On paper, this has all the makings of a classic. I hope both of these guys have their best stuff tonight.
Who you got and why?
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Tough to bet against the snot rocket in October!
My take*
MadBum is among the all time greats in the postseason. Thor not looking great at home of late. So I like the Giants.
That said, G-men have no bullpen, their offense is anemic, and MadBum has been susceptible to the long ball this year, so if the Giants can't get an early lead they will be in trouble. They don't want to be in the situation the other Orange and Black found themselves in last night.
In the end I'm thinking 4-2 SFG.
*I'm a Giants fan so take with a grain of salt.
Mets all the way. Hoping for a great game though.
This one is an absolute toss up. Both teams seemed to have found a way to be bad this year (often).
MadBum is 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA @ Citi Field.
Like the Giants in this one (isn't it an even year?)
Obviously, I could be wrong as I have been many, many times before but I think Thor and gang get it done tonight.
Thought MadBum was going to get it down with the bat earlier. Gonna be a good game. Thor has been throwing darts.
Mad but, southpaw king of the post season.
MADBUM....shut out!
TPM posted:MADBUM....shut out!
Yep - not surprised!
that was some great pitching on both sides
MAM posted:that was some great pitching on both sides
Agreed! Postseason baseball is awesome.
I thought the interview after the game was almost as good as the game. Buster Olney asked Madison what he wants his legacy to be? His answer wouldn't surprise anyone that knows him. "Man, why you asking me all these tough questions?" You gotta love it!!!
Cubs are going to have their hands full. It is all about getting hot at the right time and the Giants are heating up.
Madbum throwing 120 pitches can't be good and may rear it's ugly head later. Cubs in 4 because I can see Madbum beating them in Game 3 but with another classic between him and Arrieta.
Although I was rootng for my father's Mets I'll concede Bumgarner is just awesome and untouchable.
coach2709 posted:Madbum throwing 120 pitches can't be good and may rear it's ugly head later. Cubs in 4 because I can see Madbum beating them in Game 3 but with another classic between him and Arrieta.
Thats like 90 pitches for someone else. He is a beast.
Pitching was a wash between MadBum and Thor. The difference was the plate discipline and approach prior to the 4th inning. While Thor was throwing bullets and striking people out, but he had to throw a lot of pitches. MadBum was cruising until the 4th inning and then the Mets made him throw more pitches. The difference was the number of pitches thrown in the first 3 innings for MadBum...that gave him the boost he needed to last until the 9th. If Thor had been able to keep stride with MadBum it would have come down to the relievers, and then it is anybody's game. The Mets never got the chance.
TPM posted:coach2709 posted:Madbum throwing 120 pitches can't be good and may rear it's ugly head later. Cubs in 4 because I can see Madbum beating them in Game 3 but with another classic between him and Arrieta.
Thats like 90 pitches for someone else. He is a beast.
Totally agree he's a beast but the Cubs typically make pitchers work. It won't be the 3rd or 4th inning before they start making him work. He's also thrown the most innings this year of his career (nothing astronomical high) but that stuff adds up. He's a phenomenal pitcher and I wouldn't be surprised if he shuts the Cubs down. Going to be a great series.
coach2709 posted:TPM posted:coach2709 posted:Madbum throwing 120 pitches can't be good and may rear it's ugly head later. Cubs in 4 because I can see Madbum beating them in Game 3 but with another classic between him and Arrieta.
Thats like 90 pitches for someone else. He is a beast.
Totally agree he's a beast but the Cubs typically make pitchers work. It won't be the 3rd or 4th inning before they start making him work. He's also thrown the most innings this year of his career (nothing astronomical high) but that stuff adds up. He's a phenomenal pitcher and I wouldn't be surprised if he shuts the Cubs down. Going to be a great series.
The question is who will Joe Maddon designate as the official pitch counter (can't be in the dugout), and who will ensure he gets 4 days rest? MaxPreps?
Madison Bumgarner is a complete stud!!! Yes I am a Giants fan ( due mainly to Buster ), but the guy is just incredible, especially in the post season. I think I saw a stat last night that he has thrown the most scoreless innings in a do or die game than any other pitcher in history. Kershaw is my personal favorite, but with one game on the line, there is NO other pitcher I would rather have the ball than Bumgarner.
younggun posted:Madison Bumgarner is a complete stud!!! Yes I am a Giants fan ( due mainly to Buster ), but the guy is just incredible, especially in the post season. I think I saw a stat last night that he has thrown the most scoreless innings in a do or die game than any other pitcher in history. Kershaw is my personal favorite, but with one game on the line, there is NO other pitcher I would rather have the ball than Bumgarner.
Agreed!
To me a turning point was when Mets couldn't score lead off double. Bring in a PH then for Bruce to lay down a bunt (most of their pitchers are Ok hitters who have shown ability. Rosters are expanded too). Game had all the makings for a close one run game.
Conner caught the pitchers mistake and made him pay.
I am a NL fan so may the best team win. I thought it would be the year of the Cubs but Giants are just excellent at getting hot at the right time.
I am starting to believe this 'even year mojo' with the Giants.
2012 champs
2014 champs
2016?????? (I'm rooting for the long suffering of Cub's fans to end)
The good news for the Giants: They won and continue.
The bad news: Bumgarner only gets one start against the Cubs.
I cant see the Giants beating the Cubs unless Bumgarner beats them twice.
Didn't pickup why Syndergaard wasn't allowed to finish. But the Mets without Wright and Harvey probably couldn't make it much further.
Thor coming off of DL. Cant let him go further than that.
He was awesome. Would have loved to have seen Harvey pitching. Next year maybe. Time to root for my AL. Go Rangers.
hshuler posted:I am starting to believe this 'even year mojo' with the Giants.
2012 champs
2014 champs
2016?????? (I'm rooting for the long suffering of Cub's fans to end)
Not that it's too big of a deal, but don't forget 2010 champs as well. Just sayin
younggun posted:hshuler posted:I am starting to believe this 'even year mojo' with the Giants.
2012 champs
2014 champs
2016?????? (I'm rooting for the long suffering of Cub's fans to end)
Not that it's too big of a deal, but don't forget 2010 champs as well. Just sayin
You know its stuff like this that motivates players. They become a part of history.
younggun posted:hshuler posted:I am starting to believe this 'even year mojo' with the Giants.
2012 champs
2014 champs
2016?????? (I'm rooting for the long suffering of Cub's fans to end)
Not that it's too big of a deal, but don't forget 2010 champs as well. Just sayin
My bad. Being a world champ is kind of a big deal. LoL
I'm not really a Giants fan, despite living there for over 30 years. But Madison Bumgarner is my favorite MLB pitcher to watch and he along with Bochy give me reasons to root for them.
hshuler posted:younggun posted:hshuler posted:I am starting to believe this 'even year mojo' with the Giants.
2012 champs
2014 champs
2016?????? (I'm rooting for the long suffering of Cub's fans to end)
Not that it's too big of a deal, but don't forget 2010 champs as well. Just sayin
My bad. Being a world champ is kind of a big deal. LoL
I was just saying no big deal that you left one out. HaHa
I completely recognize why this game was, and is, viewed as Thor vs Bum.
Each threw a gem. With pitch count clearly playing an important part in why Bumgarner went 9 with 119 pitches and Syndergaard out after 7 with 107 pitches, I think the Posey factor plays a pretty important role.
Behind the plate, Buster is so quiet in terms of body motion and catching and framing. Personally, I think he helps his pitchers.
On the other side, there were a number of Syndergaard pitches which were strikes, but called balls. Initially, I tended, at first, to think it was the umpire. However, there was one pitch which was about thigh high in the middle of the plate and it was also called a ball...when the Mets' catcher moved up and the ball struck the glove and bounced behind him.
From that point, I watched the Mets' catcher very carefully and noted his movements were anything but quiet, and often times he moved in ways which blocked, or at least impacted, the view of the umpire. Many of those pitches were called balls, and certainly drove up the pitch count to some extent. This is not to say Syndergaard is easy to catch by any means with that type of velocity and movement.
Bumgarner has been incredible, especially in post season games since he first pitched in one at age 20 in 2010.
Locally, the Conor Gillaspie story is wonderful. A former 1st round supplemental pick by the Giants, he was released by the Angels one year ago yesterday. Signs to return to the Giants on a Minor league contract and does not make the team for opening day. Gets called up in April and struggles some most of the season and then playing time goes to almost nothing when they acquire Nunez in July.
The only reason he plays last night is Nunez strained his hamstring in the second to last regular season series and was not active. On his Tuesday radio show, Duane Kuiper talked about Gillaspie swinging the bat better than any Giant since taking over for Nunez. Gillaspie got major positive press from Buster after the game, which was not Gillaspie's story up to this year (apparently known as a loner and more a "me first" type...by his own admission.). In the post game, he honestly admits he felt over-matched by Syndergaard, in ways he had never felt before in baseball.
Since the first WS in 2010, the Giants have turned over nearly their entire roster, but for 2 mainstays. Bumgarner and Posey on one side seem to bring out the best in a Gillaspie, to follow Theriot, Morse, Scutaro, Ishakawa, Ross and some others.
The Giants are going to have to pitch and play exceedingly well against the Cubs.
I noticed the Mets catcher as well. On those strikes that were called balls... Mets P's were missing the intended spots but still throwing pitches that were technically strikes. Rivera would move his glove and body aggressively to catch the "miss" and continue to carry the ball out of the zone after catch. Plate ump almost had no choice but to call them balls. He would have looked bad if he called the pitch a strike and the catcher looked like he had to go out of his way just to catch the ball. Still, that one pitch you refer to was right down the middle.
This had me thinking more about the thread here discussing potential use of an electronic strike zone.
infielddad - I can tell you that I saw Gillaspie play in the Northwest League just after being drafted in 2008. Although drafted in the first round, he looked absolutely terrible at the plate. In fact, I can remember the game announcer for one of the teams up there saying that the scouts were uniformly unimpressed.
He's come a long way and last night had to be the epitome of satisfaction for him.
BTW, got to see his younger brother, Casey, this summer playing for the Durham Bulls. Had a pretty good year.