Giants pitching made the difference
Once the San Francisco Giants put the Barry Bonds era behind them and started to focus on building a foundation from within — instead of losing draft choices for signing aged free agents — general manager Brian Sabean and his staff were able to focus on what they do best: finding and developing strong-armed talent.
The payoff for the patience came Monday night.
The Giants finished off the Texas Rangers in five games to claim the World Series, ending a drought that dated back to 1954 when they still made their home in the Polo Grounds of New York.
"We had our share of skeletons in San Francisco and these guys buried them," said Will Clark, a first baseman for the 1989 Giants team that was swept by Oakland in the earthquake-interrupted World Series.
A team with a lineup filled with question marks had all the necessary answers in a pitching staff built around former first-round picks Matt Cain (2002), Tim Lincecum (2006) and Madison Bumgarner (2007) and handled so deftly by catcher Buster Posey, the team’s No. 1 pick in 2008.
"We thought they were going to be good and the big thing is they actually were this time," said former big-league pitcher Dick Tidrow, Giants vice president of player personnel. "When you look at those kind of arms … and to have them all develop at the same time … it’s, well, it’s special."
How special?
Consider that two-time defending NL Cy Young award winner Lincecum put the final touches on what pundits proclaimed a disappointing season by beating the Rangers not once, but twice, in the World Series (Games 1 and 5) to become the 15th pitcher in major league history to win four games in a postseason. And both times he beat Cliff Lee, who was unbeaten in his seven previous postseason decisions.
"They were talking about Cliff Lee and what he’s done (in the postseason)," said Clark. "Well, Cliff Lee got outpitched, again."
Lincecum did save his best for last. In a 3-1 victory against the Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, he worked eight innings, allowing two singles and a Nelson Cruz home run that came with one out in the seventh. He threw only 30 balls among his 101 pitches, walking one and striking out 10.
"This was a privilege to pitch once, much less twice, in the World Series, on this stage and against someone like Cliff Lee," said Lincecum.
Oh, there were offensive heroes too.
Shortstop Edgar Renteria, was the World Series MVP thanks to his three-run home run off Lee in Game 5 as an encore to his homer off C.J. Wilson that broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning of Game 2, in which he also singled home the game’s second run in the seventh inning of what became a 9-0 victory.
"It seemed like we always had someone different stepping up, and coming through with a big hit," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy.
But then with the type of pitching the Giants featured, games were never out of hand, and so any hit most likely would become a clutch hit.
"These guys showed what pitching does for you in this game," said Clark.
Remember, the Giants only ranked 17th in the major leagues in runs scored during the regular season. Their pitching staff, however, had a major-league-leading 3.36 ERA. And it wasn’t a one-trick pony. They ranked second in the majors in both bullpen ERA and rotation ERA.
They strong-armed their way through the postseason.
They disposed of Atlanta in four games in the best-of-five NL Division Series. They stunned highly-favored Philadelphia and the Phillies' noted rotation of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels in six games of the best-of-seven NLCS.
And then they stumped a Texas ballclub that led the majors in scoring during the regular season in five games in the World Series, shutting them out in both Games 2 and 4, then shutting them down one last time in Game 5.
"There’s no question what our pitching staff did for us," said Bochy. "We knew we were not going to slug it out with other teams, but we knew we didn’t have to. We knew if we would make the plays and get a big hit our pitchers were going to give us an opportunity to win."
And the Giants won. In claiming the NL West title, they played more games (115) decided by three or fewer runs than any other team in the majors and had more success (63-52) in those games than any team in baseball. They limited the opposition to a best-in-baseball .216 average with runners in scoring position.
They added to the legacy in the postseason.
The first team to have a home-grown four-man postseason rotation — Lincecum, Cain, Bumgarner and Jonathan Sanchez — since the 1986 Boston Red Sox, Giants starters compiled a 2.38 World Series ERA.
The Giants' pitchers limited the Rangers to a .190 World Series batting average, three-hitting them twice.
The Giants became the third team in history to have four postseason shutouts, joining the 1998 New York Yankees and 1905 New York Giants.
They became the 17th team to have at least two shutouts in the World Series, the first since the 1996 Baltimore Orioles shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers three times. And with the 4-0 win in Game 4 on Sunday the Giants handed the Rangers only their second shutout of the season at home.
"You look at the pitching," said Bochy. "We had to beat Lee twice. I’m sure a lot of people didn’t think that was going to happen. But you know, because of our pitching, that gave us a chance."
And the Giants took advantage of the opportunity.