The Year of the Pitcher may well turn into the year of the underdog, with the lowly, no-acount, we-can’t-hit-worth-a-damn San Francisco Giants slaying the pound-em-out hit-heavy Texas Rangers. Really. It could happen. But don’t tell San Francisco Giants fans. McCovey Chronicles is emblamatic of how the team’s followers feel: they can’t quite believe their good fortune, remain puzzled about how a team with three top pitchers (and not a whole lot else) can be playing for all of baseball’s marbles and reminisce about all those San Francisco might-have-beens. The 2000 version of the Giants (who did not get beyond the NLDS), and the 2002 contenders for the title, were far better teams than the 2010 McCoveys (these fans contend) because the current Giants lack the big bat that would make a World Series win a lock. “That 2000 team…man. They were stacked,” McCovey Chronicles notes. True. But they didn’t win the Series.

Back in 2000, J.T. Snow, Jeff Kent, Rich Aurelia, Bill Mueller and (oh yes) Barry Bonds were a near-cinch to lead San Francisco to the promised land. But it didn’t happen (not even close). And the reason it didn’t happen wasn’t because the Giants didn’t have hitting, it’s because the front three of Livan Hernandez, Russ Ortiz and Shawn Estes couldn’t compete with the New York Valentines, who were led into the NLDS by Mike Hampton, Al Leiter, Bobby Jones, Glendon Rusch and a bullpen spearheaded by Armando Benitez — the class of baseball’s closers. The Apples outfield looked mediocre (Derek Bell, Jay Payton and Benny Agbayani — for God’s sake), their infield was filled with holes and, much like the 2010 version of the McCoveys, everyone wondered where the Mets were going to get their runs. They didn’t need to. Even the Mets’ mid-rotation pitchers were better than the Giants’ hitters. In game four of the NLDS (just as an example), Bobby Jones bested the Giants’ line-up, holding the McCoveys to (count ‘em) one hit. Barry Bonds was .176 for the series. The Giants went home and the Mets went on to eat the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS.

The temptation here is to compare the 2010 Giants with the 2000 Mets, though comparisons of one team with another in different years is always chancy. Yet, for fans of the McCoveys to reminisce about that “stacked” 2000 team misses the point — their pitching was very average. If that. The 2010 version of the San Francisco Giants is totally different: they are pitching dependent, counting on runs from a handful of slap-and-tickle vets like Andres Torres, Edgar Rentaria and Juan Uribe (the absolutely key Juan Uribe), a couple of bench veterans (Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Rowand) and a rookie whiz (Buster Posey). But forget that. Here’s the true comparison. In 2000, the Valentines rode into the World Series against the Yankees on the strength of their arms: and hit a buzz saw. Why? Because the Empire’s arms (Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Orlando Hernandez) were damn near unbeatable. So ignore the hitters, and consider this: the 2010 Giants are “stacked” with pitching — and boast the best front three (Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez) in the post-season since the 2000 Yankees made the Mets look silly. Don’t kid yourself. It’s still the year of the pitcher.

The pitching of Colby Lewis and the hitting of Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz powered the Texas Rangers to a 6-1 ALCS triumph over the New York Yankees — sending the Arlington Nine to their first-ever world series. Lewis was nearly flawless in eight innings of work, giving up just three hits in eight innings, while striking out seven. A Vlad Guerrero double and Nelson Cruz home run accounted for five of the six Rangers’ runs. Josh Hamilton, who went 7 for 20 in the series, won the ALCS MVP award. Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter summed up the problems the Empire had in defeating the Rangers: “They overall played better,” he said. “They pitched better, they hit better, they just outplayed us. That’s just the bottom line. They were a lot better than us these six games.” The Rangers’ clinching win was emblamatic of the Yankees’ problems: the New Yorkers were shut down by Rangers’ pitching, going 8 for 53 with runners in scoring position in the six game series.

The Rangers, built for the post season by G.M. Jon Daniels, are much like the patched together San Francisco Giants — picked to contend in the A.L. West, Daniels traded for and signed a mix of down-and-out pitchers (Lewis came from Japan) and on-their-last-legs hitters (Guerrero was cut loose from the Angels). But the key to the Rangers success was the mid-season trade for fireballer Cliff Lee, who arrived from Seattle in a trade for four Rangers minor leaguers, including uber prospect Justin Smoak. The recriminations have already started in New York, with Yankee G.M. Brian Cashman taking the blame for his failure to land Lee, whom New York writers cite as the one obstacle that stood between the Yankees and their 28th world championship. Texas will start Lee on Wednesday against the winner of the Philadelphia-San Francisco series.

Can The Giants Beat Roy Oswalt? One of the more memorable games of the Nationals’ 2010 campaign took place back in May in Houston — when the Nationals faced-off against the Astros during an early season road trip. While the Nationals were playing well, there were signs the team was beginning to struggle: the Anacostia Nine had just dropped two of three to the Friars, after dropping two of three in San Francisco. Nationals’ hitters were desperate to get their bats going. Ironically, it was Roy Oswalt who gave them the opportunity. In one of the more lopsided wins of their disappointing season, the Nats plated 14 runs against the ‘Stros, while lighting up Oswalt, who was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes. Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn were the heroes, accounting for eight RBIs in the victory. But the key to the triumph was Oswalt’s in-game implosion, the result of a tight strike zone. The lesson seems obvious: to beat Oswalt you have to get to him early — which will be a challenge for the light hitting San Francisco line-up.

Texas lefty Cliff Lee should know: Washington is a great place to settle down and raise your kids, a wonderful city filled with monuments and parks and good restaurants. As for the high cost of living, the Lerners should be able to take care of that. While free agency is still a long ways off, on Monday night in New York, Cliff Lee showed why he’s not only the premier free agent pitcher for 2011, but the best southpaw in baseball. In eight innings of work, Lee gave up just two hits, struck out 13 and held the Yankees scoreless over eight innings in hurling the Texas Rangers into a 2-1 game lead in the ALCS. “Awesome,” Texas outfielder Nelson Cruz said. “It’s unbelievable … he’s pitching at the highest level possible.” Lee threw 122 pitches, 82 of them for strikes, in taming the Yankee line-up. This was no fluke — Lee struck out Derek Jeter three times and Mark Teixeira twice and was so dominating that Rangers’ hitters were almost a sidelight. Still, the Rangers accounted for eight runs in routing the Empire, as Josh Hamilton (2-5, two RBIs) and Michael Young (3-5, .400 in the post season) showed why they’re among the most dangerous hitters in baseball. “This is one of those games you try to forget about as soon as possible,” Yankee captain Jeter said after the Texas win.

The Texas Rangers will face the New York Yankees for the A.L. Championship, thanks to the pitching of starting lefty Cliff Lee. Lee pitched nine complete innings, giving up just six hits in the Rangers’ 5-1 victory. Lee has been the difference in the post-season — continuing a trend that has seen dominant post-season performances from starters across the major leagues. “I expected to have success,” Lee said, following the victory. “I expected to pitch well. I just didn’t necessarily expect to allow one run and go nine innings.” Lee did not walk a batter and struck out 11. Lee’s performance puts an exclamation point to the trade that sent Rangers’ prospect Justin Smoak and three minor leaguers to the Seattle Mariners for the lefty — whose presence on the Rangers’ mound was the final piece for a team that had (until Tuesday), never won a post-season playoff series.

And We’re Back: CFG’s short post-season hiatus is over, thanks to the end of nearly two weeks of travels to exotic and faraway destinations — and (then too), it’s damned hard to ignore a post-season match-up that will feature two of the game’s best pitchers (Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay) in a classic face-off at “the Bank” in Philly. The early, anecdotal, line on the Philadelphia-San Francisco series gives the Ponies the edge, if only slightly: they feature a homer-heavy line-up, while the Giants have struggled for runs. But don’t bet against the Giants, whose run-producing capabilities increased sharply with the arrival of Buster Posey. And you  have to wonder whether the tussle in Philadelphia will fuel the competitive edge of a player like Pat Burrell, a former first round pick of the Phillies, who seems suddenly comfortable in a Giants uniform. While the Giants are justly proud of knocking off the Atlanta Braves, their post-season numbers are sobering: they plated only 11 runs against an anemic Braves’ line-up. They’ll have to do a lot better than that to beat the Phillies. Everyone talks about the heart-stopping triumverate of Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez, but the key to the series may well come down to whether Buster Posey, Pat Burrell and Aubrey Huff can hit Philly pitching.

Braves’ righty Derek Lowe pitched like he had when he was with the Dodgers (or maybe it was the Red Sox) last night, blanking the Washington Nationals in a 4-0 win at Turner Field in Atlanta. Lowe’s gem overawed the punchless Nats and Washington rookie Yunesky Maya, who balked twice in the second inning. While Maya snapped back to provide a solid outing, Lowe was the night’s story. Lowe scattered eight Nats’ hits over eight innings, striking out twelve. “That’s about the best game that I’ve pitched in a long time,” Lowe said after the victory. “It was just one of those days where kind of everything clicked.” But it didn’t click for the Nationals, who showed just how vulnerable they are to good pitching. The twelve strike outs included four by Ian Desmond and two each from Roger Bernadina, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse.

Maya’s balks in the second inning showed that the Nats’ new Cuban righthander has yet to master the pressure of the major leagues, with Maya saying he “rushed” his pitches in order to keep himself out of a big inning. The Nats didn’t argue with the calls: “No explanation needed. He balked,” skipper Jim Riggleman told the press. “He just flinched a little bit. … There was a little indecision … and instead of stepping off, he balked.” Despite the problems, Maya pitched well — and set a pattern that began with his first outing against the Mets: after initial shakiness, Maya settles down and pitches steadily the rest of the way. As he did in Atlanta: after the second he pitched four complete innings, with his game totals showing a command on the strike zone (90 pitches, 58 strikes) and a certain yen for inducing ground balls (ten in all). In the end, the problem for the Nats in their sixth loss in a row wasn’t Maya, it was Lowe.

Pick Me Out A Winner Bobby: Back on this day in 2003 — when the Washington Nationals were the Montreal Expos and playing to non-existent crowds in Olympic Stadium –Vladimir Guerrero hit for the cycle (what was called “Le Carrousel” in Montreal). It should not have been a surprise. Guerrero has to be the best bad ball hitter in baseball, and perhaps the best ever if you don’t count Yogi Berra. But what was surprising about Guerrero’s feat was that it came at the hands of lefty Tom Glavine, then pitching for the Mets. After toiling away for the Angels for six seasons, Guerrero has had a revival in Texas, which signed him as a free agent in the off season. The 2004 MVP is having a banner year (.305, 26 HRs) for the Rangers, who now lead the White Elephants by eight in the A.L. East.

Despite his revival, you have to wonder just how many years Guerrero has left. He hit what looked like a sure double the other night against the Yankees, but it was a stretch — and as  he rounded first, grimacing, you could tell he wasn’t going to make it. Guerrero’s knees are gone and he struggles to stay in shape. If Guerrero had another four seasons he might reach the 500 home run mark, but it seems unlikely he’ll get the opportunity. While Guerrero has been relatively healthy this year, he was on the disabled list five times during the ’09 campaign. When he came into the league in 1993 (signed by Montreal as an amateur free agent), he didn’t have to worry too much about preparation: he was a natural athlete with a beautiful swing who didn’t need to stretch scratch hits into doubles. He loped. But not anymore. Now he spends an hour before every game icing whatever ails — this week it’s his shin. “I try to keep playing as best as I can and stay away from injuries,” he recently told a Dallas reporter.

Oddly, the key to Guerrero’s health may well be Josh Hamilton, who can sub for Vlad as the team’s DH. The problem is that Hamilton is suffering from his own aches and pains — and is still in-and-out of the line-up with some torn up ribs, the result of a meeting with an outfield fence in Minnesota. Maybe it’s not such a bad problem if you’re running away with your division, but having two great players with nearly chronic problems (Hamilton’s knee and his ribs, Guerrero’s knee and his shin) is causing headaches for Rangers’ skipper Ron Washington. While the Rangers began to pull away in the A.L West in August, they went the entire month without their full line-up, and Rangers’ fans are concerned that their team is an injury away from seeing their post-season slip away. They should stop whining: the toast of Arlington just swept the Yankees (6-5. 7-6, 4-1), with the gimpy and iced-up Guerrero going 16 for 31 over his last seven games.

After enduring the adventures of a shakey bullpen — which squandered a workmanlike outing from Nats starter Ross Detwiler — a Ryan Zimmerman blast in the bottom on the ninth inning propelled the Anacostia Nine to a nail-biting 7-5 walk-off win against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Zimmerman walk-off marked the seventh time “the face of the franchise” had provided the necessary difference in a key win, a major league leading mark that has baseball abuzz with talk of just how important the former Cavalier is to his team. The victim this time was Phillies’ reliever Brad Lidge, who entered the ninth inning at Nationals Park with a 5-4 lead and the game apparently well in-hand. “He has his moments,” Philllies’ manager Charlie Manuel said of Lidge in the wake of Zimmerman’s blast. That seemed an understatement: the legendary late-innings strikeout king (more than one per inning, on average) Lidge sports a 5.57 ERA and has given up 21 hits in 21 innings — never a good sign.

The blown save highlighted the challenge the Phillies face in their race to catch the Chops for the N.L. East crown. While Phillies’ fans (and the national media) are oohing and ahhing about the addition of Roy Oswalt, the Phillies are struggling to find some stability in the back of their bullpen. The search has become nearly interminable. The Pony bullpen is ranked 10th in the National League with a spiraling ERA and no, ah . . . relief in sight. Phils’ skipper Manuel is feeling the pressure, as evidenced by his testy answers to reporters’ questions about whether choosing to pitch Lidge over, say, Ryan Madson remains the team’s best option. “I hear you guys say that for two years,” Manuel said. “I hear this and that, this and that. What the hell? We try this guy. We try that guy. We try this guy. Then I hear you [complain] to me sometimes about their roles. ‘Guys don’t know their roles.’ I can go on all night now. Let’s just drop it right there.”

The Guzman Swap: Less than twenty-four hours after baseball’s July 31 trading deadline, the game’s pundits are weighing in on the deadline’s “winners” and “losers.” In this, at least, there seems to be a growing consensus. The Yankees (with the addition of Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood), Padres (who signed up a needed bat in Ryan Ludwick) and Rangers (who snagged Cliff Lee, Jorge Cantu and Cristian Guzman) were the winners, while the Red Sox, Tigers and Giants (who did little — or nothing) were the losers. The judgments sound about right, but only if you are attempting to calculate what moves would put a team into the post-season. Garnering less attention are those teams (like the Nats) that traded over-welcome veterans to pursue longer term strategies. In fact, it’s possible to argue that in terms of value-for-value (and in terms of strengthening a franchise), the Nats can claim to be one of baseball’s trade deadline winners. Not only did the Nationals hang onto fan favorite Adam Dunn (true: it remains to be seen whether he can be signed long-term), they obtained a needed catcher of the future in Twinkie catching phenom Wilson Ramos.

An even stronger case for a Nats “win” can be made in a cursory study of Mike “the Don” Rizzo’s decision to swap team holdover Cristian Guzman for two minor league Texas Rangers’ pitchers. While Baseball Tonight and MLBN’s late night pundits cite Guzman’s incontestable value for a surging Rangers’ squad (Guzzie made a nearly spectacular play in last night’s Rangers’ triumph over the limping Belinskys), the acquisition of Ryan Tatusko and Tanner Roark, two semi-spectacular speedballers from the Rangers AA affiliate in Frisco of the AA Texas League, can be counted as solid additions. Tatusko and Roark are keepers and, if their current arc is any indication, could be stalwarts in a Nats starting rotation in 2012 — or even earlier. Both Tatusko and Roark are rough cuts (young, but built for baseball), who were drafted by the Nolan Ryan-driven Rangers vision, which rewards fastballs, control and endurance. Ryan Tatusko’s fastball is 91-95 on the gun, while Tanner Roark is a strike-em-out fastballer who rarely gives up walks. Tatusko has been back-and-forth between the rotation and the bullpen at Frisco, but he could go either way, while Tanner is a straight starter, albeit with a history of posting higher-than-we-would-like ERAs.

There’s a growing handful of commentators who pooh-pooh the acquisitions. The genetically anti-Nats blog Bleacher Report views the two as “fringe” pitchers, plowing away through the minors, while the predictably smug SB Nation mouthes a “me too, me too” judgment. Call to the Pen’s views are far more credible. CTTB projects both Tatusko and Roark as likely to get good looks at Triple-A before any possible stint in the majors (perhaps a year away), and opines that both have plus (but not plus-plus) upsides: “The Nationals made a solid trade here.” Then too, both Tatusko and Roark have stellar records, even for the Texas League. Tatusko is 9-2 with a 2.97 ERA at Frisco while Roark is10-5 with 75 strikeouts. It’s hard to imagine the Ryan-led Rangers would draft just anybody to make a walk to the mound, or that Mike Rizzo would swap-and-pay Cristian Guzman to travel to Dallas in exchange for anyone he believes is a “fringe” prospect. And we all know: if past performance is the best guide to future production, David Clyde would be in the Hall of Fame and Gregory Alan Maddux would be coaching the junior varsity baseball squad in San Angelo, Texas.

While Nats bloggers have been going back-and forth about whether the team needs another bat or another arm, Mike Rizzo seems to have made up his mind. They need both. Yeah, okay — that’s the right answer. But if Rizzo was pressed (and trade bait was short), what do you think he’d really want? Given John Lannan’s continued troubles and the uncertainty surrounding the return of any number of potential starters, the answer should be obvious: not only can you can always play Roger Bernadina in right field, but you absolutely need to; we’re never going to find out whether this kid can hit unless we put him in the line-up every day. Which means that the Nats should be looking for a pitcher to supplement their front (and only) two hurlers — Stephen Strasburg and Livan Hernandez. Let’s be honest. You never know what you’re going to get with Atilano and Martin, Olsen is just too tweaky too often to be counted as a stalwart, pitching messiah Jordan Zimmermann is a ways away from rehabbing and Ross Detwiler is still an unknown. That leaves Chien-Ming Wang (who won’t be here until July) and Jason Marquis — who has yet to show the team anything. So . . .

So who’s out there?

There’s Cliff Lee, who will be available once the cratering Navigators figure out that doling out $91 million in salaries for a last place team isn’t going to cut it. Lee is in the last months of a four year deal, and the Nats would have to look to sign him longer term, but our guess is that the Mariners will happily take good prospects for him — including Triple-A pitchers and Double-A position players that have a future. The Nats have either, and both. In exchange, the Nats would get a veteran fastball pitcher who could mentor Strasburg and an absolutely lights out number two starter (number one anywhere else), who can rack up some badly needed wins. The folks in Seattle say they won’t part with Lee without getting a big time power hitter in return, but that sounds like wishful thinking. Lee isn’t going to stay in Seattle after this year, especially to anchor what promises to be a development team of young prospects and remaining big contracts. It’s an ugly but pertinent truth: the Mariners will take prospects — or they can keep Lee and try to catch the fast disappearing Belinskys, White Elephants and Whatchamacallits. They’ll make the trade — maybe Mike will too.

Then there’s Roy Oswalt, but his contract is a nightmare: just over $9 million over the rest of this season, $16 million in 2011, and $16 million in 2012 with a club option buyout of $2 million. The Nats say they have money to up their salary ceiling, but Oswalt’s price might be a little high — particularly if (as expected), the Nats would have to pick up most if not all of the salary and throw in prospects. Bottom line: he won’t be cheap. But then, there’s always Jake Peavy. Don’t laugh: the former Friar has struggled with the Pale Hose and it appears he’s losing patience with wheeling-and-dealing Kenny Williams and the perpetually enraged Ozzie the G. He recently told a reporter that he would rather be traded than go through a rebuilding process in Chicago. Translation? “Get me the hell out of here.”

It’s hard to blame him: Peavy was a part of a rebuilding process in San Diego — and the team only started to rebuild when he left. Then too, the ChiSox probably look at the Peavy trade with some remorse; they dealt prospects to San Diego, one of whom (Clayton Richard) has turned into a front line pitcher — 4-3, 2.71 ERA. That’s a damn sight better than Peavy (5-5, 5.62 ERA). Ugh. The White Sox might try the same magic, trading Peavy for pitching prospects in the hopes of striking gold. The Nats could help. Of course, Peavy sports a huge contract ($52 million, three years), a teensy bit bigger than Oswalt’s which (for paperclip counter Mark Lerner) is always a problem. But in the end (and if you carefully weigh this out), the Nats could find a rental (like Lee) for some front line prospects or they could take the longer view (which is probably what Rizzo wants) and pony up some prospects and some cash. In either case, while none of these pitchers are going to come cheap, bringing any one of them aboard right now (or in the very near future) will probably mean the difference between a club that will continue its slow-but-certain downward spiral and one that might be able to contend — and fill the seats.