Boxscore
Another tense contest in San Francisco and another one-run victory for the surging Giants who are now only a game back of the Dodgers. Tim Hudson hung on for dear life and made it through five with a lead that held up thanks to some great work from George Kontos and Javier Lopez. We even got to see the slick lefty lay down a bunt for the first time in more than a decade (it was only his 13th career plate appearance). Santiago Casilla looked a little shaky out there, again, today he was helped out by a caught stealing on a weird play, I suppose he'll just have to work out the kinks and find that lost command. Jeremy Affeldt has that "I need an oil change" look as well, let's hope he can find his groove soon. Otherwise it was the young stud at the hot corner who supplied the thump, launching a two-run blast to left-center and roping a run-scoring single to right in his first two at-bats. He had three RBI in the 4-3 win.
The Milwaukee Brewers come to town for three starting tomorrow night. Chris Heston, Matt Cain, and Jake Peavy.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Showing posts with label Tim Hudson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Hudson. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Huddy in 2014
This is a graph I put together of Tim Hudson's 2014 season. The horizontal axis is each start during the regular season. On the vertical axis, I have shown the innings pitched, in red, and the bases Huddy surrendered (from hits, walks and hit-by-pitches) per innings pitched. I thought this might give a better, although still incomplete picture than merely hits/BB/hbp or earned runs.
As you can see, as the season progressed, his innings pitched per game went down, slightly, and his bases per inning pitched tended upward slightly, even leaving out the terrible 1 inning game against LA on September 13. But Tim Hudson also pitched in the playoffs and World Series (won by the Giants!!!). Everyone remembers his start in game 7 (won by the Giants!!!). It didn't go well. He threw 1 and 2/3 innings, gave 3 hits, walked 1 and gave up 2 runs.
On October 4, Huddy gave us 7 1/4 innings of work, giving up 1 run on 7 hits. He walked no one and struck out 8. That was the 18 inning game against Washington, the Giants winning 2-1. He pitched again October 14, against St. Louis, in game 3 of the NLCS at ATT Park, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 1/3 innings. The Giants won that game, 5-4 in the 10th. Then, he pitched game 3 of the World Series at ATT on October 24 before the October 29 game 7. In game 3, he picked up the loss, going 5 2/3 innings and giving up 3 runs to Kansas City.
So here is my conclusion: Tim Hudson had a hell of a season for the Giants. He was an ace at the beginning of the year, although he ran out of some steam towards the end. Once he got some rest (he had not pitched since September 24 before the Washington game), he pitched pretty damn well. He is, by his own admission, an old man. But recall that he pitched so well during the early part of the season that he was rewarded with a trip to the All Star game. We would not have been in the playoffs without his contribution. I fully expect him to be rested and sharp for the 2015 season.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Busted Bunts Beat Birds
A fresh southerly breeze kept Travis Ishikawa's titanic blast in the 1st from being a grand slam. Instead the ball was blown back on to the field, confusing not just the announcers (and me) but rookie right fielder Randal Grichuk. It went for a bases-clearing double and the Giants finally had a big hit with men on base. The Cardinals chipped away at Tim Hudson the rest of the afternoon, finally tying the game in the 7th on Grichuk's bomb that hit the pole in left. Boch might have stuck with Hudson a little too long there, but it wasn't that bad of a pitch, maybe a bit up but certainly on the inner edge of the zone. Credit the youngster for a great swing in a big spot. Rookie nemesis Kolten Wong had done the rest of the damage earlier with three RBIs on a double and a triple--he was victimized by the San Francisco wind as well on the triple, off the bat it looked like a homer. John Lackey looked terrible in the 1st when the Giants whacked him around with two outs to take a 4-0 lead, but he was dominating over the next five frames and made the lineup look silly. Fortunately the Giants bullpen kept the lid on things, I was especially impressed by Santiago Casilla getting three outs in the 9th on nine pitches. He just keeps putting up zeroes! Pablo Sandoval made a great grab on a grounder by Matt Holliday in the top of the 10th to save a run and that gave the home team another shot at a walk-off win.
And walk off as winners they did. The Giants have some serious power bats like Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, and Pablo Sandoval but they can't seem to get--so far--home runs out of them. Brandon Belt, another slugger, delivered of course an epic dinger in DC, but the long ball has not been part of the Giants equation in this series. Well, if the homers ain't happening then you've got to find something else. Brandon Crawford led off the bottom of the 10th against Randy Choate and worked a walk. BCraw is 0-for-the LCS but has two walks in two appearances against the St. Louis lefty. Juan Perez, who'd put down a beautiful bunt against Trevor Rosenthal before Duffy's Dash in Game 2, could not put one down on two attempts. Boch took off the bunt sign with two strikes and the youngster ripped a liner to left for a single. Rock on, Juan! With runners on first and second all the world knew that next batter Gregor Blanco would attempt the sacrifice, and he put down a perfect one that Choate had to field lumbering toward the third base line. The veteran southpaw (he's the same age as Huddy) heaved his throw into right field and BCraw came home to a jubilant welcome.
It was another amazing back-and-forth battle between two great teams. The Giants keep coming up with goofy ways to score. And the 'pen was up to the task today, thank goodness. We also saw good glove work all around which, as we've seen, can be the difference in these tight contests.
Ryan Vogelsong gets the call tomorrow at 5:00 pm.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
And walk off as winners they did. The Giants have some serious power bats like Buster Posey, Hunter Pence, and Pablo Sandoval but they can't seem to get--so far--home runs out of them. Brandon Belt, another slugger, delivered of course an epic dinger in DC, but the long ball has not been part of the Giants equation in this series. Well, if the homers ain't happening then you've got to find something else. Brandon Crawford led off the bottom of the 10th against Randy Choate and worked a walk. BCraw is 0-for-the LCS but has two walks in two appearances against the St. Louis lefty. Juan Perez, who'd put down a beautiful bunt against Trevor Rosenthal before Duffy's Dash in Game 2, could not put one down on two attempts. Boch took off the bunt sign with two strikes and the youngster ripped a liner to left for a single. Rock on, Juan! With runners on first and second all the world knew that next batter Gregor Blanco would attempt the sacrifice, and he put down a perfect one that Choate had to field lumbering toward the third base line. The veteran southpaw (he's the same age as Huddy) heaved his throw into right field and BCraw came home to a jubilant welcome.
It was another amazing back-and-forth battle between two great teams. The Giants keep coming up with goofy ways to score. And the 'pen was up to the task today, thank goodness. We also saw good glove work all around which, as we've seen, can be the difference in these tight contests.
Ryan Vogelsong gets the call tomorrow at 5:00 pm.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Friday, August 22, 2014
Panik Mode
The Giants thumped the Nationals tonight 10-3, scoring six runs in the final two frames to turn a taut 4-2 pennant race contest into a rout. Rookie Joe Panik launched his first big-league homer in the 3rd with two on to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead. Young Joe made an error in the 1st that led to the Nats first run but finished with four hits. It was an impressive display by the visiting squad with 14 hits including two homers (Buster had the other) and two doubles (Posey and Travis Ishikawa). Eight different guys got hits and seven different guys scored runs. Here's what I liked: LF Mike Morse had a hit and a run scored, his late-game replacement Gregor Blanco did as well, and he also made a nice grab in the field. That's how it is supposed to work, right?
Tim Hudson was grit and VSC personified, but the patient Washington lineup eventually chased him in the 6th. Javier Lopez was the vanguard of a Giants relief triumvirate with Jean Machi and Sergio Romo that nailed down the next eight outs in nine batters. Juan Gutierrez made a bit of a mess of the 9th, but with an eight-run lead it hardly mattered. Final line for the 'pen: 3-2/3, 2H, 1R, 2BB, 5K.
Big win against a tough team. Tim Lincecum gets the ball tomorrow.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Tim Hudson was grit and VSC personified, but the patient Washington lineup eventually chased him in the 6th. Javier Lopez was the vanguard of a Giants relief triumvirate with Jean Machi and Sergio Romo that nailed down the next eight outs in nine batters. Juan Gutierrez made a bit of a mess of the 9th, but with an eight-run lead it hardly mattered. Final line for the 'pen: 3-2/3, 2H, 1R, 2BB, 5K.
Big win against a tough team. Tim Lincecum gets the ball tomorrow.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Padres Rookie Subdues Giants
Odrisamer Despaigne certainly makes the All-Name Team, whether he makes any other team remains to be seen. But he no doubt made a case tonight with an impressive debut against the Giants. He had an arsenal of pitches and was particularly effective with a changeup, or maybe two different changeups, and had the Giants off-balance all evening. Matt Cain had a great first three innings, then a nightmare 4th inning, then a great next three innings, then a nightmare 8th, highlighted by an error. The end result was 7-2/3, six runs allowed on seven hits. All the hits came in the 4th and the 8th. Perhaps the decision to let Cain continue after seven was a bad one. At this point, take the good and don't push it. A seven-inning, three-run start is usually a good one. Matty is not all there this season and I've no idea why. It looks like he can throw all the same pitches and that they have all the same action. It's like he either forgets how to pitch, or that he's predictable and the league has caught up with him, or that he loses his command for short stretches and puts 'em over the heart of the plate instead of the corners. When Tim Lincecum went from best in the league to what he is now, you could see the difference. He lost speed on the fastball, then couldn't throw the pitch for a strike. With Cain, I can't tell what's going on. He seems like Matt Cain, but the results are not there. An unfortunate loss tonight as the Dodgers got beat in Zack Greinke's return to Kansas City.
The Giants lost the first game in Arizona but took the series by winning the next two. Looks like that's the plan in San Francisco as well. Tim Hudson goes tomorrow and Tim Lincecum goes Wednesday.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
The Giants lost the first game in Arizona but took the series by winning the next two. Looks like that's the plan in San Francisco as well. Tim Hudson goes tomorrow and Tim Lincecum goes Wednesday.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Fourth Inning: 8-10
I thought of this team as more tortoise than hare. I figured the 2014 Giants would grind it out, 10-8 and 11-7 innings one after the other, finish with 90+ wins and have a real shot at a division title or wildcard. But they decided on hare, racing their way to the best record in baseball and making our heads spin with visions of post-season glory. Of course it was too early to tell what kind of team they were--it was only the first third of the season. We knew they'd hit a bump in the road at some point, we just didn't know it would be such a BIG bump. I wanted to see zero sub-.500 innings, but today's loss at the hands of the White Sox took care of that. Tim Hudson had his worst start of the season and the Giants, despite a good showing by the offense, fell a run short.
So, is it time to talk "June Swoon?" Are we watching a weak team finally fall to earth or a good team having a bad stretch? You know something? It's too early to tell. That was the 72nd game and there are 90 more to go. NINETY games. That's a lot. The Giants have lost 8 of 9 and have looked bad doing it. But I thought this was a good team before and I still think it's a good team. They hit the road tomorrrow and go to Arizona for the weekend and come home after that. It's as good a time as any to get back to their winning ways.
Giants had a lead of 9-1/2 games over the Dodgers ten days ago. Now it is 4-1/2 games. Good thing there is plenty of time left to kick them back down again, right? San Francisco still sports some nice team pitching numbers, but we know that the pitching has not been pretty lately. FIP 3.52 (5th in ML), ERA 3.34 (6th), and runs allowed 266 (8th). The hitting has cooled off, too. wOBA .314 (14th), OPS .717 (14th), and 313 runs scored (10th). In the end the only numbers that matter are the wins and losses.
First inning, 10-8,
Second inning, 13-5,
Third inning, 12-6,
Fourth inning, 8-10.
That's 43-29 (.597).
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
So, is it time to talk "June Swoon?" Are we watching a weak team finally fall to earth or a good team having a bad stretch? You know something? It's too early to tell. That was the 72nd game and there are 90 more to go. NINETY games. That's a lot. The Giants have lost 8 of 9 and have looked bad doing it. But I thought this was a good team before and I still think it's a good team. They hit the road tomorrrow and go to Arizona for the weekend and come home after that. It's as good a time as any to get back to their winning ways.
Giants had a lead of 9-1/2 games over the Dodgers ten days ago. Now it is 4-1/2 games. Good thing there is plenty of time left to kick them back down again, right? San Francisco still sports some nice team pitching numbers, but we know that the pitching has not been pretty lately. FIP 3.52 (5th in ML), ERA 3.34 (6th), and runs allowed 266 (8th). The hitting has cooled off, too. wOBA .314 (14th), OPS .717 (14th), and 313 runs scored (10th). In the end the only numbers that matter are the wins and losses.
First inning, 10-8,
Second inning, 13-5,
Third inning, 12-6,
Fourth inning, 8-10.
That's 43-29 (.597).
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Nats walk all over Cain, Giants
Thirteen years ago, Russ Ortiz walked the first three guys he faced. Tonight, a nearly full moon hanging low in the sky, Matt Cain walked the first three guys he faced. Neither game turned out well. The Padres beat the Giants 10-7 that afternoon in 2001, and the Nationals beat the Giants 6-2 this evening for their third win in three chances. The Giants have lost three straight for only the second time this season--they lost three consecutive 2-1 games from April 17th to April 19th, the first to the Dodgers and the next two to the Padres. It wasn't long ago that San Francisco was the hottest club on the planet, winning their last five series and boasting the best record. Washington, though, has served notice with ten wins in their last twelve games including a 17-5 pasting of the home team at AT&T Park. The Nationals seized first place in the NL East with tonight's win, and their +50 run difference is just behind the Giants at +53 (Oakland rules the roost at +130).
Cain did not have the command he showed in his last start--his five walks were just shy of his career high of six. Giving up the home run in the 5th to Jayson Werth after making him look foolish was a particularly cruel blow. It was to be a moral victory of sorts, putting up zeroes after the ugly start to the game, getting a shut down inning after the Giants finally scored, but that's not how it worked out. Matty has yet to find his groove in 2014, and his ten starts are the fewest of the five in the rotation. Here's a guy, you'd think, who has seen it all in his ten years, everything from last place and losing records to World Series rings, All-Star Games, and perfection. Just last year he gave up nine runs in one inning! Before tonight, though, Matt Cain had never walked the first three guys he'd faced in a game. Baseball is funny--if some new horror hasn't happened to you it's only because you haven't played long enough!
There's one more shot at the Nationals tomorrow afternoon with Tim Hudson on the mound.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Cain did not have the command he showed in his last start--his five walks were just shy of his career high of six. Giving up the home run in the 5th to Jayson Werth after making him look foolish was a particularly cruel blow. It was to be a moral victory of sorts, putting up zeroes after the ugly start to the game, getting a shut down inning after the Giants finally scored, but that's not how it worked out. Matty has yet to find his groove in 2014, and his ten starts are the fewest of the five in the rotation. Here's a guy, you'd think, who has seen it all in his ten years, everything from last place and losing records to World Series rings, All-Star Games, and perfection. Just last year he gave up nine runs in one inning! Before tonight, though, Matt Cain had never walked the first three guys he'd faced in a game. Baseball is funny--if some new horror hasn't happened to you it's only because you haven't played long enough!
There's one more shot at the Nationals tomorrow afternoon with Tim Hudson on the mound.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Upon further review . . .
. . . he's safe!
The key on that play was Ehire Adrianza's ill-advised relay throw to third base. For a fast runner like Sterling Marte it would have been smarter to concede the triple. His hit just missed being a homer! Thank the baseball gods for that small break and pitch to the next guy. Ah, well. Spectacular work from Tim Hudson.
It was a great run by the Giants and it is only by the perverse logic of baseball that the best-pitched game of the entire stretch results in a loss.
Tim Lincecum tomorrow. It's a morning game for us, 9:35 Pacific.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
The key on that play was Ehire Adrianza's ill-advised relay throw to third base. For a fast runner like Sterling Marte it would have been smarter to concede the triple. His hit just missed being a homer! Thank the baseball gods for that small break and pitch to the next guy. Ah, well. Spectacular work from Tim Hudson.
It was a great run by the Giants and it is only by the perverse logic of baseball that the best-pitched game of the entire stretch results in a loss.
Tim Lincecum tomorrow. It's a morning game for us, 9:35 Pacific.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Take the H-Train
The Giants rode to victory last night on another strong outing from Tim Hudson. He pitched into the 9th, facing 31 batters, and only threw 22 balls. Out of his 89 total pitches there were 9 swing-and-miss strikes, 21 looking strikes, and Padres hitters produced 17 ground balls. It's Rick Reuschel reincarnated! A fit and trim Big Daddy, that is. Reuschel's career batting line was .168/.202/.217 and Hudson's is .170/.205/.222 after his 1-for-2 performance. Reuschel didn't walk many guys, didn't give up the long ball, pitched to contact, threw the sinker over and over again, and fielded his position well. Sound familiar? Even though Big Daddy sported a beer belly he was very graceful and moved like a cat. He was an all-around ballplayer who retired with 68.2 WAR and a lifetime 3.22 FIP, both outstanding marks, better than some Hall of Famers. Hudson is the active major-league leader in pitcher-WAR (56.3), just ahead of Mark Buehrle and CC Sabathia. Keep it rollin', Huddy.
The Giants travel today and Tim Lincecum gets the call in Atlanta Friday night.
--M.C.
The Giants travel today and Tim Lincecum gets the call in Atlanta Friday night.
--M.C.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
. . . and it's wet!!
Brandon Crawford's splash hit in the 10th saved the day in San Francisco and the Giants get a much-needed series win. Some of the luster of Tim Hudson's excellent start came off after three late extra-base hits enabled the Rockies to tie the ballgame in the 8th, but he once again pitched with brisk, efficient command and gave the club a chance to win. The Giants wasted a fine effort yesterday and you hate to see them lose those low-scoring affairs at home. AT&T should be death on visiting clubs but the 2013 team only managed a 42-40 record in the supposedly-friendly confines. The 2014 team has so far split the six games and two series at home after a 5-2 road trip. The Dodgers come to town on Tuesday and it should be quite the donnybrook as the good guys took two of three in Los Angeles.
Gregor Blanco almost pulled off a dramatic two-out winner in the bottom of the 9th, roping a sure double to right-center that Michael Cuddyer fell down trying to field making it an easy stand-up triple. Tim Flannery, though, up to his usual knee-jerk windmilling, sent El Tiburón home when Cuddyer bobbled the pick-up. Unfortunately the throw hit cutoff man DJ LeMahieu right in the numbers and he fired a strong relay to Giants nemesis Wilin Rosario at the plate who made a good play to tag out the airborne speedster. Sergio Romo put up a zero in the top of the 10th and B-Craw made it all moot with his leadoff bomb in the bottom half. That's only his second walk-off hit and his first walk-off homer. There was lots of talk this spring about Crawford hitting lefties and so far he's silenced it with some excellent work in the early going.
Hudson has gone 23 innings without issuing a free pass and that's the most to open a season since Atlee Hammaker in 1983 (21 IP).
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Gregor Blanco almost pulled off a dramatic two-out winner in the bottom of the 9th, roping a sure double to right-center that Michael Cuddyer fell down trying to field making it an easy stand-up triple. Tim Flannery, though, up to his usual knee-jerk windmilling, sent El Tiburón home when Cuddyer bobbled the pick-up. Unfortunately the throw hit cutoff man DJ LeMahieu right in the numbers and he fired a strong relay to Giants nemesis Wilin Rosario at the plate who made a good play to tag out the airborne speedster. Sergio Romo put up a zero in the top of the 10th and B-Craw made it all moot with his leadoff bomb in the bottom half. That's only his second walk-off hit and his first walk-off homer. There was lots of talk this spring about Crawford hitting lefties and so far he's silenced it with some excellent work in the early going.
Hudson has gone 23 innings without issuing a free pass and that's the most to open a season since Atlee Hammaker in 1983 (21 IP).
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Rockies Give Giants a Good Caining
Here are Matt Cain's career splits, home (top) and away:
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/12/2014.
Matt Cain is Matt Cain no matter where he pitches, it seems. Obviously the Park helps a bit, but overall he's the same cat out there every time. The last two starts were a bit ugly by Cainian standards, but today was more what we come to expect from the big righty. Of course, a Caining is also what we've come to expect over the years as well, and six Rockies pitchers made sure of that today in San Francisco. Matty had some command issues early, and racked up a lot of pitches, but he settled down and kept the Colorado hitters from any solid contact. I think they had two hard hit balls all afternoon. They scored the game's only run on a limp sacrifice fly to short right field, scoring leadoff man Charlie Blackmon who had walked, moved up on an infield hit, and stolen third base. It was a Giants and AT&T kind of ballgame but unfortunately it didn't work out in the Giants favor. Pagan was 0-for-4, Sandoval was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, Morse was 0-for-4 with two whiffs and a double play, and Buster was 0-for-3 with a walk. Hector (0-4, 2K) Sanchez started behind the plate and batted sixth with Posey at first against the lefty Brett Anderson. Brandon Belt sat on the bench. The Rockies made the big pitches when they had to and snuffed out the few chances the Giants mustered.
Matt Cain gave the ballclub a heap o' quality innings. In the end, that's what matters. The starters have to have better starts and over the long haul that will pay off. It didn't today, and it is frustrating when the team loses a well-pitched game at home. But seeing Matt Cain be Matt Cain took some of the sting out.
Tim Hudson tomorrow afternoon.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. The nice folks at Da Capo Press (in particular, Kristina DeMichele) sent me an advance copy of Bill Madden's new book, 1954: the year Willie Mays and the first generation black superstars changed Major League Baseball forever. I'll put up a review on Monday when, like me, the Giants have an off-day.
W L ERA G IP H R HR BB SO BF WHIP SO/9 SO/BB
51 46 3.16 138 909.1 733 336 73 306 746 3709 1.143 7.4 2.44
42 43 3.60 130 822.2 717 353 82 275 695 3427 1.206 7.6 2.53
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/12/2014.
Matt Cain is Matt Cain no matter where he pitches, it seems. Obviously the Park helps a bit, but overall he's the same cat out there every time. The last two starts were a bit ugly by Cainian standards, but today was more what we come to expect from the big righty. Of course, a Caining is also what we've come to expect over the years as well, and six Rockies pitchers made sure of that today in San Francisco. Matty had some command issues early, and racked up a lot of pitches, but he settled down and kept the Colorado hitters from any solid contact. I think they had two hard hit balls all afternoon. They scored the game's only run on a limp sacrifice fly to short right field, scoring leadoff man Charlie Blackmon who had walked, moved up on an infield hit, and stolen third base. It was a Giants and AT&T kind of ballgame but unfortunately it didn't work out in the Giants favor. Pagan was 0-for-4, Sandoval was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, Morse was 0-for-4 with two whiffs and a double play, and Buster was 0-for-3 with a walk. Hector (0-4, 2K) Sanchez started behind the plate and batted sixth with Posey at first against the lefty Brett Anderson. Brandon Belt sat on the bench. The Rockies made the big pitches when they had to and snuffed out the few chances the Giants mustered.
Matt Cain gave the ballclub a heap o' quality innings. In the end, that's what matters. The starters have to have better starts and over the long haul that will pay off. It didn't today, and it is frustrating when the team loses a well-pitched game at home. But seeing Matt Cain be Matt Cain took some of the sting out.
Tim Hudson tomorrow afternoon.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. The nice folks at Da Capo Press (in particular, Kristina DeMichele) sent me an advance copy of Bill Madden's new book, 1954: the year Willie Mays and the first generation black superstars changed Major League Baseball forever. I'll put up a review on Monday when, like me, the Giants have an off-day.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Giants Perfect in Openers
Tim Hudson took the sting out of the Diamondbacks bats today much like he did last week in Arizona. Though not quite as dominant a performance he was nonetheless impressive once again, and Brian Sabean looks like a genius here in the early going. Speaking of early going, you can't ever really say how a season will turn out after a mere eight games, but I really like 6-2 and I reckon you do as well. Brandon Belt 'tatered what looked like a really good sinker in the 1st and carved himself out a nice slice of Giants lore to boot. Speaking of booting, Brandon Hicks threw away a double play chance that cost a run, but it didn't ultimately matter as the team kept scoring and Huddy kept dealing. Just keep winning, lads.
The Giants were the featured opponent for the home openers in both Phoenix and Los Angeles. Today's Home Opener in San Francisco completed the trifecta. The Giants and the Yankees were the last two teams to have their home openers. (They left early in the Bronx.) I'm glad the team is home and has a pile of wins. I'm also glad to be done with all the folderol. No more bunting, just more baseball!
Tim Lincecum tomorrow night.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
The Giants were the featured opponent for the home openers in both Phoenix and Los Angeles. Today's Home Opener in San Francisco completed the trifecta. The Giants and the Yankees were the last two teams to have their home openers. (They left early in the Bronx.) I'm glad the team is home and has a pile of wins. I'm also glad to be done with all the folderol. No more bunting, just more baseball!
Tim Lincecum tomorrow night.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Monday, February 24, 2014
Double Tim
After yet another lengthy winter hibernation, I wake to see
the same baseball world that I departed just last fall. Sure, there’s a new toy
in left (personally I expect a good month from Morse, at best, however when the
games count he will be a PH and Blanco/Perez will be our guy) but the rest of the lineup is remarkably familiar. We clearly think we already have the needed
parts. I can’t disagree. Furthermore, I
know the familiar, needed part that is the key: Our beloved Giants chances to
reach that high ground once again rest, largely, on my personal fixation: Tim
Lincecum.
(Disclaimer: I have
claimed The Freak as the team MVP pretty much since his arrival. Certainly a little over the top, especially
since Buster is pretty good too. But, the Timmeh factor, for good or bad, is
still the key to me.)
It would seem that our organization feels the same way. The Giants aggressively grabbed up Tim; making
him the 33rd highest paid player, even though he has been arguably
the worst regular starter in the NL for the last two seasons (20-26, with an
ERA of 4.80). Not only that, I truly believe that the other big move of the off season was clearly made, in part, because of its potential to help Lincecum. (Is it just me, or does EVERYTHING seem to revolve around The Freak? I know...its me.)
Of course, I am referring to Tim Hudson. One was not enough, so we got ANOTHER TIM! This Tim probably has never heard of South Park's Timmeh, he is very bald (which is a GOOD thing), and, most importantly, he throws an out-machine groundball. Which is EXACTLY the tool that the younger Tim has always lacked, and now desperately needs. From all early indications, the two are inseparable. Let's hope they stay that way all year. Number 3 and 4 (who cares which is which) in a rotation that HAS to be our strength if we want to keep up with the blue goo. If Hudson/Lincecum are as good as I hope, then all the other pieces come together ( for example, a thin bullpen doesn't get stressed, lummox left fielders sit down more often, and terrifying #5 starters get a little pressure taken off ).
So, in fact, my pre-season MVP choice is not just Tim. It is Tim and Tim. Skinny Pandas, happy Brandons, and, even, Barry-educated Busters are all fine and dandy. But Double Tim is what will get us into, and THROUGH, the playoffs. Go Giants!!
Wanna not-really-so-crazy-cuz-he's-done it-before prediction? Tim Lincecum will win his third Cy Young award this season. Wanna know how I know? I celebrate birthday number 55 this week. Tim wears number 55. Can't argue with that one. Coincidental numbers are big mojo in these here parts.
Of course, I am referring to Tim Hudson. One was not enough, so we got ANOTHER TIM! This Tim probably has never heard of South Park's Timmeh, he is very bald (which is a GOOD thing), and, most importantly, he throws an out-machine groundball. Which is EXACTLY the tool that the younger Tim has always lacked, and now desperately needs. From all early indications, the two are inseparable. Let's hope they stay that way all year. Number 3 and 4 (who cares which is which) in a rotation that HAS to be our strength if we want to keep up with the blue goo. If Hudson/Lincecum are as good as I hope, then all the other pieces come together ( for example, a thin bullpen doesn't get stressed, lummox left fielders sit down more often, and terrifying #5 starters get a little pressure taken off ).
So, in fact, my pre-season MVP choice is not just Tim. It is Tim and Tim. Skinny Pandas, happy Brandons, and, even, Barry-educated Busters are all fine and dandy. But Double Tim is what will get us into, and THROUGH, the playoffs. Go Giants!!
Wanna not-really-so-crazy-cuz-he's-done it-before prediction? Tim Lincecum will win his third Cy Young award this season. Wanna know how I know? I celebrate birthday number 55 this week. Tim wears number 55. Can't argue with that one. Coincidental numbers are big mojo in these here parts.
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