There's been a lot of scuttlebutt as to how Bruce Bochy would handle his postseason pitching roster. It appears that all five Giants starters will make the trip with the team to the playoffs.
That's according to Bochy, who said it's "the plan" to have all of the starters on the roster when the team begins the postseason.
"That's fair [to say]," Bochy said, via MLB.com. "I would say that's the plan now, sure."
The only issue now is who will comprise the starting rotation in the playoffs, which will feature four pitchers.
There's no question that Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner will be the first two options to fill out the rotation. Each pitcher has struggled a bit during the seaosn but they've been the Giants best two options by far.
So that leaves two spots for Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Ryan Vogelsong to fill in the postseason.
Lincecum, who's improved steadily over the second half, seems like the best bet to fill the third spot. He's the most electric of the three and provides the most upside as well. It also seems like Lincecum, though he's been hit hard at times this season, provides the least likely chance to get knocked out early. Additionally, since the odd-man out will probably end up pitching in relief, it's possible the Giants don't want to mess with Timmy's head by bringing him out of the bullpen.
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If it's between Zito and Vogelsong, the guess here is that Bochy rolls with Zito, who called the news that he'd be on the postseason roster "outstanding."
Vogelsong limped into the end of the season, producing only two really good outing since the beginning of August, including his latest outing, a six-inning, one-earned-run effort against the Padres.
Zito's been strong for a while now, though he has his occasional hiccups, as you might expect.
The other thing to consider is that Bochy might play matchups: if the Giants get the Reds, he could roll with Zito, who allowed just two earned runs over 12 innings against Cincy over the course of the season.
Either way, though, there's a very good chance you'll see plenty of all five guys throughout the playoffs.
