Game Recaps – Giantspod

Postgame Wrap: Lincecum Bad, Giants Worse

Daniel Zarchy — Sat, 25 May 2013 05:29:19 +0000

These days, it’s almost more confusing when Tim Lincecum succeeds than when he screws up. If there’s one thing we’ve learned by watching Barry Zito’s ascent to mediocrity these past couple of years it’s that when Zito’s breaking pitches are working, even a lineup of the best and brightest can’t catch up to an 84 mph. If Zito can establish the ridiculous curveball and surprisingly deceptive cutter, even his modest “fast”ball can work be incredibly effective as Zito pitches “backwards,” leading with breaking balls and following up with heat.

The problem with Lincecum seems to be that he’s still trying to pitch forward, starting with heat in the zone and finishing with sliders and changeups in the dirt. This means that he has to lead off at-bats by throwing fastballs over the plate. When he was doing that in 2008 and winning Cy Youngs, he was averaging 94 mph. Tonight, averaging 90 mph, those pitches are way too hittable.

But velocity isn’t the whole story, because we’ve seen him equally terrible when throwing hard. It’s just that a slower fastball with terrible location is much easier to hit than a faster fastball with terrible location.

For example, Michael Cuddyer’s double in the first inning:

Now let’s look at Cuddyer’s heat map in 2013. Turns out he hits pitches low and on the corner pretty well. I imagine it’s even easier at 90 mph.

Also, breaking balls. Let’s look at the curveball that Cuddyer knocked out of the park:

Aaaaand Cuddyer’s slugging heat map:

Yep. Turns out he hits pitches right down the middle pretty well.

Postgame Wrap: Bryce Harper Will Eat Your Children

Daniel Zarchy — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:29:45 +0000

There are very few things in the world more pleasant than sitting at beautiful AT&T Park on a gorgeous summer day, shivering in the shade while your favorite baseball team tries to close out a sweep of the visiting team. Spectacular pitching, handsome defense, shiny plate discipline: this game had it all. Today was, all in all, a really good day in the grand scheme of things.

I’m trying to get all of that out of the way so I can start to complain a lot, because that game was really annoying. For a game in which so many things went right, today was a game of surprises. The Giants have had poor pitching and great offense, so today they pitched beautifully and couldn’t get it done at the plate. The Nationals lead the league in errors. Here’s some great defense. Bryce Harper looked awful yesterday and now apparently has a wall phobia. How ’bout a home run and some stellar defense?

Alas, we can’t win every game. Be weÂ can complain after every game.

It’s a little too soon to crown Madison Bumgarner the Ace of the staff, especially with Cain getting back into Cain-like form, but he’s making a pretty good case for 1A status. Bumgarner was absolutely dealing tonight, striking out the side in the first (all swinging), and then scattering just four hits and two walks across seven strong innings, and had 17 first-pitch strikes.

Unfortunately, one of those hits was a blast from Bryce Harper, wunderkind and super-hyped prospect who unfortunately deserves every bit of the hype he’s receiving. He’s an amazing athlete and while none of usÂ want our players to run into a wall at full speed, I think we all want to have a player on our team whoÂ would run into a wall at full speed if that’s what it took to win. Plus he’s 20! I don’t know if that particular point has been mentioned by the national media, but what he’s doing right now isn’t just really good from a 20-year-old player, but from any player. He also made a nice catch in the 8th inning to rob Hunter Pence of an RBI hit, and later doubled to right field while losing his helmet in a manner reminiscent of his first major league hit, a time when people everywhere were introduced to Harper’s, uh, unconventional haircut. Anyway, I’m moving Harper over from my “overhyped” column to my “appropriately hyped” column. Now please go away and leave us in peace.

It’s hard (and fun!) to complain about the offense this year, when the Giants are sitting pretty with the top team batting average in the National League, and second-highest OPS (behind the Juice Ball Bullshit of Coors Field). They’re actuallyÂ scoring runs. What is that. But still, games like today’s and yesterday’s get a bit old. Just hit the damn ball where the damn fielder ain’t.

Andres Torres had the only two extra-base hits for the whole team. But while this could be the beginning of a depressing paragraph, my girlfriend told me to focus on the positives, so here we go. Nobody expected the Giants left field to be good. In fact, I wrote 76 words about that very subject last night. Coming into the year, podcast survivor Dan Szymborski and his ZiPS projection system predicted an output of about 3 fWAR from the left-field platoon. When Dan came on our show he was even more of a Debbie Downer, predicting it much lower. Well, let’s turn to the numbers:

Before today, National League left fielders are hitting .265/.336/.441, for a .777 OPS.

Before today, San Francisco Giants left fielders are hitting .270/.309/.365, for a .674 OPS.

No, it’s not great. But keep in mind that other teams have juggernauts in left like Carlos Gonzales, Ryan Braun, Justin Upton, ~~Juan Pierre~~ and Starling Marte. The Giants have good hitters, they just don’t play in left field, and FanGraphs lists the Giants at 7th in the NL in fWAR from the left field position. Considering it was our major weakness coming into the season, middle-of-the-pack seems pretty nice.

Marco Scutaro lost his hit streak tonight, but he did it while saving an orphan puppy from drowning in shark-infested waters, taking a close pitch for ball four in the eighth inning in what was likely to be his final at-bat of the day. His hit streak died at 19 games, but his on-base streak was pushed to 24 games. I bet you can’t guess who has the longest on-base streak since 2000 (minimum 1 PA per game). If you guessed Orlando CabreraÂ (63 games), then you must have cheated. But if I asked you which Giant had the longest streak, non-Barry Bonds division, it’s Randy Winn with his magical 34 games in 2008. Right now Scutaro’s tied for 20th among Giants (or 10th in non-Bonds division) with his 24, so he’s in good company.

Brett Pill and Joaquin Arias both started today because of Belt’s stiff back and Panda’s continuing case of the “crud.” They combined for an 0-7 and three strikeouts. Let’s keep this as Plan B, guys.

Stats of the Day:Â Â

Total bases for the Giants: 7

Total bases for Bryce Harper: 6

Javier Lopez’s ERA as a Giant: 2.76

Number of players named Steve on the Warriors: 0

POSTGAME RECAP: Django Uncained

Daniel Zarchy — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:07:56 +0000

Everybody predicted that Game One of the 2010 World Series would be one for the record books. Two-time Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum was going up against Cliff Lee, a man eight feet tall with flaming red hair, with an arm made mostly of titanium who had yet to give up a run in his entire playing career. Â Lincecum, a man of slight build and a back just four pitches away from flying into the stands mid-pitch, would have to be perfect to keep the game within reach of the mighty Clifton. If one this was certain, it was that this would be a pitchers duel for the ages.

And yet, that didn’t quite happen. Timmy was only decent and Clifton was flat-out bad, and the Pitchers Duel For the Ages ended 11-7. In fact, it seems like every time we have a PDFtA it ends up crappy, like when Yu Darvish and Justin Verlander faced off last week and Verlander walked in two runs. PDFtAs are so often disappointments.

Not tonight, though. Matt Cain recovered from his shaky first inning and an inconsistent strike zone to pitch seven strong innings. He gave up just one hit and two walks after the first inning, including striking out four of the last six batters he faced. Strasburg was equally brilliant, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and sitting down the last 10 Giants he faced. Both stars lived up to expectations.

Still, the Giants wasted opportunities. Belt struck out with the bases loaded in the first, Angel Pagan was caught stealing, and Panda and Scutaro each gee eye dee peed. Cain came within an Altuve of being Cained before Buster Posey beat out an infield single and Gregor Blanco tripled over Bryce Harper’s head to score pinch-runner Andres Torres from first.

And then the moonshot. Oh lord the moonshot. Scutaro singled in the tenth and Sandoval stepped up to the plate, breath a-heavin’ and nostrils a-flarin’ before he crushed a Yunesky Maya change-up into the center field bleachers. What not to do:

Pablo Sandoval was one of my more bullish predictions this year. I know that Buster Posey put the team on his back and singlehandedly won the World Series/solved the gas crisis/ended World Hunger last year, but Sandoval really is the true power hitter on this squad. I predicted that he would hit over .300 with 30 HRs this year. After tonight’s game he’s batting .309 and on pace for 29 dingers. Hoo-rah.

Marco Scutaro continues to astound. Coming up for what was most likely his last at-bat of the night, Scutaro needed a hit to push his hitting streak to 19 games. Instead, he comes through with a double in the eighth and a single in the tenth, pushing his batting average to .337. Scutaro now has 34 hits in 17 games so far in May. If he hits two per game for the last nine games in May, he will end up with 52, beating Melky’s 2012 May by one hit. I think we’d all be okay with wiping Melky’s name off of as many record books as possible.

It was certainly ballsy of Bruce Bochy to sit Torres today after going 3-5 yesterday, but that paid off as Blanco went 3-4 with the game-tying hit. We all knew that left field would be a bit of a liability offensively this season â€“ and we still believe that â€“ but it’s nice to see output from there from time to time. With the excellent defense coming from left, any offense is basically house money at this point.

Speaking of defense, no news is good news. Everybody took their time and made their throws, and the yips were conspicuously absent tonight. Thank god.

Bryce Harper bunted tonight. Twice. I don’t really understand that.

POSTGAME RECAP: Vogelsong breaks hand amid best outing; offense comes alive

Thomas Todd — Tue, 21 May 2013 05:56:36 +0000

GiantsPod breaks Giants pitchers with bad ERAs. When Danny and I went to Fresno for a little Central Valley action in 2011, we saw Barry Zito take a bad spill off the mound and injure his foot. Now Ryan Vogelsong is broken. Worst of all, Vogey was having by far his best game of the season. One more inning of decent work would have given the right-hander just his second quality start in nine attempts. This is a guy who reeled off 16 straight such starts in 2012. All in all on Monday, Vogelsong gave up three hits and one walk, allowing zero runs to a team that many picked to make the World Series.

Vogelsong set the tone of the game early, keeping the ball around the plate and forcing a lot of weak contact. Without looking, the only dangerous contact was a warning track shot by Adam LaRoche that Angel Pagan “deftly” maneuvered to get. Vogey walked just one batter — relief pitcher Craig Stammen — on a day when the Nationals failed to get an extra-base hit. Coming into the game with a .292 OBP as a team, the Nationals have not produced at the plate all season. But Ryan Zimmerman had been red hot, batting .333/.429/.519 since returning from a hamstring injury May 3. Couple that with Bryce Harper having one of the best seasons EVER by a 20-year-old and at least Washington’s 3-4 punch looks imposing. Vogelsong faced them each twice, giving up just a single to Zim.

How much less concerned would we be if Vogelsong didn’t pitch his best game of the season tonight? What if this injury had occurred after he gave up five runs in two innings? I would hope the reaction would be the same, considering the lack of depth the Giants have in the rotation. The Giants’ only option on the 25-man roster is Chad Gaudin, who was last a full-time starter in 2007 with Oakland. Despite his gaudy numbers this season, there’s a reason that Gaudin has spent most of his season in the bullpen and spent the offseason looking for a job.

There are some candidates in the minor leagues who could be worth a look. In a bit of cruel irony, SI’s Jay Jaffe wrote about Vogey’s struggles earlier today. He cited scouts that praised Chris Heston and Mike Kickham, who both were said to be on pace to get a look some time in 2013. I think the Giants give Gaudin the first look, but will try to set up a more permanent move with whatever Grizzly looks the best.

Brandon Belt is a man, baby. After a rough start — he was batting .183/.227/.233 on April 21 — the Baby Giraffe has six home runs and an improved batting line. After four hits in five at-bats Monday, Belt sits at .261/.329/.449. Surely the Pill poppers have to be quieted, right? Belt is on pace for 20 home runs, which would be the most since Aubrey Huff improbably hit 26 in 2010. Ah, 2010. That’s why we’re all here. And 2012. And baseball.

Postgame Wrap: Giants 1-0 When Hunter Pence Is Late To Game

Thomas Todd — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 05:17:17 +0000

Tim Lincecum was bad. Then he was back. Then he was bad. Bad, bad, back, back, bad. If Tim Lincecum’s season was a roller coaster ride, it would probably be Big Thunder Mountain. Not a lot of severe ups and downs, but you’re gonna get jerked around a lot. Unpopular opinion: I hate Disneyland.

Lincecum in his last 4 outings:

26.2 IP, 8 ER, 32 K, 7 BB

That’s good for a 2.75 ERA. Those are cold numbers, and they’re good. But watching Lincecum, even with a win and solid outing, things jump out that scare the living piss out of me. Nothing has changed from 2008 to 2012 when it comes to his breaking pitches, they still make hitters look silly late in counts, especially in the dirt. Watching elite hitters swing like Juan Uribe provides the unicorn blood I need to get through my workday. But those pesky-because-they-aren’t-pesky-anymore fastballs. Lincecum never had the fastball control that Vogey 2.0 or Greg Maddux any-.0, but failing to elevate two consecutive fastballs to Justin Turner late in his outing brings up more questions than it answers. Why can’t Lincecum keep the ball down? Why can’t he get it up (snigger)? Why does he seem to get fatigued at 90 pitches?

I have a thought that has been tugging at me all season. I don’t think I’ve written about it but it has been bandied over brews with bros. I think the weight loss really hurt Lincecum’s ability to pitch at the big-league level. Yes, Lincecum creates torque and therefore velocity with his windup similar to a pitcher that weighs 220 pounds. Coming into 2011, I eyeballed Tim Lincecum at about 175 lbs maximum. With rocks, a hammer, and a nunchucks all hidden in his uniform. So when preseason reportsÂ claimed Tim Lincecum had dropped 22 lbs (from 197 to 175 in the article, bwahahaha), I got nervous. Because by my count, he couldn’t be anything over 155. Torque gone. When his velocity showed up in the 89-90 range, it became apparent that the lack of mass was affecting how he pitched.

Unfortunately, I don’t think there is an in-season solution for Licecum’s “mass-ive” problem. As an athlete playing a grinding schedule, there is no healthy way for Lincecum to put on weight. Ask Pablo Sandoval. I think the Giants’ training staff can create an off-season program that gets Lincecum back to whatever his “normal” was before 2012. Will this prevent fatigue or fastballs catching too much of the zone? I don’t know. Couldn’t hurt.

Welcome Hunter Pence and Marco Scutaro, you know not what we expect of you. Let’s look at the new lineup pretending I’m in charge of who sits and starts and who bats where. This is how it should really be. I’ll even sit on Bochy’s shoulders. Also, let’s pretend everyone is healthy because that’s more fun:

SS/2B Scutaro

1B Belt

LF Melky

C Posey

3B Sandoval

RF Pence

CF Pagan

SS/2B Crawford/Theriot

This lineup takes a shit later than any lineup since the end of 2010, when Ross/Burrell/Uribe/Huff were all somehow above average hitters. I have no issue with Scutaro leading off. He slaps the ball around just enough to be a better option that Nate Schierholtz. As a nod to Wendy Thurm lets bat Belt second, so his OBP can mean something because he isn’t hitting in front of Neifi Perez. Pence solves a lot of problems, whether he bats fifth or sixth. He isn’t a middle-of-the-order thumper, but with an OPS+ above penis 100, he can protect the Giants homegrown talent just fine. Crawford and Theriot are interchangeable. Trust me.

with Blanco if Pagan continues to struggle/be a bitch

CF Blanco

SS/2B Scutaro

LF Melky

C Posey

3B Sandoval

RF Pence

1B Belt

2B/SS Theriot/Crawford

I would also have no problem with this. Even Belt hitting that late. Angel Pagan needs to start hitting things that are round and have seams, not walls or coolers. Thanks Angel.

Brandon Watch 2012:

Crawford: Has a fantastic arm. Is a hitter.

Belt: Walked for the first time in 20 plate appearances. Weird. Wonder if that is due to anything management is telling him. Nah. He did go 7-23 in that stretch. Great job, Giants. You turned Brandon Belt into Hector Sanchez.

Stats of the Day:

112: Pitches thrown by Tim Lincecum

95: When I thought Tim Lincecum lost it

112: The best pitch Tim Lincecum has thrown all seasonâ€¦and the ballsiest

7: Starts since Buster Posey had caught Tim Lincecum

.1%: Coming into today, the advantage Baseball Prospectus gives the Dodgers in the NL West. It’s a race, folks.

Postgame Wrap: Dropping Hamiltons

Thomas Todd — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 00:18:05 +0000

Ryan Vogelsong walks off the field to a standing ovation in the eighth inning.

Regression is an ugly buzz word in baseball chatter these days. â€œX player will regress to the mean after a career year.â€ â€œThat’s a small sample size, X player will surely regress.â€ â€œI regress seeing X3, stupid Brett Ratner.â€ It doesn’t appear that any of these things apply to Ryan Vogelsong.

Nothing he did today was particularly sparkling or overpowering, but the thunderous Rangers bats seemed less thunderous, hitting ground balls and settling for warning-track fly balls. Besides Mitch Moreland, who hit a Bondsian shot into the water that all but ended his outing, Vogelsong sapped the power from a powerful lineup. The Rangers have a league-leading .806 OPS as a team, which is a buck oh five higher than Brandon Belt’s .701.

With nicks and bruises bothering Casilla and Romo, the Giants bullpen needed to get healthy. Starts by Vogelsong have been a panacea. Vogey has finished the 6^th inning in all eleven starts this season, and the 7^th inning in all but three. This is only his second time reaching the 8^th but, to be fair, they only play seven innings in Japan. Limited space, from what I hear.

I’m prepared to go forward without Melky Cabrera in the lineup. This preparation has gone much smoother with the return of Pablo Sandoval. As long as he doesn’t once again eat his way out of the Hot â€œPocketâ€, the Giants should still be able to win games by sneaking across runs with the combination of speed and a solid middle of the order. But man, let’s hope Cabrera comes back before Ryan Theriot’s natural state of being does the same.

With the normal toll that injuries take on a lineup, enhanced by veteran contracts that force Bochy’s hand, you will see lineups like the Giants put out yesterday.

LF Non-roster invitee

2B Utility infielder

CF Angel Pagan

C 22-year-old catcher with OBP 2 points higher than his BA

1B Non-prospect DFA’d after the game

3B Replacement-level player at best

RF Organizational guy (+ cannon)

SS Glove-only guy

Zero runs. It’s almost like it was designed that way. This further emphasizes the importance of having Buster and Melky in the lineup as much as possible, to complement the competent, Sandoval and Pagan.

Brandon Watch:

Belt: An 0-fer. But with Pill’s demotion and an upcoming 9-game AL road trip allowing Bochy to use Huff as a *gulp* DH, Belt should see more starts than ever. He continues to play the best first base the Giants have seen since JT Snow, and with further seasoning he might be able to match His Eye Blackness.

Crawford: A great play on a short-hop that was as buttery smooth as the product in his hair.

Stats of the Day:

-5: Hits with runners in scoring position, in 18 at-bats

-5: Runs by the Giants. Golly.

-1.71: George Kontos’ ERA in Fresno this year, who has a real shot at topping Edlefsen both on the mound and name spellability

-.043: Vogelsong has got himself a batting average

0: Games back the Giants would be if they played in the AL West

POSTGAME RECAP: Uno De Mayo

Thomas Todd — Sat, 05 May 2012 23:58:06 +0000

I was aware of the streak. The fact never escaped me that the Giants hadn’t led in a game since before Lady Bird Johnson was a sexual position. And with a 1-0 deficit early in the game, it appeared I may have to turn the â€œWe’re Going Streakingâ€ section into an exercise in futility.

Not today. 3-10 with runners in scoring position. Posey singles with a runner on third and nobody out. I don’t know who these Gigantes are, pero me gusta. Play like a major league team, get a major league win.

The doom and gloom of the last week should be abated. The Marlins squeaked out the squeakiest sweep ever squeaked. We scored a handful of runs against Zach Grienke and lost. He’s a pitcher, don’t ya know. And the Giants exercised their lupine demons in defeating Randy Wolf, who, last time I checked was 22-0 with a water molecule for an ERA against the Giants. So while the panic button remains in the control room, we can send George Jetson home for the day.

We’re Going Streaking:

19: Angel Pagan, everyone! Just one away from where Panda’s streak ended, and he leads the league. The Giants have been toying with the leadoff spot, dropping Pagan down in the order in favor of Gregor Blanco, who is getting on base at a ridiculous clip. The Giants will look to get Blanco more at-bats, but with Huff coming off the DL on Monday and Brett Pill looking to start in the outfield against lefties, it may be tough to get Blanco to the dish.

Brandon Watch 2012:

With a lefty starter in Randy Wolf, only Belt saw action as a defensive replacement in the 9th. Though reports have been filed that Brandon Crawford was seen kicking baseballs around the dugout.

Stats of the Day:

41: The number of consecutive innings the Giants failed to lead a game. I just wish Eric Karros and Orel Hersheiser had been announcing so I could have done my best Mr. Burns impression, rubbing my hands together and saying â€œDine on crow, Dodger Boys.â€

5: The number of times Brewers leadoff hitter Aoki hit the ball hard, with zero hits. BABIP’d.

3: The number of hits the Giants had with runners in scoring position. And this time, dudes scored.

2: The number of Giants who have hit triples in consecutive games this season, first Angel Pagan and today Melky Cabrera

1: Games I’ve watched on Fox that didn’t involve Eric Byrnes

0: The number of times I thought I would ever make a Lady Bird Johnson joke

POSTGAME RECAP: Giants Play One Good Inning, Lose

Thomas Todd — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:11:22 +0000

The Marlins can’t hit. The Giants can’t hit. Fortunately, getting a hit isn’t the only way to reach base. Someone alert Sir Bam Bam. Eleven Marlins reached base without getting a hit. Ten walks, one reached on an error. See, it’s easy!

Zito didn’t have a good game. This is a disgusting understatement. But since it is his first hiccup of the year, I’ll leave the jokes to the Lunatic Fringe. Which I think I’m on. Oh well, I need a night off.

I was keeping track of the Giants’ inability to hit with runners in scoring position until the Giants decided not to even bother with runners anymore. Phew, no more math. Then Heath Bell ruined all of the fun. With his big head and his big…legs. And his stupid pitches that the Giants could actually hit. If only Ozzie Guillen was a traditional manager who refused to pull his closer despite said closer not having his stuff. If only. That’s two days in a row Guillen has made a great decision late in the game. I think he’s juicing.

The Hector Sanchez experiment is over. He starts when Zito pitches and in day games after a night game. Watching Brandon Belt flail is much better than watching Hector Sanchez flail. I don’t know why, but it just is.

Joaquin Arias has been quite a find. Another two hits and a dazzling play at short. Rot, Manny Burriss, rot with your singles and your other singles. Arias will play almost everyday because of his position flexibility. He plays second, short, and can back up at third.

Oh and Pablo Sandoval has a lot of pain in his hand. Probably one of those hambone things. See? Told you Arias was going to play more.

Stat of the Day:

Walks. So many walks.

POSTGAME RECAP: Matt Cain Should Pitch To The Score

Thomas Todd — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:55:09 +0000

The reason the Giants aren’t in first place can be summed up perfectly by two things: Matt Kemp, and that 8^th inning. Leadoff double. Bases loaded with one out. Christ Posey at the plate. In play, out(s). Inning over. Friggle fraggle frig.

The Marlins manager looks like a genius. Intentionally walking Panda to face Posey, the bringing in a sinkerballer with force outs all around the diamond. Starting to think this Castro guy is onto something. His name is Guillen? He’s not even Cuban? Then what was all the fuss about?

I would say that Matt Cain got Cain’d, but you aren’t supposed to use the word you are defining in the definition. Matt Cain got f*cked. Hard.

Giants with RISP on the season: .008/.012/.016. Or maybe that was just today. Nope, that is in fact from the last five seasons. All the candy and unicorns in the world can’t convince me that even if the umpire makes the right call and gives Theriot a 2-out double in the 9^th, that Sanchez knocks him in. Wasn’t gonna happen. The game was lost in the 8^th.

Matt Cain loses a game 2-1. Color me surprised.

Stats of the Day:

5: Grounders to first for unassisted putouts induced to left-handed hitters by Nolasco (3 in a row by Belt)

3: The number of bases stolen by Marlins today

2: The number of balls hit by Cain that went further than Stanton’s home run

1: The number of 0-fers Pablo Sandoval has taken this year. Astounding.

0: The number of defensive innings Pablo Sandoval has missed this season (Burriss pinch-ran for him the first game of the season). Astounding.

Eric Hacker > Joe Martinez > Todd Wellemeyer

Thomas Todd — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 05:52:23 +0000

Andrew Cashner throws hard. Buster Posey doesn’t care.

If the Giants weren’t going to win this game (they didn’t), it’s nice that Posey went yard and Panda extended his hit streak to 20. Dropping a game to the Padres feels like ass. Stinky stinky ass.

Eric Hacker earned his paycheck. Going into a spot start, not overworking the bullpen is the break even point. Hacker ate some innings and kept the Giants in the game.

Hacker’s night was made easier by a curious decision by Bud Black. With two outs and the bases full of Padres in the top of the 6^th, he decided to let Luebke hit. This would have been standard operating procedure if Luebke was going to pitch a couple more innings. But curiously, Luebke was pulled after the sixth, just three outs after he struck out with three men on in a close game. Huh.

We’re Going Streaking:

Panda: 20 games. Pay attention ESPN!!!

Pagan: 12 games. Also went yard today. Dude’s hot.

Brandon Watch 2012

Belt: Corey Luebke throws with his left hand. Belt just got off a train in Siberia

Crawford: Craw Daddy sat for the second consecutive day after starting every game this season. I’m gonna do some in-depth award-winning analysis. That Luebke guy throws with his left hand. Also Arias has been getting on base. Easy decision for Bochy. Pay me.

Stats of the Day:

4: The number of home runs this season by Angel Pagan and Buster Posey. They lead the team.

4: Runners left on base by Joaquin â€œCinderellaâ€ Arias. Midnight has struck.

2: 100 MPH guys the Giants have seen this week. Chapman and Cashner. Giants are countering by re-signing Armando Benitez

0: The number of times during today’s game where I thought â€œMan, we really need Aubrey Huff right now.â€ I empathize with Huff’s situation, having battled a few bouts of depression in my life. But it really shines a light on the fact that the Giants are constructed to not need Huff. Belt/Pill/Posey could easily lock down first base for the rest of the year. But alas, baseball isn’t everything. Get well, Huff.