Jake's Arbitrary Playoff Preview Part II

[Giants]

Let's get after it again, National League style.

Cincinnati vs. Arizona

Cincinnati Rotation: The best staff in the National League took a big hit when Hong-Chi Kuo (15-1 3.21) went down with some kind of bizarre numbness thing, but Roy Halladay (18-8 3.58), Hiroki Kuroda (17-4 4.09) and Matt Cain (15-5 4.20) are a nice backbone to a playoff rotation. Randy Johnson (2-3 5.09) has been a disappointment, but the wily veteran is still not someone you'd want to face if you have a lefty dependent lineup.

Arizona Rotation: This was the worst staff in the National League or close to it before the acquisitions of Franklin Morales (6-4 3.52) and Joe Blanton (2-3 5.50). Youngsters Manny Parra (13-11 4.53) and Wade Davis (12-7 4.68) round out a rotation with pretty good upside for the future that might be a couple years away from dominating or might fall off the table completely.

Advantage: Cincinnati

Cincinnati Bullpen: The Reds pen is led by K-Rod and no-names Paul Abraham, Javier Lopez, and apparently Vinnie Chulk (who really shouldn't be pitching, he got cut in June), and all of those guys have a better ERA than the venerable Scot Shields (3-3 3.46 5 SV). How crazy is that depth? Now imagine what it would be like with Papelbon back there... Moral of the story, fuck you JB

Arizona Bullpen: It was a bummer to lose Zumaya, who looked like he might be back and might even become a starter with the bullets he was throwing, but now it looks like he might never be healthy again. Bobby Jenks (8-4 3.36 31 SV) is an elite closer, and Brendon Morrow, Bill Bray, and Sean Gallagher round out a solid but unspectacular pen, which will likely be a lot better next year with Joey Devine. Unfortunately solid but unspectacular performance doesn't match the spectacular performance of the no-names above.

Advantage: Cincinnati

Cincinnati Lineup: By far the best offense in the NL, the Reds are led by Ichiro, David Wright, Hanley Ramirez, and Vlad Guerrero (the bounty from Papelbon). Late season acquisition Paul Konerko found the hitting stroke that never materialized in Oakland (.930 OPS after the deal), and Miguel Olivo has played way over his head since the injury to Jorge Posada looked like it would put a hole in the lineup. Fortunately for Cincinnati most of his stars aren't in the playoffs, so they won't have a chance to get hurt which will help Nate hide the depth holes in his lineup.

Arizona Lineup: With 890 RS the Diamondbacks were the second best offense in the National League, kind of like Michael Dukakis was the second best presidential candidate in 1988. That being said, there is talent in this lineup in the form of Mark Texeira (1.044 OPS 41 HR), Rickie Weeks (.964 OPS, 28 HR and 18 3B, what the hell?), BJ Upton and Russell Martin. This young lineup is the strength of the team, and they are patient enough to take advantage of the walk tendencies of Matt Cain and to put the ball in play against Kuroda. The future is bright for these Baby Backs, and some day soon it might not be a joke to call them the second best offense.

Advantage: Cincinnati

Prediction: Cincinnati in 3

Florida vs. St. Louis

Florida Rotation: Vacek made the playoffs! Vacek made the playoffs! The bummer is that he can't take injured staff ace Ben Sheets with him. The good news is that Gio Gonzalez (12-6 3.56) and Boof Bonser (13-4 4.68) will provide support to the underachieving Justin Verlander (10-12 4.73), but the depth of the starting pitching is a question mark, and that's not an issue you want to have going into the playoffs.

St. Louis Rotation: The 2007 champs have brought a new face to the rotation this year, gone are the big names like Roy Oswalt and Freddy Garcia, and in their place we find Zach Greinke (10-7 4.05), Adam Wainwright (3-3 3.63), Justin Hampson (8-4 3.10), and Todd Wellemeyer (7-5 4.01). The name recognition certainly doesn't match teams of the past (though it's definitely better than DiFelice/Mulvey/Mazone/Hardy), but the performance has been terrific, and that's what's important.

Advantage: St. Louis

Florida Bullpen: The great Trevor Hoffman (2-10 32 SV 3.46 ERA) is clearly winding down, though he was also a bit unlikely with a BABIP of .297, much higher than in earlier times in his career. Behind Hoffman is a mish-mash of Jeremy Affeldt (8-2 3.63 2 SV), Justin Miller (10-5 3.75 5 SV) and Micah Owings (8-5 4.57 1 SV) who might also be the best bat off the bench for this team. There is good depth, though no one in the pen has really been lockdown dominating this year.

St. Louis Bullpen: Since trading Jason Isringhausen the Cardinals haven't had a real closer emerge. The best pitcher this year has been Scott Downs (4-2 3.67 6 SV), with Brandon League (5-3 3.96 1 SV) following him up. Matt Capps, Frank Francisco, and Joseph Smith all provide depth but not dominance.

Advantage: Tie

Florida Lineup: Big Papi (1.211 OPS 39 HR), Hunter Pence (.917 OPS 20 HR) and Aramis Ramirez (.898 OPS 32 HR) form a frightening heart of the order for the Marlins, who also have strong lineup depth with Carl Crawford, Hideki Matsui, and likely rookie of the year Geovany Soto. The middle of the infield has been a major concern, with Troy Tulowitzki (.662 OPS) badly underperforming and no real solution at second base. Backup catcher Raul Casanova (.983 OPS 12 HR) has been a revelation off the bench.

St. Louis Lineup: Pat Burrell (.965 OPS 42 HR), Chase Headley (.907 OPS 18 HR), and Nick Markakis (.837 OPS 29 HR), have paced the Cardinals offense, which has been solid but hasn't mashed. After those three the next best hitter comes from the Reed Johnson, Billy Butler, Rich Aurilia pupuu platter. Carl Crawford, Geovany Soto, and Hideki Matsui or Reed Johnson, Rich Aurilia and Billy Butler? Which trio do you want?

Advantage: Florida

Prediction: St. Louis in 4 games

[BlueJays]

Ugh, Vinnie was designated on the 24th? Wow. That one slipped through the cracks, big time. I am really, really sorry. Its pretty well known I've had limited access since the summer, as I lost my 2nd hard drive within a year. Its super hard to check DL stuff via my crack berry.. I've had JP helping me for quite some time.. checking DL and such. But we've only been checking for injuries.. not really DFA's.. I can't even read half the rotoworld DL site on my phone.. the txt is white on a white background(retarded, I know..).. But this is on me, my bad.. whatever happens with Mr. Chulk happens. Another dent in the pen..

Jagger, I wont throw him in the playoffs. And to those who had to face him post 24th of June, I apologize profusely.

[DBacks]

Well, I have to raise an objection here. Because we all know there's no way Nate wins 114 games without Vinnie. Probably not even half that. So, since Nate is a dirty, dirty cheater, I hereby move that he be disqualified from the postseason and his NLC title given to me instead. Also, I vote that he officially be docked the 70 wins from his record that Vinnie is individually responsible for.

I eagerly await the ExCo's decision.

[Cardinals]

Actually he was DFA in June but then was pitching until the AAA season ended in the minors.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... pid=425562

[Padres]

Actually he was DFA in June but then was pitching until the AAA season ended in the minors.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb ... pid=425562

... Which ones figure in the Giants' future? The answer might come Monday, when major-league rosters can be expanded to 40. Management has said the number of call-ups will be small, maybe five or six.

"It's who we think going into next year is going to have a chance to help us," general manager Brian Sabean said. "You want a smaller pool of guys because there is only going to be so much playing time. Within that pool, you want an ample amount of time to evaluate them."

... Or Vinnie Chulk, who had not been in the minors since 2005 until he was outrighted to Fresno in June after allowing one too many big hits?

... Chulk was taken off the 40-man roster and can choose free agency this winter.

... Dan Rohn, manager of the Fresno Grizzlies, offered a scouting report on four players of interest:

... RHP Vinnie Chulk: "I'm seeing better velocity on his fastball. He's using it more. I like the way he's pitching. He's avoided throwing his breaking ball on all counts and he's using it as a put-away pitch instead of trying to get ahead with it. His velocity is back up to 93 or 94.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... rss.giants

Definitely eligible for the IBC and has always been ... (though his future as a Giant is doubtful ...)

[Giants]

My bad, I obviously don't follow the Fresno Grizzlies as closely as I need to.