Aces wild

The buzz is already palpable for Game 1.

Even though Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has yet to announce his NLCS rotation, it seems to be a given that it’ll be a battle of aces, with Roy Halladay facing the Giants’ Tim Lincecum.

“I foresee a hell of a game,” Manuel said. “I guess the pitcher that pitches the best is the one that’s gonna win it. I’d like to see Halladay win. He’s definitely capable of winning. They’re different pitchers.

“Lincecum, they call him the freak. I don’t know if he’s a freak or not. His style is different. He’s special. He’s got a tremendous changeup. He has a good fastball. When he’s real good, his command is good.”

Shane Victorino concurs with Manuel.

“Roy Halladay and Tim Lincecum, you can’t compare the two,” Victorino said. “Roy Halladay is going to pound the strike zone. Lincecum is going to come after you, but he tries to get you to get out of your strike zone.”

That’s OK. Victorino has a game plan.

“You got to find a way to hopefully get his pitch count up and go from there,” Victorino said. “You have to try to not go out of the zone.”

Victorino is well aware that fans and the media are enthralled with the Halladay-Lincecum battle.

“It’s your dream matchup,” the center fielder said. “It’s going to be interesting.”