Wow, what a weekend!
After the Giants lost 3 out of four games to the Nationals, I was really worried that this was going to be a long summer by the bay. But they went to New York and took 2 out of three from the Mets. I looked at the standings and realized that the Giants were 5-5 on that roadtrip. That's not as bad as my mind told me it was.
But the offense looked, and still looks, even worse than last season. Including tonight's game, they have only scored 4 or more runs in a game 15 times this season. This works out to a pathetic 3.43 runs per game. It did not look good for the Giants with those first place Rockies on their way to town.
But something else was going on with these Giants. Up until last night's 1-0 game these offense challenged Giants had only given up 121 runs. If you compare this to the amount of runs they have scored, which is also 121, then you get a perspective on just how good this pitching staff has been.
So these surging Rockies come to town and what happens? They score a whopping 5 runs in 3 games and since the Giants can score 3.43 runs per game these stats = a sweep for the Giants.
Now the question is can the pitching keep it up for the entire season?
First off, I think they will. Remember, this is a staff that set a live ball era record with 18 straight games of allowing 3 or less earned runs last season. Which means they are that good. They know what it takes to win, and all of them (except Ryan Vogelsong) have been pitching on these offense starved Giants for their entire careers. So they know what it is like to pitch under pressure!
The good thing is I don't think that they will have to keep up the pressure pitching so much. When Pablo Sandoval comes back, Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, and Buster Posey all start hitting. This offense is going to put some runs on the board.
It's going to be an exciting summer after all!
Showing posts with label Aubrey Huff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aubrey Huff. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Despite 2-4 road trip Giants are ahead of where they were last season
Obviously they are nowhere near their 6-1 record to start the season, but that wasn't the biggest issue that they had last season.
Their biggest problem last season was their 7 game losing streak to the Padres. That is what haunted them all season long and the biggest reason that it took them until the last day of the season to clinch. Think about it. If the Giants won just 2 of those 7 previous games (they easily could have since they lost two of those games 1-0) then the final series would have been meaningless.
There is plenty to be excited about. They are coming home for 6 games, they are going to have their ring ceremony, and Buster Posey and Aubrey Huff came out of their slumps today.
That is the biggest development of all. The pitching has been outstanding, but the offense has been lacking. Sure they busted out for 10 runs against the Dodgers but that was with Mark DeRosa and Aaron Rowand. The Giants regular starting lineup was only averaging 2.5 runs per game up until today. They only scored 1 run in 2 out of 4 games!
Look, I'm not naive enough to think the Giants are going to score 8 runs a game on a consistent basis. But with Sanchez, Huff, Sandoval, and Posey all hitting well at the same time, the Giants pitchers aren't going to be constantly pitching in tight games. Add a nice game from Brandon Belt into the mix and the Giants look very tough. Forget about all the doomsayers and the talk about a 1-4 start. The Giants hadn't won a world series for 50+ years before last season so they are used to overcoming long odds.
7 IP 3H 1ER 0BB 13 K
That's the line put up by Tim Lincecum today. The fact that there really isn't much new to say about this performance by the freak just shows how good he is. Most guys put up a line like this and people start to lose their mind. But Timmy puts up this line and Giants fans just say "That's Timmy for you." If their is one guy who is going to overcome the east coast bias and the near inevitability of the Cy Young award going to some Phillie, it's Timmy.
Home opener is Friday, after another off day, and Johnny no-no gets the nod. He pitched great against the Dodgers, but was done in by errors. He pitches better at home then on the road, plus the Giants face Jake Westbrook who go lit up in his last start (16.62 ERA), so it should be a great opener!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Giants glad to be leaving Los Angeles
The Giants pitched and hit well enough to be 4-0.
They defended well enough to be 1-3.
That really is what the series against the Dodgers boiled down to. The Dodgers caught the ball when they had to and the Giants didn't.
Even a World Series championship hasn't kept Giants fans from being fatalists. If you peruse Twitter and take a look at some of the blogs you would probably be convinced that this is going to be the downfall of the 2011 Giants. Now, this could very well be the case, but I don't think it's going to make a huge impact on the team over the long run.
The reason why I don't think that it's going to be such a huge impact on the season is that the bad defense isn't characteristic of the Giants. Over the last 2 seasons, they have been pretty good defensively. The lapses by Pablo Sandoval (despite what fans think) and Buster Posey are uncharacteristic of their play normally. Miguel Tejada has also been a capable defender of the course of his career.
The only real defensive liability the Giants have right now is Huff in right field. The game on Sunday put that liability on display for a national audience. The problem is that the only solution to that situation would be to put Huff back at first. But then what do you do with Belt? Put him in right? I'm not sure if Belt is any better in right than Huff but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Offensively there are a few concerns. Tejada has been terrible and his AB with 2 outs and the bases loaded was the picture of getting yourself out by being too aggressive. Pat Burrell has two homers but other than that he is 0 for 12. Also, despite his big homer in the second game of the season, Belt hasn't done too much offensively. Really, other than Freddy Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval, the offense hasn't been too impressive statistically.
Despite all of this, the Giants scored 18 runs in four games. Which breaks down to about 4.5 runs per game. As long as they are putting up 4.5 runs a game I guess you can't complain too much. (although if you take the 10 run game out of the equation, they have scored 8 runs in 3 games for an average of 2.6 RPG)
So what does it all mean?
At this point, it doesn't mean a whole lot. Does anybody really think the Padres are going to continue their success of the first 3 games? Or Kansas City? Or Baltimore? Sure, it's frustrating to a lot of the experts because they "predicted" these struggles but the so called "Giants" experts are the same guys who said the Giants would never win anything with Bochy and Sabean at the helm.
The Giants could stumble this season, there is no doubt about that. But this is largely the same team that won it all last season, so they deserve some benefit of the doubt. They had some stretches last season where they were terrible and the pitching has been good so far this season, other than one bad inning by Runzler which was directly related to poor defense(although that didn't show up in the box score).
So, ask me in a week or two if I am worried.
They defended well enough to be 1-3.
That really is what the series against the Dodgers boiled down to. The Dodgers caught the ball when they had to and the Giants didn't.
Even a World Series championship hasn't kept Giants fans from being fatalists. If you peruse Twitter and take a look at some of the blogs you would probably be convinced that this is going to be the downfall of the 2011 Giants. Now, this could very well be the case, but I don't think it's going to make a huge impact on the team over the long run.
The reason why I don't think that it's going to be such a huge impact on the season is that the bad defense isn't characteristic of the Giants. Over the last 2 seasons, they have been pretty good defensively. The lapses by Pablo Sandoval (despite what fans think) and Buster Posey are uncharacteristic of their play normally. Miguel Tejada has also been a capable defender of the course of his career.
The only real defensive liability the Giants have right now is Huff in right field. The game on Sunday put that liability on display for a national audience. The problem is that the only solution to that situation would be to put Huff back at first. But then what do you do with Belt? Put him in right? I'm not sure if Belt is any better in right than Huff but the idea doesn't appeal to me.
Offensively there are a few concerns. Tejada has been terrible and his AB with 2 outs and the bases loaded was the picture of getting yourself out by being too aggressive. Pat Burrell has two homers but other than that he is 0 for 12. Also, despite his big homer in the second game of the season, Belt hasn't done too much offensively. Really, other than Freddy Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval, the offense hasn't been too impressive statistically.
Despite all of this, the Giants scored 18 runs in four games. Which breaks down to about 4.5 runs per game. As long as they are putting up 4.5 runs a game I guess you can't complain too much. (although if you take the 10 run game out of the equation, they have scored 8 runs in 3 games for an average of 2.6 RPG)
So what does it all mean?
At this point, it doesn't mean a whole lot. Does anybody really think the Padres are going to continue their success of the first 3 games? Or Kansas City? Or Baltimore? Sure, it's frustrating to a lot of the experts because they "predicted" these struggles but the so called "Giants" experts are the same guys who said the Giants would never win anything with Bochy and Sabean at the helm.
The Giants could stumble this season, there is no doubt about that. But this is largely the same team that won it all last season, so they deserve some benefit of the doubt. They had some stretches last season where they were terrible and the pitching has been good so far this season, other than one bad inning by Runzler which was directly related to poor defense(although that didn't show up in the box score).
So, ask me in a week or two if I am worried.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Aubrey Huff will be a Giant for the next 2 years!
If you haven't heard about it by now then you must have been under a rock!
Aubrey Huff resigned with the Giants!
The deal is for 2 years and is valued at $22 million. There is also a team option for a third year.
On the face of it, the dollars seem like a lot. But when you consider that Huff has put up similar numbers in the past, the fact that he can play multiple positions, and how much of a clubhouse leader this guy is, you start to realize that this deal isn't all that bad.
The way the deal is constructed is pretty good too. If Huff shows some decline next season, the Giants still will have another season to decide if they will retain him for the third year.
Look for this to be the model that the Giants go with for veterans over the age of 30 in the future. We can also gain some insight into how the Giants are going to approach the Juan Uribe negotiations as well. Uribe's numbers were almost identical to Huff's. He had 1 less RBI, 2 less homeruns, but only scored 64 runs to Huff's 105, and hit for a much lower average than Huff(about 50 points lower). Uribe does have some added value due to the fact that he can play multiple infield positions as well.
The story from SFGiants.com that I linked above quotes Sabean as saying Uribe and the Giants "weren't talking the same language yet" as far as figures go. Hopefully now that Huff the sides will come together quickly. But if Uribe someone were to offer Uribe a four year deal or even a 3 year deal with the third year not an option year. I could see him walking. I just don't see anyone giving a 34 year old super utility guy who has some issues with nagging injuries a 3 or 4 year deal.
But stranger things have happened.
Anyway, Welcome back Aubrey Huff! It will be good to see you in a Giants uniform for the next few seasons. If nothing else but to read all of your quotes!
Or to hear you sing!
Aubrey Huff resigned with the Giants!
The deal is for 2 years and is valued at $22 million. There is also a team option for a third year.
On the face of it, the dollars seem like a lot. But when you consider that Huff has put up similar numbers in the past, the fact that he can play multiple positions, and how much of a clubhouse leader this guy is, you start to realize that this deal isn't all that bad.
The way the deal is constructed is pretty good too. If Huff shows some decline next season, the Giants still will have another season to decide if they will retain him for the third year.
Look for this to be the model that the Giants go with for veterans over the age of 30 in the future. We can also gain some insight into how the Giants are going to approach the Juan Uribe negotiations as well. Uribe's numbers were almost identical to Huff's. He had 1 less RBI, 2 less homeruns, but only scored 64 runs to Huff's 105, and hit for a much lower average than Huff(about 50 points lower). Uribe does have some added value due to the fact that he can play multiple infield positions as well.
The story from SFGiants.com that I linked above quotes Sabean as saying Uribe and the Giants "weren't talking the same language yet" as far as figures go. Hopefully now that Huff the sides will come together quickly. But if Uribe someone were to offer Uribe a four year deal or even a 3 year deal with the third year not an option year. I could see him walking. I just don't see anyone giving a 34 year old super utility guy who has some issues with nagging injuries a 3 or 4 year deal.
But stranger things have happened.
Anyway, Welcome back Aubrey Huff! It will be good to see you in a Giants uniform for the next few seasons. If nothing else but to read all of your quotes!
Or to hear you sing!
Friday, September 17, 2010
Bruce Bochy is a genius
GIANTS 10 - DODGERS 2
Yes, Bruce Bochy is a genius.
As hard as those words were to type, I had to type them. there is no other way to describe his decision to put Edgar Renteria in the leadoff hole.
Admit it, you probably had the same reaction as every other Giants fan when you saw that ol' Sleepy had Renteria leading off tonight. As a matter of fact, I was so sure Bochy lost his mind when I saw it that I tweeted: "Wow, Rent batting leadoff! I hope Sanchez has another no-no in him tonight." Well Rent proved me wrong by going 4 for 5 and being a table-setter just like a leadoff man should.
Speaking of Jonathan Sanchez....
He absolutely dominated the Dodgers tonight. The first inning looked pretty scary as Juan Uribe appeared determined to throw the game away again when he air-mailed Ryan Theriot's bunt attempt in the first inning. This allowed Rafael Furcal to score and sent Theriot to 2nd. The Dodgers had one run already in and a runner on second with no outs.
The old Jonathan Sanchez would have gone on to fall apart and allow 4 or 5 runs. But this is Dirty Sanchez we are talking about here.
And Dirty he was.
Sanchez settled down to strike out 12 Dodgers and walk exactly zero. I will say that another way, Jonathan Sanchez walked ZERO batters in 7 innings! Five days after walking 7 batters in 5 innings the lanky lefty walked 0. Striking out 12 batters, a career high for Sanchez, while walking 0 is a feat that has only happened 12 times in Giants history. (Tim Lincecum has done it 3 times!) So Sanchez has another page in the Gigantes long history books.
And you guys wanted to trade him for that Adam Dunn guy.
I can't end the article without mentioning the offense. They finally joined the party today. After scoring a grand total of 9 runs in their last 5 games, the offense busted out for 10 runs in one game! Did I mention it was against the Dodgers?
Aubrey Huff continued his MVP push by getting the scoring started with a 4 run homerun off Dodgers starter Ted Lilly. Meanwhile, back at the batcave, Buster Posey followed him with a solo shot and the Giants were suddenly up 5-1 effectively deciding the game. But the Giants would pour on 5 more runs and getting a homerun from another guy I'm sure Giants fans weren't too excited to see in the lineup tonight: Jose Guillen. Guillen went 3 for 3 by the way, (you genius Boch!)
Tonight the Brewers, who have lost 10 of their last 15 games, come rolling into town. They have hopefully given up on the season as their record would indicate. This would be great since the Padres are playing the Cardinals and Tony Larussa and Albert Pujols would never let their team throw in the towel no matter how many games back they are.
Randy Wolf Vs. Madison Bumgarner tonight. Stay hot Madbum!
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| The Genius at work |
As hard as those words were to type, I had to type them. there is no other way to describe his decision to put Edgar Renteria in the leadoff hole.
Admit it, you probably had the same reaction as every other Giants fan when you saw that ol' Sleepy had Renteria leading off tonight. As a matter of fact, I was so sure Bochy lost his mind when I saw it that I tweeted: "Wow, Rent batting leadoff! I hope Sanchez has another no-no in him tonight." Well Rent proved me wrong by going 4 for 5 and being a table-setter just like a leadoff man should.
Speaking of Jonathan Sanchez....
He absolutely dominated the Dodgers tonight. The first inning looked pretty scary as Juan Uribe appeared determined to throw the game away again when he air-mailed Ryan Theriot's bunt attempt in the first inning. This allowed Rafael Furcal to score and sent Theriot to 2nd. The Dodgers had one run already in and a runner on second with no outs.
The old Jonathan Sanchez would have gone on to fall apart and allow 4 or 5 runs. But this is Dirty Sanchez we are talking about here.
And Dirty he was.
Sanchez settled down to strike out 12 Dodgers and walk exactly zero. I will say that another way, Jonathan Sanchez walked ZERO batters in 7 innings! Five days after walking 7 batters in 5 innings the lanky lefty walked 0. Striking out 12 batters, a career high for Sanchez, while walking 0 is a feat that has only happened 12 times in Giants history. (Tim Lincecum has done it 3 times!) So Sanchez has another page in the Gigantes long history books.
And you guys wanted to trade him for that Adam Dunn guy.
I can't end the article without mentioning the offense. They finally joined the party today. After scoring a grand total of 9 runs in their last 5 games, the offense busted out for 10 runs in one game! Did I mention it was against the Dodgers?
Aubrey Huff continued his MVP push by getting the scoring started with a 4 run homerun off Dodgers starter Ted Lilly. Meanwhile, back at the batcave, Buster Posey followed him with a solo shot and the Giants were suddenly up 5-1 effectively deciding the game. But the Giants would pour on 5 more runs and getting a homerun from another guy I'm sure Giants fans weren't too excited to see in the lineup tonight: Jose Guillen. Guillen went 3 for 3 by the way, (you genius Boch!)
Tonight the Brewers, who have lost 10 of their last 15 games, come rolling into town. They have hopefully given up on the season as their record would indicate. This would be great since the Padres are playing the Cardinals and Tony Larussa and Albert Pujols would never let their team throw in the towel no matter how many games back they are.
Randy Wolf Vs. Madison Bumgarner tonight. Stay hot Madbum!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Aubrey Huff wills the Giants into first place
GIANTS 1 - PADRES 0
From the moment Jonathan Sanchez took the mound and rubbed out the "SD" logo that the grounds crew puts on the back of the mound, you knew it was going to be a tense game.
For the second time this season a Giants - Padres game has ended 1-0 with the deciding run having been scored without the benefit of a hit. After what has to be the worst 5 inning 1 hit shutout pitching performance I have ever seen the Giants were able to be the ones to score the run that decided the game.
The game was a statement game. It told the Padres that you can't just come out and beat us whenever you want. It also secured at least a series tie with the Pads which seems to be a minor miracle given the way the Padres have owned the Giants to date this season.
Leading off the 7th inning Aubrey Huff got hit by a pitch in the back of the right arm. He looked like he was in tremendous pain, but when the trainer came out to look at it Huff ran away from him and took first base while trying to work the pain out of his arm. “Funny bone. Tingling and numbness,” Huff said. “Just suck it up. I didn’t want to Roger Dorn it too much out there.”
With Pat Burrell batting, huff decided that he would steal second base. He barely made it to second kicking the ball out of David Eckstein's glove when Burrell swung trough the pitch for strike three.
The next batter was Jose Guillen and Huff violated the cardinal rule of not running to third on a groundball hit in front of you but he wound up being safe. “It was actually a dumb play on my part,” he said. “I thought it’d be in the hole. Once you go, you can’t stop. Good call there, I was safe. It’s not how you draw it up, not a smart play, but it worked out.”
Huff scored when Juan Uribe beat out the tail end of a double play thanks to Nate Schierholtz's takeout of every Giants' fan's least favorite second baseman. “I had it in my mind at first base,” Schierholtz said. “I knew on a ground ball, I had to go into second hard. I was able to slide late and he was right on top of the bag. I was able to get a piece of him."
Back to Jonathan Sanchez's strange outing. As I said earlier it was the worst 5 inning one hit shutout performance ever. It may not have been the worst shutout performance I have seen from a Giants pitcher. On Sept. 4, 1999 Russ Ortiz went 6 innings, walked 7 batters, allowed 2 hits, and struck out 8 Pirates. Now his outing could be classified as better since he lasted 6 innings and struck out 8. But he gave up 2 hits as opposed to Sanchez's one so I think Sanchez did a better job.
Brian Wilson had two great quotes to sum up the game and to talk about Sanchez's performance:
On Sanchez's brief night: "He knows we've got a lot of arms in the bullpen, He went 100 percent on every single pitch. You can't ask for anything better than that. And then our sixth-inning guy throws 100 mph. That's not bad, either."
On the game and his 5th 5 out save of the season: "This is what you prepare for. If you need a breather or a day off, go to bed early. You'll have to suck it up and play to win from here on out."
Bumgarner Vs. Stauffer this afternoon
For the second time this season a Giants - Padres game has ended 1-0 with the deciding run having been scored without the benefit of a hit. After what has to be the worst 5 inning 1 hit shutout pitching performance I have ever seen the Giants were able to be the ones to score the run that decided the game.
The game was a statement game. It told the Padres that you can't just come out and beat us whenever you want. It also secured at least a series tie with the Pads which seems to be a minor miracle given the way the Padres have owned the Giants to date this season.
Leading off the 7th inning Aubrey Huff got hit by a pitch in the back of the right arm. He looked like he was in tremendous pain, but when the trainer came out to look at it Huff ran away from him and took first base while trying to work the pain out of his arm. “Funny bone. Tingling and numbness,” Huff said. “Just suck it up. I didn’t want to Roger Dorn it too much out there.”
With Pat Burrell batting, huff decided that he would steal second base. He barely made it to second kicking the ball out of David Eckstein's glove when Burrell swung trough the pitch for strike three.
The next batter was Jose Guillen and Huff violated the cardinal rule of not running to third on a groundball hit in front of you but he wound up being safe. “It was actually a dumb play on my part,” he said. “I thought it’d be in the hole. Once you go, you can’t stop. Good call there, I was safe. It’s not how you draw it up, not a smart play, but it worked out.”
Huff scored when Juan Uribe beat out the tail end of a double play thanks to Nate Schierholtz's takeout of every Giants' fan's least favorite second baseman. “I had it in my mind at first base,” Schierholtz said. “I knew on a ground ball, I had to go into second hard. I was able to slide late and he was right on top of the bag. I was able to get a piece of him."
Back to Jonathan Sanchez's strange outing. As I said earlier it was the worst 5 inning one hit shutout performance ever. It may not have been the worst shutout performance I have seen from a Giants pitcher. On Sept. 4, 1999 Russ Ortiz went 6 innings, walked 7 batters, allowed 2 hits, and struck out 8 Pirates. Now his outing could be classified as better since he lasted 6 innings and struck out 8. But he gave up 2 hits as opposed to Sanchez's one so I think Sanchez did a better job.
Brian Wilson had two great quotes to sum up the game and to talk about Sanchez's performance:
On Sanchez's brief night: "He knows we've got a lot of arms in the bullpen, He went 100 percent on every single pitch. You can't ask for anything better than that. And then our sixth-inning guy throws 100 mph. That's not bad, either."
On the game and his 5th 5 out save of the season: "This is what you prepare for. If you need a breather or a day off, go to bed early. You'll have to suck it up and play to win from here on out."
Bumgarner Vs. Stauffer this afternoon
Friday, September 10, 2010
Giants clobber the Padres!
GIANTS 7 - PADRES 3
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| Look at all those Giants fans in the stands! |
The Giants launched four homeruns to whip up on the once-again reeling Padres. After the useless Dodgers gave all of Giants nation indigestion by letting the Padres sweep them and making it appear the Padres had righted their ship.
This game was absolutely huge for the Giants mentally. They hadn't scored more than 2 runs in a game against the Padres since a 7-6 win waaaay back on May 18. it took 13 innings for them to score those 7 runs. Aubrey Huff, Juan Uribe, Buster Posey, and Pat Burrell each went deep in consecutive innings which is something that the Giants hadn't done since 2007 against the Braves.
While reveling in all the offensive glory, I almost forgot to give credit to Matt Cain who did nothing but shut the Padres down on three hits going into the 9th inning. If it wasn't for giving up homers to Venable and Ludwick, we would be talking about Cain's dominant performance. But it will be sufficient to say that he did exactly what the Giants needed him to do at exactly the right time. He is still, at least in my book, the Giants' best starting pitcher this season.
While reveling in all the offensive glory, I almost forgot to give credit to Matt Cain who did nothing but shut the Padres down on three hits going into the 9th inning. If it wasn't for giving up homers to Venable and Ludwick, we would be talking about Cain's dominant performance. But it will be sufficient to say that he did exactly what the Giants needed him to do at exactly the right time. He is still, at least in my book, the Giants' best starting pitcher this season.
The final and most emberassing statistic for the Padres had to be the attendance figures for the game. You figure a team has to sell out a home game against the second place team who are only two games back with 20 games left in the season. Right? Even the Oakland A's could sell all their tickets for a game like that right?
Well, you would be wrong. Even with the 10,000 or so Giants fans who made the trek to San Diego for the game. The Padres only managed to draw 28,456 people to fill their 42,000 seats. That has gotta be depressing for a home team.
Tonight Jonathan Sanchez faces Clayton Richard in a battle of lefties. Ol' Dirty will be gunning for his third straight quality start while the Giants offense will try to figure out Richard who is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA against the Giants this season. But just like the Padres record against the Giants this season, the numbers need to do a little evening out.
Gotta give credit to the Crazycrabbers for giving me the idea but here is my ode to the Padres:
Monday, August 23, 2010
Giants demolish Reds I'm still not sure I'm back on the Bandwagon
GIANTS 11 - REDS 2
Oh you Giants. You are like the sexy girlfriend who I just can't leave no matter how bad she makes me feel. Just when you do something to me to make me think that I am done with you for the season, you lay the smack down on a team, a first place team no less, and you lay it down good.
But I have been hurt too many times to come running back. Sure you started the season with a 5 game winning streak, but then the Dodgers and the Padres came to town. They whipped the crap out of you so bad that you could only muster one win against the two teams in the span of 6 games. Then you battled admirably and were right back in the thick of things.
But then there was that 7 game losing streak.
It looked like it was the beginning of the end. The Giants weren't hitting, they weren't pitching, and they were 7 games out of first place. With the lack of offense this team was displaying who in their right mind would think that this team had a chance in hell of making some noise come August?
Then came the trade to send Molina packing and make Buster Posey the full time catcher. This led to an amazing July. The Giants scored more runs and won more games than any team in all of baseball. Hell they even swept the Dodgers.
Then August started. A tough road trip through Colorado and Atlanta got the month off to a bad start, a home series with the Cubs was a little harder than it needed to be and then the Padres came to town again.
The emotions ran the gamut in the series with the Padres. From a frustrating 3-2 loss in game one, to an amazing, come-from-behind extra inning win in the second game that had us thinking the corner had been turned, and finally an embarrassing 8-2 ass whipping at the hands of the same Padres.
Things got worse in Philly but you were able to ride a great performance from Jonathan Sanchez to an impressive win. This was followed by another great effort from the youngest player on the team, Madison Bumgarner, and hope started to blossom. But that hoped was quickly squashed by Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia. Hell, even the Buster Posey Rookie of the Year odds took a huge blow from the complete game 3 hitter that Garcia twirled.
So, I refuse to get excited over one game. I refuse to be excited that Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez, and Pablo Sandoval all had multi-hit games. I refuse to be elated over the fact that Matt Cain showed us why he is the best pitcher on the Giants staff this season not named Brian Wilson. I refuse to take heart in the way the Giants showed a team who had won 8 of the last 10 who the real contender is .
But come Friday I could be excited again.
While you are waiting for tomorrow's showdown between Jonathan Sanchez and Travis Wood , take a minute to go and read Aubrey Huff's blog.
I'll bet you a dollar it brings a tear to your eye.
Oh you Giants. You are like the sexy girlfriend who I just can't leave no matter how bad she makes me feel. Just when you do something to me to make me think that I am done with you for the season, you lay the smack down on a team, a first place team no less, and you lay it down good.
But I have been hurt too many times to come running back. Sure you started the season with a 5 game winning streak, but then the Dodgers and the Padres came to town. They whipped the crap out of you so bad that you could only muster one win against the two teams in the span of 6 games. Then you battled admirably and were right back in the thick of things.
But then there was that 7 game losing streak.
It looked like it was the beginning of the end. The Giants weren't hitting, they weren't pitching, and they were 7 games out of first place. With the lack of offense this team was displaying who in their right mind would think that this team had a chance in hell of making some noise come August?
Then came the trade to send Molina packing and make Buster Posey the full time catcher. This led to an amazing July. The Giants scored more runs and won more games than any team in all of baseball. Hell they even swept the Dodgers.
Then August started. A tough road trip through Colorado and Atlanta got the month off to a bad start, a home series with the Cubs was a little harder than it needed to be and then the Padres came to town again.
The emotions ran the gamut in the series with the Padres. From a frustrating 3-2 loss in game one, to an amazing, come-from-behind extra inning win in the second game that had us thinking the corner had been turned, and finally an embarrassing 8-2 ass whipping at the hands of the same Padres.
Things got worse in Philly but you were able to ride a great performance from Jonathan Sanchez to an impressive win. This was followed by another great effort from the youngest player on the team, Madison Bumgarner, and hope started to blossom. But that hoped was quickly squashed by Chris Carpenter and Jaime Garcia. Hell, even the Buster Posey Rookie of the Year odds took a huge blow from the complete game 3 hitter that Garcia twirled.
So, I refuse to get excited over one game. I refuse to be excited that Aubrey Huff, Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez, and Pablo Sandoval all had multi-hit games. I refuse to be elated over the fact that Matt Cain showed us why he is the best pitcher on the Giants staff this season not named Brian Wilson. I refuse to take heart in the way the Giants showed a team who had won 8 of the last 10 who the real contender is .
But come Friday I could be excited again.
While you are waiting for tomorrow's showdown between Jonathan Sanchez and Travis Wood , take a minute to go and read Aubrey Huff's blog.
I'll bet you a dollar it brings a tear to your eye.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Huffman Cometh
GIANTS 6 - DODGERS 5
During all the hoopla surrounding Buster Posey during his 21 game hitting streak, Aubrey Huff has been in the background quietly making his contributions to the Giants recent winning ways.
During Posey's 21 game hitting streak Huff: Had a 12 game hit streak of his own, hit .382, with a Bondsian .484 OBP, He also spanked 4 homeruns and drove in 15.
While Posey is being considered for rookie of the year, I would like to present you with the case for Huff for MVP. Huff is leading the Giants in average (.313), RBIs (65), and HRs (20). He has played 1B, LF, and RF. He has played all those positions well after being considered a defensive liability at best. in short, he has done everything the Giants have asked of him and produced at a high level while playing 3 different positions. I'd like to see King Albert do that.
Huff's philosophy on this season: "If I don't go out there and perform, those nine years of losing mean absolutely nothing" This guy is glad to be here!
One note from last night's game:
I know it went down as a wild pitch for Jonathan Sanchez, but the pitch he threw in the dirt in the 9th inning showed a little bit of what the Giants were talking about when they were hesitant to bring up Buster Posey earlier this season. Posey did a poor job of dropping to the ground and blocking that ball. Considering he had a runner at third, Posey should have made an attempt to smother that ball rather than try to short hop it.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Ace Killers
GIANTS 6 - MARLINS 4
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
OK so they didn't beat Josh Johnson or Ubaldo Jimenez. They did put 7 runs on the board against Jimenez earlier this season before the the Rocks tied the game. The Giants did eventually win that game. Against Johnson, they put three runs on the board which might as well be seven runs since JJ had not allowed more than 2 runs in a start in 13 straight starts.
Now 3 runs in 7 innings is still a quality start and Matt Cain matched Johnson run for run only allowing only 3 runs in 7 innings. He actually pitched a little better than JJ did allowing only 4 hits to Johnson's 8. Cain's only 2 mistakes turned into all 3 of the Marlin's runs on the day.
The fact that Cain allowed 3 runs and wasn't tagged with the loss marks a change in the Giants, and Cain's fortunes. In the past, Cain would have taken the hard luck loss after giving up 3 runs. Last night the Giants scored 3 runs for him while he was in the game and even went on to win the game after he left.
The other big news of the night is obviously Buster Posey extending his hitting streak to 20 games. He has now moved in to the position of favorite for rookie of the year. Posey's numbers rival Jason Heyward's with about 150 less ABs. The other favorite, Washington's Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start Tuesday night and the clock is ticking until the Nats shut him down for the season. I can't really come up with any other NL rookies who can compare to Posey.
Trade Rumblings:
I'm not too thrilled with the rumors of the Giants interest in the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista. The guy has hit 28 homers so far to be sure but he is hitting in a Blue Jays lineup that has considerable more pop than the Giants do, his home games aren't currently being played in AT&T park, and he is only hitting .245 on the season. Is he going to be an automatic out when he isn't hitting homers?
Jose Guillen is a head case, All through his career he has been up and down performance-wise. Last season he only hit 9 homers to go along with 40 RBIs. He does have 59 RBIs and 16 HRs this season and he could be the Giants' target seeing as he will probably come cheap since KC will be looking to dump salary. A package deal that brings Scott Podsednik along would be a great move for Sabean provided A) the price is right and B) Guillen doesn't have an attitude like he did with the Angels
Adam Dunn is the guy I would most like to see the Giants get. The guy bats around .280, he hits bombs, and has seven 30+ homer seasons in his career. He is 7 away from his 8th and the best part about Dunn is that he will only be 31 this offseason. He hits bombs that will easily get out of AT&T and he is OK defensively. Although the asking price is reportedly Madison Bumgarner and if that's the case I'll pass.
At this point Guillen and a left handed middle reliever seem to be the most likely moves the Giants will make. If they can somehow come up with Podsednik too, then the moves look good.
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeOK so they didn't beat Josh Johnson or Ubaldo Jimenez. They did put 7 runs on the board against Jimenez earlier this season before the the Rocks tied the game. The Giants did eventually win that game. Against Johnson, they put three runs on the board which might as well be seven runs since JJ had not allowed more than 2 runs in a start in 13 straight starts.
Now 3 runs in 7 innings is still a quality start and Matt Cain matched Johnson run for run only allowing only 3 runs in 7 innings. He actually pitched a little better than JJ did allowing only 4 hits to Johnson's 8. Cain's only 2 mistakes turned into all 3 of the Marlin's runs on the day.
The fact that Cain allowed 3 runs and wasn't tagged with the loss marks a change in the Giants, and Cain's fortunes. In the past, Cain would have taken the hard luck loss after giving up 3 runs. Last night the Giants scored 3 runs for him while he was in the game and even went on to win the game after he left.
The other big news of the night is obviously Buster Posey extending his hitting streak to 20 games. He has now moved in to the position of favorite for rookie of the year. Posey's numbers rival Jason Heyward's with about 150 less ABs. The other favorite, Washington's Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start Tuesday night and the clock is ticking until the Nats shut him down for the season. I can't really come up with any other NL rookies who can compare to Posey.
Trade Rumblings:
I'm not too thrilled with the rumors of the Giants interest in the Blue Jays' Jose Bautista. The guy has hit 28 homers so far to be sure but he is hitting in a Blue Jays lineup that has considerable more pop than the Giants do, his home games aren't currently being played in AT&T park, and he is only hitting .245 on the season. Is he going to be an automatic out when he isn't hitting homers?
Jose Guillen is a head case, All through his career he has been up and down performance-wise. Last season he only hit 9 homers to go along with 40 RBIs. He does have 59 RBIs and 16 HRs this season and he could be the Giants' target seeing as he will probably come cheap since KC will be looking to dump salary. A package deal that brings Scott Podsednik along would be a great move for Sabean provided A) the price is right and B) Guillen doesn't have an attitude like he did with the Angels
Adam Dunn is the guy I would most like to see the Giants get. The guy bats around .280, he hits bombs, and has seven 30+ homer seasons in his career. He is 7 away from his 8th and the best part about Dunn is that he will only be 31 this offseason. He hits bombs that will easily get out of AT&T and he is OK defensively. Although the asking price is reportedly Madison Bumgarner and if that's the case I'll pass.
At this point Guillen and a left handed middle reliever seem to be the most likely moves the Giants will make. If they can somehow come up with Podsednik too, then the moves look good.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
From Clark to Posey
MARLINS 4 - GIANTS 3
I'm running out of words to describe Buster Posey.
Will Clark is my favorite Giant of all-time. My earliest baseball memories are of Clark and the Giants in the playoffs vs. the Cardinals in 1987. In 1989, I sat out in the upper deck in right field and saw a towering homerun almost make it out to my seat! I watched Will lead the Giants to the world series in 1989 and watched in sadness when he went to the Rangers after the 1993 season.
Buster Posey is making Clark's impressive Rookie season look mediocre by comparison.
Fast forward to 2010. In 182 ABs Posey is hitting .368, has 8 HRs, 33 RBIs, with a .404 OBP, and an OPS of .975! It's going to be a stretch for Buster to get another 220+ ABs since he's a catcher but if he gets close to 400 ABs this season he just may obliterate Clark's rookie numbers. One thing that Posey is doing that Clark, hell any Giants rookie other than Willie McCovey, is hit in 19 straight games
Clark finished his career with a respectable 284 HRs,a .303 average, an OBP of .384, and an OPS of .880 in 15 seasons. In 2006 Clark only received 4.4% of the Hall of Fame vote thus failing to receive the required 5% of the votes to stay on future ballots. He likely would have increased his HOF chances had he played a little longer but retired early to help care for his son Trey who is autistic.
There is no way that you can ever replace your childhood hero as an adult. Even if Buster goes on to make Clark's career numbers look tiny by comparison, wins a world series, and gets voted into the hall of fame. Hopefully, he can be my son's favorite player of all-time!
Last night Buster got the drama of extending his hitting streak to 19 games early with a hit in the second inning. That and a pinch hit two run replay upheld homer in the 7th were pretty much the only Giants highlights of the night. Although they did make it interesting in the 9th when had runners on second and third and only one out. But all they were able to muster was 1 run on an RBI groundout from Andres Torres.
Aubrey Huff's hitting streak came to an end at 12 games.
Posey looks to extend his streak to 20 games tonight and it's going to be tough with Josh Johnson on the mound for the fish. The Giants will counter with Matt Cain. Expect to see little offense on both sides tonight.
Link of the day:
Thrill22.com. Your home for all things Will Clark.
The most impressive Giants rookie in the last 23 years is playing that good. His rookie campaign has exceeded the level of most rookies in Giants history and is in the same air as Will Clark, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda.
Buster Posey is making Clark's impressive Rookie season look mediocre by comparison.
In Will's rookie year of 1986 he hit .287, with 11 HRs, 41 RBIs an on base % of .343, and an OPS of .787. He accomplished all this in 408 ABs. In 1986 these were great numbers for a rookie. Good enough to earn him 5th place in the Rookie of The Year voting. Todd Worrell of the St. Louis Cardinals was first. (1986 was a good year for Giants rookies both present and future. The top 10 vote getters for rookie of the year included: Robby Thompson in 2nd, Kevin Mitchell in 3rd, Will Clark in 5th, and Barry Bonds in 6th)
Fast forward to 2010. In 182 ABs Posey is hitting .368, has 8 HRs, 33 RBIs, with a .404 OBP, and an OPS of .975! It's going to be a stretch for Buster to get another 220+ ABs since he's a catcher but if he gets close to 400 ABs this season he just may obliterate Clark's rookie numbers. One thing that Posey is doing that Clark, hell any Giants rookie other than Willie McCovey, is hit in 19 straight gamesBoth players had excellent college careers too. Clark won the Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the best college player in the country, in 1985 while playing for Mississippi State. Posey won the award in 2006 while playing for Florida state.
There is no way that you can ever replace your childhood hero as an adult. Even if Buster goes on to make Clark's career numbers look tiny by comparison, wins a world series, and gets voted into the hall of fame. Hopefully, he can be my son's favorite player of all-time!
Last night Buster got the drama of extending his hitting streak to 19 games early with a hit in the second inning. That and a pinch hit two run replay upheld homer in the 7th were pretty much the only Giants highlights of the night. Although they did make it interesting in the 9th when had runners on second and third and only one out. But all they were able to muster was 1 run on an RBI groundout from Andres Torres.
Aubrey Huff's hitting streak came to an end at 12 games.
Posey looks to extend his streak to 20 games tonight and it's going to be tough with Josh Johnson on the mound for the fish. The Giants will counter with Matt Cain. Expect to see little offense on both sides tonight.
Link of the day:
Thrill22.com. Your home for all things Will Clark.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Huffman and Robin
Batman had 3 different Robins. Just like Bruce Wayne had Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake. Aubrey Huff has now had multiple sidekicks to his Batman performance.First it was Juan Uribe. At one point Aubrey and Juan were trading homeruns left and right, knocking in runs all over the place, and taking turns being the heroes each night.
Then Juan got cold. Until last night's grand slam he had been hitting .213 with one homerun and 7 RBIs over his last 20 games.In the meantime, Aubrey's sidekick has been Buster Posey. Over the last 20 games all he has done is hit .438, 7 homeruns, and driven in 22. He also is in the midst of an 18 game hitting streak and seems to be winning games on a nightly basis.
Huff has been nearly as hot as Posey. Over his last 20 games he is hitting .363 with 7 homeruns and 17 RBIs. he is also the proud owner of a 12 game hitting streak that has been somewhat overshadowed by a certain rookie's streak.
If it wasn't for Aubrey Huff, I'm not sure where the Giants would be. Sure Posey has transformed the Giants since his arrival but it was Huff who carried the team to the place it was before he got there. One could argue that the Giants could have been nowhere near contending this season if Huff wasn't here. Posey didn't have nearly as much pressure on him as he would have if there wasn't at least one guy providing some offense.
Huff has also made it easier for the Giants to absorb Pablo Sandoval's season long slump. Hopefully once the Panda comes back from handling his personal issues in Venezuela he will be the third Robin to Huff's Batman.
So Buster and Aubrey led the Giants to a four game sweep of the lowly Diamondbacks. I know a lot of people like to point out that the Dbacks aren't a very good team but good teams are supposd to dominate the bad teams. Besides, four game sweeps on the road just don't happen that often. Even against bad teams.
Link of the day:
SF Chronicle writer Henry Schulman points out in his recap of the game that the Giants play only 19 of their final 63 games against teams that have a record below .500 at this point. Which means that they will have to prove that they can beat winning teams. Which is something that the detractors love to point out that the Giants have trouble doing. Now a lot of this poor record against teams above .500 can be attributed to the fact that the Giants have lost 7 out of 8 to the Padres and 6 out of 9 to the Dodgers.
The Giants will be tested starting tomorrow since the Marlins come to town. The fish are almost as hot as the Giants having won 7 of their last 10.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Do you want the bad news or good news first?
GIANTS 10 - D-BACKS 4
A lot of stuff went down in Giants land since my last post.
We'll start with the good.
The Giants crushed the Diamondbacks 10-4. Led by Juan Uribe's grand slam and Madison Bumgarner's 4th straight win, the Giants really beat down the Dbacks like the belly-crawlers that they are. Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 17 games, Aubrey Huff had 3 hits, and the Giants won their 8th game out of their last 10 bringing themselves to a season high 12 games over .500!
It wasn't all good news however.
Eugenio Velez took a Pat Burrell foul ball off the head while sitting in the dugout. Reports are that he is OK with a concussion.
Pablo Sandoval will leave the team today to return to his native Venezuela for a "personal matter". Andrew Baggerly of the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that it is related to his pending divorce.
Jeremy Affeldt was placed on the 15 day DL with an oblique strain. There is no telling how long he will be out. Sometimes players come back from these right away, other times they miss the rest of the season. Joe Martinez was called up to take his place leaving the bullpen with no lefties.
Pablo Sandoval's departure and Velez's injury will leave the Giants extremely short-handed. Expect Velez to be put on the DL today and Ryan Rohlinger to be called up today. Hopefully Pablo's trip to Venezuela helps him put whatever is on his mind to rest. It can't be easy to be 23 years old, struggling on his job, booed by fans, and going through a divorce all at the same time.
Good luck Pablo.
link of the Day:
John Bowker was 3 for 4 and scored 2 runs last night for Fresno. He has heated up again after a mini slump. he definitely needs another look in the bigs this season. It's just not going to come right now. The 2 players the Giants are short are infielders so they are calling up Rohlinger to fill the hole. Bowker will get another chance but it may not be until September.
If the Giants rash of injuries continues.....
A lot of stuff went down in Giants land since my last post.
We'll start with the good.
The Giants crushed the Diamondbacks 10-4. Led by Juan Uribe's grand slam and Madison Bumgarner's 4th straight win, the Giants really beat down the Dbacks like the belly-crawlers that they are. Buster Posey extended his hitting streak to 17 games, Aubrey Huff had 3 hits, and the Giants won their 8th game out of their last 10 bringing themselves to a season high 12 games over .500!
It wasn't all good news however.
Eugenio Velez took a Pat Burrell foul ball off the head while sitting in the dugout. Reports are that he is OK with a concussion.
Pablo Sandoval will leave the team today to return to his native Venezuela for a "personal matter". Andrew Baggerly of the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that it is related to his pending divorce.
Jeremy Affeldt was placed on the 15 day DL with an oblique strain. There is no telling how long he will be out. Sometimes players come back from these right away, other times they miss the rest of the season. Joe Martinez was called up to take his place leaving the bullpen with no lefties.
Pablo Sandoval's departure and Velez's injury will leave the Giants extremely short-handed. Expect Velez to be put on the DL today and Ryan Rohlinger to be called up today. Hopefully Pablo's trip to Venezuela helps him put whatever is on his mind to rest. It can't be easy to be 23 years old, struggling on his job, booed by fans, and going through a divorce all at the same time.
Good luck Pablo.
link of the Day:
John Bowker was 3 for 4 and scored 2 runs last night for Fresno. He has heated up again after a mini slump. he definitely needs another look in the bigs this season. It's just not going to come right now. The 2 players the Giants are short are infielders so they are calling up Rohlinger to fill the hole. Bowker will get another chance but it may not be until September.
If the Giants rash of injuries continues.....
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Huff Muscles the Giants past the Snakes!
GIANTS 7 - DIAMONDBACKS 4
Last year any time the Giants would fall behind you could pretty much write them off.
This season they are proving that coming from behind is something that they are capable of doing.
Now, one run down may not seem like an insurmountable lead but the way that the lead was given up, having blown a 3-1 lead, usually seemed to deflate last years team. Last night they actually answered Arizona's 3 spot in the 6th with a 3 spot of their own in the 7th. Granted it was fueled by some Arizona errors, but with the luck the Giants have been having with double plays and calls at home plate this season, it was time for a few things to go our way.
I can't help but think of Marvin Benard every time I hear someone proclaim Andres Torres as the "real deal" but I'm starting to become a believer. He has been so key to the Giants' success in the second half that I would have to rank him as the 3rd most important offensive player behind Buster and Huff. He hits homeruns, triples, and tracks down balls in the outfield that Rowand would just play off the wall, and say what you want about his offense but Rowand is a pretty good defender. Torres is really starting to become the feel good story of the season and I hope the Giants can make the playoffs in order to get this guy some national recognition.
What to say about Aubrey Huff?
I have always, for some reason, liked Aubrey Huff as a player. I remember thinking that the Giants should pick him up from the Devil Rays way back when Bonds was still with the team somewhere around 2003-04. I think there were even some rumors to that effect back then.
For whatever reason, Huff wound up with the Orioles and had the opportunity to play on a bunch of bad teams. Last season, after a late season trade to Detroit, Huff seemed like he might not have too much left in the tank.
Boy were we wrong.
The Giants were able to get Huff for what now looks like a steal of a deal at $3 million dollars for this season. He has 19 Homeruns and 3 multi homerun games counting last night. He is a scrapper and he is the heart of this Giants team. I believe the difference that this team does not fall on it's face when they are down is because they have assimilated Huff's attitude. I mean the guy went to a contender last season for the first time in his life and fell on his face by hitting .189 in 106 ABs for the Tigers. He wasn't offered a contract by the team at the end of the season and I don't think that many other teams were lining up to throw money at him.
Enter Sabean and the Giants.
Sabean made what has to have been the best free agent signing of his Giants career when he picked Huff up off the scrap heap. Huff has rewarded the team with his attitude, his bat and his quotes. he's another candidate for feel good story of the year.
Link of the day:
I was looking for an Aubrey Huff quote to use above but instead I found this story on him from 2007. This radio interview seems to be perfectly in line with his personality that he has shown in SF. He seems to be a guy who is just having fun but, like most of us clowns, can get management upset when the team is losing.
The article also points out that Huff sang on an MLB produced CD "OH SAY CAN YOU SING" that was produced way back in 2005 which I will now leave you with:
Last year any time the Giants would fall behind you could pretty much write them off.
This season they are proving that coming from behind is something that they are capable of doing.
Now, one run down may not seem like an insurmountable lead but the way that the lead was given up, having blown a 3-1 lead, usually seemed to deflate last years team. Last night they actually answered Arizona's 3 spot in the 6th with a 3 spot of their own in the 7th. Granted it was fueled by some Arizona errors, but with the luck the Giants have been having with double plays and calls at home plate this season, it was time for a few things to go our way.
I can't help but think of Marvin Benard every time I hear someone proclaim Andres Torres as the "real deal" but I'm starting to become a believer. He has been so key to the Giants' success in the second half that I would have to rank him as the 3rd most important offensive player behind Buster and Huff. He hits homeruns, triples, and tracks down balls in the outfield that Rowand would just play off the wall, and say what you want about his offense but Rowand is a pretty good defender. Torres is really starting to become the feel good story of the season and I hope the Giants can make the playoffs in order to get this guy some national recognition.
What to say about Aubrey Huff?
I have always, for some reason, liked Aubrey Huff as a player. I remember thinking that the Giants should pick him up from the Devil Rays way back when Bonds was still with the team somewhere around 2003-04. I think there were even some rumors to that effect back then.
For whatever reason, Huff wound up with the Orioles and had the opportunity to play on a bunch of bad teams. Last season, after a late season trade to Detroit, Huff seemed like he might not have too much left in the tank.
Boy were we wrong.
The Giants were able to get Huff for what now looks like a steal of a deal at $3 million dollars for this season. He has 19 Homeruns and 3 multi homerun games counting last night. He is a scrapper and he is the heart of this Giants team. I believe the difference that this team does not fall on it's face when they are down is because they have assimilated Huff's attitude. I mean the guy went to a contender last season for the first time in his life and fell on his face by hitting .189 in 106 ABs for the Tigers. He wasn't offered a contract by the team at the end of the season and I don't think that many other teams were lining up to throw money at him.
Enter Sabean and the Giants.
Sabean made what has to have been the best free agent signing of his Giants career when he picked Huff up off the scrap heap. Huff has rewarded the team with his attitude, his bat and his quotes. he's another candidate for feel good story of the year.
Link of the day:
I was looking for an Aubrey Huff quote to use above but instead I found this story on him from 2007. This radio interview seems to be perfectly in line with his personality that he has shown in SF. He seems to be a guy who is just having fun but, like most of us clowns, can get management upset when the team is losing.
The article also points out that Huff sang on an MLB produced CD "OH SAY CAN YOU SING" that was produced way back in 2005 which I will now leave you with:
Saturday, July 17, 2010
No runs? No Problem!
GIANTS 1 - METS 0
Well the Giants offense has started the second half in a slumber having scored a lousy 3 runs in the first 2 games.
They are 2-0 in those games!
It also marks the first time this season that the Giants have won a game 1-0. Which is pretty amazing when you consider the Giants pitching staff. Up until last night, the Giants were 0-8 in games which they had scored 1 run.
Normally I would be lamenting the fact that The Giants offense has gone back into a deep slumber but not tonight. I guess I'm OK with the offense when the Staff has a 0.00 ERA!
Zito was Lincecum-esque. He actually was even more dominating than Lincecum was the night before by racking up 10 k's and allowing only 2 hits, one of which was a bloop double by Carlos Beltran in the 7th, in 8 innings pitched. I guess he really was pissed after his last outing.
The Giants did manufacture the run that they did get however.
In the fourth inning, Aubrey Huff drew a one out walk, Buster Posey followed with a double, and Pat Burrell brought Huff home with a grounder to second that brought a throw home which Catcher Rod Barajas just couldn't hold on to.
This sequence of events prompted the always quotable Huff to remark: " I don't think I've been pumped up to score a run in the fifth inning, ever. It was a nice atmosphere at the yard tonight. It kind of felt like a playoff-game atmosphere."
He also added:
"Not that I would know what it feels like"
Man I love that guy.
Links of the day:
I got two today.
First off Bengie Molina Hit a grand slam against the Boston Red Sox last night. To top that feat, he also managed to hit for the cycle. This made a bit of history as Molina was the first catcher ever to hit for the cycle and hit a grand slam in the same game. Molina is hot BTW. This was the second night in a row that he slammed a HR!
How did he celebrate after he walked around the bases for the ever elusive triple to complete his cycle?
He came out of the game with a strained hamstring.
Congratulations big money!
The second link was actually pointed out in a blog post by El Lefty Malo who was able to find a little nugget of sense in the Dontrelle Willis signing. It shows his stats against left handed batters this season. Situational lefty anyone?
Well the Giants offense has started the second half in a slumber having scored a lousy 3 runs in the first 2 games.
They are 2-0 in those games!
It also marks the first time this season that the Giants have won a game 1-0. Which is pretty amazing when you consider the Giants pitching staff. Up until last night, the Giants were 0-8 in games which they had scored 1 run.
Normally I would be lamenting the fact that The Giants offense has gone back into a deep slumber but not tonight. I guess I'm OK with the offense when the Staff has a 0.00 ERA!
Zito was Lincecum-esque. He actually was even more dominating than Lincecum was the night before by racking up 10 k's and allowing only 2 hits, one of which was a bloop double by Carlos Beltran in the 7th, in 8 innings pitched. I guess he really was pissed after his last outing.
The Giants did manufacture the run that they did get however.
In the fourth inning, Aubrey Huff drew a one out walk, Buster Posey followed with a double, and Pat Burrell brought Huff home with a grounder to second that brought a throw home which Catcher Rod Barajas just couldn't hold on to.
This sequence of events prompted the always quotable Huff to remark: " I don't think I've been pumped up to score a run in the fifth inning, ever. It was a nice atmosphere at the yard tonight. It kind of felt like a playoff-game atmosphere."
He also added:
"Not that I would know what it feels like"
Man I love that guy.
Links of the day:
I got two today.
How did he celebrate after he walked around the bases for the ever elusive triple to complete his cycle?
He came out of the game with a strained hamstring.
Congratulations big money!
The second link was actually pointed out in a blog post by El Lefty Malo who was able to find a little nugget of sense in the Dontrelle Willis signing. It shows his stats against left handed batters this season. Situational lefty anyone?
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Youth is served. Finally.
GIANTS 6 - NATIONALS 2
The Buster Posey show continued today. Madison Bumgarner ran his scoreless innings streak to 15, and Travis Ishikawa was the only Giants with multiple hits to go along with his 3 RBIs.
The kids are starting to take this team over.
Going into the break I believe that Bruce Bochy has found his best lineup. When Torres returns, and that should be the first game right after the break, Bochy should throw out the lineup of Torres, Sanchez, Huff, Posey, Ishikawa, Uribe, Sandoval, and Shierholtz. If he throws that lineup out day in and day out, and resists the temptation to tinker, the offense should be OK.
The young guys have pretty much gone out and taken over this team. Specifically Posey, Ishikawa, and Bumgarner. They have been the biggest contributors, along with Aubrey Huff, to the Giants offense on this roadtrip.
Buster Posey has easily become the offensive leader of this team. He carried the team on his shoulders during the roadtrip having gone 20-40 with 6 HRs and 15 RBIs. Ishikawa has been a nice compliment to Posey while having hit in eight of his last nine games with a .429 average (12-for-28) during that stretch, which includes one homer and 11 RBIs.
Now one would think that any major league manager would go with what has been his most productive ineup of the season coming out of the break. But this is Bruce Bochy who looks for any way to get struggling vets like Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina (before he was traded), and Edgar Renteria.
I do have to give him some credit for actually working Nate Schierholtz into the lineup the last two days. nate repaid that faith by hitting a double and driving in a run in yesterday's game.
Link of the day.
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury news reports that Giants management had a sitdown with Pablo Sandoval after yesterday's game. Nobody has expected Pablo to struggle as much as he has this season and we are all waiting for him to turn it around.
The key to remember with Pablo is that he is 23 years old and he is still contributing defensively. I don't think the Giants have anybody that they could replace him with if they wanted to. Baggarly also points out that Pablo is one good season away from millions of dollars as he is currently making just over the league minimum.
The Buster Posey show continued today. Madison Bumgarner ran his scoreless innings streak to 15, and Travis Ishikawa was the only Giants with multiple hits to go along with his 3 RBIs.
The kids are starting to take this team over.
Going into the break I believe that Bruce Bochy has found his best lineup. When Torres returns, and that should be the first game right after the break, Bochy should throw out the lineup of Torres, Sanchez, Huff, Posey, Ishikawa, Uribe, Sandoval, and Shierholtz. If he throws that lineup out day in and day out, and resists the temptation to tinker, the offense should be OK.
The young guys have pretty much gone out and taken over this team. Specifically Posey, Ishikawa, and Bumgarner. They have been the biggest contributors, along with Aubrey Huff, to the Giants offense on this roadtrip.
Buster Posey has easily become the offensive leader of this team. He carried the team on his shoulders during the roadtrip having gone 20-40 with 6 HRs and 15 RBIs. Ishikawa has been a nice compliment to Posey while having hit in eight of his last nine games with a .429 average (12-for-28) during that stretch, which includes one homer and 11 RBIs.
Now one would think that any major league manager would go with what has been his most productive ineup of the season coming out of the break. But this is Bruce Bochy who looks for any way to get struggling vets like Aaron Rowand, Bengie Molina (before he was traded), and Edgar Renteria.
I do have to give him some credit for actually working Nate Schierholtz into the lineup the last two days. nate repaid that faith by hitting a double and driving in a run in yesterday's game.
Link of the day.
Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury news reports that Giants management had a sitdown with Pablo Sandoval after yesterday's game. Nobody has expected Pablo to struggle as much as he has this season and we are all waiting for him to turn it around.
The key to remember with Pablo is that he is 23 years old and he is still contributing defensively. I don't think the Giants have anybody that they could replace him with if they wanted to. Baggarly also points out that Pablo is one good season away from millions of dollars as he is currently making just over the league minimum.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Giants sweep, Zito's pissed
Hey it's only the Brewers but it sure was fun!
I know the Brewers aren't the best team around, but it sure is fun to see runs being scored, your pitching do well , and get revenge for that celebration pictured on the right.
The power display was impressive again last night . Huff, Torres, and Buster each hit homeruns for the second day in a row.
Barry Zito battled admirably. He allowed 13 baserunners in 4.2 innings and was pulled while he was only one out away from qualifying for the win. After the Game Zito said he was "pissed" and when he was asked if that anger was directed at Bochy he said a rather telling "no comment"
Now, Bochy aggravates the Giants fanbase to no end. Many were upset yesterday that he brought in Bautista to replace Zito. I have loudly questioned his intelligence this season myself. But I gotta say I agree with Boch here. Zito has nobody to be pissed off at but himself. Bochy didn't allow those 13 baserunners, including the three that were on when he was pulled, and Bochy didn't blow the 6 run lead in Denver. Hopefully Zito is pissed off enough in his next start to actually pitch well and he won't need to be in a situation to be pulled one out away from a victory.
You can't even argue with it. His 17 HRs, and 54 RBIs easily lead the team. His .298 average is also the highest on the team although if Posey had enough ABs to qualify his .325 would lead the team. Huff is the one guy who has produced consistently all season and his power display over the last 6 games, with 5 homeruns over that span, has been nothing short of incredible. I shudder to think where the Giants would be if they didn't have Huff.
Mychael Urban of Comcast Sports Network has confirmed that the Giants are in trade talks with the Brewers for Corey Hart. The Brewers are reportedly interested in Jonathan Sanchez for Hart. I still think that this deal would be a monumental mistake for the Giants if B.S. were to pull the trigger. I'm not sure who the Giants think they would replace Sanchez with. Martinez? Wellemeyer? Hacker? Although the SF Chronicle is reporting that the Brewers may be saving B.S. from himself since they are reportedly not interested in dealing Hart.
There is a god!
This brings me to my link of the day:
The Crazy Crabbers take a look at whether or not the Corey Hart is a good fit for the Giants. Again, it appears that Jonathan Sanchez would be to steep a price to pay for him.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Should the Giants be buyers or sellers?
ROCKIES 6 - GIANTS 3
The Giants have lost their 7th game in a row. They are now in 4th place, 6.5 games back of the first place Padres. They have not scored more than 3 runs in 7 straight games.
Will a bat really help this team or should they be going for prospects?
I have heard some folks out there say that this season is lost and that the Giants should just blow it up and get prospects for their bigger pieces. Namely Huff, Uribe, and Burrell. This sounds good in theory because you would have to believe that the Giants are not going to win another game this season.
Well the fact is they are going to win another game this season. They have played pretty good baseball and despite losing 7 in a row they are still a game over .500.
If you trade for prospects that means that you don't think that the Giants will be able to win next year. Which also happens to be the last season that the Giants rotation will probably have Cain, Lincecum, Sanchez, and Bumgarner all together. With pay raises and pending salary arbitration the Giants starting 5 alone has the potential to command contracts approaching $100 million alone in 2012.
If you think the Giants can afford that, then you are crazy.
They would be lucky to get some prospects that are going to be ready next season no matter how good they ultimately turn out to be. While Huff and Uribe are good players they will still not garner a whole lot of major league ready talent. So you trade away two of your potential team leader for next season (potential because neither of them are signed past this season) and decide that you are shooting for 2012.
A trade for a bat, Prince Fielder for instance, would instantly give this lineup some sort of presence. The batters in front of him would all get more pitches to hit and the guys behind him would be batting with runners on more often. the team would be a totally different animal. They would be able to take advantage of the current group of young pitchers that they have and Fielder has a contract that is valid through next season.
Plus McDonald's in the bay area would start to do a ton more business:
Nate, Bowker watch:
Nate came in to run for Burrell in the 6th. He had an assist in the outfield and went 0 for 1.
Nate pinch running for Burrell in the 6th makes you wonder about Bochy. At that point it's only 4-3 and you decide that you are going to pinch run for your cleanup hitter? So either Bochy has no sense as a manager, He has little faith in Pat Burrell, Burrell is hurt, or he suddenly has a lot of faith in Nate Schierholtz. I'll let you decide.
John Bowker went 0 for 5 in a Grizzlies 4-3 loss to Sacramento. The Grizzlies are in a bit of a slump themselves having lost 4 games in a row.
The Giants have lost their 7th game in a row. They are now in 4th place, 6.5 games back of the first place Padres. They have not scored more than 3 runs in 7 straight games.
Will a bat really help this team or should they be going for prospects?
I have heard some folks out there say that this season is lost and that the Giants should just blow it up and get prospects for their bigger pieces. Namely Huff, Uribe, and Burrell. This sounds good in theory because you would have to believe that the Giants are not going to win another game this season.
Well the fact is they are going to win another game this season. They have played pretty good baseball and despite losing 7 in a row they are still a game over .500.
If you trade for prospects that means that you don't think that the Giants will be able to win next year. Which also happens to be the last season that the Giants rotation will probably have Cain, Lincecum, Sanchez, and Bumgarner all together. With pay raises and pending salary arbitration the Giants starting 5 alone has the potential to command contracts approaching $100 million alone in 2012.
If you think the Giants can afford that, then you are crazy.
They would be lucky to get some prospects that are going to be ready next season no matter how good they ultimately turn out to be. While Huff and Uribe are good players they will still not garner a whole lot of major league ready talent. So you trade away two of your potential team leader for next season (potential because neither of them are signed past this season) and decide that you are shooting for 2012.
A trade for a bat, Prince Fielder for instance, would instantly give this lineup some sort of presence. The batters in front of him would all get more pitches to hit and the guys behind him would be batting with runners on more often. the team would be a totally different animal. They would be able to take advantage of the current group of young pitchers that they have and Fielder has a contract that is valid through next season.
Plus McDonald's in the bay area would start to do a ton more business:
Nate, Bowker watch:
Nate came in to run for Burrell in the 6th. He had an assist in the outfield and went 0 for 1.
Nate pinch running for Burrell in the 6th makes you wonder about Bochy. At that point it's only 4-3 and you decide that you are going to pinch run for your cleanup hitter? So either Bochy has no sense as a manager, He has little faith in Pat Burrell, Burrell is hurt, or he suddenly has a lot of faith in Nate Schierholtz. I'll let you decide.
John Bowker went 0 for 5 in a Grizzlies 4-3 loss to Sacramento. The Grizzlies are in a bit of a slump themselves having lost 4 games in a row.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Giants muscle up! Are they better than last year?
Giants 9 - Blue Jays 6
If you told me before today's game started that the Blue Jays were going to score 6 runs I would have told you that the Giants were going to lose. However Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, and Pat Burrell each hit homeruns to make up for a shaky start by Jonathan Sanchez on the way to the Giants scoring 9 runs in their 9-6 victory in Toronto.
This Giants team is tough to figure out. In the previous 4 games they had been held to 2 runs or less 3 out of the last 4 games. One of those games they were shut out and another they only scored one run. This stretch prompted everyone to wonder if the offensive explosion that the Giants flashed on the last homestand was a fluke.
This made me wonder if the Giants are a better team than they were last year?
It's still tough to tell even after the Giants scored 9 runs today. It brought their season record on the road to 14-18 which isn't as bad as their 36-45 record on the road last season but it's not much better. They have slightly increased their runs per game from 4.1 last season to 4.3, their team ERA is down to 3.31 from 3.35, and their team batting average has gone from .257 up to .263. All this has translated to a record right now of 38-30, last year they were 37-31 after 68 games so they are exactly 1 game better this year at this time than they were last year.
The Giants brass really will need to make a splash at the trading deadline to significantly change this team over the rest of the season. There aren't that many big names out there. Right now we have David Dejesus, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada, Derrek Lee, Carlos Lee, and Paul Konerko. Kelly Johnson is possibly available too but it's tough to see Arizona dealing him within the division.
So what options do the Giants have out of those guys? Berkman and the two Lees are all batting in the low .200s. I don't think the Giants can afford anymore automatic outs since they already have Rowand and Molina. Tejada is batting a decent .271 and Dejesus is batting .331 but these two have combined for 9 home runs total and pop is what the Giants need right now.
Nate Watch:
Nate got in the game and did not get an AB. Rowand on the other hand got 5 ABs collecting a hit in one of them. He is batting a robust .220
If you told me before today's game started that the Blue Jays were going to score 6 runs I would have told you that the Giants were going to lose. However Aubrey Huff, Freddy Sanchez, and Pat Burrell each hit homeruns to make up for a shaky start by Jonathan Sanchez on the way to the Giants scoring 9 runs in their 9-6 victory in Toronto.
This Giants team is tough to figure out. In the previous 4 games they had been held to 2 runs or less 3 out of the last 4 games. One of those games they were shut out and another they only scored one run. This stretch prompted everyone to wonder if the offensive explosion that the Giants flashed on the last homestand was a fluke.
This made me wonder if the Giants are a better team than they were last year?
It's still tough to tell even after the Giants scored 9 runs today. It brought their season record on the road to 14-18 which isn't as bad as their 36-45 record on the road last season but it's not much better. They have slightly increased their runs per game from 4.1 last season to 4.3, their team ERA is down to 3.31 from 3.35, and their team batting average has gone from .257 up to .263. All this has translated to a record right now of 38-30, last year they were 37-31 after 68 games so they are exactly 1 game better this year at this time than they were last year.
The Giants brass really will need to make a splash at the trading deadline to significantly change this team over the rest of the season. There aren't that many big names out there. Right now we have David Dejesus, Lance Berkman, Miguel Tejada, Derrek Lee, Carlos Lee, and Paul Konerko. Kelly Johnson is possibly available too but it's tough to see Arizona dealing him within the division.
So what options do the Giants have out of those guys? Berkman and the two Lees are all batting in the low .200s. I don't think the Giants can afford anymore automatic outs since they already have Rowand and Molina. Tejada is batting a decent .271 and Dejesus is batting .331 but these two have combined for 9 home runs total and pop is what the Giants need right now. This leaves Paul Konerko as the guy the Giants MUST get. I know I sound like a broken record but this guy is hitting .294/.396/.974 with 17 HRs. he is the best option on the market. Sure, his arrival will finally send Bengie Molina to the bench, but the Giants need this kind of power in the lineup rather than hoping that Pat Burrell can provide it. With him you have a potential lineup of:
Torres CF, Sanchez 2B, Huff LF, Konerko 1B, Uribe SS, Sandoval 3B, Posey C, Schierholtz RF. However more likely we would see a linup along the lines of: Torres CF, Sanchez 2B, Huff RF, Konerko 1B, Sandoval 3B, Uribe SS, Posey C, Burrell LF. Either way I like it a lot better than what we are throwing out there right now.
Nate Watch:
Nate got in the game and did not get an AB. Rowand on the other hand got 5 ABs collecting a hit in one of them. He is batting a robust .220
Saturday, June 19, 2010
A tough loss
Blue Jays 3 - Giants 2
There are going to be tough losses over any 162 game season. Even the best teams are going to lose at least 50 games in a season. Most teams are going to lose more. What makes Thursday's loss to the Blue Jays so tough is that the way that they were unable to score runs off of a mediocre pitcher is the same issue that plagues them a lot of times even when they are winning.
Barry Zito pitched well enough to win today. It's not often that you give up 4 hits in a complete game and still lose. It's beginning to be a cliche to say that a Giants pitcher is a tough luck pitcher. It seems like it will just suffice to say that they are a Giants pitcher. But Zito has managed to go 7-3 and his resurgence has been one of the better stories of the season.
I am liking Aubrey Huff more and more. He hit a long fly ball in the 6th and took a moment to look at it while coming out of the box and made it only to second when a lot of people thought he might have made it to 3rd if he ran a little harder. To his credit he addressed it, didn't make any excuses, and took responsibility for it saying:
"I hit it with all I had, it just didn't go," Huff said. "And a veteran guy like myself, can I get the three if I don't hotdog it a little bit? I don't know. It would have been bang-bang, probably close. I could have given myself a better read on the ball.
"But it's unacceptable. I've got to bust out of the box there. That slight hesitation might have cost me getting to third, but then again even if I'm busting out of the box, I'm not sure if I can get to third. I didn't want to make the first out at third. You've got to go hard. I take responsibility."
Fred Lewis is apparently glad to be out of San Francisco when asked about the trade to Toronto earlier this season he said: “Anything that’s dead should be buried” He also said he would be playing the same anywhere even San Francisco.
I'm not so sure about that.
The Fred Lewis is one of the things that makes me irritated with the Giants fan base. last season the fans were screaming for this guy to be traded for a pack of bubble gum and called Bochy a moron for running him out there every day. Well this spring they got their wish and Lewis was traded for the MLB equivalent of a pack of gum ($75,000) and has played pretty well. Now they are saying that the Giants management mismanaged him and it is their fault that Lewis isn't doing what he is now doing in SF.
I believe one of the reasons Fred was playing so poorly was because of the fan reaction towards him. No matter what they say the players do read the papers and the forums. The hatred for the kid was so intense it had to have an effect on him. The change of scenery to Toronto absolutely was needed for him and the Giants fans would do good to remember that next time they want a player traded for so little. Remember we wanted Jonathan Sanchez gone too.
Nate watch:
Nothing. Bochy managed to get both Rowand and Molina and they collectively went 0 for 6.
There are going to be tough losses over any 162 game season. Even the best teams are going to lose at least 50 games in a season. Most teams are going to lose more. What makes Thursday's loss to the Blue Jays so tough is that the way that they were unable to score runs off of a mediocre pitcher is the same issue that plagues them a lot of times even when they are winning.
Barry Zito pitched well enough to win today. It's not often that you give up 4 hits in a complete game and still lose. It's beginning to be a cliche to say that a Giants pitcher is a tough luck pitcher. It seems like it will just suffice to say that they are a Giants pitcher. But Zito has managed to go 7-3 and his resurgence has been one of the better stories of the season.
I am liking Aubrey Huff more and more. He hit a long fly ball in the 6th and took a moment to look at it while coming out of the box and made it only to second when a lot of people thought he might have made it to 3rd if he ran a little harder. To his credit he addressed it, didn't make any excuses, and took responsibility for it saying:
"I hit it with all I had, it just didn't go," Huff said. "And a veteran guy like myself, can I get the three if I don't hotdog it a little bit? I don't know. It would have been bang-bang, probably close. I could have given myself a better read on the ball.
"But it's unacceptable. I've got to bust out of the box there. That slight hesitation might have cost me getting to third, but then again even if I'm busting out of the box, I'm not sure if I can get to third. I didn't want to make the first out at third. You've got to go hard. I take responsibility."
Fred Lewis is apparently glad to be out of San Francisco when asked about the trade to Toronto earlier this season he said: “Anything that’s dead should be buried” He also said he would be playing the same anywhere even San Francisco.
I'm not so sure about that.
The Fred Lewis is one of the things that makes me irritated with the Giants fan base. last season the fans were screaming for this guy to be traded for a pack of bubble gum and called Bochy a moron for running him out there every day. Well this spring they got their wish and Lewis was traded for the MLB equivalent of a pack of gum ($75,000) and has played pretty well. Now they are saying that the Giants management mismanaged him and it is their fault that Lewis isn't doing what he is now doing in SF.
I believe one of the reasons Fred was playing so poorly was because of the fan reaction towards him. No matter what they say the players do read the papers and the forums. The hatred for the kid was so intense it had to have an effect on him. The change of scenery to Toronto absolutely was needed for him and the Giants fans would do good to remember that next time they want a player traded for so little. Remember we wanted Jonathan Sanchez gone too.
Nate watch:
Nothing. Bochy managed to get both Rowand and Molina and they collectively went 0 for 6.
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