The Giants hit a little. Let’s all take a step back and realize that we scored three runs against Ian Kennedy, killer of all Giant Killers. Take a breath while you click through.
Ok, now let’s deal with what went wrong. Lincecum went wrong, but he wasn’t that bad. Striking out five consecutive batters does not a bad outing make. The early home runs can be (and were by Kruk and Kuip, Masters of the Universe) to adrenaline. The runs in the 6th can were due to the Diamondbacks having good hitters. Foreign concept to Giants fans, I know. What truly worries me are tweets like this from Keith Law “The issue with Lincecum’s velocity is that he’s already given us a red flag by saying he’s dropping the slider to protect his elbow.†/closes eyes, thinks of England. 90-91 on fastballs. None of the mid-90s heat that we have grown accustomed to since 2008. It’s early but I am keeping my eye on this like a drunk frat boy on Marissa Miller.
It’s waaaaay to early for this, but Aubrey Huff cannot be trusted. I don’t agree he should have been pinch-hit for, but he at least needs to flip-flop with Belt in the line-up and hit 6th. T-minus 49 more games to prove himself.
Errors on Posey, Sandoval, Crawford. The world is too much with us, the center cannot hold. Vague feeling that I’m butchering poetry. N’ermind. Early season hiccups from guys we expect good defense from. If there is one thing not to get too antsy about, it’s the defense on the left side of the infield.
The things that went done good. Melky Cabrera is still seeing the ball really well. He won’t get 200 hits again, but .285 with a little pop makes him better than any other option going into this season. Hello, 2-hole hitter.
Let’s see…Panda and Posey doing Panda and Posey things…oh, wait! That makes for a legitimate 2-3-4 for opposing pitchers to fear. A little production from Belt and there’s a real lineup a-brewin’.
Opening Day (Week) ended poorly in the standings. But I’m not fully convinced that wasn’t the best 5-4 game for the Giants I’ve ever seen.
Stats of the game:
-5: This is the third consecutive start against the Diamondbacks that Lincecum has given up 5 earned runs.
-4: The number of strikeouts from Belt and Crawford. These guys need to put the ball in play for the Giants to compete on offense
-3: Paul Goldschmidt is now 6-11 with 3 home runs against Lincecum
-2: The number of strikeouts for Podcast Survivor Clay Hensley in his Giants debut
-1: The number of games it took me to try to find the silver lining of the 2012 season