Giants, Cardinals ready to rock at the NLCS (Photos)

SAN FRANCISCO — How does that old lyric go? If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear a bat guitar pick in your hair. No? Well, whatever, Pablo Sandoval and Jose Mijares (right) are ready to rock 'n' roll, and so are the rest of the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. Game 1 of the NLCS is underway, so let's get to some of The Stew's pregame photos up before it's the ninth inning already:

Giants coach Tim Flannery prepares to hit some fungoes while absolutely trampling the "POSTSEASON" paint job along the third-base line. Notice how Major League Baseball has really been marketing the "postseason" the past few years. Go ahead, take a look around AT&T Park for a mention of "NLCS." It's hard to find. "Postseason" is all over the place, though.

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OK, so there is ONE sign for the NLCS, in the left-field corner. It's almost like MLB doesn't like the grouping of the letters "NLCS" for some reason. Hey, what's going on in McCovey Cove?

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I like the T-shirt. And the kayak is not bad, either. Traffic in the Cove (for batting practice or the game) isn't as busy as in the days of Barry Bonds. To date, 62 homers have splashed down into the water since the park opened.

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These guys might need a bigger boat.

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If the McCovey Armada had to invade somewhere — say, Oakland — these guys are hitting the beach first.

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Gah, it's a sea monster! Oh, wait. We're back inside the ballpark. This is just Hunter Pence, who is bound and determined to grow out his beard to Brian Wilson proportions. Someone should be determined and bind him to a barber chair and go to town with some clippers.

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"All right, awesome press conference, Carp."

"Thanks, Waino."

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