Streak Snapped as Giants Defeat Two Bullpens, Including Their Own

Let me first say that, after losing seven straight, I'll take any win. But from an aesthetic standpoint, the Giants' 11-8 victory over the Rockies was one of the least satisfying wins of the year.

I've been a Giants fan since 1971. I've seen 100-loss teams. I've seen crushing defeats that had me searching for the cyanide capsules (damn you to Hell, Steve Finley!), yet I can say without reservation that, as a group, this is the worst Giants bullpen in memory. It's Wilson, Romo, and a bunch of chumps who are about as useless as a Speedo at the South Pole.

Jeez, how many times can a group of players yack up a lead? These guys could screw up a wet dream. Thank God the Rockies' pen was equaally inept.

Look at any successful pen. They have the closer, a set-up guy, a long man, maybe a left-handed specialist, and a couple of guys who can bridge that gap in the middle innings. The Giants? Well, they seem to have closer and set-up man in place. The rest? It's a cut-and-paste of the same guy: one-inning (or less) wonders who throw hard but don't have the first clue where the pitch is going to end up.

When you look down the roster and see that player after player is cast off from another organization, isn't that a rather blatant indictment of your own system?  I'm beginning to think the home-grown aspect is the only reason Runzler still has a gig, and his role is misdirection (and providing the obligatory walk). Runzler, Casilla, Bautista, Mota, Affeldt all suffer from the same malady -- an allegy to throwing strikes.

It was telling when Bautista entered the game tonight that Mike Krukow mentioned his, uh, inconsistency in throwing strikes. In that situation, the Giants nursing a one-run lead, THAT'S the guy they bring in? Sadly, the Giants really have no choice because no matter whose number they call, it's the same quandry. Can someone find the plate without a map and compass?

Worse, becasue none of these heroes seem to be able to go more than an inning (often less), even if they find someone who is on the beam that night they're just a few tosses away from the next pitching change. It's the bullpen version of Russian roulette. On a night where multiple relievers are needed, the chance that no one will implode is remote at best.

Funny how the pundits all say the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball. While the Giants offense makes it easy to believe that assessment on most nights, the bullpen makes it look sooooo easy.

What made it doubly frustrating is that the Giants bats finally broke loose. After two weeks in cold storage, the sticks rallied for their biggest outburst in nearly two years with a seven-run third (the Giants scored 10 in a Sept. 2008 game with Pittsburgh), telling would-be Cy Young leader Ubaldo Jimenez to suck it. And yet, amazingly, had the Giants not rallied, Jimenez would have been the winning pitcher -- such was the magnitude of the bullpen's failure.

There are some congratulations in order: Ishikawa got a rare start and cashed in, Huff went deep for the 15th time (and the third in this series), Romo and Wilson did their jobs, Freddy Sanchez had a three-hit night, and Edgar Renteria sat quietly on the bench.
This team is due for an overhaul, not a tune-up. Set a line-up, define the roles, and let this team actually become a team and not a bunch of guys who don't know day to day if or where they'll be in the line-up. Huff is out of position, Schierholtz is being wasted, and our choices at shortstop are limited at best. What's next, Sandoval hitting leadoff?

Settle on a core eight, then look at the spare parts. There's gotta be some value there that can bring a competent middle reliever capable of going two frames. At least that would signal that the Giants were trying to improve? I'm not asking Sabean to go out and find the next Albert Pujols in mid-July, but prying away a Tyler Clippard or similar player would be a big boost to the team.

Yep, that's how low the bar is. I covet middle relievers. To expect more from this management team just doesn't seem to be realistic, not where their idea of offensive help is Shea Hillenbrand.

Cain on the hill next, trying to extend the winning "streak" to two. Hard to know wheich to root for, seven runs or seven innings. Cain has racked up 10 wins and a 2.96 ERA over his career against Colorado, including a 2-0 record already this season.

Let's hope the rest of the team doesn't find a way to muck this one up.