Tuesday, as the ball settled into Andres Torres' glove for the second out in what proved to be Brian Wilson's five-out save, The Thought slipped into my mind. I drove it away.
"Down, evil thought. Get thee behind me."
Wednesday Pat Burrell lifted a three-run blast into the left field bleachers, and The Thought was back. As Timmy Franchise continued to mow down hitters It got stronger and stronger. I tried to force It down, kind like knowing you're gonna hurl on the roller coaster but you can't 'cause the gute girl in the tube top is watching.
Then, despite another nail-biting ninth innning, it was done. The Magic Number slipped to "3" and The Thought was alive and well.
The Thought: "Holy $#@! ... They're gonna win this thing."
I should know better. The Giants have done absolutely nothing but break my heart ever since I first became a fan 40 seasons ago. But with the Giants holding a two-game lead with five to play, all they really gotta do is hold serve to reach the postseason for the first time since 2003.
I don't want to jinx it. I've seen things I thought were in the bag disappear into vapor (Game Six? Anybody?). But these guys finally have me daring to dream.
Let's face it, the National League isn't what it used to be. I once joked that the AL was that league between Triple A and the Majors, but the truth is it's the superior group right now. Most teams have an ace, and even the Royals and Blue Jays can hit. The AL East is more stacked that your local Hooters, while the Twins and Rangers are solid contenders. The NL has the Phillies and...the Phillies.
But for now, the goal for the Giants is to find a way to win a flawed division and then take their chances in the postseason crap shoot.
Kudos to Timmy for settling down after a shaky first inning. We always hope Jonathan Sanchez will perform like Lincecum, but it's a bit scary when Lincecum is acting like Sanchez. Fortunately the D-backs only struck for one tally before Lincecum righted the ship, making Burrell's long ball stand up.
I wrote previously that if the Giants could just stake their pitchers to 3-4 runs a game, they'd be successful. So far, so good.
Now, finish it.
.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
And Then There Were Two
It all comes down to this.
Those annoying half-games are gone and everyone pertinent to the conversation-- San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado -- is on equal footing. Six games to play and the issue is decided.
It's hard to believe, but this team that lacks offense, power, speed and consistency finds itself in the driver's seat. The Giants hold a one-game lead over San Diego. The Rockies, at five games back, have a pulse but the priest is on stand-by. Unless someone spits the bit, the three-game showdown over the weekend will decide the issue.
Could anyone have forseen the Rockies' demise? They were the hottest team in the division, then they blew a 6-1 lead to The Hated Dodgers and never regained their footing. They got swept in Arizona, then they Giants took them in two of three (and the one loss was a gift from God, or Bochy), and the Fat Lady started tuning up. Rock-tober? Not this year.
There were those who liked the Giants at the start of the season a lot more than I did, but I dare say nobody picked the Padres to be in this position. It says volumes about the National League that two teams that can't hit their average weight have an opportunity to (potentially) punch TWO tickets to the postseason.
But enough about the wildcard. The Giants' easiest path to October baseball is simply winning the division. It's a sprint to the finish, and they have a one-game head start.
So, now what? Andres Torres is less than whole, Freddy Sanchez and Edgar Renteria are (not surprisingly) ailing -- although having Renteria on the shelf, in my opinion, strengthens the team -- and there are still serious defensive issues with range no matter where you look.
It's gonna be an uphill battle. There will be serious pressure on the offense to produce, and it's anyone's guess if that will produce diamonds or coal dust. We can only hope the G-men can muster 3-4 runs a game. Asking for more than that given the personnel isn't reasonable.
As has been the case all year, the pitchers are gonna have to carry the load.
First things first. The Giants can't overlook Arizona, which opens a three-gamer at The Big Phone on Tuesday. Ask the Rockies about the folly of that. A lot has been made of the Giants rotation - how to match up better against the Padres. Most of the speculation has to do with Timmy Franchise: Do the Giants push Lincecum back a day and save him for San Diego?
My take: Absolutely not.
The Giants benefitted from a day off Monday. Because of that, every member of the rotation gets the extra day's rest while staying in turn: Sanchez, Bumgarner, Lincecum against Arizona followed by Zito, Cain and Sanchez over the weekend. I'd shake it up, but by moving Lincecum FORWARD.
Think about it. Timmy actually throws on regular rest, Bumgarner gets an extra day, and everyone else is both rested and on turn thanks to the day off. This is of considerable interest to one Barry Zito. Move Lincecum back to face San Diego and Zito is the obvious canidate to move up -- and face an Arizona team that lights him up. He's had better success against the Friars.
And here's what else this accomplishes. If the Giants and Padres tie after 162 games, the Braves factor in. If they've fallen off and both the Giants and Padres have clinched playoff spots, the Padres are awarded the NL West as winner of the season series while the Giants earn the charity pass. If the Braves have locked down the wildcard and the NL West gets but one rep, then strap in for Game 163 -- winner take all.
Who do you want throwing that game?
That's what I thought. Personally I'd vote for Warren Spahn, but he's not available. The Giants, however, would have The Freak throwing on regular rest. In a one-game scenario, that's my guy. You also have the ability to have both Lincecum and Bumgarner on standby if Jonathan Sanchez turns into Solomon Torres on Sunday.
And, of course, if the Giants don't need Timmy (to God's ears), he's rested for Game One of the division series. In fact, the pitching is set up to allow Lincecum and Cain to go 1-2. Yep, the baseball Gods are smiling -- if the Giants are smart enough to read the tea leaves. The question is, will they be thinking that far ahead?
It would be a nice problem to have, wouldn't it?
But first, the Giants have to take care of business. Arizona took two of three the last time they came to the bay, and those young pitchers know their stuff. The rest of the team may let them down upon occasion, but that's certainly not the fault of the pitching staff (sound familiar?). Against a team that is as offensively challenged as the Giants, that's a banana peel they could slip on well before the weekend gets here.
Tuesday sets the stage, and it'll be interesting to see which J. Sanchez shows up -- the guy who makes opposing hitters look silly or the one who can't find the plate with the aid of Google Earth. A win does wonders for the Giants -- it means the weekend matters no matter what else may transpire. A win put the Giants one step closer to slamming the door. And a well-pitched win provides some confidence that Sanchez won't turn to jelly if Game 162 (which he's scheduled to pitch) turns out to be THE game.
Wow. Throughout the year you see games characterized as "must win". The hyperbole is fitting now.
This has been a screwy year. The Giants have alternately looked both invincible and insufferable. But through it all, they've kept their heads above water.
Now we find out if they can swim.
.
Those annoying half-games are gone and everyone pertinent to the conversation-- San Francisco, San Diego, Colorado -- is on equal footing. Six games to play and the issue is decided.
It's hard to believe, but this team that lacks offense, power, speed and consistency finds itself in the driver's seat. The Giants hold a one-game lead over San Diego. The Rockies, at five games back, have a pulse but the priest is on stand-by. Unless someone spits the bit, the three-game showdown over the weekend will decide the issue.
Could anyone have forseen the Rockies' demise? They were the hottest team in the division, then they blew a 6-1 lead to The Hated Dodgers and never regained their footing. They got swept in Arizona, then they Giants took them in two of three (and the one loss was a gift from God, or Bochy), and the Fat Lady started tuning up. Rock-tober? Not this year.
There were those who liked the Giants at the start of the season a lot more than I did, but I dare say nobody picked the Padres to be in this position. It says volumes about the National League that two teams that can't hit their average weight have an opportunity to (potentially) punch TWO tickets to the postseason.
But enough about the wildcard. The Giants' easiest path to October baseball is simply winning the division. It's a sprint to the finish, and they have a one-game head start.
So, now what? Andres Torres is less than whole, Freddy Sanchez and Edgar Renteria are (not surprisingly) ailing -- although having Renteria on the shelf, in my opinion, strengthens the team -- and there are still serious defensive issues with range no matter where you look.
It's gonna be an uphill battle. There will be serious pressure on the offense to produce, and it's anyone's guess if that will produce diamonds or coal dust. We can only hope the G-men can muster 3-4 runs a game. Asking for more than that given the personnel isn't reasonable.
As has been the case all year, the pitchers are gonna have to carry the load.
First things first. The Giants can't overlook Arizona, which opens a three-gamer at The Big Phone on Tuesday. Ask the Rockies about the folly of that. A lot has been made of the Giants rotation - how to match up better against the Padres. Most of the speculation has to do with Timmy Franchise: Do the Giants push Lincecum back a day and save him for San Diego?
My take: Absolutely not.
The Giants benefitted from a day off Monday. Because of that, every member of the rotation gets the extra day's rest while staying in turn: Sanchez, Bumgarner, Lincecum against Arizona followed by Zito, Cain and Sanchez over the weekend. I'd shake it up, but by moving Lincecum FORWARD.
Think about it. Timmy actually throws on regular rest, Bumgarner gets an extra day, and everyone else is both rested and on turn thanks to the day off. This is of considerable interest to one Barry Zito. Move Lincecum back to face San Diego and Zito is the obvious canidate to move up -- and face an Arizona team that lights him up. He's had better success against the Friars.
And here's what else this accomplishes. If the Giants and Padres tie after 162 games, the Braves factor in. If they've fallen off and both the Giants and Padres have clinched playoff spots, the Padres are awarded the NL West as winner of the season series while the Giants earn the charity pass. If the Braves have locked down the wildcard and the NL West gets but one rep, then strap in for Game 163 -- winner take all.
Who do you want throwing that game?
That's what I thought. Personally I'd vote for Warren Spahn, but he's not available. The Giants, however, would have The Freak throwing on regular rest. In a one-game scenario, that's my guy. You also have the ability to have both Lincecum and Bumgarner on standby if Jonathan Sanchez turns into Solomon Torres on Sunday.
And, of course, if the Giants don't need Timmy (to God's ears), he's rested for Game One of the division series. In fact, the pitching is set up to allow Lincecum and Cain to go 1-2. Yep, the baseball Gods are smiling -- if the Giants are smart enough to read the tea leaves. The question is, will they be thinking that far ahead?
It would be a nice problem to have, wouldn't it?
But first, the Giants have to take care of business. Arizona took two of three the last time they came to the bay, and those young pitchers know their stuff. The rest of the team may let them down upon occasion, but that's certainly not the fault of the pitching staff (sound familiar?). Against a team that is as offensively challenged as the Giants, that's a banana peel they could slip on well before the weekend gets here.
Tuesday sets the stage, and it'll be interesting to see which J. Sanchez shows up -- the guy who makes opposing hitters look silly or the one who can't find the plate with the aid of Google Earth. A win does wonders for the Giants -- it means the weekend matters no matter what else may transpire. A win put the Giants one step closer to slamming the door. And a well-pitched win provides some confidence that Sanchez won't turn to jelly if Game 162 (which he's scheduled to pitch) turns out to be THE game.
Wow. Throughout the year you see games characterized as "must win". The hyperbole is fitting now.
This has been a screwy year. The Giants have alternately looked both invincible and insufferable. But through it all, they've kept their heads above water.
Now we find out if they can swim.
.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Does this Look Like a Contender?
When you're calling card is pitching, God knows nine runs in a ballgame should be enough. As pathetic as the Giants' offense is, nine runs better be enough because failure to capitalize means wasting an entire week's worth of tallies.
And did I mention how much I ##%%% hate Colorado?
When we look back on this season there will be a lot of turning points -- the most galling of which came in the offseason when the moron GM of this morbid franchise decided Mark Derosa was the key to the offense. But right in the front of my brain will be game 155, when yet another season died in agonizing fashion in Colorado.
How about that Giant defense bookending the night? The game ends when the wooden left side turns a single into a way to score from first base -- the perfect capper to a game where the first run scored on a a pop fly to right that the slowest outfielder in organized baseball played into a two-run hit.
Thanks Sabes. Nice acquisitions. What, the guy with the walker wasn't available? Maybe there's a double amputee you can sign for 2011.
Of course, Sabean has company in the outhouse. Why the @#$% did Bochy EVER pitch to Tulowitski? The hottest hitter in baseball for a month gets TWO chnances to beat the Giants -- after he's already homered? That's beyond stupid. In the eighth, walk him and pitch to Mora. Mora might line a single and score a run, but he's not going deep. At that point the extra-base hit was the concern, Tulowitski was the threat, and they served it up. Not willing to learn from their mistake, the pitched to him again in the 10th for the eventual loser.
Stupid. Just plain stupid.
The Giants, as has been the case all year, showed no killer instinct when it counted. Say good bye to first place.San Diego got a walk-off win, the Giants lost the same way. Coincidence or providence?
They had a chance to put the Rockies away, and they let them back up off the canvas. So now Sunday becomes a must win. Drop it, and I predicit two things happen -- Colorado comes on to win the division and the Giants miss the playoffs.
Nice job, guys. Once again we saw the difference betwern contenders and pretenders. When I need a sure thing, I'll bet against you.
.
And did I mention how much I ##%%% hate Colorado?
When we look back on this season there will be a lot of turning points -- the most galling of which came in the offseason when the moron GM of this morbid franchise decided Mark Derosa was the key to the offense. But right in the front of my brain will be game 155, when yet another season died in agonizing fashion in Colorado.
How about that Giant defense bookending the night? The game ends when the wooden left side turns a single into a way to score from first base -- the perfect capper to a game where the first run scored on a a pop fly to right that the slowest outfielder in organized baseball played into a two-run hit.
Thanks Sabes. Nice acquisitions. What, the guy with the walker wasn't available? Maybe there's a double amputee you can sign for 2011.
Of course, Sabean has company in the outhouse. Why the @#$% did Bochy EVER pitch to Tulowitski? The hottest hitter in baseball for a month gets TWO chnances to beat the Giants -- after he's already homered? That's beyond stupid. In the eighth, walk him and pitch to Mora. Mora might line a single and score a run, but he's not going deep. At that point the extra-base hit was the concern, Tulowitski was the threat, and they served it up. Not willing to learn from their mistake, the pitched to him again in the 10th for the eventual loser.
Stupid. Just plain stupid.
The Giants, as has been the case all year, showed no killer instinct when it counted. Say good bye to first place.San Diego got a walk-off win, the Giants lost the same way. Coincidence or providence?
They had a chance to put the Rockies away, and they let them back up off the canvas. So now Sunday becomes a must win. Drop it, and I predicit two things happen -- Colorado comes on to win the division and the Giants miss the playoffs.
Nice job, guys. Once again we saw the difference betwern contenders and pretenders. When I need a sure thing, I'll bet against you.
.
Friday, September 24, 2010
And Down the Stretch they Come!
Tell me the wind wasn't blowing out?
When I coached baseball and my team was struggling, the pep talk always came right before playing a team I knew was ripe for the taking. Get the gang fired up, turn them loose on the little Sisters of the Poor. Suddenly they feel like world beaters and leave you looking like a genius.
I think Bruce Bochy went to the same school. On a day the wind turns pop flies into titanic shots and Wrigley plays like a Little League diamond, challenge a struggling offense to hit. Thriteen runs later the slump is snapped -- at least for a day.
The Giants' 13-0 drubbing of Chicago gave the Orange and Black a series win, one they needed after a diappointing effort at home. It vaulted them back over San Diego into the divisional lead, thanks to The Hated Dodgers' 3-1 win over the Friars in a game where the impotent Blue Dogs rediscovered their manhood for a a solitary night.
Thirteen runs. You gotta wonder where this has been all year, and why they can't score more consistently. This is what they do. When the stars are aligned properly, the baseball is balanced perfectly between the gravitational pulls of the moon and Pablo Sandoval, and the temperature and humidity resemble a Tahitian beach at the vernal equinox, the Giants are an offensive juggernaut.
The rest of the time, not so much.
I'm thrilled they finally busted out the sticks and hung one on Ryan Dempster who, like the Cubs, had been on a roll. It's a good sign. But we've seen this before.. it's like Groundhoug Day. The Giants score runs in bunches. They'll hang double digits on someone, then go all Punxatawney Phil on us and dive back into their hole until Brian Doyle Murray pulls them back out of the stump.
Runs. Gotta have 'em. And they can't count on having outbursts where Juan Uribe homers twice, Madison Bumgarner gets two hits, and Jose Guillen gets plunked times two -- all in the same inning. That happens about as often as Paris Hilton clears customs; as often as Bengie Molina hits for the cycle, as often as Edgar Renteria spends four consecutive weeks off the DL, as often as... you get the idea. Lightning isn't likely to strike again. So, 13 runs? I'm not exactly jumping for joy.
Wanna talk impressive? Two words: Madison Bumgarner. Like I said, the wind was blowing out. And yet this kid (and that's what he is) kept pouding the strike zone. "Here, hit it if you can." Seven frames of shutout ball on a night the Giants probably could have survived one of Jonathan Sanchez's patented meltdowns. But he kept focus, which is harder than it sounds when the game is out of hand early. Kudos to him for keeping the run of great pitching alive and continuing to relegate Todd Wellemeyer deep into the dark recesses of the "Where are They Now and Why was He Ever Here?" file.
After the pen closed it out, that made 17 straight games limiting the enemy to three runs or less (and 21 in which they got no more than four). Sad that they're only 11-6 in those games. Just think how different the division would be if the Giants were as consistent as, say Lindsay Lohan's appearances on Celebrity Justice.
And yet, with nine games left to play they hold the future in their often shaky and arthritic hands. It's a simple "win and they're in" scenario. No problem. In those situations they always...uh...
Neifi Perez...Steve Finley.....I think I'm gonna be sick.
Don't get me wrong. I want to root, root, root for the Giants. If they don't win, well, I've kinda come to expect it.
I've personally spent forty years wandering in the World Series desert. I'd like to come in to the land of air conditioning and find a comfortable place that doesn't smell like an unwashed camel (like a washed camel smells better?). But after having my heart broken so many times, do I dare to hope?
The Rockies are now 3 1/2 back and coming off a sweep at the hands of Arizona. Are they gonna fold or just be pissed? Can anyone even mutter the words "Coors Field" and not break into a sweat? In my minds eye I see Neifi Perez going yard off Robb Nen to ruin 1998. I see Ryan Spilbourghs' grand slam that effectively ended the Giants improbable run last year. I see dead people. I want to crawl under the bed, asume the fetal positon and have the breakdown I've so richly earned over the past four decades.
But, of course I'll watch. I'll root. Hard. It's like watching Road House, a film so epicly bad that you can't pull your eyes away (are the Giants gonna be Patrick Swayze or Ben Gazarra?). I'll live and die with every at-bat. I'll whine and moan but really all I want is a hug -- and a World Series title. Earthquakes, rally monkeys, the Neifi chicken -- I think a lot of longstanding Giants fans would say the Baseball Gods owe us one.
The next three games will say a lot. While the Giants can't deal directly with San Diego, they can assure that the final week of the season is nothing more than a two-team race. A series win means the Giants go into the final homestand with the Rockies no worse than four games in the rear view (they host The Hated Dodgers while the Giants are off on Monday), and a sweep slams the door. The Giants pitching is lined up (Lincecum, Zito, Cain), although quite honestly the starters haven't been an issue no matter who hits the mound. The question, as always, is: "Will they hit?"
Thre is some small measure of comfort: at least I know Neifi Perez won't be there.
.
When I coached baseball and my team was struggling, the pep talk always came right before playing a team I knew was ripe for the taking. Get the gang fired up, turn them loose on the little Sisters of the Poor. Suddenly they feel like world beaters and leave you looking like a genius.
I think Bruce Bochy went to the same school. On a day the wind turns pop flies into titanic shots and Wrigley plays like a Little League diamond, challenge a struggling offense to hit. Thriteen runs later the slump is snapped -- at least for a day.
The Giants' 13-0 drubbing of Chicago gave the Orange and Black a series win, one they needed after a diappointing effort at home. It vaulted them back over San Diego into the divisional lead, thanks to The Hated Dodgers' 3-1 win over the Friars in a game where the impotent Blue Dogs rediscovered their manhood for a a solitary night.
Thirteen runs. You gotta wonder where this has been all year, and why they can't score more consistently. This is what they do. When the stars are aligned properly, the baseball is balanced perfectly between the gravitational pulls of the moon and Pablo Sandoval, and the temperature and humidity resemble a Tahitian beach at the vernal equinox, the Giants are an offensive juggernaut.
The rest of the time, not so much.
I'm thrilled they finally busted out the sticks and hung one on Ryan Dempster who, like the Cubs, had been on a roll. It's a good sign. But we've seen this before.. it's like Groundhoug Day. The Giants score runs in bunches. They'll hang double digits on someone, then go all Punxatawney Phil on us and dive back into their hole until Brian Doyle Murray pulls them back out of the stump.
Runs. Gotta have 'em. And they can't count on having outbursts where Juan Uribe homers twice, Madison Bumgarner gets two hits, and Jose Guillen gets plunked times two -- all in the same inning. That happens about as often as Paris Hilton clears customs; as often as Bengie Molina hits for the cycle, as often as Edgar Renteria spends four consecutive weeks off the DL, as often as... you get the idea. Lightning isn't likely to strike again. So, 13 runs? I'm not exactly jumping for joy.
Wanna talk impressive? Two words: Madison Bumgarner. Like I said, the wind was blowing out. And yet this kid (and that's what he is) kept pouding the strike zone. "Here, hit it if you can." Seven frames of shutout ball on a night the Giants probably could have survived one of Jonathan Sanchez's patented meltdowns. But he kept focus, which is harder than it sounds when the game is out of hand early. Kudos to him for keeping the run of great pitching alive and continuing to relegate Todd Wellemeyer deep into the dark recesses of the "Where are They Now and Why was He Ever Here?" file.
After the pen closed it out, that made 17 straight games limiting the enemy to three runs or less (and 21 in which they got no more than four). Sad that they're only 11-6 in those games. Just think how different the division would be if the Giants were as consistent as, say Lindsay Lohan's appearances on Celebrity Justice.
And yet, with nine games left to play they hold the future in their often shaky and arthritic hands. It's a simple "win and they're in" scenario. No problem. In those situations they always...uh...
Neifi Perez...Steve Finley.....I think I'm gonna be sick.
Don't get me wrong. I want to root, root, root for the Giants. If they don't win, well, I've kinda come to expect it.
I've personally spent forty years wandering in the World Series desert. I'd like to come in to the land of air conditioning and find a comfortable place that doesn't smell like an unwashed camel (like a washed camel smells better?). But after having my heart broken so many times, do I dare to hope?
The Rockies are now 3 1/2 back and coming off a sweep at the hands of Arizona. Are they gonna fold or just be pissed? Can anyone even mutter the words "Coors Field" and not break into a sweat? In my minds eye I see Neifi Perez going yard off Robb Nen to ruin 1998. I see Ryan Spilbourghs' grand slam that effectively ended the Giants improbable run last year. I see dead people. I want to crawl under the bed, asume the fetal positon and have the breakdown I've so richly earned over the past four decades.
But, of course I'll watch. I'll root. Hard. It's like watching Road House, a film so epicly bad that you can't pull your eyes away (are the Giants gonna be Patrick Swayze or Ben Gazarra?). I'll live and die with every at-bat. I'll whine and moan but really all I want is a hug -- and a World Series title. Earthquakes, rally monkeys, the Neifi chicken -- I think a lot of longstanding Giants fans would say the Baseball Gods owe us one.
The next three games will say a lot. While the Giants can't deal directly with San Diego, they can assure that the final week of the season is nothing more than a two-team race. A series win means the Giants go into the final homestand with the Rockies no worse than four games in the rear view (they host The Hated Dodgers while the Giants are off on Monday), and a sweep slams the door. The Giants pitching is lined up (Lincecum, Zito, Cain), although quite honestly the starters haven't been an issue no matter who hits the mound. The question, as always, is: "Will they hit?"
Thre is some small measure of comfort: at least I know Neifi Perez won't be there.
.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Not Such a Sweet Number
Sweet Sixrteen? Not in the case of the Giants, who have now been blanked in that number of games this year.
That's a number the Giants should be celebrating. Wednesday's (choke, gag) battle with Chicago at Wrigley marked the 16th consecutive game in which San Francisco pitchers allowed three runs or less. That ties a record that dates back to the dead ball era, and yet the Giants are just 10-6 in those games -- and in the last five losses they amassed a grand total of ONE FREAKING RUN!
Tell me if you've heard this before. Uh, they can't hit. Sorry, the secret is out.
The Giants are setting pitching records left and right. Even Jonathan Sanchez has decided not to suck -- at least for now. But the offense has elevated ineptitude to a whole new level. Jeez, John Wayne Bobbit wasn't this impotent. And it's not like that fact is lost on the team.
Said Aubrey Huff:
"This pitching staff keeps you in the game so many... every day, really. The worst start you have is two runs in seven innings. Take the other day with Lincecum. We had our Cy Young out of the game in the fifth because we couldn't score. It's been very, very frustrating for us as an offense."
And for the pitchers, I'm sure, as Timmy Franchise evidenced when he went off on Saturday. And, by the way, it's not a walk in the park for us fans, either.
Back to Huff Daddy:
"We're up there hacking away and not really working anybody. We'll get our hit an inning, it seems like, and that doesn't do anything unless it's a homer."
Yup, it's chicken or feathers with these guys, and we're filling a lot more pillows than buckets. This is the same Huff who noted during a previous Giants slump (and there have been many) that a 1-0 deficit seemed like 10. It might as well be.
Mike Krukow hit in on the head Wednesday when a walk put a runner on base with two gone in the eighth. "That's a rally," sayeth The Kruk. Sad, but true. How long before he and Duane Kuiper get absolutely giddy over the prospect of a three-ball count?
What a waste. Do you reallize this team is 74-22 when they score at least three runs? Do you know what Major League team has a better mark that that? That's right...NOBODY! If this lousy bunch of sticks could muster 3-4 runs a night, they'd win the division in a cakewalk. The damn thing would have been over in August. Instead, the intellectually bankrupt "pitching only" modus operandi of Brian Satan, uh, Sabean (there I go again) has again allowed the Giants to spit in the face of fortune.
Pennants? World Series rings? A Giants GM craves not these things. They lead to the Dark Side.
This isn't a very smart team. They don't do the little things that create runs. They don't move runners, they don't go first-to-third on singles, and God forbid they should bunt -- Bruce Bochy would rather surrender a limb than surrender an out. They have no team speed, by design, forgoeing any kind of reasoned attack for the hope of the three-run bomb. The Giants play for the big inning -- and lately they've had about as much success as the guy who dreamed up New Coke -- or Pablo Sandoval.
Is there a bigger disappointment to this season than the Kung Fu Panda? After all of the press about Camp Panda and his desire to be a lean, mean hitting machine, this guy let himself go in a real White Goodman kind of way (why Dodgeball didn't win an Oscar is still a mystery). Panda will need a major hot streak just to bat his rather considerable weight, and it's sad to think a guy who captured our hearts just a year ago may actually eat himself out of the league. I'd never before seen an entire signing bonus spent on Krispy Kremes.
Let's take a close look at the most recent offensive debacle (one of many this year). Randy Wells, Randy Freakin' Wells, a guy who has been about as consistent as Dick Cheney's EKG, tosses 7 2/3 innings of goose eggs -- and it shouldn't have happened.
First Inning: Runners at the corners with one out, the big guns coming up. Seven pitches later (none of which had the velocity of a Tim Lincecum change-up) Buster Posey and Pat Burrell are strikeout victims and the threat is dead.
Second Inning: Jose Guillen opens with a double. Pablo Sandoval wastes an out with a grounder to short, so the fly ball that followed off the bat of the perennially-struggling Juan Uribe does nothing but move the runner to third, where he dies. Had Sandoval done his job, the fly was deep enough that even Guillen, the slowest man in baseball not named Benjie Molina, could have signed autographs en route to the plate and still scored comfortably.
Hits? Probably too much to ask for. My kingdom for a productive out!
Eighth Inning: Travis Ishikawa draws a two-out walk as a pinch hitter (rally time!), Cody Ross follows with a double to put the tying runs in scoring position, but Freddie Sanchez strikes out on four pitches, the last of which missed the strike zone by 1,452 miles (that's an approximation).
Wow. That Wells has Cy Young written all over him. Of course that's because someone got him with a Sharpie while he was sleeping. To add insult to injury, Carlos Marmol finished the game off by fanning Sanchez, Huff, Posey and Burrell in succession while managing to throw just one fastball for a strike.
As if the offensive struggles weren't enough, defense isn't helping. Posey's wild throw that plated the second run was poor, to be sure, but how about those hops from Panda? Come off the bag, you fat tub of goo! Another outing like that and I might suggest solving the problem Vegas style and dropping him in a hole in the desert. Judging from performance, anything over six inches deep will get the job done because he ain't gonna climb out.
This is a collection of parts, not a team. Wanna see an NL West squad play team baseball? Check out Colorado -- and the Giants go there next. Great. Coors Field: land of Ryan Splibourghs, Neifi Perez and a host of other Giants horrors. How fitting. A team that hasn't a clue how to finish going up against the division's ultimate fast closer.
At least Sabean can get a look up close at how its supposed to be done, even if the example is in the other clubhouse.
.
That's a number the Giants should be celebrating. Wednesday's (choke, gag) battle with Chicago at Wrigley marked the 16th consecutive game in which San Francisco pitchers allowed three runs or less. That ties a record that dates back to the dead ball era, and yet the Giants are just 10-6 in those games -- and in the last five losses they amassed a grand total of ONE FREAKING RUN!
Tell me if you've heard this before. Uh, they can't hit. Sorry, the secret is out.
The Giants are setting pitching records left and right. Even Jonathan Sanchez has decided not to suck -- at least for now. But the offense has elevated ineptitude to a whole new level. Jeez, John Wayne Bobbit wasn't this impotent. And it's not like that fact is lost on the team.
Said Aubrey Huff:
"This pitching staff keeps you in the game so many... every day, really. The worst start you have is two runs in seven innings. Take the other day with Lincecum. We had our Cy Young out of the game in the fifth because we couldn't score. It's been very, very frustrating for us as an offense."
And for the pitchers, I'm sure, as Timmy Franchise evidenced when he went off on Saturday. And, by the way, it's not a walk in the park for us fans, either.
Back to Huff Daddy:
"We're up there hacking away and not really working anybody. We'll get our hit an inning, it seems like, and that doesn't do anything unless it's a homer."
Yup, it's chicken or feathers with these guys, and we're filling a lot more pillows than buckets. This is the same Huff who noted during a previous Giants slump (and there have been many) that a 1-0 deficit seemed like 10. It might as well be.
Mike Krukow hit in on the head Wednesday when a walk put a runner on base with two gone in the eighth. "That's a rally," sayeth The Kruk. Sad, but true. How long before he and Duane Kuiper get absolutely giddy over the prospect of a three-ball count?
What a waste. Do you reallize this team is 74-22 when they score at least three runs? Do you know what Major League team has a better mark that that? That's right...NOBODY! If this lousy bunch of sticks could muster 3-4 runs a night, they'd win the division in a cakewalk. The damn thing would have been over in August. Instead, the intellectually bankrupt "pitching only" modus operandi of Brian Satan, uh, Sabean (there I go again) has again allowed the Giants to spit in the face of fortune.
Pennants? World Series rings? A Giants GM craves not these things. They lead to the Dark Side.
This isn't a very smart team. They don't do the little things that create runs. They don't move runners, they don't go first-to-third on singles, and God forbid they should bunt -- Bruce Bochy would rather surrender a limb than surrender an out. They have no team speed, by design, forgoeing any kind of reasoned attack for the hope of the three-run bomb. The Giants play for the big inning -- and lately they've had about as much success as the guy who dreamed up New Coke -- or Pablo Sandoval.
Is there a bigger disappointment to this season than the Kung Fu Panda? After all of the press about Camp Panda and his desire to be a lean, mean hitting machine, this guy let himself go in a real White Goodman kind of way (why Dodgeball didn't win an Oscar is still a mystery). Panda will need a major hot streak just to bat his rather considerable weight, and it's sad to think a guy who captured our hearts just a year ago may actually eat himself out of the league. I'd never before seen an entire signing bonus spent on Krispy Kremes.
Let's take a close look at the most recent offensive debacle (one of many this year). Randy Wells, Randy Freakin' Wells, a guy who has been about as consistent as Dick Cheney's EKG, tosses 7 2/3 innings of goose eggs -- and it shouldn't have happened.
First Inning: Runners at the corners with one out, the big guns coming up. Seven pitches later (none of which had the velocity of a Tim Lincecum change-up) Buster Posey and Pat Burrell are strikeout victims and the threat is dead.
Second Inning: Jose Guillen opens with a double. Pablo Sandoval wastes an out with a grounder to short, so the fly ball that followed off the bat of the perennially-struggling Juan Uribe does nothing but move the runner to third, where he dies. Had Sandoval done his job, the fly was deep enough that even Guillen, the slowest man in baseball not named Benjie Molina, could have signed autographs en route to the plate and still scored comfortably.
Hits? Probably too much to ask for. My kingdom for a productive out!
Eighth Inning: Travis Ishikawa draws a two-out walk as a pinch hitter (rally time!), Cody Ross follows with a double to put the tying runs in scoring position, but Freddie Sanchez strikes out on four pitches, the last of which missed the strike zone by 1,452 miles (that's an approximation).
Wow. That Wells has Cy Young written all over him. Of course that's because someone got him with a Sharpie while he was sleeping. To add insult to injury, Carlos Marmol finished the game off by fanning Sanchez, Huff, Posey and Burrell in succession while managing to throw just one fastball for a strike.
As if the offensive struggles weren't enough, defense isn't helping. Posey's wild throw that plated the second run was poor, to be sure, but how about those hops from Panda? Come off the bag, you fat tub of goo! Another outing like that and I might suggest solving the problem Vegas style and dropping him in a hole in the desert. Judging from performance, anything over six inches deep will get the job done because he ain't gonna climb out.
This is a collection of parts, not a team. Wanna see an NL West squad play team baseball? Check out Colorado -- and the Giants go there next. Great. Coors Field: land of Ryan Splibourghs, Neifi Perez and a host of other Giants horrors. How fitting. A team that hasn't a clue how to finish going up against the division's ultimate fast closer.
At least Sabean can get a look up close at how its supposed to be done, even if the example is in the other clubhouse.
.
Monday, September 20, 2010
For Those of Us Who Think Sports are a Religion
A prayer for the off day......
Our father who art in San Francisco
Baseball be thy name.
Thy will be done
The NL West be won
On the field, as well as in the bullpen.
Give us this day our bat and glove,
And forgive us for our errors, as we forgive those who homerun against us.
Lead us not into defeat, but help us to BEAT LA.
In the name of the fans, Tim Lincecum, and the Lunatic Fringe,
Amen.
.
Our father who art in San Francisco
Baseball be thy name.
Thy will be done
The NL West be won
On the field, as well as in the bullpen.
Give us this day our bat and glove,
And forgive us for our errors, as we forgive those who homerun against us.
Lead us not into defeat, but help us to BEAT LA.
In the name of the fans, Tim Lincecum, and the Lunatic Fringe,
Amen.
.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Back in Front, but for How Long?
It's been about a week since I posted because I made the trip to San Francisco myself to check out the damage, and tapping out an entire blog via iPhone wasn't my idea of recreation after watching baseball that made me sick.
Dinner with friends at Buca? Good fun. Pounding your fingers through the glass of a $400 smart phone? Not so much.
The Giants are back in front, and I'm convinced now more than ever that it simply can't last.
What we're seeing now is the quintesential Brian Sabean team -- with some wily "veterans" nobody wanted pulling down the rest of the squad. I was cautiously enthused after a 7-3 road trip that thrust the Giants into the driver's seat. Then they stumbled home, spit the bit on a 3-3 homestand against two teams with losing records, and held onto the lead only with the assistance of smoke and mirrors.
Let's look at the team realistically. It's sucks. Okay, maybe that's an overstatement, but you have to admit that the team is flawed. Look at the line-up and tell me what the Giants really have. Huff is having a great year. Posey is gonna be really good. The rest of the team? Well, what we have here is a bunch of guys who, if they found themselves on the roster of a real contender, would hit in the lower third when (and if) they got on the field.
What's really sad is that given the state of the field and the Giants ability to pitch, they'd have a legitimate shot at winning it all if they had just an average offense. Unfortunately this team doesn't qualify. No average offense gets shut out 15 times in a season.
Even more pathetic is that this isn't exactly a situation that snuck up on the Giants, and it is one that threatens to destroy the team. When the natives get restless, there's trouble afoot. When the guy who finally puts voice to the frustration is the team's star and top draw, you're really in the tall grass.
Timmy Franchise was yanked for a pinch hitter in the fifth frame of a two-run ball game Saturday night, such is the desperation of the Giants' offense. Lincecum was livid in the dugout, and gave a glimpse into the mindset of the pitchers after the game when speaking to the Merc.
"That’s something we’ve dealt with for four years as a pitching staff,” Lincecum said. “It’s nothing new.”
And yet it never gets fixed.
The Giants' philosophy is bankrupt. "Pitching First" is one thing. "Pitching Only" doesn't work, but that's what the Giants have created. Think about it. Other than pitch, is there anything this team consistently does well?
The lack of run support the Giants give Matt Cain is the stuff of legend, but let's focus on a less-popular case. The Giants snapped their skid today behind six strong innings from the much-maligned Barry Zito. Zito earned his first win in two months, but has he pitched that badly? Not really. He's the guy fans have beaten up for four years, but....
For his career, which includes four largely-panned years in San Francisco, Zito has a record of 110-6 when given four runs or more to work with. Four years with the Giants, the same four years Lincecum spoke of. Connect the dots. Score for this guy and he's 104 games ABOVE .500. And he's the failure?
This is a poorly constructed team. Yes, I know it's shocking that I'd say such a thing.
For whatever reason, a team that isn't a power team and plays in a pitcher-friendly ball park is suddenly reliant on the home run. Two more long balls on Sunday drove in seven of the nine runs -- and one of those was a miracle shot by a guy who touched up a lefty despite hitting just .218 against southpaws this year.
Again courtesy The Merc: Since that miracle rally in LA the Giants have played 15 games. In eight of them the Giants homered and averaged six runs a game. In the seven during which they didn't homer, they scored six runs TOTAL. Too many chicken-or-feathers hitters.
The Giants have exceptional pitching, but they play inept defense and can't hit consistently. Despite what Bochy and Sabean say publicly, this isn't a slump. Saying this is a slump is like saying PG&E threw a small barbecue in San Bruno.
It's hard to tell sometimes where the blame lies, but we've seen managing partners change from Magowan to Neukom and it's the same old story. The one consistent face is Sabean, so he gets my vote.
The Giants had a great chance to do something special this year. You could see it at the trade deadline. Every team in contention could be had by a team that could pitch, and the Giants could pitch. All they needed was some help on offense. It never came.
They may very well reach the postseason, although I do think Colorado is the best (and most complete) team in the division and should take the West. But failure to make a move was criminal, and that's the reason they Giants aren't likely to win a ring -- blowing another year of great pitching.
Another year wasted, and 1954 was a long time ago.
.
Dinner with friends at Buca? Good fun. Pounding your fingers through the glass of a $400 smart phone? Not so much.
The Giants are back in front, and I'm convinced now more than ever that it simply can't last.
What we're seeing now is the quintesential Brian Sabean team -- with some wily "veterans" nobody wanted pulling down the rest of the squad. I was cautiously enthused after a 7-3 road trip that thrust the Giants into the driver's seat. Then they stumbled home, spit the bit on a 3-3 homestand against two teams with losing records, and held onto the lead only with the assistance of smoke and mirrors.
Let's look at the team realistically. It's sucks. Okay, maybe that's an overstatement, but you have to admit that the team is flawed. Look at the line-up and tell me what the Giants really have. Huff is having a great year. Posey is gonna be really good. The rest of the team? Well, what we have here is a bunch of guys who, if they found themselves on the roster of a real contender, would hit in the lower third when (and if) they got on the field.
What's really sad is that given the state of the field and the Giants ability to pitch, they'd have a legitimate shot at winning it all if they had just an average offense. Unfortunately this team doesn't qualify. No average offense gets shut out 15 times in a season.
Even more pathetic is that this isn't exactly a situation that snuck up on the Giants, and it is one that threatens to destroy the team. When the natives get restless, there's trouble afoot. When the guy who finally puts voice to the frustration is the team's star and top draw, you're really in the tall grass.
Timmy Franchise was yanked for a pinch hitter in the fifth frame of a two-run ball game Saturday night, such is the desperation of the Giants' offense. Lincecum was livid in the dugout, and gave a glimpse into the mindset of the pitchers after the game when speaking to the Merc.
"That’s something we’ve dealt with for four years as a pitching staff,” Lincecum said. “It’s nothing new.”
And yet it never gets fixed.
The Giants' philosophy is bankrupt. "Pitching First" is one thing. "Pitching Only" doesn't work, but that's what the Giants have created. Think about it. Other than pitch, is there anything this team consistently does well?
The lack of run support the Giants give Matt Cain is the stuff of legend, but let's focus on a less-popular case. The Giants snapped their skid today behind six strong innings from the much-maligned Barry Zito. Zito earned his first win in two months, but has he pitched that badly? Not really. He's the guy fans have beaten up for four years, but....
For his career, which includes four largely-panned years in San Francisco, Zito has a record of 110-6 when given four runs or more to work with. Four years with the Giants, the same four years Lincecum spoke of. Connect the dots. Score for this guy and he's 104 games ABOVE .500. And he's the failure?
This is a poorly constructed team. Yes, I know it's shocking that I'd say such a thing.
For whatever reason, a team that isn't a power team and plays in a pitcher-friendly ball park is suddenly reliant on the home run. Two more long balls on Sunday drove in seven of the nine runs -- and one of those was a miracle shot by a guy who touched up a lefty despite hitting just .218 against southpaws this year.
Again courtesy The Merc: Since that miracle rally in LA the Giants have played 15 games. In eight of them the Giants homered and averaged six runs a game. In the seven during which they didn't homer, they scored six runs TOTAL. Too many chicken-or-feathers hitters.
The Giants have exceptional pitching, but they play inept defense and can't hit consistently. Despite what Bochy and Sabean say publicly, this isn't a slump. Saying this is a slump is like saying PG&E threw a small barbecue in San Bruno.
It's hard to tell sometimes where the blame lies, but we've seen managing partners change from Magowan to Neukom and it's the same old story. The one consistent face is Sabean, so he gets my vote.
The Giants had a great chance to do something special this year. You could see it at the trade deadline. Every team in contention could be had by a team that could pitch, and the Giants could pitch. All they needed was some help on offense. It never came.
They may very well reach the postseason, although I do think Colorado is the best (and most complete) team in the division and should take the West. But failure to make a move was criminal, and that's the reason they Giants aren't likely to win a ring -- blowing another year of great pitching.
Another year wasted, and 1954 was a long time ago.
.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Team Literally Going to the Dogs
I'm a huge fan of Fresno State football. Over the years I've seen them take on the big boys like Oregon and Wisconsin, and the story is always the same. They play well for 58 minutes, then some moron tries to recover a blocked field goal or gets hit in the leg by a bouncing punt and that one stupid miscue costs them the game.
Which brings us to the Giants. How the #@#$##$ do you lose a one-hitter...AGAIN!
The culprits in tonight's 1-0 loss to The Hated Dodgers are easy to pinpoint: an abortion of an offense, Jose Uribe's cast-iron glove, and the complete bastard that put this team together.
To Brian Satan, a hearty "Ef You!" This is your fault, and you should pay with your job, your concience (if you have one) and your entire friggin' career.
Damn right I'm mad. In tight situations, a team's flaws are exposed and magnified. This team can't hit. It hasn't been able to hit all year, and when it really counted they pulled a vanishing act that would have made Chris Angel blush.
It had been over a century since this once-proud franchise had managed to lose a one-hitter. They've done it twice this year. To add insult to injury, the Dodgers' lone hit didn't even figure into the scoring. But a routine grounder that Uribe played like he was fielding with a fork and a boxing glove proved to be the difference.
Barry Zito set the table with two walks and a hit batter, but the fact remains that he made the pitch to get out of it and Uribe just flat butchered it. Hey, didn't Sabean re-sign this jerk at a substantial raise?
Scew this team. This is what they do. They give you hope, then rip your heart from your chest like a Thugee sacrifce to Khali.
All that work done in San Diego is gone. The Padres now lead by a game and a half, they also have a game in hand, and the Giants are in one of their it-seems-to-happen-every-other-week slumps where a 3-2 count qualifies as a rally.
Shortstop is killing them. Offense is killing them. Inept management is killing them. And this crap is absolutely killing me. Forty freaking years of this garbage. I want to hurl, and I want to absolutely douse Sabean when I do it.
Don't drag it out, Giants. Just get it over with. Put the barrel in your mouth and pull the trigger. Go feed the seals at Pier 39 and let someone who has a freaking clue take over this skidmark of a team.
They're 9-4 in September but hitting .200 while doing it. This isn't a pennant race, it's a mirage.
You can't drink sand.
.
Which brings us to the Giants. How the #@#$##$ do you lose a one-hitter...AGAIN!
The culprits in tonight's 1-0 loss to The Hated Dodgers are easy to pinpoint: an abortion of an offense, Jose Uribe's cast-iron glove, and the complete bastard that put this team together.
To Brian Satan, a hearty "Ef You!" This is your fault, and you should pay with your job, your concience (if you have one) and your entire friggin' career.
Damn right I'm mad. In tight situations, a team's flaws are exposed and magnified. This team can't hit. It hasn't been able to hit all year, and when it really counted they pulled a vanishing act that would have made Chris Angel blush.
It had been over a century since this once-proud franchise had managed to lose a one-hitter. They've done it twice this year. To add insult to injury, the Dodgers' lone hit didn't even figure into the scoring. But a routine grounder that Uribe played like he was fielding with a fork and a boxing glove proved to be the difference.
Barry Zito set the table with two walks and a hit batter, but the fact remains that he made the pitch to get out of it and Uribe just flat butchered it. Hey, didn't Sabean re-sign this jerk at a substantial raise?
Scew this team. This is what they do. They give you hope, then rip your heart from your chest like a Thugee sacrifce to Khali.
All that work done in San Diego is gone. The Padres now lead by a game and a half, they also have a game in hand, and the Giants are in one of their it-seems-to-happen-every-other-week slumps where a 3-2 count qualifies as a rally.
Shortstop is killing them. Offense is killing them. Inept management is killing them. And this crap is absolutely killing me. Forty freaking years of this garbage. I want to hurl, and I want to absolutely douse Sabean when I do it.
Don't drag it out, Giants. Just get it over with. Put the barrel in your mouth and pull the trigger. Go feed the seals at Pier 39 and let someone who has a freaking clue take over this skidmark of a team.
They're 9-4 in September but hitting .200 while doing it. This isn't a pennant race, it's a mirage.
You can't drink sand.
.
Friday, September 10, 2010
So Far, So Good
You know all of those annoying games where thew opposition makes the key play at the right time, and the Giants go down to a sickening defeat? Those plays were evident again in Game One of the big Showdown in San Diego.
This time the Giants made them.
San Francisco hitters muscled up for four home runs (each more impressive than the one before it), Matt Cain dealt for eight plus, the defense was generally tighter than Joan Rivers' face (Jose Guillen playing kickball not withstanding), and the front-running Padres went down to a 7-3 defeat that left the Giants just a game back in both the divisional and wildcard races.
Game One was a contest the Giants absolutely had to have, and for once they played like it.
Ther are a lot of guys who contrinbuted to the win. Andres Torres jump started the offense with a first-inning triple, Aubrey Huff had three hits including a two-run jack, Juan Uribe took out someone's sand castle with a solo blast, Buster Posey torched one into the second deck and Pat Burrell launched a shot toward the warehouse that is due to land any moment now. But despite the unusual display of firepower, I thought the game had other heroes.
Matt Cain and Freddy Sanchez.
Cain was The Man. A couple of long balls, including a two-run shot in the ninth, made the game look closer than it was. After a shaky start in which he was bailed out by Sanchez's glove, Cain was in total command of the game. He tired in the ninth, but by that time no one could argue that he hadn't done his job (bite me, Armando).
Sanchez didn't do much. He drove in the first run, singled ahead of Huff's long ball, added a third hit just for show, and made a pair of sparkling defensive plays -- both robbing (Yo!) Adrian Gonzales. Not a bad days work.
So the questions begs, is it for real? Yep, I'm always a downer when it comes to the Giants because they always break my heart. Last night was a big lift. A win in a must-win game is a rarity for this organization (I think the last one was in 2002 in Atlanta), and on this night they had it all going. Next?
This will be a real downer if they roll over and bark the rest of the way. They're' within a game. If they leave San Diego down four, then Game One was nothing more than a condemned prisoner waiting for that clemency call from the governor and hearing the phone ring -- only to find it was a wrong number.
The Giants have to approach the series as if Game One never happened. It's a three-gamer and they must win two. Pull that off and it becomes a two-gamer they have to split. They can't let up. There's no room for error.
Playoffs? As far as the Giants are concerned, the playoffs have already begun.
EXTRA: From the "I told you so" department, this little nugget from the St. Louis Post Dispatch in an article about the Cardinals' moves to find offense since the trade of Ryan Ludwick.
"The Cardinals subsequently attempted to acquire an impact hitter but settled on Houston Astros third baseman Pedro Feliz, a defensive upgrade who does not fit the profile of a No. 5 bat."
Doesn't fit the profile? Don't tell that to Brian Sabean. How long did it take him to figure that out? They wasted years on this clown and are STILL looking for a middle-of-the-order bat. Now Pedro is just a punch line, which is about the only "punch" he ever had. Too bad we've now got four more just like him.
This time the Giants made them.
San Francisco hitters muscled up for four home runs (each more impressive than the one before it), Matt Cain dealt for eight plus, the defense was generally tighter than Joan Rivers' face (Jose Guillen playing kickball not withstanding), and the front-running Padres went down to a 7-3 defeat that left the Giants just a game back in both the divisional and wildcard races.
Game One was a contest the Giants absolutely had to have, and for once they played like it.
Ther are a lot of guys who contrinbuted to the win. Andres Torres jump started the offense with a first-inning triple, Aubrey Huff had three hits including a two-run jack, Juan Uribe took out someone's sand castle with a solo blast, Buster Posey torched one into the second deck and Pat Burrell launched a shot toward the warehouse that is due to land any moment now. But despite the unusual display of firepower, I thought the game had other heroes.
Matt Cain and Freddy Sanchez.
Cain was The Man. A couple of long balls, including a two-run shot in the ninth, made the game look closer than it was. After a shaky start in which he was bailed out by Sanchez's glove, Cain was in total command of the game. He tired in the ninth, but by that time no one could argue that he hadn't done his job (bite me, Armando).
Sanchez didn't do much. He drove in the first run, singled ahead of Huff's long ball, added a third hit just for show, and made a pair of sparkling defensive plays -- both robbing (Yo!) Adrian Gonzales. Not a bad days work.
So the questions begs, is it for real? Yep, I'm always a downer when it comes to the Giants because they always break my heart. Last night was a big lift. A win in a must-win game is a rarity for this organization (I think the last one was in 2002 in Atlanta), and on this night they had it all going. Next?
This will be a real downer if they roll over and bark the rest of the way. They're' within a game. If they leave San Diego down four, then Game One was nothing more than a condemned prisoner waiting for that clemency call from the governor and hearing the phone ring -- only to find it was a wrong number.
The Giants have to approach the series as if Game One never happened. It's a three-gamer and they must win two. Pull that off and it becomes a two-gamer they have to split. They can't let up. There's no room for error.
Playoffs? As far as the Giants are concerned, the playoffs have already begun.
EXTRA: From the "I told you so" department, this little nugget from the St. Louis Post Dispatch in an article about the Cardinals' moves to find offense since the trade of Ryan Ludwick.
"The Cardinals subsequently attempted to acquire an impact hitter but settled on Houston Astros third baseman Pedro Feliz, a defensive upgrade who does not fit the profile of a No. 5 bat."
Doesn't fit the profile? Don't tell that to Brian Sabean. How long did it take him to figure that out? They wasted years on this clown and are STILL looking for a middle-of-the-order bat. Now Pedro is just a punch line, which is about the only "punch" he ever had. Too bad we've now got four more just like him.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Stumbling into the Showdown
There they were, in living 58-inch plasma-infused color. Four nuns in full regalia sitting in the upper deck at Chase Field. The image brought only one thought to mind.
"We haven't got a prayer."
The Giants had a devil of a time with Arizona hurler Daniel Hudson, then fared no better against the D-backs train wreck of a bullpen in a 3-1 loss than dropped them two games back of suddenly upright San Diego. As has been the case all year, the Giants failed to display a killer instinct when faced with the prospect of a series sweep, instead acting as though the flight to San Diego for this weekend's crucial showdown left Phoenix Sky Harbor in about 20 minutes after first pitch.
For the umpeenth time this season it was Barry Zito who fell victim to non support. Zito hasn't won on the road since May 5 and had posted an ERA above nine in his last 10 appearances, but this wasn't his fault. To be sure, the run he allowed in the second was self inflicted but at the rate things are going, the Giants could get a no-hitter from their starter and lose. That's not hyperpole. Remember, they were a lone safety away from accomplishing exactly that earlier this year.
Once again the offense disappeared in the presence of quality opposition. Hudson was shaky early, throwing 55 pitches in his first three innings. Then the Giants than went back to their "schlock and ahhh" attack and let him escapce with a succession of single-digit pitch frames. Sad.
The sticks were certainly no help for Zito. Yes, the second-inning run was 100 percent his fault. Two walks to start the inning are the baseball equivalent of drinking nitroglycerin while playing jump rope, and the two-out hit cashed it in. Still, Zito deserved a better fate. Amidst all the talk about his struggles and even some calls for his next start to be skipped, he held up his end of the bargain. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was on an extended mental excursion to the some place tropical.
Damn those two-out hits. Get 'em and you win. Don't and you lose. The D-backs got a pair, including the obligatory add-on run in the eighth versus the always-scary San Francisco pen. The G-men didn't. And so it goes.
No question the Giants offense lacked spirit. Freddy Sanchez's first-inning solo blast was the lone highlight as the swing-at-anything-remotely-close-to-the-vicinity-of-the-zip-code-containing-home-plate attack made it's 456th apperance of the season. Hard to contribute any thoughtful analysis (I can only ride that scooter so long) other than to ask why, at this stage of the season, Melonhead would ever field a line-up without Pat Burrell.
Burrell isn't a savior by any means, but he's the one hitter in the line-up who gives a professional AB every time. Match-ups aside, the Burrell approach would have been imminently more palatable compared to the ninth-inning strokes by Edgar Rentawreck and Juan Uribe, who both flailed away at tosses that posed more threat to earthworms and inattentive dugout occupants than to the strike zone.
Ah, Bruce Bochy. Gotta love a guy who sees the tying run at third with two out in the seventh and opts for a pinch hitter who is two for his last 27. Travis Ishikawa's dribbler to end the frame was both anticlimactic and predictable. Could Burrell have been used there? He was available, sitting in favor of Cody Ross, whose accidental swing produced the weak tapper that provided a fitting conclusion to this sordid affair.
I also found it interesting that Bochy opted to pinch run for the Panda after his lead-off single yet waited an out before taking the leg irons off of Darren Ford. A runner at second with none out is a potential rally. With one out, well, you've set the stage for that wonderous Ishikawa moment. If you've made the decision to replace a bat for speed, you'd better make that move pay off, especially when you can anticipate that spot in the line-up rolling around again. Renteria or Sandoval in the ninth? Hmmn. Edgar could have salvaged that brain fart by delivering a hit, but he's already had his timely safety for September. His insistence on swinging at crap didn't polish that turd of a decision one iota.
One more shot at Botch-y, who you may have guessed isn't exactly my favorite manager. Heck, Charlie Fox would get more popularity votes in my house. Note his postgame comment: "We took a series here. We did in L.A., too. That's what you're trying to do."
Uh, Bruce. While you took that series in Arizona, you LOST ground on the Padres -- largely due to The Hated Dodgers again failing to contribute anything useful or meaningful to the universe. During those two series, taking two of three made up exactly one game in the standings. JUST winning series ain't gonna feed the bulldog here. When you have a chance to step on someone's throat, as the Giants had with the D-backs, you gotta cash it in.
Here's how important that one game is. The Giants now must sweep San Diego to leave Hairball Park with the divisional lead. Taking three of four manages only a deadlock. Anything less is counterproductive to the cause and does nothing more than get the Giants a step closer to Game 162 while booking reservations for October fishing trips -- probably to the same unspecified remote location (was Dick Cheney there?) into which the offense now disappears periodically. That's a tall order against a team that you've beaten exactly twice -- both times in extra frames -- in 11 tries.
Hey, winning series is impressive. If the Giants "win" each set that's 13-6 the rest of the way. Of course, the Padres play 21 games in that same span and could drop nine of them and maintain their lead. Meanwhile, in case you missed it, Colorado isn't going away. The Rockies will be motivated, and they get the Orange and Black at Beer Swill Stadium in the Giants' road finale. Two games doesn't sound like a lot, but the hole in which the Giants find themselves is still rather considerable.
As far as San Francisco is concered, the playoffs start tonight. They're Karl Wallenda, and any slip now is likley fatal.
Andrew Baggarly noted in this morning's San Jose Mercury News, the Giants believe they're the better team despite their record against the Padres. Time to prove it, starting tonight.
Since there will already be plenty of Padres on hand...no nuns allowed.
"We haven't got a prayer."
The Giants had a devil of a time with Arizona hurler Daniel Hudson, then fared no better against the D-backs train wreck of a bullpen in a 3-1 loss than dropped them two games back of suddenly upright San Diego. As has been the case all year, the Giants failed to display a killer instinct when faced with the prospect of a series sweep, instead acting as though the flight to San Diego for this weekend's crucial showdown left Phoenix Sky Harbor in about 20 minutes after first pitch.
For the umpeenth time this season it was Barry Zito who fell victim to non support. Zito hasn't won on the road since May 5 and had posted an ERA above nine in his last 10 appearances, but this wasn't his fault. To be sure, the run he allowed in the second was self inflicted but at the rate things are going, the Giants could get a no-hitter from their starter and lose. That's not hyperpole. Remember, they were a lone safety away from accomplishing exactly that earlier this year.
Once again the offense disappeared in the presence of quality opposition. Hudson was shaky early, throwing 55 pitches in his first three innings. Then the Giants than went back to their "schlock and ahhh" attack and let him escapce with a succession of single-digit pitch frames. Sad.
The sticks were certainly no help for Zito. Yes, the second-inning run was 100 percent his fault. Two walks to start the inning are the baseball equivalent of drinking nitroglycerin while playing jump rope, and the two-out hit cashed it in. Still, Zito deserved a better fate. Amidst all the talk about his struggles and even some calls for his next start to be skipped, he held up his end of the bargain. Unfortunately, the rest of the team was on an extended mental excursion to the some place tropical.
Damn those two-out hits. Get 'em and you win. Don't and you lose. The D-backs got a pair, including the obligatory add-on run in the eighth versus the always-scary San Francisco pen. The G-men didn't. And so it goes.
No question the Giants offense lacked spirit. Freddy Sanchez's first-inning solo blast was the lone highlight as the swing-at-anything-remotely-close-to-the-vicinity-of-the-zip-code-containing-home-plate attack made it's 456th apperance of the season. Hard to contribute any thoughtful analysis (I can only ride that scooter so long) other than to ask why, at this stage of the season, Melonhead would ever field a line-up without Pat Burrell.
Burrell isn't a savior by any means, but he's the one hitter in the line-up who gives a professional AB every time. Match-ups aside, the Burrell approach would have been imminently more palatable compared to the ninth-inning strokes by Edgar Rentawreck and Juan Uribe, who both flailed away at tosses that posed more threat to earthworms and inattentive dugout occupants than to the strike zone.
Ah, Bruce Bochy. Gotta love a guy who sees the tying run at third with two out in the seventh and opts for a pinch hitter who is two for his last 27. Travis Ishikawa's dribbler to end the frame was both anticlimactic and predictable. Could Burrell have been used there? He was available, sitting in favor of Cody Ross, whose accidental swing produced the weak tapper that provided a fitting conclusion to this sordid affair.
I also found it interesting that Bochy opted to pinch run for the Panda after his lead-off single yet waited an out before taking the leg irons off of Darren Ford. A runner at second with none out is a potential rally. With one out, well, you've set the stage for that wonderous Ishikawa moment. If you've made the decision to replace a bat for speed, you'd better make that move pay off, especially when you can anticipate that spot in the line-up rolling around again. Renteria or Sandoval in the ninth? Hmmn. Edgar could have salvaged that brain fart by delivering a hit, but he's already had his timely safety for September. His insistence on swinging at crap didn't polish that turd of a decision one iota.
One more shot at Botch-y, who you may have guessed isn't exactly my favorite manager. Heck, Charlie Fox would get more popularity votes in my house. Note his postgame comment: "We took a series here. We did in L.A., too. That's what you're trying to do."
Uh, Bruce. While you took that series in Arizona, you LOST ground on the Padres -- largely due to The Hated Dodgers again failing to contribute anything useful or meaningful to the universe. During those two series, taking two of three made up exactly one game in the standings. JUST winning series ain't gonna feed the bulldog here. When you have a chance to step on someone's throat, as the Giants had with the D-backs, you gotta cash it in.
Here's how important that one game is. The Giants now must sweep San Diego to leave Hairball Park with the divisional lead. Taking three of four manages only a deadlock. Anything less is counterproductive to the cause and does nothing more than get the Giants a step closer to Game 162 while booking reservations for October fishing trips -- probably to the same unspecified remote location (was Dick Cheney there?) into which the offense now disappears periodically. That's a tall order against a team that you've beaten exactly twice -- both times in extra frames -- in 11 tries.
Hey, winning series is impressive. If the Giants "win" each set that's 13-6 the rest of the way. Of course, the Padres play 21 games in that same span and could drop nine of them and maintain their lead. Meanwhile, in case you missed it, Colorado isn't going away. The Rockies will be motivated, and they get the Orange and Black at Beer Swill Stadium in the Giants' road finale. Two games doesn't sound like a lot, but the hole in which the Giants find themselves is still rather considerable.
As far as San Francisco is concered, the playoffs start tonight. They're Karl Wallenda, and any slip now is likley fatal.
Andrew Baggarly noted in this morning's San Jose Mercury News, the Giants believe they're the better team despite their record against the Padres. Time to prove it, starting tonight.
Since there will already be plenty of Padres on hand...no nuns allowed.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Haven't We Been Here Before?
One game out, and a key matchup with San Diego on the horizon. Talk about a sense of deja vu all over again.
The Giants have won three straight, with smoke and mirrors as the primary ingredients for success. So I sit here at the keyboard wondering, do I get excited about the prospects of the Giants actually winning the division, or am I simply setting myself up for the same heartbreak that has seemed to come at the end of each of my 40 seasons of fandom?
Quite honestly, I've been neglecting my writing because I have no clue what to say. I had resigned myself to the season being pretty much done. San Diego had a commanding lead, the Giants were playing poorly, and wildcard chances were also slipping slowly into the abyss. I'd written the G-men off.
Well, the Orange and Black still aren't doing anythig to set my toes a tappin', and that isn't so much as smile on my face as it is a pained grimmace. But who would have throught the Padres would unravel like a GOP economic plan?
One game out. Unthinkable.
I want to be excited. Heck, I want to dance on Tommy Lasorda's fat and balding head. But I just can't get worked up about this team. The offense only emerges from witness protection only sporadically. The defense is sometimes spectacular but at other times horrific. The bullpen scares the blazes out of me. Jonathan Sanchez is the ultimate chicken-or-feathers arm.
The opener at Arizona raised more questions than it answered, the least of which was "how is this team is in the race?" At one point the Diamondbacks' ace of the day (translation: anyone who faces the Giants' anemic offense) retired 14 in a row. The streak was broken by a walk to Pat Burrell, who gave way to pinch runner Nate Schierholtz, who was promptly picked off base.
Aubrey Huff (zero for his last eight with RISP) had a chance to end the drama in the ninth with one out and men at the corners but managed only a weak pop-up, an event made even more disconcerting since that was the first time in the game the Giants had managed to place a runner in scoring position. Nine innings to even sniff the possibility of a run, and nada.
Nate redeemed himself with the game-winner in the 11th, but how often can you count on the opposition to remain inert and trip over its own shoeleaces until you can luck into a tally or two?
On the flip side, the Giants received good starts the last time through the rotation, and both Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner threw their best games of the year. Santaigo Casilla still has less command than Custer at Little Big Horn, but Bruce Bochy appears wedded to the guy so no point in further flogging that bullpen horse except to say I am concerned with the numbers game.
Bochy went through relievers on Monday like I go through Jolly Ranchers. I cringed when Mark Grace (I was watching the D-backs broadcast) commented that it was September so, with call-ups, both teams could run pitchers out there all day. Uh, not so fast, Gracie.
The Giants reactivated Mota but only called up infielders Burriss and Velez. Although they have 40 spots available they've filled just 32 of them, and none with extra pitchers. No Pucetas. No Sosa. No nothing. Now, Brian Sabean and Bochy can argue that they don't want to throw an untested arm into a pennat race. Fair enough, but after watching Zito's between-starts debacle against Cincy (and his subsequent drubbing in his next start), they need someone, anyone with a pulse, at the end of the bench just in case disaster looms. Heck, I'd put John Montefusco down there if he were available. Anything to avoid another Zito-like incident. Better to trust luck for one game than give away two.
But even if the pitching revival is real and not a mirage, do they have enough offense? Right now it seems only Buster Posey is hitting. Burrell at least makes pitchers work. Everyone else? Coin flip.
I have to take exception to the Giants' approach at the plate. Three hitting coaches in the last four years haven't been able to turn around this death march between plate and dugout. Either they need a better approach or better players. Yesterday was a perfect example of how poorly the Giants seem to understand the basics.
Arizona's weakness is its pen. Their starter threw his 80th pitch with one out in the eighth. Sanchez is usually there by the fourth inning. Why? Beacuse hitters are patient with Sanchez, who is known for bouts of wildness. The Giants should have been working Ian Kennedy like the McCourts worked the IRS. Insted there were countless times where at-bats went three pitches or less, and a lot of those were one-pitch ABs. Hey, you rip at that pitch if it's in your zone, but judging from the result there were more reaches than rips. Too many fat hitters as opposed to fat pitches -- sorry Panda.
But, I guess it matters not how the Giants got here, they're here. One game out. The last time the Giants anticipated a showdown with San Diego, they laid an egg in the preceding series and pretty much let the air out of their own sails. Now it's the Friars who are sucking wind. Can the Giants take advantage?
At this point the goal has to be observing the Hipocratic Oath: first do no damage. It's two more with Arizona, then four at Sea World. The Giants return home for another three-game go-around with The Hated Dodgers and Giants MVP Jonathan Broxton, three with the cominc book Brewers, and then rodies at Chicago and Colorado.
The goal through all of that has to be this: Come home from Colorado in no worse shape than they are now.
Make those last three games of the season, hosting the Padres at The Big Phone, matter. Anyting better is gravy.
I'll put The Count on speed dial.
.
The Giants have won three straight, with smoke and mirrors as the primary ingredients for success. So I sit here at the keyboard wondering, do I get excited about the prospects of the Giants actually winning the division, or am I simply setting myself up for the same heartbreak that has seemed to come at the end of each of my 40 seasons of fandom?
Quite honestly, I've been neglecting my writing because I have no clue what to say. I had resigned myself to the season being pretty much done. San Diego had a commanding lead, the Giants were playing poorly, and wildcard chances were also slipping slowly into the abyss. I'd written the G-men off.
Well, the Orange and Black still aren't doing anythig to set my toes a tappin', and that isn't so much as smile on my face as it is a pained grimmace. But who would have throught the Padres would unravel like a GOP economic plan?
One game out. Unthinkable.
I want to be excited. Heck, I want to dance on Tommy Lasorda's fat and balding head. But I just can't get worked up about this team. The offense only emerges from witness protection only sporadically. The defense is sometimes spectacular but at other times horrific. The bullpen scares the blazes out of me. Jonathan Sanchez is the ultimate chicken-or-feathers arm.
The opener at Arizona raised more questions than it answered, the least of which was "how is this team is in the race?" At one point the Diamondbacks' ace of the day (translation: anyone who faces the Giants' anemic offense) retired 14 in a row. The streak was broken by a walk to Pat Burrell, who gave way to pinch runner Nate Schierholtz, who was promptly picked off base.
Aubrey Huff (zero for his last eight with RISP) had a chance to end the drama in the ninth with one out and men at the corners but managed only a weak pop-up, an event made even more disconcerting since that was the first time in the game the Giants had managed to place a runner in scoring position. Nine innings to even sniff the possibility of a run, and nada.
Nate redeemed himself with the game-winner in the 11th, but how often can you count on the opposition to remain inert and trip over its own shoeleaces until you can luck into a tally or two?
On the flip side, the Giants received good starts the last time through the rotation, and both Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner threw their best games of the year. Santaigo Casilla still has less command than Custer at Little Big Horn, but Bruce Bochy appears wedded to the guy so no point in further flogging that bullpen horse except to say I am concerned with the numbers game.
Bochy went through relievers on Monday like I go through Jolly Ranchers. I cringed when Mark Grace (I was watching the D-backs broadcast) commented that it was September so, with call-ups, both teams could run pitchers out there all day. Uh, not so fast, Gracie.
The Giants reactivated Mota but only called up infielders Burriss and Velez. Although they have 40 spots available they've filled just 32 of them, and none with extra pitchers. No Pucetas. No Sosa. No nothing. Now, Brian Sabean and Bochy can argue that they don't want to throw an untested arm into a pennat race. Fair enough, but after watching Zito's between-starts debacle against Cincy (and his subsequent drubbing in his next start), they need someone, anyone with a pulse, at the end of the bench just in case disaster looms. Heck, I'd put John Montefusco down there if he were available. Anything to avoid another Zito-like incident. Better to trust luck for one game than give away two.
But even if the pitching revival is real and not a mirage, do they have enough offense? Right now it seems only Buster Posey is hitting. Burrell at least makes pitchers work. Everyone else? Coin flip.
I have to take exception to the Giants' approach at the plate. Three hitting coaches in the last four years haven't been able to turn around this death march between plate and dugout. Either they need a better approach or better players. Yesterday was a perfect example of how poorly the Giants seem to understand the basics.
Arizona's weakness is its pen. Their starter threw his 80th pitch with one out in the eighth. Sanchez is usually there by the fourth inning. Why? Beacuse hitters are patient with Sanchez, who is known for bouts of wildness. The Giants should have been working Ian Kennedy like the McCourts worked the IRS. Insted there were countless times where at-bats went three pitches or less, and a lot of those were one-pitch ABs. Hey, you rip at that pitch if it's in your zone, but judging from the result there were more reaches than rips. Too many fat hitters as opposed to fat pitches -- sorry Panda.
But, I guess it matters not how the Giants got here, they're here. One game out. The last time the Giants anticipated a showdown with San Diego, they laid an egg in the preceding series and pretty much let the air out of their own sails. Now it's the Friars who are sucking wind. Can the Giants take advantage?
At this point the goal has to be observing the Hipocratic Oath: first do no damage. It's two more with Arizona, then four at Sea World. The Giants return home for another three-game go-around with The Hated Dodgers and Giants MVP Jonathan Broxton, three with the cominc book Brewers, and then rodies at Chicago and Colorado.
The goal through all of that has to be this: Come home from Colorado in no worse shape than they are now.
Make those last three games of the season, hosting the Padres at The Big Phone, matter. Anyting better is gravy.
I'll put The Count on speed dial.
.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Well, That Certainly Sucked!
Dodgers 4, Giants 2. The do-or-die road trip starts, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
San Diego lost so the Giants are still just three back, but we're left singing that familiar refrain of "what might have been." The Padres have lost eight straight, basically begging the Giants to take command of the division, and the Giants have simply refused to accept the gift.
Tonight's display of impotence was just the latest example of a team built, not to win, but to simply "contend." Watching tonight's telecast (in my area MLB Extra Innings was blacked out so I was limited to the Dodgers' feed) Vin Scully made a telling observation. The Giants offense isn't bad, they rank right in the middle of the pack in virtually every category. That's the problem. As Scully noted, that means they don't do anything exceptionally well.
San Francisco is now five games under .500 against the diivison it's trying to win. Built to compete? Uh, not really.
I've noted before that the Giants aren't constructed to beat good teams, so I take this as independent verification. When their pitching is on, the Giants will eek out enough offense to beat average to good teams. But against the top tier, they find themsleves hopelessly outgunned.
As the Dodgers and Padres continue to prove, that opponent doesn't have to be elite. If they can match the Giants' pitching, the G-men are toast. In a watered down National League, the Giants are about as viable over the long haul as mood rocks, new Coke and earth shoes.
Tonight was a perfect example of a team that didn't have the "it" factor. Zito hangs a breaker to the number-eight hitter with two down and the pitcher on deck. The result: a two-run jack. The next time around he walks that same hitter to get to the pitcher, only to surrender a soft liner to right that would have been gloved by a less lead-footed player.
After being lifted, there was a great shot of Zito in the dugout. His look said it all: a real right fielder would have caught the damn ball. Jose Gullien. What a @#% mistake.
Unfortunately, that can be said for much of the team. It's not that they cause the team to lose, it's that they don't contribute anything to victory.
The line-up, which had only two players not plucked from the heap by Brian Sabean, managed two hits. None came after the fourth inning, The last 10 Giants went in order. And the one rally was aided by an error and a bouncer off the glove of an infielder playing out of position.
Sad.
.
San Diego lost so the Giants are still just three back, but we're left singing that familiar refrain of "what might have been." The Padres have lost eight straight, basically begging the Giants to take command of the division, and the Giants have simply refused to accept the gift.
Tonight's display of impotence was just the latest example of a team built, not to win, but to simply "contend." Watching tonight's telecast (in my area MLB Extra Innings was blacked out so I was limited to the Dodgers' feed) Vin Scully made a telling observation. The Giants offense isn't bad, they rank right in the middle of the pack in virtually every category. That's the problem. As Scully noted, that means they don't do anything exceptionally well.
San Francisco is now five games under .500 against the diivison it's trying to win. Built to compete? Uh, not really.
I've noted before that the Giants aren't constructed to beat good teams, so I take this as independent verification. When their pitching is on, the Giants will eek out enough offense to beat average to good teams. But against the top tier, they find themsleves hopelessly outgunned.
As the Dodgers and Padres continue to prove, that opponent doesn't have to be elite. If they can match the Giants' pitching, the G-men are toast. In a watered down National League, the Giants are about as viable over the long haul as mood rocks, new Coke and earth shoes.
Tonight was a perfect example of a team that didn't have the "it" factor. Zito hangs a breaker to the number-eight hitter with two down and the pitcher on deck. The result: a two-run jack. The next time around he walks that same hitter to get to the pitcher, only to surrender a soft liner to right that would have been gloved by a less lead-footed player.
After being lifted, there was a great shot of Zito in the dugout. His look said it all: a real right fielder would have caught the damn ball. Jose Gullien. What a @#% mistake.
Unfortunately, that can be said for much of the team. It's not that they cause the team to lose, it's that they don't contribute anything to victory.
The line-up, which had only two players not plucked from the heap by Brian Sabean, managed two hits. None came after the fourth inning, The last 10 Giants went in order. And the one rally was aided by an error and a bouncer off the glove of an infielder playing out of position.
Sad.
.
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