Resiliency is an attribute that can't be measured through
box scores and sabermetrics.
The San Francisco Giants are rich with it and that is why they seem destined
to claim their second World Series title in three years.
In fact, don't count out the Giants should they fall behind in the upcoming
Fall Classic against the Detroit Tigers. For them, the series will just be
getting started.
Much like a St. Louis Cardinals team that won it all in 2011, San Francisco
just doesn't give up. That came full circle when the Giants ousted those same
Cardinals in the National League Championship Series despite trailing 3-1 in
the series.
By winning the final three games of the set, the Giants extended their string
of victories in elimination games to six in a row after also rebounding from a
2-0 series hole to the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Division Series.
The six wins with their backs against the wall matched a record set by the
1985 Kansas City Royals.
"I'm still numb," San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said after his club's 9-0
home win in Game 7. "How many times we faced that, and it was -- this team --
these guys deserve all the credit. They were determined not to go home. They
had that never say die attitude."
That attitude stems from an offense that is much deeper than the lineup that
won it all in 2010 thanks to the additions of Marco Scutaro and Hunter Pence
during the season. New faces like Angel Pagan and Brandon Belt have also
helped, as have returning stars like Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval.
The Giants certainly put the pressure on the Cardinals' pitching in the NLCS.
They took plenty of extra bases while hitting .261 in the set, logging 10
doubles, three triples and five homers while driving in 31 runs.
Every postseason, a player comes out of nowhere to shine and that was
certainly Scutaro against the Cards. In winning MVP honors for the series, the
36-year-old hit .500 thanks to an LCS-record 14 hits. It matched a mark held
by some other clutch players, including Albert Pujols, Hideki Matsui and Kevin
Youkilis.
Acquired from the Colorado Rockies on July 27, Scutaro also set an LCS record
with six multi-hit games and drove in four runs while scoring another six. His
motivation stemmed from a late and hard take-out slide by St. Louis' Matt
Holliday in Game 2.
"I knew he was a good player. But to see him day in, day out, you really
appreciate the talent that this guy has," Bochy said of Scutaro. "I don't know
if it was possible for him to raise his game, that's how well he's played, his
level. But he did, after that slide. And he was just determined to get to the
World Series. He led us there."
The Giants will have home-field advantage for the World Series, meaning the
Tigers will be without the designated hitter for as many as four games. That
gives San Francisco an edge after its starters made themselves tough outs when
faced with elimination.
Matt Cain drove in a second-inning run in Game 7, following RBI efforts by
Barry Zito and Ryan Vogelsong in the previous two contests. According to the
Elias Sports Bureau, they became the first trio of pitching teammates to drive
in a run in three straight postseason elimination games in major league
history.
"I think to win a championship it takes more than 25 guys," noted Scutaro. "It
takes from the front office all the way to the bat boy, and you have to have
that chemistry going."
But what about what those guys can do on the mound?
Yes, it will be a while before the Giants can use Cain, who won Game 7 and
allowed just three runs over 12 1/3 innings in two NLCS starts. And Bochy will
have to give the ball to Tim Lincecum at some point in this series despite his
horrid regular season and more struggles in Game 4 of the NLCS (4 runs, 6
hits, 3 walks in 4 2/3 innings) in his only postseason start so far.
But Lincecum has shown some flashes of his former Cy Young-winning form this
year and may only have to do it once in this series to help secure another
championship.
Throw in excellent postseason performances so far from Vogelsong (2-0, 1.42
ERA, 18 strikeouts in 19 innings) and Zito (1-0, 1.74 ERA) and the staff is
more than capable of competing with Detroit's Justin Verlander-led rotation.
And the Tigers' arms won't have a cakewalk themselves with Pagan and Scutaro
setting the table for the likes of Posey, Sandoval, Hunter and Belt.
Mix in a solid bullpen of Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt and
Javier Lopez -- a quartet who all feature earned run averages under 1.60 this
postseason -- to a confident roster and you have all the makings of another
World Series-winning team in San Francisco.
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