CIN 10, SF 2: Lincecum Cold Streak Continues

That's now 3 iffy starts in a row for Tim Lincecum and today's was the worst. After striking out the first batter of the game, he struck out no more, walked 4, and gave up 7 earned runs in 4 innings. And just 36 of his 73 pitches were strikes. Yikes. Many, including the brilliant FOX broadcasters, are speculating that Lincecum's complete game, 133 pitch outing against the A's is the reason for the recent struggles. But I don't buy that one start is gonna mess with Lincecum and cause him fatigue, especially because it's not like he hasn't thrown a lot of pitches before. With him, there's really no concern that he won't figure it out; he's a great pitcher who has gone through struggles before, most notably August of last season. But it'd be nice if he figured it out soon because this offense can't afford for the pitching to be anything less than perfect.

Speaking of the offense, that's going to be rough to watch for a while. It's been beaten to death, but it's really amazing that the Giants have not only been hit by a ton of injuries, but they've been injuries to very important players. As Grant at McCovey Chronicles pointed out, the entire Opening Day starting infield, with the exception of Miguel Tejada, is out right now. Posey, Belt, Sanchez, Sandoval. That's UNBELIEVABLE. I mean, it's not too great when Andres Torres is your best player on offense by a pretty large margin. The only glimmer of hope is that the offense really can't get too much worse (knock on wood), and they are still in first place. Pablo Sandoval may not be the same player he was at the beginning of the year when he comes back, but he's still better than Tejada. Brandon Belt isn't too far away from returning. Maybe Bruce Bochy will realize that Pat Burrell should be getting more starts at the expense of Aaron Rowand, who is again terrible. Things should get better, but it's gonna be ugly for a while.

Also, Burriss and Tejada hitting 1-2 in the lineup? Hahah, I guess Bochy never figured out what OBP is.

Lincecum dominates Rockies, Sabean faces roster decisions

It wasn't the most normal night in Colorado. Nate Schierholtz hit a Heraclean home run into the upper deck of Coors Field. Pablo Sandoval walked 3 times, seeing 17 pitches total and only swinging at 3 of them. What was somewhat normal was seeing Tim Lincecum pitch the way he did, beautifully summed up by Grant at McCoveyChronicles:

Lincecum’s ‘07 velocity + his ‘09 changeup + his ‘10 slider + a sprinkling of improved command = what you just watched.

It was a fun night for the Giants, beating the division leading Rockies. I'm not surprised by the number of people who have jumped on the "Rapril" (yes, that is what some Rockies fans are calling it) bandwagon, because it's natural, but one look at their schedule tells you a lot. Before last night's game, their opponent's combined winning percentage from the 2010 season was .440, and none of their opponents finished over .500 (the Giants 2011 opponents had a .495 winning percentage last year).

Cody Ross is rejoining the team, and any minute now we may know the fate of Brandon Belt. Surprisingly, I'm rather torn about this decision; Nothing about Belt's short time in the big leagues has me doubting his ability. He has shown that the two skills for which he is most lauded, patience at the plate and 1st base defense, are very real. Yet he hasn't been hitting the ball much at all. Some of this is bad luck (Aaron Rowand's great start is benefitting from the opposite kind of luck) but it is true that his power has disappeared since that impressive home run in Los Angeles. He also looks late on a lot of fastballs in the middle of the plate, and there have been quite a few groundouts to 2nd base. These are all things I believe Belt could fix up here. But just as we said he should be on the team because he could help them win, and it's only fair to apply that same urgency when he is struggling like this. What's most important for him (individually) is that he plays regularly.

The only possible players I see being sent down to make way for Ross are Ford or Belt. Rowand was the popular choice at the beginning of the season, and while it'd be foolish to believe he perform like this consistently, it's impossible to cut a player who is making that much money and hitting well to start the season. There's no way they send down Heracles after his home run yesterday. I'm not a big fan of Darren Ford at all, but he's a better bench player than Belt, not only because his skills (running, defense) are bench skills, but because there shouldn't be any concern about him getting consistent at bats as there is with Brandon Belt.

I'm not saying I want Belt sent down. Not at all. But I don't have the strong negative reaction towards it that might be expected. The service time advantage that the Giants could have by sending down Belt is also pretty attractive. All these factors tell me that sending Belt to AAA would not be a disaster. If Sabean and Bochy decide to stick with him and give him regular starts, I'd be ecstatic. It would be a great sign, for us and for him.

2011 Opening Day Impressions

Logic seems to say that it's wise not to think much of anything that happens on Opening Day. Here are just a few observations, without many conclusions, from today's loss against the Dodgers:

There were some disappointing moments in today's game, and only a few encouraging ones, but that will happen when you face Clayton Kershaw at his best. Remember this? Brandon Belt's placement on the big league roster was the big story yesterday, and in my mind he was the most impressive Giants position player today. We finally got to see him in a big league game of meaning, and he didn't look overwhelmed at all. He had some of the best at bats against an extremely difficult left handed pitcher. His first hit wasn't conventional, but he showed his characteristic patience at the plate, drawing a walk and making LA pitchers throw a total of 27 pitches, the most of an Giant (Andres Torres 2nd with 24, no one else above 17). I don't know what the ESPN guys were talking about in his final at bat. Something about a slow minor league bat? Huh? I agree with Dave Cameron that Orel Hershiser offered some good inside baseball knowledge, but there were strange moments during the broadcast. Why the announcers became obsessed with Andres Torres swinging on 2-0 is beyond me. Also, I saw more behind the backstop camera views in this game then I've ever seen, when it was completely unnecessary.

Lincecum wasn't his fully dominant self, but he was quite strong, and fell victim to bloop singles and poor defense. Burrell and Huff at the corner outfield spots is...interesting. Tejada looked okay on some routine plays, and then tried to do too much, something that shouldn't happen. Just make the easy plays. We warned you about Tejada. But we'll revisit that in a month or so if the shortstop position shows itself to actually be a problem. I hope it works out. Posey and Sandoval also tried to do too much, and it led to the first run of the game. This game may have been very different if the Giants had been smarter in that inning. But I also don't mind the aggressiveness and will to make a play.

For a moment I was sad that Lincecum got a loss, that he was 0-1 after tonight, and then I realized I was thinking about wins and losses.

2010 NLDS Game 4: SF 3, ATL 2

The San Francisco Giants have beaten the Atlanta Braves in the 2010 NLDS, and will move on to face the Philadelphia Phillies for the NL pennant. It will be a tough task for the Giants: Philly has won the the last 2 pennants, and they are probably better than they have ever been in the past 3 years. We will have previews for the NLCS throughout the week, leading up to Game 1 on Saturday at Citizen's Bank Park. Right now, though, we need to look back at this game, another game where the Giants somehow got past the Braves.

Bruce Bochy went with Madison Bumgarner instead of Tim Lincecum today, and Bumgarner did what he was supposed to do. He wasn't perfect, but he kept the Giants close in a game where the hitters looked completely puzzled by Derek Lowe. Bumgarner had a normal game for him, giving up some hits, but only walking 1 (An up and coming Cliff Lee perhaps? Probably not, but I can dream). Brian McCann hit a sacrifice fly for the Braves first run in the 3rd inning. The game stayed 1-0 until Cody Ross homered in the 6th inning. A big moment for Ross, the last "mercenary" added to the Giants this season. Bochy decided to keep Bumgarner in the game, and in the bottom of the 6th inning, Brian McCann once again did the damage, hitting the first pitch he saw into the bleachers. Yet Bochy still stuck with Bumgarner, and he was able to finish the inning. He pitched 6 good innings for the Giants on the road in the playoffs. That's a lot for a 21 year old rookie.

In the top of the 7th inning, the Giants finally got to Derek Lowe, or as the TBS broadcasters affectionately called him, "Derrek Lee". Lowe simply lost his command, walking Aubrey Huff, giving up an infield single to Buster Posey, and then walking Pat Burrell. Juan Uribe then hit a ball into the hole at shortstop. It was a tough play, and a double play was going to be impossible, so the Giants definitely had tied the game. But Alex Gonzalez's throw to 2nd base pulled Omar Infante off the bag, and everyone was safe. Aaron Rowand pinch hit for Mike Fontenot, and struck out. But then Cody Ross came up again, and was the hero as he singled into right field. Posey scored, and it took a great throw to cut down Pat Burrell at the plate. The Giants had taken the lead. Santiago Casilla worked a good 7th inning, then came out for the 8th. With 1 out, Bochy somewhat strangely kept Casilla in to face the best hitter on Atlanta, the left handed hitting McCann. McCann singled. It would have been better to go to Javier Lopez at that time. But Casilla got Alex Gonzalez to ground out (Gonzalez has been a huge disappointment for Atlanta), and then Bochy went to Lopez to get Heyward. And Lopez struck him out. The Giants hit into 2 double plays in the 8th and 9th innings, so 1 run was going to have to be enough for Brian Wilson. Wilson didn't have a clean 9th inning, thanks to a once again inconsistent strike zone. He walked 2 batters with 1 out, but then struck out Infante, and got Melky Cabrera to ground into the series winning force out.

2010 NLDS Game 3: SF 3, ATL 2

The San Francisco Giants showed tonight that they can rally back just as well as the Atlanta Braves, with a little help and a few errahs. Through 7, the star of the game was Jonathan Sanchez, who exceeded all possible expectations for his playoff debut. I was worried last night that Sanchez just might not be able to handle the pressure of a playoff game on the road. As good as he has been, he isn't Cain or Lincecum. But Sanchez was more than able to handle it. He was superb, striking out 11 Braves in 7.1 innings of work, allowing only 2 hits (and none till Tim Hudson's 6th inning single) and most importantly, only 1 walk. With Barry Zito being dropped from the rotation and NLDS roster, the Giants asked for Sanchez to be something of a third ace, and he delivered. The Giants held a 1-0 lead after 7 1/2 innings. They had made Tim Hudson work, but only had the one run to show for it, hitting dismally with runners in scoring position.

It looked like maybe 1 was gonna have to be enough, as happened in Game 1. But as we said before, Sanchez, at his best, still isn't Lincecum, so Bruce Bochy couldn't keep him on the mound forever. With 1 out and a runner on in the 8th inning, it appeared Bobby Cox was going to have Troy Glaus pinch hit. Bochy brought in Sergio Romo, and Cox promptly pulled back Glaus in favor of left handed hitting Eric Hinske. Hinske, after falling behind in the count, got a hanging changeup and homered just left of the foul pole in right field, to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. This was a crushing blow. The question is, did Bruce Bochy make a mistake?

Well, maybe. Although I think it would have been ridiculous for Bochy to not let Romo pitch simply because of a bad outing on Friday, facing Hinske wasn't a great matchup at all. But would Jonathan Sanchez against Troy Glaus have been safer? I don't know. And when Romo was brought in, and Hinske was announced, there was no way to fix it. Romo had to face him. It was hard to watch Bochy get out managed there by Bobby Cox, but I can't honestly say how I'd have done it differently. And you'll see soon, that Cox using Glaus AND Hinske in that 8th inning did not help him later.

Because the Giants would not be put away. Travis Ishikawa worked a walk with 1 out in the 9th. Andres Torres struck out on a very questionable pitch. Then Freddy Sanchez singled up the middle. The Giants had hope. And Aubrey Huff, the best hitter all year, but slumping badly so far in the series, reached out and pulled a ball into right field that Jason Heyward just couldn't quite get to. Ishikawa scored and the game was tied. Then Buster Posey came up, and he too reached for a pitch, hitting it somewhat hard towards 2nd baseman Brooks Conrad. And Conrad, the poor guy, did what he had been doing all game. He fucked it up. He let the ball go under his glove. The Giants took the lead with 2 outs in the top of the 9th, a completely improbable happening.

Bochy went to his closer, Brian Wilson, to get the final 3 outs against the heart of the Braves order. Wilson struck out Jason Heyward on a very low outside fastball. Heyward had reason to complain, but then again so did Andres Torres in the top of the inning. Derrek Lee, who just is not a scary hitter anymore, popped up. Brian McCann, the one big threat in the Braves lineup, singled on a groundball that Freddy Sanchez ranged to get to, but couldn't handle. The Braves would have had Matt Diaz coming up, but he was replaced for defense in the top of the inning by Nate McClouth. Perhaps if Bobby Cox hadn't used two of his powerful pinch hitters in the 8th inning, the weak hitting McClouth could have been replaced. But he had to bat, and grounded out to end the game. It looked like the Giants couldn't lose Friday's game, but they managed to. After Hinske's Turner shaking HR in the 8th, there seemed to be no way for the Giants, who had been quiet with the bats all day, to win this game. But they managed to.

This means Madison Bumgarner will pitch tomorrow instead of Tim Lincecum. It's the right move. Considering it is not an elimination game, there is no reason to pitch Lincecum on short rest. In the case that he is tired and the Giants lose, they have to win Game 5 without him. Instead, they go with a very competent pitcher, Bumgarner, and try to win. And if they don't, they have Lincecum fully rested on Tuesday at AT&T for Game 5.

2010 NLDS Game 2: ATL 5, SF 4

That really hurt.

I honestly don't want to re-live this game by writing about it, but I'll do it for all two of you who can't live without our recaps (Just kidding, I know we have thousands of readers. You all just aren't the commenting types). Anyway, if there was one thing that you could complain about from last night's game, it would be the lack of offense. Well tonight, the offense got started early. In the 1st inning, with 2 runners on, Pat Burrell hit another huge home run to give the Giants a 3-0 lead right away. They added another run in the next inning, making the score 4-0. With another good pitching performance, 4 runs should've been enough.

And Matt Cain did pitch well. He wasn't nearly as good as Lincecum, but no one was expecting that. Cain's final line looked like this: 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 Ks. Not a bad outing at all and Cain gave the Giants a great chance to win.

The only thing is, the normally dominant bullpen did not come through at all tonight. In the 8th inning with the score at 4-1, set up man Sergio Romo came in and quickly allowed 2 singles and was taken out. Bruce Bochy decided to bring in Brian Wilson for a 6-out save. Not too many people seemed to disagree with the move at the time. And you know what? It was the right move. After having 5 days off, Wilson had plenty of energy to go for 2 innings and in a pressure situation, you want your best pitcher in the game. Unfortunately, a throwing error from Pablo Sandoval allowed a run to score. 4-2. Then after a sac bunt, leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out, Wilson allowed a 2-run double off the bat of Alex Gonzalez. Score tied 4-4. All of a sudden, people were going crazy angry, criticizing Bochy for bringing in Wilson for a 6-out save when he's never done it before. Pretty convenient, huh? Listen, I don't care if closers are supposed to get the save in the 9th inning. That 8th inning situation was the real save situation. Putting in your best pitcher there is the right move. And remember, Pablo Sandoval's throwing error was HUGE. That wasn't Wilson's fault. If they get out of that situation with the lead, more than likely they win that game. Unfortunately, he didn't get it done tonight, but I still trust him more than anyone in the 'pen to get it done on most nights. And we need to mention that this is why it was the right move to let Lincecum finish the game last night. Lincecum is a great pitcher, and while this bullpen is pretty good, bullpens are never a sure thing. Great pitchers usually are.

You know, I've always been a person who criticizes a lot of Bochy's moves. But after seeing the way some people criticize his moves without any merit, I feel sorry for the guy. Tonight, he was also criticized for taking out Pat Burrell to start the 7th. We all know Burrell isn't great defensively and when you're facing a very bad offense and you have a great pitching staff and a 3-run lead, defense needs to become a bigger priority. It was absolutely the right move to bring in Schierholtz at that point. He was criticized for bringing in Sergio Romo to start the 8th. Damn you Bochy for not using that big ol' head of yours to predict the future! How could you not know that Sergio would allow 2 singles with no outs?? I mean, seriously? Romo has been the 8th inning set up man for the last few months of the season. Bochy managed this game exactly the same way he has all year. Why are the things that have worked all year being criticized today? Because they didn't work? Because a bad defensive player makes a costly error? How is that Bochy's fault? Sometimes the PLAYERS mess up. Sometimes the things that have always gone right, go wrong. It happens. You can't just choose to blame the manager any time you want. Bochy has definitely made a lot of questionable moves and maybe sometimes he gets a little lucky, but he did manage this team to 92 wins and the playoffs this year. This loss was entirely NOT his fault.

Of course, even a bad offense will score if you give them enough chances, and that's what the Braves did. Rick Ankiel hit a ball off Ramon Ramirez into the cove, giving the Braves the 5-4 lead. Even more frustrating, the inning before, with the bases loaded and 1 out, our God, our savior, Buster Posey, grounded into the inning ending double play. Didn't see that coming. Very, very painful. Fuckin' Bochy.

I'm bitter. Rick Ankiel is going on the Hate List, even though I'm not sure he's worthy. But bitterness makes you irrational and I'm okay with that.

MIL 3, SF 0: Randy Wolf is NOT Clayton Kershaw

On Tuesday, the Giants lost 1-0, getting shutout by future Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw. The offense did very little that night, something we are very familiar with, but I decided that it was unfair to blame them for not scoring. When Kershaw is on like that, he's very tough to hit. And the Giants went on to win the next two games of the series, taking over 1st place in the West.

Tonight the same excuse will not be given. The Giants arguably looked WORSE tonight than they did on Monday, and it was against a pitcher, Randy Wolf, who has shown all year that he might be nearing his end in terms of effectiveness. Anytime the Giants let an older, mediocre pitcher move that quickly through the game, I'm reminded of the game at Dodger Stadium in 2006, when Maddux and Schmidt battled, matching each other for 8 scoreless innings. The Giants made Maddux throw 68 pitches in those 8 innings. (By the way, I'm not calling Greg Maddux, greatest pitcher possibly ever (GPPE), mediocre.) And that's what happened tonight, as the the team that scored 10 runs last night managed only 3 singles off of Randy Wolf, the man who gives up 9 hits per 9 innings.

Not that we shouldn't have seen this coming. It would be foolish to think that the Giants could trot out the same lineup from last night and expect them to score 10 runs again. Reality is like gravity, pulling Giants fans back down to earth with a snap the moment they see a few baseballs fly out of the yard. I wonder what juggling Bochy will do now with the batting order.

But the offense wasn't the only thing to disappoint tonight. The San Francisco defense looked terrible, like a bunch of rookies were playing the infield. One bad decision and throw after another. The starter, Madison Bumgarner, did his best to limit the damage. He ended up allowing 9 hits in less than 6 innings, but we know he pitched better than that. That's why we look at BABIP.

SD 1, SF 0: 2nd Place? Yup.

Madison Bumgarner looked great today. As Keith Law pointed out on Twitter, pitching in Petco Park against the Padres will have that effect. Bumgarner went 7 innings, gave up only 3 hits, 1 of which was a HR, struck out 4 and walked none. He only had 79 pitches when he was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 8th, and could have conceivable gone the full 9 innings.

Unfortunately the Giants themselves only managed 3 hits against the Padres the entire game. Yeah, it was one of THOSE games. Not much else to say.

I agreed with Bochy's decision to lift Bumgarner in the 8th. At that point, your offensive outs are extra precious, and you can't waste any on a pitcher batting. On the other hand, I didn't understand the decision to pinch hit Pablo Sandoval for Freddy Sanchez. Sanchez is a hot hitter, hotter than Sandoval. It seemed like Bochy was going for the more powerful bat in hopes the Giants could tie the game with a HR. I don't agree with that. Especially in Petco Park, you don't play for the HR. You try to string together hits. And Freddy Sanchez would have been a better option for that. Whatever. We'll get them tomorrow. The Old Lincecum is going up against a terrible lineup. He has to shut them out. Mat Latos will finally have a non quality start. It's gotta happen that way.

COL 2, SF 1: August is the Cruellest Month

What a shock that the most crushing defeat of the season would come against the Colorado Rockies. Surprised I didn't hear Kuip uttering "This is not good, folks...". The Giants had a beautifully pitched game, a disastrous 9th inning, and, forgotten in all of this, a horrible day at the plate. What will be talked about below might never have happened if the Giants could have scored a few runs. 1 extra base hit. 4 RISP. 3 double plays. So it goes for the Giants...

A lot happened in that 9th inning, so before we dissect it all, let's appreciate the gem that Jonathan Sanchez pitched tonight. 8+ innings, 5 hits and 2 walks, with 6 K's. He was fantastic. It was the fourth start he'd made it through 8 innings, each time giving up 1 ER or less. He's not near perfect, but damn can he dominate sometimes. One of those starts was quite recent, August 19th in Philadelphia. As he would in this game, Bruce Bochy decided to let Sanchez go out for the 9th inning, in a 5-0 game. Sanchez allowed a single, and was promptly taken out of the game.

I think I'll try to second guess Bochy and defend him on his decision to let Sanchez go out for the final inning. Should he have surmised, from past experience, that Sanchez just isn't cut out for the 9th inning, and that sending him out in a 1-0 game was especially dangerous? Maybe. On the other hand, Sanchez had been dominant all night, and Brian Wilson had thrown 30+ pitches yesterday. I don't think I can disagree with Bochy taking Jonathan out after the walk to Fowler. After getting ahead 0-2, he missed BADLY multiple times. He looked terrible suddenly.

Apparently the broken bat on Carlos Gonzalez's flyball fooled Cody Ross. Whatever. Still gotta make the catch. He had trouble with another flyball later in the inning that turned into another triple. Right field at AT&T Park is apparently tricky to play, and it is tricking Cody Ross. Still, no excuses. Makes you appreciate Randy Winn all of a sudden.

There, of course, was a 2nd part of that play that got screwed up. The Giants looked to have a legitimate shot at getting Carlos Gonzalez at 3rd base. Instead, Freddy Sanchez bounce passed the baseball over to Pablo Sandoval, and it went into the dugout, allowing CarGo to score. Shocking. Like I said, Freddy Sanchez just can't field and hit at the same time. Apparently Wilson may not have been backing up the play, but I haven't been able to verify that. My MLB app refuses to play the Gonzalez "triple". Who knew smart phones understood and practiced mercy?

Game Recap: SD 3, SF 2

Before beginning my fragmented, poorly thought out recap that will only touch on a few things from tonight (and do so in a very unsatisfactory manner), I have to mention the douche chills I am getting from the Mat Latos picture on the front page of the MLB section on ESPN.com. Since I hate everyone and want them to suffer as I have, here it is:


Just try and sleep tonight after one look at this tool. He's pitching tomorrow, by the way.

Tonight I want to talk about small ball. People will say that the Giants could have won tonight if they had properly played small ball. The 2nd inning comes to mind. Juan Uribe and Aaron Rowand both singled, and pitcher Jonathan Sanchez came up. He tried to bunt, and failed, causing Juan Uribe to be out at 3rd. Then Aaron Rowand was picked off of 2nd base. Within minutes, the Giants had gone from 2 men on and nobody out to 1 man on 1st and 2 out.

The bunt makes sense. It's actually the only situation where bunting makes sense, with 2 men on and the pitcher up. But why was Aaron Rowand running? He does not run well, and it was the 2nd inning. Is the 2nd inning the time for a team to play for 1 run? It's not that the Giants played small ball incorrectly, it's that they played it at all. Small ball is terrible. I really have nothing more to say about it. It sucks. Always play for the 3 run home run. Long live Earl Weaver.

I think Pablo Sandoval is really hurting this team at 3rd base. I worry that he can't even play 1st adequately. But I also worry about the mental aspect of his game. Today's rundown of Adrian Gonzalez between 3rd and home was a great example. It should have been executed like a normal rundown, back and forth until the out is made, because it will be made. Instead, Sandoval got the ball and decided it to dive for the tag. He barely got it, but in the process fell flat on his face and remained on the ground for what seemed like 5 minutes, allowing the other baserunner and batter to move to 3rd and 2nd. Awful mistake. Pablo may hustle, but he doesn't think quick enough when he's out there. It's like his batting. He feels such an immediate need to do everything, that he ends up hurting the team by not playing carefully. The Giants don't need to play small, they need to play smart.

PART OF PLAYING SMART IS NOT HITTING POSSIBLY YOUR WORST BATTER 2ND. I AM TALKING TO YOU BRUCE BOCHY AND I WON'T STOP SAYING THIS TILL THE LINEUP IS CORRECTED. THE EVIL, MORONIC, PERVERTED BASEBALL TRADITION OF GIVING YOUR BEST HITTERS LESS AT BATS ENDS TODAY. TORRES POSEY HUFF BURRELL. 1-4. IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE?

Game Recap: CHI 8, SF 6

Tim Lincecum was terrible tonight. He was very hittable from the start. He gave up a HR to Kosuke Fukudome. Nobody does that. (Yeah, I know he has 10 HR's this year, but still, he sucks!) The Giants kept chipping away at the Cubs lead, only for the Cubs to get right back to their 4 run advantage. A lot of the big hits by Chicago that hurt the Giants came with 2 outs, and were either bloops or bleeders up the middle. I'm still trying to figure out how they scored in the 8th against Mota. Santiago Casilla had a good 3 innings of long relief, giving up only 1 hit and 0 walks. The Giants had a great chance in the 9th against Carlos Marmol, but Juan Uribe and Travis Ishikawa had pretty ugly at bats for the final 2 outs.

Buster Posey had a good night, going 3-5 with 2 doubles. He really should be hitting 2nd, not 4th. Why Bruce Bochy insists on guaranteeing more at bats for sub-par hitters (F. Sanchez, Renteria) is beyond me, but then again most of baseball hasn't realized how to configure a batting order yet. We've only been playing for 150 years or so.

I truly DESPISE Ryan Dempster's glove flip that he does when he winds up. It's oh so flamboyant.

Pablo Sandoval is not back.

Game Recap: SF 3, ARI 2

After a 4 game sweep on the road, a 6-1 road trip, and a 16-6 beginning to July, it's only fair to be positive about the Giants. If you're looking for Bruce Bochy to meet his end like Savonarola of Florence, skip to the last paragraph.

This was a very dangerous game, and yet the Giants were able to skate through it and win 3-2. It's hard to call Tim Lincecum's afternoon a great performance, though he did end up going 8 innings, giving up only 2 runs. He had a couple innings that looked disastrous, but was able to escape. He gave up 2 runs in the 2nd inning when the 7 and 8 hitter reached base after 2 outs, and Arizona pitcher Barry Enright doubled them in, his first of two hits in the game.

No surprises in the RBI department for the Giants today. Andres Torres had a bad game, striking out 3 times, but the rest of the constants all contributed. Buster Posey had 4 hits, raising his average this year to .371. Aubrey Huff singled in the 5th inning to tie the game at 2. And Travis Ishikawa came through in the 10th inning to give the Giants the winning run, singling in Eli Whiteside.

When Tim Lincecum left after the 8th inning, Sergio Romo got himself into a terrible jam, but found a way out. Brian Wilson closed the game out quietly in the bottom of the 10th. What stands out in this game? Buster Posey had 4 hits. Tim Lincecum pitched a good game. Travis Ishikawa had another big hit. But there was something else...

Bruce Bochy managed like a fool today. In the 8th inning, with the game tied and two runners on, Bochy elected to have Tim Lincecum hit. Lincecum struck out. While I understand Bochy's mistrust of both the bullpen and the bench in that situation, you have to take an opportunity that late in the game seriously, and send up a real hitter. In the 10th inning, Buster Posey got his 4th hit of the day, a double to right field. Bochy immediately sent in Eli Whiteside to run for Posey. We already know that Posey is in fact faster than Whiteside, so what was Bochy's reasoning for replacing his star hitter in an extra inning game with a replacement player. Mike Krukow gave the explanation that Posey's "catcher legs" were tired. This isn't irrational, but it disregards the strategic blunder Bochy made by replacing Posey. By running Whiteside for Posey, Bochy leaves himself with 0 catchers on the bench in a tied, extra inning game. That is not the situation to replace your 23 year old catcher because of "catcher's legs". But Bochy's biggest blunder came a batter later, when Whiteside was on third, with Nate Schierholtz on first and Ishikawa at the plate. Suddenly, Schierholtz ran toward 2nd base, and was caught stealing easily. There are 3 ways to understand this play: Schierholtz got the sign to run, he ran on his own, or Ishikawa missed the sign for a hit and run. Anyway, Bochy loses. Nate Schierholtz should not have a Jose Reyes green light in extra innings with the go ahead run at third. And if Bochy called either a steal or hit and run, maybe he needs to be enlightened by the wise words of Earl Weaver:

"...you get damned little fleas on the fucking bases, getting picked off trying to steal, getting thrown out, taking runs away from you..."

Nate Schierholtz should not be stealing bases. Most of the Giants should not be stealing bases. Their SB rate this year is 64%, which means they are actually hurting themselves by calling for steals. At least they don't do it too often. And the hit and run is kinda stupid. Almost as stupid as trading Dan Haren, one of the best pitchers of the last 5 years, for a 29 year old with one good year and a 1.5 WHIP this year. It's no mystery why the D'Backs suck.

Game Recap: SF 7, LA 5

What a demoralizing loss for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But really, who cares?

Despite a less than stellar performance from Tim Lincecum, that was the best Giants vs. Dodgers game I have seen in a long, long time and maybe ever. Hit batters, pitchers getting ejected, managers and bench coaches too, and most importantly, a Giants win. So much went down in this game, let's see if we can dissect it all.

- Lincecum was maybe the worst he's been all year. Just three batters into the game, he had already allowed 3 runs and in total gave up 7 H, 5 ER and 3 BB in just 4 2/3 innings. The main issue was his fastball. Tonight for whatever reason it topped out at just 87-88 mph, so it was basically an ineffective pitch. When he left the game, the Giants were down 5-1.

-In the top of the 6th, the Giants finally scored some runs, thanks to Xavier Paul. With runners on first and third, Pat Burrell hit a deep fly ball to the warning track that Paul dropped, bringing in one run and leaving runners on 2nd and 3rd. The next batter, Pablo Sandoval, stayed hot, roping a double down the line, scoring both baserunners and making it just a 5-4 Dodgers lead.

- The tension in this game started in the 5th inning when Lincecum came in with a pitch high and tight to Matt Kemp. On the next pitch, he hit Kemp. Kemp was visibly angry, taking a couple of steps toward the mound, before the home plate umpire intervened. In the 6th inning, Denny Bautista also came in high and inside to Russell Martin, prompting a swift ejection of Dodgers bench coach Bob Schaefer. It was pretty comical how upset the Dodgers were and how sure they were that these inside pitches were intentional. Maybe they were intentional, but Lincecum's command was off all day and Bautista always has problems throwing strikes, so it just seemed like some unintentional wildness from Giants pitchers to me.

-But like I said, the Dodgers were angry, and sure enough, Clayton Kershaw retaliated by plunking Aaron Rowand in the top of the 7th. Really, they were doing us a favor by putting Rowand on base. Kershaw and Joe Torre were both ejected and Kershaw will probably be suspended. Perfection! Ah, to bask in the failure of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

- The biggest and most bizarre moment of the game came in the bottom of the 9th inning. The Giants are down 5-4, one of the best closers in the game, Jonathan Broxton, was pitching, and the Giants had the bases loaded with just 1 out. Don Mattingly, who was the acting manager for the Dodgers, came out to the mound, presumably to talk strategy with Broxton and his infield. Mattingly started to head toward the dugout when he turned around and came BACK towards the mound. It's all very confusing, I know. Anyway, Bruce Bochy rushed out to tell the lead umpire that Mattingly had visited the mound twice. Per MLB rules, if a manager visits the mound twice in 1 inning, he has to take his pitcher out. BRUCE BOCHY, YOU SLY DOG. He really caught the Dodgers off-guard with this one. All of a sudden, they have no one warming up in the bullpen, and they have to bring in a pitcher who hasn't warmed up to replace their All-Star closer. It was quite a turn of events.

- So, the Dodgers bring in George Sherrill, one of their worst relief pitchers this year, without having warmed up. Andres Torres proceeded to make Bruce Bochy look like the smartest man in the world, and it's almost impossible to make Bochy look smart in any way. Torres hit a double in the gap to score two runs and give the Giants a 6-5 lead. They added one more run and Jeremy Affeldt closed it out in the bottom of the 9th.

What a game. It's almost exhausting trying to comprehend everything that just happened. The Giants beat the Dodgers even with their ace struggling. The Giants came back to win in the 9th, and made the Dodgers look like absolute fools at the same time. Oh, how sweet it is.

We would also like to cordially invite Matt Kemp to the 8thInningWeirdness Hate List. Although, he has to come, he doesn't really have a choice. What a pompous jerk.

Why the Giants Stuck With Molina for So Long

With what is hopefully a monthly occurrence on this blog, we at 8thInningWeirdness present to you the first ever 8thInningWeirdness Comic Strip! The writing is done by me and Reza and the illustrations are created by the great artist/HTMLer and loyal Giants fan, Niki. This first strip explains why the Giants stuck with Bengie Molina for so long, despite his struggles. Please understand that everything depicted in this comic strip is fiction and not meant to be taken seriously. Enjoy!