Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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Prediction: Giants in Five, My ANG Newspaper Column


I was asked by the Turn2 Sports Page Editor of the Oakland Tribune to argue why the Giants will beat the Cards in the NLCS. The article appears in all of Friday’s ANG newspapers in the Bay Area.

I don’t know who took the other side of the Sports Spat.

Interestingly, I had to write the article on Wednesday night, immediately following the Giants game one victory due to newspaper deadlines.

We now know that the Giants are up two games to none in the series. Lucky for me.

Click “Read More” for my unedited work, the one I submitted to the paper Wednesday night. The reasons still apply.

THE GIANTS WILL BEAT THE CARDINALS IN THE NLCS BECAUSE THEY ARE A BETTER TEAM AND IN A SEVEN GAME SERIES THE BETTER TEAM WINS.

NUMBER ONE,

THE GIANTS HAVE BARRY BONDS, WHO MAY BE THE BEST PLAYER TO EVER PLAY THE GAME. BONDS DOESN’T HAVE TO BREAK NLCS RECORDS IN THE SERIES, HE MERELY HAS TO BE IN THE LINEUP TO TURN THE SERIES IN THE GIANTS FAVOR.

FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS MANAGERS HAVE STRUGGLED WITH THE SAME QUESTION: PITCH TO BONDS OR NOT?

MANAGER TONY LARUSSA HAS ORDERED HIS PITCHERS TO WORK AROUND BONDS WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

ONLY THE BEST PITCHERS CAN PULL THIS OFF. THE CARDS DON’T HAVE THE PITCHING TO MAKE THE STRATEGY WORK.

HERE’S WHY.

YOU HAVE TO WORK THE GIANTS BATTERS IN FRONT OF BONDS WITH PRECISION, NOT GIVING IN, BUT NOT WALKING ANYONE. IF YOU MISS, THE REULTS ARE NUMEROUS SCORING CHANCES FOR EVERYONE IN THE LINEUP INCLUDING BONDS, WHO DOESN’T MISS HIS PITCH.

JUST WATCH, THE ST. LOUIS HURLERS WILL BE IN TROUBLE EVERY TIME YOU LOOK UP.

GIVE KENNY LOFTON, RICH AURILIA AND JEFF KENT PITCHES TO HIT AND THE GIANTS WILL PUT THE GAME AWAY BEFORE THE CARDS KNOW WHAT HIT THEM.

THE GIANTS KAYOED THE CARDS NUMBER ONE STARTER MATT MORRIS, EARLY WEDNESDAY NIGHT (HE’LL PROBABLY BE ABLE TO START ONE MORE GAME). THE REST OF THE STARTING STAFF CONSISTING OF WOODY WILLIAMS, CHUCK FINLEY AND ANDY BENES WILL BE IN CONSTANT TROUBLE TRYING TO AVOID BONDS.

THE HITTERS BEHIND BONDS ARE BENITO SANTIAGO, JT SNOW AND REGGIE SANDERS. THEY ARE ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING BONDS WALKED AHEAD OF THEM, THEY AREN’T BOTHERED BY THE MOVE, AND ARE COMING THROUGH DAILY WITH CLUTCH HITS.

THE GIANTS WILL OUT SCORE THE CARDINALS BECAUSE TONY LARUSSA WILL STAY WITH THIS STRATEGY EVEN THOUGH HIS PITCHING STAFF IS NOT ADROIT ENOUGH TO AVOID DISASTER WHEN TRYING TO PITCH AROUND BONDS.

REASON NUMBER TWO:

THE GIANTS HAVE A DEEP EXPERIENCED PITCHING STAFF CURRENTLY ON THE TOP OF THEIR GAME, UNLIKE THE INJURY PRONE RECLAMATION PROJECTS THE CARDS PASS OFF AS THEIR STARTING STAFF.

IN A SEVEN GAME SERIES PITCHING IS THE NAME OF THE GAME. JASON SCHMIDT, RUSS ORTIZ, KIRK REUTER (6-0 VS. ST.LOUIS), AND THE OCTOBER MAGICIAN, LIVAN HERNANDEZ WILL GIVE THE GIANTS A LEGITIMATE CHANCE TO WIN EVERY NIGHT.

REASON NUMBER THREE:

THE GIANTS PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP DEFENSE, ESPECIALLY AT PAC BELL PARK.

KENNY LOFTON NOT ONLY IS HAVING A REVIVAL AT THE PLATE AS THE LEAD OFF HITTER, BUT HE IS THE CENTERFIELDER THE GIANTS HAVE LACKED IN THE PAST. LOFTON CAN RUN DOWN HIS PITCHERS MISTAKES NOT LETTING THE BALL GET TO TRIPLES ALLEY. REGGIE SANDERS HAS THE SPEED TO PLAY IN THE GAP IN RIGHT CENTER, AND BONDS IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST LEFTFEILDERS IN BASEBALL.

REASON NUMBER FOUR:

BASEBALL IS A GAME OF BULL PENS. FELIX RODRIGUEZ, TODD WOREELL, JAY WITASICK, AND ROBB NEN ARE MORE RELIABLE THAN JEFF FASSERO, RICK WHITE, STEVE KLINE, AND JASON ISRINGHAUSEN WHEN THE GAME IS ON THE LINE. THE GIANTS HAVE THREE LEFTIES SCOTT EYRE, CHAD ZERBE, AND AARON FULTZ READY IN THE LATE INNINGS FOR THE LEFTY DOMINATED ST.LOUIS LINEUP.

THE CARDINALS HAVE BEEN MOTIVATED BY THE TRAGIC LOSSES OF BROADCASTER JACK BUCK AND PITCHER DARYL KILE DURING THE SEASON.

THE LOSS OF ST. LOUIS THIRD BASEMAN SCOTT ROLEN FOR THE NLCS WILL HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT TO THE CARDINAL OFFENSE AS WELL.

THE GIANTS PLAYERS ARE MOTIVATED TO WIN THE NLCS AND WORLD SERIES, THEREBY FORCING OWNERSHIP TO RETAIN MANAGER DUSTY BAKER ON THE MANAGERS TERMS.

THE GIANTS WILL WIN THE SERIES BECAUSE THEY HAVE BETTER PITCHING, A MORE BALANCED VETERAN LINE UP THAT KNOWS HOW TO PLAY THE GAME, AND THE BEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL SETTING THE STAGE.

UNLESS MATT MORRIS PITCHES THREE MORE TIMES AND MARK MCGWIRE RETURNS FROM WHEREVER HE IS IN HIS RETIREMENT,

I SAY THE GIANTS IN FIVE.

0 comments

1 Anonymous { 10.11.02 at 6:16 pm }

way to go,marty,but the series may not last 5 games

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