Sunday, July 19, 2015

Giants Sweep Snakes

After 30 hits in the first two games this weekend, the Giants won today in Arizona, 2 -1 on only 5 hits.  A Justin Maxwell solo shot and a Hunter Pence double to score Joe Panik did the trick.  The Giants were out-hit by the dbacks, who tallied 9, but held on to win and complete the sweep.  It is their 6th win in a row going back to before the All-Star break.  The Giants had a few more well hit balls, including a Brandon Belt double off of the wall and about 4 more long outs from Panik, Duffy, Buster and Maxwell that probably added up to 2000 feet.  It as an extremely entertaining weekend to watch Pagan, Panik, Duffy and Buster smack the ball around.

Madison Bumgarner was on the hill and was not nearly as sharp as he can be.  He threw 93 pitches, 59 of them strikes.  He was pulled after 5 innings.  This appeared to have been by design, I'm guessing that Bruce Bochy hoped he would get six, but was going to pull Madison nevertheless.  He did work in the All-Star game.  George Kontos threw 2 scoreless, then Hunter Strickland blanked the snakes for the 8th and Santiago Casilla picked up his 24th save.

The Giants are now #1 in batting average in the major leagues and #1 in on base percentage, according to the TV.  That's pretty good, and it suggests that they are not in first place due to pitching struggles.  A quick glance at the pitching stats for the team confirms this:  Among the relievers, 6 pitchers have L's hung on them: Romo (4), Affeldt (2), Casilla (2), and Kontos, Petit, Strickland (1 each).  And of course, Hudson has a losing record.  He may be able to make progress towards correcting that tomorrow in San Diego.  Among the relievers, though, Romo has looked pretty good this weekend, Affeldt hopefully will be much improved when he returns from the DL, and Kontos and Strickland have also looked good after the break.  On to San Diego!

12 comments:

M.C. O'Connor said...

Big effort from the 'pen all weekend: 13-2/3 innings, one run. Just keep the wins coming, boys.

7-7 for July after a 12-14 June.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Bummed about Susac but seeing Hanchez again was nice. I hope he can play well and stay healthy until Susac returns.

M.C. O'Connor said...

Y'all saw this about Timmeh?

JC Parsons said...

Hey y'all. I'm back from a camping trip in which they won every game that I didn't follow. Then I arrive home last night and watch a yucky loss. Of course.
Latest details on Tim is torn labrum tissue, most likely needing surgery, 5-6 month rehab. Many try to take shots and rest but I'm not sure that Tim will bother. I bet he gets surgery soon so he has any chance of a biggish contract next year with somebody willing to risk it on him. Remember it will likely be his last MLB contract, so he wants a good one. Why should he push to get back on the Giants now? He is already paid and the team doesn't have a role for him. It would be sad to see him continue to flounder out the rest of his Giants career. I figure we have seen the last of The Freak as a Giant. Sad, huh? Hopefully he has the drive to do the whole rehab thing and he can recapture some glory but I really don't think he will do it as a Giant.
It is strange how quiet they kept Tim's injury info. They are saying he has had hip issues for years all of a sudden. We have spent countless hours pondering his woes, coming up with amazing theories. And often questioning his character. Silly, emotion us. It looks like all along he was just getting old. His wonderful freakish delivery is finally catching up to him. Basically it is what everybody always said would happen. All that crap about his Dad and a new lease on life looks pretty much like dishonest marketing now we know they were already discussing hip treatment options last year. I suppose articles about hoping a damaged former superstar can make it through his last highly paid year don't sell as many "papers."

Ron said...

No one is going to pay Tim Lincecum a lot of money after his operation & rehab, plus these reports about other ailments. We may end up re-signing him to a minor league contract, as he reinvigorates his career as a knuckleballing whiz. He could pitch 10 more years, a la another Tim (Wakefield).

Zo said...

Jon, where did you get the information about a torn labrum? That doesn't sound like "a degenerative disease" to me, but it actually sounds more positive. Or does it amount to the same thing? Hip dysplasia vs torn labrum tissue?

I'm with Ron. He has more value to Giants fans than to anyone else, so if he chooses to continue pitching, will probably get a better offer (if any) from the Giants than anyone else. I can understand why he is your favorite Giant, ever. He is easy to relate to and completely human, unlike so many other athletes. He is like a high school student that is smart, a little shy, goofy and full of fun and personality. The smartest kids you know will do OK. The dumb ones you feel for, but you know you can only invest so much in them. The Lincecums, you wind up pulling for them because you know they can bring a lot of happiness into the world with maybe just a couple of breaks, and were glad to have been around them.

The candle that burns brightest......

M.C. O'Connor said...

I don't see this as a salary push either. He may be looking at career-ending issues if he really does have a "degenerative" condition with his hips. They seem to think he can do a workaround with cortisone shots, but a little guy like Tim has to generate a lot of torque with his lower body and I think this condition may be a bigger deal for him than for most.

I don't see Tim getting a lot of suitors. The reason to do the surgery now is so the rehab can be done for next year, obviously, no reason to wait, but I don't see teams lining up for a 32-year old with four seasons worth of negative WAR. I'm not sure I see the knuckleball transition, but I agree with Ron that the most likely scenario is a minor-league contract.

It's a real bummer. The word "meteoric" gets tossed around about athlete's careers but Tim's path is truly that. The very best to the very worst in such a short time. Check out Justin Verlander's career arc--it looks like Lincecum's. Here's a guy who went from leading the league in Strikeouts and winning the CYA to leading the league in Runs Allowed, just like Tim. It's a cruel game, man.

JC Parsons said...

I think you guys GREATLY underestimate the money involved here. If Tim starts rehab now there will be some team that will give him a few years at 5 million or so. Of course that is a big decrease but it is no minor league deal. Look around at the money that #4,5 starters get and none of those guys have Cy's and no hitters. I think Tim retires before going back to do the Vogelsong rebuild career thing. He is too rich for that. And the game is too hard on his body now. He has the credentials that make it so someone will give him a try. Tim is not the grinder type, more the grab it now while you can.

Ron said...

#4 or #5 Starters coming off of bad years are still getting a lot of money. Tim is a guy coming off of:

- 4 consecutive down years.

- Who virtually completely pitched himself out of 2 successful World Series campaigns.

- Who will have had a serious surgery + other physical complications which probably result from his pitching motion.

- Who will have had no period of rehab in live game situations.

He is not going to be getting any big-time offers from anyone.

I still think that my scenario is the likeliest, plus I like it, because we could end up with an effective Tim back for the 2017 MLB campaign & beyond. Besides, what goofier, but physically non-demanding, pitch is there than the Knuckleball? The Screwball isn't an option, because it is a stressful pitch. The Knuckler can be easy on the elbow, shoulder, &, more importantly, the hips.

If Zo is right & Tim is that goofy kid everyone loves, then he is destined to become Tim 2.0, the Linceknuck!

M.C. O'Connor said...

It's not the money--it's the willingness of the team to commit to an aging veteran with declining health and performance. No one will give him more than a year, at the very best year + option with incentives. The Giants were not competing with anyone when they re-signed him, and that was for only two years. 25-man roster space is at a premium, a minor-league deal means 40-man roster. You may be right, but I'll be shocked if any team offers him anything close to what you are saying. And they certainly will expect him to "grind it out" as far as his rehab goes. He has to able to play--no one (other than the Giants) will sign him just because he's Tim Lincecum. If he is indeed a "get it while you can" kind of guy then his window has already passed. The injury report, and the fact that he's had these issues "for years" is a death blow to his marketability.

It's funny, Zo, that you say Tim seems likable and relatable. I find him to be rather distant, almost aloof. He has little to say in interviews and seems like a classic jock, internal and self-centered. That doesn't mean he hasn't been wonderful entertainer, but I think I'd have more fun knocking back bourbons and listening to C&W with Jake Peavy than I would trading bongs with Tim. I think lots of other guys on the team seem like real people, Tim strikes me as being in a bubble. That's fine, it's not a criticism, just an impression. I only mention it because it's so different from your own impression!

Either way, he is the most beloved of all the Giants and I don't see that ever changing. His slacker/skater/stoner vibe, the hair, the crazy motion, the CYAs and the first title in 52 years, that's a package few can emulate. He was the talisman of the new era of winning Giants baseball and imagining him in any other uniform is almost impossible.

nomisnala said...

Sanchez has a chance to play good enough to make the decision
to bring Susac back up off the disabled list a difficult decision.

nomisnala said...

A little degenerative hip activity, a few correctly placed
cortisone shots, and he could feel as good as new for a few
months. This type of treatment could go on and be effective
for years. Not about to give up on Tim. He seems aloof to
me too, but who knows for sure.