Major League Baseball

Gary Peterson: Stakes are high in San Francisco Giants lineup card game

Published Oct. 19, 2010 10:15 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The Giants' Game 3 lineup was the question, and manager Bruce Bochy knew the answer long before he sat down in front of a room full of reporters Monday afternoon.

He didn't reveal much. And he looked reasonably content for a man who didn't have many appealing options.

Juan Uribe?

"If he's good to go, he'll be out there," Bochy said of his swing-from-the-heart infielder.

Pablo Sandoval?

"This guy's been working hard and you're probably going to see him in the lineup," Bochy said.

It's a remarkable thing to watch a guy try to play poker with a 47-card deck. It's even more remarkable when that guy is managing a team three wins away from the World Series.

The Giants have come so far. In a game like, oh, the opener of this NLCS, it seems they have everything they need to go as far as they'd like. Tim Lincecum pitches lights-out -- or, at the least, lights-dimmed. Cody Ross runs into a couple fastballs. Airtight defense. Brian Wilson. What's not to love?

Then come games like, oh, Game 2. Jonathan Sanchez hiccups in the first and again in the seventh. Third baseman Mike Fontenot blows a throw and allows a harmless pop fly to drop untouched. Leadoff hitter Andres Torres strikes out four times on what seems like seven pitches. And you wonder what the heck they're doing here.

The Giants have won four of six games in a postseason few imagined them reaching on opening day. But the most recent was a stinker, and so there will be changes. An Uribe-Sandoval left side of the infield would figure to be an improvement over Edgar Renteria (who, frankly, looks like he's three strides past finished) and Fontenot (a member of the team's Interesting Pieces club who was never more than a stopgap starter).

That said, Uribe is 2 for 18 in the postseason, and Sandoval has swung at pretty much every pitch he's seen since Flag Day. Ideally, risk and reward are different flavors. In this case, they are shades of gray.

Aaron Rowand is an appealing departure from Torres because he's not Torres. And, it bears noting, Rowand led off the last time the Giants saw Cole Hamels, the Phillies starting pitcher they'll see today. It also bears noting that Torres earned the leadoff/center field spot this season because he wasn't Rowand.

There will be no messing with Freddy Sanchez, Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, Pat Burrell or (please stand and remove your hats) Ross. As for the order in which Bochy might write these names down on his lineup card, each combination comes with its own risks and rewards.

Or maybe it seems that way because Game 2 is still fresh in our minds. For what it's worth, it's still fresh in the mind of Freddy Sanchez as well.

"Nothing needed to be said," he said. "We know what we have to do as a team. We're doing what we can on offense. We need to try to get on base. When we get a base runner to third, try to get him in.

Fast fact: The Giants got two runners to third in Game 2 -- Ross, who was just passing through in the fifth, and Posey with two out in the ninth.

We don't mean to be unduly negative here, but it's difficult to imagine a postseason team that needs so many things to go right to look its best, yet so easily inspires images of the accidental tourist. The 1971 Giants may qualify. They were an old team without a 20-game winner (a conspicuous distinction in those days), or a .300 hitter. As a bonus, they finished last in the league in defense.

The 1973 Mets had to win nine of their final 11 games to finish three games above .500. They took the A's to the seventh game of the World Series.

The 1988 Dodgers were a banged-up team entering the World Series against the A's. They kept getting banged up. The starting lineup in their Series clincher looked like a waiver wire reunion.

So it's not out of the question that these Giants could perform the unthinkable.

That's right -- score two or more runs tonight.

Hey, even when dreaming big, it's important to take baby steps.

Contact Gary Peterson at gpeterson@bayareanewsgroup.com .

share

Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Major League Baseball