I didn't really say enough about Matt Cain in my last post. So, Matt Cain. I looked to see the last time a Giants pitcher finished eight innings. I found out it was Barry Zito on August 23rd against the Braves. See? I'm talking about today, now. Good job, Barry. That was the best 10-hit performance of your Giants career. Madison Bumgarner went eight against the Dodgers on August 20th. And Matt Cain went eight against the Padres on August 17th. The last time Tim Lincecum went eight innings was on July 14th against the Astros. He wasn't rewarded with a pitcher-win, but the club won in the 12th. Ryan Vogelsong has not thrown eight innings this season, but he has thrown at least seven fifteen times. That ain't bad. I know Zeets is making his case for the post-season roster, and bully for him. I hope he makes it. But Vogie has three starts left to make his case. And I think he will. I expect at least one more VogelStart before the end of the season, and we'll all wonder what we were so worried about.
Pablo Sandoval is getting it back! He homered from both sides of the plate for the first time ever. That's awesome, even if it is against the Rockies. It doubled the team season homer total for AT&T Park. Then Buster Posey screwed up all the math by hitting one, too. Can you say MVP? Buster, I said once before, is the perfect ballplayer. And he's ours.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Dodgers downed in DC.
Magic Number Three.
4 comments:
A ten game lead with 12 games to go. When in SF giants history did the giants ever have this kind of lead going into the last 12 games. This is awesome. It looks like 4 teams have really good records. It will be interesting to see if Atlanta goes into the wild card with a huge lead over its opponent, and then have to go into a one game winner take all game to move on in the playoffs. Whether we play Cincy, or the Nats, I hope Bochy gets it all figured out so the giants make it to the WS.
True Story:
I have a recurring nightmare. A ball is hit very close to me in the stands. At first, there is no one near me, so all that I have to do is bend down to pick it up, & it's mine. For some reason, I can't seem to get that done, & I either wake up, or someone else gets to the ball first.
Last night, I had a different version. It was the potential final out of the Giants' Division Championship clinching game. I was on the field, along with the 9 Giants' fielders & a lot of other fans. A soft line drive was hit right to me. I caught it, 2-handed, barehanded. I contemplated lifting the ball up & running around screaming, but knew that, if I did, eventually, the ball would get jarred away from me. I thought to myself that the Giants or Cooperstown would want that ball. So, like Brandon Belt after the final out of Matt Cain's Perfect Game, I had the presence of mind to stuff the ball safely into my pocket just before I was enveloped in a dog-pile of giddy Giants' players & fans.
But, I digress. While the last few weeks have been unbelievable, as the Giants press onward to what looks like an early clinching of the Division (never in my mind did I envision them being 10 games ahead with 12 games to play in any season, let alone this one), I also keep reminding myself that we have been getting pretty fat playing a lot of games against teams with either marginal-to-substandard pitching or marginal-to-substandard lineups or both. I know that every win counts the same & that you have to beat up on the weaker teams, but I hope that we are ready for the renewed challenge of facing good teams, when the time comes.
On the other hand, Sandoval seems capable of hitting any Pitcher's worst pitch (Verlander, De La Rosa, you name it), & Posey mashes consistently against the World. My bigger questions are whether Lincecum & Zito are ready to face hitters like Votto, Zimmerman, etc..
Vogelsong will either be our 4th Starter or an excellent long Reliever in the post-season (I prefer 4th Starter). The guy on the bubble should be Mota. Sorry, but Vogelsong & Zito have done much more for the team, including not getting suspended for 100 games.
One thing that everyone should keep in mind about the Giants season-ending schedule is that we played the tougher teams earlier. Everyone's record at the end of the year will be against the same teams (I'm talking to you, smogsuckers).
All the teams do not evenly play the other teams. If you are in the central you play a whole bunch of games vs. the Astros, and the Cubs. In the west you play a bunch vs. Denver, and in the East a bunch vs. the Mets and the Fish. If you are in the east you have to play a bunch of games vs. Washington and Atlanta. So if you are an injured phillies team, the east can be very tough, although a key series which could hurt the Phillies wild card chances could be their last series vs. Houston. The giants have scored some serious runs in the second half of the season.
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