Giants vs Braves Divisional Playoff Preview

Gigantes Fever is reaching an all time high as the divisional playoff series gets set to begin this Thursday night in San Francisco.

Lets take a second to evaluate the Giants opponent, the Atlanta Braves, who are making their 15th playoff appearance in 18 years, and the final one under legendary manager Bobby Cox, who is set to retire after this season.

The Braves experienced similiar success to the Giants this year, as they were able to ride a hot pitching staff and key mid-season acquisitions to a wild card birth.

The heart of their order features Rookie of the Year Candidate Jason Heyward, mid season pick-up Derrick Lee and All-Star Catcher Brain McCann. The soul of the team is their pitching staff, which features three top-tier hurlers in Tim Hudson, Derrick Lowe and Tommy Hanson, and the aging, yet effective Billy Wagner.

Heading into this series, the biggest questions marks for the Braves will be offensive production and infield defense.

The Braves have struggled against quality pitching all season, accumulating the majority of their wins against the back end of pitching staffs. How will they fare against the three headed monster that is the Giants pitching staff?

Time will tell, but the Braves will certainly need young power hitter Jason Heyward to grow up quick, and make an impact in this series.

The Braves infield defense has also been an area for concern. Their pitching staff, led by sinker-ballers Derrick Lowe, Tommy Hanson and Tim Hudson, rely on groundball outs more than any other staff in the major leagues. Inconsistency along the infield, highlighted by the recent move of third baseman turned second baseman Brian Conrad will certainly play a factor at some point in this series.

In summary, the Giants are certainly the favorites in this series, due to an edge in offensive production and overall defense, but if the Braves are able pull this series out, and win one for ol' Bobby Cox, it will be because of their veteran pitching, clutch hitting from Jason Heyward and an improved defense along the infield.