The money is on the "phavorite" here and the question truly is, do the Giants have a shot against the Phillies? If yes, then how? Well the answer is it's easier said than done but the Giants need to hang in there against the starters and hope to get into the Philly bullpen. The achilles heel for the Phils is their shaky bullpen led by Jose Contreras. Yes, you read correctly. Those who are not in the know have missed Contreras as the stablizing force for the Phils who even stepped in and closed games during one of Brad Lidge's disappearing acts.
Position by Position - does it really matter? There's no firepower in SF to match the right side of the Philly infield. SS is a virtual wash on both sides of the ball and 3B is virtually irrelevant to the argument. Defense is key and the Giants will not be afforded the luxury of Brooks Conrad in this series. The outfield is one that keeps me guessing, at least from the SF standpoint. They are loaded w/castoffs, some which have played over their head, but they all seem to contribute at the plate. OF defense, particularly Pat Burrell's (does anyone care about the story line of Pat the Bat returning to Philly? Maybe a little?) will be shaky but it's on par w/Raul Ibañez so there's a wash.
The focus is on the game 1 matchup of Halladay vs. Lincecum. It's hard to imagine either one replicating their first playoff start (no-hitter and two-hitter, respectively) but it is conceivable that these aces will take the bump deep into the game while being very stingy to the opposing team. The rest of the starting pitching is certainly noteworthy with the "other" Roy, Oswalt backing Halladay, followed by Hamels (2.23 ERA in the 2nd half!) Don't sleep on the Giants though, their starters can bring it. From Cain to Sanchez to rookie Madison Bumgarner the team is deep in their rotation.
The bullpens are iffy for both teams. Brian Wilson was so solid all season (led the league w/48 saves) and had a spotty NLDS to say the least. Wilson, however, is still more reliable than the aforementioned Brad Lidge, I think...If the starters falter, the focus will be on some middle men that have not been battle tested in October so that may come into play over the next week or so.
Lastly, the Phillies will likely run and test Buster Posey and the Giants' staff at holding them in place. The Giants are basically a station to station team and Carlos Ruiz is likely to not be tested too much behind the dish.
When it's all said and done, Philly takes this series in 5 games. My expectation is that Hamels will implode in game 3 and things will drag on for another game.
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