Wild, Wild West

While the staff of 27pitches.com enjoyed a much-needed long weekend, the San Francisco Giants provided their fans quite a treat – a well timed and authoritative sweep of Colorado Rockies, with whom they now share a wild card lead.

The triumvirate Lincecum, Zito, and Cain combined for a stellar 24.1 innings pitched, 23 strikeouts, and just 5 earned runs. It’s no surprise to see Lincecum or Cain have a stong outing when they take the mound, but if the inconsistent Barry Zito starts to become, well, consistent, this will be the last opponent team’s will want to face come playoff time. I’m still standing by my prediction of a San Fran playoff berth, which would set the stage for a short series with the Phillies that could easily be dubbed the Unstoppable Force Meets the Immovable Object. The clashing of a high powered offense with a stifling pitching staff usually results in the better pitching taking the series, but this is not always the case.

The Freak just might carry San Fran deep into the playoffs.

Bud Selig has been at the center of many scandals and bonehead decisions in his tenure as MLB commissioner; however, the one thing he got right was the wild card. It adds an entirely new element of suspense, and gives 4-8 teams a second shot at a playoff berth. And that’s what makes a team like San Francisco so dangerous. They may not have the best record in their division, but that does not mean they are not the best team. Some teams take a bit longer to find and maintain their midseason form. What we are seeing now is the possibility of a Schilling/Johnson re-imagining in the form of Lincecum/Cain.

Colorado got schooled this weekend; however, it wasn’t the deathblow. They still have a share in the Wild Card lead and still have time to right the ship. Not to mention there are still a couple teams nipping on the Giants’ and Rockies’ heels.

As baseball gets ready to put August in the books, get ready for a wild September. There’s nothing more exciting right now than the NL Wild Card race.