Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Jake Peavy, Severe Buzz Kill - Prelude to Game 7 Giants Win

My World Series Game 6 day got off to a crappy start yesterday, when I read this on MLBTradeRumors:

  • Jake Peavy told reporters, including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago-Sun Times, that he will be interested to see where his close friend Jon Lester signs this offseason. Peavy had no qualms in stating that he’d like to once again be teammates with his friend: “I’ve certainly talked to Jon Lester because we’re buddies,” said Peavy. “So I have a feel for what he does. And I certainly know that Chicago would interest him and interest me.” Peavy clarified that he’s not suggesting a package deal for the Cubs, but rather, “There’s a package deal out there for any team.” Wittenmyer spoke to a few people close to Peavy who believe the Cubs would be high on his offseason wishlist, however, having spent several years there with the White Sox.

This is what the guy is worried out about just prior to the biggest start of his career???  Well, I hope that he & Jon Lester have great late careers, losing games for the Cubs.

What a crappy event that was last night.  The Posey AB in the 3rd inning was the only moment of hope, but that ended poorly on the first pitch.  Oh well ... better to lose 10-0, than 1-0.

We are now faced with having to become the first road Team to win a Game 7 since the 1979 Pirates of 'We Are Family' fame.  A little Pence speech, a solid start by Hudson, who I do not think is going to pull a Peavy on us, & some crafty Bochy bullpen management, & we could be in a position to do so.  Of course, there is the little matter of having to score a run or two, too.  If anyone is due for a big extra-base knock or two or three, it is our Leader, Buster.  So, bring it, Buster - it's not too late.  Table-setters, get on for him, & let's party like it's 2010 & 2012.

Go Giants!!!!!

15 comments:

Shankbone said...

Peavy's kid and buying a cable car as well... Don't think Peavy's head was in the right place, but his arm is what it is, pitch to contact and try to fool with pitch selection. Not the best recipe for success in the postseason. Royals did a good job of dinking what he gave them instead of trying to hit home runs.

I think this team can go channel the 70s: the Pirates in 71 beat the O's at home, the Reds beat the Red Sox after that famous game 6 HR, and We Are Family did their thing. Just go back in time baby!

Brother Bob said...

Peavy mentioned post-game that he broke 3 bats in the 2nd inning but they all turned into hits. That is strange.
Then Petit was useless, which is also strange.
Belt's failure to notice Panik waiting at first base was a little strange too. If that play had been made the outcome might have been a little less embarrassing.
I'm not sure I agree that losing 10-0 is better than losing 1-0. Maybe you're right.
I'm a bit numb I guess.

Ron said...

Petit was brought into an unfamiliar situation (although he should have been able to handle it). I'm not very worried about him.

Actually, given that KC's entire lineup seemed to have a career .400 average against Peavy & roughed him up in Game 2, one really has to wonder why Petit didn't get a start instead.

Yes, Belt should have just tossed to Panik. I think that he was just scared by Peavy's primal scream about the speedy Salvador Perez's attempt to score. It was a straight-forward play that we hashed badly.

Good comparison to the Reds in 1975, although, if the line score is the same, I might suffer a heart attack. Boston scored 3 runs early, then Cincinnati chipped away & won, 4-3. I remember watching that game - I was rooting for the Reds, mainly because they were NL.

Go Giants!!!!!

Ron said...

El Lefty Malo does a fairly decent job of trying to convince us all that Peavy pitched well & that Petit pitched OK. However, I don't completely buy it. A lot of the hits were not line drives, but the biggest problem was Peavy's failure to execute & hit the target.

In particular, Escobar & Aoki. On several 2-strike pitches, Posey was pleading for an extra high pitch for the knockout punch on both of them (just like when Bumgarner got them out in Game 1), but Peavy missed the target repeatedly. Escobar eventually hit the goofy grounder to Belt. For reasons that I do not comprehend, they kept going away to Escobar - he has been hitting crucial balls down the RF line since the ALDS, over & over again. The place to go was up, & Posey did try to get that one a couple of times.

Aoki got to see way too many pitches, then did his little Ichiro / Blanco slap job between 3B & SS. On several pitches, Posey tried to get Peavy to throw the high fastball, but he kept leaving it down lower, where Aoki could foul them off.

Both of those guys should have been retired on high fastballs - the types of pitches that they both had a proven track record of being suckers for.

I don't remember the pitch sequences by Petit, because I was too livid by that point.

Hudson lives down low, but I am sure that there will be the occasional situation requiring a fastball up. I expect Hudson to answer the call.

Go Giants!!!!!

Shankbone said...

Lefty did do a nice job, but I'm not buying it. Peavy pitched scared, and he was weak. Vogelsong on a one year instead of a 2-3 year for Peavy is a much better bet going forward.

Hudson has his work cut out. The Giants have to play clean defense, we can't have silliness on infield grounders. Cover the 1B bag properly please.

Belt said he didn't hear Peavy but I doubt it, I think he's covering for him.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Sometimes the other guy beats you. KC is a good club--they can counterpunch. Like I said before it is a heavyweight fight and now we are in round 15.

I was surprised that the Giants didn't win last night, but I think they will win tonight. It's been an amazing, topsy-turvy Series, but I believe in Boch and the Boys.

I was once again on a train and "out of my brain." Many thanks to BRZ for the text updates despite the crappy result. We are now finally in Philly after a very long journey from Chicago. We are going up to the 10th floor for some food and drink and we'll watch the game tonight in the room. I've got Wi-Fi and will post!

Ron thanks for stepping in and giving us your take. It's never fun to post about losses. I'm a Peavy fan despite the post-season struggles. The Giants would no be here without his contributions down the stretch. And he did out-pitch Strasburg in the LDS opener--that's something. I'd like to see him back.

Ron said...

Good to hear from you, Mark. One question, though - why don't you just buy a transistor radio & listen to the game on ESPN Radio? You are in dense urban areas with lots of radio stations. Even out in the boonies, you can usually pick up the game on some station.

M.C. O'Connor said...

I suppose the short answer is I did not expect the Giants to be in the Series when I planned the trip. And I thought we'd have wifi on the trains in the northeast. I have FM on my phone but could not get anything. It's OK, I enjoyed getting the texts and following vicariously. I missed being able to post. We'll see tonight's game. The best time was game 4 in the pub in Chicago!

Ron said...

Well, I hope that you & Sue can celebrate in Philadelphia - this is as big as they get! The more that the day goes on, the better I feel about our pitching. I have yet to experience a correspondingly good feeling about our hitting, but there are still 3 hours to go until game time. Of course, part of the problem is that KC's outfielders run down everything. Sharp grounders in the holes or booming HR's seem to be our best possibilities. There's also always the chance that Blanco or Belt or Pence can beat out a bunt or two.

Go Giants!!!!

Ron said...

No Big Surprise: Juan Perez gets the start in LF. Bochy says it's due to both his fielding & his hitting. Ishikawa does not have a career hit off of Guthrie, but the sample size is tiny. At least we now have a left-handed PH available.

Go Giants!!!!!

Ron said...

Gives us another potential bunter, too.

Go Giants!!!!!

Win!!!!! Win!!!!! Win!!!!! Win!!!!! Win!!!!!

M.C. O'Connor said...

I really just want the Giants to play well. If they lose by getting outplayed, fine. If they lose because they played shitty, that'll hurt. Play well, chances are they come away as champs.

obsessivegiantscompulsive said...

Great comment MC, if Giants can play clean game, at least they gave their best shot, and that's probably our best chance to win this game.

Also, Perez, after early jitters has hit .357/.375/.429/.804 in the NLCS and WS. Plus his defense probably adds 2 WAR over what Ishi has done (nothing against him!), plus I think a game like this will probably be close, and it could turn by Ishi pinch-hitting with guys on base.

Ron said...

Buster appears ready - pregame interview on ESPN. This is it.

Go Giants!!!!! Win!!!!! Win!!!!! Win!!!!! Win!!!!!

JC Parsons said...

I totally agree with Ron about Peavy's pitch execution. On the one to Aoki, Buster was practically begging for the pitch to be up. I remember thinking I have never seen Posey being so animated when he set the target. Then Peavy put it about 10 inches below the target and you know what happened. He pitched very poorly and I would be quite content to never see him pitch as a Giant again. I also agree that he never should have been the starter (his career stats at KC are amazingly bad and that gave them a incredible confidence level) so I don't blame him too much. Don't get me wrong, he made major contributions and deserves to wear the ring proudly... I'm just done with him. Sounds like he has moved on too.

Glad to see Perez with the start. I will not be surprised if he ends up in the middle the action.

The story tonight is Tim Hudson. A class act that will rise to the occasion.

ONE MORE WIN TO GO!!!!