Filed under

Baseball

See all posts on posterous with this tag »
 
Apr 9 / 10:48am

Giants Off to 0-3 Start Thanks to...Pitching?

The Giants opened their season in Arizona. Which should have been a tip-off all by itself. The G-men often struggle in the Arizona desert. You'd think that this close to Spring Training in that state, they'd be acclimated. You'd be wrong.

At least as far as the pitching is concerned.

In recent years, Giants' pitching has been top-rank while their offense has sputtered and been terribly inconsistent. Now it appears that their starting pitching is -- for the moment at least -- the bane of their existence. The Diamondbacks won all three games by one run even though the Giants scored four or more in all three contests. Last season, when the Giants scored four or more, they had a huge upside W-L percentage.

But the present starting rotation had a three-day ERA of 8.22. And defense -- the other supposed mainstay of this year's version -- stumbled as well, committing three errors each in Games 1 and 3. Frighteningly enough, SS Brandon Crawford committed two errors in the three-game set, which is a radical departure from his usual steadiness. (To be fair, the D-backs committed five errors Sunday as well; the Chase Field infield is a piece of burnt concrete that induces errors.)

Meanwhile, the hitting, while anemic -- the team BA is .219 and with runners in scoring position, it's .217 -- has been timely. The Giants went long four times in three games. Meanwhile, the highly touted starting three of Lincecum, Bumgarner and Cain served up six gopher balls.

Last year, ace Lincecum had a mediocre 13-14 year in the W-L department primarily because of poor hitting support. The Giants batted just under .200 behind him and he lost six shutouts. But he was, for the most part, pretty sharp, earning a respectable 2.74 ERA while holding opponents to a .222 average. If he can relocate his form and the Giants can up the hitting average while maintaining some HR power, this start could be an aberration, but still....
Filed under  //  Baseball   Giants  

Comments (0)

 
Apr 6 / 11:50pm

Giants Lose Season Opener Thanks to Muffs, Timmy

Last year, the SF Giants averaged 2.79 runs per game when their supposed ace, Tim Lincecum, was on the mound. They served up 10 shutouts behind him. No wonder he had such a so-so record.

The good news is the G-Men scored four runs in their season opener at the Diamondbacks this afternoon. The entirely revamped offense showed signs of resurgence, though they left eight men on base which is a continuation of another somewhat disturbing trend from 2011.

The bad news is that Lincecum pitched like he did too often last season: erratic start, settle down, then fall apart with little notice. He was helped along by three errors committed by the defense, the most egregious being committed by shortstop Brandon Crawford and third-sacker Pablo Sandoval. The latter was scary in large part because it continues a pattern we saw too often last year and during spring training.

But this one can be laid at the feet of Lincecum. The unevenness with which he pitched in streaks was reminiscent of last year, particularly against the D-Backs, who've now beaten him four straight times.

Melky Cabrera was the hero for the Giants, scorching a line-drive homer onto and over the right-field fence to score two runs at a time when the Giants were trailing 3-0. 

One game does not a season make. Nor does it make a trend. But it does make for nerves.
Filed under  //  Baseball   Giants   Lincecum  

Comments (0)

 
Jul 18 / 2:49am

Two Rarities in Extra Innings Giants Win

Chris_stewart

There are a few plays that a baseball fan sees so seldom that when they occur they are like little gems that any fan worth his peanut shells enjoys savoring over and over. The Giants, who defeated the San Diego Padres 4-3 in 11 innings yesterday at Petco Park, pulled off two of these beauties in one inning.

In the top of the final inning, the Giants scored what proved to be the winning run on a brilliantly executed suicide squeeze bunt by Catcher Chris Stewart that scored Emmanuel Burris. 

Then in the bottom of that frame, with Brian "Fear the Beard" Wilson in relief playing his usual "let's make this win as dramatic as we can",. Stewart provided the first half of a sparkling 2-5-4 double play that pulled the peanuts out of the fire, as it were.

The suicide score was a thing of drama and beauty. Burris had set things up when, after singling to get aboard, he stole second and then ended up at third when the Padres throw to second scampered into center. Padres Manager, former Giants pitching ace Bud Black, suspected the the Giants' skipper, Bruce Bochy, might call for the squeeze, so he thwarted it with a pitch-out. Burris stayed solidly at third. Black then ordered reliefer Chad Qualls to pitch to Stewart. On the pitch, Burris took off for home and Stewart laid down a perfect bunt on the third-base side for the easy score.

Kyle Phillips, the Padres' catcher, tried to move two runners along in the bottom of the 11th, only to fall victim to brilliant heads-up defense by the G-men. Stewart pounced on the bunt, which traveled down the third-base line and not quite far enough to be effective, and fired the ball to Pablo Sandoval, who made a quickl-thinking throw to first and got Phillips for the back end of the double play. Burris covered first on the play.

The Giants broke form to win this one, stealing a team-record-tying six bases in the game. 

The win kept the Giants up by 3-1/2 in the NL West over the Diamondbacks as the rest of the division fades from view. The orange and black have won seven of their last nine.
Filed under  //  Baseball   Giants  

Comments (0)

 
Jul 5 / 6:01pm

Clemens Perjury Trial Begins Tomorrow; More Taxpayer Money Wasted

In another display of failed national priorities, tomorrow in Washington, D.C., one of the greatest men ever to play baseball goes on trial and could face up to 30 years in prison for lying to Congress. Former ace pitcher Roger Clemens has been charged with presenting false testimony about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, as has San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds. He was convicted April 13 of obstruction of justice (the least significant charge that the jury could convict him of) but his attorneys are appealing the verdict.

Clemens' biggest problem is going to be his old buddy and teammate Andy Pettitte. The guy is a prosecutor's dream witness, with no apparent motive to lie about his long-time friend when he told Congress that Clemens had confided in him about some past drug usage. Clemens' lawyers are going to have a hard time discrediting Pettitte. The key witness against him is former New York Yankees strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee, who has testified to injecting Clemens with several illegal substances.

I think McNamee's easily dealt with because he has some previous record of being less than candid on allegations against him in a rape case. Plus given he had an official role with the Yankees, it seems to me that the government risks alienating a jury if they don't go after him and the club, who were certainly complicit in any steroid use that may have taken place.

It's sordid and ugly and demeaning and pointless all around. Although the game of baseball seems to have recovered from the height of the scandal, a fresh conviction of a guy of Clemens' stature and image could throw the whole thing back into a tizzy again. And for what? Steroid use is all but a victimless crime. Fans clamor for individual performances, only want to see shutouts and home runs in replays and then faint in shock when the money players find shortcuts to giving them what they want in return for millions of dollars. At the end of the day, it's just a game.
Filed under  //  Baseball   Doping   Drugs in Sports  

Comments (0)

 
Jul 2 / 11:30pm

Giants Eat Tigers, Spit Them Out Behind Sizzling Zito

My San Francisco Giants drubbed my old home team Detroit Tigers in a rain-delayed marathon in Detroit tonight by the NFL-like score of 15-3. A lot of folks will look only at that fact and say, "Yeah, give ME 15 runs and I can win, too. Zito's a bum." Ahem. The Z-man pitched six innings of scoreless ball despite a more than two-and-a-half-hour rain delay between the second and third innings. That's his second win since coming off the DL. I, for one, am glad to see him back (though I'll admit having some trepidations about him earlier).

The Giants have now won nine of their last 11 starts and are 3 up on the Diamondbacks and 6-1/2 ahead of the Rockies. The Padres are the only club in the West keeping pace at the moment and they're still 10 games back.

But lest the Giant sticks get big bat-heads over their 15-run outburst, they might want to take note of the fact that the Tigers have been playing like housecats of late, giving up 14 or more runs in three of their last five games. Over that span they are 1-4. As skipper Jim Leyland said, it's getting ugly out there. Detroit remains a contender in the AL Central but they've dropped from first to second and are 1-1/2 back of the Indians.

If the Giants can hang on to their present .571 pace to the All-Star break July 12, they're going to be hard to catch down the stretch when guys start coming back from injuries.
Filed under  //  Baseball   Giants  

Comments (0)

 
Jun 30 / 3:50pm

Giants Split With Clubs. Grrrrrrrrr

It always bugs me when the Giants lose to the Chicago Cubs. For some reason -- perhaps their Century of Mediocrity -- I've always held the Cubs in disdain. (Though, I hasten to add, not their fans, who have to be the largest group of Saints assembled in the United States in the 20th or 21st Century.) 

Many years ago when the G-men still played at rundown Candlestick Park, I had season tickets in an upper box. I always try to get to the park to watching batting practice. As I arrived at the park for the opening of a three-game set with the Cubs (a set which my guys swept!), I spotted a lone Cubs fan about 25 rows up in the upper reserved seating. I made my way up to his seat. He was decked out in full Cubs regalia, up to and including the two-beer-can-baseball-cap-with-straws that always seemed to me in those days was like the world's greatest invention ever.

I looked at him and with what I hope was a puzzled look, I said questioningly, "Chicago Cubs?"

Without missing a beat, the guy said defensively, "Hey, any team can have a bad century!"

So when my G-men started out in Chicago a few days ago winning a twilight twin bill 13-7 and 6-3, I thought they were going to breeze through the Windy City and pack four more W's under their belts. But 'twas not to be. After dropping a real classic 2-1 yesterday, the Giants went down to a 5-2 setback in 13 innings today. That meant they split the series and, sorry guys, but that just isn't good enough.

At least the split didn't cost them in the standings. They remain 2 up on the Diamondbacks and six up on Colorado.

Next up for the Giants is my hometown favorite Detroit Tigers, who are locked in a race for the top of the AL Central with a 44-38 record compared to the Giants 46-36 slate.
Filed under  //  Baseball   Giants  

Comments (0)

 
Jun 19 / 2:30am

A's Drop G-Men Again But Standings Remain Unchanged

Well, those rabble-rousers from across the SF Bay in Oakland have done it again. They beat my Giants for the second straight day today by a score of 4-2. Once again, anemic offense by SF was the primary cause of defeat. Both teams managed seven hits but the Giants stranded more runners and couldn't even capitalize on two Oakland errors.

Giants' starter Johnathan Sanchez lost for the third time in four starts, dropping his season record to 7-6. After a strong early start, he started leaving the ball high in the zone and the A's hitters, exhibiting unusual patience for the second straight game, out-waited him.

The loss didn't hurt the Giants in the standings as the NL West race stayed about the same, with the Giants clinging to a half-game lead over the Diamondbacks. Colorado picked up a win and moved within 3-1/2 games of the lead in what is quickly becoming a three-team race with 10 games left to the mid-season point.

Hopefully the Giants can escape Oakland tomorrow with a win before coming home to face the lowly Minnesota Twins and the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians. After that, they travel to Chicago to take on the lowly and perennially disappointing Cubs. The end of that three-game series marks the mid-point of the season.
Filed under  //  A's   Baseball   Giants  

Comments (0)

 
Jun 17 / 11:53pm

A Cross-Town Rival to Growl and Grimace At: Oakland Tops Giants

Interleague play tonight saw the Giants lose to Oakland at the A's Coliseum, by a score of 5-2. It was a 3-2 contest much of the night but the G-Men played some sloppy defense and the A's played classic AL small ball to eke out the runs they managed off Tim Lincecum, who dropped to 5-6. Thing is, this was Lincecum's first-ever loss to a team he has flat dominated every other time he's faced them.

The loss stung a bit more because the A's came into the game with the second-worst record in the American League. But the A's have shown some savvy in the last few days as they made this their third straight win, a rarity for a team now being handled by an interim manager.

It also gave the Diamondbacks a chance to move within 1/2 game of the Giants' lead, which they did.

I've observed for many years that the teams who make it to the playoffs are very often those who avoid having too many stretches of three or more losses. The Giants go into tomorrow afternoon's game needing a win to stop their current skid at 2.
Filed under  //  A's   Baseball   Giants  

Comments (0)

 
Jun 17 / 12:04am

Giants Can't Sweep But Go Down Fighting

The G-Men lost to Arizona in 10 innings tonight on a walk-off homer by Justin Upton. The Giants trailed 2-1 from the 5th inning but managed an unearned run in the 9th that sent the game into extra innings.

SF stays atop the NL West, 1-1/2 games ahead of the Diamondbacks. Meanwhile the Rockies dumped the Padres to move within 5-1/2 of the leaders.

Both teams played ineffectively at Chase Field, but the Giants managed an anemic six hits on a night when hits were relatively easy to come by in other NL contests. Lack of offense has been the biggest result of the Giants' injury debacle which has gutted the heart of their otherwise potent lineup. The return of Freddy Sanchez (soon? please?) will help a lot but the squad is several weeks from being able to return star catcher and offensive hero Buster Posey.
Filed under  //  Baseball   Giants  

Comments (0)

 
Jun 16 / 7:35pm

Interleague Play Has Lost Some of its Luster

Interleague play comes back next week and I, for one, couldn't be happier. When MLB decided a few years ago to institute this idea of NL teams meeting AL teams it gave fans a boost and jolted attendance figures up as well. There was a lot of fear early on that these games wouldn't draw as well as league contests since they have less impact on standings than intra-division play but the powers that be have done a good job of staging those games in such a way that new rivalries have developed and old ones that were obliterated by the division of baseball have been rekindled.

Back when the idea first surfaced, a key idea was that interleague play would be scheduled so that NL teams would meet AL teams who were nearby or who had some historical ties to one another so that a natural rivalry could build. But this upcoming interleague series at Ringy Dingy Park (I call it that so I don't have to keep track of which phone monopoly has the current naming rights) has the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Indians in town. Who cares? Both teams are out of the AL Central, there are no historical or geographic ties and to make things worse, the Indians are dead last (though on a four-game tear as of this writing).

As these things tend to go, the original luster is off the idea and now it's just more ho-hum baseball with virtually nothing on the line. It's too bad really because MLB could have saved itself a ton of money by staging regional rivalries in these interleague contests while also building strong fan partisanship and enthusiasm.
Filed under  //  Baseball  

Comments (0)