Ten games left

When Kosuke Fukudome hit a homer in the 3rd off Jonathan Sanchez, I thought "here we go, another 1-0 game." How wrong I was! The Cubs scored a second run on a Sanchez wild pitch and a Buster Posey throwing error (yes, he's mortal) in the 5th to make it 2-0, and I felt a lot better. After all, I was just complaining how I didn't like 1-0 games, and the Cubs thankfully spared me another one. Randy Wells had the Giants hopelessly mesmerized, and I was momentarily hopeful when manager Mike Quade ("kwaddy") lifted him in the 8th with two on and two out. But The Man They Call Q summoned K-Master and closer Carlos Marmol, who practiced his Slider-fu on us, and that was the end of that.

It was a disheartening game, as Jonathan Sanchez made the fatal mistake of allowing the other team to score. The Giants have been shut out four times in September, losing to the Padres on the 11th, the Dodgers on the 14th, the Brewers on the 17th, and now tonight in Chicago. On the flip side, the Giants have thrown four shutouts in the month, held the opposition to one run five times, to two runs four times, to three runs four times, and to four runs twice. It's been a remarkable run of team pitching, perhaps the best sustained stretch we've ever seen as Giants fans. We are 12-7 in those 19 games, a .632 clip. Add a little offense to that and we'd be an .800 club!

We are what we are at this point--no sense wishing for what ain't there. We will live or die with the pitching. Ten games left, and they'll likely all be tortuous affairs. MadBum tomorrow, he was the victim of two of those shutouts. Let's hope he keeps up the great pitching and we score some goddamn runs.

GO GIANTS!


--M.C.


Historical update tidbits (0636 Thursday): did you see this?

The Giants' hitting, or lack of it, is threatening to derail their bid for a postseason berth. The Giants have allowed fewer than three runs in 16 consecutive games, matching the record for the live-ball era (since 1920) shared by the 1972 Cleveland Indians and 1981 Oakland A's. (emphasis mine)

The 1981 "Billy-ball" A's lost in the ALCS to the Yankees. Interestingly, the Yanks had the best pitching in the AL (3.21 rpg) while the A's were tied for 2nd with Texas (3.70). The Yanks had below-average hitting (3.93 rpg, 9th), while the A's placed 6th (4.20). The 1972 Indians finished next-to-last despite excellent pitching (3.33 rpg, 4th). They had wretched hitting (3.30 rpg, 10th out of 12). Oh, and the Giants are 10-6 in those 16 games.

The Rockies are 3 back of the lead and 2-1/2 behind the Giants after losing to Arizona last night. The Padres won in LA (thanks, Dodgers, for rolling over and playing dead) and are 1/2 game up (1 fewer loss) in the West. The Braves have one more win and are 1/2 game up on the Giants in the Wild Card.