The Depth to Handle Potency

Bochy had an interesting lineup today: Bowker at 1B, Frandsen at SS, Velez at 2B, Uribe at 3B. Joe Martinez, one of our Connecticut Defenders (AA) made his second spring start, and he looked impressive. Three innings and not a single hit to a very potent Texas offense. At least we still know that our pitching reserves are deep. He did start losing control in the fourth inning a bit (BB and a triple for the Rangers' first hit), but that's normal for a reserve with little ML experience.

Hearing every time the webcast received an IM or email was amusing, as well.

Guzman showed up AGAIN, knocking a second stand-up double; Bowker repeated the favor and we led 1-0. It was 2-0 after Uribe ripped one past the SS. These runs were two-out runs. Uribe ended the inning, but I applaud his effort for trying to steal: it was the first time he'd been caught all spring. 

Kinsler was caught stealing by Holm to Velez immediately following. I appreciated the immediate "fair play". That triple did lead to a run from Texas, but no more than that, and Martinez escaped with only that damage on his record.

The disappointing factor for today was Jeremy Affeldt. He's supposed to be a good off-season acquisition, and instead he destabilizes a lead. Velez barely made a play, for having to do the splits to make it, and kept a runner at third in a tie-game. However, that couldn't keep the runner from scoring on the next AB, despite a good attempt at a DP turn with Frandsen. The main thing to grasp here is this: batters know exactly what to get out of Affeldt, whether they can get what they want or have to settle for less-productive ball placement off the bat. Either way, they produce and we lose. 

In other news, Posey worked a full count and one-hopped a RBI double, scoring Rohlinger and cutting the lead to 4-3, Texas. Posey will be at Connecticut this year as well as Martinez, where Steve Decker (a former catcher in the 80s) will be coaching him. Exciting times! Posey scored on a fielding error, and tied the score himself as well, 4-4.

Jesus Guzman made a glorious attempt at a triple, but was thrown out. What I will say is that the kid is at least trying to make an impression, and so far he's done it. The problem is that he could have had a double with no one out and a chance to be the go-ahead run, and instead Torres was given empty bases.  The nicest thing is that they still turned it into a lead: Bowker, Rohlinger and Downs went on base in a row, and we walked away with a 5-4 lead (Rohlinger being tagged out trying to force a run himself). The lead is nice, but it could have been more without forcing extra bases. I suppose we still have to learn when to push and when not to push, based on team streaking.

Velez knew. He stretched a double, and then stole third. Velez scored easily off a SAC to CF, and with a DP turned by he, Frandsen and Bowker it was a final.

FINAL

S.F. - 6

TEX - 4

The Boys Who Showed Up: Velez, Bowker, Downs, Posey, Uribe, Martinez

P.S.-> Note: this was only the second game of the spring where we did NOT hit a HR.

Rohling (or, "Brew Crew on the BBQ, Part II"!)

Who are these kids, exactly? One day, Uribe and Bowker do nothing; the next day, they go back-to-back for HRs. One day, Sandoval is the 3B to replace, but over the last several days Ryan Rohlinger has hit 9th Inning HRs to give us the lead, and today to win the game.

I am absolutely speechless.

FINAL

MIL - 6

S.F. - 8

The Boys Who Showed Up: Uribe, Bowker, Rohlinger

P.S.-> Misch's last multi-run inning gaffe finally caught someone's attention: he's been optioned to Fresno, along with his partner-in-crime from the last debacle Ron Ray.

Puttin' The Brew on The Bar-B-Q.

It's called winning. We did it. Lincecum's 9 ABs were strikeouts. That's right: in a row.

A note on this: Bowker hit a 3-run shot, just when it looked like we were going to tank this one to the Brew crew. It was well-appreciated... but this is exactly what I've come to expect from John: show up hugely once in a while, show up not-so-much for long stretches.

That said, I'm pleased that even in spring we manage to pull anything but a horrendous record. That's saying something for a team that was once projected to finish in the bottom tiers of baseball hell. It's also saying something for keeping the best of our farm talent in a "reward cycle". Sandoval is at 3B, Burriss, Velez and Frandsen will likely all make the 40-man roster, and Ishikawa... well, you already know my opinion there. Posey, Downs and Gillaspie are all getting ABs immediately; things look good, despite the big "throw-money-at-it" signings. (Note: this is a complaint about the philosophy, not about the players themselves.)

It wasn't against Sabathia, or even a complete Brewers roster, but it will do, boys. It will definitely do.

FINAL
MIL - 2
S.F. - 5

The Boys Who Showed Up: Lincecum, Affeldt, Posey, Bowker.

Mariner Meandering

Things looked up immediately. Fred Lewis hit a solo shot to start the game (1-0), and Sandoval slashed a base hit. (Looks like they're starting to take Randy Johnson's advice about batting practice.) Ishikawa singled, continuing his hitting dominance (5-6 w/ 2HRs at that point). We only managed to get that one run, but the promise was exciting. This is the first inning, when the opposition is at its best and freshest quality of play.

In the field, Velez played a drag-bunt perfectly. The pregame mentioned that Bochy quite likes Velez, despite the fact that everyone else thinks the battle for 2B is between Frandsen (again, poor guy) and Burriss (a prodigy, in my opinion). Velez showed why: he has an intangible characteristic of providing what the moment needs, not what fantasy owners want to see. Zito had an uncharacteristic 1-2-3 inning. So endeth the first inning.

Scheirholz led off with a single. Uribe got hung up on stretching a 2B, but no one covered 2B in the pickle, with an RBI double. 2-0. We ended the scoring there, but Zito showed himself able to handle it--and he should be able to by now, in any case. The scoreboard tweaked, and Jon joked that "it's kind of a surprise to see Zito still in here in the 7th inning." My amusement was multi-fold. Zito was still clean after two, when he was replaced. Apparently, he's been having "pitching accountability" all winter with Brian Wilson, The Animal. I knew Brian was good for the team in more than pitching. Zito may impress me now, with some time.

The unfortunate next tidbit is Bowker coming in... only to try to make a spectacular catch (from lack of a decision) and error it up. I say "unfortunate" because this kid has been trying to make the team very intentionally (and did make it last year, thanks to our franchise record of callups). He just needs more time. And Travis is a much better player (Kuip called 'Kawa a "natural first baseman", and I agree). That was all to notice for the 3rd inning.

In the 4th, Velez and Holm combined for a great end to the Mariner end. The rest of the inning seemed like the title of this post.

Zito had been replaced in the third inning, and that was all she wrote. For Martinez in the 4th, things were forgettable. Two runners, a single basehit and an error: the score tied. A fantastic diving catch from Andres Torres turned management heads (since it was his first play), but the run scored anyway. 3-2, SEA. Frandsen made the same kind of beautiful play at 2B and the bleeding stopped.

Rowand managed a leadoff double in the 7th, and Bocock replaced him as a pinch runner. Downs, a young kid, sac flied Bocock to third, and it paid off when a passed ball made the jog to home easy. 3-3. Uribe, unfortunately, pushed the good luck and the OF threw him out trying to stretch a triple. Holm, facing two outs, had little steam and popped out. But, once again, sparks of teamwork-batting showed themselves.

The sparks repeated in the eighth. Frandsen doubled, and Sandoval singled him home. Happy Day: 4-3. Chipping away at a lead is good, people. It makes sure (a) the other team doesn't see the lead being lost, (b) our motivation keeps moving in a positive direction, and (c) an intricate team mentality is built, that contributes beyond the field, to commradery and season morale.

Alex Hinshaw, whom I do like, unfortunately blew it. The first two batters had 2-0 counts and belted the next pitch. Hinshaw seemed to learn his lesson a bit, and took the next batter to 0-2 instead. That batter grounded out; but that batter was the diamond in the rough. The next one repeated the previous batters instead and belted another--thankfully the runner didn't score (which was bad news for that runner, I assure you). A valiant effort by Burriss at short couldn't stop that runner making up for his poor earlier performance, another single followed and eventually Hinshaw's place on the team was moving further and further down the pine.

Matos was given the ball, threw one pitch, and cut all of the slack. Nevertheless, damage finished; 6-4, SEA.

Conor Gillaspie, our recent high draft pick who actually played in the last month of the season last year (got a single off Dan Haren, hint-hint), took an AB though nothing came of it. Matt Downs managed a double, however. Kuip immediately voiced my thoughts, "Now it's time to see who this kid is." He got the tying run to 3B earlier, and kept the glimmers a-goin' for the 9th. Nothing else did, though.

FINAL
S.F. - 4
SEA - 6

Just as an aside, I absolutely love that Dave Flemming gets plugged in for promos during the broadcast... without being in the booth. Jon and Duane appreciated having to address him as if there, and pointing that out, as well. It's always nice to see that class and dry wit are inherent to calling the team's games. :)

The Boys That Showed Up: Velez, Downs, Lewis, Zito (thanks Brian).

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.

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

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