7.79

"Hits allowed per 9 IP" is a nerd stat. Although it is simple on the face, and obvious, no one argues about HA/9IP over beers. But ERA, a more convoluted calculation, is well-established in the minds of baseball fans. Students of the game know that ERA is skewed by the actions of relief pitchers, ballpark effects, fielding, and other whatnots. So stat nerds like indicators like HA/9IP. San Diego's tandem of Chris Young and Jake Peavy lead the NL with 6.25 and 6.59 respectively--no surprise. Matt Cain is 5th at 7.79 (Oliver Perez and Carlos Zambrano are ahead of him, Brandon Webb and Ted Lilly just behind him). So, I like HA/9IP. Anything that shows our boy to be studly is cool by me. Matt's Achilles' Heel, of course, is Bases on Balls. A glance at the league leaders shows Carlos Zambrano as number one, but Noah Lowry is 3rd with 87, Barry Zito 5th with 83, and Matt tied with Livan Hernandez for 7th place with 79. Giants (and ex-Giants) like to walk people! Sheesh! How can our team WALK SO MANY PEOPLE!!! OK, OK, I'm over it. Matt will improve, I have no doubt. His 1.26 WHIP (BB+H per IP) puts him just behind Greg Maddux (at #11). When he gets his pitch counts down, and walks fewer guys (like Mr. Maddux), we will see some serious ass-kicking going on. Looking forward to Spring already!

Call the Hall

http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/museum/contact.jsp

Use this link to tell Baseball's Hall of Fame what you think about the asterisk ball. Help preserve the dignity of this already terribly flawed institution.

I've spent my whole life waiting to visit Cooperstown. Now, I don't think I could stand it. Oh why must my baseball life continue to mock me??? (Actual answers to that question would be appreciated.)

p.s. POP (that was the sound of my first blog!)

End of an Era

I've already blogged about Barry Bonds, the Home Run King, the Greatest Giant of Them All. You can read my stuff here, or more specifically, here. My blog, TEN POUND PRESS, has an archive of baseball material, most of it about Barry. Click on the BASEBALL label to see it.

Thanks for 15 great years, Barry. I hope you play as long as you wish to, and thrill the fans in another city (as long as they are an American League team!). You are one of the greatest athletes and performers I have had the privilege to watch and follow.

Farewell.


(p.s. Marc Ecko is an ASSHOLE. The Hall of Fame is a bunch of clowns.)

7 5 2 2 1 8

113 piches, 73 strikes, 26 batters faced, 5 ground outs, 8 fly outs. The two runs were solo HRs, one by the notorious Giant-killer, Khalil Greene. Hennessey, Kline and Wilson got through the 8th, Wilson striking out Adrian Gonzalez to end the inning. The Giants had scored four off Brett Tomko, and Wilson came out for the 9th to close it. He had a meltdown. A Greene hit, followed by two outs, then a cheap hit by Brady Clark to yield a run. After the pinch-hitter Oscar Robles was 1 and 2, Wilson threw three balls way out of the zone. Mr. Ineffective, Dave Righetti, came out for a manly chat, and Wilson responded with two more way out of the zone. He grooved one, and Brian Giles hit the Big Fly, a 3-run HR. Bochy had asked Wilson to get 5 outs, and the 2 in the 8th took 3 batters and 11 pitches. He didn't have enough for the 9th, and I wonder if Skipper Bruce made a bad call. It was Wilson's first blown save. Once again, Matt Cain is denied a win after an exceptional performance. In 6 starts against the Padres, he is 0-3 despite allowing only 11 earned runs in 40 2/3 IP (not to mention 42 strikeouts!). It is a shame we are such a lousy team. We should have lit up Tomko, and we should have finished the 8th without having to use Wilson. Matt finishes the year with 7 wins and 16 losses, but reaches 200 IP in his 32 starts. Mr. Hard Luck has battled all year, showing Giants fans that there is a future beyond Barry Bonds. If we were in a pennant race, this game would have been among the most hideous and disastrous of losses in club history. Since we are last-place scrubs clinging to the hope of playing spoiler, it is merely another in a long line of agonizing performances. We can't beat SD this year, they have us out-manned and out-gunned in every facet of the game. A great line tonight, Matt, I'll take 7 5 2 2 1 8 anytime.