MKRob Sports

By Brandon Taylor

This has the makings of a great World Series. The first thing that jumps out to me is you have a classic matchup of great hitting vs great pitching. It’s going to be fun to see the dynamic duo of Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain try to slow down the monsters in that Texas lineup. This World Series has a lot of storylines and questions.

The pitching is going to be interesting because I’m not sure about the 3^rd guy for either team. Texas’s CJ Wilson did not have a good ALCS. During the regular season, Wilson led the American League in walks. That lack of control began to resurface during the ALCS. Look for Giants hitters to work the count against Wilson and see if his control becomes a problem again.

The Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez led the National League in walks during the regular season. He almost became unglued during Game 6 of the NLCS, hitting Chase Utley and almost starting a bench clearing brawl. That’s not a good sign for the Giants if Sanchez is close to becoming wild again. He needs to stay focused. If he can’t get it together, then Madison Bumgarner becomes very important. It’s tough to put high expectations on a rookie pitcher, especially one facing a lineup like Texas. I also have questions about each team’s bullpen.

Neither team has that automatic, dominant eight inning setup man. Texas uses Darren Oliver and Darren O’Day in clutch situations, but both of those guys have been beaten this postseason. Neftali Feliz may have to work the eighth and ninth innings to get saves, and as good as Feliz is, I don’t think manager Ron Washington has complete trust in the kid.

The Giants’ bullpen is better, only because they have a couple of lefties that can try to get Josh Hamilton out, but the way Hamilton is swinging the bat, it probably won’t help that much. If Nelson Cruz is up in a tight situation in the eighth, the Giants are probably going to bring closer Brian Wilson in, meaning more work for him.

The Giants offense will be a key as well. Texas definitely has the superior lineup, so San Francisco should feel some pressure. Can NLCS MVP Cody Ross stay on a tear? And who’s going to help him out? None of the Giants run producers are really hitting well right now besides Ross, so San Francisco needs big series from Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, and Pat Burrell.

The X- factor is Pablo Sandoval. The Giants should get a lift having home field advantage, courtesy of the National League breaking their long All Star-Game drought this year. In the end, Texas has too much offense and if they hit, especially Vlad Guerrero, they are going to win in six. If the bats go into droughts, San Francisco can win.