9-5 loss Saturday and
2-0 loss Sunday in SF
The Giants couldn't pitch for shit yesterday--that was enough to hand the Mets the win. They also could not, in their maddening way, get the big game-breaking hit despite lots of opportunities. Just the opposite happened today--Jeff Samardzija pitched a hell of a game but the lineup couldn't hit for shit. The Shark had a no-hitter through six but gave up a two-run homer to Yoenis Cespedes (he hit two on Saturday) in the 7th and that was enough for a dominant Noah Syndergaard. The Giants managed only two hits and two walks with two runners caught stealing and one doubled up on a 4-6-3. It was a feeble effort from the club this weekend. A feeble, feeble effort right before the biggest series of the season so far, three games with the Dodgers starting Tuesday. If the Dodgers beat the Reds tomorrow (the Giants are off) then they will be up by a game. If they lose they'll be tied with the Giants. Either way the Giants need to start winning. They are 11-23 since the Break and 7-12 in August. Let's hope they can rediscover their mojo this week. Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto take the hill for the first two in LA against Kenta Maeda and Rich Hill.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
5 comments:
Boo.
Ah, gentlemen . . . The tankard, or stein, or flute of champagne, half full or half empty? If Samardzija pitches like this (BAA below .220 in August) and Moore has figured out, as he thinks he has, why he has a hard time finding home plate, THEN we have a chance of a rotation with four formidable starters. We can toast our victories with our half full, though hardly brimming glasses. And if Shark tanks and Moore stays unmoored, we can use our half full glasses to drown our sorrows. Half empty has no payoff: lukewarm, flat beer or bubbly.
AT&T is getting "Cespedes'ed" and "Bruce'd." I get more convinced that AT&T ain't nearly that difficult for MLB players to homer in. I mean, opponents seem to have no problems. Guys like Justin Turner, Kang, and De-Frickin'-Aza. Hmmm.
Soooooo... About my happy thought of 15-3 or 14-5. Whoops. I. WAS. WRONG.
Dodgers win today 18-9 behind 7 HR (3 by A-Gon). Giants go to LA down a game. If they win 2 of 3 they come home tied for first.
Article by Henry Schulman today in the Chronicle, "So, what's wrong with the Giants?" It's not on the intertubes yet. After an introduction iterating the Giant's post ASB woes, Mr. Schulman describes the following aspects and then projects a forecast about each.
Romo's injury. He says that relying on untested relief when Romo went down has "caught up with the Giants." His conclusion is that issues remain, particularly with middle and long relief. The only problem with this is that Romo went down early in the season and then, the Giants were winning. It is when he came back that their troubles have blossomed. What's more, I would contend with the idea that the relief staff is number one on the list of problems. Not that they haven't contributed, and done so with a timing and spectacular nature so as to make their inconsistencies particularly galling. But to hang it any failure on Romo's injury doesn't convince me.
Pence, Panik, Duffy injuries. "When Panik and Pence returned, they struggled badly and did not provide an expected lift." No big argument here. That does, however, imply that the guys they replaced, Green, Williamson, Pena, were doing well. As I recall, some games yes, some no. The offensive woes can also be traced to a failure of other offensive cogs, Buster, Belt, Span. His forecast is that "the tide seems to have turned." I hope so.
Cueto's All Star Game. This is the sub-head that is about the starters, or more accurately, Cueto, Bum and Smardjy. Cueto had a couple off games, and lately pitched damn well. Madbum had a couple off games and lately pitched damn well. Smardjy had a few stinkers, and then last game looked great when Syndergard shut the Giants down. If you are going to talk about the starters, though, you have to talk about Moore, who has really been as useless as tits on a boar, and Peavy/Cain, who have not done much to help the Giants. You can't talk about Cueto and Madbum when you have 3 holes in your rotation right after them. Mr. Schulman's forecast is that "it's not out of line to have higher expectations." Those expectations have to be met by Smardjy, Moore, Cain and/or Peavy.
The trades. Here is where Mr. Schulman talks about Moore, and Smith and Nunez. His conclusion is that the SF sample size is too small. I have to disagree. Nunez looked pretty bad, but then looked pretty good. He plays a good defense, is fast and hits well and with some power. It does seem like he either gets 0 hits per game or 3, but that probably is sample size. Moore and Smith are another matter. Moore has given up 17 hits and 17 BB in 23 innings. A supposedly front-line starter shouldn't have trouble "adjusting to the new league" or anything like that. He simply needs to pitch better to be a starter for us. Meanwhile Smith has given up 10 hits and 3 BB in 5.2 innings pitched. I can buy into the small sample size argument for him, but really, that's terrible. I am beginning to think the Giants got taken to the cleaners on these two.
The Schedule. Mr. Schulman says that things will get easier. He cites upcoming games against the Cubs, Dodgers and Cardinals, but with a "whole lot of the bottom of the NL West." I have to point out that the Giant's slump includes losing to the Phillies, San Diego and Reds. They have sucked against good teams and bad alike. Colorado has been playing some good ball lately. The came out of the gate hot, winning 13 and losing 4. They have not been nearly so good since then, except they just took series from the Cubs and Washington. They are second in runs scored. They are not going to be easy. We still have to face Greinke in Arizona. So the idea that the Giants are going to get relief from an easier schedule rankles. Right now, they have to get better to play even with .500 teams.
They can start tonight. Sorry I can't link the article.
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