For much of the end of the season, with the Giants having the N.L. West locked up, the only thing that seemed in doubt was the exact permutation of the playoff rotation. Would Ryan Vogelsong be the odd man out? Or would it be Zito? Vogelsong or Zito?

Well, the odd man out is Tim Lincecum. And it might be Barry Zito, too.

Vogelsong in Game 3 is official. The rest is not, but expect the plan to be Barry Zito in Game 4 or possibly Cain on short rest.

— Andrew Baggarly (@CSNBaggs) October 7, 2012

Cain threw just 75 pitches in Game 1 on Saturday, so that's a viable option for the Giants, depending on the circumstances of the series.

Both Lincecum and Vogelsong have struggled at times this year, but Vogelsong's struggles were concentrated in August and early September, whereas Lincecum has had issues for most of the year. Lincecum's ERA was 3.83 in the second half, but his control was exceptionally erratic, and he's allowed a home run in five of his last six games, including three in his last start of the season.

And in the year that the Baltimore Orioles make the playoffs with Nate McLouth leading off, Tim Lincecum is out of the playoff rotation for the San Francisco Giants. Okay.