Sunday, April 8, 2012

Desert debacle

You had to figure that staking Matt Cain to a 6-0 lead would mean an easy win, but the big righty was bitten by the same bug that derailed both Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, and that's the gopher ball. Cain threw two fat pitches to Lyle Overbay and Ryan Roberts in the sixth and they both went for home runs. The Snakes chipped away and the Giants, looking shaky in the field for the third straight day, let it slip away. It was a terrible end to the weekend, and the orange-and-black find themselves in an 0-3 hole to start the season for first time since 1984. Cain threw three scoreless and looked like his usual unflappable self until the fourth, where that pesky Lyle Overbay got a big hit, but it was 6-2 at that point and it looked for all the world that Matt would go at least six and maybe into the seventh with a comfortable lead. Arizona has turned their ballpark into Coors South--no lead is safe, it seems. The Giants pitched and played poorly, negating the nice offensive outburst. Buster Posey hit a monster blast to right-center with that easy swing of his, that's a bit of silver lining on this otherwise black cloud. An RBI double and a walk for Brandon Crawford was also nice to see. Tomorrow Barry Zito will be asked to do what The Big Three have failed to do so far, and that's shut down the other team. Let's hope the lineup keeps delivering runs and the fielders can make all their plays. I don't like sloppy defense. The Snakes made five errors today to the Giants three--it was ugly. Buster made two, giving him three for the season, and Crawford made his second. These are the guys who are supposed to be the best gloves on the team! Un-acey aces and uncharacteristic play by key guys are the highlights in 2012. Time to get it straightened out, eh?

--M.C.


p.s. The Yankees, Red Sox, Twins, and Braves were also swept on the road in their opening series.

4 comments:

nomisnala said...

Would have been nice to have Beltran instead of Pagan, and/or Affeldt. The giants are now tied with the Yankees and RedSox being 0-3. The Yankees also lost to a division nemesis in Tampa. Everyone expects the Yankees to make the playoffs. How about the giants?

Brother Bob said...

That was egregious.

M.C. O'Connor said...

I like this team. They are off to a bad start, but there will be other 3-game losing streaks. Just have to sandwich in some winning streaks. I think the Giants will make the playoffs. The pitching is the key, as we've seen. There's enough in the lineup to win. Sandoval and Posey are legit, and there will be a surprise good year or two from the rest. It's all about The Big Three and consistent starts. They get that rolling here pretty soon and the Giants will be tough to beat.

nomisnala said...

Tell me that you did not awaken in an alternate universe today. Or since the beginning of the season. The baseball gods are really playing some tricks out there. Zito gets the complete game shutout, despite Pagan's error. It is those kinds of errors, especially in key situations, that drove the Mets' fans nutty.