This game, much like the pitching performance of Tim Lincecum, started like crap but finished just fine. Hell, it ended a little bit better than just fine. In a rather stunning ninth inning 4 run outburst, the Giants came back to take the opener in Oakland, 5-4. A big win at a crucial time of year and especially sweet as it ends the horror of nine straight losses with Timmeh starting. Shit, it was also the first time we won in that crappy stadium in two years!
The joy we feel now certainly makes it easy to forget the terror we felt after the first six Athletic batters: Infield hit,( steal 2nd, steal 3rd ), single to score a run, single, walk to load the bases, safe on fielder's choice to score a run, and then ... wait for it ... a walk to score the third run. Three runs in without an out recorded. I'm sure we all felt that crushing disappointment that comes when Shitty Tim shows up again. But then it all went away, like a summer thunderstorm. He struck out the next three batters (which probably saved the game as it worked out!) and went on to slice through 5 more dominating innings. Go figure. This is one crazy year. So, if you forget the 42 pitch terrible first inning, it was a great game for Tim (game score 58).
The good: Obviously, the big story of the game is the come-back ninth inning. Four hits (Brandon Belt, Justin Christian, Hector Sanchez and Gregor Blanco) and two walks (Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval) mostly against a previously untouchable closer, Ryan Cook, is something that doesn't happen too often. Don't believe me? We are now 2-29 when trailing after 8 innings. Blanco deserves special notice for driving in two runs and stealing three bases! I love our running game and it is definitely helping us score more runs.
The bad: After a good month, it does seem like Ryan Theriot is fading fast. Today he completed the rare sombero (0-5, 4 K) and made an error. Maybe he just needs a few days off.
Tim's next start is Wednesday against the doggers. Will we get another mixed message or has Tim finally turned the corner of this nightmare? Time will answer that, time to enjoy a great win!
A WIN THAT TIMMEH STARTED !!!
5 comments:
A strange game, but it's always great to beat the As.
Even during his struggles Tim usually shows flashes of brilliance. I guess the trick is to do it consistently. Last night seemed to be a step in the right direction.
There is nothing wrong with his arm or his stuff. It's all there. His problem is between the ears. When he puts it all together he is still Tim. He has to find that mental state where he can use all his tools and get outs, inning after inning. We saw a much better stretch of that last night. Most encouraging!
Spectacular comeback. I liked Pablo blowing through Flannery's stop sign and scoring the tying run. Imagine, Flannery with a STOP sign!
Blanco is doing a great job, but I think his RBI single in the 3rd was more valuable than stealing second and getting caught trying for third in the 6th. And his RBI single in the 9th made it a two run lead, thank goodness. I like fast guys and smart, aggressive baserunning. But I have a hard time getting excited about stolen bases. None figured in the scoring last night. Bochy bunted in the 9th even with the fast Christian at second. Turned out to pay off with Blanco's hit going to left field. I think the SB is a nice arrow to have in the quiver, because some situations demand it, and having a handful of guys who can pull it off is great. Blanco, Pagan, and Cabrera have all been terrific. The Giants get a lot from their outfielders, on both sides of the ball. It's nice to see Belt "serving notice." The Giants need his bat in the mix.
Mostly, they need to win when Tim pitches. And I think they made some progress in that department last night.
Pablo scored easily, standing up. Flannery blew this one, he probably assumed the LF would field the carom cleanly, which he did not. Probably Pablo saw this and Flannery was already looking elsewhere. But totally no biggie, Flannery's a great 3rd base coach.
I think the Giants should move Melky to the 2 spot and Pablo to the 3 spot. Belt, Posey, and Pagan can share the 3-4-5 roles. This silly idea that the 2nd baseman has to bat 2nd drives me nuts. Theriot has been an excellent fill in for Freddy Sanchez, but he can't hit like him and should not be asked to. Theriot needs to be "Not-Burriss" and not much else. He and Crawford can share the 8-9 duties.
In Oakland, do they refer to Friday home games as Yellow Friday? The A's looked like banana slugs stuffed into white pants.
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