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 “Cinderella” 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 “Man, we really need Aubrey Huff right now.” 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.

On some day late in Spring or early in the regular season (sooooo lazy), Julian (@GiantsNirvana) tweeted something that looked like this:

“On a scale of 1-10, the amount I’m worried about Angel Pagan: 0” Continue reading →

I Hate ML. This is how I would sign baseballs if anyone cared about blogging like they do actual baseball. Mat Latos came into his start against the Giants with an ERA between 7 and 70, and left with a win. He would do that. And while this game was painful, it’s awful nice to know we won’t have to see his ugly mug much the rest of this season.

If the Giants were going to lose this game, I’m glad Panda escaped with his hit streak in tact. 17. You guys, he’s better than Willie Mays. Willie Mays. The guy has his own Plaza.

Aubrey Huff played second base, then mysteriously disappeared. Coincidence? Not to make light of any personal issues that Huff is dealing with, but it certainly makes the lineup card easier to write. Belt can get more at-bats, Nate’s hot bat can stay hot, and Gregor Blanco can try to get it together. Also with Hector Sanchez’s continues success at the plate, Buster Posey can play a little more first base.

I was reading some clamor on The Twitter about some clamor on KNBR about Hector Sanchez starting more. Clamor clamor clamor. I agree with The Twit Crowd, Sanchez should be used sparingly. His defense just isn’t up to snuff. Catcher defense, in this statistician’s mind, is *number of lumps in throat/*balls in dirt*.

Brandon Watch 2012:

Belt: Who?

Crawford: .200/.226/.350 with a .224 BABIP. One would think that the average would normalize, but in over 200 at-bats in 2011 Crawford only BABIPED .228. Still small sample size, but don’t assume the average will climb.

Stats of the Day:

7: The number of innings of this game I could stomach