Can you pick out which pitch is the Ishikawa strikeout? Link He's a LHH.

When I see that, it angers me that players can be tossed for arguing balls and strikes.

Long time Giants fan.  I've been enjoying this post season very much.  Four more wins to go.  Man that bottom of the 9th was nerve wracking tonight.  Good thing it wasn't game 7.

It will be interesting to see how the G Men set up their rotation.  Lincecum, Bumgarner and Sanchez all pitched today.  Cain hasn't pitched since Tuesday, so they might go with him in game 1.  Bumgarner had huge home/road splits - way better on the road, and he has been starting 4th in the post season so far, so that works out well for them.  I might be tempted to go Cain, Sanchez, Lincecum, Bumgarner, which sets up Lincecum for game 7, and which splits the lefties and righties.

My instinctive answer was "Texas" but then when i mulled it a bit, i couldn't come up with a specific reason why i prefered them over the Giants.

Ulitimately, my second favorite team - the Non-Yankees - are going to win and that's all that matters to me.

Bengie Molina was one happy dude tonight. BLING!

Rooting for the Rangers. Nobody I particularly like on the Giants.

I would love a 7 game series, maybe even some extra innings games. I hope for Texas.

Blah. I resent the GIants' presence in the World Series. They're lineup is...not good? Do I really have to watch Andres Torres, Freddy Sanchez, Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey (okay he is really exciting to watch), Pat Burell, Cody Ross, Juan Uribe, and Edgar Renteria/Kung Fu Panda? I'm sure someone here can tell me of a worse World Series lineup, but I don't know one. And they're playing well enough right now, unfortunately.
I guess watching the Giants' pitching is exciting, but no one can accuse the Phillies of a lack of exciting pitching.
Oh well, "That's why they play the games."

I'm with Ishai.  Pretty much exactly how I feel.  So much so that I felt emotionally invested in the Phillies last night.  (I'm back to hating them now, which feels right.)  But why not make it a contest - name a worse starting nine to appear in a WS.  If this Giants lineup were the Blue Jays, Bauxites would be moaning about the 7 or 8 "black holes" in the lineup.

1988 Dodgers line up was certainly worse than the current Giants lineup.

I usually like to root for the AL team, but it is difficult to cheer for a team that went into bankruptcy and had to be kept afloat by the rest of MLB.

thank god I don't live in las vegas cause I would have bet my last dollar that ryan howard gets a hit in the bottom of the ninth with two men on.  I was thinking double or homer.  was anyone else thinking this?

as for the series I suppose I still want texas to win and cliff lee to win mvp.  how about a walk-off homer for guerrerro too -- and some kind of cool double steal that results in a run. 

If this Giants lineup were the Blue Jays, Bauxites would be moaning about the 7 or 8 "black holes" in the lineup.

Setting aside the quality of opposition pitching, Toronto's offense was better than league average by 0.2 runs per game, in a park with a factor of 105 (per BB-ref). SF's offense was 0.03 runs per game lower than league average in a park with a factor of 98. Examining the team numbers in aggregate, and without accounting for league, their offenses look more similar than one might think at first blush.

None of this is to say that the Giant lineup doesn't look out of place contending for a World Series title. It definitely does. Serendipity has seemed to have played a ridiculously large role in the offense even being as middling as it is. Pat Burrell's resurrection... Aubrey Huff returning to his peak level...Cody Ross (really, Cody Ross?)... Andres Torres' lack of familiarity with the aging curve... And this is a team with $30M of its $96M payroll devoted to Zito and Rowand. Ah, Sabean's magic.

These are the two teams I wanted to see in The Series all along, and I don't care much who wins in the end.  Now we'll hear how the US TV network has lower ratings because the northeast teams didn't make it.  Am I supposed to care about that?

I was in Lefty O'Doul's bar in SF to see the Giants finish off the Braves and that was fun, so I'll think about those folks if the Giants keep winning.

Refreshing to have SF and Texas in the WS. I'm happy the Yankees aren't in it.

I'm rooting for Texas, but I have a lot of respect for SF. I think Texas will win it in 6 through a combination of Lee, good-enough pitching (apart from Lee), and a strong offense that will eventually break through against SF's excellent arms.

I'm happy the Yankees aren't in it.

Me, too, emotionally - I hate a team that throws money, with dollars twice or three times as big as everyone else's, to fill every hole it has each winter.  I would be much happier with the NFL distribution of revenues.

But I do worry about what the Mop and Pail had to say yesterday about any time the Yankees do not make the WS, it becomes even more likely that they will throw more money at their gaps next year.  If they can't have Cliff Lee (the nerve of him to believe that that is his decision to make), then they will go after Greinke, or maybe they will go after both!!

It would be a lot easier if Cashman (how aptly named) was not around - he actually spends gobs of their money very smartly most of the time.

One reason for hope is that when they have longstanding relationships between their fans and their players, it is harder for them to send them packing.  For example, it is possible that they will keep Jeter, Posada, Rivera, and Pettite in their lead roles, well after their best before date.  Having said that, Rivera and Pettite continue to overcome Father Time with amazing facility.

My other reason for hope is named AA.  I can't wait to see what he does in this postseason.

then they will go after Greinke

I believe Greinke has a limited no-trade clause, and the Yankees are one of the team's he will not accept a trade to.

 

 Greinke has always been a headcase and could never handle the NY fans

 

but it is difficult to cheer for a team that went into bankruptcy and had to be kept afloat by the rest of MLB.

Hicks didn't go into bankruptcy because the Stars, Rangers and Scousers were money-losing entities.  He financed them to the tits to cover his other acquisitions and when the economy went sour, he was forced to sell the profitable entities to pay the creditors.

Greinke has always been a headcase

That's a very charitable position to take towards someone afflicted with a genuine mental disorder.

...as opposed to someone who might be the next mayor of Toronto. :)

Speaking of which, a Hall of Names search for the remaining candidates by initials gives some useful comps for voting purposes: Robert Fick, Gary Sheffield and Jon Papelbon. 

I know nothing of y'all's local politicking,  but the comps tell me that you have a guy who never really panned out to high expectations,  a controversial heavy hitter with genuinely questionable attitude issues (and relatives who are spotlight hogs) and a shut-down guy who really can't be beat late in the race, if it gets to that point.

Close, Mick.  Robert Fick was described by Coach as Robert F*ck after this incident; Gary Sheffield had anger and drug issues while Papelbon is not the most pleasant ballplayer either.  At least Sheffield and Papelbon actually did contribute something on the field.  Our mayoralty contest has been widely described in the news media as the worst in living memory...

Since I'm in the Bay Area, and have no reasons to cheer for Texas (other than that I have some friends in DFW & Austin), I'll just default to the Giants to keep my father-in-law happy :-)