NLCS: 4 of a kind could trump 3 ‘aces’

Added on Oct 12, 2010 by Ted Sillanpaa in

MLB

Three aces are great, but they can’t beat four of a kind.

“We’re the only team that has three aces,” Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth said as his club began preparation for the National League Championship Series against the Giants on Saturday.

OK. Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels are all guys who have been No. 1 starters in some quality rotations.

“…other teams might have good 1, 2, 3 starters,” Werth said, “we have three aces.”

San Francisco has four very good, young starting pitchers — led by a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

Tim Lincecum headlines the Giants rotation as the clear ace, but right-hander Matt Cain has been magnificent in 2010. Left-hander Jonathan Sanchez has bordered on unhittable since the start of September, finally finding consistency and command to go with a mid-90s fastball, a nasty slider and a new split-finger pitch. Finally, 21-year-old Madison Bumgarner showed the nation (well, the small portion of it paying attention the NLDS against the Braves) that his regular season ERA of 3.00 wasn’t a fluke. He’s big, strong southpaw who has maturity and calm beyond his years. In the brightest spotlight, young Bumgarner pitched the Giants into the NLCS.

So, Werth could be right about his club having three “aces.” The Giants, though, have four of a kind — four guys in their 20s. Sanchez is the oldest at 27 years of age.

The anticipated first-game match-up between Halladay and Lincecum is, actually, not set in stone.

Phillies manager Charlie Manual has acknowledged that he has considered the possibility that the matchup of No. 1 starters could result in a No. 1 pitching brilliantly — and still losing. Manuel gave credence to the theory, then pooh-poohed.

“We haven’t had any discussions yet,” Manuel said. “I’m sure we’ll sit down and we have a little time to decide what we want to do. But, I’m not going to be cute or anything … Big Roy is Big Roy.”

It’s unlikely that Manuel or Giants manager Bruce Bochy will do anything with their ace to make it less likely that Halladay and Lincecum could pitch, again, on shorter rest in the NLCS. That doesn’t mean that one of the starting rotations won’t be juggled after enjoying success in the NLDS.

The Giants could respond to the Phillies lefty-laden batting order by moving the southpaw Sanchez up, ahead of Cain, to face Philadelphia in Game 2. Sanchez could more effectively neutralize sluggers Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez.

Sanchez has also been magnificient, even before his 7-inning, 14-strikeout gem against the Braves in Game 3. He has allowed just five earned runs in his last 43 2/3 innings covering seven starts — all under playoff race pressure. The 1.03 ERA over that span is better than any member of the Giants staff.

Sanchez pitched a no-hitter against the Padres in 2009, but has been mostly known for his lack of command and ability to implode out of the blue. He has shed the image in 2010 with a career-best WHIP of 1.23. He walked just one, to go with the 14 Ks, against the Braves.

** Hamels could be bumped past Oswalt to start Game 2, as well. Both clubs would simply be mixing the look of the rotations rather than pitching right-handers back-to-back in the first two games.

** Howard is the only big leaguer to have at least three career home runs off of Lincecum.

** Halladay is 0-2 with a 7.23 ERA versus the Giants, the highest ERA he has against any club he’s faced more than twice. The Giants actually delivered Halladay his first NL loss, back in April.

** Lincecum and Hamels struck out 11 and 10 respectively in an early-season battle that the Phillies won 7-6 in 11 innings.

** The Giants haven’t needed an official announcement, but set-up man Sergio Romo will at least share the eighth inning against the Phillies. He gave up two hits and exited quickly in the Game 2 loss to Atlanta. Then, he was touched for a home run by Eric Hinske in Game 3. Santiago Cassilla held the Braves scoreless in the set-up spot on Monday, featuring his fastball that exceeds 95 mph. Ramon Ramirez is another righty option to go with southpaws Javier Lopez and Jeremy Affeldt.

** The Phillies carried only 10 pitchers in the NLDS, but could add another one for NLCS. Starting pitcher Joe Blanton and, potentially, Kyle Kendrick could be added to the roster.
“There’s a possibility that we could definitely add a pitcher,” Manuel said. “That’s something we’ll definitely discuss. Have we made our minds up? Not at this point, no. We haven’t had our meetings about what we are going to do with the Giants yet.”

** There’s simply no way that the Giants will add veteran pitcher Barry Zito to the roster for the NLCS. They could shake-up the group of everyday players, though, particularly if veteran slugger Jose Guillen can swing the bat without pain from a bulging disk in his neck. The Giants could, in theory, keep journeyman catcher Eli Whiteside off of the 25-man roster and make Pablo Sandoval, who likely lost his third base job in the NLDS, as the back-up catcher if something should happen to Buster Posey.