ARI 11, SF 3: Don't Go To The Ballpark With Hope

A question for further analysis: do relief pitchers feel more comfortable when their team is behind by a lot of runs? Because the only bright spot from today's game was the 4.1 innings pitched by trade deadline acquisitions Ramon "Bodie" Ramirez and Javier Lopez when the team was already down 9-2. Each had 3 K's, 0 BB's, with Lopez giving up the lone hit. Both have pitched quite well with the Giants, so all the credit to Brian Sabean for picking them up.

And then there's Barry Zito. Yeah, not good. 13 base runners in 3.2 innings. I remember reading an Atlanta Braves blog back when the Giants were visiting them, and the author was going over the Giants starters. He said that the more advanced numbers showed Zito was pitching just about the same as he ever had with the Giants. It was hard to see it that way, but maybe he was right. Maybe the breaks just aren't going Zito's way now, and that's gonna equal bad pitching overall.

I'd talk about the offense, but there isn't much to say. Andres Torres hit a triple. He's so damn cool. Jose Guillen not so much. Hard not to think of this when he dropped that fly ball in the 1st inning:

Ah, 2003, a time when a team of 23 mediocre ball players could win 100 games on the backs of the greatest hitter of all time and the "shouldabeen" Cy Young winner.