Jobu previews the ALDS Matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants.

There’s not a lot to be said about these teams that they can’t show you when they take the field every night. The Giants 2012 success comes on the backs of their pitchers, as it has for the last few years. The Reds, meanwhile, have more of a complete team. Needless to say, this one’s gonna be a good one.

How the Giants Can Win

It’s always been about pitching for the Giants. They’ve enjoyed a lot of success the last few seasons despite having one of the weaker offenses in the game. Guys like Matt Cain, Ryan Vogelsong (or the Song of Vogel as our own Big League Clu calls him) and Madison Bumgarner are among the best arms in the league. We’re not even including Tim Lincecum in that because of his down year, but his talent is unmatched by anyone in the league.

That’s basically it. The Giants can win because they have the best pitchers in the league. However, you can’t win any games if you don’t score any runs, and that’s where the Giants have their biggest issues. In fact, when Melky Cabrera was suspended, many people said that was it for them. Buster Posey is a true MVP candidate, but that’s pretty much where the buck stops for them on offense. Hunter Pence has been playing well of late and has the talent to be a force too, but it gets pretty damn thin after that.

How the Reds Can Win

As I mentioned earlier, the Reds are a little more well rounded than the Giants are. They boast a lot of good hitters, some solid starting pitching and easily the most electric arm in sports entertainment today, Aroldis Chapman. If the Giants don’t win their games before the ninth inning, they’re not going to win at all.

joey Votto missed a lot of time with a knee injury this season, and the Reds still socked 172 dingers on the year. Jay Bruce led them with 34, and six other guys finished in double digits for the year. They’re very tough to get out, especially against right handers.

On the mound, they feature a Cy Young candidate in Johnny Cueto, One of the best young arms in the game in Matt Latos and Homer Bailey, who pitched a no hitter in his penultimate start of the season, and followed that up with 4 scoreless innings in a tuneup start on the last day of the season.

There are no real weaknesses to the Reds. If I’m gonna nitpick, they strike out a bit too much, which could cause them trouble with the Giants pitching staff.

Jobu’s Prediction:

I know the Giants have all those scary arms, but I feel like they haven’t been as good lately as they have been for the past few seasons. The Reds are too complete a team to not make it to the second round. They’ll take this series in four games.

Featured image courtesy of: SB Nation