Well, not much to say and not much I want to say about this bad loss to the Brewers. Madison Bumgarner gave up a lot hits and baserunners, but pitched well enough to get the win. The Giants defense had a very bad day, throwing the ball all around the in-field. No offense what so ever. They only had 3 hits. Randy Wolf kept the over-agressive Giants off balance all game long to earn his 9th career complete game shut out. The Giants are 4-3 in their past 7 games and in all 3 losses now they have been shut out.
The only good thing that happened tonight was that the Padres and Mat Latos got crushed by the Cardinals 14-4. As I write this, the Rockies are leading the Dodgers in the 9th inning 7-4. If they hold on they will be only 1 1/2 games behind the Giants for the NL West lead. Watch out for the Rockies, as I've said over and over this year.
The Giants better get their offense in gear or they won't be able to call themselves a first-place team for long.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
GIANTS TAKE BACK THE DIVISION LEAD
I want to be the first to welcome the San Francisco Giants back into first place in the NL West! They leap-frogged over the Padres who lost in St Louis.
The fog rolled into Pac Bell Park tonight, and with it must have came a magic spell for the Giants bats. We saw 3 homeruns and 10 runs in a 10-2 victory over the Dodgers. They only had 2 runs in the first 2 games combined. Aubrey Huff hit a 3-run homer in the third and Buster Posey followed that with a tape-measure shot 3 quarters of the way up the left-field bleachers. Jose Guillen hit the third Giants homerun of the night in the 5th inning when he crushed a curve ball by Jared Weaver way up the left-field bleachers.
Stock up:
+Jonathan Sanchez: threw a very good game and looks like he might have finally figured it all out. Armed with his new pitch, the split-finger/change-up, went 7 strong innings and struck out his career high 12 batters.
+Edgar Renteria: went 4-5 including a bunt single in the leadoff spot and scored twice. He showed Bochy why he should be in the lineup in these big games. He has done it over and over in his long career.
+Jose Guillen: looks like he's finally getting comfortable in a Giants uniform. After getting hit on the right foot in his first AB, he went 3-3 including the 2-run bomb he hit in the fifth inning. He hit the ball very hard and looked like the player Sabean imagined he would be getting.
Stock down:
-Aaron Rowand: looks like we are gonna see a lot of Cody Ross in center field to end the season. Rowand is demoted to the eight spot and looked horrible tonight. He went 0-4 and looked like he was just pressing to do anything to get in the action.
The fog rolled into Pac Bell Park tonight, and with it must have came a magic spell for the Giants bats. We saw 3 homeruns and 10 runs in a 10-2 victory over the Dodgers. They only had 2 runs in the first 2 games combined. Aubrey Huff hit a 3-run homer in the third and Buster Posey followed that with a tape-measure shot 3 quarters of the way up the left-field bleachers. Jose Guillen hit the third Giants homerun of the night in the 5th inning when he crushed a curve ball by Jared Weaver way up the left-field bleachers.
Stock up:
+Jonathan Sanchez: threw a very good game and looks like he might have finally figured it all out. Armed with his new pitch, the split-finger/change-up, went 7 strong innings and struck out his career high 12 batters.
+Edgar Renteria: went 4-5 including a bunt single in the leadoff spot and scored twice. He showed Bochy why he should be in the lineup in these big games. He has done it over and over in his long career.
+Jose Guillen: looks like he's finally getting comfortable in a Giants uniform. After getting hit on the right foot in his first AB, he went 3-3 including the 2-run bomb he hit in the fifth inning. He hit the ball very hard and looked like the player Sabean imagined he would be getting.
Stock down:
-Aaron Rowand: looks like we are gonna see a lot of Cody Ross in center field to end the season. Rowand is demoted to the eight spot and looked horrible tonight. He went 0-4 and looked like he was just pressing to do anything to get in the action.
GUILLEN READY TO PLAY VS LILLY - DIRTY SANCHEZ TID-BITS
Outfielder Jose Guillen took an epidural shot in his neck after an MRI exam revealed a "disk issue," manager Bruce Bochy said, adding that he expects Guillen to be ready to play tonight. He better be, facing a good lefty in Ted Lilly.
Jonathan Sanchez makes the start tonight as the Giants try to take the three game series against the Dodgers in about an hour from now. Against the Dodgers in 2010 Sanchez has started 2 games, going 1-1 with a 3.00 era. He's given up 9 hits in 12 innings, while striking out 13. He did have a relief appearance this year vs L.A. He threw a third of an inning, hitting a batter and striking out a batter. Giants starters have a majors-best 1.58 ERA in September. In August, their 4.55 ERA was last in the National League.
In another quick Jonathan Sanchez note, he needs 2 strikeouts to surpass his career high which is 177, set last year.
Jonathan Sanchez makes the start tonight as the Giants try to take the three game series against the Dodgers in about an hour from now. Against the Dodgers in 2010 Sanchez has started 2 games, going 1-1 with a 3.00 era. He's given up 9 hits in 12 innings, while striking out 13. He did have a relief appearance this year vs L.A. He threw a third of an inning, hitting a batter and striking out a batter. Giants starters have a majors-best 1.58 ERA in September. In August, their 4.55 ERA was last in the National League.
In another quick Jonathan Sanchez note, he needs 2 strikeouts to surpass his career high which is 177, set last year.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
MATT CAIN AND THE GIANTS GET REVENGE AND BEAT L.A.
This is becoming like Dejavu lately! The Giants are getting great pitching performances nightly in September, but a lot of them have been wasted because of terrible offense.
Well, we finally broke free from the "curse of Billingsley" with a 2 out, broken bat bloop from the bat of Mike Fontenot in the bottom of the 7th. No one else on the Giants could get the big hit with runners in scoring position, so I guess that's why we had to rely on a former Cub! He knocked in Emmanuel Burris who was running for Travis Ishikawa, who pinch hit for Matt Cain earlier in the inning.
Matt Cain and Chad Billingsley both threw great games. Cain went seven innings, allowing no runs, only 3 hits, while striking out 5 and walking none. it was his second career victory over the Dodgers, both coming this year. Billingsley, who had a 0.61 era vs the Giants this year, did it again. He went seven innings giving up 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 7 and walking 2. He took the tough loss.
The Panda failed twice in this game with runners in scoring position, but he hit a key ground ball to second base in the 8th inning to score an insurance run with Aubrey Huff at 3rd base and Buster Posey at 2nd. The Dodgers infield wasn't playing in all the way, so when Pablo's ground ball was fielded by second baseman Ryan Theriot, it was too late to throw Huff out at the plate. Huff beat the high throw with a slide.
That ended up being the game winning play because in the ninth inning Andre Ethier hit an opposite field homerun off of closer Brian Wilson. Wilson ended up striking out Jay Gibbons to end the game and putting the Giants a half game back of the first place Padres in the West. They are also a half game behind the Braves for the Wild Card lead.
Tomorrow the Giants will try to take the series with Jonathan Sanchez and his new toy, the change up, going to the mound to face tough veteran lefty Ted Lilly. The Padres start a tough series against the Cardinals, so it could be a great time to make a run at the division title.
Well, we finally broke free from the "curse of Billingsley" with a 2 out, broken bat bloop from the bat of Mike Fontenot in the bottom of the 7th. No one else on the Giants could get the big hit with runners in scoring position, so I guess that's why we had to rely on a former Cub! He knocked in Emmanuel Burris who was running for Travis Ishikawa, who pinch hit for Matt Cain earlier in the inning.
Matt Cain and Chad Billingsley both threw great games. Cain went seven innings, allowing no runs, only 3 hits, while striking out 5 and walking none. it was his second career victory over the Dodgers, both coming this year. Billingsley, who had a 0.61 era vs the Giants this year, did it again. He went seven innings giving up 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 7 and walking 2. He took the tough loss.
The Panda failed twice in this game with runners in scoring position, but he hit a key ground ball to second base in the 8th inning to score an insurance run with Aubrey Huff at 3rd base and Buster Posey at 2nd. The Dodgers infield wasn't playing in all the way, so when Pablo's ground ball was fielded by second baseman Ryan Theriot, it was too late to throw Huff out at the plate. Huff beat the high throw with a slide.
That ended up being the game winning play because in the ninth inning Andre Ethier hit an opposite field homerun off of closer Brian Wilson. Wilson ended up striking out Jay Gibbons to end the game and putting the Giants a half game back of the first place Padres in the West. They are also a half game behind the Braves for the Wild Card lead.
Tomorrow the Giants will try to take the series with Jonathan Sanchez and his new toy, the change up, going to the mound to face tough veteran lefty Ted Lilly. The Padres start a tough series against the Cardinals, so it could be a great time to make a run at the division title.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
GIANTS OFFENSE CAN'T HELP ZITO OUT...SO WHATS NEW?
The penant race has officially begun. Now players and managers can actually admit that they are scoreboard watching. The Giants had a restful day off and were finally back at home from a long 10 game roadtrip. While the Giants were looking at the Padres win again, the Dodgers pushed a splinter under the fingernails of the Giants and their fans, winning the game 1-0 and pushing them 1 1/2 games behind the Padres in the West.
The hated Dodgers came to town ready to play. No matter how bad the Dodgers have been or how good the Giants have been, there is no way LA is gonna come and just lay down for the Giants. It's always been like that, even when the roles have been reversed. When one of these teams has a chance to play spoiler and hurt the other, they always come hard and leave everything on the field.
It was a pitcher's dual as I predicted it would be. Barry Zito and Clayton Kershaw were matching zeros through 5. Then in the 6th, Zito got himself in trouble. He hit Reed Johnson and after Kershaw sacrifice bunted him to second, he walked Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier to load the bases. That brought up the righty Casey Blake, who has hurt the Giants with a lot of big hits in his short Dodgers career. He hit a hard ground ball up the middle that Zito slowed down. Short-stop Juan Uribe got to it, but couldn't handle it cleanly. The Dodgers scored the first run of the game on an error. That was it for Zito, who pitched another gritty game vs the Dodgers this year. Bochy brought in Santiago Casilla who got the final out of the inning when he struck out Matt Kemp.
Zito ended up going 5 2/3 innings, only allowing 1 hit and no earned runs. The Dodgers ended up only getting that 1 hit all game and won, which is the second this year that the Giants lost a game giving up only 1 hit. Unbelievable! It's the 20th time this year that he has got 2 runs or fewer. What's with this offense? Jekyll and Hyde is the best way I can describe it this year.
Clayton Kershaw was awesome tonight. He mixed his pitches and kept the Giants off balance the whole game. There was hardly even a threat against him all night. He threw the first complete game and shutout of his career. The heart of the Giants order, Aubrey Huff, Buster Poset, and Pat Burrell, went a collective 0 for 9. That's not going to win any games down the stretch here. They need to get it together fast, and that won't be easy as they face Chad Billingsley tomorrow night.
Tell me again, how are the Dodgers in last place again? I can't understand it. It seems like they send out a Hall Of Fame pitcher every game! Or is that just because they're facing the Giants?
The hated Dodgers came to town ready to play. No matter how bad the Dodgers have been or how good the Giants have been, there is no way LA is gonna come and just lay down for the Giants. It's always been like that, even when the roles have been reversed. When one of these teams has a chance to play spoiler and hurt the other, they always come hard and leave everything on the field.
It was a pitcher's dual as I predicted it would be. Barry Zito and Clayton Kershaw were matching zeros through 5. Then in the 6th, Zito got himself in trouble. He hit Reed Johnson and after Kershaw sacrifice bunted him to second, he walked Rafael Furcal and Andre Ethier to load the bases. That brought up the righty Casey Blake, who has hurt the Giants with a lot of big hits in his short Dodgers career. He hit a hard ground ball up the middle that Zito slowed down. Short-stop Juan Uribe got to it, but couldn't handle it cleanly. The Dodgers scored the first run of the game on an error. That was it for Zito, who pitched another gritty game vs the Dodgers this year. Bochy brought in Santiago Casilla who got the final out of the inning when he struck out Matt Kemp.
Zito ended up going 5 2/3 innings, only allowing 1 hit and no earned runs. The Dodgers ended up only getting that 1 hit all game and won, which is the second this year that the Giants lost a game giving up only 1 hit. Unbelievable! It's the 20th time this year that he has got 2 runs or fewer. What's with this offense? Jekyll and Hyde is the best way I can describe it this year.
Clayton Kershaw was awesome tonight. He mixed his pitches and kept the Giants off balance the whole game. There was hardly even a threat against him all night. He threw the first complete game and shutout of his career. The heart of the Giants order, Aubrey Huff, Buster Poset, and Pat Burrell, went a collective 0 for 9. That's not going to win any games down the stretch here. They need to get it together fast, and that won't be easy as they face Chad Billingsley tomorrow night.
Tell me again, how are the Dodgers in last place again? I can't understand it. It seems like they send out a Hall Of Fame pitcher every game! Or is that just because they're facing the Giants?
GIANTS-DODGERS PREVIEW: TONIGHT ZITO VS KERSHAW
Tonight's game: Barry Zito (8-12 4.14 era) vs Clayton Kershaw (11-10 2.99 era) 7:15 pm. CSNBA
Wednesday 9/15: Matt Cain (11-10 3.91 era) vs Chad Billingsley (11-9 3.65 era) 7:15 pm. CSNBA
Thursday 9/16: Jonathan Sanchez(10-8 3.29 era) vs Ted Lilly (8-10 3.58 era) 7:15 pm. Ch 11
Even though the Dodgers are out of it and crawling towards the finish line, it's still the Giants/Dodgers! The Dodgers still want to play spoiler and I believe they are gonna play the Giants tough. They did no favors at when they laid down for the Padres at Petco Park Sept 6-8th, getting swept and only scoring 3 runs. They play the Rockies 6 more times this season, let's hope they play a little harder against them and help the Giants out a little.
Barry Zito has pitched very well this year vs the Dodgers. His record isn't good at 0-2, but that's because he couldn't get any help from the offense (what's new). His ERA in those starts is 2.84. In 31 2/3 innings he has given up 23 hits while striking out 24. It's a similar story for Clayton Kershaw against the Giants. He is 0-1 in 3 starts but has a 2.25 era. He is one of the toughest pitchers to hit in the Majors. This should be a tight contest, as all three games probably will be.
Zito's last road win of the year was on May 5th against the Marlins. This will be his 13th try for a road win since then! What a great time for the Giants for him to get it rolling again.
Wednesday 9/15: Matt Cain (11-10 3.91 era) vs Chad Billingsley (11-9 3.65 era) 7:15 pm. CSNBA
Thursday 9/16: Jonathan Sanchez(10-8 3.29 era) vs Ted Lilly (8-10 3.58 era) 7:15 pm. Ch 11
Even though the Dodgers are out of it and crawling towards the finish line, it's still the Giants/Dodgers! The Dodgers still want to play spoiler and I believe they are gonna play the Giants tough. They did no favors at when they laid down for the Padres at Petco Park Sept 6-8th, getting swept and only scoring 3 runs. They play the Rockies 6 more times this season, let's hope they play a little harder against them and help the Giants out a little.
Barry Zito has pitched very well this year vs the Dodgers. His record isn't good at 0-2, but that's because he couldn't get any help from the offense (what's new). His ERA in those starts is 2.84. In 31 2/3 innings he has given up 23 hits while striking out 24. It's a similar story for Clayton Kershaw against the Giants. He is 0-1 in 3 starts but has a 2.25 era. He is one of the toughest pitchers to hit in the Majors. This should be a tight contest, as all three games probably will be.
Zito's last road win of the year was on May 5th against the Marlins. This will be his 13th try for a road win since then! What a great time for the Giants for him to get it rolling again.
Monday, September 13, 2010
BIG TIME TIMMY JIM IS STILL THE HEADLINER
It was the matchup of aces. Tim Lincecum vs Mat Latos. Latos has come on this year in a huge way. He came into this game a Cy Young award candidate with a 14-5 record and leading the Majors in era at 2.21. He's the new kid on the block trying to gain his respect, and he definately has. He is a big strong guy, 6-6" 225lbs, and only 22 years old. He's gonna be a tough customer for years to come in this league.
On the other hand, Tim Lincecum has had a tough year. His first eight starts of the season he looked like the 2-time Cy Young winner that he is, going 5-0 with a 1.76 era. Since then he hasn't been the same pitcher. He wasn't staying focused on the mound, and he couldn't hit any of his spots. Then August hit. That month was an all-time low point for Lincecum, he went 0-5 with a 7.82 era and a WHIP of 1.82.
Then something changed. Not just the calendar month, but something in Lincecum's head. He is way too much of a competetor and athelete to just take this slump laying down. His first 2 starts in September were spectacular. He was 2-0 with a 2.45 era, giving up 10 hits in 14 2/3 innings and striking out 20.
Lincecum showed everyone, especially the Padres, and Mat Latos, that he is still the ruler of this NL West kingdom. He shut the door on the Padres, giving up 1 run and 7 hits over 7 innings while striking out 9 and walking only 1.
Buster Posey set the tone early when he hit a 97mph fastball on the outside corner from Latos into the section of the stands that jets inward right near the foul pole. It was right in the section that Yorvit Torrealba hit his game-winning homer the day before. That ended up to be all Timmy needed.
Lincecum also made a statement with his bat, slicing a 2-run single to left field in the 4th inning off of Latos. That was after Pablo Sandoval walked and Juan Uribe doubled him to third. Later in the eighth inning the Giants scored an insurance run on an error by center-fielder Luis Durango.
Even though they had a five run lead in the ninth, Bruce Bochy wasn't taking any chances. Jeremy Affeldt came in to finish off the ninth, but gave up 2 hits. Bochy brought in closer Brian Wilson even in a non save situation to get the last out. They have Monday off so he thought, why not. These games are way too important to take any chances.
Now we begin again. It's come down to an 18 game season for the Giants. They have a very favorable schedule, having 12 of the 18 at home. I figure if they go 12-6 down the stretch, they will be headed to the playoffs on a date with destiny.
On the other hand, Tim Lincecum has had a tough year. His first eight starts of the season he looked like the 2-time Cy Young winner that he is, going 5-0 with a 1.76 era. Since then he hasn't been the same pitcher. He wasn't staying focused on the mound, and he couldn't hit any of his spots. Then August hit. That month was an all-time low point for Lincecum, he went 0-5 with a 7.82 era and a WHIP of 1.82.
Then something changed. Not just the calendar month, but something in Lincecum's head. He is way too much of a competetor and athelete to just take this slump laying down. His first 2 starts in September were spectacular. He was 2-0 with a 2.45 era, giving up 10 hits in 14 2/3 innings and striking out 20.
Lincecum showed everyone, especially the Padres, and Mat Latos, that he is still the ruler of this NL West kingdom. He shut the door on the Padres, giving up 1 run and 7 hits over 7 innings while striking out 9 and walking only 1.
Buster Posey set the tone early when he hit a 97mph fastball on the outside corner from Latos into the section of the stands that jets inward right near the foul pole. It was right in the section that Yorvit Torrealba hit his game-winning homer the day before. That ended up to be all Timmy needed.
Lincecum also made a statement with his bat, slicing a 2-run single to left field in the 4th inning off of Latos. That was after Pablo Sandoval walked and Juan Uribe doubled him to third. Later in the eighth inning the Giants scored an insurance run on an error by center-fielder Luis Durango.
Even though they had a five run lead in the ninth, Bruce Bochy wasn't taking any chances. Jeremy Affeldt came in to finish off the ninth, but gave up 2 hits. Bochy brought in closer Brian Wilson even in a non save situation to get the last out. They have Monday off so he thought, why not. These games are way too important to take any chances.
Now we begin again. It's come down to an 18 game season for the Giants. They have a very favorable schedule, having 12 of the 18 at home. I figure if they go 12-6 down the stretch, they will be headed to the playoffs on a date with destiny.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
ANDRES TORRES HAS SURGERY...OUT FOR TWO WEEKS
We Just learned that Giants super lead-off hitter and center-fielder Andres Torres went to a San Diego hospital this morning to get an appendectomy. He will be out 10 to 14 days. I think he was gonna be out of the line-up today vs the Padres anyway to try to get his slump worked out, but this will be a big blow to the Giants.
We will probably see a platoon of Aaron Rowand and Cody Ross in center until he is back. What bad timing for this to happen to the Giants. Torres was in a major slump at the plate, but his Gold Glove play in center-field will really be missed in these very important games down the stretch. He has saved a lot of runs this year running down balls like a mad man! He will be missed.
We will probably see a platoon of Aaron Rowand and Cody Ross in center until he is back. What bad timing for this to happen to the Giants. Torres was in a major slump at the plate, but his Gold Glove play in center-field will really be missed in these very important games down the stretch. He has saved a lot of runs this year running down balls like a mad man! He will be missed.
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