When confronted by someone who was never happy, my mother used to say: "He'd complain if you hung him with a new rope." Well, yeah! New rope or old, he's still gonna swing, right?
So get out the rope. Yep, 4-0 and I’m ticked off.
Screw pitching. I hate teams that rely on pitching. Why? Because every game is a high-wire act, and one slip can be fatal. On this day the Giants pitchers were tossing down banana peels and spreading axle grease on the line.
I questioned which Jonathan Sanchez would show up. I believe in omens, and when you walk your first batter of the season it’s time to start hanging garlic around your neck to ward off anything evil because you’ve already stepped into some dark kharma. But as maddening as he can be, why follow him with that talentless abyss known as Brandon Medders?
Without fail the Giants hold on to one pitcher per season whom I absolutely detest, the guy I’d like to banish to a lifetime with one of my ex-girlfriends, and this year Medders is the lucky victim. If you find the gas can hanging in his locker – I did it.
Every season there’s one guy whose very name uttered by John Miller prompts involuntary esophageal contractions that signal my lunch making a rapid u-turn. Tim Worrell elevated my blood pressure more than a case of Red Bull, Tyler Walker required my wife to remove all breakables from the vicinity of the TV, and now I get to endure this clown? Inherited runners? To quote Hawk Harrellson, “Put ‘em on the board.”
The Giants’ beat Atlanta in extras, and yet the offensive output was eerily reminiscent of seasons past. Double plays have been plentiful. They mounted one decent threat in regulation (and to their credit got the scoring ground balls that have eluded them previously), but with second and third and no one out you’re hoping for a big inning, not three consecutive rollers.
Then, with the Giants pulling to within a run, you depend upon the bullpen to hold any momentum you may have gained. You don’t do that when your pitchers are a danger to fans on the club level. True, Runzler got squeezed on a couple of tosses but there were some offerings from both he and Joaquin that were closer to Brisbane that they were to home plate. Watching that kind of performance you wonder if maybe there hadn’t been a better option – like maybe Chuck Knoblauch or Steve Sax.
Kudos to Velez for lighting up Wagner. In a one run game the lead-off double means you get to bunt and maybe tie the game with an out. Instead we got Rowand flailing away like someone had disconnected his brain stem, only to be bailed out by Renteria – who is threatening to make me take back all the evil things I said about him and retire the voodoo doll. If only he had represented the WINNING run!
With the Giants improbably poised to win in 12, the old habits returned. Winning run 90 feet away with one out. Ishikawa, a total waste of gentic material in situations such as these, managed but a nubber. Whiteside then completed the failure, giving rise to the question: "What idiot constructs a roster that leaves Eli Whiteside as the only option in a situation like that?"
Win or lose, this is a team that doesn’t yet have all the parts. People talk about the great pitching, but let’s be realistic. The Giants have some great pitchers, and that’s not the same thing. Lincecum is a true ace and Cain is an ace in waiting. Wilson is one of the better closers in the league. Romo is an up-and-comer, and Affeldt one of the luckiest guys on the planet. Then it gets a bit dicey. Zito is, well, Zito. The rest range from unproven to guys just taking up space. There still are weaknesses, and you don’t address them with the Guillermo Motas of the world.
I don’t see this as a bad team, I just don’t see them as contenders. Since 2005 the Giants modus operandi has been to be just good enough to make you wonder what would happen if they just had one more arm, one more stick, scored one more run, caught one more ball.
It appears 2010 won’t buck that trend. The scoreboard and standing don't reflect the weknesses on the field -- yet. I'll hope for the best, but I'm not holding my breath. The hangman is still lurking.
So get out the rope. Yep, 4-0 and I’m ticked off.
Screw pitching. I hate teams that rely on pitching. Why? Because every game is a high-wire act, and one slip can be fatal. On this day the Giants pitchers were tossing down banana peels and spreading axle grease on the line.
I questioned which Jonathan Sanchez would show up. I believe in omens, and when you walk your first batter of the season it’s time to start hanging garlic around your neck to ward off anything evil because you’ve already stepped into some dark kharma. But as maddening as he can be, why follow him with that talentless abyss known as Brandon Medders?
Without fail the Giants hold on to one pitcher per season whom I absolutely detest, the guy I’d like to banish to a lifetime with one of my ex-girlfriends, and this year Medders is the lucky victim. If you find the gas can hanging in his locker – I did it.
Every season there’s one guy whose very name uttered by John Miller prompts involuntary esophageal contractions that signal my lunch making a rapid u-turn. Tim Worrell elevated my blood pressure more than a case of Red Bull, Tyler Walker required my wife to remove all breakables from the vicinity of the TV, and now I get to endure this clown? Inherited runners? To quote Hawk Harrellson, “Put ‘em on the board.”
The Giants’ beat Atlanta in extras, and yet the offensive output was eerily reminiscent of seasons past. Double plays have been plentiful. They mounted one decent threat in regulation (and to their credit got the scoring ground balls that have eluded them previously), but with second and third and no one out you’re hoping for a big inning, not three consecutive rollers.
Then, with the Giants pulling to within a run, you depend upon the bullpen to hold any momentum you may have gained. You don’t do that when your pitchers are a danger to fans on the club level. True, Runzler got squeezed on a couple of tosses but there were some offerings from both he and Joaquin that were closer to Brisbane that they were to home plate. Watching that kind of performance you wonder if maybe there hadn’t been a better option – like maybe Chuck Knoblauch or Steve Sax.
Kudos to Velez for lighting up Wagner. In a one run game the lead-off double means you get to bunt and maybe tie the game with an out. Instead we got Rowand flailing away like someone had disconnected his brain stem, only to be bailed out by Renteria – who is threatening to make me take back all the evil things I said about him and retire the voodoo doll. If only he had represented the WINNING run!
With the Giants improbably poised to win in 12, the old habits returned. Winning run 90 feet away with one out. Ishikawa, a total waste of gentic material in situations such as these, managed but a nubber. Whiteside then completed the failure, giving rise to the question: "What idiot constructs a roster that leaves Eli Whiteside as the only option in a situation like that?"
Win or lose, this is a team that doesn’t yet have all the parts. People talk about the great pitching, but let’s be realistic. The Giants have some great pitchers, and that’s not the same thing. Lincecum is a true ace and Cain is an ace in waiting. Wilson is one of the better closers in the league. Romo is an up-and-comer, and Affeldt one of the luckiest guys on the planet. Then it gets a bit dicey. Zito is, well, Zito. The rest range from unproven to guys just taking up space. There still are weaknesses, and you don’t address them with the Guillermo Motas of the world.
I don’t see this as a bad team, I just don’t see them as contenders. Since 2005 the Giants modus operandi has been to be just good enough to make you wonder what would happen if they just had one more arm, one more stick, scored one more run, caught one more ball.
It appears 2010 won’t buck that trend. The scoreboard and standing don't reflect the weknesses on the field -- yet. I'll hope for the best, but I'm not holding my breath. The hangman is still lurking.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Think I'm right? Think I'm crazy? Got different slant on things? Bring it on!