Friday, August 5, 2011

Gee, that was fun

The Giants scored eight runs on Wednesday but were soon cured of any notion of a resurgent offense by having to face Cliff Lee on Thursday. We often say around here that the Giants can make any pitcher look like Cy Young, and this past week we've seen Mike Leake, Johnny Cueto, Ian Kennedy, Daniel Hudson, and now Lee look like Cy Young. At least in Lee's case you know he's really good--that was his fifth shutout this season. Madison Bumgarner had a rocky start, gave up back-to-back solo shots, and then kicked ass for the rest of the game. Sorry MadBum, you lose. The Giants can't afford to fall behind against most pitchers and certainly can't afford to fall behind against good pitchers. Losing six of seven will put a damper on any fan's spirits, but the Giants made sure to rub salt in the wound by announcing that Brandon Belt will be sent down and Mark DeRosa re-activated. I can understand the rook getting demoted. I'm OK with it--rookies get demoted all the time. He needs to play every day and get lots of reps at the plate. The roster will expand in September and both the Brandons will be back. But making a spot for DeRosa? Seriously? The guy has nothing left. It's not his fault--age and injuries have robbed him of what was left of his baseball skills. He can't do what the team signed him to do and should be released. I have no ill will here. DeRosa seems like a good guy and would have been a useful player if healthy. But the $12M is a sunk cost, like Miguel Tejada. Move on.

--M.C.

1 comment:

Brother Bob said...

Sergio Romo has retired the last 27 batters he's faced without allowing a single base runner, in other words, a perfect game.