tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10531984570441926592024-03-13T11:34:42.148-07:00GiantWatchThe observations of Steven Harmon, a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan, former sports writer who covered the team during the Humm Baby years. Email me at: sharmon@bayareanewsgroup.com. Twitter handle: @ssharmonGiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-48953250151934574222012-04-29T09:39:00.001-07:002012-04-29T09:39:48.233-07:00Anyone still critical of the Melky Cabrera-Jonathan Sanchez deal?Any more holdouts on the Jonathan Sanchez-Melky Cabrera deal?<br />
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If you are one of them, you need to look at yourself in the mirror and ask if it's just that you can't fathom giving Giants' general manager Brian Sabean credit for anything he does right.<br />
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Because Sabean was right on this one. Cabrera is the real deal. His 200-plus hit season in 2011 was no aberration. He can hit, and it looks like he thrives on pressure situations. His leadoff double in the Giants' seventh -- the first hit by a non-pitcher off Anthony Bass -- sparked the winning rally in a game that the Giants really needed.<br />
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They were on the verge of losing a series to the lowly Padres and sending starter Tim Lincecum to an excruciating defeat at a time when he was just beginning to build up his confidence.<br />
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After his leadoff double -- off a rare mistake, a changeup that stayed up -- Cabrera would have to wait through two poor at bats by Pablo Sandoval (shallow pop fly) and Buster Posey (strikeout) before fortunes turned around for the Giants: Nate Schierholtz' infield single made possible by a throw that took the first baseman off the bag by an inch; and then Brandon Belt's inspiring, Will Clark-like heroics, a thing-of-beauty opposite field line drive that split the gap in left-center and drove home two runs in the Giants' 2-1 win.<br />
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Lincecum and Santiago Casilla made it all stand up by shutting down the Padres in the tense, spine-tingling eighth and ninth innings, building on a developing theme that the Giants still have the ability to win the close ones.<br />
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None of this amounts to a bale of hay if not for Cabrera's two spectacular catches -- on successive, nearly identical, over-the-shoulder, on-the-run plays near the wall -- that saved Lincecum from a potentially damaging fourth inning.<br />
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Already down 1-0 and completely stifled by Bass (who kept the Giants off the bases until two outs in the sixth), the Giants could ill afford a Padres rally at that point.<br />
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It would have buried the Giants.<br />
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For one, they didn't look at all capable of solving Bass, a relatively new guy on the scene who pitched like a veteran with an assortment of 94 MPH fastballs, 82 MPH changeups and drop sliders that had the Giants flailing. Two of them -- Posey and Angel Pagan --were so fooled, they swung out from underneath their helmets. The only hard-hit balls were a Brandon Crawford scorcher to first and Belt's long fly out to the edge of the warning track in left-center.<br />
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But, more important, Lincecum was still on tenterhooks. He'd come into the game with an ERA near 9.00, and though he'd won his last start, it was by the narrowest margins. Remember, he was on the verge of being pulled with one out in the fifth in his last start before a spectacular double play (the great back-hand grab and flip by second baseman Manny Burriss and the equally athletic pivot and throw by shortstop Crawford) bailed him out of a bases loaded jam and gave him the bare minimum innings to qualify for a win.<br />
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And that was on top of two horrific first starts that had fans going through another round of angst over whether the Freak had lost it.<br />
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Lincecum still hasn't discovered his big fastball. He topped 90 MPH only a handful of times Friday. But he threw with guile, using confidence as a weapon, hitting corners with his slider, keeping the Padres off balance with a nice blend of fastballs and change-ups. His mechanics and rhythm, so essential to his success, were there for him.<br />
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Still, he had to escape jams in the second and third innings, facing a one-out first and second situation in the second and a one-out bases loaded quandary in the third. Somehow, he limited the Padres to a single run, and though it was heartening to see Lincecum come through relatively unscathed, you still held your breath on every pitch.<br />
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Enter Cabrera. In the fourth, with one out, Cameron Maybin, only 3-for-17 against Lincecum lifetime, got ahold of an 88-MPH fastball up and drove one toward the wall in left field. On a full sprint, Cabrera took a perfectly direct route, angling sharply at a 140 degree angle, and caught up to the ball, right arm fully extended aloft as he felt the dirt of the warning track under his feet.<br />
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Lincecum raised his right forefinger to the sky in a you-da-man salute, and three pitches later, decided to see if Cabrera was really for real.<br />
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Andy Parrino, the Padres talented young left-handed hitting shortstop, hit another long fly ball, almost precisely to the same point, but maybe even further toward the gap and away from Cabrera. No mind, Cabrera got another great jump, and rode out another perfect angle to the ball and again extended full-out at full-gallop to prove that the first play was no fluke.<br />
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Lincecum could hardly believe it, his look of utter anxiety melting into a big, relieved smile and shake of the head. He knew he'd dodged a big one and that he was in Cabrera's debt.<br />
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He paid it off by retiring nine of the next 10 hitters he faced, keeping the game close into the bottom of the seventh, and then, after his offensive bro's provided two runs, turning in a shutdown eighth on pure emotion and adrenaline.<br />
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Only two days earlier, Cabrera's defense played a critical part in the Giants' 6-5 comeback win over the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds had just stretched their lead to 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning on a Scott Rolen home run (after grooving Rolen two off-speed pitches for HRs in that series, the Giants should stick with major league fastballs against the aging mistake-hitter next time they face him).<br />
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When the next hitter, Drew Stubbs hit that drive to deep left field that glanced off Cabrera's glove against the wall, the Reds appeared poised for the kind of rally that would secure a win -- and sweep. Stubbs, one of the major leagues' fastest ballplayers, took off for third when the ball bounded away from Cabrera. But Cabrera quickly got to the ball and threw a cannon shot to third, easily nailing a stunned Stubbs for the second out of the inning.<br />
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Joey Votto's double was like a tree falling in the forest, setting up the dramatics of Angel Pagan's three-run, game-winning home run in the ninth. Though Cabrera went only 1-for-5 in that game, the Giants' clubhouse knew that Cabrera had the biggest assist of the game.<br />
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Cabrera may not be that home run threat that some fans wished the Giants had. He doesn't command the national attention accorded mega-watt superstars: he's not imposing physically -- he's list at 6 feet tall but he can't be more than 5-feet-10-inches -- and he's not controversial or overly quotable.<br />
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But there's a reason the New York Yankees made him a regular at 21. He has that indefinable quality of quiet confidence, and the athleticism that gets the job done consistently if not spectacularly. He appears to be unwavering in the face of pressure. Starting center field for the Yankees at age 21 is not a bad apprenticeship for a career in a pressure-packed profession.<br />
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Sabean got it right in bringing Cabrera here. You don't have to look at Sanchez' early season struggles to know that. Just in case you do, here are the ugly numbers: in four starts, the former Giant lefty has a 6.75 ERA in 17.1 innings. He's failed to pitch beyond the fifth inning. In his last start, Sanchez walked seven in 4.2 innings (does that sound familiar?); in all he's walked 17 in 17.1 innings.<br />
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It doesn't look like Sanchez has grown out of his ponderous, spacey ways, if he ever will.<br />
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But, in Cabrera, who's a veteran of six years at the ripe age of 27, the Giants have a star in the making. Sabean needs to complete the deal by extending Cabrera's contract well into the future.<br />
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<br />GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-19943229981062992812012-04-26T16:56:00.006-07:002012-04-27T10:56:27.287-07:00Huff the victim of a vitriolic fan base?I've been guilty of deriding Aubrey Huff for all those four-to-threes, the 23-hoppers to second base that filled last year's scorebooks. <br />
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I've been frustrated by his inability to recapture the swing that was so critical to the Giants' 2010 World Series triumph. And I've criticized Boss Bochy for sticking with the veteran long past Huff's expiration date.<br />
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But I always hoped he would do well. Maybe his off-season Pilates workouts would translate to a more physically ready Huff this year. Maybe knowing that he had competition this spring would kick him into gear. He seemed to have responded, at least in Spring Training.<br />
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When the bell rung, however, we were treated with another round of weak ground outs complemented only by ineffectual popouts in clutch situations. It appeared that, indeed, Huff was heading to that good night.<br />
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The straight ahead stare and clenched jawbones were signs of a man defeated. His lapse at second base in New York last weekend -- failing to cover the base on what should have been an easy double play -- captured it all: though he had never played the position, he should have known that the first thing to do is to cover the bag. But he froze.<br />
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Afterward, it was painful to see him standing out there with no place to hide. (Blame for that play, by the way, should have been squarely shouldered by Bochy, who should never have put Huff in that spot).<br />
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Huff had previously shown signs that he'd been troubled by the pressures he was facing.<br />
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When Barry Zito turned in his improbable shutout in his '12 debut, Huff said, "It's no secret he gets buried by fans and the media, everything like that, so ... for all the haters out there, that's for them." <br />
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It was an astounding comment that gave insight into Huff's own inner turmoil. It was as if he was answering his own critics.<br />
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Perhaps Aubrey Huff has been harboring dark thoughts about Giants fans, but if so, he had a reason. They have been merciless.<br />
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They've arrived at the point of hysteria when it comes to Zito (though they've been temporarily muzzled by Zito's astounding run of decent outings), and Giants' fans have been nearly as rabid about Huff (particularly over the issue of giving Brandon Belt regular playing time).<br />
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Some fans have questioned Huff's desire and his dedication, as if just because he landed a nice, fat contract, he all of the sudden decided he didn't care what he put on the back of his baseball card. That's from fans who have never played and who believe that money drives ballplayers.<br />
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Compounding Huff's troubles with fans is the proliferation of blogs and social media outlets, on top of a more discerning and ever-present talk show culture. <br />
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Criticism is louder, gets amplified and goes viral. In my younger days, the only time a Giant would hear criticism would be from the boos in the stands, and maybe from callers to KNBR, which had a three-hour talk-show slot for sports. Now, KNBR is an all-sports station, and Huff has no doubt gone to bed with some of that vitriol ringing in his ears.<br />
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It seems to me that Giants fans have become increasingly critical, especially since after the 2010 World Series. I've detected something of an entitlement mentality that used to be associated strictly with East Coast fans. Success is supposed to breed more success. Unfortunately, success also breeds greed.<br />
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We don't know if the anxiety disorder Huff's been diagnosed with is connected to the pressures he's facing from his failures on the field. It could be the divorce he's going through. Or a combination of both, and other unknown factors.<br />
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But at this point, we should all take a step back and consider what pressures professional athletes go through. Yes, they're paid obscene sums, but that doesn't take away from their humanity.<br />
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Professional ballplayers are exceptional people with the ability to withstand more pressure than any of us can imagine. But, they also have frailties.<br />
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If anything, Huff's anxiety shows that he cares -- cares about what people think of him, cares about producing, cares about the impact that his failures have had on his teammates.<br />
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Remember, Huff was one of the good guys in that championship clubhouse in 2010. His clubhouse presence was the stuff of legend. He's the kind of guy I'd loved to have had as a teammate. The wise-cracker with a big heart. <br />
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When he comes back to the field, I hope fans give him a warm welcome, let him know that we care about him.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-63022467700643064472012-04-06T21:10:00.004-07:002012-04-06T22:36:01.641-07:00Bochy missed chance to exploit bench depth; yanked Lincecum too lateYou can't get too upset about Opening Day losses -- it is one of 162 games, after all.<br />
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But I've got just a couple nits to pick that are leftover irritants from some of last year's frustrations: Bruce Bochy's late hook of Tim Lincecum and his decision to stay with Aubrey Huff late in the game against a left-handed reliever.<br />
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Lincecum had done well to recover from early struggles, putting up four scoreless innings after allowing three runs on a pair of home runs in the first inning.<br />
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But the stringy, long-haired Freak found himself in immediate danger in the bottom of the sixth. He left a changeup out over the plate for Justin Upton, who promptly led off with a double. Miguel Montero then just missed a home run with a fly ball that right fielder Melky Cabrera caught at the fence.<br />
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Two real good swings off of some fat pitches, with Lincecum approaching his 90th pitch on Opening Day after an underwhelming spring training? Should've been hookville right there.<br />
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Bochy stuck with his ace, however, and Lincecum appeared to justify the move, getting Jason Kubel to nub a weak chopper out in front of the plate for what should have been the second out. Buster Posey, perhaps showing a touch of rust in his first regular-season game since his horrendous season-ending injury last May, reached out and swiped at the ball a bit casually rather than grabbing it firmly. The ball popped out of his glove, and Posey had to hurry his throw to first, just a touch late.<br />
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Bochy raced out to argue the call, though replays showed Kubel appeared to beat the throw, barely. No sooner had Bochy returned the dugout, however, that Lincecum teed up yet a third fat pitch -- this one to Ryan Roberts, who slammed it off the left field wall for a two-run double and a 5-3 lead.<br />
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Was Bochy of sound mind after his heated display on the call at first? If he hadn't had that distraction, might he have given some thought about yanking Lincecum? There was plenty evidence suggesting Timmy Boy was done.<br />
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I'm all for toughing things out with my starting pitcher. But on Opening Day, you proceed with a little more caution with your starters, who aren't at peak strength -- not by a long shot. Lincecum in particular has shown this spring that he isn't yet up to snuff. How many times had he thrown 95 pitches in spring training? And yet Bochy let him make that 95th pitch, with the game on the line.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Now, down 5-3 in the top of the seventh, the Giants had a chance to close the deficit with two runners on, though two were out. Arizona Manager Kirk Gibson got the the matchup he wanted, bringing in left handed reliever Joe Paterson to face Huff.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Huff did OK against lefties last year: his .270 batting average was 35 points better than he hit against righties. But Paterson is a specialist who is especially difficult to hit for lefties (they hit .201 against him, while righties hit .255 against him). Huff's sample against Paterson was small, but ineffective: 0-for-3.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Huff had figured nicely in the Giants' sixth, leading off with a base hit on an 0-2 changeup off last year's 21-game winner, Ian Kennedy, eventually scoring the tying run, at 3-3.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Against the side-winding lefty Paterson, Huff hung in there admirably, fouling off some tough pitches, but inevitably grounded out weakly to end the threat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">SF Chron's Henry Schulman tweeted afterward that Bochy "is not going to yank a veteran starter in his first AB against a lefty in first game for young PH."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I tweeted -- before the at bat -- that this was an opportune time to bring in someone like Brett Pill. KNBR's Marty Lurie replied to me: "Great point. In the 1st gm let Huff hit ... in 3 wks you absolutely consider the RH option... what about HSanchez? If he's here use him."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Why not? Bochy already made it clear that Huff will be a mostly six-inning player, to be subbed out defensively in latter innings. Why shouldn't that principle apply to tough hitting situations, especially when you have guys like Pill and Hector Sanchez who are on the roster for the express purpose of adding offense -- not to mention provide the electricity that only talented youth can bring?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We saw this far too often last year: Bochy putting too much stock in Huff and other veterans. And though Huff had a nice spring training (he did last year, too, hitting six home runs), Bochy's mandate should not be to worry about Huff's confidence or sense of place in the lineup. Huff should be well aware that he is just one moveable piece among many.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So, in his first opportunity to show off what promises to be an exciting, young, quick and energetic team, Bochy failed to exploit one of his assets. He turned his back on the bench depth he just got finished piecing together.<br />
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And, his decision to keep Lincecum in the game was the first judgment call of the year that backfired on Bochy, not a promising sign after a year full of missteps from management.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It's only Game 1. But, that's what Opening Day is all about, right? Create a spark, set a tone, go bold out of the chute. It's not too late to return to first principles in Game 2.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div>GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-79035179984563408352011-12-15T09:07:00.000-08:002011-12-15T10:10:55.074-08:00Guest blog: Just enough will work for Giants' offense<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><i>Josh Friedman, investing editor for Bloomberg News, former LA Timesman, lifelong friend and a Giants fan for the last 40-plus years, offers his take on the Giants' off-season maneuvers:</i></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Just enough is all it took for the Giants to snag a World Series two years ago: just enough hitting to back their stellar pitching and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">defense.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Last year's team sputtered out of contention with support, as it were, of the National League's worst offense. Those castoffs and misfits weren't so cute when production fell to an average of 3.5 runs a game -- a stat inflated by a few atypical outbursts -- from 4.3 in 2010. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">General Manager Brian Sabean, sticking to a budget, tweaked the roster with a series of thrifty, unspectacular moves.</span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Has he done his part to lift the club back into the thick of the race? Maybe it's the inevitable offseason optimism talking, but the view here is that he has.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">The team, whose pitching looks as good as ever, almost can't help but improve at hitting: Injuries to catcher Buster Posey, second baseman Freddy Sanchez and third baseman Pablo Sandoval were a major reason the 2011 run drought. Mean reversion makes it unlikely the injury bug will strike as brutally in 2012.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Budding star Posey's return will deliver the biggest lift, considering Eli Whiteside's sub-Mendoza line struggles last season.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Corner infield appears promising as well. Sandoval says he's seeing better with new contact lenses and is committed to a new fitness regime. The 25-year-old may be on the cusp of a big-time breakout season.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Who's on first? Who knows, but whoever wins the job won't need to be Willie McCovey to rake better than last year's combo: the regressing Aubrey Huff and the often-overmatched Brandon Belt, who are both back in the mix.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Brett Pill flashed talent in 50 at-bats and should get a chance to compete this spring. Huff's plunge in production was scary, with slugging and on-base percentages near career lows. The 34-year-old could man first or roam the outfield, but at this point he'll have to earn regular playing time.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Belt, who mashed in the minors before struggling to adjust at the majors, is sure to get another chance. After a strong performance in Latin American winter ball the 23-year-old may be ready to seize the first-base job for keeps, assuming he too isn't shifted to the outfield.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Middle infield, if we're being honest, is the one area that looks as anemic as it was last year. Sanchez is good for .290 batting when healthy, a step up from Keppinger, Burriss et al. But Brandon Crawford, the likely shortstop for his defense, is a downgrade offensively even from Orlando Cabrera.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">After losing Carlos Beltran, Cody Ross and Pat Burrell to free agency, Sabean remade the outfield by trading for Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan, who both figure to start. Returning Nate Schierholtz is also in the hunt.</span></span><br />
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">This outfield can overachieve like the 2010 bunch. Pagan, the probable leadoff hitter, brings speed and adequate pinging to a team that will need every base it can get. His manager said he wilted last year under the New York glare as Beltran's replacement, so the hope is he can perk up in cushier confines.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Cabrera, coming off a career year and only 27, is a threat to repeat topping 100 runs scored and a lock to add a little pop to the top part of the lineup. Schierholtz, the likeliest right fielder, is the same age and also returning from his best season, though he lacks Cabrera's upside. He is what he is: a .270 guy sans power, and the club can get by with him or one of the other options.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; line-height: 14px;">Life would be easier for Sabean and the fans if ownership adopted the Angels/Yankees approach of cutting checks and letting the free-agent acquisitions fill in the amounts. In the real world, just enough is good enough.</span></span>GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-59470460415117154482011-10-21T06:06:00.000-07:002011-10-21T13:44:34.180-07:00Wily Washington outmaneuvers LaRussaThe morality play was all set. Once again, the cerebral, wily Tony LaRussa had outwitted the emotional, dimly-lit Ron Washington in Game Two of the World Series.<br />
<br />
Poor Washington. In over his head, again, isn't he? Even "Wash" declared he couldn't match "a wit" with the masterful LaRussa, whose every strategic move is lauded as if they were mapped out on Mt. Olympus.<br />
<br />
There was Washington, pulling his starter, Colby Lewis, who'd thrown a brilliant game and would still be locked in a 0-0 duel with Cardinals' pitcher Jaime Garcia headed into the eighth but for first baseman Michael Young's inability to grab Nick Punto's two-hopper to his backhand side (albeit it was a hard-hit top-spinner hit to a drawn-in Young) that sent David Freese to third with two outs.<br />
<br />
Here they were again: at the bottom of the order, the pitchers spot due up. LaRussa called on Allen Craig to pinch hit for Garcia. And almost inevitably, Washington bounced out of the dugout to bring Alexi Ogando, the same man who'd served up the game-winning opposite field two-strike base hit to Craig a night earlier.<br />
<br />
That was the confrontation that set baseball writers sniggering under their breath: LaRussa had outwitted Washington, he had the Midas touch, pushed all the right buttons, didn't he?<br />
<br />
But wasn't it just a matter of a pitcher unable to execute his pitches?<br />
<br />
Ogando had thrown two blistering fastballs by Craig in that Game One matchup, the latter up the ladder, chest high, which Allen could not catch up to. But then the tall right-hander tried to get pretty, tried to finish him off with some paint on the outside corner, knee high. The rule is, however, it is much easier to catch up to a good fastball low than one that's up.<br />
<br />
Indeed, Craig did get around on Ogando's 98 MPH fastball in Game One, at least enough to scorch it into right field to drive home the winning run. And, amazingly, that's what Craig did in Game Two in the bottom of the seventh inning in that scoreless tie, when Ogando completely missed his target, set for up and in, and laid one in right where Craig could get his bat on it, out over the plate. Craig guided a soft-liner just over the head of second baseman Ian Kinsler, giving the Cardinals a dramatic 1-0 lead, and cameras instantly flashed to LaRussa, the maestro who could do no wrong.<br />
<br />
And there was Washington, "hanging his head," as play-by-play man Joe Buck intoned, the picture of a man who just couldn't get it right.<br />
<br />
Washington is a lovable creature, a manager whom Buck and his lifetime broadcast partner, Tim McCarver, have described as a player's manager, a guy who gets out of the way and lets his players play the game. <br />
<br />
Implicit is the suggestion that Washington doesn't have to push too many buttons, not with a team laden with such offensive depth. His contribution to the game is as a cheerleader -- witness how he runs in place, his arms pumping in concert with the baserunner rounding the bases, his yells of encouragement the most vocal in his dugout.<br />
<br />
So, the storyline was set, the narrative writ large. La Russa, the Hall of Fame lock, the personification of corporate indomitability, the man with a law degree, would dispatch the clownish, less educated, shall we say, Washington. The St. Louis Cardinals were a mere three outs of taking a two-games-to-none lead over the Texas Rangers, and all La Russa needed to do was push one more button.<br />
<br />
But there was Ian Kinsler, hitting a ball on the end of his bat for a looping single off closer Jason Motte, past the outgoing shortstop Rafael Furcal and in front of the onrushing left fielder, Matt Holliday, who'd been directed by La Russa to play deep to avoid extra base hits getting by them.<br />
<br />
La Russa, often cited for his willingness to go against custom, had been burned by playing by the book.<br />
<br />
Then, without any warning from Buck or McCarver -- both have strong ties to the Cardinals, so Buck, who does radio play-by-play for the Cardinals, might have given us a heads up that Motte has a slow delivery to the mound, and that Kinsler, who stole more than 30 bases in the regular season, might try to exploit that, except that there was no way because the golden armed Yadier Molina was ready to gun him down -- Kinsler was taking off for second in an attempted grand theft.<br />
<br />
It was a power play, one borne of pure wile and courage. The play came from the dugout. Indeed, Ron Washington, the outwitted, the subtly mocked, had pulled one over LaRussa. He'd had his second man, Elvis Andrus, show bunt on the first pitch, a perfect fastball that he took down the middle. La Russa was baited and hooked: he was looking for the traditional play, the sacrifice bunt to put the potential tying run in scoring position.<br />
<br />
And then, LaRussa was reeled in: Andrus showed bunt on the second pitch, but this time, Kinsler had taken off from first with a great jump and a burst of speed. Andrus, still holding out the pretense of bunting, held his bat out in front of the plate but let the pitch go for strike two. Who knows if Andrus' decoy hindered Molina, but the whole art of deception is to catch your opponent off guard, even if by a mere fraction of a second.<br />
<br />
And there was Kinsler exploding into second base with a head first dive, just in under the tag of second baseman Nick Punto. Safe by a fraction of an inch!<br />
<br />
Indeed, Washington's bunt ruse had caught the Cardinals off guard. It was a brazen play, a show of utter moxie, that Washington would send a base runner down by a run in the ninth inning.<br />
<br />
If Kinsler had been thrown out, Washington would have been criticized for reckless strategy; a play borne of desperation, rooted in his ill-fated decision to allow Ugando to pitch to Allen again.<br />
<br />
But it worked because Washington had messed with convention, took a chance, played fearless baseball. Maybe even allowed LaRussa to think he had the thing under control.<br />
<br />
The Rangers would have to come through with clutch performances to finish off the thrust. Andrus would have to come up big with his biggest two-strike single of his young career; he'd have to be the guy who took the extra base when Cardinals' first baseman Albert Pujols missed a cutoff throw; and then, after La Russa pulled Motte to bring in 40-year old lefty Arthur Rhodes, Josh Hamilton would get a nice, fat, hanging slider that he would drive to right field, getting the ultimate productive out: bringing home the tying run, and moving Andrus to third. After yet another LaRussa move to bring in a right hander, Lance Lynn, Michael Young would do the solid work of working the count full and then driving the ball into the outfield for the decisive sacrifice fly.<br />
<br />
But, it was the wily Washington who set it all up. And LaRussa was the one who looked confounded.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-21828276873555804922011-09-28T18:23:00.000-07:002011-09-29T09:44:30.460-07:00Some thoughts on the Giants' disappointing endAnd, so the final chapter of 2011 is done. The disappointments were deep, the sense of letdown immense, given the expectations for the returning world champions.<br />
<br />
Though the Giants' failure to reach the playoffs was understandable given their devastating injuries, there still is a sense that the Giants could have been among the elite teams represented in the fall. Just look at the Braves' collapse in the wild card race. There are a couple dozen games that the Giants could have won, but for a a missed scoring opportunity here or there. If the Giants had just pulled out four games that they should have won, they could have been in the post-season mix. <br />
<br />
Still, despite all the troubles for the Giants, it took them until game 158 to be eliminated, a reflection on the residual 2010 World Series magic that hung around the team until the fateful late July series with the Cincinnati Reds.<br />
<br />
Whether that is a point to be celebrated or lamented could depend on the hour of the day, how many drinks are under your belt, whether it's a sunny day or not. I fear that in the gloom of winter, when the skies are grey and the basketball season refuses to die, the Giants' 2011 season will be looked upon with sadness and disillusionment.<br />
<br />
It didn't have to end this way. But at least the Giants collapsed in the quiet of August, rather than the dusk of fall, when history could have handed down the same harsh judgment that the Red Sox and Braves must now suffer for eternity.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Over the next few days, I'll be sharing some thoughts on the Giants, looking back and ahead.<br />
<br />
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<br />
Nice closing moments<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner codifying their fruitful and eye-opening seasons with unassailable performances in games 160 and 161:</li>
</ul><br />
Vogelsong's beautiful sequence against Mark Ellis captured his style: jamming him with three straight fastballs on his hands, then throwing a dart on the outside corner, knee high, to freeze Ellis on a called strike.<br />
<br />
All you have to do is to look at the numbers Vogelsong put up prior to 2011, follow his career itinerary, to understand the heights he reached this year. His story was a testament to desire, determination and an ability to harness all that he'd learned through a tortuous journey. Every pitch he threw had the focus of a man who'd faced baseball mortality.<br />
<br />
He's heard the whispers that his season was a fluke, a one-shot wonder, so he will have more to prove next year. The question, though, is whether he can retain his edge even as he's established himself as a starter.<br />
<br />
Bumgarner's lasting image in his final game: burying 93 MPH fastballs on the hands of Rockies' hitters, then putting them away with snappy backfoot sliders. His season was defined by mental and physical toughness, most memorably exemplified in his rebound after giving up eight runs and nine hits in one third of an inning to the Minnesota Twins, with a seven-inning 11-strikeout performance against the Cleveland Indians. Tuesday he showed that toughness in the second inning when he struck out the side to escape a first-and-third jam with no outs.<br />
<br />
There was some poetic justice that Bumgarner got the win to be able to finish the season at .500, tying Tim Lincecum for the team lead in wins at 13, a reward for sticking to it. Bumgarner proved beyond a doubt that he has the mental makeup to go along with the physical to have a long, illustrious career.<br />
<ul><li>The kids, playing with abandon in the final days, as Boss Bochy finally unleashes them:</li>
</ul>Conor Gillaspie with his wonderful round trip (in the literal sense) Tuesday for his first big league home run, an inside-the-park job that included a wipeout as he rounded third base, ending with a head first slide at the plate, a look of pure exhaustion and maybe a little perplexion (like, how did I get here?).<br />
<br />
Even though it was his first big league home run (ruled so because he'd already rounded third when the relay got muffed), Gillaspie didn't crack a smile, and only slightly so, until after Brett Pill ribbed him a bit in the dugout; a rookie has to keep his cool in front of veterans eager to playfully embarrass the youngsters. Still, Gillaspie has that unflappable look of a player who is not easily impressed. He showed it with his sweet swing that has impressed even Bochy, who'd relegated him mostly to watching duties since his Sept. 1 recall.<br />
<br />
There were the two Brandons giving a glimpse of what Giants fans can hope for next year: a majestic home run into the Bay by Belt, and Crawford's scorching line drive off the right field wall for a triple. <br />
<br />
The threesome were 7-for-10 with five runs scored and five RBI, drawing two walks (that's 9-for-12, a .667 OBP). Add in Brett Pill's 1-for-2, and they were 8-for-12 (.667 avg.).<br />
<br />
The day before, Pill once again showed why he needs to be seriously considered as a starter next year with a 2-for-3 day topped off by a sacrifice fly ball to drive in a nice insurance run in the Giants' 3-1 win behind Vogelsong.<br />
<br />
Pill ended at a nice, cool .300, driving in nine runs in 50 at bats. That's a 100-RBI pace over a full season, which is what he's done for the last two years at AAA Fresno. He's got nothing more to prove in the minors, and could be a big, energetic bat to put in the middle of the lineup next year.<br />
<br />
I thought some of the criticism of Pill -- SF Chron's Ron Kroichick describing his power numbers as "not overwhelming" -- was off base. So, he hit only two home runs in 50 at bats. That translates to 20 over 500, which is nothing to sneeze at, especially in light of the puny production of the 2011 Giants. The key is that he appears to be the real thing in RBI situations, and if he does it with a base hit to left or sacrifice fly, that's good enough for me.<br />
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<br />
Interesting that Aubrey Huff played the standup guy after the final game, saying a lot of the team's failure was on him. If he'd been half as good as he was last year, the team would still be playing, he said. Well, Huff has always been forthright and his own best critic. He's a good guy who can recognize his own faults.<br />
<br />
Whether that drives him to reassess his approach and turn in a productive winter remains to be seen. A professional would be embarrassed by such a dismal performance as his (12 HR, 59 RBI, .246 average, .307 on base, .370 slugging in 568 plate appearances), and I think Huff does have a professional's pride. But he's guaranteed $11 million next year, so who knows how motivated he is?<br />
<br />
One thing I hope is clear in Bochy's mind: he can't give Huff the same length of rope next year. Huff can't be given assurances that it's his job to lose. It must be an open competition, with Pill, Brandon Belt and Huff starting at an even plane.<br />
<br />
Depending on how the competition fares, the outfield is an option for one of the three. And, if Huff continues to show signs that he's on the downward spiral, the Giants need to sever ties immediately. They saw how counterproductive it was -- in so many ways -- to keep Aaron Rowand around.<br />
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<br />
I will be surprised to see Andres Torres, Cody Ross and Pat Burrell back. Of the three, a Ross departure would be the most disappointing. He's still in his most productive years, and could have a takeoff year in 2012. <br />
<br />
Ross put too much pressure on himself to duplicate the magic of 2010. He bought into the self-created notion that he's a power hitter; after his home run binge in the post-season, it's not hard to understand. In the past, when he hit 22 and 24 home runs for the Florida Marlins, I would venture to bet he didn't have the same approach he had this year: he went up looking to hit the ball out, rather than letting his stroke do the thinking for him. Perhaps the vast confines of AT&T got to Ross, who became pull happy.<br />
<br />
He will have just turned 31 next year, the age when you start figuring it all out. If he understands that AT&T can embrace a gap-to-gap hitter, Ross could be a dynamo. And after Ross sees the market isn't all that keen to reward a guy who hit 14 HRs, .240 with 96 strikeouts in 405 at bats, the Giants might get him to re-up for another year at the discounted rate of, say, $4 million, down from $6.3 million. Ross could prove to be a sleeper roster move.<br />
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<br />
Torres and Burrell, two fan favorites who will be welcomed back wholeheartedly to player reunion events for years to come, appear done. <br />
<br />
Burrell's swing, even before his foot injury, had shown signs of slowing down. And Torres (.221 batting average, .312 on base) proved to be the one-year wonder, a beautiful story of perseverence and pluck that simply petered out. Torres could never master his vulnerabilities this year -- the curve down and in and the fastball up. He appeared overwhelmed in a way that suggests there's little to tap as he heads into his 34th year. <br />
<br />
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<br />
I will have more thoughts on the Giants in coming days.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-60571903088850771702011-09-18T19:38:00.000-07:002011-09-19T11:20:32.498-07:00When hope refuses to die, it's hard not to believeBaseball fans are the biggest agnostics. They are very skeptical about things like miracles, about putting too much blind faith in hope.<br />
<br />
But, when hope refuses to die, it's hard not to start believing, to start praying to the Baseball Gods.<br />
<br />
Yes, the prospects of actually making the playoffs remain remote for the Giants, but their eight-game winning streak has even the surliest cynics laughingly wondering quietly about crazy little scenarios. Inappropriate laughter, after all, is for the crazies.<br />
<br />
Especially with the way they're winning. Giants hitters have finally reached a comfort zone. They actually appear to be enjoying their trade, starting with the irrepressible Pablo and his power binge that makes you wonder how close he could have come to an MVP season if not for the 40 games lost to injury.<br />
<br />
When the Giants etched their cleansing eight-run fourth inning Sunday -- on a rare four home run frame, evoking the spirits of Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou, Jimmy Davenport and the legendary John Orsino* -- the Arizona Diamondbacks hadn't yet begun play. It might have sent shivers up their spine as they took the field. But the great collapse would have to wait another day. They responded well, defeating the San Diego Padres to avert a sweep and halt a three-game losing streak.<br />
<br />
The Diamondbacks' magic number dropped to five games, so even if the Giants win the rest of their games -- which would mean they'd end the season on an unprecedented 17-game winning streak -- the Diamondbacks would only need to win five of their last nine games to earn a share of the West Division title.<br />
<br />
There isn't a spotted owl's chance in a Republican administration for that scenario to pan out. The Giants need the Diamondbacks to lose. They cannot hope to overtake the Snakes without a perfect conspiracy, aided and abetted by the Snakes. They have to lose. They have to start panicking. Kirk Gibson's boys will have to show fear and act accordingly.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for the Giants, the Diamondbacks showed resilience Sunday. And, even worse, they have the Pittsburgh Pirate arriving in Phoenix Monday. Giants fans have freshly visceral feelings about how tough the Pirates can be, particularly with nothing to lose -- recall the Pirates coming off a 10-game losing streak to take two of three at AT&T.<br />
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<br />
But the Pirates seem to have mailed it in at this point. They've just lost three of four to the Dodgers, including a 15-1 debacle Sunday. They've been outscored 28-4 over the last three games. To expect them to put up a fight against the Diamondbacks is really on the outpost of sanity.<br />
<br />
And even if you bought into the notion that the Pirates could play the willing role of spoiler, part of the ridiculous scenario of catching the Diamondbacks would be a three-game sweep over the Diamondbacks' -- in their home park. Although, maybe the Giants could sneak out of there winning two of three.<br />
<br />
Ideally, they Giants would cut the Diamondbacks' lead to three games by the time they head into Phoenix on Friday. That would necessitate winning two of three over the Dodgers, while asking the Pirates to defeat the Snakes two of three.<br />
<br />
While the Giants take Monday off (they always seem to get a day off right when they have a little momentum, don't they?), Arizona opens against Pittsburgh Monday. Ian Kennedy goes for his 20th win opposite Jeff Karstens, and about the only hope the Giants have in that matchup is if Kennedy freezes up under the double-pressure of trying to get to 20 for the first time and staving off the Giants.<br />
<br />
That seems unlikely: Kennedy is a cool customer. But perhaps Daniel Hudson and Wade Miley can slip up.<br />
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<br />
The same goes for the Giants in the Dodgers series, which begins Tuesday. Though Tim Lincecum is up for the Giants, he's once again got the unenviable task of matching up with the unfathomable Clayton Kershaw in the series opener. Kershaw has simply eaten the Giants for breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner and dessert this year.<br />
<br />
The only hope the Giants would seem to have to take Tuesday's series opener is if Kershaw squeezes the ball a bit too tightly as he bids for his 20th win for the first time. It wouldn't be the first time in history that a pitcher sniffing 20 wilted under self-conjured demons. And, it's not insignificant that the werewolf-like Kershaw is going against a different Giants team than he's faced all year, Bam Bam's newly grooving squadron.<br />
<br />
(Spoiler alert: The Giants will be fielding their worst lineup: Pablo Sandoval may be held out unless one day off can relieve him of what seems to be chronic pain from the right side of the plate, to be replaced by Mark DeRosa -- a fine backup, but he ain't gonna hit for the cycle for you. Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford will sit. Orlando Cabrera will likely be in the lineup against the tough lefty as will Justin Christian; the good news is that Brett Pill will be in there for Aubrey Huff, whose butt cheeks continue to tense up in run-scoring chances (and are bruised to boot, courtesy of J.C. Romero). Let's just hope Boss Bochy has the good sense to bring in Crawford for defensive purposes as early as he can in a tight game.)<br />
<br />
So, maybe Kershaw, like Kennedy, is too cool a cat to let the goal of 20 freeze him up. So, the Giants would have to win the next two over Dana Eveland and Hiroki Kuroda. Eveland shut out the Giants over seven on Sept. 10, but was hit hard in his last outing (four ER in five IP vs. Pittsburgh). And the Giants roughed up Kuroda the last time they faced him (three ER on eight H in 4.2 IP) on Sept. 11, which kicked off their eight-game roll.<br />
<br />
And then the Pirates, behind Craig Morton and Ross Ohlendorf, would have to defeat Daniel Hudson and Wade Miley. Morton has actually been pretty good this year, if unlucky. He's 9-10 with a 3.81 ERA, and over the last month-plus, he's had a 3.28 ERA in 49.1 IP. He held the Cardinals to three ER in 7 IP in his last start, a tough-luck loss.<br />
<br />
Ohlendorf won his first game of the year in his last start, holding the Dodgers to two ER and four hits over seven IP. So, they're in a position to help the Giants.<br />
<br />
Hudson, however, appears on top of his game: he's had a 1.57 ERA in three September starts and a 2.40 ERA dating back to the beginning of August. The rookie Miley is a little more vulnerable, having given up nine ER on 19 hits and 10 walks over his last 18 IP (4.50) as he gets his first taste of a big league pennant race.<br />
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<br />
Back to that three-game sweep that the Giants would need in Arizona. Here are the scheduled matchups:<br />
<br />
Game 1: A rookie matchup of Josh Collmenter vs. Eric Surkamp.<br />
<br />
Game 2: Lefty Joe Saunders vs. Matt Cain.<br />
<br />
Game 3: A matchup a Cy Young candidate and a former Cy Young: Kennedy vs. Lincecum.<br />
<br />
But as one reader, Giant Pita, recommended, there is an alternative:<br />
<br />
Bochy could move Surkamp into the Dodgers series and Madison Bumgarner into the Arizona series, like so:<br />
<br />
Vs. LA<br />
Game 1: Lincecum vs. Kershaw<br />
Game 2: Vogelsong vs. Eveland<br />
Game 3: Surkamp vs. Kuroda<br />
<br />
Vs. Ariz<br />
Game 1: Bumgarner vs. Collmenter<br />
Game 2: Cain vs. Saunders<br />
Game 3: Lincecum vs. Kennedy<br />
<br />
Vs. Colo<br />
Game 1: Vogelsong vs. Jhoulys Chacin<br />
Game 2: Surkamp vs. Aaron Cook<br />
Game 3: Bumgarner vs. Alex White<br />
<br />
If the Giants are somehow still in it in the final series, Sept. 26-28, it's hard to know who holds the edge between the Diamondbacks and Giants. Arizona would be up against the Dodgers with Hudson, Miley and Collmenter going against Eveland, Kuroda and Ted Lilly. And the Giants would be licking their chops over facing the forgettable Rockies.<br />
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<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">But, maybe all the angst and calculations over Arizona is moot. Maybe, instead, the Giants should pin their hopes on overtaking the Atlanta Braves.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px;">The Braves, after all, have lost six of nine, nine of 14, and 11 of 18 overall in September. They've lost five games in the Wild Card standings to the Giants in September, and are hearing footsteps from two teams: the Cardinals, who are now within 3.5 games of the Braves in the WC, and the Giants, now four games back.<br />
<br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px;">The Braves travel to take on the streaky Florida Marlins (who've had a four-game winning streak and a four-game losing streak in a 9-9 September); a frisky Washington (just off a recent five-game winning streak, the Nationals have won the last seven of 10) before flying home for a season-closing three-game stand with the indomitable Philadelphia.</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px;">*********************************************************************************</div><div style="margin: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin: 0px;">It's a parlor game for the fanciful. Now, let's see how it all plays out.<br />
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<br />
*For those poor souls who tried to shake loose some memory of Orsino, the fifth wheel of the Giants' 1961 home run parade that Aug. 23 afternoon, it's understandable that you couldn't:<br />
<br />
He was a 23-year old catcher, barely a month in the big leagues when he stamped his name in history. It was one of only four home runs he'd hit as a Giant in 131 at bats before being dealt to the Baltimore Orioles in 1963, when he had his one big season: 19 home runs, 56 RBI and a .272 batting average.<br />
<br />
He would go on to hit 40 home runs in a seven-year career, on top of the 111 he hit in the minors (he had three 20-plus home run seasons in the Giants' farm system).<br />
<br />
Before Orsino was dealt to the Orioles, he appeared in one game in the 1962 World Series, hitting into a double play grounder in his only at bat.<br />
<br />
The New Jersey native is 73, and you have to wonder whether he held out any hope that his name would ever enter into the baseball conversation so many years after he'd faded from the memory of Giants fans.</div>GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-5205038639682174702011-09-17T23:03:00.000-07:002011-09-17T23:18:45.417-07:00The math is intimidating but psychology is edging over to Giants' sideHere's the dirty math on the Giants' outside shot at winning a slot in the playoffs:<br />
<br />
If the Arizona Diamondbacks or Atlanta Braves split their remaining 10 games, the Giants would have to win their final 10 games (meaning they'd have to finish the season with a 17-game winning streak) just to tie for the West Division or Wild Card lead.<br />
<br />
The mathematics are pretty intimidating. But, once you bring in psychology, that's when hope is less irrational.<br />
<br />
The Diamondbacks, losers of three in a row and four of six, have watched their lead over the Giants shrink by 4.5 games in just one week. This is the first adversity that they've faced since they overran the Giants in the standings on Aug. 10. It was a fascinating ride to the top as underdogs, but it's a different game when you're on top.<br />
<br />
And when you haven't been on top for long and you're hearing footsteps for the first time, you aren't sure how you respond. Insecurity, doubt and self-awareness are your worst enemies. And when the team chasing you wins seven in a row, each blown chance, each missed pitch location begins to magnify.<br />
<br />
The Diamondbacks' best hitter, Justin Upton, appears to be feeling the heat. He's gone 2-for-22 in the last six games.<br />
<br />
After the Diamondbacks had lost Friday, the Arizona Republic beat writer wrote, "yes, making the playoffs remains a virtual lock for the Diamondbacks." Their lead was still a "robust" six games with 11 to go. Coolstandings.com, he wrote, still pegs their chances at the playoffs at 98.6 percent.<br />
<br />
"Should the Giants track them down, the Diamondbacks' collapse would rank among the worst in history."<br />
<br />
Yes, that's the point. By the way, their chances dipped a bit after Saturday's events, to 96.9 percent.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As Arizona catcher Miguel Montero said after the Diamondbacks lost 3-1 to the last place Padres Saturday, "I think we're trying a little too hard probably."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Probably.</div><br />
The opposite is true for the team that has been counted out. They've got nothing to lose. The Giants have all expressed amazement at how, once the pressure of the pennant race was off, they began playing looser, better.<br />
<br />
All they had to do was watch how the lowly Houston Astros played so well against them in the midst of the Giants' disastrous month (you know, the one where they went 10-21) to know that's how baseball goes.<br />
<br />
So, back to the math. Say the Diamondbacks or Braves, both with 87-65 records, go 2-8 the rest of the way. Then, it's more doable. The Giants would only have to go 7-3 to tie and force a playoff. That's more in keeping with the trend lines.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Here's a question. If the Giants feel like they're back in the pennant race, will Boss Bochy insist on standing by his old horses, Aubrey Huff and Orlando Cabrera, as regulars?<br />
<br />
If not, and I hope that would be the last thing he's thinking, would Bochy finally admit to his biggest blunder of the year: sticking with the veterans through the dark month that nearly killed off the Giants' pennant hopes?<br />
<br />
All those weeks Giants fans pleaded with management to bring up Brandon Belt, Brett Pill, Brandon Crawford, Hector Sanchez, Eric Surkamp and others to provide a spark that was missing from the big league club.<br />
<br />
Bochy and General Manager Brian Sabean knew better. Our highly-paid, experienced guys will return to form, they assured us. The kids aren't ready, they told us with an air of condescension.<br />
<br />
Pill, after all, had been dropped off the 40-man roster. He's just a 4A ballplayer, was the whisper. At the age of 27, he'd lost his prospect status. Bringing Pill up might prove them wrong. So, he remained in Fresno, piling up big numbers that they knew wouldn't translate in the big leagues.<br />
<br />
Belt had been given his shot at the season's outset and blown it. So, no matter what he did in each of his subsequent call-ups would never be good enough to persuade Bochy to give him a long look. So, for example, when he hit that home run and double to beat the Dodgers after his mid-July call-up, Bochy benched him to send the message that Huff was still the man.<br />
<br />
Sure enough, after Pill's second triple of the night Saturday had brought home the two biggest runs of the Giants season, there was Huff called on to pinch hit to try to knock home that run from third. And there he was with another rollover ground out to first base. Only a bad throw, a good jump from third by Pill and a quick slide resulted in the Giants' sixth run.<br />
<br />
Who knows? This run they're on may be too late. It may be too much to ask for a complete collapse on the part of the Diamondbacks, and for the Giants to win out the rest of the year. If it is too late, it's because Bochy and Sabean were stuck in a state of paralysis during that horrid period in which they lost 21 of 31 games, stuck in the mindset that young guys are not prepared for the pressures of a pennant race.<br />
<br />
But the thing about young guys is they don't know the difference. They're just happy to be up in the Big Leagues. It was the veterans who all season succumbed to the pressures of a pennant drive. And, here are the kids stepping in: Brandon Belt with a home run in each of the first two games of the Colorado series, then Pill with his two clutch RBI triples to send the Giants to a 6-5 win.<br />
<br />
It is almost all in spite of Bochy, who remained reticent to use the kids even after rosters expanded. It took five days before Pill, called up as part of the Aaron Rowand/Miguel Tejada purge, actually got into a game.<br />
<br />
After Pill blasted a home run in his first at bat against San Diego, Bochy had to rethink the hulking first baseman. He seems to have settled on a platoon with Pill being relegated to starts against left handers. But with his big hits coming off tough right-handed relievers Saturday -- a two-strike RBI triple in the left-center field gap off Colorado's closer Huston Street and his booming triple high off the right field wall off Matt Belisle -- Bochy may have to reconsider Pill again.<br />
<br />
The main point here is that the young guys have shown what Bochy refused to believe: that they could bring an energy, a freshness, an eagerness that can light a spark in a team. They don't have the baggage of failure on the big league level yet. They have everything to prove, everything to gain in an audition.<br />
<br />
Last year, as the Giants veterans had everything under control en route to their world title, Bochy had little reason to turn to rookies, and didn't dare put them in in spots that the veterans were already succeeding in.<br />
<br />
But this year, Bochy has been forced to turn to the September boys in a time of need. And maybe they'll convince him that youth isn't wasted on the youth.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-1375221128782088762011-09-16T16:43:00.000-07:002011-09-17T09:44:58.824-07:00What if the Giants had played .500 ball instead of dropping 21 of 31?Imagine if the Giants had played barely passable baseball from July 28 through August 30, say just above .500 ball.<br />
<br />
Do you know where they'd be?<br />
<br />
Tied in first place. With the Giants' 9-1 win Friday -- their sixth in a row -- and the Diamondbacks' loss, they would be in the midst of a scintillating pennant race heading into the final week and a half.<br />
<br />
If they'd just won 16 games and lost 15 in that time span -- nothing totally unreasonable for a defending world championship team that had just captured two of three over the tough Philadelphia Phillies to move to a 61-44 mark -- the Giants would now be sitting on an 87-64 record. Precisely where Arizona is perched.<br />
<br />
Instead, they lost 21 of 31, and here they are, clinging to a faint chance, possibly fools' hope, that the Atlanta Braves will collapse down the stretch and provide an opening to the playoffs by way of the wild card.<br />
<br />
It didn't have to be. But the Giants' entire offense shrank from the challenge when it counted, their mysterious vanishing act coinciding strangely with the appearance of their savior, Carlos Beltran.<br />
<br />
To be sure, Beltran's star qualities have emerged over the last two weeks. He's led the Giants to 10 wins in their last 15 games (going 21-for-54 in that span, a .389 average, with 4 home runs and 10 RBI). There's even talk of re-signing him since he's shown that his legs still appear fresh, and he's appeared more comfortable in the vast confines of AT&T.<br />
<br />
It's not clear that he's willing to return, though, as he made it clear he needs to see the Giants make an effort to improve the lineup, particularly at the leadoff spot (hinting that his old Mets' teammate Jose Reyes would be a good fit), as reported by the Mercury News' Andrew Baggarly.<br />
<br />
Beltran's comments were a bit curious. He suggested that even with Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez returning, the Giants' offense remained lacking. He would only rejoin the lineup if it had the perfect cherry on the top, a classic leadoff hitter.<br />
<br />
Those comments were revealing. He essentially said he didn't want to be on a team unless he was surrounded by quality hitters. He obviously does not like being the focal point. He does not like the pressure of being the man.<br />
<br />
And he played like that when the Giants' season was in the balance.<br />
<br />
Let's look back at the critical moment, the point at which it all began to fall apart for the Giants.<br />
<br />
I remember the playful, if ever-so-slightly-nervous, reaction to the Beltran's first game with the Giants, when they beat the Phillies despite the new Giants' 0-for-4 debut. Who needs Beltran? we all asked with collective tongue planted in collective cheek.<br />
<br />
But, then, as the Giants failed to muster any offense over the next three days in Cincinnati, Beltran going 2-for-13 in that series sweep, a distinct doubt over the wisdom of the trade started to form. Had the deal messed with the Giants' alchemy? Had the Giants, who had relied on pluck and luck all year, subconsciously lost their feistiness? Were they now sitting around, waiting for Mr. Marquee to carry the load, lighten their burdens?<br />
<br />
The dye was cast. As the Giants carried the slump into a Giants' five-game losing streak after that last win over the Phillies, Beltran went 5-for-21 with one RBI; and as it stretched over the nine-game span, in which the Giants lost eight, Beltran hit a soft .270 (10-for-37) with no home runs and two RBI.<br />
<br />
And, over the entire 31-game debacle, the failures of Beltran were central to the Giants' fading hopes. He hit .255 with only one home run and four RBI in 18 games, of which the Giants lost 13 (remember, he missed 13 games with a wrist injury, when the Giants went 5-8).<br />
<br />
No one can ever answer the psychology of that question of how much of an impact Beltran's presence, and his slow start, had on the rest of the Giants. But the numbers sure bear it out over the fullness of the Giants' darkest days.<br />
<br />
Over that 31 game period in which they won 10 and lost 21, the Giants hit .228 with a .276 on base percentage, scoring only 79 runs (an average of 2.5 runs on 7.6 hits per game). <br />
<br />
The culprits aren't surprising:<br />
<br />
-- Cody Ross hit .168 (15-for-89) with three home runs and 12 RBI.<br />
-- Aaron Rowand hit .186 (11-for-59) with three doubles and zero RBI.<br />
-- Andres Torres hit .191 (9-for-47) with one RBI.<br />
-- Orlando Cabrera hit .227 (20-for-88) with 11 RBI.<br />
-- Beltran hit .255 (20-for-75) with one home run and four RBI.<br />
-- Aubrey Huff remarkably upped his game, hitting a surprising .257 (26-for-101) with three home runs, seven doubles and seven RBI.<br />
<br />
Pablo Sandoval, of course, continued his consistent hitting, at .303 (33-for-109) with five home runs and 13 RBI.<br />
<br />
There is more to plumb from this ugly epoch, but suffice it to say, the Giants' season-killing funk reflects on their inability to stand up to the pressures of a pennant race. But it also tells a story of how a thing that ain't broke don't need fixin'.<br />
<br />
********************************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Since we're playing the game of what if ...<br />
<br />
There's no getting back those 40 games Sandoval lost to the hammate bone injury he suffered in May. So, his overall numbers are always going to reflect a partial season that don't justify just what kind of season he had.<br />
<br />
But if you extrapolate, that's where you get the full impact.<br />
<br />
He's played 106 games, so I just added another third of a season to come to this stat line:<br />
<br />
159 games<br />
599 at bats<br />
78 runs<br />
184 hits<br />
37 doubles<br />
3 triples<br />
30 home runs<br />
95 RBI<br />
46 walks<br />
89 strikeouts<br />
.308 average<br />
.352 on base percentage<br />
.531 slugging percentage<br />
.884 on base plus slugging (OPS)<br />
<br />
That would have put him in the discussion for MVP.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-67956640285816599062011-09-07T18:44:00.000-07:002011-09-07T22:54:11.737-07:00Everything Bochy touches keeps turning to dustMaybe the final weeks of the season should be as much of an audition for Boss Bochy for next year as they are for some of his players.<br />
<br />
Once again on Wednesday, Bochy made a hash out of things, failing to push the right buttons at critical junctures in the Giants' 3-1 loss to the lowly San Diego Padres.<br />
<br />
A sweep of the Padres could have provided just a touch of hope that the Giants could continue to apply pressure on the Diamondbacks, perhaps move to within a much more reachable five games of the NL West leaders. Instead, the late afternoon loss gave the Diamondbacks a lift as they entered their evening game with the Rockies.<br />
<br />
Indeed, the Diamondbacks defeated Colorado, and are now back to seven games ahead of the Giants.<br />
<br />
Bochy said this week that he's going with his gut on lineup choices, as if to suggest that he would go against the book that had such a hold on him as the Giants fell out of sight in the West Division. But apparently, it's more difficult to let go of that book than he thought.<br />
<br />
In recent games, with the playoffs only barely on the distant horizon, Bochy has appeared caught between the imperative to play for the miracle finish and for the future. Sadly, he clung to the belief that the only hope for a miracle lay in some revival of Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross, Orlando Cabrera and Andres Torres.<br />
<br />
It never seemed to occur to him that fresh bodies could provide the lift that his veterans couldn't.<br />
<br />
Bochy's conundrum was on full display in Wednesday's game:<br />
<br />
1) Where was Darren Ford?<br />
<br />
With Orlando Cabrera on first and Brett Pill on third in the top of the seventh inning, Bochy sent up Pat Burrell to try to get the tying run home. Burrell hit a shallow fly ball, and there was the 6-foot-3 233 pound first baseman Pill lumbering down the line only to get nailed at the plate on Will Venable's throw.<br />
<br />
Had Ford been on third, Venable would have likely rushed his throw trying to nail the speedy base runner, and perhaps the throw would not have been on the money as it was when he didn't have to worry about speed with Pill on third.<br />
<br />
Was Bochy locked into a frame of keeping Ford on reserve for a stolen base situation? Well, he got it, and Ford was thrown out on a stolen base attempt that killed the Giants' eighth inning prospects. That shouldn't be a surprise: he's only a 50-50 proposition (5-for-10) in stolen bases.<br />
<br />
By the way, Bochy's decision to go with Burrell over Eli Whiteside sure wasn't consistent with the rationale he offered up three days ago when he allowed Whiteside to hit in a similar spot. Then, he said he didn't want to break up the groove his pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong, and Whiteside had going. Apparently, he re-thought that theory Wednesday, breaking up the Cain-Whiteside battery in an attempt to get a run right there.<br />
<br />
By the way II: Was Burrell the best he had to offer? The aging and injured outfielder has been basically inactive all summer with his foot injury; he's out of game shape. How about someone who has been productive all summer? How about digging into that dugout and seeing what some of the young guys can do?<br />
<br />
Despite Bochy's reluctance to test the kids, they have shown they're game ready when given a chance. You can't get a better demonstration than Brett Pill's wondrous start: two home runs in his first two games. <br />
<br />
Instead of Burrell, why not try Conor Gillaspie, the .297 hitter in AAA this year? <br />
<br />
2) The next inning, after Ford was thrown out on the base paths, Bochy inexplicably sent up Andres Torres for the kid who'd been called up to replace him. The 31-year old callup, Justin Christian, who'd had a double and scored a run Tuesday, hit a tremendous 400-foot blast that would have been a triple if not for a spectacular catch by Cameron Maybin, and made his own dazzling catch that saved two runs in the fourth inning.<br />
<br />
What value was Torres going to add at this point? A pop up confirmed what Bochy should have known.<br />
<br />
3) Where was Brandon Crawford?<br />
<br />
In the bottom of the eighth, Bochy sent out Cabrera to shortstop, leaving the superior gloveman, Brandon Crawford in the dugout, wasting away. And there was Cabrera dropping an easy pop up that led to a deadly insurance run.<br />
<br />
Crawford, when given a chance in his one-game trial Tuesday, showed he was ready, driving in a key run. But it was his unbelievable defensive play that reminded everyone of his true value. It was a line drive that appeared to have skipped by him, except that Crawford used those soft, quick hands to snare it on a hop.<br />
<br />
Bochy didn't drop the pop fly, and by all rights should not have to worry that a veteran shortstop will drop an easy pop fly. But, Cabrera has actually mishandled a couple pop flies now and has made five errors in a little more than a month.<br />
<br />
It was an easy move to make -- you get your best defense out there in the late innings of a close game, especially when you have plenty of bodies on the bench -- but having reached paralysis by stubbornness, Bochy could only watch helplessly, as if encased in a full body cast of defeatism.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-64290544973086660422011-09-04T18:57:00.000-07:002011-09-04T22:12:36.909-07:00Bochy's stubborn reliance on veterans bites him one last timeAll you need to know about Giants Manager Bruce Bochy came moments before his team's final collapse.<br />
<br />
The Giants were still clinging to the narrowest of playoff hopes by a razor-thin margin, a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh. If they could hold on to defeat the Diamondbacks, they could have taken two of three, crawled back to within five games, and sent Arizona out of San Francisco with just a slight bit of insecurity gnawing at their throat.<br />
<br />
The Giants needed an extra run, though, to widen starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong's margin of error, and it was out there on second base with one out. It would have been a nice psychological lift, to be able to go out to the eighth with a bit more breathing room.<br />
<br />
Brandon Belt had just failed to move pinch runner Andres Torres from second when he popped out. You could see Bochy fuming after the missed opportunity. But Bochy still had two shots to get that run in, though the Giants were at the bottom of the order.<br />
<br />
Instead of going for broke, however, instead of dipping into the dugout for a little magic -- why did the Giants call up all those youngsters if not to give him a choice in these spots? -- Bochy flinched. He tried to draw water out of a dry well. He stuck with aging and useless veteran Orlando Cabrera and the utterly overmatched Eli Whiteside, they failed to deliver, and the Giants went on to lose, 4-1, ruining their last, best chance at staying in the playoff chase.<br />
<br />
Cabrera had been brought over to provide an offensive upgrade over the rookie, Brandon Crawford, but his .222 batting average over more than a month as the Giants' regular shortstop was proof that the move had backfired. Yet, there he was, yet again, in the starting lineup, and there he was in a critical spot.<br />
<br />
Sure, he drove one to the edge of the warning track, momentarily jolting the fans out of their seats. But who are we kidding? A warning-track drive was as good as he had. It was a bit pathetic to see Cabrera curse himself after seeing that his drive was nothing more than an easy catch.<br />
<br />
Was Cabrera the best Bochy had? Of course not. Bochy could have gone with any number of choices -- from Mark DeRosa, who has been hitting the ball as good as anybody in recent days, to Brett Pill, who'd arrived in S.F. with the most RBI in the Pacific Coast League, so knew something about clutch hits.<br />
<br />
And, they had Crawford ready to plug in as a superior defensive replacement.<br />
<br />
After Cabrera flied out, Bochy again had the chance to go the bench, and had a compelling reason to do so. Whiteside has been an outright failure at the plate. Overall, he's hitting .205, but since July 16, he has hit at a .152 clip (11-for-72). Poor Eli has been a big zero at the plate, as easy an out as any of the pitchers.<br />
<br />
But Bochy stayed with Whiteside.<br />
<br />
His explanation was that he didn't want to take out Whiteside in the middle of a great performance by Vogelsong. It was the same faulty logic, borne from Bochy's stubborn catcher's mentality, that had prevented the Giants from pursuing a catcher after Buster Posey went down with his injury: they didn't want to break up the comfort level that the pitchers had built up with Whiteside and Chris Stewart.<br />
<br />
Last year, Bochy and general manager Brian Sabean had balked at bringing up Posey on the same premise, only to find that the staff of aces adjusted just fine when Posey was finally brought up to replace Benji Molina.<br />
<br />
Bochy's decision was also premised on the notion that he was going to send Vogelsong out for the eighth inning, come hell or high water. It was almost as if he was choosing to reward Vogelsong with loyalty over a cold, calculated move to try for one more run.<br />
<br />
By basically conceding the rare scoring opportunity, Bochy, however, left Vogelsong with the unenviable task of throwing one more shutdown inning with no room for margin.<br />
<br />
It was a blaring example of Bochy's inability to project, his total reliance on those he knows, as bad as they might be, over those he doesn't know, as good as they could be. It exemplified the lack of creativity that has paralyzed him all season as he held steady with a roster of declining veterans.<br />
<br />
Even with two outs and Whiteside due up, Bochy had a few options. He could have put up a pinch hitter and sent Vogelsong into the on-deck circle, forcing Arizona manager Kirk Gibson to choose between walking the pinch hitter to get to Vogelsong or going after the pinch hitter.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Maybe Bochy could have gone with the kids who were so hot in the minors, and who were brought up to inject some life into the moribund offense.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So, why not put up Hector Sanchez as the pinch hitter for Whiteside and Brett Pill in the on-deck circle. That would give Gibson something to think about. Maybe they go right after Sanchez.</div><br />
I believe Gibson would have walked the pinch hitter, whoever it was, to force Bochy's hand to get Vogelsong out of the game. Vogelsong, after all, had shown no signs of weakening and would enter the eighth relatively fresh (he'd thrown only 87 pitches at that point).<br />
<br />
At that point, Bochy could have reached into his dugout for one last magical stroke -- perhaps DeRosa, who has had some great at bats (and in fact had been promised more playing time only to mysteriously disappear while Bochy stayed with his old reliable, Aubrey Huff).<br />
<br />
Even if Gibson had decided to go after the pinch hitter -- say, it was Sanchez -- it would have been an eminently better choice than Whiteside, whose career is surely in jeopardy, especially after his incredible stretch of weak at bats over the past month and a half.<br />
<br />
But Bochy made the decision easy. Given the choice of Whiteside and an unknown pinch hitter, Gibson decided to go for the easy out and took his chances against Vogelsong.<br />
<br />
Vogelsong finally broke in the eighth, leaving that one pitch out over the plate that Ryan Roberts, the 7th place hitter with 17 home runs, could deposit into the left field bleachers, the fatal stab to the Giants' hopes.<br />
<br />
I understand it's all moot, and who knows how much a difference it might have made over the long haul. Even if the Giants won, they'd still be five games back of the torrid Diamondbacks. But, hey, you do what you can to stay in the race for as long as possible. And if the Giants had defeated the Diamondbacks to take two out of three, who knows how rattled the Snakes might have gotten heading into Colorado?GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-32194171338646483172011-09-02T23:49:00.000-07:002011-09-03T15:16:26.731-07:00Matt Williams' assist to the Giants; Beltran and Ross make up for lost timeWho knew Matt Williams would help out the Giants in a playoff hunt so many years after he'd left his original team?<br />
<br />
It was Williams, the Arizona Diamondbacks' third base coach, who put up the brakes to hold Upton at third in the first inning that gave the Giants their first break in Friday night's game, a reprieve from what could have been a disastrous start for Giants starter Matt Cain.<br />
<br />
With runners on first and second in the first inning, Miguel Montero ripped a shot into the right field corner, driving home Aaron Hill, with Justin Upton on his heels rounding third. But Williams saw that right fielder Carlos Beltran had come up cleanly and quickly with the ball that rebounded off the wall.<br />
<br />
What Williams didn't see was that Beltran had conceded the run, and thrown the ball into second.<br />
<br />
Upton never scored, stranded on third when Cain blew a 93 MPH fastball right by Diamondback phenom Paul Goldschmidt for a strikeout, and after a walk to load the bases, got an inning-ending, rally-killing pop fly from Gerrardo Parra.<br />
<br />
Cain had averted disaster, minimized the damage, and kept the Giants from falling too far behind early. A two-run deficit early could have been demoralizing, a signal that there was indeed something to this Diamondback juggernaut, the team that had stormed to a six-game lead over the world champions and into AT&T with a nine-game winnings streak.<br />
<br />
Then there was Tim Flannery, the Giants' third base coach known for racing his base runners all the way to home plate as he's yelling at them to get in there.<br />
<br />
Flannery's decision in the third inning to send Cody Ross home on Jeff Keppinger's two-out double high off the left field wall was the go-for-broke answer to Williams' caution, a perfectly aggressive -- some might call it reckless -- play to signal the Giants were not going down without a fight.<br />
<br />
It was a crazy call, really. Ross had barely reached third base when left fielder Parra had already started throwing home. If Parra hits his cutoff man, Ross would have been out at home by 15 feet -- with Beltran, who'd tripled off the right field wall in the first inning, stuck on deck. But the throw was widely off the mark, Ross scored, and Flannery was vindicated.<br />
<br />
Moments later, Beltran signaled his true arrival as a Giant with his monster home run to left field -- the first meaningful clutch hit since he'd arrived in San Francisco a month ago. It gave the Giants a 3-1 lead -- a lead they'd never relinquish en route to a 6-2 win-- but more significantly, it announced to the Diamondbacks the Giants were to be contended with.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
The story has not yet been told -- there is a full month for that. But, the markings are there: a revitalized roster headlined by veteran Pat Burrell's return, but also by the infusion of youth with the September call-ups announced -- all undergirded by Giants' management's bold decision to cast off the expensive, underperforming and malignant Aaron Rowand and Miguel Tejada.<br />
<br />
There can be little doubt that the Giants responded to the newly charged atmosphere -- both in the clubhouse, and in the playoff-intense vibrations of the fans.<br />
<br />
Maybe the tension surrounding their awful August had evaporated with the changing of the calendar. But it was interesting that the big performances in the most important game of the year came from two players with a bit of symmetry to their stories.<br />
<br />
Ross was last year's waiver wire pickup-turned post-season hero who'd fallen short of expectations in his return season. Beltran, this year's trade deadline pickup who was supposed to take the Giants back to the world series but had been largely an absent presence.<br />
<br />
On this night, the night the Giants needed them the most, Ross and Beltran combined for six hits (of the Giants' total of eight hits) in seven at bats: a double, a triple, two home runs and two singles, three runs scored and five RBI.<br />
<br />
Ross had survived the August 31 purge. But it was far from clear what role Bochy would have for him once rosters expanded. But there he was, in the leadoff spot and in center field against left hander Joe Saunders.<br />
<br />
He'd hit a sharp grounder his first at bat, then drew what appeared to be an innocuous two-out walk in the third. These are the kinds of at bats the Giants parlayed into rallies so often last year but had gotten away from this year: the notion of keeping an inning alive just to see what the next guy could do. Ross' walk led to a three-run rally, and likely did not go unnoticed in the Giants' dugout.<br />
<br />
Ross hit a booming double off the center field wall in the fifth inning that led to the Giants' fourth run when Beltran drove in a run with a single to left. And Ross' home run, a line drive that top-spinned just over the wall in left, was reminiscent of his power display in the playoffs.<br />
<br />
Beltran's swing was pure art form all night, from both sides of the plate. He nearly hit one out the other way in his first at bat, a blast off the right field wall for a triple in the first. He was stranded on third that inning, so decided to drive himself home the next time with his two-run shot in the third.<br />
<br />
It was a majestic blast, precisely what Giants fans had envisioned when he was brought in as the putative savior. As he rounded the bases with his athletic, Barry Bonds-like stride, he carried with him the aching hope that the Giants could creep back into this race.<br />
<br />
With five games still separating the Giants and Diamondbacks, San Francisco is going to need much more from Beltran and Ross. And the new kids. And it wouldn't hurt if Matt Williams did another favor or two for his old boys, too.<br />
<br />
GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-31125865425136119212011-09-01T18:17:00.000-07:002011-09-01T19:58:30.236-07:00Final thoughts on the inelegant departure of Aaron RowandIt was stunning to learn the exalted sense of self Aaron Rowand had for himself. For all the failure, all the signs of regression, all those cringe-worthy swings that produced weak pop ups and jam-job ground balls, Rowand believed he got a raw deal from the Giants.<br />
<br />
Up to the moment that he was designated for assignment Wednesday, Rowand was agitating for more playing time. And when he learned that the Giants were finally severing ties despite the $12 million left on his contract, Rowand defiantly proclaimed he would catch on to a contending team.<br />
<br />
I don't know if it's arrogance or denial that describes Rowand's mindset.<br />
<br />
Here I'd thought that Boss Bochy had gone to extreme lengths to get Rowand in the lineup as much as he did, trying to squeeze whatever value he could out of that big investment his bosses had made in Rowand. Rowand should have been grateful for the playing time he did get.<br />
<br />
I think the one thing that distinguished Rowand was the dread that fans would get when he hit a home run. It meant that he'd be stuck in the lineup for another three weeks. And just when he'd gone long enough to finally convince even the generous Bochy that he should be benched, Rowand would hit another home run. It was an endless cycle of mulligans.<br />
<br />
So, I'd wrongly and naively assumed that Rowand was aware that his skills were in decline. I'd foolishly hoped that out of respect to the game, decency to the fans who have paid so much to watch him play, and perhaps even personal embarrassment, that he would retire. <br />
<br />
He could have walked away with dignity and earned a legacy: he would forsake millions of dollars that he knew he didn't deserve. He would be the one ballplayer who gave back to the fans by not stealing them blind.<br />
<br />
Well, that wasn't going to happen. Instead, Rowand had become a cancer in the Giants' clubhouse, complaining out loud about playing time. Did he not see his career-ending numbers piling up day after day -- you know, the ones that don't lie? He was 4-for-his-last-38, dropping to .233. But his negatives were in the tank long before the month of August rolled around. Since his nice start in April, when he hit .295, Rowand had settled into a full-service slump: he hit .211, with a .233 on base percentage and .309 slugging -- numbers that don't get you back in the lineup!<br />
<br />
Granted, there were so many others with equally abysmal numbers. But this wasn't a trend that started just this year.<br />
<br />
Here's how bad he was this year: As awful as he was last year -- remember, he was so useless, he'd been shoved to the back of the dugout while the rest of his team went on to win the World Series -- he was almost identically horrendous statistically this year.<br />
<br />
Let me provide some numbers that will show you that it wasn't a momentary blip in an otherwise rosy scenario.<br />
<br />
Last year, he hit .230 in 331 at bats. This year, he hit .233 in 331 at bats. He had one more hit this year (77) than last year, and 10 more doubles (22 to 12). But his home run power, already largely sapped, became almost nil: From 11 HRs, he dipped to four. His ability to draw a walk, already highly suspect, got even worse, dropping from 16 walks all last year to 10 this year (his on base percentage actually dropping from .281 to .274). He drove in 13 fewer runs than his paltry total of 34 last year.<br />
<br />
But his decline went beyond the numbers.<br />
<br />
Did he not watch video to see the horrid swing of his (never mind the obscene batting stance) that could not get around on a good fastball or guage a curve or change-up?<br />
<br />
Perhaps the punishing dimensions of AT&T could be blamed for the drop in his power numbers. Well, he hit two home runs on the road and two at home; over the last three years combined, they were comparably bad: he hit 17 home runs at home and 22 on the road.<br />
<br />
Those are numbers that a real power hitter achieves in a single year -- not over three years. And remember, the Giants brought Rowand into San Francisco as a middle of the order, power hitting outfielder.<br />
<br />
Baseball is a humbling game, they say. But for all the humiliation, Rowand took his DFA with umbrage and pride, outraged at the idea that he wasn't up to snuff.<br />
<br />
He had the audacity to suggest he expects to be picked up by a contending team. I would be surprised to see any team take him, even if they don't have to pay him a dime. Maybe then he'll get the message that he is through.<br />
<br />
GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-68521403242100387742011-08-29T06:38:00.000-07:002011-08-29T08:10:28.957-07:00Out call at second an ill omen for fading GiantsIt was a harbinger for the fate that awaits the Giants.<br />
<br />
Mark DeRosa's scorching line drive just inside the right field foul line invited dreams of glory, but instead ended in a heap of disillusionment.<br />
<br />
DeRosa had come through with the kind of hit the Giants have searched vainly for over the last month: a two out, two-strike run-scoring, game-tying hit in late innings. The Giants had just fallen behind, 3-2, to the Astros in the top of the 10th, and were staring in the face of a devastating loss.<br />
<br />
And here comes DeRosa, the man who'd come off the bench to help preserve the Giants' pennant hopes a day earlier with the dash and dare of a savvy veteran. He'd led off a rally with a single, stolen second in a bold stroke, and raced home with the winning run.<br />
<br />
On this day, DeRosa, again a late-game double-switch replacement, came to the plate with Andres Torres on second. Torres, who'd just returned to the roster on Sunday after a stint on the disabled list more to repair his wounded psyche than any real physical malady, had appeared just as overwhelmed all day as he had all season, popping out weakly, striking out en route to an 0-for-4 day. But, in the 10th, the Torres that Giants' fans had come to adore, re-emerged with a line drive single up the middle, and a quick-strike theft of second.<br />
<br />
DeRosa took the count to two balls and two strikes before he laced the line drive inside the bag at first and up the right field line -- another bold stroke from the broken-wristed veteran! Torres scored easily from second with the tying run, and DeRosa headed for second in an inspired effort to get into scoring position with Carlos Beltran poised to hit.<br />
<br />
DeRosa slid in under the tag as shortstop Angel Sanchez had to lunge at him after taking a throw wide of the bag. But DeRosa slid past the bag, momentarily losing touch with it, and had to reach back to reconnect with it.<br />
<br />
He raised his left arm to dodge the tag, and appeared to get to the bag maybe a fraction of a second before Sanchez jammed his glove under DeRosa's arm pit. It could have gone either way to the naked eye, and on close review, DeRosa might have been safe.<br />
<br />
But it was not meant to be.<br />
<br />
As rookie umpire Dan Bellino punched the air with his emphatic out call, it was almost with disdain, a cold, dispassionate denouement from a novice arbitrator of the game.<br />
<br />
Not only was the umpire, a 32-year old law school graduate and former high school catcher, snuffing out the Giants' last best hope in the game, it became all too clear that the baseball Gods were denying the Giants, too, revoking their status as world champions, turning them away at the Gates of the Pennant Chase.<br />
<br />
It was as if an avalanche of lost opportunities had come careening down from the mountainside and landed at the center of the diamond, a declaration of punishment for past sins. If only the Giants had paid homage to the hundreds upon hundreds of gifts offered them over the year. They had wasted their fortune all too often, and for this, they must pay.<br />
<br />
Their 4-3 loss and series split against the Astros, the last place team in the Central Division with the worst record in baseball, was emblematic of the tough luck Giants, now four games behind the unrelenting Arizona Diamondbacks.<br />
<br />
Magic is an ethereal quality, particularly so in baseball. Either ya got it or ya don't. If they had fate on their side, the Giants may have been blessed with a safe call, and Carlos Beltran's ensuing looping single that dropped ever so eloquently into the soft patch in right center field would have been the game-winner that sent the Giants into a reverie with thoughts that perhaps fortune was headed their way.<br />
<br />
Instead, it was a final flare snuffed out two batters later when the rookie, Brandon Belt, after a stolen base and intentional walk to Pablo Sandoval, crumbled before the pressures of a pennant race by striking out, looking at a curve -- a pitch that will be his downfall if he doesn't learn to hit it. The question must be asked: Did Beltran overreach with his stolen base? Should he have remained on first to give Sandoval a chance to hit? Perhaps the Astros would have pitched around Sandoval anyway.<br />
<br />
It is the plight of the team that has failed to seize the occasion: so many questions, so many what-if propositions.<br />
<br />
-- Having just taken the lead, 2-1, in the bottom of the seventh, Matt Cain, who'd pitched so brilliantly, was unable to respond with a shutdown inning. His troubles began when Jimmy Parades hit a line drive just off the tip of shortstop Orlando Cabrera's glove. Would Brandon Crawford have caught it?<br />
<br />
But, Cain's difficulty to put hitters away with two strikes is what truly cost him in the eighth inning. With one out, he had a ball and two strikes on catcher Carlos Corporan -- the .190-hitting catcher who stung the Giants with a big hit in Houston last week. But Cain hit Corporan on the thigh with the next pitch, moving the go-ahead run into scoring position.<br />
<br />
Granted, Corporan made no attempt to get out of the way, and should have been reeled back into the batter's box by home plate umpire Larry Vanover. But Cain let that pitch get away from him, perhaps a sign that he was losing his command.<br />
<br />
But Cain struck out the next hitter, Jason Bourgeois, his stuff still dominant, convincing Boss Bochy to keep him in.<br />
<br />
Fleet left-handed outfielder Jordan Schafer, who'd hit a big home run in the first game of this four-game series, had scorched a line drive off Cain in his previous at bat. And he put up a tough battle in the eighth, fouling off three two-strike fastballs in taking the count full. Cain had relentlessly aimed at the outside corner to try to put him away with explosive 93 MPH fastballs -- all spoiled by the pesky Schafer.<br />
<br />
It is unjust to fault a pitcher who has registered yet another unrewarded masterpiece. It is unjust to lay the blame on a pitcher who cannot afford a single mistake if only because his hitting brethren are so stingy in their support. Yes, they finally had given him a lead -- a 2-1 lead heading into the eighth -- and perhaps he should have felt fortunate to get that much.<br />
<br />
But Cain faltered in a time of need.<br />
<br />
After nailing his location on the succession of fastballs away, Cain let one leak over the middle, and the unforgiving fates would not let this pass unpunished. Schafer ripped it into right field for the game-tying single and the lead the Giants had scratched and clawed for in the seventh -- centered around a rare clutch RBI hit by the ever-fading Aubrey Huff -- had vanished.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">At that moment, eyes turned to Javier Lopez, warmed and ready in the bullpen. Should he have been in there? </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It's not clear: Though Astros Manager Brad Mills had already burned right-handed hitting outfielder Bourgeois, he still had veteran right-handed hitter Jason Michaels on the bench. He likely would have brought him in to face Lopez, who has been extremely vulnerable to right handed hitters (recall recent clutch hits off Lopez by the Atlanta Braves' Martin Prado and Brooks Conrad).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But Michaels was a .196 hitter, for crying out loud, and has hit lefties this year at only a .218 clip. Maybe Lopez could have handled this right handed hitter.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As it turned out, left hander Jeremy Affeldt had a shot at Michaels in the 10th, with a runner at second and one out. Affeldt got ahead of Michaels 0-and-2. And then, he committed a sin that has plagued Giants pitchers this year: he grooved a hittable pitch on a count that major leaguers are so vulnerable on. It was a curve down but not down enough, and Michaels slammed it against the wall for a run-scoring double.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It gave the Astros a temporary 3-2 lead. DeRosa's dramatic single would tie it up in the bottom of the 10th. Might that have been the winning hit, if Affeldt -- so good all year long, as has been the rest of the bullpen -- had buried his 0-2 pitch in the dirt?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Instead, the Giants had to roll out a worn out Ramon Ramirez in the 11th. His unbelievable slider wasn't so unbelievable on this day, giving up a booming double to diminutive (all of 5-foot-3!) Jose Altuve and the game-winning RBI single to former Giants Matt Downs on consecutive flat, hanging sliders.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All the Giants had for an answer was an Aaron Rowand pinch-hit three-pitch strikeout and a Mike Fontenot groundout with the potential tying run at second.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Having only Rowand available in that spot was the Baseball Gods' way of sticking it to the Giants.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div>GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-27061383813854816892011-08-28T00:29:00.000-07:002011-08-28T10:06:38.887-07:00Broken down veteran helps keep Giants in the huntOn a night of a stellar big league debut by a kid called up from Double A ball, it was a broken down, yet savvy, veteran who stepped into the breach to keep the Giants in the hunt.<br />
<br />
Mark DeRosa, the $12 million bust with the busted wrist, wrote his own chapter in the pennant race to which the Giants are barely clinging. He scored the winning run in the Giants' 2-1 walkoff 10-inning win over the Astros Friday, keeping the Giants within reach of the relentless Arizona Diamondbacks.<br />
<br />
But it was how DeRosa got in the position to score on Jeff Keppinger's game-winning base hit that tells the story.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">He'd only just entered the game as part of a 10th-inning double-switch that Bruce Bochy made to enable reliever Jeremy Affeldt's to stay in past the top of the 10th if needed. He was stuck into the lineup in the ninth spot so he could hit second in the bottom of the 10th. </div><div><br />
</div>It wasn't necessarily an afterthought to put DeRosa in, but the primary rationale was to ensure Bochy got some mileage out of Affeldt in a game that might go deep into extra innings.<br />
<br />
And, so, when DeRosa got a base hit with one out in the bottom of the 10th, it felt like a bonus. It was a piece of work from a veteran, an inside-out swing on a 94 MPH fastball, that he lined into center field, made all the more impressive when, two pitches earlier, he could not catch up a similar fastball by the hard-throwing Fernando Rodriguez.<br />
<br />
DeRosa, who has been watching the frustratingly stagnant offense as he's bided his time on the bench both as an injured bystander and, more recently, as the 25th man on the roster, was not content to stand idly by, hoping the next guy would move him along.<br />
<br />
On a 1-0 pitch to Mike Fontenot, DeRosa took off. Initially, it looked like a hit and run, with Fontenot swinging wildly at a pitch away from the plate and in the dirt as if he was trying to protect the runner. But in the retelling of the story later, DeRosa said that first base coach Roberto Kelly whispered in his ear very suggestively that Rodriguez was getting to the plate slowly. DeRosa took the suggestion to heart, and took off in a straight steal.<br />
<br />
It was a crazy proposition, given that his last stolen base came two years ago. DeRosa has slowed with age. You've seen him lumbering to first on weak ground balls. But apparently, when he gets a wild hair up his nose, DeRosa can still put on a sprint.<br />
<br />
He got a great jump, and was fortunate that the pitch, a changeup, dived hard into the dirt. Catcher Humberto Quintero scooped it and his throw was on the money. But it was a whisker late, and DeRosa put on a sly slide, aiming to the outer edge of the bag, which forced second baseman Jose Altuve to apply a sweep tag just late.<br />
<br />
All the intricate elements of that play had to work just so for DeRosa's great caper to come off, and they did. Not only was it an emotional lift -- who among the Giants in the dugout did not feel a welling up of pride in DeRosa's gutsy move? -- it put a win within reach.<br />
<br />
Fontenot came within five feet of getting the the game-winner with a line drive that landed just foul down the left field line, before striking out. So, it was left up to Keppinger, the former Astro who continues to provide the irony of the series: the refugee from the last place team, lifting his new team as it scratches and crawls to fend off the would-be spoilers.<br />
<br />
So, there was Keppinger, putting together another tough at bat, taking the count to 2-and-2, before driving a shoulder-high fastball barely over the leaping diminutive second baseman Altuve, into right field. Had Keppinger still been playing second for the Astros, he would have caught it. But that's alternative universe stuff.<br />
<br />
In right field was the strong armed Brian Bogusevic, who unleashed a bullet from a pulled in position. But there was DeRosa, streaking around third. Just as he showed surprising speed on his stolen base, DeRosa's race home was no slog.<br />
<br />
This was the run of a man dogged by the injustices of fate, a man spurred by the notion that he could finally have a hand in a victory, but not just any victory: one that might add up to a pennant.<br />
<br />
It wasn't simply desire nipping at his heels. It was the hunger of a man who'd been denied the chance for so long to feast alongside his teammates on the succulent fruits of championship ball.<br />
<br />
At first glance, it looked like DeRosa had missed third base. For the longest time, I watched to see if the Astros would ruin the ensuing celebration by appealing at third. But a replay showed that he indeed tagged the base, but cut the corner so finely that you needed a super slo-mo to prove it. It was the corner-cutting move of a veteran using whatever edge he could get to make it home.<br />
<br />
He burst into the plate just as the throw arrived. As DeRosa thrust his foot onto home plate, the throw skipped by Quintero. He shot his left arm up in the air in triumph, and in a single motion, leaped high into an ecstatic and emphatic high-five with on-deck hitter Carlos Beltran -- a violent collision between the right hands of two guys with highly vulnerable right wrists.<br />
<br />
As the Giants streamed onto the field with their 11th walkoff win of the year, most raced toward second to mob Keppinger. But some veered over to DeRosa first: injured reliever Brian Wilson, who ran over to DeRosa to give shake his hand ever so meaningfully, and Cody Ross, who patted him on the back as they raced together to the Keppinger dog-pile.<br />
<br />
Keppinger was the obvious hero. Rookie Eric Surkamp had given the Giants a much needed boost with six innings of gutsy, composed pitching. But DeRosa provided an ageless lesson: that you can't give up on the 25th player on the roster, even a guy whom most thought had seen his last glories long before he arrived in San Francisco.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
A fringe benefit of DeRosa thrusting himself into the center of attention is getting to hear from him. He's an obviously smart man who speaks beyond cliches, his baseball knowledge clear.<br />
<br />
He is also humble. He took the first crack at answering his critics by apologizing for not living up to his two-year $12 million contract.<br />
<br />
"It's been two years of doing nothing -- I just want to help a little bit," he said after the game. "I know I'm not giving fans what they bargained for. It is what it is. But I just want to grind it out the rest of the way."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-8291581327213186022011-08-27T10:16:00.000-07:002011-08-27T15:03:40.199-07:00Giants, on tenterhooks, keep hope aliveIt is quite remarkable how precarious the Giants' season is as they head into the final month. Every game, they teeter between disaster and triumph. From one game to the next, the fate of the Giants takes wild swings: From debilitating losses that spell impending doom to breathtaking victories that keep hope alive.<br />
<br />
Friday night, you didn't know which way the Giants would go. They came <i>thisclose</i> to falling four games behind the once-again surging Diamondbacks before hanging by a thread for a 2-1 win over the Astros.<br />
<br />
The standard formula applied: great pitching -- by starter Madison Bumgarner and relievers Ramon Ramirez and Santiago Casilla -- and a single swing of the bat. Once again, the Astros, owner of the worst record in baseball, played the cruel, devilish role of spoiler, playing a carefree brand of baseball that had the Giants peering into the abyss inning after scoreless inning.<br />
<br />
That the Giants are on tenterhooks is no revelation. This is who they are. They would in all likelihood be a sub-.500 team if not for their pitching. So, it shouldn't be a surprise when a hapless J.A. Happ, who arrived in San Francisco with an ERA over 6.00, would stifle them, holding them scoreless through four before the Giants broke through for their only two runs in the fifth.<br />
<br />
Well, the Giants' two-run fifth inning barely qualifies for breaking through. It took an error and a one-out walk to start things before Jeff Keppinger provided the key hit that lifted the Giants.<br />
<br />
Isn't it ironic that Keppinger, the former Astro who escaped the doldrums of last place by going to the Giants two months ago, finds his old teammates having more fun than his new teammates, who are scratching and clawing to remain relevant in the playoff hunt?<br />
<br />
Perhaps it was fitting, then, that it was the refugee from the last place team who came through with the most determined at bat for the Giants. After falling behind quickly, 0-and-2, Keppinger worked the count to 2-and-2, fouling off four two-strike pitches. On the ninth pitch, the scrappy second baseman split the gap with a line drive to the wall in left center field, scoring both runs.<br />
<br />
Keppinger, who barely cracks a smile, can hit. His defense has been exposed as drab and limited compared to the energetic and sparkling play of Freddy Sanchez. But Keppinger's offense is comparable to Sanchez'. For that, general manager Brian Sabean should be credited.<br />
<br />
Sabean's magical moves from last year continue to pay dividends, too.<br />
<br />
Ramirez entered at the critical moment of the game: A run was in, and the Astros were threatening for more with runners at first and third with one out in the seventh inning. Bumgarner left with a 2-1 lead, but the tough-luck kid (he of the 7-12 mark despite a respectable 3.68 ERA coming into the game) needed some help if he were to hold on.<br />
<br />
Pinch hitter Jason Michaels was pulled back for left hander Brian Bogusevic, the kid who'd done some damage against the Giants in the Houston series. Bogusevic took the count full, but Ramirez, showing the fearlessness of a veteran who's been through big moments, got him on an 88 MPH slider -- the pitch of his that acts almost as a screwball and fades away from a lefty.<br />
<br />
That was the biggest strikeout of the season up this moment, given the circumstances.<br />
<br />
Ramirez then closed it out by inducing the fleet Jordan Shafer to bounce out to end the inning, and Bumgarner's lead was intact.<br />
<br />
Ramirez would put up a strong eighth inning with a pair of strikeouts -- using that un-hittable slider of his -- and hand the ball to Casilla, who is acting as if the closer role was meant for him.<br />
<br />
Watching him go right after the Astros in the ninth -- closing it out on 11 pitches -- makes you wonder if the Giants might want to lay out some long-range plans for him.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
It may have been a coincidence, but with Aubrey Huff in the dugout, the Giants showed some life on defense that has been lacking of late.<br />
<br />
Huff's replacement, Mark DeRosa, made one spectacular play that staved off a disaster: a pickup of a tough in-between hop on a throw by Miguel Tejada, that saved at least one run, probably two, and maybe more. With runners and first and second and two outs, Jason Bourgeois hit a hard hit groundball to third, Tejada threw low, and DeRosa, who wasn't looking all that comfortable at first earlier in the game, made the money play.<br />
<br />
Later, he conceded it was a lucky play, but hey, luck is the residue of being in the game for so many years, and overcoming a series of debilitating injuries, right?<br />
<br />
Other good, solid plays:<br />
<br />
An around-the-horn double play in the second inning, Keppinger's quick turn just nabbing the not-slow Matt Downs;<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Orlando Cabrera, ranging into the hole and throwing off balance a la Derek Jeter to take away what would have been a leadoff hit in the third inning. The way that third inning unfolded afterward, the play became even more pivotal;</div><br />
Chris Stewart gunning Carlos Lee on a botched hit-and-run in the fourth inning, the play more impressive than might appear, given Lee's slow speed. Lee actually had a great jump, and only a quick release and accurate throw got him;<br />
<br />
Miguel Tejada, pouncing on a sacrifice bunt attempt in the fifth inning, forcing Clint Barmes at second. The ball actually hit off Tejada's glove, but Tejada snatched the ball quickly to get the throw over in time;<br />
<br />
Tejada, in the seventh, made a nice ranging play in the hole with runners at second and third; inexplicably, after he did a full 360, he started to go home where he had no shot. He held up, then made a quick throw to first just in time to nab Barmes -- his good arm bailing him out of what could have been a huge blunder.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Huff may be showing signs of age, or at least of being worn down by a long difficult season, so it was good to see Boss Bochy gave him "a day," whether to rest him or to bench him (the distinction is that he is assured a return to the lineup as soon as he's refreshed in the former and isn't in the latter).<br />
<br />
His negative energy has carried over into the field, affecting the attitude of his teammates, I believe. Hence, the Giants appeared revived with a new set of infielders out there Friday.<br />
<br />
Still, Huff had a role to play on the bench. During the Giants' only rally, you could see him and Pat Burrell standing on either side of Bochy, chatting away. Bochy was holding a bat and smiling, as if they'd put him up to it.<br />
<br />
And as soon as Keppinger came through with his two-run double, Huff and Burrell fist-bumped each other as if they'd predicted the big hit and nudged Bochy, who had a big smile. Whatever they were up to, it worked.<br />
<br />
(It turns out, as reported in the SF Chronicle, that Huff indeed put the bat in Bochy's hands, a rally bat that served its purpose. Maybe Bochy should hold onto a bat more often).GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-70115789683400591982011-08-23T08:03:00.000-07:002011-08-23T19:08:11.624-07:00'Tis the season of spoilersThere's this supposedly all-knowing statistic that beat writers are using of late that, at best is meaningless and at worst means almost the reverse of what they pose it to be: how many games left that a team has against losing teams.<br />
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If a playoff contender has a bunch of games against losing teams, it is said to have a "soft" schedule and therefore should expect smooth sailing into the post season, or is in a better position than an opponent who might have a "tougher" schedule.<br />
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In the case of the Western Division pennant race, it appears to be a wash: the Giants are headed into the final 34 games, 28 of which are against losing teams. The Arizona Diamondbacks have 29 of their last 35 games against losing teams. The only six games they have against winning teams are against each other.<br />
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The conventional wisdom is that the two teams will have to take care of business when they face each other.<br />
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But that settled knowledge flies in the face of the time-honored tradition of spoilers, the often significant role that losing teams play in a pennant race.<br />
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They are loose. They have nothing to lose. They are gunning to topple the big guys, to find meaning in otherwise meaningless seasons. The losing teams look for ways to elevate their game in the closing weeks of the season, to get their own slice of a pennant race.<br />
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So, they take it out on the guys who are still aiming for the big prize. Their sole goal is to spoil the well-laid out plans of the winners.<br />
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And, in the reverse, the playoff contender is playing under the burdens of winning. Some respond better than others to the vicissitudes of a pennant race. Others crack under the expectations, and are especially vulnerable to the almost mocking light-heartedness of spoilers. <br />
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The Giants narrowly escaped the ultimate nightmare spoiler scenario by salvaging one of three games against the Houston Astros. There they were, the team with the worst record in baseball, ready to be swept, on paper.<br />
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But the Astros rose up with the energy of a team infused with new blood, a roster full of youngsters out to prove themselves, who hadn't been in the league long enough to know how bad they were supposed to be. And who better to do it against than the world champions?<br />
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The Diamondbacks, fresh off of a sweep by the Atlanta Braves and in the midst of a five-game losing streak, entered Washington, D.C. Monday night as the better team on paper than the lowly Nationals. But they proceeded to lose the opener of the series, 4-1, falling under the spell of Ross Detwiler, he of the lifetime 3-12 record.<br />
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The Diamondbacks, losers of six in a row, now know the feeling of being the hunted. They had a chance to break open a wide lead as the Giants suffered through their worst spell of the season, but now cling to a one-game lead with all the insecurities and doubts that come with not knowing whether they have what it takes.<br />
<br />
The Nationals know they don't have what it takes, so there is no guesswork for them. They can simply play carefree baseball, the most dangerous commodity down the stretch.<br />
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**********************************************************************************<br />
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Some spoilers have more incentive than others.<br />
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The San Diego Padres would love nothing more than to turn the tables on the Giants after getting turned away from the playoffs by the Giants on the last day of the season last year.<br />
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The circumstances are different: the Giants, who had chased the Padres all year, overtook them to get into the post season last year. This year, the Padres are hopelessly out of contention, a spoiler by definition.<br />
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The Giants have beaten the Padres in six of 10 games so far. But, the two teams have been on opposite trajectories of late. The Giants have lost 16 of 23 since July 29, and the Padres have won 12 of 18 since Aug. 3, including a just-concluded four-game sweep over the morose Florida Marlins, winning the finale on a walkoff RBI single by Will Venable.<br />
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The Padres are playing like a team unburdened, with a revived offense led by former Giants farmhand Jesus Guzman, who is hitting .363 (41-for-113) since the All-Star break as the Padres' regular first baseman. Fleet outfielder Cameron Maybin is starting to play like the star he was envisioned to be for so long, hitting .307 (47-for-153) since the All-Star break, stealing 20 of his 32 bases since then.<br />
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Power hitter Kyle Blanks, who took two dozen at bats to get his sea legs under him after being called up in late July, is hitting .367 (22-for-60) with five home runs and 16 RBI in August. Venable is hitting .327 in August (18-for-55) as he's revived the top of the lineup.<br />
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Of course, none of that was against the likes of Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum, who they will face Tuesday and Wednesday. The Padres were feasting on the pitching staffs of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Florida Marlins.<br />
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Lincecum has been as good as anyone in the National League since June 23. His 6-4 record belies how good he's been: a 1.36 ERA in 72.2 innings, allowing only 47 hits and 29 walks (for a WHIP of 1.04) and striking out 81. He conceivably could have won 10 of the 11 starts in that time, but has received only 27 runs in support (2.45 per game). Nine times in those 11 games he allowed zero or one run, but in five gams received zero or one run.<br />
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In three starts this year against the Padres, Lincecum is 2-1 with a 2.50 ERA (five earned runs in 18 innings), striking out 13 in his first start.<br />
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Cain's stretch of excellence goes almost three weeks further back than Lincecum's. In his last 15 starts, Cain has had a 2.17 ERA (103.1 innings, 25 earned runs, 77 hits and 25 walks for a 0.91 WHIP and 87 strikeouts). In that time, he's 7-5, though he conceivably could have gone 11-4.<br />
<br />
In eight of those 15 starts, he received one or two runs; total he's received 42 runs (2.8 per game), those numbers skewed by the lofty seven spot the Giants ran up for him in his last start.<br />
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Cain's opponent, Mat Latos, has settled down since the Giants last saw him, giving up only eight earned runs in his last 27 innings (2.67 ERA). He lost in his last start to the New York Mets, the only mistake a three-run home run to David Wright. But in each of his previous three starts, he went seven strong innings.<br />
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The second game starter, Tim Stauffer, coming off a couple rough starts (eight home runs and 13 earned runs in 10 innings in starts against the Mets and Reds), responded with a nice start against Florida (7 IP, one run, five hits, and only one home run).<br />
<br />
Stauffer has actually done pretty well against the Giants in his career. Last September, in the heat of the pennant race, he threw six shutout innings in a 1-0 win. The year before, in his first ever start, he kept them to four hits and two earned runs over seven innings.<br />
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This year has been mixed for Stauffer against the Giants: In just the fourth game of the season, he got knocked around, giving up four runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. That was a different lineup, though. He gave up a home run to Buster Posey.<br />
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In his most recent start, he out-pitched Cain, giving up two earned runs, scattering eight singles in six innings in a 5-3 Padres win.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-53276899625642966582011-08-20T23:20:00.000-07:002011-08-21T09:30:05.560-07:00Salvaging a game comes down to beating a throw-away farmhandSo, it comes down to the world champions needing to beat a throw-away farmhand to salvage one game in a series with the worst team in baseball.<br />
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I bet the Giants never thought that Henry Sosa, a forgettable bullpen extra on the Fresno Grizzlies earlier this year, would play such a factor for them as he will on Sunday. Sosa is the Houston Astros' starter who is seeking his first career win.<br />
<br />
Judging by how effective 20-year old starter Jordan Lyles was against the Giants Saturday -- he held them scoreless for the first four innings before allowing two fifth-inning runs -- Sosa has to be feeling pretty good about his chances to break into the win column.<br />
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Right now, the Giants are suspended in an alternative universe of their own creation in which they are the worst team in baseball and the Astros have the energy and abandon of a team that, well, is handing the Giants their lunch.<br />
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It has been an epic collapse. They've lost 16 of 22, dropping from 17 games above .500 to six measly games over the mark of mediocrity. The period in question covers all but one game of Carlos Beltran's tenure with the Giants, though half of those losses came with him on the shelf.<br />
<br />
Is that a comment on Beltran's failure to provide a lift when he was in the lineup? Sure. Is it a comment on his uselessness while waiting for his hand to heal because of a stupid swing he took on a Roy Oswalt pitch he never should have taken in the first place? You bet.<br />
<br />
Still, you can't say the Giants aren't lucky. As they continue on their inexorable slide to oblivion, they are actually staying in place, holding fast at 2.5 games behind the first-place Diamondbacks. They are going nowhere fast. That's better than a slow bus to hell. If the Giants ever do get their act together, they can thank the Diamondbacks for keeping the lights on and leaving a baloney sandwich and a hot pot of coffee out on the kitchen counter.<br />
<br />
Just think, though. If the Giants had won one more game in Atlanta -- say, the first game, which they led 4-2 in the ninth -- and the first two in Houston (which most of us had banked when we looked ahead on the schedule weeks ago), they would now be back in first place.<br />
<br />
But maybe it's a good thing they are not in first place. For so long, as they clung to first place even as they played awful baseball, they kept consoling themselves and reassuring us that, hey, they were in first place after all, so let's not be too hasty in calling for a wholesale change.<br />
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The problem is that, instead of playing with the hunger of a team now striving to get back on top, the Giants are playing with fear and trepidation, as if they are worried that they are losing their grip as world champions.<br />
<br />
But that's the problem. These Giants aren't world champions. Many remaining individual players certainly still have the taste of champagne in their mouth. But as a unit, they are descendants of a world championship team, an entirely different group with dynamics all their own, devastating injuries being the topmost.<br />
<br />
It may seem amazing to say this, but the Giants can create a whole new identity in the final 35 games. It may not match the Band of Misfits brand of last year, and they may not recapture all of the magic they conjured earlier in the season with that string of walk-off victories.<br />
<br />
It could be that the Giants create an identity of doing just enough, the bare minimum, nothing fancy, perhaps even accidental and fortuitous, slipping through a backdoor entrance. Like the New York Mets of 1973, or the Minnesota Twins of 1987.<br />
<br />
Who says the Giants can't back into the playoffs? There's no rule that says they can't. And there's no rule that they have to have a great record to get in. As long as it's better than the next best team, they're good.<br />
<br />
Only problem is that the Giants have to first catch up to the D-Backs before they can backslide into the playoffs. So, they'll have to win a few games the rest of the way and hope that the pressure of holding on will be too much for the upstart parsel-tongued snake lovers.<br />
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Beating an old farm-hand might be a good start.<br />
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GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-89122978488545262612011-08-20T00:31:00.000-07:002011-08-20T07:53:59.457-07:00Feeble and broken down Giants can't take upcoming no-name pitchers for grantedAs feeble and broken down as Giants hitters are right now, they can't take the upcoming pair of Astros' no-name starters for granted this weekend as they wrap up their long, nightmarish road trip.<br />
<br />
Twenty-year old Jordan Lyles and 26-year old former Giant farmhand Henry Sosa may as well be Mike Scott and Vern Ruhle, if the Giants continue their listless approach at the plate.<br />
<br />
On the face of it the young starters look like easy marks for the Giants, potential relief from the maddening spiral of defeatism that is strangling their offense.<br />
<br />
Lyles carries a 1-7 record with a 5.32 ERA (and an 8.83 ERA in August). But, overall, he's turned in eight solid outings in 14 starts, holding such powerhouse teams such as Milwaukee, Cincinnati and the Boston Red Sox to a combined five earned runs in 18 innings (2.50 ERA), so there is little reason to take him lightly.<br />
<br />
Sosa has had a pair of starts for the Astros since being coming over in the trade that sent Jeff Keppinger to the Giants. He's given up eight earned runs in 12 innings (6.00 ERA). But that was against more accomplished offenses of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs than the Giants can claim to be.<br />
<br />
Sosa had done so poorly for the Giants at AAA Fresno (17 games, all in relief, with a 10.41 ERA, 39 hits in 23 1/3 innings) that he'd been demoted to AA Richmond, where he seemed to get his act together before being dealt over to the Astros.<br />
<br />
But we know how poorly Giants hitters adjust to pitchers they've never seen. It typically takes them two or three times through the lineup to finally figure them out. It's because there are no hitters in the Giants' lineup who have the skill or patience to force pitchers into deep counts.<br />
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How often have pitchers with control problems against the rest of the league find their command against the Giants? <br />
<br />
With the Giants' tendency to bring out the best in marginal pitchers, perhaps the only hope the Giants have of surviving this last weekend of the road trip is that the Atlanta Braves continue to keep the first-place D-Backs at bay.<br />
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The Giants wasted two chances to gain on the losing Snakes in the last two games -- but have to feel fortunate they didn't fall further back in the standings after getting shut out twice in a row, wasting more top-notch pitching.<br />
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**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
The Giants seemed to lose heart Friday night. After falling behind, 2-0 in the third inning on rookie center fielder J.B. Shuck's (who?!) first RBI hit of his career, a two-run double, the Giants simply gave up.<br />
<br />
It showed in their swings -- they acted as if they were required to flail wildly at Wandy Rodriguez' offerings, no matter how far outside the strike zone his curve, as electric as one might say it was.<br />
<br />
And the lack of heart showed in their defense. Mark DeRosa's error in the sixth might be explained by a rusty glove -- he hadn't started in a big league game since May. But, no major leaguer who is equipped to be on the field should be excused. The soft line drive had some English on it, but DeRosa flinched, as if he expected it to come up on him. It stayed down, bounced off his glove, and opened the floodgates.<br />
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It didn't have to be, even after Ryan Vogelsong hit the next hitter, Clint Barmes. Vogelsong got ahead of the No. 8 hitter, Carlos Corporan, 0-and-2, and after failing to put him away, gave up a hard-hit one hopper to first base. It was a play that Aubrey Huff has made many times, but he responded slowly to it, and it bounced off his arm into right field for an RBI single that should have been ruled an error.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Of course, the next hitter, pitcher Wandy Rodriguez, exploited the situation with a two-run double to cap off a three-run rally, all after two outs, foreclosing any thought of a comeback slim as it may have been, even at a 2-0 deficit.</div><div><br />
</div>Perhaps Huff was plain tired, and shouldn't have been on the field. Perhaps, he's lost his drive and intensity, given the repeated failure he has had to live through this year. But it was the play of a ballplayer whose edge has abandoned him, one who seems to have accepted his fate.<br />
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***********************************************************************************************<br />
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The same resignation can be seen in the swings of Aaron Rowand, Cody Ross, Miguel Tejada (though he got one single up the middle), Orlando Cabrera (whose groin strain kept him out of the lineup). Even Nate Schierholtz caught the malady, striking out three times in an 0-for-4 night.<br />
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If any one of these veterans were performing at an accepted level, Brandon Belt's return to the bench may have been somewhat understandable.<br />
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Boss Bochy was trying to spare Belt the awkward task of trying to figure out a pair of tough left-handers, and also remains convinced that Rowand can help against left-handers. But Belt's absence in the lineup over the last two games has caused a near revolt among Giants fans, recriminations rampant, calls for Bochy's resignation even beginning to resonate. <br />
<br />
Rowand was hitting .297 against lefties heading into the game (now .286), but he hasn't had a hit against a lefty since Aug. 4. He's gone 0-for-12 against left handers in that time, and overall, he's hitting .167 (7-for-42) in August with an on base percentage of .167 (which means he has drawn not a single walk in August). He's taken a base on balls all of 10 times in 332 plate appearances. He hasn't scored a run or driven in a run all month. He's been a big zero.<br />
<br />
Suffice it to say Rowand should never see the top of the lineup again, and would do best to return to the role they had him in toward the end of the year last year, which was to remain scarce. His numbers this year (.236/.278) in 332 plate appearances are remarkably similar to last year (.230/.281 in 347 plate appearances).<br />
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The difference is that Rowand had, by this time last year, fallen out of favor with Bochy, and was relegated to days on end on the bench last year. This year, injuries have forced Rowand into a more prominent role far too late in a season on a team in need of an offensive spark. Bochy should understand that Rowand will not provide that spark.<br />
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Belt has had his own rough patch: he went 0-for-9 in the Braves series. But he's got a .300 average against left-handers (6-for-20), and who can forget the home run he hit against tough left-hander Mike Dunn in Florida?<br />
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Bochy has never fully bought into Belt, even when Belt has appeared on the verge of breaking through. Bochy still seems ruled by his level of disappointment in Belt's early season struggles. Instead, he held fast to the notion that Huff would re-emerge as the team leader well past his expiration date.<br />
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And, after injuries opened up a spot in the outfield for Belt, Bochy said he'd give him consistent playing time. But after Belt's three rough games in Atlanta, Bochy once again turned to a veteran, Rowand, over Belt.<br />
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Now, Bochy is vowing playing time for Belt in the final two games of the Houston series, but it has the look of a mini-audition as the Giants prepare for the return of Carlos Beltran Tuesday when they return to San Francisco.<br />
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Once Beltran returns, the Giants will probably go with an outfield of Beltran in right field, Cody Ross in center field and Schierholtz in left. So, Belt will have to battle Schierholtz, and to a lesser degree, Huff, for playing time.<br />
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Unless Bochy gets the nerve to send Beltran to center field, keep Schierholtz in right field, and either platoon Ross with Belt in left field or rotate Belt with Ross, Huff and Schierholtz, depending on who's doing well.<br />
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At least with Keppinger apparently ready to return to the bench, the Giants can be spared of having Tejada and Cabrera in the lineup at the same time.<br />
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And perhaps newly recalled catcher Hector Sanchez can provide a lift in his week's assignment as Eli Whiteside shakes off the effects of his face plant. Who knows? If Sanchez comes up with some big hits, maybe Bochy will rethink his stubborn resistance against bringing fresh blood up from the farm.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-88932421995839762582011-08-17T23:14:00.000-07:002011-08-19T10:53:03.737-07:00Stoic, steady Cain leads Giants out of wildernessWith bodies littering the field and the team psyche just as wounded after a spate of fresh injuries and two crushing walk-off losses, the Giants had only one option Wednesday: to win.<br />
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Well, two: to stay safe, too.<br />
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A loss would have lodged the toxic lump of defeat halfway down their collective esophagus, solidified the narrative that seemed to be carrying them toward an ugly fate. It would have given credence to the fast-growing notion that the Giants had run out of luck, were destined to pay for whatever bargain they'd made to win last year's world championship.<br />
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The accumulation of bad news was becoming untenable. It felt as if the whole season was collapsing in on the Giants. It was becoming more and more acceptable to buy into the malicious fate that seemed to await them.<br />
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And yet, there was hope. They had Matt Cain they could turn to, lean on, have faith in. It is the one saving grace of a faltering team: Good, tough pitching. It can heal wounds, correct the course, slay the demons.<br />
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Matt Cain is stoic, thoughtful, but mostly he is steady, tenacious. He has a fixed expression of a slight frown, a bit of a scowl. But it is his eyes that give him away. He peers in with an almost vacant look, as if he doesn't see you, the hitter. He sees a target, but mostly, he has a task. It is to get the Giants through these trying times, to instill a calm and order.<br />
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In another time, Cain would have led a great cattle drive through the wild Western plains, steering his men through the dangers of an untamed land, unbowed by nature's challenges or the slings and arrows of enemies.<br />
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Cain's performance Tuesday added to his legacy as the man who could be counted on. Add it to his seven shutout innings that gave the Giants a critical 2-games-to-1 lead over the Phillies in last year's NLCS. Because, make no mistake, the Giants were fighting for survival and Cain steadied the rickety foot bridge over the deep ravine.<br />
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After he got out of the first inning with just the one run on a bases loaded walk -- dodging the bullet when Brandon Belt ran down a drifting fly ball -- Cain was all in.<br />
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Whatever was called for, he had: a fastball that darted in on the hands of left-handers, a sweeping curve that danced away from righties, or plain power fastballs that broke down swings. He had nine strikeouts and only one walk, retiring the final 18 hitters before yielding to the bullpen in the ninth.<br />
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**********************************************************************************<br />
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Cain has struggled his entire career for offensive support, which has made him a better pitcher, a pitcher who was forced to focus on every pitch because a single mistake could sink him.<br />
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Uncharacteristically, however, the offense backed him on this night, and played with the urgency of a team trying to remain relevant.<br />
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They scored first on a pair of doubles, then broke through with four in the fourth, the inning that broke through the still lingering angst that had stifled their offense a night earlier, when they'd been no-hit by a rookie for six innings and could only muster a run on five hits through 11 innings.<br />
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It all started with a flare that landed weakly but beautifully down the left field line off the bat of Aubrey Huff, who, having paid his debt to society through a series of rollover ground outs to second, was due a bit of madcap luck.<br />
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And then the hits came out on a string, adding up to a 5-1 lead. It was as if an unconventional hit, one suffused with good fortune as Huff's was, would be what broke down the barrier that had blocked the Giants for so long.<br />
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They would add two more in the top of the ninth, both on sacrifice flies by the men who the Giants will need to rely on down the stretch -- Huff and Pablo Sandoval. Maybe they saw the runs as superfluous, as stats to add to their RBI ledgers. But they proved to be critical when the bullpen nearly coughed it up in the bottom of the ninth.<br />
<br />
Jeremy Affeldt's emotional, almost angry, reaction when he grabbed the ball from Chris Stewart after the game summed it up: he was beside himself over nearly blowing it. By no means was it all on him. Just recalled left-hander Dan Runzler dug a pretty deep hole by sandwiching a walk with a pair of base hits to left-handers Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward for one run.<br />
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By all rights Affeldt should have ended it right there when he came in and jammed Michael Bourn on the thumbs to induce a weak Little League pop up halfway up the grass portion of the infield.<br />
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All thoughts of an easy win disappeared when Orlando Cabrera couldn't make the play -- a tough one, running all-out, trying to catch a ball with English, to bring home a second run. But it was a play that had to be made.<br />
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And when Martin Prado powered Affeldt's 94 MPH fastball into the right center field alley, Cody Ross took a bad route, slipped, and then watched as it bounced against the wall for two more runs, and the Giants' lead had narrowed to 7-5 with the All-Star catcher Brian McCann striding to the plate.<br />
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Would the Giants face another collapse, this of even more epic proportions than when Brian Wilson blew a 4-2 lead on Monday? Who among Giants fans had confidence the Giants would emerge victorious?<br />
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It seemed written in the pages of destiny that the Giants were indeed doomed to suffer. Affeldt fell behind in the count, 3 balls and 1 strike. First base was open, but Dan Uggla, the star second baseman just off a 33-game hitting streak, loomed on deck as the potential winning run.<br />
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Affeldt, whose curve had failed him so far, bent one that stayed high and appeared to be just inside, but got the call, reeling McCann, shaking his head vehemently, back into the batters box. McCann fouled off a couple fastballs.<br />
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And then Affeldt pulled deep within to make the pitch for the ages, a 94 MPH fastball that had a spectral sink to it, as if it disappeared at the last moment, under the bat. For a strikeout. To end the game. And send the Giants gingerly back into the field of hope, the wild plains of the playoff hunt.<br />
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GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-43883779056143301052011-08-17T00:05:00.000-07:002011-08-17T09:05:12.258-07:00Array of forces lined up against the Giants, who are in need of a paradigm shift<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">As bad as things have gone for the Giants lately, I'm not sure anyone could have braced for what hit them Tuesday. It was as if an array of forces not only lined up against the Giants but proceeded to slap them one by one and then insulted their mothers.<br />
<br />
First, you get news that Carlos Beltran is indeed going on the disabled list. Fair enough. It was expected, though the long-term news on that may be more grim than we understand now.<br />
<br />
Then, it's Sergio Romo who gets the call to the DL, which, again, was expected, though not any less painful to see the right-handed pitching savant go down.<br />
<br />
Then comes word that Nate Schierholtz and Jeff Keppinger would be held out of the lineup, one worried that he'd broken a foot on a foul ball (later determined to be not the case), and another having jammed his wrist. Though not as bad as feared, the injuries may land one or both on the disabled list. Ditto Aaron Rowand, who took himself out of play with an injured throwing arm.<br />
<br />
The good news was that Pablo Sandoval was able to return to the lineup after missing most of Monday's game after fouling one off <i>his</i> foot.<br />
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Boss Bochy had to roll out a hodgepodge lineup with players sprinkled around the field in unfamiliar surroundings -- Aubrey Huff, the biggest sore thumb sticking out in left field -- and they'd have to make a go of it with the shaky Jonathan Sanchez going.<br />
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But it turned out that Sanchez brought something special to the mound. He was sharp, confident and in control, giving a glimpse of a possible revival that could have been a wonderful harbinger for the Giants as they prepared for the stretch drive.<br />
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And then, <i>he</i> went down! All of Giant Nation wondered aloud what they had done to anger the Baseball Gods, begged forgiveness and promised to hand over their young if only the endless cycle of bad news would stop.<br />
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Oh, did I mention yet that the Giants went on to lose to the Braves, a second straight walk-off loss in a second classic, tightly played, dramatic contest?<br />
<br />
There was even a little bit of kizmit when the goat of last year's N.L. Division series, Brooks Conrad, the one player singularly responsible for the Giants moving on to the championship series, got a key blow, a one-out double, that led to the winning rally.<br />
<br />
Again, a playoff-like intensity suffused the game, defensive gems and clutch pitching punctuating the scene. The two teams played as if they were reprising last year's National League Division Series, and that survival was at stake.<br />
<br />
But, almost as if to puncture the sense of hope that was building, news came that the Arizona Diamondbacks had defeated the Phillies by waging a ninth-inning rally off Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay. <br />
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Moments later, Javier Lopez offered up a two-out off-field game-winning base hit to Martin Prado, who drove in Conrad.<br />
<br />
Down by 3.5 games to the Diamondbacks, six behind the Braves in the wild card standings, with 39 games to go, the Giants' time is running short. They're without a legitimate leadoff hitter, their season-long offensive doldrums have shown few signs of lifting, and the sense of their misfortune is mounting.<br />
<br />
Still, they've Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum going in the next two days, and if they can salvage a split of this four-game series, and hope that the Phillies can slow down the Diamondbacks over the next two days, the paradigm might just shift.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
It was hard to feel angry at the Giants Tuesday. They'd played their heart out, and they'd done it with a patchwork lineup and only two position players on the bench as they headed into extra innings. Their bullpen had to go eight innings in relief of the injured Sanchez, another brilliant collective performance.<br />
<br />
Even the offense, which had been silenced for six innings by rookie Randall Delgado, came up with the one big hit -- Cody Ross' monster home run that broke up Delgado's no-hitter leading off the seventh -- they needed to lengthen the game.<br />
<br />
To put up such a fight against the backdrop of the injuries, and after such a devastating loss the previous night, proved that championship blood still runs through this team.<br />
<br />
It truly was a display of their resourcefulness that the Giants were able to take the game into the 11th inning -- all hinging on defensive brilliance:<br />
<br />
-- Chris Stewart's throw to nail Michael Bourn -- the N.L.s leader in stolen bases -- on a first inning theft attempt seemed to lift Sanchez, who had just walked the game's leadoff hitter.</div><br />
-- Aubrey Huff's spectacular catch in left field just before crashing into the wall in the bottom of the ninth inning with the winning run on base had Web gem written all over it.<br />
<br />
It robbed Martin Prado of a potential game-winner, and it was that much more sensational given it was only his second start all year in left field, and first since April. Huff seemed to kick into a gear he may not have known he had to catch up to the ball, then slammed into the wall, the kind of play reminiscent of the spirit he brought to the team last season.<br />
<br />
-- What a beautiful throw by Brandon Belt, making his first start ever in right field, to nab Freddie Freeman after he'd rounded first base on his single to right in the 10th.<br />
<br />
Freeman hadn't rounded the bag by that much but Belt saw enough daylight to exploit it. His throw was strong, accurate and had a touch of veteran savvy behind it. It turned out to be crucial, when after an intentional walk to Chipper Jones, Lopez induced Alex Gonzales into a dramatic inning ending double play.<br />
<br />
-- Orlando Cabrera's smooth turn on that double play that ended the Braves' 10th inning threat with runners at first and third. The ball was hit hard to his left, and in a single motion, he lunged and grabbed it, stepped on second, and threw off balance to double up Gonzalez, leaving the winning run on third.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
As speculation mounts over how the Giants can revive their offense, fans are clamoring for first baseman Brett Pill, who has hit 24 home runs with 101 RBI and a .312 batting average. But Pill got a special endorsement late Tuesday night when Fresno Grizzlies teammate, pitcher Shane Loux, tweeted:<br />
<br />
"Brett Pill is hands down our best player. A professional hitter with power and the ability to just plain drive in runs. He needs a shot."<br />
<br />
The problem is that the Giants are overstocked in first basemen. Unless they keep Huff in left (why not after his brilliant play?) and Belt in right field (why not after that amazing throw?).GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-72511980717192802552011-08-15T22:43:00.001-07:002011-08-15T23:03:57.976-07:00Another devastating blow to Giants' psyche<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Brian Wilson's nightmarish collapse Monday night was worth only a half game in the N.L. West standings, but make no mistake: it was a dagger thrust that cut deep into the Giants' heart, a dark symbol that stood for all the misfortune that has befallen the world champions.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It was as heart-wrenching a loss that a team can withstand, particularly this deep in the year and under the precarious conditions that the Giants seem to be constructing for themselves.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Giants' 5-4 loss to the Braves was all the more poignant in the way it wiped out 8 1/2 innings of positive vibes that promised to build into something special. The Giants were on the verge of their third straight win, which would have begun to open some distance from the rough patch they'd been through. They were now in a groove, or were at the edge of capturing that good feeling.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">They were poised to claim a victory over the tough veteran right hander, Tim Hudson, having smacked him around for a rare pair of home runs, while riding the hard-nosed performance of the young left-hander Madison Bumgarner, whose wicked slider had Braves hitters almost literally screwing themselves into the ground chasing the un-hittable offerings.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">They'd overcome what could have been a devastating first-inning injury to their star, Pablo Sandoval, by sending out a replacement, Mike Fontenot, to fill out the task with an opposite field home run and a dazzling diving play to save a run.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Taking the first game from the Braves by beating their ace could have been a cutting message for the rest of the series: it would have said that whatever troubles that had been ailing the Giants, they were back. They were doing it with power, solid defense and their trademark stellar starting pitching. And the Braves would have to rethink this business of waltzing to a wild card title, knowing that the Giants would be on their heels.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">All that changed in mere moments, and the details matter, the small stuff added up.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Here's how that ninth inning unfolded. Count the ways that Wilson added fuel to his own fire:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">First, there was the infield two-hopper that the fleet Jose Constanza slapped into the hole at shortstop. It was a play that shortstop Orlando Cabrera could have made if he hadn't rushed, foiled when he could not get the ball out of his glove on his first grab.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Then, there was the walk to pinch hitter Eric Hinske. Wilson appeared unwilling to go straight after Hinske, especially after Hinske ripped his 94 MPH fastball foul on a 2-and-0 count. So, when he got to a full count, Wilson chose to try to nibble at the corner and lost him on a pitch that wasn't even close.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Undoubtedly, Wilson had in mind the dramatic game-tying home run Hinske hit last year as a pinch hitter in Game 2 of the NLDS (which the Giants came back to win, 3-2). Hinske has hit 10 home runs in 206 at bats this year.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But, that was about as inexcusable walk as you could have in the ninth inning because it set up a bunt situation, in which the Braves would be able to move the tying run into scoring position. Michael Bourn's bunt achieved that.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Wilson's approach to Martin Prado was just as boggling. After jumping ahead in the count 1-ball-and-2-strikes on a 96 MPH fastball that he blew by him, Wilson floated a 90 MPH cutter out over the plate, which Prado ripped into left field for a run, and pushing the tying run to third.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Why would Wilson go with his secondary pitch there, especially after powering right by Prado a pitch earlier? He sped up Prado's bat, and put it on a tee for good measure. Wilson looked equipped to blow his way through the Braves hitters: he had a great fastball. He was just reluctant to use it. Almost as if he's too proud of his wide repertoire to be seen merely as a flame thrower.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">With runners at first and third, Wilson clearly pitched around the dangerous Brian McCann, walking him on four pitches. That's understandable in most circumstances, except that in this case, it moved the winning run to second base for free.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Wilson rallied to strike out the dangerous Dan Uggla, blowing a 97 MPH fastball right by him on the outer edge. His best fastball was there. There was no reason to continue going back to his less effective cutter. Not in a situation that called for a strikeout.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">But here's how he went after rookie Freddie Freeman: A cutter up (ball one); a 97 MPH fastball fouled (1-and-1), a 96 MPH fastball on the inside corner (1-and-2); a 96 MPH fastball way up, rather than something the would tempt him; it was an easy take (2-and-2). And get this: he went back to his 91 MPH cutter away, again trying to nibble but without effect. Freeman wasn't biting; it was another easy take.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">So, Wilson was forced to come in over the heart of the plate. He had no room for mistake, so he had to lay it in there and hope that Freeman would hit it at someone. Rather than using the 1and-2- and 2-and-2 counts to get Freeman to chase on tough fastballs (like the one he threw to Uggla), Wilson toyed with Freeman.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">He paid for it with the next pitch, and it was just another psychic blow the Giants will have to recover from. Boss Bochy is hoping Pablo can recover from the foul ball he slammed against the top of his foot. But it will be his team's ability to heal quickly from Wilson's meltdown that he'll be watching closely.</div>GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-75747768818348153022011-08-14T20:00:00.000-07:002011-08-15T10:52:06.261-07:00Bochy 'committed' to consistent playing time for BeltIt was somewhat reassuring to hear Boss Bochy say on his pre-game show Sunday that he was "committed" to getting Brandon Belt "consistent" playing time. It was even more reassuring to hear him acknowledge that Belt can provide the Giants offense a much needed left-handed bat with some pop.<br />
<br />
It may have been 40 games late, but it was nice to hear that the Giants were finally committed to going with Belt.<br />
<br />
Still, you couldn't be absolutely convinced that Bochy would keep his word, especially if Belt got off to a slow start. It could have been that Bochy would have given Belt just enough rope to hang himself to settle the issue once and for all this season and to quiet the madding crowd pining for the prospect's place in the lineup.<br />
<br />
Belt, instead, settled the issue for good Sunday. His two home runs, monstrous and majestic, were instructive in so many ways.<br />
<br />
They were the displays of a very powerful young man -- his first home run was more prodigious than the first inning blast over the center field wall by the Marlins' stud outfielder, Mike Stanton.<br />
<br />
They were dramatic. For the second time this year, he answered his call-up from Fresno with a home run, only in this case he apparently felt he needed some insurance. Last time, Bochy rewarded Belt with a spot on the bench, soon followed by a bus ticket to Fresno. Two home runs cinched his place, not only on the roster but in the lineup.<br />
<br />
His second home run, another solo blast in the eighth inning, argued for Belt's place in the lineup full time, even against tough left handers. Belt had a truly seminal battle against Mike Dunn, a filthy left hander who has no respect for left-handed hitters.<br />
<br />
Dunn had never given up a home run to a left hander in his two-plus years in the major leagues, and had held them to a .175 batting average (21-for-120) and a measly .233 slugging percentage.<br />
<br />
Here's how that at bat went, and notice how Belt set himself up for a slider on the payoff pitch:<br />
<br />
Dunn backed him away with a 95 MPH fastball that could have intimidated a weak soul, and then had Belt bailing on a slider, which bent in for a strike. Dunn tried another slider but Belt stayed back on it and watched it break low and away. He then fouled off a 94 MPH fastball, and stayed cool on a 96 MPH heater that dipped low. Dunn had given him his best, some nasty pitches, but Belt had pushed the count full with his good eye and professional restraint.<br />
<br />
Dunn, recalling Belt's bailout on the 1-0 slider, tried another, but Belt was waiting for it and put on a swing reminiscent of Darryl Strawberry, perhaps even to some old-timers, of Ted Williams. It was actually a short stroke, but filled with such rangy-armed strength, that it carried 15 rows up.<br />
<br />
It was Brandon Belt's branding moment as the Giants' future first baseman. And though he won't take Aubrey Huff's spot outright, Belt will now take his place in the lineup somewhere permanently.<br />
<br />
As Giants TV colorman Mike Krukow put it after his second home run, "You know what that swing says right there? I ain't going back to Fresno."<br />
<br />
So, here's how it should play out in the coming days.<br />
<br />
Belt will likely be considered more as the starting left fielder who will occasionally spell Huff at first. This is a natural conclusion, given the choice that Bochy has now between Huff and Aaron Rowand. Not a tough pick, though Monday night, if Bochy wants to go with matchups, he may go with Rowand against Tim Hudson.<br />
<br />
Rowand is 8-for-24 against Hudson, likely a lot of those numbers compiled in his halcyon days in Philadelphia. Rowand also matched up well against Chris Volstead, coming into Sunday's game 3-for-7 (.429), but could barely touch the ball Sunday, striking out twice and flying out easily. What did they say about damn lies and statistics?<br />
<br />
Huff hasn't been so bad against Hudson -- 6-for-27 -- and has been hitting with much more authority of late than Rowand, who continues to muddle along in the low .240s and hasn't had an RBI in 38 at bats. It's time to re-install Rowand firmly back on the bench, and hope that his late inning defensive inserts don't haunt the Giants offensively.<br />
<br />
Belt's move into left field will push Cody Ross, whose bat is heating up, to center field, with Nate Schierholtz in right field.<br />
<br />
That should hold until Carlos Beltran returns, at which point Bochy will be faced with the real decision: Who sits among Belt, Nate, Huff, and Ross. Or, if you believe Ross is the only legitimate backup center fielder, it would be between Belt, Nate and Huff.<br />
<br />
Cynics might say the real battle would be between Belt and Nate, given Bochy's devotion to Huff at first, his insistence that Huff must be there for the Giants if they're to win.<br />
<br />
It gets back to the main problem: how do you get that extra left-handed bat in the lineup. Could it be that Nate has center field in his future?<br />
<br />
Here's a lineup to go against a tough right hander:<br />
<br />
Keppinger, 2b<br />
Cabrera, SS<br />
Sandoval, 3b<br />
Beltran, RF<br />
Schierholtz, CF<br />
Belt, LF<br />
Huff, 1B<br />
Stewart/Whiteside, C<br />
<br />
I like putting Cabrera up to the No. 2 slot to take him out of RBI positions, and it stretches out the lineup, putting Huff in the non-threatening No. 7 slot. And I've always felt that Sandoval belongs in the No. 3 slot to provide Beltran an additional opportunity to hit with runners on.<br />
<br />
Pre-Beltran, the lineup could go this way:<br />
<br />
Ross, CF<br />
Cabrera, SS<br />
Sandoval, 3b<br />
Belt, LF<br />
Schierholtz, RF<br />
Keppinger, 2b<br />
Huff, 1B<br />
Stewart/Whiteside, C<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
I was pretty stunned to see how poorly Andres Torres took his assignment to the disabled list. To pout and run off to Puerto Rico shows a serious lack of self-awareness. Did he not see that his performance was pulling the team down? Did he think he was owed a spot on the active roster?<br />
<br />
I thought he would have understood the reality: the Giants could no longer stand for a .228 hitter at the leadoff spot, and he had shown no sign of raising his game though he'd been given ample time to get his game going again.<br />
<br />
Then again, when you see your career flashing before your eyes, it's tough to remain composed. It's just that for all he's gone through with this team, you would think Torres might have some concern for his teammates.<br />
<br />
Freddy Sanchez' absence from the dugout since his injury has also been notable. He has always seemed somewhat detached from his teammates -- just slightly above the fray -- and his decision to stay away from the Giants calls to question whether there are some signs of strains between the second baseman and his team.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Santiago Casilla provided maybe the funniest moment of the year, when he stood in the furthest corner, the deepest recesses, of the batter's box against hard throwing Jose Ceda, the 6-foot-4, 275 pound 24-year old kid whom Krukow described as a beast. He did not take his bat off his shoulder, and actually bailed out on each pitch, making you wonder why he bothered to wear batting gloves. And of course, he drew a walk, heading down to first after appearing somewhat confused after taking the last pitch out of the strike zone.<br />
<br />
*********************************************************************************<br />
<br />
Did anyone notice the Braves just lost two of three to the Cubs? And that their starting staff is in disarray?<br />
<br />
Tommy Hanson is on the disabled list, Derek Lowe has been atrocious (since June 13, he's had a 6.15 ERA, giving up 90 hits, 23 walks and 45 earned runs in 65.2 innings; sadly, the Giants will miss him in this four-game series).<br />
<br />
Hudson (2.68 ERA in his last 83.2 innings), who has been the most consistent starter for the Braves, gives Madison Bumgarner a tough assignment Monday. But afterward, the Giants have a chance to capitalize on the Braves' rough patch.<br />
<br />
Tuesday, Jonathan Sanchez goes up against 21-year old rookie Randall Delgado, whose only appearance came in June against the Texas Rangers, where he gave up three earned runs and seven hits in four innings.<br />
<br />
Wednesday, Matt Cain is paired with Jair Jurrjens, who has kept close to Ryan Vogelsong in the ERA title chase, but has been shaky of late (16 earned runs in his last 23 innings).<br />
<br />
And Thursday, another rookie, Mike Minor, gets a big task: he goes up against one of the hottest pitchers in the major leagues, Tim Lincecum. Minor has a 4.84 ERA in 44.2 innings, but since being called back up on Aug. 7, he has given up seven earned runs in 11.1 innings.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the scorching Arizona Diamondbacks will see how their momentum fares against the Philadelphia Phillies. They face Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Vance Worley beginning Tuesday.GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-23529305569552472992011-08-13T23:59:00.000-07:002011-08-14T00:41:08.349-07:00Sunday notebook: Timmy's stopper gem and Florida's generosity<div>No one would be foolish to declare the Giants back on track after their 3-0 win Saturday over the Florida Marlins.</div><div><br />
</div><div>They still sputtered offensively, and relied on the graciousness of the hosts to push across two of their three runs.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Still, it was a beautiful sight to see Tim Lincecum asserting himself once more as the team's true leader. He has been the Giants stopper through his career, 37 of his 67 lifetime wins coming after losses. Saturday, he stopped the bleeding.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>What a run he's been on. Over his last 11 starts, he's had a 1.51 ERA, allowing only 12 earned runs in 71 2/3 innings, on 47 hits with 81 strikeouts.</div></div><div><br />
</div><div>Inning after inning, Lincecum's determined, bulldogish presence on the mound appeared to put the Giants at ease. The Marlins got three base runners in scoring position, but they never had a chance. On two of those occasions, he closed out the threats with resounding strikeouts; on the third, second baseman Jeff Keppinger's diving play ended the fifth inning and kept the shutout intact.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Perhaps the singular moment that announced Lincecum's mastery came in the third, when the Marlins had a runner on third with two outs and their rookie slugger Mike Stanton up. The Giants led 1-0, but their bats had gone cold immediately after Keppinger's one-out solo home run in the first.</div><div><br />
</div><div>As delicate as this sounds, a run at this point might have, let us say, discouraged the poor, snake-bit Giants. They never recovered after the Marlins had scored two runs in the first inning Friday night, seemingly shellshocked that they were faced with a one-run deficit. Pathetic really.</div><div><br />
</div><div>But Lincecum had the answer. He treated the talented and daunting 6-foot-5, 240 pound Adonis to a short seminar on pitching with artistry, deceit and power.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Lincecum seemed to startle Stanton with a 93 MPH fastball right down the middle that he took. Lincecum went right after him again with a 94 MPH fastball, pure power. But the deceit and artistry was in the perfect placement -- above his hands, in and up. It evoked a swing that was so weak, it was almost jarring coming from such a powerful young man. Stanton didn't seem to have much heart in his next swing, a check-swing foul on an identical pitch.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Lincecum put Stanton away by raising the ante with a 95 MPH fastball, again in on the hands, that the outfielder could not touch. Maybe as the 21-year old Stanton gains experience and studies film on this at bat, he will have Lincecum figured out. But then he will have to contend with Tim's other side, the one that has hitters flailing after his darting split finger and diving slider.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Four innings later, on Lincecum's 119th pitch, he blew a 93 MPH fastball by pinch hitter Wes Helms for his 10th strikeout. That was an exclamation point to his answer to Marlins' manager Jack McKeon, who'd complained about Boss Bochy's choice of Lincecum on the All-Star team, saying, "Do we reward what you're doing now, or do we reward for what you've done in the past?"</div><div><br />
</div><div>Lincecum got his reward for doing just fine in the present.</div><div><br />
</div><div>**********************************************************************************</div><div><br />
</div><div>As I said, the offense hardly broke out of its slump. Outside of Keppinger's solo home run in the first inning (the 21st in a row as the Giants try to put the major league record out of reach), the Giants needed the help and comfort of the Florida Marlins to score.</div><div><br />
</div><div>In the fifth inning, Nate Schierholtz hit a laser beam off the left field wall -- it looks like his swing is returning -- and continued on to third when left fielder Logan Morrison's throw skipped past the second baseman. Schierholtz' should have been thrown out at third when he slid too early and barely got to the bag. But third baseman Greg Dobbs applied a tag in slow motion, so Nate was able to avert the Cardinal Sin of getting thrown at third with no outs.</div><div><br />
</div><div>After Orlando Cabrera popped out weakly in foul territory, it was up to Aaron Rowand to get that run in with less than two outs. How many of you had confidence in that? It didn't have to come to that, because starter Javier Vazquez obliged with a wild pitch. </div><div><br />
</div><div>With pressure off, Rowand promptly singled to right. How many of you believe he would have done that with Nate still on third?</div><div><br />
</div><div>In the sixth, Cody Ross hit another bullet off the left field wall -- his swing is starting to look better, too -- but was held to a long single. After Keppinger lined softly to second and Pablo Sandoval went after an unhittable pitch to fly out, Ross was wild pitched to second.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Aubrey Huff appeared disappointed, though, when he promptly flied to left. The ball drifted to the line, and the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Morrison, playing bunched toward the gap came chugging toward the line. He got to the ball, but tried to basket catch it as he crumpled to the ground. He forgot to use his glove hand, though, and it clattered off his bare hand for another break for the Giants.<br />
<br />
(Morrison was promptly sent down to the minors after the game, though he told Marlins' beat writers he believes he's being punished for showing up season-ticket holders at an event that he blew off. Helms was released, and not because he couldn't catch up to Lincecum's heater; apparently, he was mixed up in the season-ticket holder snafu, too. Glad to see the Marlins have their priorities straight.)</div><div><br />
</div><div>Huff wasn't throwing back that double into the sea or the RBI that went with it. He and the Giants were due for a break or two.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Are these the kinds of breaks that turn the fortunes around for the Giants? We shall see.</div><div><br />
</div><div>**********************************************************************************</div><div><br />
</div>The Giants stuck with Andres Torres way beyond his usefulness, out of a desire to see him recapture the magic of last year. The evidence of his regression was overwhelming, and it was painfully clear that Torres' career path had hit an end.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Rather than release him, the Giants put him on the disabled list with yet another phantom injury, perhaps hopeful he can find his swing by the time they expand the roster in September. But make no mistake, he has taken the same exit that Barry Zito, Miguel Tejada, and Pat Burrell have taken (though Zito gets special dispensation, thanks to the financial ball and chain he has wrapped around the organization).</div><div><br />
</div><div>It is a sad ending to a wonderful story, and I think fans will continue to hope he can find his swing to help the Giants down the stretch. But Torres was a shadow of himself this season, unable to identify curves down and in, unable to hold up on fastballs up; he'd lost his power, he'd lost his confidence, he succumbed to the ravages of age (possibly exacerbated by the attention deficit disorder that plagued him).</div><div><br />
</div><div>Torres will always have a special place in the hearts of Giants fans as the energetic, eager and endearing ballplayer who proved all his doubters wrong for one thrilling season. He was the late-arriving star who carved a niche at the top of the lineup of a world champion, electrified fans and teammates with his clutch play, the daring on the base paths and dazzling play in center field.</div><div><br />
</div><div>His decline has coincided with the Giants decline, and so the Giants had no choice but to set him aside.</div><div><br />
</div><div>He will be missed. </div><div><br />
</div><div>**********************************************************************************</div><div><div><br />
</div><div>Unfortunately, the Giants are left with few viable options to replace Torres at the top of the lineup. Ross assumed the leadoff spot Saturday, but he is likely a temporary placeholder. For who? That's not known.<br />
<div><div><br />
</div>Speculation is swirling around Johnny Damon, the 37-year old Tampa Bay outfielder who has cleared waivers. With his post-season experience as well as his long tenure as a leadoff hitter, he is being chatted up as an intriguing possibility.</div><div><div><br />
</div><div>The trouble is, he's been a designated hitter for all but 15 games this year. The Giants would have to sacrifice on two defensive fronts: he has slowed considerably, and his arm has always been weak. And they would not get much in return on offense. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Overall, Damon is hitting .261 with an on base percentage of .316 -- hardly the numbers you want from a leadoff hitter. Damon has a .353 lifetime OBP, so it's clear that age has caught up with him. He probably doesn't feel confident enough to take the count deep as he did in his prime, so he's putting the ball into play earlier than he used to.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>Worse, he's hitting .159 in August (7-for-44). There's a reason he's cleared waivers. </div><div><br />
</div><div><div>Ideally, the Giants would have pulled the trigger two weeks ago to acquire the speedy leadoff hitter and center fielder Michael Bourne, who instead went to the Atlanta Braves. We still have yet to hear a good explanation of why Bourne did not make it here.</div></div></div></div><div><br />
</div><div>The waiver wire has been slow so far, but perhaps 2011 version of Cody Ross will show up on the scrap heap.</div><div><br />
</div><div>**********************************************************************************</div><div><br />
<div><div><div><div><div>Right hand swing man Clay Hensley, the former San Diego Padres pitcher, gets the start Sunday against the Giants. He's been tougher on lefties (.187 batting average against/.311 on base percentage) than righties (.293/.376).</div><div><br />
</div><div>That might give the lower quadrant of the Giants lineup -- Cabrera, Rowand and Eli Whiteside/Chris Stewart -- just a whisper of a chance to make a presence. Rowand actually has some good numbers (5-for-11 vs. Hensley). </div><div><br />
</div><div>But I wouldn't hold my breath. That part of the lineup has been a vortex of failure, an assembly line of ground outs to third base or weak pop outs to the infield.</div><div><br />
</div><div>If Carlos Beltran's absence has done anything, it has shortened the lineup, creating a virtual graveyard after the No. 5 hole. At least with Beltran in, you could have a fairly legitimate threat in Nate Schierholtz hitting sixth. Cabrera, Rowand and the catchers have been near-automatic outs in the week that Bochy has had to use them, creating that much more pressure at the top of the lineup, which has had its own problems.</div><div><br />
</div><div>This is where Brandon Belt comes in. Sunday, he will get a spot start at first to spell Huff in a day game after a night game. If Belt can show that he hasn't contracted vertigo from the dizzying up and down path he's worn between Fresno and San Francisco, and more important, if he can swing with authority in his one-game audition, Boss Bochy could be compelled to keep him in the lineup and try Belt in left field.</div><div><br />
</div><div>It would lengthen the lineup, add a left handed hitter to break up the right-handed imbalance, and possibly add some youthful spark to a team in need of it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Ross has put on some better swings lately -- he had a deep drive swallowed by the vast depths of Florida's center field on Friday, and ripped a long single off the left field wall on Saturday. So, he would be the first choice to man center field as Belt slips into left, and Rowand can return to the backup role he so desperately needs to return to.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1053198457044192659.post-63248710590886417912011-08-13T00:27:00.000-07:002011-08-13T09:03:22.676-07:00Giants in jeopardy of vanishing out of sightIt is a descent from the clouds without a parachute, a free fall from grace.<br />
<br />
It has become painful to watch as the world champions grope in the dark for that magical something that they were conjuring at will as recently as a month ago.<br />
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The Giants' offense produced 27 outs with assembly line proficiency Friday, one of their most limp, lackluster performances of the season, a 2-1 loss to the Florida Marlins. And that's saying something, coming off a dreadful 3-7 homestand.<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Now that they have lost six games in the standings in a matter of two weeks -- going from four games up to two games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks -- they are in jeopardy of vanishing from sight.</div><br />
For too long, the Giants reassured themselves that they were in first place, that the Arizona Diamondbacks could not sustain their pace, that they were the World Champions, dammit!<br />
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But the Diamondbacks are playing with the kind of jovial life force that swept through the Giants as they chased an unknown destiny a year ago. The upstart Diamonbacks are the ones pulling out late-inning triumphs, who have become the darlings of the baseball gods, who are chasing their own unknown destiny.<br />
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Sure, last year at this time the Giants were 2.5 games behind the Padres in the standings. But the Giants were on the rise: Buster Posey, Pat Burrell, Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff and Andres Torres and the rest were all just beginning to learn how to win.<br />
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Now, the Giants appear to have forgotten how to win. After falling behind 2-1 in the first inning, the Giants had the look of a team that expected to lose, that had no hope of even making up a one-run deficit.<br />
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The Giants' decline has taken on a character of its own. It is a self-strangling creature that feeds off every feeble swing, every weak ground ball, every scoreless inning. It is the growing look of panic in the eyes of Giants hitters, who appear to be overtaken by the dawning realization that the season is quickly getting away from them.<br />
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That it began with the acquisition of Carlos Beltran has added to the confusion. The former New York Mets star was supposed to spur them to greater heights, add muscle to a sorely lacking lineup. The Giants, though, just stopped winning when he joined them, and continue to lose as he stays on the shelf with a hand injury.<br />
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Beltran's injury came by way of a terrible swing, a symptom of the desperation that seemed to envelope him from the beginning, as if he'd caught the contagion that had been spreading throughout the lineup.<br />
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It came on a two-ball, two-strike pitch Beltran had no business swinging at -- a Roy Oswalt fastball riding eye-high and outside. Beltran, who has a .378 on base percentage and has hit Oswalt pretty well in his career, should have known better. It was a pitch that might tempt a rookie, but not a savvy veteran with a good eye.<br />
<br />
But Beltran came to the Giants hailed as the savior and was all too aware that his early struggles were infecting his new teammates. He went out of his comfort zone; he tried to hit that mythical five-run home run. Ironically, Beltran's strikeout came after the Giants had already scored a run, pushing their lead to 3-1 in their eventual win by the same score over the Phillies. They didn't need extra heroics from him at that moment.<br />
<br />
**********************************************************************************<br />
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It was the same kind of pitch that Aubrey Huff went after Friday night in the Giants' only real scoring threat (outside of Pablo Sandoval's first-inning solo home run).<br />
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Florida starter Ricky Nolasco had just walked Sandoval intentionally to load the bases with two outs in the third inning. It was a direct challenge to Huff, the Giants cleanup hitter in name only.<br />
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Huff, who has been swinging the bat with more authority in the last two weeks, had already hit a line drive for an out in the first inning. He'd taken the count full, fighting off tough changeups, taking close, tough pitches before scorching one to right field. It was an out, but a continuation of the good swings he's had that lifted his batting average to his season-high .249.<br />
<br />
But, when it counted -- when the Giants could have used some drama, a bold stroke to lift the team -- Huff seemed to lose all judgment, as if blinded by the reckless need to compensate for a season full of agonizing moments.<br />
<br />
He swung at the first pitch, a fastball riding high and wide, just like the one Beltran swung at. It was as if Huff had convinced himself he would jump on that first pitch, no matter where it was. Huff is known to lay in the weeds in a fastball count, ambushing fastballs. If I know that, so do opposing pitchers. And they have set their own traps that he has all too often fallen into.<br />
<br />
And, so Huff popped out, ending the threat, which turned out to be the last earnest hope of the night for the Giants. The look on his face, I swear, was, "well, what can you expect with two outs?" Or, "hey, I hit the ball hard the first time, you can't do it every time." I did not see a look of despair or anger; no fire in his eyes. Perhaps he had put up a mask to cover for his true thoughts: when will this nightmare end?<br />
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GiantWatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05161469775848399776noreply@blogger.com1