I'm not sure how to start this. Perhaps with these words:
Today finalized our first series win in Atlanta since 1993. That's 22 straight, and 18 of those were straight series losses down in Georgia. The victory today made the series three games out of four.
How did it happen? Glad you asked. Multiple ways:
The Braves pitcher, Campillo, was messy all day, especially in the 1st when we set the pace early with three runs. Zito was fantastic (note again, on the road), allowing just five hits and no runs over seven innings. Yabu actually pitched well in relief again, as he used to early in the season. Burriss was 1-4 with a run; Ishikawa the same. Roberts 1-3 with a run; Rowand 1-3 with a HR. Pablo Sandoval was 2-4 with a run as well. Even Romo, recalled from Fresno, retired the 9th inning easily.
FINAL: 5-0, ATL
Unreal. Just unreal.
-MSH
PS -> Please notice, this is once again after starting multiple youth.
Showing posts with label Rowand. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rowand. Show all posts
Monday, August 18, 2008
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Comeback Kids
This was the most exciting weekend I've seen this year from S.F. It also helps affirm my upbringing never to leave a game before it's over, even when it's late and cold.
Proof: two consecutive last-chance comebacks against the Dodgers at home. This is our first winning homestand of the season (which is sad, but huge), and our first series win over L.A.
Here's a quick run-down, though I don't want to simply recap what you can find at the wrap for Friday, at the wrap for Saturday, at the wrap for Sunday, or at the recap of the entire thing.
Friday:
Zito gives up five runs in five innings. That's enough.
Saturday:
Bonds shows up to the 50th Anniversary OF ceremony, walking in from LF while Mays, his godfather, walks in from CF. Mays was thankful; Bonds was humorous. "I just have to say that it's odd not being in uniform and the Dodgers are right there" (pointing and looking ominously to the dugout), "Torre, I beat you before, and I'll beat you again", and of course the awkward but eventually amusing end: "I haven't retired; thank you."
Correia pitches six solid innings; Billy Sadler pitches two beautifully complete innings in relief (including striking out Manny Ramirez in a close situation to end a game-blowing threat); The Manimal does not blow the game even though he wasn't in a save situation; Walker blows the game, giving up a solo shot to Kent in the 10th, but gets rescued; Roberts goes 3-3 with two leadoff doubles; S.F. gets a walk-off win after Roberts doubles, Winn singles, Burriss reaches after an error-throw home (scoring Roberts), Ochoa gets HBP, and Rowand singles after previously going 0-3 to win the game. Sadler's outing would later become a huge debate, because, just up from the minors, he fist-pumped this strikeout or Ramirez, which caused Kent to give a glare to our bullpen when hitting the go-ahead HR; that glare, in turn, probably fired us up enough to put them away. Good, old-fashioned S.F.-L.A. baseball.
Sunday:
Cain pitches well, though it wasn't his best start. He did manage to hit Manny Ramirez in the first inning, though if one looks at the replay, because Manny bent down he got hit in the head instead of, oh, getting hit in the hamstring or perhaps not at all. Winn gets all three of our first runs somehow, either with a single early or a double mid-late in the game. Ramirez gave the Dodgers the lead with a 2-run double late, but that wasn't enough for the Dodger 'pen. Winn led off with a single in the 9th, going 3-4 that day. A botched bunt pop-up by Vizquel and a perfect DP-ball thanks to Mr. Castillo wasn't even enough, because the newly-acquired Blake had an error at 3B off that DP-ball, and Kuo couldn't handle a soft grounder from Velez (who ran it out, thank God) -- walk-off win again.
No question: the best weekend of the season. I was so hoarse from Saturday night that I couldn't speak regularly for half of Sunday, and I still can't sing normally in my usual range.
-MSH
Proof: two consecutive last-chance comebacks against the Dodgers at home. This is our first winning homestand of the season (which is sad, but huge), and our first series win over L.A.
Here's a quick run-down, though I don't want to simply recap what you can find at the wrap for Friday, at the wrap for Saturday, at the wrap for Sunday, or at the recap of the entire thing.
Friday:
Zito gives up five runs in five innings. That's enough.
Saturday:
Bonds shows up to the 50th Anniversary OF ceremony, walking in from LF while Mays, his godfather, walks in from CF. Mays was thankful; Bonds was humorous. "I just have to say that it's odd not being in uniform and the Dodgers are right there" (pointing and looking ominously to the dugout), "Torre, I beat you before, and I'll beat you again", and of course the awkward but eventually amusing end: "I haven't retired; thank you."
Correia pitches six solid innings; Billy Sadler pitches two beautifully complete innings in relief (including striking out Manny Ramirez in a close situation to end a game-blowing threat); The Manimal does not blow the game even though he wasn't in a save situation; Walker blows the game, giving up a solo shot to Kent in the 10th, but gets rescued; Roberts goes 3-3 with two leadoff doubles; S.F. gets a walk-off win after Roberts doubles, Winn singles, Burriss reaches after an error-throw home (scoring Roberts), Ochoa gets HBP, and Rowand singles after previously going 0-3 to win the game. Sadler's outing would later become a huge debate, because, just up from the minors, he fist-pumped this strikeout or Ramirez, which caused Kent to give a glare to our bullpen when hitting the go-ahead HR; that glare, in turn, probably fired us up enough to put them away. Good, old-fashioned S.F.-L.A. baseball.
Sunday:
Cain pitches well, though it wasn't his best start. He did manage to hit Manny Ramirez in the first inning, though if one looks at the replay, because Manny bent down he got hit in the head instead of, oh, getting hit in the hamstring or perhaps not at all. Winn gets all three of our first runs somehow, either with a single early or a double mid-late in the game. Ramirez gave the Dodgers the lead with a 2-run double late, but that wasn't enough for the Dodger 'pen. Winn led off with a single in the 9th, going 3-4 that day. A botched bunt pop-up by Vizquel and a perfect DP-ball thanks to Mr. Castillo wasn't even enough, because the newly-acquired Blake had an error at 3B off that DP-ball, and Kuo couldn't handle a soft grounder from Velez (who ran it out, thank God) -- walk-off win again.
No question: the best weekend of the season. I was so hoarse from Saturday night that I couldn't speak regularly for half of Sunday, and I still can't sing normally in my usual range.
-MSH
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
55 Is Greater Than 16.
Here's the first thing I heard before today's game from Bruce:
Matos and Romo are gone; Sadler and Yabu are back in. Yabu's "been waiting the last few days" and wants to get back in. They actually think he'll "shore up the bullpen".
I found this hard to understand. Yabu is the only one in the pen who's failed to keep a run from scoring (or keep himself from hitting a batter) in any of his last four appearances. I guess we'll find out if his problems really were for injury's sake. Bochy also admitted that Lincecum has shown "no signs of wearing down at all". Hmm. Maybe you should let him go a full eight innings this time? The lineup is the same as last night, which tells me that it's well known that the bullpen was the issue last night.
Lincecum is up against one Chuck James, who's had a rough year of it. Initially expected to be foundational to the Atlanta rotation, he lost control early (he's a finesse pitcher), and just got recalled from AAA. His only start since that recall was not very pretty. Of course, it was against Milwaukee, so I'm not sure it was going to be good anyway.
First pitch: outside, ball one. Second pitch: fastball, strike. Third pitch: fastball in at the knees, strike. Fourth pitch: ground out to Ochoa, 6-3. The hitters may not be messing around because they do in fact know that Timmy the Kid don't be messin' around. In 150 innings, he has 54 BBs, 167 Ks, and only 131 Hs. Ochoa almost collides with Rowand in short CF, but the second out is as quick as the first. Kotchman walks, but the next pitch is a strike, fastball inside. But off a 1-2 count, the ball is hit right to Castillo at 3B -- had he been playing straight. But he is not, and it's an easy basehit. Another liner is rocketed by Infante, and Lewis makes a perfect throw to Molina -- Kotchman out by plenty, but luckily. 1st Inning: rocky.
For our half, Winn gets a leadoff single. Tied for ninth in the NL for steals, he's not an idle threat there, so it is advantageous. The interesting thing about James is that he hesitates with his leg lifted, thereby making it a bit difficult to know where he's going with a pitch. The nice thing is that it's consistent, and Rowand tracked him immediately. He falls behind in the count, but that is because he knows he can hammer something. And he does; tags a changeup for a HR (our second in less than two days - something of note for this team) to LCF, giving us an immediate 2-0 lead. Apparently, James has allowed 10 HRs in 26 IP, more than 3 HRs per game. Which is just what this team needs. The throw from Escobar on Molina's AB was much wild - a mental mistake because he had a lot of time. But instead, Molina is safe at 1B. A few easy outs ends it, but leaving the first inning with two runs and escaping a rough start is excellent.
Lincecum strikes the first batter of the 2nd out with that beautiful changeup. The same happens for the second out, the changeup sliding away. A shady call leads to a BB next, and that shadiness obviously throws Tim: the pitcher got a 3-0 count. Timmy is resilient, though, and strikes James out on three straight. 2nd Inning: shady.
Our bottom of the 2nd contains nothing, but the 3rd Inning starts the same way in our favor. The first out is an easy roller to Burriss. The second is a one-pitch fly out, and so is the third. Four pitches, three outs; I'll take that. At all times, I will take that.
The bottom is not so easy for James. A leadoff hit by Winn to LF (again!), and Ochoa bunts him over to 2B. James, obviously shaken from his previous facing of Rowand, gets a balk called on him. Winn to 3B. James needed not be scared; Rowand hadn't hit many HRs at all. But Aaron does get this AB for a sac fly, probably because of that mind game advantage, and scores Winn. 3-0, S.F. Molina lines one past Infante at 3B and became 1-2. The 3rd ends on a fly out, but Kotsay has to make a catch at the warning track. Not bad, boys. Not bad. Keiichi Yabu should not be in my head at this point.
4th Inning now. A liner makes Lincecum hit the mound. Timmy laughs, because he avoided it. McCann could be expected to have hit that: he is now 4-7 against him. But the next batter is a one-pitch fly out to Winn. Kotsay walks after another close inside called-ball; Lincecum's third BB of the day. Thankfully, a fly out to RCF is another one-pitch out. Lewis makes a great running catch on a strongly hit ball, and two are stranded, while the third out was off of two pitches. Timmy's 59-pitch count looks too high, but that stat does not reveal how easy the last two innings have been for him. All seems well.
Aurilia pops up to start our half, his second one of the day, and throws his bat straight up in the air with a sarcastic feel. OMS does nothing; Burriss gets a two-out single to CF; Lincecum Ks, but that's not unusual for pitchers anyway. 4th Inning: even-keel.
The 5th Inning begins with a stand-up double, a carom out of the bullpen area. A sac bunt is almost a disaster, because Burriss and Lincecum meet at 1B. A beautiful play from deep SS Ochoa saves a hit if not a run. 3-1, S.F. Lewis squares at the LF track and marks the halfway point of the game.
Winn starts our 5th going 3-3 with another single. A strange foul off the plate allows Winn to stay at 1B during Ochoa's AB against the new pitcher, Buddy Carlyle, but Ochoa strikes out for failure to foul off any more pitches he simply doesn't like. A single through the hole between SS and 3B made Rowand 2-3. Unfortunately, Molina ground into his 15th DP of the year. Strong start, weirdness gives a chance to score, but in the end: nothing.
Winn and Rowand miscommunicated, and because of the breeze blowing out to LF, Winn ends the first AB of the 6th Inning wishing he'd at least overrun it, first. A double by the 421 ft. mark. McCann, fast becoming a Lincecum-killer, gets 3B for free on a WP. Tim counters that slip-up as he usually does by striking out Infante, but unfortuantely a routine ground out gets McCann home. Aurilia makes a potentially disastrous ball that hit 1B a routine out to save the inning. 3-2, S.F.
Lewis hits a strong, strong stand-up triple to the deepest part of the yard. Aurilia's single to RF looks golden, but Francouer makes a great throw (which Krukow would later call "the best I've ever seen in my life") with an instant's hesitation. Lewis is not close to home - maybe 12 feet away. A single to CF puts runners at 1B and 2B, but we are robbed of a key run in a tight game. Lincecum's second strikeout at the plate leaves I and the bullpen nervous.
Tim may have been as well; although, his first out in happens as a strong K of the man who threw out Lewis at the plate: Francoeur. Lincecum's next strike for the 7th Inning comes after three straight balls. Flemming called it a "BP fastball", at 90mph. The out is gained, though, by getting a high fly out. Tim then walks Blanco on four straight, a man who has no batting strength but plenty of speed. Taschner now warms up. A chopper to Ochoa ends the inning, and at this point I am sure that Timmy the Kid is done, this time rightfully. He's done well, but obviously struggled for his ability. Proof: lots of changeups, and no fastball over 94mph, all day long.
Tavarez becomes the third pitcher for ATL on the day. Please sit down: Winn gets a hit by outrunning a sharp grounder to 3B. He is now 4-4. Ochoa once again gets a great sac bunt down; Winn to 2B. Rowand is intentionally walked after a near-WP. Two on, one out, Molina... grounds into a DP. Again. #16. Big issue.
I am shocked that Lincecum is left in the 8th Inning. Bochy's listening? It seems an odd time to do so, but honestly even though Tasch was warm already, a mild Lincecum is better than the best Tasch (sorry, Jack). Timmy proves me correct with that signature changeup-K. But Tim's slight nemesis, McCann, now bats. Again, a changeup strikes the batter out. A curveball strikes Infante out brilliantly after a full count. Lincecum gets a standing ovation: once again, he strikes out the side.
Freddie's leadoff double is not sacrificed over by Richie, but a WP by the Braves' fourth pitcher, Will Ohman, puts him at 3B. OMS hits a ball that actually would have scored Lewis quickly, but it is caught on a stab instead. Burriss nearly beats out a grounder to SS, and S.F. gives the ball to the Manimal with just a one-run give. Timmy The Kid ends with 8IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 8K, and a season ERA at 2.68.
9th Inning: The hopes of S.F. were on Wilson once again, this time for Lincecum's first decision in three very strong starts. Wilson gave the Braves their first pitch over 95mph immediately. A chopper to Ochoa was money, and one out was stapled to the ground. Wilson was just playing with Johnson, getting an 0-2 count before going outside on a close call. Burriss handled a routine play in a solid way (thanks for doing that extra pregame practice, Emmanuel): two out. Francouer up. Wilson lit him up with one around the shoulders at 101mph to get the 0-2 count. Ochoa charges a slow roller, gets the close play. GAME OVER.
Hit the deck, people, 'cause it be the ghost of Rod Beck. I remember Mark Gardner once saying about Robb Nen that once Nen came in from the bullpen, "You could relax; you knew it was over." Say hello to that feeling once again. 32 saves, 23 in a row.
FINAL: 3-2, S.F.
And just in case you are curious, yes my son is in fact wearing his uniform!
-MSH
***PNL Time***
Player(s) To Be Pitied: NONE, except maybe the Braves. They now haven't won any 1-run games on the road (19), and 26 consecutive going back to last year.
Player(s) To Be Noted: Ochoa (excellent defense, two very important sac bunts)
Player(s) To Be Lauded: Winn (an unreal 4-4, with 2R); Rowand (2-2, R, BB, 3RBI, HR - gettin' out of that funk, mos def); Lincecum (masterful W, with his second-best stuff); Wilson (SV - 32)
Matos and Romo are gone; Sadler and Yabu are back in. Yabu's "been waiting the last few days" and wants to get back in. They actually think he'll "shore up the bullpen".
I found this hard to understand. Yabu is the only one in the pen who's failed to keep a run from scoring (or keep himself from hitting a batter) in any of his last four appearances. I guess we'll find out if his problems really were for injury's sake. Bochy also admitted that Lincecum has shown "no signs of wearing down at all". Hmm. Maybe you should let him go a full eight innings this time? The lineup is the same as last night, which tells me that it's well known that the bullpen was the issue last night.
Lincecum is up against one Chuck James, who's had a rough year of it. Initially expected to be foundational to the Atlanta rotation, he lost control early (he's a finesse pitcher), and just got recalled from AAA. His only start since that recall was not very pretty. Of course, it was against Milwaukee, so I'm not sure it was going to be good anyway.
First pitch: outside, ball one. Second pitch: fastball, strike. Third pitch: fastball in at the knees, strike. Fourth pitch: ground out to Ochoa, 6-3. The hitters may not be messing around because they do in fact know that Timmy the Kid don't be messin' around. In 150 innings, he has 54 BBs, 167 Ks, and only 131 Hs. Ochoa almost collides with Rowand in short CF, but the second out is as quick as the first. Kotchman walks, but the next pitch is a strike, fastball inside. But off a 1-2 count, the ball is hit right to Castillo at 3B -- had he been playing straight. But he is not, and it's an easy basehit. Another liner is rocketed by Infante, and Lewis makes a perfect throw to Molina -- Kotchman out by plenty, but luckily. 1st Inning: rocky.
For our half, Winn gets a leadoff single. Tied for ninth in the NL for steals, he's not an idle threat there, so it is advantageous. The interesting thing about James is that he hesitates with his leg lifted, thereby making it a bit difficult to know where he's going with a pitch. The nice thing is that it's consistent, and Rowand tracked him immediately. He falls behind in the count, but that is because he knows he can hammer something. And he does; tags a changeup for a HR (our second in less than two days - something of note for this team) to LCF, giving us an immediate 2-0 lead. Apparently, James has allowed 10 HRs in 26 IP, more than 3 HRs per game. Which is just what this team needs. The throw from Escobar on Molina's AB was much wild - a mental mistake because he had a lot of time. But instead, Molina is safe at 1B. A few easy outs ends it, but leaving the first inning with two runs and escaping a rough start is excellent.
Lincecum strikes the first batter of the 2nd out with that beautiful changeup. The same happens for the second out, the changeup sliding away. A shady call leads to a BB next, and that shadiness obviously throws Tim: the pitcher got a 3-0 count. Timmy is resilient, though, and strikes James out on three straight. 2nd Inning: shady.
Our bottom of the 2nd contains nothing, but the 3rd Inning starts the same way in our favor. The first out is an easy roller to Burriss. The second is a one-pitch fly out, and so is the third. Four pitches, three outs; I'll take that. At all times, I will take that.
The bottom is not so easy for James. A leadoff hit by Winn to LF (again!), and Ochoa bunts him over to 2B. James, obviously shaken from his previous facing of Rowand, gets a balk called on him. Winn to 3B. James needed not be scared; Rowand hadn't hit many HRs at all. But Aaron does get this AB for a sac fly, probably because of that mind game advantage, and scores Winn. 3-0, S.F. Molina lines one past Infante at 3B and became 1-2. The 3rd ends on a fly out, but Kotsay has to make a catch at the warning track. Not bad, boys. Not bad. Keiichi Yabu should not be in my head at this point.
4th Inning now. A liner makes Lincecum hit the mound. Timmy laughs, because he avoided it. McCann could be expected to have hit that: he is now 4-7 against him. But the next batter is a one-pitch fly out to Winn. Kotsay walks after another close inside called-ball; Lincecum's third BB of the day. Thankfully, a fly out to RCF is another one-pitch out. Lewis makes a great running catch on a strongly hit ball, and two are stranded, while the third out was off of two pitches. Timmy's 59-pitch count looks too high, but that stat does not reveal how easy the last two innings have been for him. All seems well.
Aurilia pops up to start our half, his second one of the day, and throws his bat straight up in the air with a sarcastic feel. OMS does nothing; Burriss gets a two-out single to CF; Lincecum Ks, but that's not unusual for pitchers anyway. 4th Inning: even-keel.
The 5th Inning begins with a stand-up double, a carom out of the bullpen area. A sac bunt is almost a disaster, because Burriss and Lincecum meet at 1B. A beautiful play from deep SS Ochoa saves a hit if not a run. 3-1, S.F. Lewis squares at the LF track and marks the halfway point of the game.
Winn starts our 5th going 3-3 with another single. A strange foul off the plate allows Winn to stay at 1B during Ochoa's AB against the new pitcher, Buddy Carlyle, but Ochoa strikes out for failure to foul off any more pitches he simply doesn't like. A single through the hole between SS and 3B made Rowand 2-3. Unfortunately, Molina ground into his 15th DP of the year. Strong start, weirdness gives a chance to score, but in the end: nothing.
Winn and Rowand miscommunicated, and because of the breeze blowing out to LF, Winn ends the first AB of the 6th Inning wishing he'd at least overrun it, first. A double by the 421 ft. mark. McCann, fast becoming a Lincecum-killer, gets 3B for free on a WP. Tim counters that slip-up as he usually does by striking out Infante, but unfortuantely a routine ground out gets McCann home. Aurilia makes a potentially disastrous ball that hit 1B a routine out to save the inning. 3-2, S.F.
Lewis hits a strong, strong stand-up triple to the deepest part of the yard. Aurilia's single to RF looks golden, but Francouer makes a great throw (which Krukow would later call "the best I've ever seen in my life") with an instant's hesitation. Lewis is not close to home - maybe 12 feet away. A single to CF puts runners at 1B and 2B, but we are robbed of a key run in a tight game. Lincecum's second strikeout at the plate leaves I and the bullpen nervous.
Tim may have been as well; although, his first out in happens as a strong K of the man who threw out Lewis at the plate: Francoeur. Lincecum's next strike for the 7th Inning comes after three straight balls. Flemming called it a "BP fastball", at 90mph. The out is gained, though, by getting a high fly out. Tim then walks Blanco on four straight, a man who has no batting strength but plenty of speed. Taschner now warms up. A chopper to Ochoa ends the inning, and at this point I am sure that Timmy the Kid is done, this time rightfully. He's done well, but obviously struggled for his ability. Proof: lots of changeups, and no fastball over 94mph, all day long.
Tavarez becomes the third pitcher for ATL on the day. Please sit down: Winn gets a hit by outrunning a sharp grounder to 3B. He is now 4-4. Ochoa once again gets a great sac bunt down; Winn to 2B. Rowand is intentionally walked after a near-WP. Two on, one out, Molina... grounds into a DP. Again. #16. Big issue.
I am shocked that Lincecum is left in the 8th Inning. Bochy's listening? It seems an odd time to do so, but honestly even though Tasch was warm already, a mild Lincecum is better than the best Tasch (sorry, Jack). Timmy proves me correct with that signature changeup-K. But Tim's slight nemesis, McCann, now bats. Again, a changeup strikes the batter out. A curveball strikes Infante out brilliantly after a full count. Lincecum gets a standing ovation: once again, he strikes out the side.
Freddie's leadoff double is not sacrificed over by Richie, but a WP by the Braves' fourth pitcher, Will Ohman, puts him at 3B. OMS hits a ball that actually would have scored Lewis quickly, but it is caught on a stab instead. Burriss nearly beats out a grounder to SS, and S.F. gives the ball to the Manimal with just a one-run give. Timmy The Kid ends with 8IP, 5H, 2ER, 4BB, 8K, and a season ERA at 2.68.
9th Inning: The hopes of S.F. were on Wilson once again, this time for Lincecum's first decision in three very strong starts. Wilson gave the Braves their first pitch over 95mph immediately. A chopper to Ochoa was money, and one out was stapled to the ground. Wilson was just playing with Johnson, getting an 0-2 count before going outside on a close call. Burriss handled a routine play in a solid way (thanks for doing that extra pregame practice, Emmanuel): two out. Francouer up. Wilson lit him up with one around the shoulders at 101mph to get the 0-2 count. Ochoa charges a slow roller, gets the close play. GAME OVER.
Hit the deck, people, 'cause it be the ghost of Rod Beck. I remember Mark Gardner once saying about Robb Nen that once Nen came in from the bullpen, "You could relax; you knew it was over." Say hello to that feeling once again. 32 saves, 23 in a row.
FINAL: 3-2, S.F.
And just in case you are curious, yes my son is in fact wearing his uniform!
-MSH
***PNL Time***
Player(s) To Be Pitied: NONE, except maybe the Braves. They now haven't won any 1-run games on the road (19), and 26 consecutive going back to last year.
Player(s) To Be Noted: Ochoa (excellent defense, two very important sac bunts)
Player(s) To Be Lauded: Winn (an unreal 4-4, with 2R); Rowand (2-2, R, BB, 3RBI, HR - gettin' out of that funk, mos def); Lincecum (masterful W, with his second-best stuff); Wilson (SV - 32)
Saturday, August 2, 2008
The Pitchers To Be Pitied
Last night in San Diego, we had a bit of a formidable opponent: the umpire.
His strike-zone was erratic; Jon Miller even had the guts to bring it up, multiple times, and Dave Flemming corroborated (naturally). Lincecum wasn't getting anything at the knees to speak of. (Hoffman got something at the knees in the tenth, which gave a very amusing reaction from Burriss. Good boy.) But because of that, he had to rely on that changeup again to strikeout people; he relied on it as late as the seventh. Which, he did. In the bottom of the first, he struck out the side. Of course, he struck out the last two after four reached in a row, and the Padres scored a run.
But fortunately for us, this tied the game instead of gaining a lead. That's right, the scoreless inning streak was over from the beginning. Thanks to the youth (big surprise), we hit the ball hard all night. Lewis sac-flied to allow Winn to score the first run. Then, he went 2-2; his base hit led off the sixth, Molina followed up with a single of his own, and even though Rowand double-played his AB, Lewis scored off a passed ball to take the lead. (This is the last time for the post that I will mention Rowand offensively, mind you: he did nothing.)
At this point, I'd like to bring up a few other immediate positives that made me happy about the team regardless of the outcome:
1) We FINALLY had youth at 2B and SS - at the same time! That's right; thank God, Burriss started at 2B and Ochoa started at SS. Ochoa started the game with a hit, and Burriss is solid defensively; he's finding 2B a warm home, I think, more so than SS.
2) The youth FINALLY had a game where they could show their stuff as a team. Everyone performed well, even though the stats didn't show it completely. Almost all the youth hit the ball hard at least once, and all of our scoring was because of at least one key contact-hit by a youngster or two.
3) Bowker was particularly interesting this time, because although Bowker made a baserunning error by advancing at a precarious fly ball, he hit the ball deep every time and led the seventh off with a double up the wall. I believe he's coming into his own, slowly, because surprise-surprise: he's being played every day.
However, naturally because of that last point being good, the management shocked me again and pulled Bowker after his baserunning naivete. They replaced him with Aurilia in the bottom of the seventh, defensively. I agree that Aurilia is better defensively with a slim lead, so I really don't have a problem with it. But I won't say I expected the switch. I would expect more of a double-switch from Bochy, actually. But so be it. Aurilia made the first out of the seventh himself, and I'm sorry, but I like Richie. He's the only vet I want to see playing for my team at this point (sorry Aaron). I mean, dude, look at how lame the rest of the players' walk-up music is, compared to Richie's that's given last.
For his own piece, Timmy The Kid still had 9 Ks through six innings himself. He would finish with 11, over seven full innings, with 114 total pitches. He didn't even allow a runner to reach scoring position since the first inning run. His being pulled out after seven innings and striking out most of the last two innings at least brought shades of his last start, I will admit. But an excellent showing nevertheless by Tim.
Bochy may have finally gotten the hint about Walker, using him for only a one-pitch groundout to start the eighth and then bringing in Jack [Taschner]; I know that Giles was next and it was lefty-lefty matchup. But, since Jack obviously didn't get traded, I have a feeling that Walker was being put on show to see, if he could hold well, what prospects we might have obtained for him. Shrewd, if it weren't for the fact that Walker wasn't viewed as desirable by others in the first place.
In contrast, Tasch struck Giles out with a 93mph fastball on the outside corner. Confident, and excellent. It's hard not to like the guy - except when he blows it. So of course, Tasch immediately gave up a one-pitch, bleachers-in-LCF HR to Adrian Gonzalez. Immediately, Romo was warmed up. That was the second HR Gonzalez hit against Jack this year. One should know that the one guy on SD who's having a good year, and is a real threat to Jack in particular, should have been walked - immediately. Instead, immediately Tim was robbed of another win.
It doesn't really matter what the outcome of the game was, or that at one point S.F. had doubled S.D.'s hit count. Although, a win is always nice and the game going into extras made putting Richie at 1B a prophetic move.
The thing that mattered primarily is that, I'm sure, Lincecum and Cain have a lot to talk about lately. Maybe my award can become "The Pitchers To Be Pitied" now. I suppose in a certain way, we can include the bullpen entire in that as well, though obviously they are pitiable because they keep ruining things for the starters - not because they earn something that they lose because of something other than their own doing. So maybe not. Just Tim and Matt will do, for that honor.
Come to think of it, there's at least one good young guy per game that deserves to be pitied. So perhaps that makes it a new "per-game award". Necessity is the mother of invention. And recognition.
-MSH
PS
OK, how we won does matter. Burriss knocked a hit off Hoffman in the tenth after reacting humorously to a bad call, and Velez came in as a PH (youth, I'm telling you, really, what did I say?). Velez doubled off the scoreboard to score Burriss (because youth is quick). Winn was intentionally walked. Ochoa's first swing at a strike was a foul-off. Unforunately, he lined out; but it looked solid.
Brian "The Animal" Wilson came on to get a ball - at the knees. Aurilia got the first out with a great backhander. Did I mention that I like Richie? I have no idea why, except for his usual precision and his attitude. Brian hit 97mph easily, multiple times in fact. He unfortunately gave up a liner single up the middle next, because the slider hung. He then gave up another single to Giles. Thank goodness Edgar Gonzalez had a horrible jump when his elder brother got the third straight hit.
I held my breath for the final outs; but I'll give you one reason why I was ecstatic about the double-play when it looked like Wilson was falling off the wagon: Ochoa, a youth, touched 2B and turned the double-play to Aurilia. The youth were responsible for every major game-saving pitch or double-play, and every single run in some direct way; Lincecum, Lewis, Wilson, Velez, Burriss, Ochoa: the youth.
Thank God.
His strike-zone was erratic; Jon Miller even had the guts to bring it up, multiple times, and Dave Flemming corroborated (naturally). Lincecum wasn't getting anything at the knees to speak of. (Hoffman got something at the knees in the tenth, which gave a very amusing reaction from Burriss. Good boy.) But because of that, he had to rely on that changeup again to strikeout people; he relied on it as late as the seventh. Which, he did. In the bottom of the first, he struck out the side. Of course, he struck out the last two after four reached in a row, and the Padres scored a run.
But fortunately for us, this tied the game instead of gaining a lead. That's right, the scoreless inning streak was over from the beginning. Thanks to the youth (big surprise), we hit the ball hard all night. Lewis sac-flied to allow Winn to score the first run. Then, he went 2-2; his base hit led off the sixth, Molina followed up with a single of his own, and even though Rowand double-played his AB, Lewis scored off a passed ball to take the lead. (This is the last time for the post that I will mention Rowand offensively, mind you: he did nothing.)
At this point, I'd like to bring up a few other immediate positives that made me happy about the team regardless of the outcome:
1) We FINALLY had youth at 2B and SS - at the same time! That's right; thank God, Burriss started at 2B and Ochoa started at SS. Ochoa started the game with a hit, and Burriss is solid defensively; he's finding 2B a warm home, I think, more so than SS.
2) The youth FINALLY had a game where they could show their stuff as a team. Everyone performed well, even though the stats didn't show it completely. Almost all the youth hit the ball hard at least once, and all of our scoring was because of at least one key contact-hit by a youngster or two.
3) Bowker was particularly interesting this time, because although Bowker made a baserunning error by advancing at a precarious fly ball, he hit the ball deep every time and led the seventh off with a double up the wall. I believe he's coming into his own, slowly, because surprise-surprise: he's being played every day.
However, naturally because of that last point being good, the management shocked me again and pulled Bowker after his baserunning naivete. They replaced him with Aurilia in the bottom of the seventh, defensively. I agree that Aurilia is better defensively with a slim lead, so I really don't have a problem with it. But I won't say I expected the switch. I would expect more of a double-switch from Bochy, actually. But so be it. Aurilia made the first out of the seventh himself, and I'm sorry, but I like Richie. He's the only vet I want to see playing for my team at this point (sorry Aaron). I mean, dude, look at how lame the rest of the players' walk-up music is, compared to Richie's that's given last.
For his own piece, Timmy The Kid still had 9 Ks through six innings himself. He would finish with 11, over seven full innings, with 114 total pitches. He didn't even allow a runner to reach scoring position since the first inning run. His being pulled out after seven innings and striking out most of the last two innings at least brought shades of his last start, I will admit. But an excellent showing nevertheless by Tim.
Bochy may have finally gotten the hint about Walker, using him for only a one-pitch groundout to start the eighth and then bringing in Jack [Taschner]; I know that Giles was next and it was lefty-lefty matchup. But, since Jack obviously didn't get traded, I have a feeling that Walker was being put on show to see, if he could hold well, what prospects we might have obtained for him. Shrewd, if it weren't for the fact that Walker wasn't viewed as desirable by others in the first place.
In contrast, Tasch struck Giles out with a 93mph fastball on the outside corner. Confident, and excellent. It's hard not to like the guy - except when he blows it. So of course, Tasch immediately gave up a one-pitch, bleachers-in-LCF HR to Adrian Gonzalez. Immediately, Romo was warmed up. That was the second HR Gonzalez hit against Jack this year. One should know that the one guy on SD who's having a good year, and is a real threat to Jack in particular, should have been walked - immediately. Instead, immediately Tim was robbed of another win.
It doesn't really matter what the outcome of the game was, or that at one point S.F. had doubled S.D.'s hit count. Although, a win is always nice and the game going into extras made putting Richie at 1B a prophetic move.
The thing that mattered primarily is that, I'm sure, Lincecum and Cain have a lot to talk about lately. Maybe my award can become "The Pitchers To Be Pitied" now. I suppose in a certain way, we can include the bullpen entire in that as well, though obviously they are pitiable because they keep ruining things for the starters - not because they earn something that they lose because of something other than their own doing. So maybe not. Just Tim and Matt will do, for that honor.
Come to think of it, there's at least one good young guy per game that deserves to be pitied. So perhaps that makes it a new "per-game award". Necessity is the mother of invention. And recognition.
-MSH
PS
OK, how we won does matter. Burriss knocked a hit off Hoffman in the tenth after reacting humorously to a bad call, and Velez came in as a PH (youth, I'm telling you, really, what did I say?). Velez doubled off the scoreboard to score Burriss (because youth is quick). Winn was intentionally walked. Ochoa's first swing at a strike was a foul-off. Unforunately, he lined out; but it looked solid.
Brian "The Animal" Wilson came on to get a ball - at the knees. Aurilia got the first out with a great backhander. Did I mention that I like Richie? I have no idea why, except for his usual precision and his attitude. Brian hit 97mph easily, multiple times in fact. He unfortunately gave up a liner single up the middle next, because the slider hung. He then gave up another single to Giles. Thank goodness Edgar Gonzalez had a horrible jump when his elder brother got the third straight hit.
I held my breath for the final outs; but I'll give you one reason why I was ecstatic about the double-play when it looked like Wilson was falling off the wagon: Ochoa, a youth, touched 2B and turned the double-play to Aurilia. The youth were responsible for every major game-saving pitch or double-play, and every single run in some direct way; Lincecum, Lewis, Wilson, Velez, Burriss, Ochoa: the youth.
Thank God.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The First-Inning Rule
If there existed a kind of "Hall of Fame" for game records, and you listened to it's echoing halls, you would from time to time hear a faint whispered truth: the first inning foretells the future.
It certainly seemed that way last night, as the top of the first for S.F. was, as I like to say now, "Straight Up? Straight Down." - down, down in order easily.
And Sanchez gave a leadoff walk to the Dodgers' hottest hitter (16 straight games with a hit - to be exact), Matt Kemp. Kemp stole second easily after the ball flew out of Molina's hand. Dramatic Irony: the pitch struck out the series' most visible Dodger, Casey Blake. Sanchez also went to a 3-ball count with each of the first three batters. Predictably, Martin got a fastball middle-in and singled home Kemp. He also didn't get a first-pitch strike until the sixth batter - who came up to start the second inning. Given Sanchez's previous outing (though I did give him the benefit of the doubt), I was seriously wondering if it would be repeated. And I still did, although Molina did make up for his first slip and threw out Martin on a steal attempt, albeit closely.
Once again, Castillo's presence at 2B was highly questionable. In addition to moving to the bag on a pitch that wasn't a pick-off idea when Kemp was at second, leaving the left side WIDE OPEN, he also ran out on a Kent popper farther than he should have and dropped a ball that Rowand could have easily caught instead, one that hit his glove square in the heel. How we got out of that inning down only 1-0 was like getting picked up by your mom at school just as the bully walks out onto the front lawn.
Henceforth lay proof that the First-Inning Rule be true:
Top of the second inning? "Straight Up? Straight Down."
Top of the third? "Straight Up? Straight Down."
Bottom of the third? Sanchez finally gets a talking-to from Righetti after two batters reach in a row - Blake being walked. A base-hit to Martin gives the Dodgers 2-0, runners at the corners, 1 out, and three batters reaching in a row. Kent doubles easily in the gap, 3-0. Sac fly next, and a clever move by Sanchez to get the realistic tag-out at third, but the run scores anyway (once again because of a rule I don't understand - a force-out for the last out of the inning won't allow a run, but a tag-out for the last out will?): 4-0.
Top of the fourth? "Straight Up? Straight Down."
The only comforting sign through the first four innings was Sanchez getting Ethier in a double play in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to Castillo. But then of course, Castillo was playing too close to 2B, and Berroa was allowed to slap a single easily in the right infield gap.
(I don't mean to be negative by the way, just realistic in showing the truth of a first-inning assessment. It's not, as some may think, a book-cover judgment.)
Top of the fifth? Molina got a hit! Too bad Rowand double-played his AB that followed.
Even so, Sanchez was removed for Osiris Matos in the bottom of the fifth, whose name was humorously alluded to as "Greek" by Vin Scully here, though of course the explanation was for Egyptian culture. Matos managed to get runners at the corners with no one out. Aurilia, by far my favorite veteran on the team, made another fantastic defensive play at third from a hot liner to save a run and make the next outs at least forceable. A fly out would do, and Osiris escaped with no ERA damage. Looks like the First-Inning Rule is technically "out of play" when the first SP leaves; but of course with the pattern already established by that time, very little changes historically.
Let me say to you that I like Gino Espineli a lot. He's a young, wild lefty, a Filipino (probably the second of such a background to make it to the bigs as a pitcher), and his windout is beautifully unconventional, stepping mostly to first than to home. As I may have mentioned before, he was named to the Olympic team but was replaced indirectly in the hands of fate by Nate [Scheirholtz] as a representative after being called up. His stirrups are old school. The only one on the team who wears them that way regularly is, you guessed it, good ol' Richie. He retired the side in the bottom sixth easily.
Winn got a hit in the top of the seventh, but Rowand - again - couldn't produce.
What I will say about Espineli is that his wacky delivery isn't all that great to hitters that know how to go with the direction of most of his pitches and slap it to RF. Blake did just that. Unfortunately for Gino, that hit also lost him his momentum and he walked Martin before being replaced by Romo. (A note: Bochy is getting quicker on replacements lately. This is something I like.) Romo is slowly warming up the likability factor; he struck out Kent on a nasty but precise curveball, and he's actually been effective in this series for limiting pre-existent danger.
Top of the eighth? "Straight Up? Straight down."
I don't have to mention the top of the ninth, except that Velez got the brunt of a close call and Castillo continued the ironic punishment of his existence and hit a double off the wall (too late, my friend); Flannery even sent him to home plater irrationally off a bloop single by Winn. Flannery is another story entirely; I once heard him interviewed saying he sends most of his runners because more often than not the throw to home was offline. I'm sorry, sir, but shouldn't you be thinking about particular circumstances more than gambling procedures?
There's really nothing to say about the Giants' offense; it doesn't exist. I don't know what's more pitiable: (A) the fact that the Giants went through 23 scoreless innings against L.A., or (B) that Vin Scully thought that was exceptional for us. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was just biased towards making Billingsley look good, probably better than he really is. Looks like S.F. ought to pay me to go to games, since apparently they score multiple runs and win even when they don't deserve to.
Moral of the story? Stay honest; at least watch the first inning. And for those who run fantasy-league teams, I would suggest looking at the probable pitcher lineups against the Giants and Padres, and pick them up if they're available. Chad Billingsley, who is now just 11-9, had a CG shutout. Final: 4-0, Dodgers.
All that's left to say is that still, once again the Dodgers are not in first place ;). And that I feel horrible for the boys in the radio studio who have to do postgame right now. KNBR knows; they've cut the postgame short.
-MSH
It certainly seemed that way last night, as the top of the first for S.F. was, as I like to say now, "Straight Up? Straight Down." - down, down in order easily.
And Sanchez gave a leadoff walk to the Dodgers' hottest hitter (16 straight games with a hit - to be exact), Matt Kemp. Kemp stole second easily after the ball flew out of Molina's hand. Dramatic Irony: the pitch struck out the series' most visible Dodger, Casey Blake. Sanchez also went to a 3-ball count with each of the first three batters. Predictably, Martin got a fastball middle-in and singled home Kemp. He also didn't get a first-pitch strike until the sixth batter - who came up to start the second inning. Given Sanchez's previous outing (though I did give him the benefit of the doubt), I was seriously wondering if it would be repeated. And I still did, although Molina did make up for his first slip and threw out Martin on a steal attempt, albeit closely.
Once again, Castillo's presence at 2B was highly questionable. In addition to moving to the bag on a pitch that wasn't a pick-off idea when Kemp was at second, leaving the left side WIDE OPEN, he also ran out on a Kent popper farther than he should have and dropped a ball that Rowand could have easily caught instead, one that hit his glove square in the heel. How we got out of that inning down only 1-0 was like getting picked up by your mom at school just as the bully walks out onto the front lawn.
Henceforth lay proof that the First-Inning Rule be true:
Top of the second inning? "Straight Up? Straight Down."
Top of the third? "Straight Up? Straight Down."
Bottom of the third? Sanchez finally gets a talking-to from Righetti after two batters reach in a row - Blake being walked. A base-hit to Martin gives the Dodgers 2-0, runners at the corners, 1 out, and three batters reaching in a row. Kent doubles easily in the gap, 3-0. Sac fly next, and a clever move by Sanchez to get the realistic tag-out at third, but the run scores anyway (once again because of a rule I don't understand - a force-out for the last out of the inning won't allow a run, but a tag-out for the last out will?): 4-0.
Top of the fourth? "Straight Up? Straight Down."
The only comforting sign through the first four innings was Sanchez getting Ethier in a double play in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to Castillo. But then of course, Castillo was playing too close to 2B, and Berroa was allowed to slap a single easily in the right infield gap.
(I don't mean to be negative by the way, just realistic in showing the truth of a first-inning assessment. It's not, as some may think, a book-cover judgment.)
Top of the fifth? Molina got a hit! Too bad Rowand double-played his AB that followed.
Even so, Sanchez was removed for Osiris Matos in the bottom of the fifth, whose name was humorously alluded to as "Greek" by Vin Scully here, though of course the explanation was for Egyptian culture. Matos managed to get runners at the corners with no one out. Aurilia, by far my favorite veteran on the team, made another fantastic defensive play at third from a hot liner to save a run and make the next outs at least forceable. A fly out would do, and Osiris escaped with no ERA damage. Looks like the First-Inning Rule is technically "out of play" when the first SP leaves; but of course with the pattern already established by that time, very little changes historically.
Let me say to you that I like Gino Espineli a lot. He's a young, wild lefty, a Filipino (probably the second of such a background to make it to the bigs as a pitcher), and his windout is beautifully unconventional, stepping mostly to first than to home. As I may have mentioned before, he was named to the Olympic team but was replaced indirectly in the hands of fate by Nate [Scheirholtz] as a representative after being called up. His stirrups are old school. The only one on the team who wears them that way regularly is, you guessed it, good ol' Richie. He retired the side in the bottom sixth easily.
Winn got a hit in the top of the seventh, but Rowand - again - couldn't produce.
What I will say about Espineli is that his wacky delivery isn't all that great to hitters that know how to go with the direction of most of his pitches and slap it to RF. Blake did just that. Unfortunately for Gino, that hit also lost him his momentum and he walked Martin before being replaced by Romo. (A note: Bochy is getting quicker on replacements lately. This is something I like.) Romo is slowly warming up the likability factor; he struck out Kent on a nasty but precise curveball, and he's actually been effective in this series for limiting pre-existent danger.
Top of the eighth? "Straight Up? Straight down."
I don't have to mention the top of the ninth, except that Velez got the brunt of a close call and Castillo continued the ironic punishment of his existence and hit a double off the wall (too late, my friend); Flannery even sent him to home plater irrationally off a bloop single by Winn. Flannery is another story entirely; I once heard him interviewed saying he sends most of his runners because more often than not the throw to home was offline. I'm sorry, sir, but shouldn't you be thinking about particular circumstances more than gambling procedures?
There's really nothing to say about the Giants' offense; it doesn't exist. I don't know what's more pitiable: (A) the fact that the Giants went through 23 scoreless innings against L.A., or (B) that Vin Scully thought that was exceptional for us. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was just biased towards making Billingsley look good, probably better than he really is. Looks like S.F. ought to pay me to go to games, since apparently they score multiple runs and win even when they don't deserve to.
Moral of the story? Stay honest; at least watch the first inning. And for those who run fantasy-league teams, I would suggest looking at the probable pitcher lineups against the Giants and Padres, and pick them up if they're available. Chad Billingsley, who is now just 11-9, had a CG shutout. Final: 4-0, Dodgers.
All that's left to say is that still, once again the Dodgers are not in first place ;). And that I feel horrible for the boys in the radio studio who have to do postgame right now. KNBR knows; they've cut the postgame short.
-MSH
The Strangeness Continues
The title is a bit misleading, I'll grant that. But the game was full of potentiality that was robbed by a mixture of odd play, and our good ol' fashioned tom-foolery. There were a few bright spots in the 2-0 loss, including Matt Cain's strong and gutsy performance - as usual. Here's a quick run-down by notable inning:
Top 1st: Castillo is robbed of a hit by Blake with the kind of play at 3B that I am certain the Dodgers were finally hoping to see again. Given the rest of that inning's half, that may have prevented a run.
Bottom 2nd: Aurilia makes an error at 3B, to contrast Blake's play, though to be fair he was at least in the process of diving to get it. Thankfully, Matt is always in the mood to save himself from bad situations, and got out of the inning alive.
Top 4th: Classic Giants' veteran baserunning naivete; Winn had an easy steal of 2B, but on a poor throw decided to go around to 3B immediately. That's right, without checking to see if the backup player had the ball. Berroa did indeed, and Winn was caught a mile out from 3B, missing his helmet for comedic flair. Again, because of the deep fly to RF next, and Rowand's single, Winn would've scored. That makes the potential score 2-0 Giants, not Dodgers.
Bottom 6th: Richie had a brilliant stab at a line drive to make up for his error. The problem is that it led to another by Lewis. This because after Loney singled in a run - off a hanger that Cain hated himself for - and the Dodgers had been effectively forcing Cain into deep counts (without working 3-ball counts, mind you), Lewis' fielding error on a Blake bloop single moved the ball: from fair territory, onto, and then over the foul-ground wall. Lewis had to "reach over" the wall to get it, so the "ground-rule double" call was put into effect, allowing Kemp to score and Blake to go to 3B untouched.
(I would like a bit of explanation about this "out of play" deal, because I'm confused why it was ruled that way when it was clear that Lewis could still play it easily. Bochy's smart -- apparently he told the umps that OFs make catches over walls for outs all the time when they said the ball had gone "out of play", and that caused the second conference. The result of the second conference? "Two umpires saw it go out of play." Still no explanation of "out of play", and gang-up tactics to boot.)
This play from Lewis is solely responsible for the post title. This also means that the score was now 2-0 Dodgers, not Giants. And by the end of the inning, Matt had thrown 36 pitches thanks to 15 foul-offs, and still he only allowed 1 ER. Cain had also toughed out a ball hit off his right shin earlier, without so much as rubbing it.
Top 7th: Rowand (already 1-1 that night), was HBP for the second time in the evening. Intriguing, given his AVG against L.A.
Bottom 7th: Cain still threw in the 90s, but because he still has the 3rd-worst run support in the NL, and his pitch count a season-high 118, he had to come out after this scoreless inning. He finished with 8 Ks. And also my personal title of "The Player to Be Pitied".
Top 8th: Vizquel ended his night with being very good defensively, but grounding into two double plays and striking out once - the expected. Lewis did reach - but on an error. I'm a little confused on this ruling as well, because the error was given to Berroa even though Loney's glove clearly had the ball and the ball simply dropped as he was raising it off the ground, meaning Loney had a good chance and controlling the ball but could not.
Bottom 8th: Ozuma was caught on a pick-off from first, but in the relay process Bowker dropped the ball. I'm beginning to get worried about this from Bowker, as it's become more "commonplace" than "rookie mistake"; however, Hinshaw was able to strike out two and maintain his ERA.
Top 9th: Straight up, straight down.
It was a decent game, and certainly fit the rivalry with its odd occurrences. I would say that of anyone, Cain was the man to watch. Toughness, precision, and perseverance. Other than that, typical average-quality play from S.F.
-MSH
Top 1st: Castillo is robbed of a hit by Blake with the kind of play at 3B that I am certain the Dodgers were finally hoping to see again. Given the rest of that inning's half, that may have prevented a run.
Bottom 2nd: Aurilia makes an error at 3B, to contrast Blake's play, though to be fair he was at least in the process of diving to get it. Thankfully, Matt is always in the mood to save himself from bad situations, and got out of the inning alive.
Top 4th: Classic Giants' veteran baserunning naivete; Winn had an easy steal of 2B, but on a poor throw decided to go around to 3B immediately. That's right, without checking to see if the backup player had the ball. Berroa did indeed, and Winn was caught a mile out from 3B, missing his helmet for comedic flair. Again, because of the deep fly to RF next, and Rowand's single, Winn would've scored. That makes the potential score 2-0 Giants, not Dodgers.
Bottom 6th: Richie had a brilliant stab at a line drive to make up for his error. The problem is that it led to another by Lewis. This because after Loney singled in a run - off a hanger that Cain hated himself for - and the Dodgers had been effectively forcing Cain into deep counts (without working 3-ball counts, mind you), Lewis' fielding error on a Blake bloop single moved the ball: from fair territory, onto, and then over the foul-ground wall. Lewis had to "reach over" the wall to get it, so the "ground-rule double" call was put into effect, allowing Kemp to score and Blake to go to 3B untouched.
(I would like a bit of explanation about this "out of play" deal, because I'm confused why it was ruled that way when it was clear that Lewis could still play it easily. Bochy's smart -- apparently he told the umps that OFs make catches over walls for outs all the time when they said the ball had gone "out of play", and that caused the second conference. The result of the second conference? "Two umpires saw it go out of play." Still no explanation of "out of play", and gang-up tactics to boot.)
This play from Lewis is solely responsible for the post title. This also means that the score was now 2-0 Dodgers, not Giants. And by the end of the inning, Matt had thrown 36 pitches thanks to 15 foul-offs, and still he only allowed 1 ER. Cain had also toughed out a ball hit off his right shin earlier, without so much as rubbing it.
Top 7th: Rowand (already 1-1 that night), was HBP for the second time in the evening. Intriguing, given his AVG against L.A.
Bottom 7th: Cain still threw in the 90s, but because he still has the 3rd-worst run support in the NL, and his pitch count a season-high 118, he had to come out after this scoreless inning. He finished with 8 Ks. And also my personal title of "The Player to Be Pitied".
Top 8th: Vizquel ended his night with being very good defensively, but grounding into two double plays and striking out once - the expected. Lewis did reach - but on an error. I'm a little confused on this ruling as well, because the error was given to Berroa even though Loney's glove clearly had the ball and the ball simply dropped as he was raising it off the ground, meaning Loney had a good chance and controlling the ball but could not.
Bottom 8th: Ozuma was caught on a pick-off from first, but in the relay process Bowker dropped the ball. I'm beginning to get worried about this from Bowker, as it's become more "commonplace" than "rookie mistake"; however, Hinshaw was able to strike out two and maintain his ERA.
Top 9th: Straight up, straight down.
It was a decent game, and certainly fit the rivalry with its odd occurrences. I would say that of anyone, Cain was the man to watch. Toughness, precision, and perseverance. Other than that, typical average-quality play from S.F.
-MSH
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Out At The Plate
Let's go over this in detail, shall we?
Lincecum started the game striking out the side. Gaining a support-run in part thanks to Roberts (leadoff walk), Velez (throwing error - sending Roberts to 3B), and a sac fly (CF) by Winn. It looked for a while like he wouldn't give up a hit, but then a Romero hit a triple in the gap. Then a lucky break: Lincecum gets a roller to himself, checks Romero, and throws to Bowker at 1B. Then Romero tries to trick John the rook and goes towards home. Bowker makes a throw that allows Molina to make Romero look a fool. Inning saved.
Lincecum used the changeup to an enormous advantage. This is not something that the majority of the baseball country knows. In addition to having at least one of the most devastating two-seam fastballs, this has lent itself to an equally devastating change. He also has a curve and slider, each of which he throws with the same type of motion. The changeup tonight got him at least three Ks directly (as the last pitch).
Velez was certainly notable. Forcing an error in his first AB, and then stealing second from a pitchout, he succeeded in a base hit to left-center in his second AB. If it weren't for a questionable foul-call down the line for Winn, Velez would have scored because of his speed. For the record, that's two potential runs for his first two plate appearances. It's unfortunate that he struck out in the 6th with Roberts on base, but he did what he could.
Rowand unfortunately continued his woes against Webb: he was 0-8 through the 4th with 6 Ks. The same was not true for Snyder, who hit a two-run double. But the problem was the infield hit by Jackson to start the rally. Already, they were adapting to Lincecum's patterns. But Rowand did make a key throw to Molina in the fifth to keep the damage minimal.
At this point it's notable that our title, "out at the plate", applies not just to the Diamondbacks being out at the plate running but our being "out at the plate" swinging. And unfortunately, the fielding started to worsen as well. Lincecum allowed a two-out single, and then committed an error to Bowker to allow that single to get to 2B. He was, however, able to end the inning and that threat by striking out his tenth batter to end 5 1/2 innings.
Winn did his job after Velez's strikeout in the 6th, and grounded a base hit up the middle off of Drew's glove to put Roberts at 3rd with one out. So, Molina up. Causes D-Back talking on the mound. Threats of a double-steal. Webb, obviously keen on this, called Winn's bluff immediately when Winn isn't that dumb. Winn stole on the second pitch, and Roberts didn't go to ensure an easy steal. D-Backs pull the infield in, which is a bit strange for such an RBI-hitting batter.
Molina tried his best; he kept fouling the ball away, getting pieces. Worked to gain a few pitches in the dirt. But he swung at one of those pitches in the dirt. A bad, bad pitch in the dirt. And Rowand, Mr. I've-Never-Hit-Brandon-Webb, had to get a two-out hit for us to score.
Rowand lined a sinker lower than his knees, and did so impressively. Roberts scored, Winn came behind him easily, and S.F. finally had the lead back. Webb was near 100 pitches in the 6th. Bowker almost hit an easy multi-bagger to score Rowand, as well.
Notice, please, that both of our scoring opportunities were started by Dave Roberts working a walk. Dave Roberts was also responsible for the RBI that won the last game against Washington, and a stellar catch that saved at least a run then.
Lincecum struck out three in row in the top of the 7th giving him a new career-high 13 Ks, the last one on that unhittable changeup. NB: he was still throwing 96mph then, after throwing 102 pitches. People stood for him. Montefusco was right.
(For those who didn't want to read the whole thing, the actual "meat" of this post follows, here.)
Bochy, however, was an idiot. Sometimes I think he may be drunk. He pulled Lincecum for an Ochoa pinch-hit, when there were two outs, no one on base, and Lincecum was on fire as described above. Ochoa bounced out to SS, and the Giants now had to rely on the at-times horrendous bullpen.
Nervousness is natural in such situations. Bochy insists that Tyler Walker is a legitimate, reliable setup man. I'm not sure what sport-authority agrees with him, though absolutely none come to mind and none would dare show themselves after Walker gave up a leadoff double by a middle-in, belt-high pitch. An error by Bowker continued the mess, and Walker proceeded to nearly walk the bases loaded with no one out. (Side note: Why is Walker the "go-to guy"? He had no consistency to credit, and we have kids just called up that are more so.) Ojeda scored the tying run off of a sac-fly, and Lincecum's career night was robbed of its rightful "W" glory. The D-Backs then proceeded to have two more hits, and take the lead with a run. Then again. It went instantaneously from a kid throwing 13 Ks and gaining a 3-2 win, to an old man getting only one out and giving up three runs to make it 5-3 loss.
Then Bochy came out.
Sorry, coach. You're too late.
I've noted this for a while about Bruce in his pregame interviews. He attempts to be a "player's coach" and maintain the paradoxical fantasy in his head that somehow that means he'll be listened to, and the guys will play as he wants. He was challenged by Kuip today for how he handles the bullpen, especially last night, and Bochy was obviously (though indirectly) defensive. He's not interested in being accountable anymore, and I can't say for sure that he was ever accountable period. I agree with Jon at Giants Win; boycotts and t-shirts that call for both Bochy and Sabean's firing is more than called for.
I don't want to hear anything about Bowker's error. It can be at-fault for one of the runs, yes; it shouldn't have happened. But hello, one run is not three; he's a kid, a rookie; he'll make mistakes. And though Walker did allow all the damage done, his being in the game in the first place was probably a shock to everyone else on the field, including Bowker. So really no matter how one observes the game tonight, the person who shouldn't be making mistakes, and definitely not ones that deliberately cease momentum, is he who manages. You'd think that Bochy would at least be sensitive to showing positive support for a young kid like Timmy that's on an obvious roll. I guarantee you that even if Timmy is a good kid, that lack of trust to ride his momentum is damaging Bochy's relationship with him. So much for being a "player's coach", huh Bruce?
Why does our team manage to sign people for big contracts years after their most success? Yes, I'm thinking Zito and Bochy. And no, I don't want to be thinking about Sabean. Ever.
Rowand did manage to get on base in the bottom of the ninth, and continue to spur the offense in an unfortunately rare show of plate-discipline. Bowker had a chance to make up for the error when he came up next after Aaron. He struck out to a great two-strike curveball that broke down and out of the strike zone. Castillo, in his youthful optimism, tried to tie the game with a HR. He succeeded... in flying out to RF. Game over.
But not for the management. Woe is S.F.
In other news, Durham just went 2-3 with a 2B and 3R in the leadoff spot for Milwaukee.
-MSH
Lincecum started the game striking out the side. Gaining a support-run in part thanks to Roberts (leadoff walk), Velez (throwing error - sending Roberts to 3B), and a sac fly (CF) by Winn. It looked for a while like he wouldn't give up a hit, but then a Romero hit a triple in the gap. Then a lucky break: Lincecum gets a roller to himself, checks Romero, and throws to Bowker at 1B. Then Romero tries to trick John the rook and goes towards home. Bowker makes a throw that allows Molina to make Romero look a fool. Inning saved.
Lincecum used the changeup to an enormous advantage. This is not something that the majority of the baseball country knows. In addition to having at least one of the most devastating two-seam fastballs, this has lent itself to an equally devastating change. He also has a curve and slider, each of which he throws with the same type of motion. The changeup tonight got him at least three Ks directly (as the last pitch).
Velez was certainly notable. Forcing an error in his first AB, and then stealing second from a pitchout, he succeeded in a base hit to left-center in his second AB. If it weren't for a questionable foul-call down the line for Winn, Velez would have scored because of his speed. For the record, that's two potential runs for his first two plate appearances. It's unfortunate that he struck out in the 6th with Roberts on base, but he did what he could.
Rowand unfortunately continued his woes against Webb: he was 0-8 through the 4th with 6 Ks. The same was not true for Snyder, who hit a two-run double. But the problem was the infield hit by Jackson to start the rally. Already, they were adapting to Lincecum's patterns. But Rowand did make a key throw to Molina in the fifth to keep the damage minimal.
At this point it's notable that our title, "out at the plate", applies not just to the Diamondbacks being out at the plate running but our being "out at the plate" swinging. And unfortunately, the fielding started to worsen as well. Lincecum allowed a two-out single, and then committed an error to Bowker to allow that single to get to 2B. He was, however, able to end the inning and that threat by striking out his tenth batter to end 5 1/2 innings.
Winn did his job after Velez's strikeout in the 6th, and grounded a base hit up the middle off of Drew's glove to put Roberts at 3rd with one out. So, Molina up. Causes D-Back talking on the mound. Threats of a double-steal. Webb, obviously keen on this, called Winn's bluff immediately when Winn isn't that dumb. Winn stole on the second pitch, and Roberts didn't go to ensure an easy steal. D-Backs pull the infield in, which is a bit strange for such an RBI-hitting batter.
Molina tried his best; he kept fouling the ball away, getting pieces. Worked to gain a few pitches in the dirt. But he swung at one of those pitches in the dirt. A bad, bad pitch in the dirt. And Rowand, Mr. I've-Never-Hit-Brandon-Webb, had to get a two-out hit for us to score.
Rowand lined a sinker lower than his knees, and did so impressively. Roberts scored, Winn came behind him easily, and S.F. finally had the lead back. Webb was near 100 pitches in the 6th. Bowker almost hit an easy multi-bagger to score Rowand, as well.
Notice, please, that both of our scoring opportunities were started by Dave Roberts working a walk. Dave Roberts was also responsible for the RBI that won the last game against Washington, and a stellar catch that saved at least a run then.
Lincecum struck out three in row in the top of the 7th giving him a new career-high 13 Ks, the last one on that unhittable changeup. NB: he was still throwing 96mph then, after throwing 102 pitches. People stood for him. Montefusco was right.
(For those who didn't want to read the whole thing, the actual "meat" of this post follows, here.)
Bochy, however, was an idiot. Sometimes I think he may be drunk. He pulled Lincecum for an Ochoa pinch-hit, when there were two outs, no one on base, and Lincecum was on fire as described above. Ochoa bounced out to SS, and the Giants now had to rely on the at-times horrendous bullpen.
Nervousness is natural in such situations. Bochy insists that Tyler Walker is a legitimate, reliable setup man. I'm not sure what sport-authority agrees with him, though absolutely none come to mind and none would dare show themselves after Walker gave up a leadoff double by a middle-in, belt-high pitch. An error by Bowker continued the mess, and Walker proceeded to nearly walk the bases loaded with no one out. (Side note: Why is Walker the "go-to guy"? He had no consistency to credit, and we have kids just called up that are more so.) Ojeda scored the tying run off of a sac-fly, and Lincecum's career night was robbed of its rightful "W" glory. The D-Backs then proceeded to have two more hits, and take the lead with a run. Then again. It went instantaneously from a kid throwing 13 Ks and gaining a 3-2 win, to an old man getting only one out and giving up three runs to make it 5-3 loss.
Then Bochy came out.
Sorry, coach. You're too late.
I've noted this for a while about Bruce in his pregame interviews. He attempts to be a "player's coach" and maintain the paradoxical fantasy in his head that somehow that means he'll be listened to, and the guys will play as he wants. He was challenged by Kuip today for how he handles the bullpen, especially last night, and Bochy was obviously (though indirectly) defensive. He's not interested in being accountable anymore, and I can't say for sure that he was ever accountable period. I agree with Jon at Giants Win; boycotts and t-shirts that call for both Bochy and Sabean's firing is more than called for.
I don't want to hear anything about Bowker's error. It can be at-fault for one of the runs, yes; it shouldn't have happened. But hello, one run is not three; he's a kid, a rookie; he'll make mistakes. And though Walker did allow all the damage done, his being in the game in the first place was probably a shock to everyone else on the field, including Bowker. So really no matter how one observes the game tonight, the person who shouldn't be making mistakes, and definitely not ones that deliberately cease momentum, is he who manages. You'd think that Bochy would at least be sensitive to showing positive support for a young kid like Timmy that's on an obvious roll. I guarantee you that even if Timmy is a good kid, that lack of trust to ride his momentum is damaging Bochy's relationship with him. So much for being a "player's coach", huh Bruce?
Why does our team manage to sign people for big contracts years after their most success? Yes, I'm thinking Zito and Bochy. And no, I don't want to be thinking about Sabean. Ever.
Rowand did manage to get on base in the bottom of the ninth, and continue to spur the offense in an unfortunately rare show of plate-discipline. Bowker had a chance to make up for the error when he came up next after Aaron. He struck out to a great two-strike curveball that broke down and out of the strike zone. Castillo, in his youthful optimism, tried to tie the game with a HR. He succeeded... in flying out to RF. Game over.
But not for the management. Woe is S.F.
In other news, Durham just went 2-3 with a 2B and 3R in the leadoff spot for Milwaukee.
-MSH
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
