants. Over his last nine starts, Peavy is 6-1 with a 1.35 ERA. And look for unsung heroes to show up. Midseason acquisitions Cody Ross and Marco Scutaro (NLCS MVPs in 2010 and 2012) and Edgar Renteria (World Series MVP 2010) did not put up huge numbers during the season. But they were clutch when it mattered the most. Besides Buster Posey, Hunter Pence and Pablo Sandoval, look for guys such as Joe Panik and Brandon Crawford to be playoff rock stars. Hopefully, former Nat Michael Morse will heal in time as well.
It may take five games to knock off the Nats, but the Giants are used to it.
NLCS: The Giants will then take on the winner of the Dodgers-Cardinals series. In this case, the Giants would probably love to meet the Cardinals, whom they beat in the 2012 NLCS. The Giants also handed St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright his worst loss of the season (4.1 IP, 7 ER).
The Giants and Dodgers have a historic rivalry dating back to the Polo Grounds in New York. They both moved out West in 1958 — one to a fantastic city of tolerance and beauty, the other to a desert of sorrow and smog. Even a $236 million payroll can’t buy a World Series, something the Dodgers have been waiting for since before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The Dodgers bested the Giants, 10 games to 9, this year. And if this matchup happens, people will say that Clayton Kershaw can’t be beaten. He’s undoubtedly the best pitcher in baseball right now, and should win the NL Cy Young and MVP awards. But
