Saturday, February 12, 2011

Keys to The Streak™: Bullpen Quiz

Here's the rest of the cast. None of the answers are the three fellows I've already covered.



Q.Who pitched 7 shutout innings in The Streak™ and struck out 9?

A. This guy.


Q. Who made 6 appearances and got 15 outs facing 21 batters (5 hits, 1 walk, 1 run scored)?

A. This guy.


Q.  Who made 7 appearances but faced just 10 batters? Only one got on base.

A. This guy.


Q. Three others made appearances. Who were they?

A. This guy, this guy, and this guy.


--M.C.



p.s. OK, OK, I'm done with The Streak™. Look--it was the greatest stretch of pitching I have ever seen! I watched damn near every single pitch on my new HDTV, too. I'm obsessed with it. Obviously, clinching the West and running the table and getting The Big Prize was the highlight of the season--and the highlight of my entire life as a fan--but this run of outstanding team pitching was mind-bogglingly awesome. And I had to celebrate it. But I'm done. Time to talk about 2011.

2 comments:

Zo said...

Just as you finish, the Chronicle also finishes up their series of 40 (one each day) softball questions to be answered about the 2011 Giants. Their first, back in January, was, "Can the Giants repeat (their world series victory)? " This is, of course a blindingly stupid question. Any team CAN win the world series, there is just not that much that separates good teams from bad teams, it takes just enough skill, luck and staying power to make the playoffs, and then, again, enough of those things to get through them. 162 games tends to smooth out the lucky streaks, five and seven game series, not so much. A question worthwhile of thought would have been, "What is the likelihood that the Giants can make the 2011 playoffs?" The Chron's (paraphrased) answer was, "Maybe, but it's not a sure thing."

Today's final question is, "Was the Giants' solid defense a mirage?" The answer, unsurprisingly, is that it was (and will be) OK, maybe not outstanding. Hmmm, tough to argue with that one. Which is a round-about way of saying that this series of a review of "The Streak" has been excellent - although you concentrated on the numbers and let the results speak for themselves, it has not only been a great review of how the pitchers and team stepped up and played some historically great ball, but also a worthwhile thought exercise in whether or not the Giants are likely to be there again. Now, if we can get Matt Cain off the golf course, time for spring training!

M.C. O'Connor said...

Thanks! I wasn't sure if anyone was reading.

Health, health, health. We know who the stars of the club are and who needs to stay healthy--the pitchers (and Buster Posey). The Giants should be favorites in the West. I vote for a Spring Training with no surprises, a capable backup for Miguel Tejada, and a timetable for Brandon Belt.