Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Ephemeral Tim


If you are not completely enthralled, excited, enchanted and, yes, exhausted, then you are probably a zombie. Or maybe a vampire; hell, those things are everywhere. But more likely, you just missed last night's game. If you did...I hope you had a very good reason.

In one of the most entertaining games in recent memory, Tim Lincecum was once again masterful. This COMPLETE GAME gem included a career high 15 STRIKEOUTS. That is only the third time in my life that a Giant has done that. Tim was lightly touched for 4 hits, 3 walks and NO EARNED RUNS. Eighty of his 115 pitches were strikes as he maintained control of the game throughout. A couple innings were so sweet they literally brought a tear to my eye. In the 4th he used 8 pitches, all strikes to devastate the middle of their order and then in the 8th (after a tough 7th and 100 pitches) Tim sealed the deal with six pitches and three easy outs. Of course, in classic Freak fashion, his last inning was 9 pitches with K's number 14 and 15...not too shabby either. I really can't remember living through this type of pitching before...DON'T pinch me, if it's a dream, I'm OK with that.

On top of a pitching performance for the ages, this game also featured some jaw dropping action. The announcers had a good time last night. The craziest part was the bottom of the second: new arrivals Jesus Guzman (yeah!!) and Eugenio Velez (meh) started it with singles, then Uribe loaded them when Jesus drew a throw (heady play). So Tim was up with the bases loaded, no outs. One pitch later, Tim is at first, Uribe on second and TWO outs. Bang - a touch-third-tag-home double play- something you don't see too often. Now it takes a CLUTCH hit by Torres ( I'm thrilled he's going to get a chance with Gomer sidelined) and BANG - a 2 RBI triple! What's more exciting than that? Well, the next play kind of over shadowed everything else that just happened, as hard as that is to believe. Check it out if you didn't see it yet. Hard to understand how none of the umps saw that....their loss and our gain. Man, I'm a little tired just reliving that...don't worry, it's a good tired.

Last night was truly great example of why we all love this game. Our superstar for the new age led us to victory with panache and dominance. I'm still feeling the goosebumps thinking about it.

Man, I need a cold shower...because it's hot outside!!! What did you think??
(This post is dedicated to and inspired in part by Amy W, thanks for dancing and visiting!)

7 comments:

Brother Bob said...

I wish I could have watched that game, but the replays on the Giants website are fun to watch. A nice long montage of strike-threes for example.
Checking the box I see Pablo got 3 hits. He's sort of quietly getting hot again. Maybe a run of homers will soon happen also.
Funny lineup. Good old Eugenio makes his umpteenth comeback. No doubt he'll show flashes of brilliance and flashes of boneheadedness. Guzman and Torres are both exciting.
You never know.

M.C. O'Connor said...

The 8th and 9th were brilliant. He is amazing. Can't wait to see what he'll do vs. a lineup like Philadelphia.

At one point, one of the radio guys last night said his performance was "vintage Tim". Wow, he got old fast.

I hope Garko finds his stroke right away. That sort of thing could give us a big lift at home, especially following Tim's masterful work. We have to wait all the way to Sunday before he goes again! At least The Cain Train will be rollin' on Wednesday, that'll help us through.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Oh, and WordMan™ takes exception to ephemeral.

I sure hope he's not.

JC Parsons said...

Perhaps my point was that yesterday was a one of a kind type of game. That is not to say there will not be many more...

JC Parsons said...

But really I used that one because Amy used it in normal conversation the other night. It WAS sort of a private joke.

Ron said...

I'm pissed!!! Yes, the Giants won, & now have a chance to actually win their home-and-home against the Pirates - that would be a landmark indicator of progress.

I'm pissed because one of my favorite records of all-time, set, obscurely, by one of my favorite Giants has been broken: Jim Barr's 41 consecutive out streak. In 1972, Jim Barr retired the last 21 Pirates in one start, then the first 20 Cardinals in his next start. The streak was broken by Bernie Carbo. The record was 'tied' by Bobby Jenks a couple of years ago (obviously different circumstances, since he's a short reliever). Now, Steve Buehrle has retired 45 in a row.

I used to love using that question to stump trivia experts - almost no one remembered Jim Barr's studly feat. I suppose that Tim Lincecum or Matt Cain will have to step to the toop of the mound & break Buehrle's record!

M.C. O'Connor said...

That's a great record--Barr was a good pitcher on a bad team.