NLCS: Giants announce Bumgarner, Vogelsong Starters in Games 1 and 2

 It was not long after the St. Louis Cardinals came from well behind the Washington Nationals to win Game 5 of the NLDS that Bruce Bochy and the San Francisco Giants announced their first two starters of the NLCS.

            The Giants were presumably docked in Cincinnati waiting to know where they would be playing in the NLCS.

            They found out they would be heading home to start the series on Sunday.

            As expected, Madison Bumgarner will pitch Game 1 and Ryan Vogelsong will pitch Game 2 for the Giants.

            For now, we know that Lance Lynn will be pitching in Sunday’s Game 1 for the Cardinals.

            With Bumgarner and Vogelsong starting the first two games of the series, we can expect Matt Cain to pitch Game 3, as well as Tim Lincecum to pitch Game 4, although the decision of Lincecum or Zito is sure to be discussed throughout the next few days.

The seven-game NLCS series, which will start at AT&T Park on Sunday, will feature the last two teams to win the World Series.

The Giants won it all in 2010, while the Cardinals defied all odds by winning it last season and hope to repeat this season sans Albert Pujols.

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49ers’ Brandon Jacobs Frustrated in San Francisco?

Now would be the time for Brandon Jacobs to inquire about his playing time.

            He is set to go up against his former team -- a team he won the Super Bowl with last season, and the same team he was released by in the offseason.

            However, Jacobs has not touched the field in the 2012 regular season with the 49ers.

            If you ask head coach Jim Harbaugh, he would say that Jacobs has battled some injuries and the team wants him to be 100%.

            But anyone with a logical bone in their body knows that Jacobs is ready to go and could have played in any of the last three weeks’ games if he had to.

            If you ask Jacobs, he is far overdue to be in the backfield and help a 4-1 team reach new heights.

            USA Today’s Mike Garafolo is reporting that Jacobs is less than happy about not starting in the last couple weeks, and that he is no lock to be starting against the New York Giants on Sunday, either.

            “Oh, very. Because I don’t know anything. I don’t know what’s what,” Jacobs said regarding his frustration with not playing. “But I’m hanging in there, I’m working every day, doing what I have to do. Let’s say I’m just working and doing what I have to do and that’s that.”

CSN Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco is reporting that Harbaugh and Jacobs both met within the last couple days and that everything is good between the two sides of the playing time equation.

"I understand where coach is coming from, and coach understands me from him playing football and understanding the athlete and the competitive nature of wanting to get out and play to help the team win, not only that against his former team. In this case, his former team is not important. What's important is for us in the long run."

The long run would be games in November, December and January, but rest assured that heads will roll if Jacobs does not start and see substantial playing time against his former team that betrayed him quite heavily in the offseason.

What role Jacobs plays on the 49ers is still up in the air, as the team has been in cruise control since they took a surprise beating at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.

A start and ample production for Jacobs on Sunday would help define part of his role on the team, but there is more than meets the eye with this Jacobs issue and playing time.

For now, it is simply a case of too many weapons on the team and not enough footballs to go around.

"I've learned over the years when you open your mouth and say certain things, it hurts you, so I'm just going to shut up and keep working," Jacobs told CSN Bay Area.

As a player on a 4-1 team with Super Bowl or bust on its mind, that is probably the best way to approach the situation.

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San Francisco Giants: Taking A Look at the Starting Rotation in NLCS

The San Francisco Giants became the first team in MLB history to claim victory in a five-game series by winning three straight games on the road, and now the waiting begins.

            If the Nationals take down the Cardinals at home in Game 5 Friday night, then the Giants will travel to Washington D.C. to play the first two games of the series.

            If St. Louis takes down the Nationals, then the Giants start at AT&T Park in front of a home crowd ready to welcome home a team they never saw win in the 2012 NLDS.

            However, Bruce Bochy and the Giants also have some decisions to make iwht a starting rotation that was key in their three straight victories over Cincinnati.

            Ace Matt Cain is out of the equation until at least Game 3

            Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will give him five days rest and primed to start Game 3 (Tuesday would be a travel day either on the road or heading home).

            With that said, we can fully expect Madison Bumgarner to earn a Game 1 start.

            He started Game 2 at home in the NLDS vs. the Reds and only lasted 4.1 innings, while giving up four runs on seven hits.

            Game 2 is where it gets dicey for Bochy.

            He had this to say about Lincecum starting in the NLCS on Wednesday:

            “Oh, I think you have to,” Bochy said. “He stepped up and did a terrific job. He had a great look about him and …  he really came through for us. When you’re on this stage you’re hoping somebody steps up and Timmy has that ability. He did tonight.”

            There is a very likely chance Lincecum could start Game 2 for the Giants, as he would have a total of four days off after only pitching a total of 6.1 innings in the entire NLDS series.

            Then again, Ryan Vogelsong is also available.

            Vogelsong has not pitched since Tuesday’s Game 3, and he would have a total of six days off between starts.

            Although Lincecum is available and was pitching impressively in relief in the NLDS, we should be seeing Vogelsong on six days rest in Game 2.

            With Game 3 taken care of with Cain, that would leave Lincecum to lay claim to Game 4, a start that would better suit him at home with the pitcher’s ball park and a crowd that was very much behind him out of the bullpen in the NLDS.

            Game 5 starts the cycle once again with Bumgarner, but expect Vogelsong in Game 6 only if the Giants lead the series.

            If the Giants trail 3-2 in the series, then Cain will be called upon on three days rest to try to force a Game 7.

            That would leave either Vogelsong (on six days rest) or Lincecum (depending on how he throws in Game 4, on three days rest) to start Game 7.

            One decision to watch would be if the Giants include Barry Zito on the NLCS roster.

            It is obvious at this point the Giants will be going with a four-man starting rotation that will exclude Zito in the NLCS.

            Zito cannot come of the bullpen for several reasons, and there may not be a reason to carry him on the roster at all, with an addition of another arm in the bullpen being something Bochy would love to have.

            It is a roster decision Bochy and his staff will ultimately have to make, but there is a possibility Zito could start either Game 6 or 7 if the team is desperate and either Vogelsong or Lincecum have had rough starts earlier in the series.

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San Francisco Giants: Bochy Shows Support For Alex Smith, 49ers

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith was originally fined $15,000 by the NFL for wearing a San Francisco Giants hat during Sunday's postgame press conference, following the 49ers' victory over the Detroit Lions.

Smith's fine of $15,000 was rescinded, and the NFL instead gave a warning to the 49ers quarterback.


The rule states that no player may wear non-sponsored gear 90 minutes before and after a game.

Smith's Giants support on Sunday broke that rule, although the hat has become a fixture on the head of Smith over the past year.

Earlier Thursday, the Giants showed their support of Smith and 49ers.

Manager Bruce Bochy wore a 49ers hat during the pre-game press conference, which caused quite a stir throughout the ballpark.

There is no rule that bars baseball players from wearing non-sponsored gear before or after games, but there should be a rule against a man with a 8 1/3 size hat making due with a 7 1/4 size hat, as Bochy did before their victory over the Rockies.

There has been no word from the MLB on whether Bochy will be fined for showing his support of a local team.

In addition, both Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson have shown their support for Smith.

Both said they will contribute their own money to Smith's fine, if he in fact wears the Giants hat again to a postgame press conference.

Alex, moonwalk your way down Market St. w an SF hat & Lombardi trophy & i'll take care of the fines you rack up @49ers twitter.com/BrianWilson38/…

— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilson38) September 20, 2012

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San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions: Week 2 Preview and Predictions

The San Francisco 49ers will encounter another very strong offensive team when they line up against the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

The 49ers, who defeated the favored Green Bay Packers last week, will look to add on to their already terrifying array of accolades shown in the Packers win by knocking off Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford and the Lions in the Candlestick Park home opener.

San Francisco has been dealt another team that will throw the ball at will.

Detroit needed a come-from-behind win against he Rams in Week 1 and will look to exploit the 49ers at the one wavering aspect of their entire package: the secondary.

Just like the Packers, the Lions will let Stafford throw the ball, just as he did when he threw 48 times in Week 1.  Stafford found 10 different receivers on Sunday, with five of them tallying over four receptions.  In comparison, Aaron Rodgers accomplished the same feat last week.

This will be a pass-happy offense coming at the 49ers on Sunday.

The problem here: It may be the only chance at defeating San Francisco.

It is not that the 49ers have a weak secondary, but that it happens to be the weakest part of an extremely strong football team suddenly thrust into Super Bowl aspirations.

Stafford will attempt to exploit the secondary based on the fact that Kevin Jones and company will not be able to run the ball on San Francisco’s front line at all.  Detroit gave Kevin Smith the ball only 13 times against St. Louis.

The goal here for the clear underdog Detroit Lions is similar to the Packers in last week’s game against the 49ers: Force San Francisco to take Patrick Willis out of the game and add another defensive back, whom they will take advantage of.

However, that defensive back is Perrish Cox, and he played a strong game against the Packers in place of Willis.  Odds are if Rodgers and the Packers couldn’t pull it off, then we shouldn’t see much resistance from the Lions either.

For the 49ers, the game plan would appear to be focused on Alex Smith and the slew of wide receiver weapons this team now has.  The Lions looked awfully stingy against Steven Jackson and the Rams in Week 1 (Jackson: 21 carries for 53 yards), but Sam Bradford was able to find a good amount of success in the air in his 25 pass attempts, one of which was a touchdown.

The Detroit secondary should not be a problem for Smith, a quarterback who has shown he can take care of the ball at all costs.


X-Factor

In order for Smith to continue his successful streak at quarterback under Jim Harbaugh, he will once again need help from his offensive line.

The Lions were able to get to Bradford last week a total of four times.  Smith was sacked a total of four times by a lousy Packers defense.  Detroit will be better.

With pressure coming early and often on Sunday, we should see Smith recognize the defense and dump short passes off to release some of the pressure he is sure to encounter from Detroit’s front line.

Look for dump passes to Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter in the backfield, or slants across the middle for Michael Crabtree that seemed to be successful against the Packers.

Also, limiting Calvin Johnson when possible will be a key task on Sunday for the 49ers.

They do not have to shut him down -- Johnson will get his catches. But limiting him when it matters and creating stops are all part of a big day for the San Francisco secondary on Sunday.

Predictions

            In such an important game for Harbaugh and the post-game handshake that cannot come soon enough, look for the 49ers to be ultra-prepared -- as if they have not been prepared in any game in the Harbaugh Era.

            Both rushing attacks should be fairly limited on Sunday, so we should expect a ton of strategy from Harbaugh and the 49ers coaching staff this week against a tougher defense and a wide receiver in Calvin Johnson that will be a test throughout the game.

49ers 27, Lions 21

           

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Watch Giants' Aubrey Huff Nearly Break His Hand On Ryan Theriot's Butt

During the seventh inning of Friday night's Giants-Dodgers game, Giants second baseman Marco Scutaro blooped a two-run single into right field to score Gregor Blanco and Brandon Crawford and give San Francisco a 4-2 lead.

However, the only thing that could top that game-changing play was the reaction of Aubrey Huff on the bench.


Huff's first reaction upon seeing Scutaro give the Giants a two-run lead in the midst of a heated NL West rivalry was to smack Ryan Theriot in the butt -- and nearly break his hand.

Watch the GIF HERE

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