Tim Lincecum and his fellow Giants did very little to disrupt the love fest at PNC Park today as the Pirates rolled to an 8-2 victory. The 2011 number one draft pick, Gerrit Cole, made his ML debut and energized the home crowd. Not only did he pitch well (6.1 innings, 2 runs), but the phenom delivered the killing blow with a 2 rbi single. They got all the big hits and made all the big plays. Jeez, I told you it was a love fest. Pittsburgh is now 38-26 and that looks like it is no fluke.
Tim is now 4-6 and that also doesn't look like a fluke. Wasn't it just a little while ago when Tim was our phenom? Now we don't even really expect a quality start. Tonight was his second shortest outing of the season (4.2 innings), yet it seemed all too familiar. Sure enough, Lincecum has lasted 5 or fewer innings in 6 of his 13 starts. Nothing more than seven innings this year (5 times) and that doesn't look like it is going to change. Tim is going to strain our bullpen and cause us to use one or two too many relievers. Tonight it was Kontos, 3 runs in 1.1 innings. His ejection for hitting people was sad.
Tim being bad is not the worst news of the evening. Marco Scutaro joins the list of injured starters with a smashed up pinkie, details will come tomorrow but the xrays were negative. His injury looked identical to Ryan Vogelsong's and that put Vogie on the 60 day DL. And now with third baseman Pablo Sandoval (left foot) and center fielder Angel Pagan
(left hamstring) both on the 15-day disabled list, we enter a delicate period. A very scary delicate period.
Can our depth and pitching hold us together? Can we keep it close? Who will step up and fill the voids?
7 comments:
In a dogfight and some big injuries piling up. Its going to get real up in here. Sabean will look to the farm and then the small trade. Ride out the next 30-40 games, and then hopefully come back full strength for the stretch.
I think Timmy needs to go to the pen. I'm pretty loyal to Timmy, I think the Gints have given him more than enough time. What's better for the club? More dazed and confused Timmy (Wiley Wiggins!) or a guy with a chip on his shoulder who is pissed off? Put him in the pen and let him work his way out.
The game last night started with Tim not being sharp and the Pirates took advantage. Cole did not look sharp and the Giants did not take advantage. Then, Cole all of a sudden looked good and the Giants had quick 3 up 3 down for three innings. Meanwhile, Tim continued not to be sharp and the Pirates continued to take advantage. Then, in the seventh, the Giants broke through. Tim was replaced by relief pitchers who were also not sharp and the Pirates continued to take advantage. At that point it was long since over, the Alvarez home run was simply an exclamation point.
I've noticed this over and over that Tim has trouble getting pitchers out when he needs to. Maybe it's just always a surprise when a pitcher gets walked or gets a hit.
Yeah, he had Cole 0-2 before nibbling with three pitches and then giving up the hit on a fat "get it in" fastball. Then he whiffed the next guy with vicious looking splitters and sliders. Go figure.
Pirates are starting to get payoff from their drafts: McCutcheon (2005, 11th pick), Walker (2004, 11th pick), Alvarez (2nd pick, 2008), and now Cole (#1 overall last year).
Oh, and I hate the beanball wars. Stupid adolescent crap. Be aggressive, pitch inside, no problem. Throw behind guys? No, that's stupid. Scutaro was not hit on purpose, no reason to escalate.
Giants are going to have to dig deep this month. Good thing the NL West is ripe for the taking. No dominant team, at least not yet. This is the stuff that champions are made of, right? Last time I checked only one team was wearing those champion patches.
Well look at this. Shawshank Scutaro going one step from putting a Ronnie Lott. Mano!
For Timmy, it is pure concentration deficit. Maybe he should be subscribed some of those meds that Torres takes. After going 0-2 to Cole, he throws 3 easy takes, and then gives up a hit on a very crappy pitch. Next batter comes up, and he snaps off 2 really crispt pitches. If that isn't pressure, and pure pitching in a key situation, I do not know what it is. Guys who have not had Timmy's success could find other reasons for the screw-up. For Timmy it is primarily mental. If you can K over 9 guys per 9 innings, you have issues other than quality stuff. I think perhaps Timmy is a righty with Jonathan Sanchez syndrome. Looks as if Liriano has found is way back from some bad seasons. Lets hope the giants can crack the Liriano code tonight.
Bochy needs to only pitch Kontos vs. righties. Kontos this year is clearly a Roogy. Lefties hit off of him like Ty Cobb or Babe Ruth. Yet he is tough on righties. Being he is not a side-winder, it is a little odd, but that is the way it is unfolding this year, and Bochy needs to understand his personnel. He may be one of the best managers, but sometimes I think there are empty spaces in that large vacuous cranium.
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