After taking 3 out of 4 from the Central division leading St. Louis Cardinals and regaining sole possession of first place in the NL West. The Giants came home last night and took care of business against the Colorado Rockies.
For some reason, the Giants can't score until after their opponents do. But as long as they keep winning I guess that it's OK. I no longer get too upset over the other team scoring first as it seems that the Giants' offense doesn't realize that there is a baseball game going on until that happens.
The lineup that Bochy put out there last night may just be the best offense that the Giants have. At least until Pablo Sandoval returns. The outfield of Ross, Torres, and Schierholtz are easily the best offensive and defensive options that the Giants have in the outfield. Oh and that guy Schierholtz only had one hit, but it came during the three run fourth inning and he eventually scored. Just sayin...
As for the infield, Burriss definitely earned another start with his 3 hit performance and Crawford was right in the mix as well. I hope this is the beginning of the end of Miguel Tejada's time in a Giants uniform. I loved the guy in Oakland (hell I even have his rookie card), but as Bob Costas said during Thursday night's game on MLB network, Tejada "is a shadow of his former self." Also, according to Carl Steward, I'm not the only one who feels Miggy might be done.
Cain didn't have his best stuff, he did walk four guys, but he made up for it by striking out 7 and holding the Rockies to just one run. Cain has always been a good pitcher. He has never been a dominating pitcher. He has just always found ways to win games. I know his last few starts has caused some concern, but he really has always had hiccups like these along the way.
Tomorrow's forecast calls for rain. That's a bummer. Hopefully they can squeeze the game in but we will see.
Go Giants!
Showing posts with label Matt Cain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Cain. Show all posts
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Tejada comes up big in the 9th!
Miguel Tejada looks like he is happy to be back in the Bay Area. After he homered in his first AB at AT&T (As a member of the Giants) he came up with a huge 2 out, 2 RBI double in the 9th inning to send the Giants home winners on the day that they received their World Series champion rings. During the ring ceremony Tejada, and Brandon Belt, took part in the team picture where all of the players were holding up their hands with their new rings on them. Tejada had his hand behind his back and from the looks of his 9th inning heroics, he is hungry to get one of his own.
Say what you want about whether Rasmus should have caught the ball or not, but this is what Tejada was known for in Oakland. He was always coming up with the big hit for the A's. I remember being at the Coliseum back in 2002 when they were on their 20 game win streak and Tejada hit a late inning homer to give the A's a victory (it was like their 16th or 17th in a row). But that was what he was known for. The guy is obviously not the player he was in 2002, but if he can come through with some clutch hits like he used to, I think the Giants fans will be happy to have had him play for them.
Cain turned in another solid performance and the team actually pulled one out for him. More evidence that we could see big things from Cain. This is the type of game that the Giants always seemed to lose for him in the past so the baseball gods are smiling on him now!
As for Rasmus' miscue in the outfield. Well it's about time. The Giants have given away enough games due to poor defense this season. it's about time they won one due to poor defense.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Spring Training is too long
Today, the Giants found out that Spring Training is way too long.
In addition to getting blasted by the Angels 8-0. Cody Ross got injured, Matt Cain got lit up, and Brian Wilson had a setback in his recovery from what is being called an "oblique strain".
On second thought maybe spring training is long enough! This way the Giants can get all of these little injury bugs over and done with.
On the Cain's outing: He is just getting into the rhythm of things and he doesn't have the luxury of working the offseason kinks out against the minor leaguers the way the other pitchers did earlier in the spring. The guy who hit the 3 run bomb that made Cain's line for the day look so bad? Bobby Abreu. You may have heard of him. Of course we would all like to see Matty continue his scoreless inning streak from last postseason, but as far as I know nobody has ever posted a career ERA of 0.00. Although it would be nice to see one of the Giants' starters do it!
On Brian Wilson's injury: "People might think I'm superhuman, but ... correction. I am superhuman. But, realistically, in six days I'm not going to be 1,000 percent. I'm going to be 990. I'm just going to take it day by day." is what Wilson told reporters after his game of catch. I'm going to listen to him and take him at his word because as he said: "I know my body, I know what I'm capable of doing. I'm not worried about what other people are thinking. I'm going to do what the doctors tell me and control what I can control. Ideally, everyone would have liked to have me healed the night I was injured." I hope he is powering down the Red Bulls.
On Cody Ross' injury: I always get worried when I hear :"calf strain" for some reason this is as troublesome as the old "oblique strain". It sounds minor, but you get guys missing all kinds of time and their performance usually suffers after sustaining one of these injuries. Hopefully, Ross gets shut down for the spring and is OK for opening day. It might not help him be totally dialed in for opening day, but I would rather have him struggle for a few days rather than miss an extended period of time.
One silver lining that the Ross injury could have is that it could affect the possible trading of Nate Schierholtz. With an injury to Ross already staring them in the face, the Giants could be reluctant to part ways with their fourth best outfielder I don't know if it has entered their minds or not, but it's worth getting out there.
Only 7 more days!
In addition to getting blasted by the Angels 8-0. Cody Ross got injured, Matt Cain got lit up, and Brian Wilson had a setback in his recovery from what is being called an "oblique strain".
On second thought maybe spring training is long enough! This way the Giants can get all of these little injury bugs over and done with.
On the Cain's outing: He is just getting into the rhythm of things and he doesn't have the luxury of working the offseason kinks out against the minor leaguers the way the other pitchers did earlier in the spring. The guy who hit the 3 run bomb that made Cain's line for the day look so bad? Bobby Abreu. You may have heard of him. Of course we would all like to see Matty continue his scoreless inning streak from last postseason, but as far as I know nobody has ever posted a career ERA of 0.00. Although it would be nice to see one of the Giants' starters do it!
On Brian Wilson's injury: "People might think I'm superhuman, but ... correction. I am superhuman. But, realistically, in six days I'm not going to be 1,000 percent. I'm going to be 990. I'm just going to take it day by day." is what Wilson told reporters after his game of catch. I'm going to listen to him and take him at his word because as he said: "I know my body, I know what I'm capable of doing. I'm not worried about what other people are thinking. I'm going to do what the doctors tell me and control what I can control. Ideally, everyone would have liked to have me healed the night I was injured." I hope he is powering down the Red Bulls.
On Cody Ross' injury: I always get worried when I hear :"calf strain" for some reason this is as troublesome as the old "oblique strain". It sounds minor, but you get guys missing all kinds of time and their performance usually suffers after sustaining one of these injuries. Hopefully, Ross gets shut down for the spring and is OK for opening day. It might not help him be totally dialed in for opening day, but I would rather have him struggle for a few days rather than miss an extended period of time.
One silver lining that the Ross injury could have is that it could affect the possible trading of Nate Schierholtz. With an injury to Ross already staring them in the face, the Giants could be reluctant to part ways with their fourth best outfielder I don't know if it has entered their minds or not, but it's worth getting out there.
Only 7 more days!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Cain and the Giants beat down the Rangers
GIANTS 9 - RANGERS 0
ESPN took a poll before the World Series started and 49 out of 50 states picked the Rangers to beat the Giants in the World series.
I wonder what kind of results you would get if you took that poll again today?
The Giants dominated the Rangers in every facet of the game last night. They shut them out (for only the sixth time this season) and they brought the big bats with them that they used last night.
The story of the game is Matt Cain. After toiling in relative obscurity for the first 5 years of his career, he started to get a little recognition last season with his selection to the All-Star game last season. He didn't get to pitch thanks to a line drive thanks to a line drive off his forearm but it was the first recognition of what a good pitcher he is.
Last night he put himself amongst the immortals.
With his 7.1 innings of shutout baseball, Cain becomes the fourth pitcher to throw 20+ consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. That list of 4 now has two Giants on it and Christy Matthewson is at the top of that list with 27 consecutive innings pitched. Cain probably won't get a chance to catch the All-Time Giants great since his turn doesn't look like it's going to come back around again. no matter what, Cain has shown the world the great pitcher that Giants fans have known they have had for a few years now. The guys over at RaisingMattCain must be going crazy tonight!
The guy that got all the scoring started was Edgar Renteria. His solo homerun in the 5th got the scoring going for the game. He was the latest of a long line of heroes who have stepped up for the Giants this postseason. But Renteria stepping up is possibly one of the most inspiring. Edgar is a guy who had a pretty solid career, from his game winning hit for the Florida Marlins in game 7 of the 1997 World Series to all of his postseason experience with the Cardinals and Red Sox he has produced. Then he came to the Giants and has done nothing but struggle. Both with his health and with his bat. A lot of Giants fans have considered his signing a bust, and up until this world series it has been. But this World Series is making Brian Sabean look like a genius for signing him.
Renteria has said he is contemplating retirement after the season. If he does retire, then there is no better way to go out than the way he has been this World Series.
Enjoy the off day today. The series picks up again tomorrow in Texas. Jonathan Sanchez Vs. Colby Lewis. So far this series has been relatively torture-free but this is the 2010 Giants so don't be surprised if a little of that creeps in. The Giants really only have to win one game in Texas. At this point, it doesn't look like the Giants will be coming home except to enjoy the parade down market street.
I wonder what kind of results you would get if you took that poll again today?
The Giants dominated the Rangers in every facet of the game last night. They shut them out (for only the sixth time this season) and they brought the big bats with them that they used last night.
The story of the game is Matt Cain. After toiling in relative obscurity for the first 5 years of his career, he started to get a little recognition last season with his selection to the All-Star game last season. He didn't get to pitch thanks to a line drive thanks to a line drive off his forearm but it was the first recognition of what a good pitcher he is.
Last night he put himself amongst the immortals.
With his 7.1 innings of shutout baseball, Cain becomes the fourth pitcher to throw 20+ consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. That list of 4 now has two Giants on it and Christy Matthewson is at the top of that list with 27 consecutive innings pitched. Cain probably won't get a chance to catch the All-Time Giants great since his turn doesn't look like it's going to come back around again. no matter what, Cain has shown the world the great pitcher that Giants fans have known they have had for a few years now. The guys over at RaisingMattCain must be going crazy tonight!
The guy that got all the scoring started was Edgar Renteria. His solo homerun in the 5th got the scoring going for the game. He was the latest of a long line of heroes who have stepped up for the Giants this postseason. But Renteria stepping up is possibly one of the most inspiring. Edgar is a guy who had a pretty solid career, from his game winning hit for the Florida Marlins in game 7 of the 1997 World Series to all of his postseason experience with the Cardinals and Red Sox he has produced. Then he came to the Giants and has done nothing but struggle. Both with his health and with his bat. A lot of Giants fans have considered his signing a bust, and up until this world series it has been. But this World Series is making Brian Sabean look like a genius for signing him.
Enjoy the off day today. The series picks up again tomorrow in Texas. Jonathan Sanchez Vs. Colby Lewis. So far this series has been relatively torture-free but this is the 2010 Giants so don't be surprised if a little of that creeps in. The Giants really only have to win one game in Texas. At this point, it doesn't look like the Giants will be coming home except to enjoy the parade down market street.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Big Game Cain Dominates Phils, Giants take 2 games to 1 series lead!
GIANTS 3 - PHILLIES 0
Big Game Cain.
I think it's safe to say that he has earned that nickname. Cain absolutely dominated the Phillies holding them to 2 hits in seven shutout innings. Other than 3 walks and 2 hit batters, the Phillies really didn't put up too much of a Phight. Cain threw down a challenge to the rest of the Giants staff today. He showed them this Phillie team could be dominated and as they have been telling us all season, the good pitching is contagious.
The scoring was opened by, who else, Cody Ross. I want to take this moment to thank the Florida Marlins for giving the Giants this guy to the Giants for nothing. They are also paying his salary so they can technically say they have a player in the post season.
Bruce Bochy must save his good decisions for the post season because everything this guy has done has worked out. Flip-flop Matt Cain with Jonathan Sanchez? Cool, Sanchez pitched decent and we already know about Cain. Pull a struggling Torres and Fontenot and replace them with Renteria and Rowand? They only scored two of the Giants 3 runs. Bat Aubrey Huff 5th? He only drives in Pat Burrell with 2 outs in the fourth. Put Nate Schierholtz in RF late in the game? He only holds Jimmy Rollins to a single off the RF wall in the 9th with a tremendous defensive play and throw.
Bochy has been raked over the coals by all of us (myself included) for a lot of his decisions during his Giants career. He could probably turn water into wine in this postseason right now. MLB network has been gushing over him all day today and rightfully so.
So Boch, I am glad you are at the helm this postseason!
Only 2 more wins to the World Series!
Big Game Cain.
I think it's safe to say that he has earned that nickname. Cain absolutely dominated the Phillies holding them to 2 hits in seven shutout innings. Other than 3 walks and 2 hit batters, the Phillies really didn't put up too much of a Phight. Cain threw down a challenge to the rest of the Giants staff today. He showed them this Phillie team could be dominated and as they have been telling us all season, the good pitching is contagious.
The scoring was opened by, who else, Cody Ross. I want to take this moment to thank the Florida Marlins for giving the Giants this guy to the Giants for nothing. They are also paying his salary so they can technically say they have a player in the post season.
Bruce Bochy must save his good decisions for the post season because everything this guy has done has worked out. Flip-flop Matt Cain with Jonathan Sanchez? Cool, Sanchez pitched decent and we already know about Cain. Pull a struggling Torres and Fontenot and replace them with Renteria and Rowand? They only scored two of the Giants 3 runs. Bat Aubrey Huff 5th? He only drives in Pat Burrell with 2 outs in the fourth. Put Nate Schierholtz in RF late in the game? He only holds Jimmy Rollins to a single off the RF wall in the 9th with a tremendous defensive play and throw.
Bochy has been raked over the coals by all of us (myself included) for a lot of his decisions during his Giants career. He could probably turn water into wine in this postseason right now. MLB network has been gushing over him all day today and rightfully so. So Boch, I am glad you are at the helm this postseason!
Only 2 more wins to the World Series!
Friday, October 8, 2010
Giants throw game 2 away
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| Burrell's 3-run homer had us excited early |
Then came the 8th inning.
The normally steady duo of Brian Wilson and Sergio Romo came on and coughed up the lead. A bad throw by Pablo Sandoval allowed one of the Braves 8th inning runs to be unearned making 2 of the Braves runs on the night unearned.
Romo and Wilson had to get over their postseason jitters I guess. Romo didn't retire a single batter while allowing 2 baserunners. The Sandoval on a slow roller to third with runners on first and third in the eighth inning wouldn't have prevented the runner on third from scoring but the runner who scored the tying run on Alex Gonzalez's 2 run double wouldn't have been on base to score the tying run.
In the bottom of the 10th the Giants were in position to win the game with the bases loaded, one out, and future rookie of the year Buster Posey at the plate. All the Giants needed at this point was anything other than a double play. A double play is exactly what the Giants got. One of the storylines of the 2010 season returned to bite the Giants in the ass at the worst possible time. The momentum suddenly was in the Braves dugout.
In the 11th Ramon Ramirez served up a fat pitch on a plate for Rick Ankiel who hit what has to be the longest homerun of his career to put the Braves up to stay. It looked like Travis Ishikawa caught ahold of one in the bottom of the 11th but it was off the end of the bat was just a fly ball out.
The Braves and Giants will head to Atlanta for game 3. The Giants need to just win one game in the Atl. Johnny No-no will be taking the mound for the Giants while the Braves will counter with Tim Hudson. It's gonna be another tough battle for the Giants and probably another torturous game. But us Giants fans are used to those so it will be no problem.
We can all worry about any heart conditions after the Giants win the world series!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Giants rally comes up short
PADRES 6 - GIANTS 4
You knew it was gonna happen. The Giants were gonna have to stretch the season out just a liiiiiitle bit longer.
Matt Cain just didn't have it tonight and the Padres capitalized. He gave up all 6 runs in 4 innings. In a way I'm glad Cain got this hiccup out of the way. Better have it come during the regular season than in the playoffs.
The Giants, to their credit, made it a game. The big hit of the night came from the least likely source of all. Aaron Rowand. I'm glad he got a moment to shine. Despite what we all think about his play, the guy is a gamer and he goes about playing the game the right way. The bullpen came through and pitched 5 innings of shutout baseball and the Giants got the tying run up to the plate in Aubrey Huff who somehow managed to fly out into a double play.
Anyway the champagne will just have to chill on ice for one more day. It wouldn't be a fitting end to the 2010 Giants season if they just won it in the first game.
Go Giants!
You knew it was gonna happen. The Giants were gonna have to stretch the season out just a liiiiiitle bit longer.
Matt Cain just didn't have it tonight and the Padres capitalized. He gave up all 6 runs in 4 innings. In a way I'm glad Cain got this hiccup out of the way. Better have it come during the regular season than in the playoffs.
The Giants, to their credit, made it a game. The big hit of the night came from the least likely source of all. Aaron Rowand. I'm glad he got a moment to shine. Despite what we all think about his play, the guy is a gamer and he goes about playing the game the right way. The bullpen came through and pitched 5 innings of shutout baseball and the Giants got the tying run up to the plate in Aubrey Huff who somehow managed to fly out into a double play.Anyway the champagne will just have to chill on ice for one more day. It wouldn't be a fitting end to the 2010 Giants season if they just won it in the first game.
Go Giants!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Giants: win one more and they are in!
GIANTS 4 - DBACKS 1
All the San Francisco Giants need to do against the San Diego Padres this weekend is win one game. That's it.
One win and they are in the playoffs.
All season long, baseball fans on the West Coast have been pointing towards this series as the one that will decide the NL West. This weekend the baseball world will be focused on San Francisco while the Giants will have 3 chances to close out their first NL west title since 2003. They will be throwing Cain, Zito, and Sanchez against Richard, Staufer, and Latos.
The Giants are riding a four game winning streak into this series while the Padres have lost 3 out of 4 to the Chicago Cubs. The Giants are riding the homerun ball while the Padres are struggling to score even one run.
All this points to good things for the Giants.
I'm going to say the Giants close it out tomorrow behind the arm of "Big Game" Matt Cain and the bat of Pablo Sandoval. Cain has been the Giants' most consistent pitcher this season and Pablo could use some more good mojo heading into the playoffs.
See you guys tomorrow!
One win and they are in the playoffs.
All season long, baseball fans on the West Coast have been pointing towards this series as the one that will decide the NL West. This weekend the baseball world will be focused on San Francisco while the Giants will have 3 chances to close out their first NL west title since 2003. They will be throwing Cain, Zito, and Sanchez against Richard, Staufer, and Latos.
The Giants are riding a four game winning streak into this series while the Padres have lost 3 out of 4 to the Chicago Cubs. The Giants are riding the homerun ball while the Padres are struggling to score even one run.
All this points to good things for the Giants.
I'm going to say the Giants close it out tomorrow behind the arm of "Big Game" Matt Cain and the bat of Pablo Sandoval. Cain has been the Giants' most consistent pitcher this season and Pablo could use some more good mojo heading into the playoffs.
See you guys tomorrow!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Big Game Cain shuts down the Rockies
Matt Cain took a no-hitter into the 8th inning Vs. the Colorado Rockies. Jay Payton legged out an infield hit to break up the no-hitter and Melvin Mora hit a 2 run homer to account for all the scoring that the Rockies would do.
Cain finished the game for his 12th career complete game and effectively knocked the Rockies out of the post season.
Big Game Cain was officially born today. This was the biggest game that Cain has pitched in so far in his career. never before had Cain ever been in a race this close this late in the season. Considering that Rockies pounded out 17 hits last night and won the game with a dramatic double in the 10th they could have easily used that momentum from last night and turned this game into a laugher.
But Matt came through when the Giants needed him the most.
Cain's next big test will come next weekend against San Diego on the second to last game of the season. He could be potentially pitching the pennant clinching game so he will need to bring his big game stuff once again.
At the time I am writing this the Padres are down 6-2 to the Cincinnati Reds so hopefully the Giants will be no worse than tied after tomorrow's day off.
*Update*
The Reds ponded the Padres 12-2 so the Giants are once again in sole possession of first. The Padres play the Cubs in San Diego so hopefully the Cubs can win one of those games. It sure looks like it's gonna come down to the final weekend in San Diego
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Giants Historic run comes to an end
ROCKIES 10 - GIANTS 9
I don't think that anybody is surprised that the Giants historic run of allowing 3 runs or less finally came to an end in Coors Field of all places. It was bound to happen somewhere and at sometime. You just hoped that the offense would step up and carry the team to victory.
The offense did step up in a big way. They pounded out 15 hits, Hit four homers, and scored 9 runs.
Unfortunately, the pitching regressed towards the mean in a big way tonight.
The Rockies hammered the Giants for 17 hits and 10 runs. They were led by Troy Tulowitski who has been an absolute beast in September. Tulo pounded out 4 hits and 5 RBIs including the Rockies lone homerun. I know a lot of people are criticizing Bochy for pitching to Tulo in the 8th and the 10th but the way this game was going it was hard to give away free baserunners no matter who was in the box. If there is anything I would be critical of would be pitching to Tulo in the 10th since his run would have been worthless anyway. I'm not sure what Boch was thinking there but it would be interesting to hear.
It was one of those Coors field games. Maybe the Rockies just decided to put all of their juiced balls in play figuring they could outhit the Giants anyway.
I want to end this blog by congratulating the Giants pitching staff. Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, Chris Ray, Javier Lopez, Guillermo Mota, Ramon Ramirez, Dan Runzler, Jeremy Affeldt, and Brian Wilson. You guys were a part of the most dominant stretch of pitching in Major League history. 18 straight games with three runs or less allowed. Only the 1917 Chicago White Sox had a longer streak, 20 games, but that was during the dead ball era, it wasn't during a pennant race, and they never played a single game in Coors Field.
Congratulations guys!
Now go win the West!
I don't think that anybody is surprised that the Giants historic run of allowing 3 runs or less finally came to an end in Coors Field of all places. It was bound to happen somewhere and at sometime. You just hoped that the offense would step up and carry the team to victory.
The offense did step up in a big way. They pounded out 15 hits, Hit four homers, and scored 9 runs.
Unfortunately, the pitching regressed towards the mean in a big way tonight.
The Rockies hammered the Giants for 17 hits and 10 runs. They were led by Troy Tulowitski who has been an absolute beast in September. Tulo pounded out 4 hits and 5 RBIs including the Rockies lone homerun. I know a lot of people are criticizing Bochy for pitching to Tulo in the 8th and the 10th but the way this game was going it was hard to give away free baserunners no matter who was in the box. If there is anything I would be critical of would be pitching to Tulo in the 10th since his run would have been worthless anyway. I'm not sure what Boch was thinking there but it would be interesting to hear.
It was one of those Coors field games. Maybe the Rockies just decided to put all of their juiced balls in play figuring they could outhit the Giants anyway.
I want to end this blog by congratulating the Giants pitching staff. Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner, Sergio Romo, Santiago Casilla, Chris Ray, Javier Lopez, Guillermo Mota, Ramon Ramirez, Dan Runzler, Jeremy Affeldt, and Brian Wilson. You guys were a part of the most dominant stretch of pitching in Major League history. 18 straight games with three runs or less allowed. Only the 1917 Chicago White Sox had a longer streak, 20 games, but that was during the dead ball era, it wasn't during a pennant race, and they never played a single game in Coors Field.
Congratulations guys!
Now go win the West!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Giants pitching dominates! Offense? Not so much....
The San Francisco Giants played their seventh 1-0 game of the season last night. Bet you can't guess what their record is! I'll tell you at the end of the post.
Matt Cain reinforced his argument that he is the best Giants starting pitcher by going 6 shutout innings. He didn't have his strikeout stuff, but he only allowed 2 hits. Matt Cain, Ramon Ramirez, Sergio Romo, and Brian "Too Much Awesomeness" Wilson are the heroes of the game
The Giants offense strengthened their case to not receive any playoff shares.
Sure, he is still my leading candidate for rookie of the year and I would even go so far as to say he has a shot of NL MVP. But the Giants have scored 2 runs or less in 7 out of their last 10 games. Which means in case you hadn't realized means the pitching staff has carried this team.
Maybe Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean need to have a closed door meeting with all of the hitters like they famously did with the pitchers a few weeks back. I don't know. Bt the offensive drought has really got me worried. What happens if the Pitchers give up 2 runs one night?It's time for the offense to step up in a big way the rest of the season.
The Giant's record in 1-0 games this season is 2 wins, 5 losses. Ouch
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Cain dominates Dodgers
Image via WikipediaMatt Cain twirled 7 shutout innings, allowed 3 hits and walked none. The Giants beat the Dodgers 2-1 at AT&T park last night. They also moved back to within .5 a game of first place.
It looked like a repeat of last night. Great pitching and nobody scored any runs until late. But this time the Giants came out on top. Even though he allowed more hits than the night before, Cain and the Giants' bullpen didn't issue a single free pass all night long. the only run came on a solo Andre Ethier homerun off of Brian WIlson in the 9th who, oh by the way, came in and picked up his 43rd save.
Tonight the Giants face Ted Lilly and counter with Jonathan Sanchez. I wish Boch would just leave the lineup that he threw out last night in tact, but he has already said that Pablo will get a night off. I bet Fontenot and Nate go back to the bench too. I know a lot of people thought Bochy was crazy for throwing out that lineup, but why not? The other guys he was trotting out there weren't getting the job done either..
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.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Cain gets roughed up in the city of brotherly love
PHILLIES 8 - GIANTS 2
It was almost a carbon copy of the game the night before. The Giants jumped out to an early lead, the starter was shutting the Phillies down, the Phillies tied the game, in the next inning they put the game away, and Pat Burrell homered.
All the Sabean and Bochy detractors are getting ready to start dancing in the streets especially after two of Sabean's trade pickups contributed to the losses the last couple of nights, with Mike Fontenot's errors and Chris Ray's Ray's inability to get batters out. At least Ray won't be able to give up any more runs now that he is on the DL. But at least we got Affeldt back so he can give up a couple of runs for him!
The Giants this season are 67-54 which is a huge improvement over last season right?
Well it is an improvement but considering the Giants were 66-55 at this point last season, you realize that maybe things aren't that much better. Last season around this time, the Giants went into a slide that cost them the playoffs and this season's version of the Giants look poised to do the same.
Nothing looks right for the Giants. The offense couldn't take advantage of the Phillis weakest link in Joe Blanton. To show what a difference an offense makes, Blanton's ERA coming into last nights game was actually higher than Todd Wellemeyer's 5.69 to 5.68. Wellemeyer was DFA and Blanton looks to be a factor on the Phillies all the way to the playoffs.
However, if you want to pin the recent losses on the offense then one would have to assume the Giants pitching staff has been doing it's job. Well, when you consider that in the last 3 games that the Giants have lost after they won that 11 inning affair vs the Padres on Saturday, the Giants pitchers have given up 8, 9, and 8 runs, you realize that the rotation isn't doing it's job.
But cheer up Giants faithful, the Phillie favorite Aaron Rowand will be making an appearance in the starting lineup today so Huff can get a day off and Posey can rest his legs at first base!
It was almost a carbon copy of the game the night before. The Giants jumped out to an early lead, the starter was shutting the Phillies down, the Phillies tied the game, in the next inning they put the game away, and Pat Burrell homered.All the Sabean and Bochy detractors are getting ready to start dancing in the streets especially after two of Sabean's trade pickups contributed to the losses the last couple of nights, with Mike Fontenot's errors and Chris Ray's Ray's inability to get batters out. At least Ray won't be able to give up any more runs now that he is on the DL. But at least we got Affeldt back so he can give up a couple of runs for him!
The Giants this season are 67-54 which is a huge improvement over last season right?
Well it is an improvement but considering the Giants were 66-55 at this point last season, you realize that maybe things aren't that much better. Last season around this time, the Giants went into a slide that cost them the playoffs and this season's version of the Giants look poised to do the same.
Nothing looks right for the Giants. The offense couldn't take advantage of the Phillis weakest link in Joe Blanton. To show what a difference an offense makes, Blanton's ERA coming into last nights game was actually higher than Todd Wellemeyer's 5.69 to 5.68. Wellemeyer was DFA and Blanton looks to be a factor on the Phillies all the way to the playoffs.
However, if you want to pin the recent losses on the offense then one would have to assume the Giants pitching staff has been doing it's job. Well, when you consider that in the last 3 games that the Giants have lost after they won that 11 inning affair vs the Padres on Saturday, the Giants pitchers have given up 8, 9, and 8 runs, you realize that the rotation isn't doing it's job.
But cheer up Giants faithful, the Phillie favorite Aaron Rowand will be making an appearance in the starting lineup today so Huff can get a day off and Posey can rest his legs at first base!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The G-men break out the Whoopin Sticks!
GIANTS 10 - ROCKIES 0
A 10-0 shutout in Colorado? Where do we begin?
There were so many contributors last night. 7 Giants had multi-hit games, Juan Uribe came off the bench to get an RBI, and the Giants clubbed 3 homeruns!
But for me the player of the game is Jonathan Sanchez.
Coming off a series against the Cubs in which they scored 31 runs, had a record 11 straight hits in one inning, and ran their win streak to 4 in a row. It would have been an understatement to say that the Rockies offense was hot.
Jonathan Sanchez woke up at 2PM Tuesday afternoon after sleeping off the effects of a fever he suffered from on Monday If he showed up and pitched say 6 innings it would be understandable.
Well pitch 6 innings he did. Through those 6 innings he struck out 9, allowed only 3 hits, and it wouldn't be a Jonathan Sanchez start if he didn't allow the 4 walks that he did.
7 of Sanchez's strikeouts all came in a row. Which is pretty amazing in and of itself but it becomes even more impressive when you realize that 7 Ks in a row is a franchise record held by the Hall of Famer Juan Marichal set 46 years ago!
I know a lot of people were clamoring for the Giants to pick up a bat at the deadline at the expense of Dirty Sanchez. Give credit to Sanchez, he responded by showing the Giants exactly what they would be missing if they gave him up. This is the second time that the lefty has placed himself in the Giants record books in the last 2 years. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jason Schmidt, John Burkett, Bill Swift, Shawn Estes, Mike Krukow, and countless other Giants pitchers have pitched for the team in the last 46 years and they haven't done the things that Sanchez has done.
Another thing to consider about Sanchez. He is our 4th starter. 4th starters are usually inconsistent. They usually can win or lose on any given day. They usually aren't capable of dominance the way that Sanchez is capable of.
Sanchez's record is 8-6, his ERA is good for 18th in the NL, His 136 strikeouts are good for 10th in the NL, and his 9.56 K/9 is good for 2nd in the NL.
How do you replace that in the rotation? Not only that, how do you replace anybody in the Giants rotation when you consider the next best option after the guys that they have in their currently is Todd Wellemeyer.
Also, what do the Giants do when they have to limit the amount of innings that Madison Bumgarner throws later this season if Sanchez is gone? Bring up another minor leaguer? I'm sorry but this is one move that the Giants didn't make that made sense.
A 10-0 shutout in Colorado? Where do we begin?
There were so many contributors last night. 7 Giants had multi-hit games, Juan Uribe came off the bench to get an RBI, and the Giants clubbed 3 homeruns!
But for me the player of the game is Jonathan Sanchez.
Coming off a series against the Cubs in which they scored 31 runs, had a record 11 straight hits in one inning, and ran their win streak to 4 in a row. It would have been an understatement to say that the Rockies offense was hot.
Jonathan Sanchez woke up at 2PM Tuesday afternoon after sleeping off the effects of a fever he suffered from on Monday If he showed up and pitched say 6 innings it would be understandable.
Well pitch 6 innings he did. Through those 6 innings he struck out 9, allowed only 3 hits, and it wouldn't be a Jonathan Sanchez start if he didn't allow the 4 walks that he did.
7 of Sanchez's strikeouts all came in a row. Which is pretty amazing in and of itself but it becomes even more impressive when you realize that 7 Ks in a row is a franchise record held by the Hall of Famer Juan Marichal set 46 years ago!
I know a lot of people were clamoring for the Giants to pick up a bat at the deadline at the expense of Dirty Sanchez. Give credit to Sanchez, he responded by showing the Giants exactly what they would be missing if they gave him up. This is the second time that the lefty has placed himself in the Giants record books in the last 2 years. Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jason Schmidt, John Burkett, Bill Swift, Shawn Estes, Mike Krukow, and countless other Giants pitchers have pitched for the team in the last 46 years and they haven't done the things that Sanchez has done.
Another thing to consider about Sanchez. He is our 4th starter. 4th starters are usually inconsistent. They usually can win or lose on any given day. They usually aren't capable of dominance the way that Sanchez is capable of.
Sanchez's record is 8-6, his ERA is good for 18th in the NL, His 136 strikeouts are good for 10th in the NL, and his 9.56 K/9 is good for 2nd in the NL.
How do you replace that in the rotation? Not only that, how do you replace anybody in the Giants rotation when you consider the next best option after the guys that they have in their currently is Todd Wellemeyer.
Also, what do the Giants do when they have to limit the amount of innings that Madison Bumgarner throws later this season if Sanchez is gone? Bring up another minor leaguer? I'm sorry but this is one move that the Giants didn't make that made sense.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Giants sweep the Dodgers in SF for the first time since 2003!
GIANTS 2 - DODGERS 0
It was a night of firsts.
Matt Cain's first win in 9 decisions against the Dodgers, Giants first sweep of the Dodgers in SF since 203, Javier Lopez's first appearance of the season, and Edgar Renteria's first clutch hit as a Giant!
Well OK, maybe Rent has had a few clutch hits as a Giant, but this one is the biggest this season. (this one was the biggest last season) But it didn't make it any less surprising. I loved Joe Morgan's comment early in Rent's at bat when he mentioned that Renteria has had a repuutation throughought his career for being a clutch hitter. Probably one pitch before Rent drilled his triple into the left centerfield gap that Matt Kemp totally misplayed from a double into a triple.
The fact that Rent was up with 2 runners on at all made me question Joe Torre's status as a great manager. Torre, for some reason that I still can't figure out, intentionally walked Aaron Rowand, who was hitting a robust .230 against LHP this season, so that lefty Clayton Kershaw could face Edgar Renteria, who was batting .333 Vs. lefties this season. Edgar promptly ripped the triple into the alley and scored the only 2 runs of the game and single handedly was responsible for the offensive side of things in tonight's victory.
And they say Bochy is a bad manager!
The battle of the trade deadline acquisitions was decidedly in the Giant's favor as well. Javier Lopez made his Giants debut and threw 2 pitches to the new Dodgers leftfielder, Scott Podsednik, who he got to ground out to end the 8th inning.
It doesn't get any easier for the Giants. Starting Tuesday, they face the Colorado Rockies in Colorado. They will be throwing Sanchez, Bumgarner, and Lincecum at the team that has won 4 games in a row after losing their previous 8. Then it's off to Atlanta to face the always tough Braves and to have the 2 top NL ROY candidates face off against one another.
Link of the Day:
John Bowker is in a better place now. It seems that after the initial shock of being traded wore off . john Bowker realized that the Giants have done him a favor by sending him to Pittsburgh. He wasn't going to get a chance to play everyday in San Francisco while they were in contention. Hell, he wouldn't have even put on a Giants uniform until September at the earliest. But in Pitt he will get a chance to play. The Pirates aren't going anywhere and they play in a more hitter friendly park than the Giants do. Good luck Johnny B. and hopefully Bowkermania will catch on in Pittsburgh!
It was a night of firsts.Matt Cain's first win in 9 decisions against the Dodgers, Giants first sweep of the Dodgers in SF since 203, Javier Lopez's first appearance of the season, and Edgar Renteria's first clutch hit as a Giant!
Well OK, maybe Rent has had a few clutch hits as a Giant, but this one is the biggest this season. (this one was the biggest last season) But it didn't make it any less surprising. I loved Joe Morgan's comment early in Rent's at bat when he mentioned that Renteria has had a repuutation throughought his career for being a clutch hitter. Probably one pitch before Rent drilled his triple into the left centerfield gap that Matt Kemp totally misplayed from a double into a triple.
The fact that Rent was up with 2 runners on at all made me question Joe Torre's status as a great manager. Torre, for some reason that I still can't figure out, intentionally walked Aaron Rowand, who was hitting a robust .230 against LHP this season, so that lefty Clayton Kershaw could face Edgar Renteria, who was batting .333 Vs. lefties this season. Edgar promptly ripped the triple into the alley and scored the only 2 runs of the game and single handedly was responsible for the offensive side of things in tonight's victory.
And they say Bochy is a bad manager!
The battle of the trade deadline acquisitions was decidedly in the Giant's favor as well. Javier Lopez made his Giants debut and threw 2 pitches to the new Dodgers leftfielder, Scott Podsednik, who he got to ground out to end the 8th inning.
It doesn't get any easier for the Giants. Starting Tuesday, they face the Colorado Rockies in Colorado. They will be throwing Sanchez, Bumgarner, and Lincecum at the team that has won 4 games in a row after losing their previous 8. Then it's off to Atlanta to face the always tough Braves and to have the 2 top NL ROY candidates face off against one another.
Link of the Day:
John Bowker is in a better place now. It seems that after the initial shock of being traded wore off . john Bowker realized that the Giants have done him a favor by sending him to Pittsburgh. He wasn't going to get a chance to play everyday in San Francisco while they were in contention. Hell, he wouldn't have even put on a Giants uniform until September at the earliest. But in Pitt he will get a chance to play. The Pirates aren't going anywhere and they play in a more hitter friendly park than the Giants do. Good luck Johnny B. and hopefully Bowkermania will catch on in Pittsburgh!
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.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Cain throws a gem
GIANTS 3 - DIAMONDBACKS 0
8 shutout innings, 3 hits, and 9 strikeouts.
Nice story in USAtoday about the Giants newest Hall of Famer, Jon Miller. Best line is about how Miller told his wife he was in the hall. He asks her: "Did you ever sleep with a member of the baseball Hall of Fame?"
8 shutout innings, 3 hits, and 9 strikeouts.That was Cain's line against the D-backs last night. That easily qualifies as a dominant start. Also, don't believe that because the Diamondbacks are in last place that they are a team that gets dominated like this all the time. they are 6th in baseball in homeruns, 9th in slugging, and 5th in walks. They are good at providing offense.
Matt Cain is one of the more maddening pitchers on the Giants' staff. He has the stuff to completely dominate. So good he has been compared to Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. He never seems to get any runs, the bullpen has given up more leads for him than probably anybody in the majors, and at times he is just awful.
He will then rattle off a start like he did last night and everyone will remember why they love this kid. He has the potential to do this every time he takes the hill and more often than not he does. You just can't help but wish he would put it all together a little more often. But Cain is young. In fact, he is younger than even Tim Lincecum. he will be 26 this October so even though he is already in his 6th big league season, he still has plenty of time to put it all together and win a lot of games.
The Buster Posey show continues. He now has a 16 game hitting streak which is currently 3rd best among Giants rookies all time. Behind only Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey. Not bad company to be in.
Link of the day:
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.
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