LA 8 SF 1
Dodgers second baseman and Giants arch-nemesis Enrique "Kike" Hernandez got four hits and drove in five runs to bury the Giants on Opening Day. It was a good game for six innings but in the 7th it all fell apart. The Giants got MVP'd with back-to-back hits from Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger that put runners on second and third. Giants pitcher Tyler Rogers got the infield grounder he wanted but the 2018 AL MVP (Betts) slipped in past the tag and broke the 1-1 tie. Justin Turner was safe at first on the play. The next batter, Corey Seager, hit a grounder to Rogers but he misplayed the rundown, getting the out on the 2019 NL MVP (Bellinger) but allowing the other runners to advance. They both scored on Hernandez' hit and it was a rout after that. The Giants looked shaky on defense and the late inning pitchers (after Rogers it was Dany Jimenez and Conner Menez) got pounded.
Johnny Cueto started and got through four innings with one run allowed. Drew Smyly and Rico Garcia covered the 5th and the 6th but the Giants lineup could only produce one run. Clayton Kershaw was a late scratch and young flamethrower Dustin May got the call and he threw a lot of nasty strikes in 4-1/3, giving up seven singles but no walks.
It was real baseball. It was ugly. It was weird. But weird baseball and ugly baseball are both better than NO baseball!!
Giants have not announced a starter for tomorrow. The Dodgers are going with Ross Stripling. Game time is 6:40 p.m. PDT.
GO GIANTS!!
--M.C.
7 comments:
What a rude return! We don’t get a day or two to pretend that we can compete with those guys? Man, this is going to be a long short season.
Pretty things : Yaz, I can watch that swing all day!
Not sure I like : pulling Crawford mid game for pitch hitter, kinda weird but ok early in the year. Can’t we just let the young guy adjust to CF, or does he have to play three positions each game?
Anyway, I guess I’m supposed to say it is great that baseball is back... so ok....but can we look decent today, please
I'm sick of this so-called Season already. And, I'm sick of that Dodgers' Pitcher's exaggerated followthrough (which he only rolls out, after someone hits a foul ball). And, don't get me started about his hair - didn't that shaggy dog look go out-of-fashion back in 2018? And, no, ugly baseball isn't better than no baseball. I was fine w/ everyone staying healthy, & coming back in 2021. It used to be the ultimate negative benchmark to lose 100 Games in a Full Season - we may lose 50 in 3/8 of a Full Season. We really stink. Watching dipshits like that new Catcher of ours masquerade a ML-er is not for me. Sorry. Don't know how much more of this I can bear to watch.
Wow, Ron, I thought my comment was rather snarky but compared to you I’m Mother Theresa. I love your raw anger, makes me miss you...
However, take a deep breath and try to pace yourself. I need you “by my side” for this crap. We can find the good. I think.
There's a huge talent gap between the Giants and the Dodgers. Would any player (other than possibly Yaz) on the Giants roster crack the Dodgers roster? I don't think so.
I don't know what y'all are so upset about. We know the State of The Franchise. It has been like this for a few seasons. They finally got wise and started The Rebuild That Shall Not Be Called A Rebuild. It is going to take some time to get the talent base built up so they can be a good team again.
I'm willing to wait and follow the process. I like the new guys and think they can do the job. It ain't necessarily gonna be pretty. But I'm a fan. The ups and downs are all part of that. Don't get me wrong, the last third of that game last night really sucked, I'd rather follow a good team for sure, but this is the team I've got.
I want to see who survives The Cauldron Of Shite and emerges on the other side to become The New Giants.
Of course, it all could collapse because of the pandemic. So I'm getting out of it what I can, which is following the guys in orange-and-black.
I thought the giants played very sloppy as the game rolled on. Almost like a Spring Training Game. I also thought our base running was less than desirable as we should have scored our second run. Rogers should have gotten out of the inning with a double play, instead he went to home to get one out from the runner at third. It ended up a very costly move. Knowing how to pitch to Hernandez, does not seem to be important. I thought that Kapler was all about metrics. If this was part of 162 game season I would not be as upset with the way that the game was managed as I am with a 60 game season. The giants last year showed that they could get hot for a months period of time. I already hate the 3 batter rule, as once you put a pitcher in, and you can see that guy has nothing, you cannot pull him. It seems that the dreaded dodgers are as good as they seem, but the question is, are the giants as bad as they seem? I also have not changed my mind about the umps. I think they do a better job of calling pitches from pitchers who throw from the mid 90's on down, but they often have a much harder time being accurate when the pitcher throws in the high 90's and beyond, and that applies to their secondary pitches as well.
The Giants have a very young group with very little experience. The fact they made some baseball blunders should not be a surprise. They did not have an adequate Spring Training. Add in the shifting and you are going to get some of those "oh shit where do I throw the ball?" moments.
Jimenez made his debut, as did McCarthy. Baragar will be next. Davis and Heineman are pretty raw. Heck, Tyler Rogers has maybe 20 IP of experience. Mauricio Dubon hasn't cracked 200 PA.
I think Rogers made the right play, he just didn't make it right. He had the runner hung up but threw the ball instead of going to tag him. The runner knew what to do--delay the out to let the others advance. I've seen dozens of rookies blow that play. They'll learn.
Yes, the Dodgers are that good. It's a big mountain the Giants are going to have to climb in the next few years.
Perhaps one good thing in all this:
https://sports.theonion.com/cubs-install-cardboard-cutouts-of-fans-pissing-all-over-1844491563
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