-The Giants have a small lead, the offense shuts down, and the bullpen locks up the win

-The Giants have a small lead, the offense shuts down, and the bullpen loses the game

-The Giants never lead because the offense never . . . → Read More: POSTGAME WRAP: Today’s Game Brought To You By E-Surance]]>

The Giants got insurance runs. Now, normally, Giants games go one of three ways:

-The Giants have a small lead, the offense shuts down, and the bullpen locks up the win

-The Giants have a small lead, the offense shuts down, and the bullpen loses the game

-The Giants never lead because the offense never booted.

The hypothetical fourth option in the game of baseball would be:

-Team B (Giants) has a small lead over Team B (Cardinals), the offense keeps driving in runs, assures victory despite possible bullpen run leakage.

Doesn’t happen. Except today. Also notice that I just couldn’t bring myself to make the Giants “Team A”. When rumors of Orlando Hudson being a good fit start swirling around your ball club, you can never be “Team A”.

But back to insurance runs. Aren’t they nice? Especially when they come off the bat of Brandon Belt, who had yet to have his signature game of the season. Signed, sealed, delivered (he’s ours).

But Belt wasn’t the only Brandon worth watching today. When the lineup came out today and Brandon Crawford was penciled into the 2-hole, the Mayans people on Twitter got all snarky and sh*t. I joined the chorus of “bwhahahaha”s and “eff my life”s.

My defense:

It is my right as a blogger to criticize a series of strange or poor decisions like Bochy’s mishandling of the 2-hole in the lineup. But it is also my right as a fan to cheer like hell when that decision works out and Brandon Crawford gets his first RBIs in May from said 2-hole. These rights exist simply because I am unpaid and far from a public figure. Phew.

**

Keeping it short today. I’m going to enjoy the spoils of this game as much as anyone can enjoy a home split with THE DEFENDING WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!! I’ll leave you with my only recurring segment of this particular afternoon:

Kruk Quote of the Day: I’d like to know how long it takes to get his (Brandon Crawford’s) hair ready before he goes out. I’m goin with like 3 minutes. Out of the shower, head shake, go get ‘em. One thing about this generation you don’t see a lot of hair driers. Not the case in our generation.

Just kidding. Not about the wine, but I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t have at least a little practice writing with a bit of the ol’ fire water in my system. I think I’ll be alright.

Tonight’s . . . → Read More: Postgame Wrap: I Drank A Lot Of Wine And Wrote This Wrap Before I Had Watched The Whole Game]]>

THE SGHTINS ahoabout the Giants is thaot asasj othatsreallly cian;’ta ahit snd ashtat’s fareallly aduasndoying.

Just kidding. Not about the wine, but I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t have at least a little practice writing with a bit of the ol’ fire water in my system. I think I’ll be alright.

Tonight’s game, along with last night’s game, the one before that, the one before that, and probably the one tomorrow, all collectively show something: the Giants don’t have very many good players. They have some stars, yeah. But after the thin crust of skill among the team’s hot young players, there is miles and miles of hot, molten suck among the position players on this team.

That’s not to say that there was something they could have done, no no. When the Giants sign a bunch of washed up veterans who play badly, we make fun of Brian Sabean’s oldcageyveteranophilia and clamor for the Giants to play their youngsters. When the Giants throw out a lineup full of people just a few years removed from puberty, we wish they’d signed somebody, anybody, who knew what he was doing. Aaron Rowand’s five-year, $60 million contract may have been one of the worst in the history of baseball, but at least it’s an ethos. Sometimes you just have just have to rely on players, and sometimes those players just play really badly.

When people point to the 2011 Giants and say “those guys could’ve won, expect for all of the injuries,” I always cringe. Injuries are a part of the game, and they will happen. As long as Pablo Sandoval has an unbroken hamate bone, he’s an injury risk. The 2010 team was blessed; every time somebody got injured, their replacement ended up being an upgrade. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. Tonight showed how it’s supposed to work: Pablo Sandoval -> Emmanuel Burriss. You’re supposed to feel it when your stars get hurt.

And tonight was one of the worst lineups the Giants could have thrown out there. Melky Cabrera sat because of a minor injury, Joaquin Arias was day-to-day after being HBP, and Brandon Belt sat because he can’t hit lefties. Even with Burriss performing above expectations (1-for-4, 2 K) and Culberson beating out an infield single, this lineup really isn’t very good. It doesn’t look very good on paper, on dirt, on water, on sand, or anywhere. When they get hits, they’re singles, and when they get singles, it’s when there are no runners in scoring position. The Giants.

And it’s not like there’s a simple solution. The Giants probably should’ve pursued Carlos Beltran last offseason, but the outfield is actually the entire silver lining of the hitters on this team. Even with Nate Schierholtz mired in slumpitude, Melky and Pagan have been the most consistent studs of this team. They probably would’ve had to ridiculously overpay for someone like Jose Reyes or Jimmy Rollins, and it made sense at the time to give Crawford a shot, sign Freddy to another year, and let the youngsters develop.

But then a butterfly flapped its wings in Singapore, and now Emmanuel Burriss is playing third.

Let’s Get Frustrated. Together.

On Monday I wrote about Troy Tulowitski’s leg injury, and my own experience with getting-hit-in-the-leg-by-hard-objects. Last night I twisted my ankle while playing Ultimate Frisbee very badly, and tonight Gregor Blanco twisted his ankle. I feel like this blog is becoming an online version of An Almost Perfect Game by Stephen Manes, a book I read as a kid, except with injuries. Essentially a kid is at a minor league game and realizes that anything he writes in his scorecard comes true. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but it was a good book. I’ve also been drinking. This happens when we lose.

Brandon Watch 2012:

Crawford: Good defense on mostly “routine” plays, and actually a couple of hits. Not like it matters, because with Sandoval hurt, and especially with Arias/Theriot hurt, he’s playing every day.

Belt: He struck out last night in a crucial situation, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Aubrey Huff gets the next start against a righty. To be honest, as impressed as I am with Belt’s plate discipline and ability to Kubel the occasional double, I’m really surprised by his lack of power. I don’t know how much of it is a result of the Giants fiddling with his approach at the plate, or inconsistent ABs, or what, but it sure would be nice to see more extra-base hits. Until that happens, though, I love him in the 2-hole, with his OBP skills.

Stats of the Day:

10: Hits for the Giants, with just one for extra bases. Pretty appropriate on #SFGiantsSingles Night.

3: Hits by Buster Posey against Jaime Garcia. It’s easy to forget now, but Jaime Garcia was a popular pick early in 2010 to win NL Rookie of the Year, going 13-8 with a 2.70 ERA. He ended up third in ROY voting behind Jason Heyward and, well, Buster Posey. #science

2: Times I needed to double-check the spelling of “Rzepczynski.”

1: At-bats by Aubrey Huff since coming back in which he did not hit a weak popup.

0: Reason to throw a ball in the strike zone to Brett Pill.

0: Walks for the Giants. See above.

Bonus Stat of the Day:

5: Times I considered signing home plate umpire Doug Eddings to the Giants bullpen. Dude has a cannon.

“B-b-but I threw the ball! How did they hit it?”

Rockies Pitching Coach Bob Apodaca will turn off the shower tap, and slide down next to . . . → Read More: Postgame Wrap: Brothersly Love]]>

I can’t wait until Christian Friedrich’s next start. He’ll be found after the game, sitting in the team shower, shivering under the shower head, shivering in his soaking uniform.

“B-b-but I threw the ball! How did they hit it?”

Rockies Pitching Coach Bob Apodaca will turn off the shower tap, and slide down next to Friedrich.

“Son, you’re going to have to learn sooner or later. Not every team is the Giants.”

Today was Christian Friedrich’s second major league start, and he looked pretty unhittable for most of the game. Caveat: Giants, because they Giants.

It’s all downhill from here, kid.

***

Oh wait, it’s against the Mariners. Never mind.

***

Ryan Vogelsong looked bad, but did well. Actually, he looked pretty good, but did badly, until you looked up at the end of the game and realized he’d actually done well, while looking bad. That made sense in my head.

This is also kind of what the 2012 Giants pitching staff experience has been so far. Tim Lincecum fools batters and strikes out whole armies, but gives up runs aplenty. Zito and Vogelsong walked whole lineups, and escaped with minimal damage. Even Bumgarner has looked shaky. It’s just a thing this year.

Except Matt Cain. Six more years!

But yeah, Vogelsong. As Kruk and Kuip pointed out throughout the broadcast, Vogelsong had a bunch of 3-2 counts, especially early in the game. He had 29 pitches in the first inning and 30 in the third (8 in the second), and gave up a lot of loud contact while walking five. On the other hand, many of his walks were just outside the zone, and he generally spotted his pitches well, aside from his one mistake to Wilin Rosario.

The walks I remember, and the loud contact. But then I look up and see 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER. Ryan Vogelsong.

***

Setback Sanchez had another Freddy.

***

In college I played intramural floor hockey, and one of my teammates had an absolutely ridiculous slap shot. He’d been known to knock goalies backward into the net with the force of his shot, and I even once saw him miss the goal completely and shatter a sign hanging on the wall behind the net, about 10 feet up the wall. A few days after that, we were in the middle of a game and he made his shot, driving a hard, rubber puck into my right shin. My leg turned red, then blue and purple, and then red again. It ached all day, and kept me up at night for a solid three weeks.

So, yeah. I wouldn’t want to be Troy Tulowitski right now.

***

Another catcher was blown up today, when Chase Headley crashed into Washington rookie catcher Sandy Leon at home plate, knocking him back as his right leg buckled under him. Leon got up and took a few steps, before falling to his knees and grimacing in pain, before his coaches helped him off the field. While the circumstances leading up to the play were almost identical to Posey (throw coming from right-center field, short hop right in front of the plate), Leon was definitely blocking the plate at the time, something that Posey wasn’t doing.

But still, that’s not the point. These plays shouldn’t exist in baseball, which is a position we’ve been consistent on. If Headley really had no choice but to go through Leon, then that’s a baseball problem. After Posey’s injury people lashed out at the this-shouldn’t-exist-in-baseball group by saying that we were only bringing it up because Buster Posey was a rockstar, and that if it had happened to someone else with less name recognition, it wouldn’t get national attention.

Well, I had never the name Sandy Leon before today. I’m still not quite sure how to pronounce it. It shouldn’t have happened.

Brandon Watch 2012:

Crawford: A hit today, and generally an unmemorable game on defense, in a good way.

Belt: 

Stats of the Day:

11: Number of times Gregor Blanco has started a game. Of those, he has reached base (hit or walk) in 10 games. 13 hits, 6 walks. Keep this man in the lineup. He also told Amy G: “I always try to take pitches.” Weird.

3: Times I rewatched Pablo Sandoval pie Gregor Blanco in the face.

2: Hits by Brett Pill today, including a 2-out hit with RISP. Remember those?

1: Total walks by the Giants.

0: Times I need to see the Buster Posey injury again.

Too many: Times I will see the Buster Posey injury again.

Bonus Stat of the Day:

14: Out of 14, the rank my fantasy baseball is in this year. Get well soon, Chris Young! Get good soon, Geovany Soto!

Coming into the game, the Zito/Saunders comparisons were being made across all platforms- low K-rate lefties with a surprisingly low ERAs, along with the obvious signs that big spoonfuls of regression . . . → Read More: POSTGAME WRAP: Giants Score A 49er Amount of Runs, Two Fan-Base Burn!]]>

Consider this my touchdown dance. The Giants hung a 7-spot on the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Giants scored 7 runs. The Giants scored 7 runs.

Coming into the game, the Zito/Saunders comparisons were being made across all platforms- low K-rate lefties with a surprisingly low ERAs, along with the obvious signs that big spoonfuls of regression are in order. But despite the peripherals and the high baserunner total, Zito outdueled his middling counterpart.

I’m not going to pretend I’m not worried about the baserunners. Bases loaded in the first inning has to be the most frustrating thing a pitcher can do to a fan. Just sets a bad tone, and leaves me with too little fingernail for the later innings. Zito is always going to lack a little control. There will be one pitch on any particular day that he just can’t locate. But if the curveball doesn’t happen to be that pitch, Zito can work his way out of jams like he did today.

The offense helped too. Each position player got a hit, with Gregor Blanco and Melky Cabrera combining to go 6-10 with 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. This all culminated in the Giants scoring more runs than they had since April 26^th, and their 14 hits were the most of the season. Or since 2003. You look it up.

Something finally seems to be working in the 2-hole. Joaquin Arias can hit until he can’t. Joaquin Arias can play solid defense until he can’t. He may not be the “bat-control guy” that Bochy so craves, but his approach is to both fields is going to keep him in the lineup.

Brandon Watch 2012:

Belt: 8 starts and 1 defensive replacement in the Giants’ 12 games in May. Belt is 6-29 in that span but has 5 walks and is playing excellent defense. Another towering home run by Brett Pill will buy the big righty more playing time, but only some of it should come at the expense of Belt. The Giants face a lefty tomorrow, so expect Brandon Belt to be at the customer service desk at the local Macy’s in Denver.

Crawford: .208 with lots of mistakes on defense. If the defense doesn’t improve, look for Arias become more of an every day player when Sandoval returns. I’m starting to feel bad about it. The all Stamos middle infield with Charlie Culberson would have been quite the panty dropper.

Stats of the Day:

7: Runs scored by the Giants, the most they have scored since April 26^th, when they scored 6 in a win against the Reds

6: The number of runners stranded by Zito, 3 of which came in the first inning

4: The number of at-bats by Aubrey Huff since his return on May 7^th

1: The number of hits by Huff in those four at-bats

0: The number on my chalkboard that reads “Days Since The Offense Dropped A Turd”

Big shoes to fill. Really, really big shoes.

In the seventy-seventh episode, Thomas and Danny talk to Comcast SportsNet’s Rael Enteen about Tim Lincecum’s struggles, the effects of Pablo Sandoval’s injury, Brandon Belt’s at-bats, Ryan Theriot, a crazy infield solution, wild trade rumors, and Brett Pill.

The Dodgers were only able to make loud contact off Vogelsong a couple of times, while Kershaw missed bats to the tune of seven strikeouts. Vogelsong allowed . . . → Read More: POSTGAME RECAP: Giants Defeat Kershaw, Bizarro Dusty Baker]]>

I love to watch pitcher’s duels. I love it even more when each pitcher goes about his business as differently as Ryan Vogelsong and Clayton Kershaw do.

The Dodgers were only able to make loud contact off Vogelsong a couple of times, while Kershaw missed bats to the tune of seven strikeouts. Vogelsong allowed eleven baserunners, but pitched situationally, inducing ground balls that led to double plays and lazy popups that ended rallies before they got started. Kershaw’s lone mistake was a pitch up in the zone that Brett Pill muscled out, proving the rumors that he is the strongest man on the team. Remember, Aubrey Huff is the most athletic.

I’ve never expected anything from Brett Pill. I’m biased against older non-prospects. Then he hits a Clayton Kershaw mistake out of the yard and I say “Ya, he should do that. He’s Brett Pill.” It is easy when reading guys like Kevin Goldstein and Keith Law to get stoked on players like Brandon Belt and Gary Brown because they get something like “five stars” or “gold medal” or “merit badge” or whatever those guys give out.

But what are the chances Brett Pill can actually handle major league pitching? What if his solid approach from the right side is just what the Giants need from a guy who doesn’t appear to require regular playing time to be productive. The first base cluster eff continues.

This is what the Dodgers offense is supposed to look like. Matt Kemp creates a little offense, the Dodgers score a run. The rest of the lineup hits lazy pop ups. The Ellis twins do not Bash Brothers make.

Juan Uribe bunted. Bwahahahahaha. Into a double play. Hehehehehehehehe. Tommy Lasorda enjoys frozen lemonade. Hohohohohoho.

The Dodgers bunt in front of Matt Kemp. Lopez gets Ethier to ground into their fourth double play of the ninth. Donnie Baseball, everyone!

The Dodgers should probably stop bunting. I hope they don’t.

Stats of the Day:

4: Double plays induced by the Giants

2: Double plays hit into by the Giants

1: Times I’m going to mention that Angel Pagan got hurt. See? Just the once.

0: Number of at-bats that I’ve seen that have made me wish the Giants had re-signed Juan Uribe

0: Number of errors by the Giants.

-Score: Was the game close? Did the Giants lose by double digits? Did they fail to score a run?

-Rivalries. Losses to the Dodgers are worse . . . → Read More: This Was The Worst Game of the Season: Every Year Edition]]>

In lieu of last night’s horrific performance against the Dodgers, I decided to profile the worst Giants performances under Bruce Bochy, year-by-year. Things I considered when making these determinations:

-Score: Was the game close? Did the Giants lose by double digits? Did they fail to score a run?

-Rivalries. Losses to the Dodgers are worse than losses to the Blue Jays. They just are.

-Standings. Where were the Giants in the division at the time of this loss?

-Streaks. Did this game end a winning streak? Start a losing streak?

-Gut-wrench factor. Did this game make you wish you liked soccer?

-Ephemera. Did someone just get injured? Did someone the Giants payed a billion dollars to stink?

2007

Date: May 18

Opponent: Oakland Athletics

Location: McAfee Coliseum

Giants’ Record: 20-21, 4 ½ games back

Score: 15-3

Recap: Barry Zito issues 4 walks in the first inning, 2 of which were with the bases loaded. One was to Jack Cust. I repeat. Barry Zito could not get Jack Cust to chase. Jonathan Sanchez appears in relief, gives up a home run to Jack Cust. That’s more like it Giants. Steve Kline gives up a grand slam to Mark Ellis in the 8^th. A’s add one more, cruise to a 15-3 victory.

Why this is the worst game of the season: The Giants paid a lot of money for Barry Zito the previous offseason. Money the A’s themselves were unwilling to pay. Or any other team for that matter. So to come throw a Bay Bridge Series stink bomb in his first season as a Giant is, well, Zitonian. Also Fred Lewis hit third. And had an OPS over 1.000 at this point. He is now in the Looking Good While Running Hallf of Fame.

2008

Date: April 18

Location: Busch Stadium III

Giants’ Record: 6-11, 6 ½ games back, 3 game losing streak

Score: 11-1

Recap: One of Matt Cain’s worst starts as a Giant. Never getting out of the 4^th inning, Cain gave up 9 earned runs on 8 hits and 3 walks. Gave up big flies to Chris Duncan and Albert Pujols.

Why this is the worst game of the season: Epitomized the Matt Cain Conundrum. How can someone so good at their job be rewarded so little by end results? For example, Matt Cain would finish the 2008 season with a solid 3.65 ERA. He went 7-16. Here’s why. The Giants lineup on that fateful day: Fred Lewis LF, Eugenio Velez 2B, Randy Winn RF, Bengie Molina C, John Bowker 1B, Aaron Rowand CF, Jose Castillo 3B, Brian Bocock SS. Probably the bottoming out of the Giants batting order. To this day, Matt Cain still has All-Star abilities and a sub-.500 career record. He didn’t help his cause much in this game, but it’s not like Jose Castillo was any help either.

2009

Date: August 27

Location: AT&T Park

Giants’ Record: 69-59, 7 games back

Score: 11-0

Recap: Joe Martinez got worked. He gave up ten hits and never saw the sixth inning. Brandon Allen homered along with Mark Reynolds, whose home run chased Martinez in the fifth. The Giants bats remained quiet, with 5 hits and only one for extra bases, a double by Travis Ishikawa.

Why this is the worst game of the season: The Giants faced Yusmeiro Petit and the basement-dwelling Arizona Diamondbacks in a critical part of the season. The division-leading Dodgers were creeping out of reach but the Wild Card-which eventually went to the Rockies- was still very much in doubt. In his career, Yusmeiro Petit pitched about as many major league innings as Matt Cain pitches in a season. He dominated a Giants lineup that saw Travis Ishikawa hitting cleanup. Ishi ranks slightly below Mike Fontenot in the Giants-Who-Shouldn’t-Have-Hit-Cleanup Power Rankings. Also adding to the retroactive pain of this game is the fact that many of the Dbacks- Justin Upton, Ryan Roberts, Gerardo Parra, Miguel Montero, Stephen Drew- would be the building blocks for their 2011 NL West title. Eff those guys.

2010

Date: May 19

Location: Chase Field

Giants’ Record: 22-17, 1 ½ games back

Score: 13-1

Recap: Ian Kennedy gave the Giants a preview of his eventual 2011 dominance by going eight innings and only allowing three hits. Todd Wellemeyer, on the other hand, walked five Dbacks and exited after just five innings. Brandon Medders saw the worst of the carnage, giving up two home runs in the 8^th and six earned runs total.

Why this is the worst game of the season: It’s hard to complain about a game in a season where the Giants were eventual champions. But I’ll give it the old college try. It’s not like these were the World Champion Giants any way. Seven players that appeared in this game would not make the World Series roster: Wellemeyer, Medders, Denny Bautista, Bengie Molina, Ryan Rohlinger, Matt Downs, and John Bowker. This is a testament to Brian Sabean’s mid-season transactions and a heaping helping of good fortune. Sometimes the scorched-earth policy works out. See? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t complain about a title. I’m glad the Dbacks won this game.

2011

Date: September 24

Location: Chase Field

Giants’ Record: 84-74, 8 games back

Score: 15-2

Recap: Ian Kennedy again. He only went six innings and gave up two runs, but it was more than enough to get the win. Rookie Erik Surkamp didn’t survive the first inning. Three hits and four walks that led to six earned runs was all Bruce Bochy could handle. Guillermo Mota went all long relief on everyone’s ass for 3 1/3 scoreless, but the rest of the bullpen got worked. Zito, Waldis Joaquin, Steve Edlefsen, and Dan Runzler combined to give up nine more runs, all of them earned. And yes, Barry Zito. In the bullpen.

Why this is the worst game of the season: Barry Zito. In the bullpen. The win gave Ian Kennedy 21 on the season, which is more than Matt Cain had in a few of his good seasons. Combined. Coming into the game, the Giants were not making the playoffs. The Diamondbacks weren’t going to lose the division. But kicking them in the teeth in the last few weeks of the season sure would be fun. Guess we’ll never know.

2012

Date: Last night

Location: Chavez Revine

Giants’ Record: 14-15, 5 games back

Score: 9-1

Recap: http://giantspod.net/2012/05/07/postgame-wrap-sloppy-thirds/

Why this was the worst game of the season: Because I hate Matt Kemp

There may be another game that outdoes last night for worst game of the season, prompting the masses to call for an update to this article. No. It hurt my head.

But if you can, man, it would be for this game. Nothing looked good from the seventh inning on, and very little before then. The Giants committed three errors, but deserved at least a couple more. . . . → Read More: Postgame Wrap: Sloppy Thirds]]>

The good news, such as it is, is that you can’t get two losses for the same stupid game.

But if you can, man, it would be for this game. Nothing looked good from the seventh inning on, and very little before then. The Giants committed three errors, but deserved at least a couple more. Conor Gillaspie’s defensive flaws finally made their presence felt, and their debut was spectacular. Buster Posey looked uncomfortable at first, Theriot looked tree-like at second, and even the plays that the outfielders made looked pretty awkward.

Barry Zito and Joaquin Arias were the highlights of this game, which is a sentence we can file under “Things We Never Expected To Say, Volume 16.” Arias is making a case for regular starts, either platooning with Crawford or at third. I’m not ready to give up on Gillaspie after just one game – one awful, awful game – but today certainly didn’t help anything.

Also, enough of this crap. The strict platoon thing hasn’t failed every time, but if anything today’s game shows that it ain’t gospel. Pill, Sanchez and Theriot combined for an 0-for-12 today, and the defense was awful. I don’t mind Hector as a backup for Posey to rest him, and even as a regular battery-mate to Zito. But he is not a good enough hitter, especially against lefties, to keep Brandon Belt out of the lineup.

A simple proposal: let’s play our best players at their ideal positions. Sure, you might get some 0-fers, but you might get them anyway. You may as well throw the best players out on the field, and see what happens. I’ve been a Bochy apologist most of the time, but that’s over after this game. Today’s lineup was such crap, something’s gotta give. But it probably won’t.

Brandon Watch 2012:

Stats of the Day:

9.00: Travis Blackley’s ERA after today’s game

3.00: Travis Blackley’s ERA before today’s game

2: Starting position players who got hits today

0: Number of times Matt Kemp made an out today

Bonus Stat of the Day:

Sucked: This game