As usual, Cain did extremely well only to have the team keep from producing. Ron Ray let five runs pass in the fourth inning, and Misch gave up three in the sixth. Why were they kept in for those innings, and the bullpen warming only after the damage was complete? I think Bochy may have made a number of decisions already. Also, Burriss made two errors in that sixth inning, and it was hugely surprising.
The only reason I kept listening (enough to hear that Aurilia was involved in a 3-run sixth to counter the Rockies, and Rohlinger hit his second ninth-inning HR in as many games) was because of Jon Miller. So, before I forget to encourage you, please don't forget to buy your tickets for the 8/7 bobblehead giveaway for Jon! :)
One piece of information worth considering: We haven't had a day off yet. In other words, I'm a little exhausted for them, so they must be as well.
FINAL
COL - 9
S.F. - 7
The Boys Who Showed Up: Cain, Posey, Bocock, Aurilia, Torres, Rohlinger
Showing posts with label Cain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cain. Show all posts
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Royal Mess (PART II!)
The calling from MLB.com made me extremely thankful for Jon. The game is always harder to follow with them, but I will admit that the game wasn't exactly one to follow.
By the third inning, there were five errors--we had three of them. And just after the third one that Aurilia made throwing, Aurilia watched a ball die in fair territory. The end of the inning was a complete annihilation for making a comeback earlier. What used to be a 3-0 lead for K.C. (three runs given up by Cain in only 1 2/3 innings, by the way), a lead that was nullified just a half inning earlier by merely two hits, became a 7-3 monstrosity. The color guy had the gall to say, "And that's all the scoring that's happened so far." Mm-hmm. He was right. The final was horrendous. I couldn't even keep track of the score, and the announcers mostly ignored it. Hey, why not: this is exactly the kind of spring game I remember from last year. It's training; some even think the training is too long now, anyway. Why not just mess around? That's a lot more fun.
At least Doug Greenwald made a good historical connection between having a team with both "Downs" and "Uribe" on the team; of course, back then, it was Kelly and Jose, and we were a much bigger threat to the NL...
FINAL
S.F. - 5
K.C. - 14
The Boys Who Showed Up: Practically N/A
By the third inning, there were five errors--we had three of them. And just after the third one that Aurilia made throwing, Aurilia watched a ball die in fair territory. The end of the inning was a complete annihilation for making a comeback earlier. What used to be a 3-0 lead for K.C. (three runs given up by Cain in only 1 2/3 innings, by the way), a lead that was nullified just a half inning earlier by merely two hits, became a 7-3 monstrosity. The color guy had the gall to say, "And that's all the scoring that's happened so far." Mm-hmm. He was right. The final was horrendous. I couldn't even keep track of the score, and the announcers mostly ignored it. Hey, why not: this is exactly the kind of spring game I remember from last year. It's training; some even think the training is too long now, anyway. Why not just mess around? That's a lot more fun.
At least Doug Greenwald made a good historical connection between having a team with both "Downs" and "Uribe" on the team; of course, back then, it was Kelly and Jose, and we were a much bigger threat to the NL...
FINAL
S.F. - 5
K.C. - 14
The Boys Who Showed Up: Practically N/A
Friday, August 15, 2008
Gifts and Gaffs
That's how I'd describe tonight's game in a phrase. Here's why:
Fred Lewis was given 2B in the 1st, which Molina turned into a run with a single. Dave Roberts' steal of 2B in the 3rd was more work, but Jurrjens' WP gave Roberts 3B. Winn sac flied; Roberts scored easily. 2-0, S.F. Roberts got the brunt of a close call later in the game, which would've widened the margin more.
Kotsay was given 3B on a WP from Cain as well, who otherwise pitched very well - solid as usual. Kotsay scored off of Jones' single, however. 2-1, S.F.
When Jurrjens was replaced, things fell apart for the Braves. Ohman gave up a solo shot to Winn - 3-1, S.F. Ohman was replaced, but that didn't help either - Lewis scored again off of a single by newcomer (who can really play, by the way) Travis Ishikawa. 4-1, S.F. Runners advanced on the LF error (another gift), and hen the Braves loaded the bases with a BB.
This is biggest gaff of the rundown: we had the bases loaded with no one out, and couldn't score anymore.
We made up for that, however, when Mr. Winn got another hit, this a near triple that bounced over the wall. Lewis got a gift BB; Molina singled. Lewis was thrown out at 3B, but Winn scored easily. 5-1, S.F. Lewis would have scored on the subsequent double by Ishikawa, but Burriss struck out to end the inning.
All I really have to say about this game is: "Yay For Youth!" Ishikawa is now 3-8 in his first two Major League games, playing unbelievable 1B defense; he credits God (as Lewis does) and relaxes. I like him - a lot. His enthused but stoic approach is a lot like the 23-year-old Cain, who was solid again - and this time he got a W. Ochoa's defense is still incredible, and reliable. Burriss adds a work ethic to position playing I have rarely seen in this team for the last few years, apart from Winn (who was 4-4, again). Wilson closed the game impeccably with the exception of a walk, again. I can't remember the last time we won this handly, although I'm sure we've done it a few times this year. All I'm going to say is that it is obviously easier when you have excited, young talent instead.
Magic number to avoid the second 100-loss season in team history: just 12.
FINAL: 5-1, S.F.
-MSH
Fred Lewis was given 2B in the 1st, which Molina turned into a run with a single. Dave Roberts' steal of 2B in the 3rd was more work, but Jurrjens' WP gave Roberts 3B. Winn sac flied; Roberts scored easily. 2-0, S.F. Roberts got the brunt of a close call later in the game, which would've widened the margin more.
Kotsay was given 3B on a WP from Cain as well, who otherwise pitched very well - solid as usual. Kotsay scored off of Jones' single, however. 2-1, S.F.
When Jurrjens was replaced, things fell apart for the Braves. Ohman gave up a solo shot to Winn - 3-1, S.F. Ohman was replaced, but that didn't help either - Lewis scored again off of a single by newcomer (who can really play, by the way) Travis Ishikawa. 4-1, S.F. Runners advanced on the LF error (another gift), and hen the Braves loaded the bases with a BB.
This is biggest gaff of the rundown: we had the bases loaded with no one out, and couldn't score anymore.
We made up for that, however, when Mr. Winn got another hit, this a near triple that bounced over the wall. Lewis got a gift BB; Molina singled. Lewis was thrown out at 3B, but Winn scored easily. 5-1, S.F. Lewis would have scored on the subsequent double by Ishikawa, but Burriss struck out to end the inning.
All I really have to say about this game is: "Yay For Youth!" Ishikawa is now 3-8 in his first two Major League games, playing unbelievable 1B defense; he credits God (as Lewis does) and relaxes. I like him - a lot. His enthused but stoic approach is a lot like the 23-year-old Cain, who was solid again - and this time he got a W. Ochoa's defense is still incredible, and reliable. Burriss adds a work ethic to position playing I have rarely seen in this team for the last few years, apart from Winn (who was 4-4, again). Wilson closed the game impeccably with the exception of a walk, again. I can't remember the last time we won this handly, although I'm sure we've done it a few times this year. All I'm going to say is that it is obviously easier when you have excited, young talent instead.
Magic number to avoid the second 100-loss season in team history: just 12.
FINAL: 5-1, S.F.
-MSH
Monday, August 4, 2008
The Day After Caray
The title exists because it's more important to acknowledge the death of Skip Caray, and also to indicate the kind of feel this game had before it had even begun. No win on this particular day would be so important to overshadow the continuing Caray family legacy. He had his own personality on air, and he had just as much class off the field.
Nevertheless, there was a game to be played, and the Braves put on the mound a man who has been a diamond in the rough of injuries and trades, a 10-game winner that point: Jair Jurrjens. Jair came in winning his last four road starts with an ERA of 0.30. S.F., on the other hand, put the ball in the right hand of a should-be-at-least-a-10-game winner: Matt Cain; a man for whom the Giants have scored eight runs in his last seven starts. (Just to emphasize the tragedy of this, Cain is fifth in the NL for strikeouts; we've also won less than 50 games with Lincecum first and Sanchez tenth on that same list.) Even though Matt had given up only four runs in his last 29 innings, do you think the 0.30 ERA was going to be a toughie to continue for Jurrjens? Well guess what? It was. More on that later. But still, the only thing that could neutralize the fact that the Braves have the third-worst record on the road is the fact that we have the worst record at home.
This expectation about our offense when Matt starts is one of the reasons, most likely the primary one, you're not getting a perfectly-ordered per-inning rundown tonight. Here's the wrap, to compensate. If you're really upset about that lack of viewer-nuancing of mind, do something productive and write a letter to players like Randy Winn. Hey, Vizquel is man enough to encourage the youth to play in his spot and learn from him.
Beautiful once again to see, the youth were in full force: our "Great Frisco Hope". Ochoa (SS), Lewis (LF), Holm (C) and Burriss (2B) started, to join the 23-year old Cain. I really like Holm, and the fact both that he's been doing well offensively and catching Cain regularly (every time for the last three weeks, too), is telling me that both may be sticking around a long time. Burriss delights particularly of late - though each is worth seeing for this time in the franchise's transition. For example, he always looks for where the OFs are playing when he's on-base, to try and read the pitch and his ability to score given certain circumstances. His awareness, gutsy play and knowledge of little things like that make him "The Player To Be Watched" for us for the rest of the season, without question.
He and Ochoa turned a nice double-play in the 1st inning. Burriss' made a nice play to get a close out in the 3rd, the second of two such plays in a row.
Burriss got a hit early on; unfortunately he got the brunt of a close call on a pitchout and didn't get a chance to make good on his speed; he was clearly safe on the replay.
Oh My Scapegoat was in tonight at 3B. That's pretty much the only thing productive to know about him.
One hard luck occurrence at 3B on the other side of the ball as well: in the bottom of the 1st when after having runners at 1B and 2B with one out, Rowand - you Offensive Genius, you (you'll read why later) - grounded in such a way to have Winn thrown out at 3B. Bowker retired the side with a slow roller to 2B. Inning over.
The interesting thing is that Winn himself reached base in his first two ABs. He advanced the second time because Ochoa singled up the middle.
Another interesting thing tonight for the lineup was that Lewis was in the three-hole. Apparently, along with making a decision to start the youth almost every day, Bochy's also decided to make Lewis a run-producer. His seven HRs as a leadoff do make it a novel idea, but I wasn't complaining in the 3rd. Lewis showed his speed then (which is why he was a leadoff in the first place), and avoided being the second out of a DP. Lewis ran on the first pitch of the next AB, and Rowand showed a surprising RBI single. Winn scored easily from 3B, and Lewis made it to 3B as well.
So we were up 1-0, with one out and runners at the corners. A botched grounder to Escobar by Bowker led to Lewis scoring, 2-0 S.F. Castillo grounded out to Kotchman to end the inning, but two runs by the end of just three innings is never anything to cause disappointment. Especially when Cain is pitching. And he was pitching well.
It was at this point the fog rolled into the park. Yes, I'm being surreal, because McCann walked and then Kotchman was HBP - very rare for Matthew. Thankfully, Cain got a pop-up to Winn and a grounder to "The Man"ny Burriss to escape completely unscathed. Well, I do love the fog you know. Gotcha there, didn't I? The problem is that even my love of the fog couldn't keep Matt out of trouble.
There were two very unusual things to happen from that moment. We scored more than two runs, and Matt couldn't get out of trouble with his own control. Granted, this loss of control could have been because of all his action in the bottom of the 4th. Matthew singled in the bottom of the fourth with two out and no one on; Winn reached because of an error by the 2B; and because of a fielding error by the same guy on a hit by Ochoa and a late throw home, Cain scored to help his own cause - which, by the way, he does an awful lot. Matt is a perfect NL pitcher; he strikes people out, he has fantastic control (he's not all about one pitch), he gets out of most jams, and he hits. You can't take it easy on his ABs. End of four: 3-0.
Unfortunately, Kotchman got a 2-out triple in the top of the 5th (the first of only two baserunners allowed past second by Cain for the night), and Infante singled him home. Matt got out of it, but the seventh was not so kind, which brings us to another surprise: Winn's perfomance.
Randy went an amazing 3-4 with a 2-out RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, thanks again to another youngster showing up before him: Steve Holm. In addition to this, he possibly saved the game defensively by making an amazingly calculated catch on a deep drive by Norton in the seventh. This was important, because the next batter walked, the following batter doubled, and the third batter to follow Norton walked as well. Yes, that's bases loaded. So that would be all for Matthew, too, but he ended with 6 2/3 innings, 6 Ks, and only 1 ER. Thanks to going 1-3 with R on the other side of the plate, he also ended with a W. Congratulations Matt. You are no longer The Pitcher To Be Pitied.
7th: Cain was removed for Tasch, and Tasch got out of the inning. He got McCann with the bases loaded - the only guy who could have realistically done damage, and historically 3-7 (now) against Jack.
8th: Walker almost blew it after relieving Tasch in the eighth, but only gave up one run.
9th:
Brian Wilson. Is. The Shizzle. A ground ball out to compensate for a bad opening count for the first out; a called strikeout for the second; a low-low-high fastball combination for a swinging K. End of game. 22 saves in a row; 31 saves to lead the NL. To hell with the stats, this kid's on fire. Unreal. Say it with me, please: "Hit the deck; it's the ghost of Rod Beck."
A few awards now.
Player(s) To Be Pitied: NONE.
Player(s) To Be Noted: Ivan Ochoa (2-3, RBI, BB); Steve Holm (2-3, BB, R); Jack Taschner (huge final out in 7th)
Player(s) To Be Lauded: Randy Winn (3-4, BB, RBI, R, steal, defense); Matt Cain (W, 6.2IP, 6K, 1ER); Brian Wilson (SV - 31, 2K)
FINAL: 4-2, S.F.
We've won three of the last four,
and the fog keeps rolling.
Enough said.
-MSH
Nevertheless, there was a game to be played, and the Braves put on the mound a man who has been a diamond in the rough of injuries and trades, a 10-game winner that point: Jair Jurrjens. Jair came in winning his last four road starts with an ERA of 0.30. S.F., on the other hand, put the ball in the right hand of a should-be-at-least-a-10-game winner: Matt Cain; a man for whom the Giants have scored eight runs in his last seven starts. (Just to emphasize the tragedy of this, Cain is fifth in the NL for strikeouts; we've also won less than 50 games with Lincecum first and Sanchez tenth on that same list.) Even though Matt had given up only four runs in his last 29 innings, do you think the 0.30 ERA was going to be a toughie to continue for Jurrjens? Well guess what? It was. More on that later. But still, the only thing that could neutralize the fact that the Braves have the third-worst record on the road is the fact that we have the worst record at home.
This expectation about our offense when Matt starts is one of the reasons, most likely the primary one, you're not getting a perfectly-ordered per-inning rundown tonight. Here's the wrap, to compensate. If you're really upset about that lack of viewer-nuancing of mind, do something productive and write a letter to players like Randy Winn. Hey, Vizquel is man enough to encourage the youth to play in his spot and learn from him.
Beautiful once again to see, the youth were in full force: our "Great Frisco Hope". Ochoa (SS), Lewis (LF), Holm (C) and Burriss (2B) started, to join the 23-year old Cain. I really like Holm, and the fact both that he's been doing well offensively and catching Cain regularly (every time for the last three weeks, too), is telling me that both may be sticking around a long time. Burriss delights particularly of late - though each is worth seeing for this time in the franchise's transition. For example, he always looks for where the OFs are playing when he's on-base, to try and read the pitch and his ability to score given certain circumstances. His awareness, gutsy play and knowledge of little things like that make him "The Player To Be Watched" for us for the rest of the season, without question.
He and Ochoa turned a nice double-play in the 1st inning. Burriss' made a nice play to get a close out in the 3rd, the second of two such plays in a row.
Burriss got a hit early on; unfortunately he got the brunt of a close call on a pitchout and didn't get a chance to make good on his speed; he was clearly safe on the replay.
Oh My Scapegoat was in tonight at 3B. That's pretty much the only thing productive to know about him.
One hard luck occurrence at 3B on the other side of the ball as well: in the bottom of the 1st when after having runners at 1B and 2B with one out, Rowand - you Offensive Genius, you (you'll read why later) - grounded in such a way to have Winn thrown out at 3B. Bowker retired the side with a slow roller to 2B. Inning over.
The interesting thing is that Winn himself reached base in his first two ABs. He advanced the second time because Ochoa singled up the middle.
Another interesting thing tonight for the lineup was that Lewis was in the three-hole. Apparently, along with making a decision to start the youth almost every day, Bochy's also decided to make Lewis a run-producer. His seven HRs as a leadoff do make it a novel idea, but I wasn't complaining in the 3rd. Lewis showed his speed then (which is why he was a leadoff in the first place), and avoided being the second out of a DP. Lewis ran on the first pitch of the next AB, and Rowand showed a surprising RBI single. Winn scored easily from 3B, and Lewis made it to 3B as well.
So we were up 1-0, with one out and runners at the corners. A botched grounder to Escobar by Bowker led to Lewis scoring, 2-0 S.F. Castillo grounded out to Kotchman to end the inning, but two runs by the end of just three innings is never anything to cause disappointment. Especially when Cain is pitching. And he was pitching well.
It was at this point the fog rolled into the park. Yes, I'm being surreal, because McCann walked and then Kotchman was HBP - very rare for Matthew. Thankfully, Cain got a pop-up to Winn and a grounder to "The Man"ny Burriss to escape completely unscathed. Well, I do love the fog you know. Gotcha there, didn't I? The problem is that even my love of the fog couldn't keep Matt out of trouble.
There were two very unusual things to happen from that moment. We scored more than two runs, and Matt couldn't get out of trouble with his own control. Granted, this loss of control could have been because of all his action in the bottom of the 4th. Matthew singled in the bottom of the fourth with two out and no one on; Winn reached because of an error by the 2B; and because of a fielding error by the same guy on a hit by Ochoa and a late throw home, Cain scored to help his own cause - which, by the way, he does an awful lot. Matt is a perfect NL pitcher; he strikes people out, he has fantastic control (he's not all about one pitch), he gets out of most jams, and he hits. You can't take it easy on his ABs. End of four: 3-0.
Unfortunately, Kotchman got a 2-out triple in the top of the 5th (the first of only two baserunners allowed past second by Cain for the night), and Infante singled him home. Matt got out of it, but the seventh was not so kind, which brings us to another surprise: Winn's perfomance.
Randy went an amazing 3-4 with a 2-out RBI double in the bottom of the sixth, thanks again to another youngster showing up before him: Steve Holm. In addition to this, he possibly saved the game defensively by making an amazingly calculated catch on a deep drive by Norton in the seventh. This was important, because the next batter walked, the following batter doubled, and the third batter to follow Norton walked as well. Yes, that's bases loaded. So that would be all for Matthew, too, but he ended with 6 2/3 innings, 6 Ks, and only 1 ER. Thanks to going 1-3 with R on the other side of the plate, he also ended with a W. Congratulations Matt. You are no longer The Pitcher To Be Pitied.
7th: Cain was removed for Tasch, and Tasch got out of the inning. He got McCann with the bases loaded - the only guy who could have realistically done damage, and historically 3-7 (now) against Jack.
8th: Walker almost blew it after relieving Tasch in the eighth, but only gave up one run.
9th:
Brian Wilson. Is. The Shizzle. A ground ball out to compensate for a bad opening count for the first out; a called strikeout for the second; a low-low-high fastball combination for a swinging K. End of game. 22 saves in a row; 31 saves to lead the NL. To hell with the stats, this kid's on fire. Unreal. Say it with me, please: "Hit the deck; it's the ghost of Rod Beck."A few awards now.
Player(s) To Be Pitied: NONE.
Player(s) To Be Noted: Ivan Ochoa (2-3, RBI, BB); Steve Holm (2-3, BB, R); Jack Taschner (huge final out in 7th)
Player(s) To Be Lauded: Randy Winn (3-4, BB, RBI, R, steal, defense); Matt Cain (W, 6.2IP, 6K, 1ER); Brian Wilson (SV - 31, 2K)
FINAL: 4-2, S.F.
We've won three of the last four,
and the fog keeps rolling.
Enough said.
-MSH
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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
Thursday, July 24, 2008
The [Nearly] Impossible Sweep
On the same infamous day that holds George Brett's pinetar-bat incident, and Barry Bonds' birthday, behold, something positive:
S.F. has a sweep at home. Yes, it's against the Nats; we've gone over this. This is still crazy, because we had by far the worst record from home until this series. OK, we still do. But at least now we're tied with Seattle and Washington on that, and it's no reason to take this 1-0 victory as anything but positive.
Steve Holm was great. I like Bengie, and even have him on my fantasy squad, but Steve Holm came in one day out from Fresno, and caught Matt's CG shutout. Excellent calling, that's all there is to it. He also went 2-3. Hello? First game back since June, catching Cain; goes 2-3. Cain admitted readily that he and Holm were on-page from the beginning.
Matt was likewise fantastic. It was his first CG of the year, and therefore by-default his first CG shutout. But it was also the first CG shutout for the entire starting staff. Way to go, Matthew. We love you. Hope they save you your own bobblehead on Saturday. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little upset that we don't score any runs for him, and I may even suspect personal dugout issues that other players have with him, because last year was the same. The guy pitched this way today, and he almost lost because, horror of horrors, an error (that's obviously not his fault) and one double almost lost the win for him.
Dave Roberts was another first-game(-back) star. 2-4; an amazing catch early on where he collapsed against the wall and saved runner-advancement.
Randy Winn, God bless him, though I knock him I do primarily like the guy. And his defense is why. It's true that he went 0-3 with 2 Ks. It's true that the game looked out of hand with runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the 9th. It's also true that the ball he caught for the second out was shallow RF. But the wind was a little wild, and when he caught it he still had no running start to beat the speedy guy on third. He was so on target to Holm that the runner had to stop midway and go back.
We have a sweep. We have a bit of hope. Once again, I'm shocked to a tizzy. That's good.
-MSH
S.F. has a sweep at home. Yes, it's against the Nats; we've gone over this. This is still crazy, because we had by far the worst record from home until this series. OK, we still do. But at least now we're tied with Seattle and Washington on that, and it's no reason to take this 1-0 victory as anything but positive.
Steve Holm was great. I like Bengie, and even have him on my fantasy squad, but Steve Holm came in one day out from Fresno, and caught Matt's CG shutout. Excellent calling, that's all there is to it. He also went 2-3. Hello? First game back since June, catching Cain; goes 2-3. Cain admitted readily that he and Holm were on-page from the beginning.
Matt was likewise fantastic. It was his first CG of the year, and therefore by-default his first CG shutout. But it was also the first CG shutout for the entire starting staff. Way to go, Matthew. We love you. Hope they save you your own bobblehead on Saturday. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little upset that we don't score any runs for him, and I may even suspect personal dugout issues that other players have with him, because last year was the same. The guy pitched this way today, and he almost lost because, horror of horrors, an error (that's obviously not his fault) and one double almost lost the win for him.
Dave Roberts was another first-game(-back) star. 2-4; an amazing catch early on where he collapsed against the wall and saved runner-advancement.
Randy Winn, God bless him, though I knock him I do primarily like the guy. And his defense is why. It's true that he went 0-3 with 2 Ks. It's true that the game looked out of hand with runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the 9th. It's also true that the ball he caught for the second out was shallow RF. But the wind was a little wild, and when he caught it he still had no running start to beat the speedy guy on third. He was so on target to Holm that the runner had to stop midway and go back.
We have a sweep. We have a bit of hope. Once again, I'm shocked to a tizzy. That's good.
-MSH
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