Moreland explains his game winning HR and why the Giants are Boom or Bust

Mitch Moreland explains his approach to his game winning AB versus Jonathan Sanchez and by contrast demonstrates why the Giants tend to be boom or bust. IMO. Moreland may be on the verge of becoming the Rangers answer to The Cody Ross Experience. A folk hero in the making.

from espn.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=5748057

Moreland collected four hits in a mere 20 regular-season at-bats against lefties. But against Sanchez, he simply refused to be denied. After going up 2-0 in the count, he hit a long foul fly to right field. Then came a fastball for a called strike to even the count. Sanchez followed with four straight sliders and changeups, and Moreland fouled off all four to hang tough at 2-2.

"It was kind of down and in, and I just reacted. I'm not going to say if that's my sweet spot. I don't even know if I have a sweet spot."

Finally it came time for one more fastball, and Moreland didn't miss it. He drove the pitch into the right field seats to put Texas up 3-0 and give his hometown cause to bust its buttons with pride.

"I just wanted to stay short and get the barrel to it,'' Moreland said. "It was kind of down and in, and I just reacted. I'm not going to say if that's my sweet spot. I don't even know if I have a sweet spot.''

Moreland was willing to 'stay short' or shorten his swing to battle Sanchez. The Giants demonstrated in the ninth inning versus Neftali Perez, that they would rather go down flailing like windmills in overdrive than shorten up their swings to make contact. The pitcher is supplying the power, throwing 97-98 MPH. A screaming, line drive gapper in one of those spots would have worked just as well as a HR. And until you had at least one guy on base in the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate, you have no business swinging from your heels. Just dumb, wasted, unproductive AB's. Not even a loud foul ball in the bunch.

Buster Posey also had a disappointing key AB versus Darren O' Day. As soon as Washington brought him in I said I like the matchup, but it was clear O'day wanted to get him on the sidearm curve to the outside corner or darting off the black. Posey made no visible adjustment to his stance or position in the batters box to accommodate that pitch. The guy doesn't throw hard enough to break a pane of glass (easy for me to say, I know) so you crowd the plate more, dare him to fit one through a mail slot to hit the inside corner, at the same time Posey would be in better position to punish the outside corner. Not second guessing, I told my wife before the pitch, when Molina went out to talk, if he throws the curve to the outside corner, he'll get him, he's got to go the other way. And sure enough, he went there, and worse it seems as if Posey tried to pull it instead of going the other way (he may have been out front). Generally, if you try to pull an outside pitch, weak grounders to the pull side or popups ensue. Bad AB.

Rangers win MUST game as Giants revert back to BOOM or BUST

The Rangers won a game they HAD to win. The Giants lost a game it would have been nice to win. Any time an NFL game features a game where one team MUST win versus another team that would LIKE to win, I go with the team that MUST win. The old cornered rat thing. Or the boxer, backed into the corner. The only way out is to punch back. If you curl up and take the hits, it's not long before you are counted out.

And so the Rangers win 4-2. The Giants will not sweep the series. But who really thought they would? If you told me after three games, 'the Giants will be up 2-1' I would have taken it. The difference in the game: The Rangers 2 HR's were a 3-run blast and a solo versus the Giants 2 solo jobs. That's it.

Andres Torres gets his signature hit. The Cody Ross Experience continues with another HR, his fifth of the post season. Huffie laces a laser beam double. Burrell is struggling. PAINFULLY STRUGGLING.

The Rangers still have to run the table at home and get one in Frisco, so we're still in pretty good shape.

I like the match-up today MadBum versus Hunter. Both young pitchers so who knows which pitcher shows up. If Bumgarner settles in early, he can be tough as nails.

GO GIANTS!!!

"Oooo-ree-bay" - Cain is more than able - Redemption for Renteria and Rowand

I'm not sure you could ask for anything more from a game than what the Giants received yesterday. I sat in stunned silence towards the end of it, saying quietly to my wife, "It's as if everything that could go right for the Giants, has gone right". Scary right.

Matt Cain cements his reputation as a top of the rotation, big-time ace pitcher.
Juan Uribe continues to play out of his mind.
Edgar Renteria DOES discover the Marlins post-season magic.
Aaron Rowand delivers a line-drive laser dagger to the 421 sign in right-center.
Buster Posey continues to play Buster Posey like baseball.
The bullpen shows its incredible depth and versatility.

The earlier comparisons to the '69 Amazing NY Mets may not be too over the top. Superior pitching once again. Timely hitting and great defense. Role players coming through when asked. Even down to an opposition potential HR hitting the top of the wall and -- instead of bouncing over the wall the ball bounces back into the field of play, seemingly violating all laws of nature and/or physics. Brings back memories of the 1973 Mets and the "Ball on the Wall" play.

from ultimatemets.com
1973 Regular Season Game 153
September 20, 1973
Mets 4, Pirates 3

http://www.ultimatemets.com/gamedetail.php?gameno=1939&tabno=B

Karma? Magic? Catching lightning in a bottle? Team of destiny? I don't care, take your pick. Call it what you will. I just know its starting to feel real. I can only remember feeling like this about the '69 and to a lesser extent the '73 Mets. (A lesser extent because the '73 Mets lost the World Series, after being perhaps the least deserving team on paper to ever appear in a World Series). The Rangers have had everything go wrong for them short of having a black cat walk past their dugout.

METS V. CUBS 9/9/1969 - THE BLACK CAT GAME

I thought it very Tim McCarver like of Tim McCarver to deliver the stupidest line of the evening. Late in the game, after the Rangers bullpen blowout, he delivers a gem along the lines of "Well pitching is winning this game for the Giants, but not theirs". Is that right? Correct me if I'm wrong Timmy-boy but the score before the meltdown was 1-0. The Rangers ended the evening still stuck on 0. I think the Giants pitching did more than their fair share in winning this game for the Giants by virtue of the fact that -- by pitching a shutout - they guarantee that you don't lose. At worst, we would still be playing. Therefore, I think the Giants pitching did in fact win the game for the Giants, the Rangers pitching just made the game less artistic --something more akin to a Spring Training "B" game for the last couple of innings.

Granted the Giants caught a bit of a break when Wilson raised a blister, but that may be symptomatic of the problem the Rangers are facing. The scene from Hoosiers where the coach measures the height of the basket at the big time arena and tells his players "Same height as the basket you guys are used to". What got you here should be good enough to get you through. It seems as if perhaps the blister may have raised from squeezing the ball a little tighter, trying to get a little extra movement or a little extra break. In baseball, if you take care of the little things, the big things fall into place. The Rangers are feeling the effect in a negative sense.

Last night, the Rangers relievers had the same look of awe that the Hoosiers team did when they first walked into the big-time arena. Awe-struck and feeling out of place. We'll see if some home cooking set their minds right and puts the wheels back on the cart.

HOOSIERS. CLASSIC!!!

The same thing when the reliever threw 13-14 straight balls (I lost count). Then the deer in the headlights look. The 'WTF is going on?' countenance. The wheels came off and they couldn't put them back on. The next reliever did the same thing. Overcompensation.

I see this a lot in HS or PONY ball. A kid throws a pretty, picture-perfect breaking ball. Then the next one he tries to make it break even better than the last one. Better than perfect. And drives it into the dirt, or hangs it. Overcompensation. Instead of just repetition. Repeat. Lather, rinse, repeat. Over and over again. It's the root meaning of the word mechanics. To be machine-like, perform the same act -- over and over again, the same way each time, with mind-blowing repetition and efficiency.

Whatever it is, the Giants seems to have it and the Rangers don't.
At least for now.

Maybe it's because the Giants have had to play all season on a razor-thin margin of error due to the lack of offense. They've played 'playoff-like' baseball -- minus the playoff intensity -- all season. Now, it's just second nature. I noticed in the Matt Cain post game interview that the first thing Cain did was deflect credit from his own efforts to those of catcher Buster Posey. This is a trait that this team has demonstrated throughout the playoffs. The glory is shared and spread around liberally. Its a nice quality for a teammate to have.

The next game may be the first pitching match-up in a while where I don't think we have an advantage. And that's only because of Sanchez' last outing. Before that he was beginning to show signs of elevating to near the Cain / Lincecum level as a shut down starter. If he comes up big-time / lights out on the road, that will be the start he will be linked to for a long time. If it's anything near the meltdown versus Philadelphia, it will take him a while to shake the hit to his reputation. So Jonathan is -- fairly or unfairly -- facing a World Series opponent on the field as well as one between his ears. He has to contain his emotions and direct /focus them in a positive direction. If he does that, he can carry the franchise one step closer to the prize.

GO GIANTS!!!

Giants torture Rangers and Cliff Lee

How great can life be when the day after your ace goes to the hill in Game 1 of the World Series, Giants fans are more thrilled with the performance of the offense than that of "The Freak". That's the situation we find ourselves in this morning.

Don't get me wrong. Old two-time Cy Young Award Timmy battled and won against another teams high profile ace. And the Giants are sitting very pretty, with a favorable pitching match-up on tap tonight, with Cain vs. Wilson.

Timmy and the boys have been making a habit of taking on some hot aces - and prevailing - on this magical run.

As noted in Yahoo Sports:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-worldseriesnotebook

Six of the last seven teams to win Game 1 went on to win the World Series. … The Giants handed Cliff Lee his first postseason loss in eight decisions. They also gave Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay their first career postseason losses in the past two weeks. Halladay had thrown a no-hitter in his only postseason start before losing to the Giants in Game 1 of the NLCS. Oswalt was 5-0 in the postseason before losing in relief in Game 4 that series.

Timmy overcomes an early "brain fart" to steady the ship and allow the offense to do it's thing.

Even without his best stuff, Lincecum lasted longer than Lee. The hard-throwing righty allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings with three strikeouts and two walks in a 93-pitch performance as the Giants were victorious kicking off their first World Series since a runner-up finish in 2002 to the Angels.

“When you get here and you get to the playoffs, you start to realize it’s not so much about your stats or if you get a hit here,” Lincecum said. “It’s just who comes out on top at the end of the day.”

Uribe continues to hit out of his mind, delivering clutch daggers almost nightly.
Posey continues to play beyond his years.
How cool is the continuing Cody Ross story?
And 'The Beard' makes an appearance, when it appeared as if he might get the night off.
Sanchez joins the party last night with his bat.

All against the seemingly invincible Cliff Lee.

This offense may be poised for a breakout. And it couldn't come at a better time. If Huff and Sandoval can join the party, who knows? Maybe Renteria rekindles some of that old Marlins playoff magic? I would never mention the contract again. Rowand too, if given the opportunity.

This is a chance to write a new chapter in Giants baseball history. Something that many past legends have tried - valiantly at times - but failed to do.

Lincecum, the new face of the franchise since Bonds’ departure after he broke Hank Aaron’s home run record in 2007, will try to lead the Giants to their first championship since the franchise moved West in 1958.

That’s something Bonds couldn’t do. Or Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda. Mays was ill and missed the game, but McCovey and Cepeda were among those recognized on the field before the start.

This crew would instantly elevate to a higher celebrity status than many current Hall of Famers in San Francisco enjoy. An opportunity like that does not come along very often.

It was nice to see Barry back in the yard - back in the House that Barry built - and it would be really nice to see Willie back tonight.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-worldseries-maysmccovey

Willie Mays was sick and missed throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the World Series opener.

Mays was announced earlier Wednesday on a list of six Hall of Famers to throw out first pitches before Wednesday night’s game against the Texas Rangers.

With Mays absent, Orlando Cepeda, Monte Irvin, Juan Marichal, Willie McCovey and Gaylord Perry went on without the Say Hey Kid.

All that baseball talent and history, all but Monte Irvin a part of San Francisco Giants history, and not one Bay Area World Series title. There's just something not right about that. Maybe something the baseball gods are looking to rectify

Cain. At home, where he is generally a very, very lights out kind of individual.

Two to nothing heading to Texas would be ideal. In spite of the euphoria from last night, if the Rangers win tonight, they have done their job.

However, if the Giants do go up 2-0, I like our chances moving forward.

GO GIANTS!! Bring it home.

You-Ree-Bay does it again!!!.....Torture never felt so sweet!!!

Juan Uribe comes through for the Giagntes again. And in doing so he gives the network and the nation what could be billed as the 'Futility World Series'. Both franchises have long recent histories of NOT finalizing the dream. Of NOT getting this far. There are no Yankees or Red Sox here. Just a battle of the two League Championship underdogs. The Giants and the Rangers. HOW SWEET IT IS...

These are opportunities that do not come around very often in the life of a franchise. I understand the time-worn cliche that gets tossed around after a team's season has ended "Wait 'til next year". It's what you're supposed to say in that situation. The reality is, on this level, the wait tends to be measured in decades. We may just as well be saying "Wait 'til next decade".

Don't believe me? Since 1969 when the divisional format was put in place -- a total of 42 seasons -- The Giants have appeared in the Championship Series with an opportunity to play in the World Series a total of six times. A rate of once every seven years.

In 1971, they lost to the Pirates 3-1. As a twelve-year old fan, I listened to many of the games on the radio in school and then ran home to see the end of the game still in progress.

In 1987, the next appearance, sixteen years later, losing to the Cardinals 4-3.

In 1989, we beat the Cubs 4-1 to advance to the World Series.

In the 1990's, no appearances at all. Maybe to make up for the two appearance in the 1980's.

In 2002, the Giants beat the Cardinals 4-2 to advance to the World Series.

And now, 2010 they subdue the Phillies 4-2, to advance to the World Series once again. Perhaps the third time will be the charm.

But once every seven years, just to play for the opportunity to get to the World Series. Six chances in 42 seasons. Three World Series appearances now in the last 42 seasons. Oh-for-two so far. Again, perhaps the third time will be the charm.

GIANTS WORLD SERIES APPEARANCES

1962 vs. New York Yankees
1989 vs. Oakland A's
2002 vs. Anaheim Angels
2010 vs. Texas Rangers

I was just a little Bambino Giants fan in 1962 ( three years old ), so I have no real recollection of that series. However, it was within my lifetime. And my dad related how close the Giants came to winning that series, only to fall short. So just as I feel the spine tingling joy and elation whenever I see the immortal "Shot Heard 'Round the World", I feel the pain of that series in my heart.

So close. "Next year, we'll do it". Each year that our team is finally eliminated from contention, those words are the salve we rub on the wound to our heart. The wound just gets greater each year. And becomes harder to heal. The cumulative build up of pain and trauma from each passing year or decade of failure.

Yahoo Sports Steve Henson reviews the Giants painful World Series futility as follows:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sh-nlcsgamesix102310

Uribe draws strength from late cousin

The Giants have yet to win a World Series since moving to San Francisco from New York in 1958. They lost in seven games to the Yankees in 1962 when Willie McCovey’s line drive with two outs in the ninth inning of the finale found a glove instead of a gap. They lost in seven games in 2002 to the Angels, memorable for the Giants’ Game 6 collapse and manager Dusty Baker’s 3-year-old son getting whisked away from home plate by J.T. Snow(notes).

And they were swept by the Oakland Athletics in 1989, a World Series remembered mostly for the 7.1 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake that shook Candlestick Park moments before Game 3 was to begin. Jose Uribe was there, a singles hitter and slick fielder, a fan favorite and a lively presence in the clubhouse. A 10-year-old Juan Uribe watched on television.

What he also touched upon here and elaborated on further earlier in the story was the link between Juan Uribe and former Giants SS Jose Uribe, who died in 2006. I was not aware of the link between the two, although I wondered about it many times.

The great thing about the World Series is some of these rich, beautiful stories are allowed to come forward and flourish. On the national stage.

Uribe described his emotions throughout the game and the Series and it may in part answer the question as to how he is able to be such a clutch performer for these Giants.

(Jose) Uribe was the shortstop on the Giants’ 1989 World Series team and a cousin of current Giants infielder Juan Uribe before he died in a car crash in the family’s Dominican Republic hometown of Juan Baron in 2006. He taught Juan how to play baseball, taught Juan to love the Giants, and when Juan circled the bases Saturday night after hitting the eighth-inning home run that sent the Giants to another World Series, Jose was in his heart.

“God helped me a lot, and my (cousin) helped me a lot,” Juan Uribe said softly in a quiet corner of a raucous visiting locker room at Citizens Bank Park, his eyes red from emotion, his body soaked with bubbly. “I love him. He taught me everything. He’s with me today.

So there you go, Uribe flies into Giants lore on the wings of his cousin. I always knew he was clutch, now I know the rest of the story. (apologies to the late Paul Harvey)

Uribe produced the winning run twice in the National League Championship Series, and his opposite-field blast on a changeup by Ryan Madson(notes) took out the two-time defending NL champion Philadelphia Phillies once and for all, by a 3-2 score in Game 6. It was as close to a legendary “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!” moment this star-crossed franchise has had since Bobby Thomson’s Shot Heard Around the World in 1951.

So baseball fans nationally will not get the Yankees. They will not get the Phillies. And if perhaps they turn the channel away from this series en masse -- in anger over this being a seemingly less than marquee match-up -- they may miss one of the more competitive, evenly matched World Series in recent history. And one that will have some rather compelling story lines.

"We had such a diversity of contributions from everybody," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Not bad for a bunch of castoffs and misfits."

The Rangers clearly seem to have a more potent offense. The Giants will counter with their strengths, starting pitching and bullpen depth. Both teams fight hard and compete extremely well. The Rangers did not walk past the Rays and Yankees in succession without good reason. The fact is, they seemingly buzz-sawed right through both teams. Teams that I thought were pretty much 1-2 going into the playoffs.

So the Giants may be underdogs in this match-up as well. That's OK.

"We fought, we scratched and clawed," said Giants left fielder Pat Burrell, who won a championship ring with the Phillies in 2008. "I don't know how we did it but we did it."

Clearly, I think that's the situation they are most comfortable being in.

“Right now it’s heaven, but it was torture for that final strike,” Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff said.

From torture to heaven in one pitch. HOW ABOUT THAT?? That's baseball.

The San Francisco Giants and the Texas Rangers - 2010 World Series.
Now that's sweet.
PLAY BALL!!!

Uribe puts Giants one small step away

Uribe put the finishing stroke on the masterpiece, but in reality this is becoming a huge team effort. Cain dominates last night to put the Phillies behind the eight ball. Bumgarner pitches tough as nails early before giving way to the bullpen. Posey continues to show he is something more than your garden variety rookie catcher. Huff, Sanchez and now maybe even Kung Fu Panda are revitalized. The outfield rotation is providing just enough offense to win games.

One small step away, but it will take one Giant effort to get there.

I like our chances. I think the Phillies bringing Oswalt in to hold last night was almost a act of desperation, a borderline panic move. We'll see how that influences the Phillies tonight.

Our ace versus their ace. A fair fight, but I like our chances. Lincecum is just cool enough to pull it off.

And as good as the Phillies pitching is, I agree with what Eric Karros said last night - not so fast boys - the Phillies have to beat Lincecum, Sanchez and Cain in rapid succession. If they do it, I'll be the first to tip my cap to them and say good luck in the World Series.

But I like our chances better right now.

Win at home and split on the road and we're home free

The Giants cannot be dissatisfied with their work in Philadelphia. A split is about as good as you could hope for there. And if you defend your ground and take two of the next three at home, then all that needs to happen is you go back to Philadelphia only needing to split another two game set to advance.

Easier said than done, but that's what it comes down to at this point. Lincecum put the Philthees backs to the wall with his gem. Sanchez almost matches Oswalt before fading.

I like the match ups for SF. Cain vs. Hamels is a draw. Bumgarner vs. Blanton should favor the Giants. Then comes a Lincecum - Halliday rematch of heavyweights for the upper hand heading to Philly.

I can't see either team sweeping, so IMO it comes down to who takes two of three in Frisco.

Cody Ross continues his Cinderella post-season. I think he stays in SF next year and hopefully beyond. Burrell would be a good keep as well.

Perhaps Guillen, Rowand and Renteria should be looking for real estate agents ASAP.

Amazing that with all the Sabean back-slapping that nobody has mentioned that this may be the first team in recent memory to have it's TOP THREE players in terms of salary off the playoff roster or out of the lineup by choice of the team and not due to injury.

Zito $18.5M - Rowand $13.6M and Renteria $10M the TOP THREE - $42.1M of the team's total payroll of approx. $88M on the bench. ALMOST 50% of the payroll non-productive. Perhaps Sabean deserves a promotion to head up the Obama administration economic stimulus team or special advisor to Ben Bernanke's QE2 effort.

OK, OK. I'll say it, like a good little Giants fan - "If they make it to or win the World Series it's all worth it." But remember this, if they don't then -- much like the national debts effect on the economy -- this will considerably hamstring the Giants efforts to grow in the future.

Did I mention that DeRosa's $6M salary puts him in the 5th spot salary-wise behind Tim Linceum?

And that he has as many hits as I do in this post-season?

Oh, I have mentioned it in the past? Well good, because it bears repeating.

GO GIANTS!!!

Tim Lincecum - "Another One Bites the Dust"

Tim Lincecum "Another One Bites The Dust" Tribute Video Movie

Tim Lincecum "Another One Bites The Dust" Tribute Video Movie @ Yahoo! Video

Let's hope another one (the Phillies) bites the dust tonight.

Lincecum v. Halliday, need I say more?

The anticipation to this match-up is building to frothy levels. One of the most anticipated pitching match-ups in playoff history is how it is being billed.

They don't always match the build up, but the build up is merely to get eyeballs to the screen.

As far as pre-game build up, I liked the Gooden - Ryan 1986 match-up personally. The young gun versus the the older veteran. And it only made #7 on Fox's list:

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpps/sports/top-10-playoff-pitching-matchups-dpgonc-km-20101016_10141775

7. 1986 NLCS, Game 5 -- Dwight Gooden (Mets) vs. Nolan Ryan (Astros)

This taut encounter featured two of the blazing-est fastballs anyone’s ever seen. The game went 12 innings (pretty notable until you consider that Game 6 went 16 innings), and Gooden went 10 of them. Ryan, however, worked “merely” nine frames. Combined they struck out 16, walked three and gave up two runs. Ryan was more dominant on the day (12 of those 16 Ks and just two hits allowed), but Gooden’s Mets won the game and eventually the series.

This is a much better list, but only #1 and #2 were really built up to this level.

http://blogs.delawareonline.com/philledin/2010/10/16/best-pitching-matchups-of-the-postseason/

2. 2003 ALCS, Game 7: Pedro Martinez vs. Roger Clemens

I’m a huge Cubs fan, and I was still working off the hangover of the blown NLCS against Florida, but this matchup managed to convince me to watch baseball again despite my depression. And if misery loves company, this game provided me with many Boston fans to share my pain. The Red Sox touched Clemens for three runs in the third inning to bounce him from the game while Pedro was solid through six. And then came the seventh. And Grady Little. And Pedro stayed in the game. And Aaron F’ing Boone.

1. 2001 World Series, Game 7: Roger Clemens vs. Curt Schilling

Roger Clemens’ numbers in 2001: 20-3 with a 3.51 ERA and a Cy Young Award.
Curt Schilling’s numbers in 2001: 22-6 with a 2.98 ERA and finished second in Cy Young balloting.

Schilling was starting on short rest after allowing just one run in seven innings in Game 4. Clemens had won Game 3 after allowing just three hits in seven innings. But Game 7 was for a World Series title, and the two lived up to the hype. Clemens struck out 10 and allowed just one run in 6.1 innings. Schilling threw 103 pitches and allowed just two runs and six hits in 7.1 innings. Neither ended up figuring in the decision as the Diamondbacks finally found a chink in Mariano Rivera’s armor in the ninth, and Randy Johnson ended up collecting the win after 1.1 innings of relief.

In the Giants corner, Lincecum historically does well against the Phillies and Halliday, surprisingly struggles against the Gigantes. At least according to fangraphs.com review:

http://www.fangraphs.com/

If this were the mainstream media, it would be so easy to say something semi-resolute and catchy about this matchup. Tim Lincecum has a 3.17 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in seven career games against the Phillies. Roy Halladay has a 7.23 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in three games. OMGz! Don't count the Giants out! They have Halladay's number!

Hardly. Of course. Those numbers are career splits, and what do starts against other iterations of these lineups even mean? Diddly. And then, if we try to boil it down to splits in this season, we get one poor game for Halladay against the Giants (seven innings, ten hits, five runs, five strikeouts and no walks) and one excellent game for Lincecum (eight and a third innings, three hits, two runs, 11 strikeouts and one walk).

However, I concur with the authors citing of Grant's comment from The McCovey Chronicles as well.

"Every pitcher is Roy Halladay to the Giants. You know what kind of pitchers do well against the Giants? The ones with noses." - Grant, from the McCovey Chronicles in his post called "Sizing up the Phillies' starting rotation"

Here's hoping that the reality does not match the build up and the Giants strangely pile up enough early runs to drive Halliday from the mound. Lincecum gives six or seven strong innings and then hands it over to the bullpen and hope for the best.

I sensed a little bit of "fear of the moment" in Brian Wilson's eyes as he struggled to close out the series versus the Braves. If he goes all Robb Nen -- or worse, Armando Benitez -- on us, we are cooked.

GO GIANTS!!!

Roll them bones, Bennie

Fuel, food, health insurance and unemployment (9.6% stated, 17%+ actual) are rising
- the government stopped counting 7.5% "frustrated workers", Who wouldn't be frustrated?

Incomes and house prices are falling
- when housing prices decline, consumers "perceived wealth or wealth effect" declines
- currently 24% of homes and the consumers attached to them - are "underwater"

Social Security income frozen - no increase

Some 40M Americans live in poverty (14% of all Americans, 20% for children under 18) or on food stamps (the modern day soup kitchen) are rising

- According to the OECD, only two countries have higher poverty rates: Turkey and Mexico (congrats Amerika)

Taxes are rising on the federal, state and local levels

The Federal Reserve is openly stating that it wants to ignite inflation by devaluing the dollar
- in reality they are simply propping up insolvent banks
- when housing prices decline in value, banks balance sheets suffer
- currently 24% of homes and the consumers attached to them - are "underwater"

Herein lies part of the problem. The Fed looks to a price gauge that excludes food and fuel costs.

However, consumers make spending decisions based on rising and falling food and fuel costs.
So right off the bat, there is a disconnect. Consumers see inflation and act accordingly by tightening their belts.

The Fed doesn't see inflation, so it ignores it as part of the problem.

To consumers, Price of Consumer Goods are the measurement of inflation / deflation.
To The Fed and the banksters, Asset Prices are the measurement of inflation / deflation.

Bank lending strategies are driven by their outlook on the direction of asset prices because it affects loan coverage and default risks which influences their capital ratio requirements. Is asset prices deteriorate - default risk rises - capital ratio requirements rise - lending falls.

Rising assets are a win / win for both banks and consumers in that they increase banks ability to lend. But simply pushing more "potential" money out there does nothing on the surface to create the incentive for banks to lend more, businesses to hire more or consumer to spend more.

Each constituency waits for a move to be made by the other, so everyone stands frozen.

The Fed is trying to engineer consumer spending by making people "feel" wealthier by artificially driving up the value of their 401K while consumer see the value of their most precious wealth assets, their home, plummeting in value.

It's a con game by any measure. And the main thing consumers are not seeing is their incomes rising. Their can't be an increase in spending without an increase in income. The Fed is putting the cart before the horse trying to engineer inflation to induce spending? That's economic insanity.

Can you say vicious cycle?

Are we heading in the right direction or the wrong direction?

For consumers drowning in debts, with home prices plummeting it seems as if these guys are throwing nothing but lead-lined life preservers.

From Marketwatch.com
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumers-paying-off-debt-not-likely-2010-10-13?dist=afterbell

Today, Bernanke said that even with all the measures these guys are taking to save the banks and the financial system, nothing that he is doing will help unemployment in the short-term.

Let's review:
NO HELP FOR THE UNEMPLOYED
NO HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS
NO HELP FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
ALL THE HELP IN THE WORLD FOR THE BANKSTERS

Sure, this plan will work. Why wouldn't it? ;)

The Federal Reserve's first round of Quantitative Easing did ease interest rates, which in theory made house more affordable.

The continuing unemployment made the lower interest rates moot since people either can't afford or do not have enough confidence to make such a major purchase.

So the money stayed (where it still resides) on the banks balance sheet

They are papering over they myth of a recovery generated when FASB 157 was effectively gutted.

We went back on mark to market accounting and back to the fairy tale, believe in the tooth fairy myth of mark to fantasy accounting.

And now QE2 will reinforce that and give us more of the same myths when what we need is a dose of reality.

This quote from the NY Federal Reserve's Brian Sack:
- QE “adds to household wealth by keeping asset prices higher than they otherwise would be…”

WE WILL ALL FEEL WEALTHIER AND SPEND OURSELVES FURTHER INTO DEBT IF WE JUST ARTIFICIALLY INFLATE ASSET PRICES HIGHER THAN THEY WOULD BE IN REALITY. GREAT!!! AN ECONOMY BASED ON FAIRY TALES AND FANTASIES.

Of course, this is a Federal Reserve that has not received as much blame as I believe it serves for getting into the mess we are in through its incompetence.
- Fed policy under Greenspan and Bernake created the housing and credit bubbles we are dealing with today.
- The Fed missed the boat on sub-prime lending
- they were wrong on the spillover effect into the general economy
- they failed to see the recession coming
- they failed to see unemployment rising to these levels
- which led to the near total breakdown of the financial system

If you give people "free" money, don't be surprised when they "spend" it, until they discover the economic principle known as TINSTAAFL ("There is no such thing as a free lunch).

Given the Fed's track record, why should they be seen as prescient now?

Some people in the financial markets wonder if the Fed is "running out of bullets", I worry more about them continuing to fire their guns. The economy can't take much more of their "friendly fire".

Further injections of money into the system appear to be a foolish exercise given the results of the last $1 trillion injection of QE1. We need only look to Japan for a textbook example of how a zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) or "free-money" has largely failed to lift Japan's economy out of the mud for the better part of two decades.

One can hope that all this talk of QE may be posturing by the Fed ahead of the November G-20 in S. Korea on exchange rates. A high stakes game of poker between central bankers. Convincing China and other major exporters to accept an upward revaluation of their currencies will not be easy. The Fed may be trying to force these countries to make an adjustment. The risk of failure could result in a trade war.

We could easily transition from a currency war (devaluations, beggar-thy-neighbor policies) to a trade war (tarriffs/protectionist policies) to a military war (bombs/guns) . Wars have been fought for less in the past. This is a very high stakes game the Fed is playing and the pot just got very big.

The stock market of course cheers the "free" monopoly money the Feds provide much as a crack-whore cheers free crack from a drug dealer.
- we are in the throes of a stock market "bull rally". Some see this as a stock market "BS rally".

Time will tell who is right and who is wrong. The Fed can print money but it hasn't translated into jobs because banks aren't lending. And consumers are not willing or able to borrow. I can't blame either party for acting as the are currently. It seems like the Fed is sitting there, like the devil, encouraging both parties to continue their previous reckless ways when they know it would be wrong and harmful to do so.

I'm not sure how given the recent "Forclosure-gate" disclosures and how interrelated declining house prices are to the declining health and welfare of both banks and the consumer are, that another round of QE2 does nothing more than kick an already well-kicked can further down the road. We need a program that creates jobs, not one that brings a dollar that is already "worth less" closer to one that is "worthless".

Given some of the comments from other members of the Federal Reserve, it does not seem as if there is unanimity of opinion within the Fed on the wisdom of proceeding down this path. A few have openly questioned the direction Bernanke seems to want to take.

I found this quote from a from a former Fed-head rather telling:

From Bloomberg:
http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ayMiHOOvieuo

“It’s pretty much a crapshoot,” former Fed Governor Lyle Gramley, now senior economic adviser at Potomac Research group in Washington, said of using an inflation target to support prices. “We don’t really have any background of history to know how it’s going to work.” Still, “it’s worth trying.”

WOW!! We're risking our economic future, as well as that of our children and grand-children on a crapshoot? Are you kidding me?

And it seems as if we have a degenerate gambler running the Federal Reserve?

STOP THE INSANITY!!! The definition of which is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

The phrase I keep hearing people of all stripes saying is "This will not end well".