Wow.

Tonight’s game was so masterful, I’m almost at a loss for words to describe it. Madison Bumgarner was the best I’ve ever seen him, shutting down a good lineup like they were the Rangers on Halloween. He pitched in, out, up, down, and made one simple mistake of not intentionally walking Ryan Hanigan.

But man, that slider. It deserves a postgame wrap of its own. Bumgarner threw his slider 38 times – he threw his four-seamer only 37 times – and got a ridiculous 10 whiffs with his slider out of 31 thrown for strikes.

And strikes. Strikes. So many strikes. Bum threw 72 strikes out of 107 total pitches, with 9 of those balls coming in a 16-pitch first inning, and never went over 14 pitches in an inning after that. He was phenomenal, throwing pitches in the strike zone that nobody could hit. It’s an underrated talent, but an important one.

For example, look at Bumgarner’s PitchFX for tonight based on At-bat result. Continue reading →

Before Tim Lincecum became Barry Zito, Barry Zito was Tim Lincecum.

Given Barry Zito’s horrid career on the Giants, it’s easy to forget that he used to be really quite good. Vintage Zito wasn’t quite as dominant as vintage Lincecum, but he was the model of reliability, posting 3-something ERAs almost every year, while never missing a start. The contract that he signed was absolutely ridiculous, but when he became a free agent he was definitely a valuable commodity, and nothing obvious pointed to a massive collapse on the horizon.

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Wraps are fun to write for games like today.

Remember in the second inning, when Brandon Crawford grounded into a double play to end a rally? It’s okay, the Giants won.

Remember when Madison Bumgarner gave up a first-inning homer to Josh Reddick and grooved one to Jonny Gomes in the third inning? It’s okay, the Giants won.

Remember when Brandon Belt hit .224/.340/.328 between April 6 and June 10, and the Bruce Bochy started talking about Hector Sanchez taking grounders at first? It’s okay, the Giants won

Remember when Sergio Romo struck out Yoenis Cespedes on a slider way below the zone? Yeah I do, it was awesome. Thanks for reminding me about that.

Today was awesome, because just when I thought that Bumgarner was going to lose this one, the Giants got their crap together and hit against Tyson Ross as though he were Tyson Ross, and not the second coming of Dennis Eckersley.

Remember when Shane Loux, Santiago Casilla and Javier Lopez allowed 7 baserunners and 4 runs in the 9th inning, and barely survived because the BALL BOUNCED OVER THE WALL? It’s okay, the Giants won.

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