Bummer

I watched today's contest between the Royals and the Giants, the final game in Arizona. I got to see Madison Bumgarner take a line drive off his pitching hand. Turns out his hand is broken and he'll be undergoing surgery straight away. He probably won't pitch again until after the All-Star Break. This comes right after the news that Jeff Samardzija will miss about a month. I thought the starting rotation might be a team strength in 2018, now it looks like we won't get to find out. This is the time for someone like Derek Holland to step up and be a stud. Johnny Cueto is suddenly of supreme importance--he has to pick up the slack for the men slotted to be on either side of his starts.

There's no way to put a good spin on this one. It stinks. Just when I though the Giants would get a full season from their ace after last year's debacle the unthinkable happens. Ah, well. Now is the time to find out what the rest of the team is made of. And if the organization has a backup plan!

--M.C.

Forces of Evil Prevail

You knew the Giants' demise was imminent.  Even, even if they could have somehow swept LA, they would have still faced long odds going into the final 3 games of the season 2 games back.  What no one expected was that they would bow out quite like this.

The doggers put Clayton Kershaw on the mound, and he was superb.  He threw a complete game shutout in a little over 100 pitches.  He struck out 13 and walked only 1.  He allowed 1 hit, to Kevin Frandsen.  Kershaw was matched against Madison Bumgarner, who did not fare nearly so well.  Madison threw 26 pitches in the 1st inning, mainly because Kelby Tomlinson booted a double play ball to set up a 1st and 3rd situation that led to the first run.

That would have been enough, but the doggers kept plinking away.  A solo shot in the 3rd made it 2 - 0.  Another error in the 5th when Kevin Frandsen couldn't scoop up a low throw from Brandon Crawford with 2 outs caused Maddy to throw over 30 pitches, putting him at 100 for 5 innings.  Maddy was done in the 6th after 2 solo shots, the first time he has given up 3 home runs in a game since 2010.  Final score, 8 - 0.

The Giants were hapless.  Their starting line-up consisted of 4 of the hitters that were supposed to be there.  The 2 errors were costly.   Los Angeles clinched the division title in San Francisco for the first time since 1977.  I really can't be irate, though, because really, Kershaw was simply superb.  It will be interesting to see them match up against the Mets and see if Harvey is asked to pitch. 

Much to analyze, much to discuss as the season wanes.  For now, though, try to salvage some self-respect in the final 2 games, Hudson's last start is coming Sunday, and let's see some youngsters against Colorado.

Turn Out The Lights

A realist could have, should have written this title a while ago.  A delusional fan who witnessed this piece of shit game could now not help but agree.

Madison Bumgarner was on the mound.  He threw 117 pitches in 8 innings, struck out 7, walked 3 and gave up 2, only 1 of them earned.  That's pretty good, but a perfect 9 would have netted him exactly nothing.  Rubby DeLaRosa, Cy Young candidate that he is, held the Giants to 1 fucking hit.  ONE.  Buster Posey added one with Brad Ziegler on the mound in the 9th.

So this is how our season as reigning world champions ends - not with a bang, with a game that makes a whimper sound loud.  We might not wind up in 2nd place.  Madison Bumgarner will not get his 20 wins.  The Arizona Diamondbacks have now beaten the Giants in 7 out of 8 meetings in OUR OWN PARK this season.  Fuck.  I can't wait for this season to end.

Lousy Way to Start a Road Trip, Guys

You put your ace on the hill and he blows chow.  This was a lousy game.  The defense was responsible for 2 of the runs, but really, Madison owns this.  To be fair, the home runs from Andrus and Beltre appeared to be at their eyeballs, but they were obviously hit-able.

The game was over before I could finish my martini, and I hate that.  It was over in the second inning, and the Giants made it a quick one by stringing together a series of wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am innings for Texas against Nick Mediocre, a Martinez pitcher if there ever was one.  The Giants added a score to make it 6 - 3 in the 9th, but really, that was pointless.  The announcing team tried to make a point about how it is hard to go to a place where it was hot, but I'm not buying it for a second.  They had this game lost before they could work up a sweat.

Madison's pissy act whenever someone looks at him, or whatever, is wearing thin.  Pitch like a stud and then work up a hissy-fit.  You were a turd tonight.

Bum Blows Bunt, Batters Bow

Do my paper this morning tells me that the only tv showing the Giants playoff game in San Francisco is MLBnet.  What the fuck?  So after looking frantically to find MLBnet, I am informed that I have to pay extra for it.  However, the ordering information on the tv does not work, I am instructed to call Comcast XFinity.  Fuck, like that would take no more than a minute or two.

So I did not see the game.  Apparently, Bumgarner decided to go to third on a bunt with a man at first and second, threw wide and the ball had to be retrieved by Ishikawa in left.  2 runs scored and then another.  The Giants scored one in the ninth after Harper hit a solo home run.  The Nats have to be feeling pretty good about themselves, they beat our ace.

Why is MLBnet showing this game?  I already pay an ungodly amount of money each month for cable and phone and a poorly functioning internet connection, and now I have to pay more to watch my own baseball team in the playoffs?  FUCK YOU, MLBnet, you bunch of corporate motherfucking assholes.  This is what an anti-trust exemption has brought us and I demand that Congress rescind it immediately.  The Giants lost.

Horrible

Madison Bumgarner was responsible for all of the RBIs tonight.  Unfortunately, he gave up twice as many as he produced.  Giants fans who choose to tune in to tomorrow's television broadcast stand a very good chance of being treated to the sight of the doggers celebrating their division-clinching victory.  And I bet Puig is a big asshole about it.

As a kicker, the Giants will probably travel to Pittsburgh for the wild card game, probably Madison Bumgarner's next start.

Why don't we start Madison in left field on days that he doesn't pitch?  His home run to at bat ratio is better than anyone else's on the Giants. 

Bad to Worse

The Giants got blown out Saturday evening in a game that only netted the blue goo one game, and then lost Sunday in a game that they fought to the end.  The Giants made some mistakes, all at once, and it cost them, ultimately the deciding difference in the game, but they fought hard.  Russian River, in response to the previous post, said the Giants looked flat.  Not as flat as they did yesterday, though.  Los Angeles is a good team, loaded with talent.  Arizona is not a good team.  The Giants out-hit the snakes, 11 - 9, although they also gave them 4 baserunners via walks.  The Giants played without Angel Pagan, and it looks like Pablo Sandoval has back issues as well (although he got 2 hits).  Multiple hits, also, from Joaquin Arias and Joe Panik.  But so often (it seemed like almost every inning) they Giants had men on base and didn't/wouldn't/couldn't capitalize.

2-out rbi for Arizona: 6.  2-out rbi for San Francisco: None.

The "oh, well, you can't win them all" time is past.  The Giants realistically have to content themselves with the wild card, and yesterday, they played like it was a done deal.  It's not.  They could lose both the home-field advantage and the wild card itself with a string of losses (currently at 3).  Arizona and San Diego would like nothing better than to knock San Francisco out of the playoffs.

Cain, Giants Out of Gas

It seemed that Matt Cain had lost it by the 6th inning this afternoon in San Diego. He got the third out, but had nothing left for the 7th and was pulled after four hitters and one out. Thankfully Jeremy Affeldt got the magic double play ball and the Giants still had a chance. Actually the Giants, these days, only have a chance if the pitcher throws a shutout. Normally if a starter gives a club 6-1/3 and two runs you'll hear "did the job" and "kept the team in the game" and "quality start" and all that jibber-jabber. (Ain't that right, Ryan Vogelsong?) Normally teams score about four runs a game (the league average), too. But that's not how it works for the orange-and-black these days. Shutouts and no-hitters are the only way this team can win. So I reckon that his effort today makes Matty a choker. Zeroes only from this point forward, laddie! You give up runs you are a loser. Want proof? Check the box score: there's an "L" next to "Cain." For $20+M/year we want nothing less than "W" every time!

The Giants continued on their hell-ward spiral today. They couldn't hit and they couldn't string together the hits they got. They couldn't stop the other team from scoring. They were utterly feeble and over-matched by the second-worst team in the league. It's some kind of sick punishment by the baseball gods. Just shy of a month ago I retired from my profession of schoolteaching after 30 years. On Sunday, June 8th, the Giants swept the Mets and stood atop the baseball world at 42-21. Since then the team has gone 5-18. It's not just that they stuck a knife in our hearts, it's now they've decided to twist it, and prolong the agony.

I used to be implacably calm when Matt Cain pitched. You knew, over the long haul, that the Tennesse Stud would deliver. He would grind out quality innings after quality innings and give the team big starts time and time again. These days I'm scared when the big righty pitches. He's not the same as he was. He looks vulnerable, like the league has figured him out. Tim Lincecum fell off a cliff, remember? But here lately maybe, just maybe, he has started to make the adjustments and turn himself around. I never thought that he wouldn't. (How's that for negating negatives?) The same thing seems to be happening to Matty. He is no longer the same guy. He has to re-invent himself, just like Timmy. I believe he will. Athletes are prideful creatures--they like to play the hero and impress the crowd. I think Cain is made of that sort of stuff, too. He wants to be The Horse. The Man. The leader of the pack. It's weird to write this after a good start. It's not like Cain gave it up today or sucked big time. Far from it--he "pitched well enough to win" and in April and May the Giants would have won this game easily. But these June and July Giants are a very different animal, indeed, and it's hard to know what to expect from one day to the next.

The Giants stand at 47-39 or .547 ball after 86 games. I thought, when the season started, that this was a 90+ win team. A 90-win team is .556 ball. That means the Giants have to play, percentage-wise, better baseball from this point forward than they have so far. They have to go 43-33 or .566 just to get to 90, and we know that might not be enough. To get to 94 will take 47-29 or .618 which seems increasingly unlikely. Of course they could snap out of their funk at any moment and run off some wins--this is indeed a possibility. But watching today's effort makes it hard to be optimistic. After the team fell behind 2-0 in the 3rd it was like the air was let out of the balloon. They had nothing and did nothing the rest of the game. Please, Gods of Baseball, say it ain't so. Give me a sign the Giants are awakening from their .217 stretch and are still contenders.

I hope you all had a relaxing Fourth. Happy Independence Day, everyone!

--M.C.

Oh, that was bad

So we know the Giants will live and die, like most teams, on the strength of their starting pitching. Unfortunately when a team is in a losing spiral like the one they are in now it hardly matters. The Giants got a strong start from Ryan Vogelsong on Thursday but poor work from the bullpen and an anemic effort by the lineup doomed them to defeat. Tonight Matt Cain gave the team seven shutout innings, but the same formula--feeble offense and wretched relief--kept the losing streak going. I thought I might talk about Sergio Romo, but so much is wrong with the club right now it's not worth singling anyone out.

The Giants scored 111 runs in April and 123 in May. They've only managed 92 so far in June. The swoon isn't just the offense--the team allowed 94 runs in April and 90 in May and they've allowed 112 in June. It's a team-wide mess. They are 10-15 for the month after a 6-1 start--that's four wins in their last 18 games. We knew they would not sustain the smoking hot start to the season. We knew they'd cool off and hit some rough patches. But this is really, really ugly and not at all what I expected. They aren't doing anything right. Perhaps we can feel good about a solid start from Cain as they certainly can't expect to stay in contention without the rotation performing the way they ought to.

It's Homer Bailey and Tim Hudson tomorrow afternoon.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

White Sox Trash Cain, Giants

The pain continues for the Giants who have now lost seven of eight. The Cain Train got derailed tonight as the White Sox pummeled the big righty for eight runs. Matt Cain has not been Matt Cain in 2014, and it's no goddamn fun. Life is better when the Giants win. I mean, sure, life's good and all, no complaints, but it's sure as hell better when the team is winning. It's like horseradish on your prime rib, man. I like prime rib all by itself, I mean it stands on its own, am I right? But you add a little root sauce from Amoracia rusticana and boy you get yourself some lip-smacking goodness, am I right? Right now I'm missing a little spice on top--my main man Matty is stinking up the joint and my fave team is free-falling and showing no signs of slowing down.

Jesus, Mary, and Fookin' Joseph, win a goddamn game already!

--M.C.


p.s. Tim Hudson and Chris Sale tomorrow afternoon.

p.p.s. What do you think of this?

Annnnnnnd............part three

Well, that sucked.  Remember when the Giants swept the Mets?  That was last weekend.  Since then, they have played every day and won 1 to go 4 - 6 in their homestand.

We needed a win and had the ingredients to do so.  Madison Bumgarner on the mound, and at the plate.  Maddy pitched pretty well, giving up 4 in 7 full innings.  A healthier relief staff might have save his last run, he came into the 7th with 96 pitches, but he manned up and got 2 outs after a run scored (and Josh Rutledge was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple).  Maddy struck out 9, walked 4 with an ump behind the plate who had an aversion to curve balls, even those that dropped right over the plate.  Maddy gave up 1 home run, to who else? Troy Tulowitzki.  He had 3 hits on the day.  Seriously, fuck that guy.  Why didn't we just pitch around him?  Madison also hit a home run, one of three solo shots:  Pablo, Hector and Madison. 

Can you believe the relief staff AGAIN gave up the game and wasted what was a pretty good start?  Not Romo this time, Gutierrez.  In the 8th.  And Lopez.  He came in to give up a double to Morneau that allowed Gutierrez' runner, McKenry to score.  8 to fucking 7.  Too fucking much.  Giants have a day off tomorrow, then another one Thursday after what will be their third trip to Chicago this season.  Santiago Casilla joins the team in Chicago.

Giants Lose to Sick Pitcher

A few days ago I opined that I would like to see the Giants end the season with a better record than the Padres and the Rockies.  I doubt that will happen, as we waste chance after chance to control our own destiny.  It's the fucking Rockies, for Chrissake.

Madison Bumgarner picked up another loss.  He soon will be a .500 pitcher.  He did not throw deeply into the game.  In sickeningly repetitive fashion, however, it would not have made a damn bit of difference.  The Giants did not hit Jhoulys Chacin, who cannot possibly be spelling his own first name correctly, until the 7th inning.  He reportedly was pitching with a fever, but the Giants were so fucking weak, he could have been comatose on the mound and still won.

Rarer than a no-hitter in Curs is a no-hitter that allows a run.  In the 4th, a walk, error and double play gave the Giants a run.   Not like they hit the ball or anything.   Know what else is rare?  A World Series Champion ending the following season in last place.  It has been done once, by the Marlins, and they TRIED to finish last.

Big Fly Burns Cain, Giants Fall Apart

The Baltimore Orioles lead the world in hitting home runs. They have 156 in their 117 games, tops in baseball. Their .440 slugging percentage ties them for the lead with the Detroit Tigers. They are third in total bases and fourth in runs scored. Matt Cain kept the lid on them for six innings, but left one up for power-hitting shortstop J.J. Hardy and he hit a two-run homer in the 7th to give the visitors the lead they never relinquished. The Giants looked like they might pile up some early runs, getting two in the 1st, but they fizzled after that and left it up to the pitching. One in the 6th, two in the 7th, four in the 8th, and three in the 9th took care of that notion and the team racked up its 65th loss in this lost season.

Matty gave up nine home runs in the month of April (six starts). Since then, he's had 17 starts and given up nine more home runs. His career average is 0.8 HR/9 but it's ticked up to 1.1 HR/9 this year. The most he's allowed in any season is 22, which he did twice (2009 and 2010). Lots of guys give up home runs. Curt Schilling gave up 347 dingers in his 3261-inning career, or 1.0 HR/9. And a seven-inning three-run start isn't bad. In fact, it's pretty good (Game Score 59). A lot of teams will win games if their starter goes seven and gives up three. But this is the Giants, and the team is in a shambles at this point. The bullpen collapsed completely today, but even if they had held the line, the offense has been so feeble that they likely would not have won the game anyway. The Giants are 29th of 30 teams in homers (only 69!), they slug .374 (third from the bottom), they are 25th in total bases, and 27th in runs scored.

The team has not pitched well, hit well, or fielded well in 2013. It's no wonder they are in last place. They travel tomorrow, and open up a three-game set in D.C. on Tuesday.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Helpless Team

Barry Zito had a magical run last season, and earned a spot in the franchise's pantheon with his start for the ages in Game Five of the LCS, and his gritty showdown with the game's best in Game One of the Series. But now he's done. Finished. Kaput. His career as a Giants pitcher will come to an end in two months, as it seems impossible to imagine the team offering him $18M to stay when they can pay him $7M to go. And it seems increasingly likely that he will miss some starts. Ol' Boch was cagey about that in the post-game interview, but you have to think they've already pencilled in a few extra rest days for the beleaguered lefty. Since beating Miami at home on June 22nd, Zeets has thrown 25-1/3 innings over six starts, allowing 39 hits and 21 runs, and the team's gone 1-5. He's still listed as the starter for Sunday's game in Tampa Bay, but if it were me I'd find a Mike Kickham, Eric Surkamp, or Guillermo Moscoso for that duty. The team is home against the Brewers right after that--why not give Barry-Z an extra day off and a chance to pitch in friendlier confines? His road WHIP is 2.352 and teams are hitting like Ted Williams against him. Literally, his road BAA is .406!

The Giants have seven wins in the month of July. They have a chance to make it eight today behind Chad Gaudin. They had ten wins in the month of June. They are 19-32 on the road. They are in last place, eleven games behind the Dodgers. What, exactly, are the Giants going to do at the trade deadline to change that? I'll tell you: nothing. They can't acquire any player or combination of players that will make a big enough difference. If they sell, they are building for 2014, not for the rest of the season. If they are going to salvage the last two months (57 games), they are going to do it with the hand they've got. You don't throw good money after bad in poker, and you don't reinforce failure in war. This team has players who can win baseball games. The fact that they are not winning baseball games does not change the truth of the first statement. If the Giants win 35 of their remaining games (.614 ball) they'll finish the season with 81 wins and a .500 record. If the Dodgers win only 25 of their final 57 games (.438 ball, exactly what the Giants are doing now), they will finish with 82 wins. That's what "11 games behind" means. Like I said before, the math ain't pretty.

C'mon, Giants. Win some goddamn games.

--M.C.

Cain, Giants Almost Win

I have to think that Matt Cain pitching well and the Giants struggling to score is actually a good thing. I mean, this is the Matt Cain we know and love. Mr. Hard Luck, Mr. No-Decision, Mr. Undeserved Loss--that's our boy. Life is ordered, the universe is in balance, the yin's yanged, and the yang's yinned when no. 18 gets minimal run support. Hey, I'm reaching here, OK? The Giants are fighting tooth-and-nail with the equally feeble Chicago Cubs to stay out of the cellar. And they are now TEN GAMES below the .500 mark. I don't know what to say about that, it's a little too disturbing to contemplate, so I'll do what any red-blooded, self-respecting American would do and simply ignore it. Jeff Francouer delivered a two-run single in the 7th (after Matty's 115-pitch night was done) to overcome the 1-0 deficit and give Cainer and the ballclub a shot at the win. Unfortunately the 'pen could not get the job done, and just when it looked like Sergio Romo would get the last out, Brandon Belt couldn't come up with the hard smash from Rizzo and the Giants were doomed.

Vida Blue said on the pre-game show that Cain needed to mix it up on two-strike counts, that he was too predictable and thus giving up big hits when he should be getting outs. It's worth noting that the Chicago sequence that scored the run in the 6th (Nate Schierholtz double and Starlin Castro single) were both two-strike hits. None of this means a goddamn thing. I've been watching baseball all of my life and still don't understand pitching. Or hitting. Or fielding. Especially tonight's fielding. I mean lack of fielding. Tony Abreu should have stopped the ball that led to the Cubs first run, and Belt was in the right spot for the very type of ball that Rizzo hit, yet could not knock it down and end the game.

Matt Cain pitched well: 7   6   1   1   1   7, Game Score 67. That's something. My mom offered me a shot of bourbon in that horrid 9th, and when I said "no, thanks" she countered with a Jameson. You're all right, Ma, you understand. It was a great visit today, other than the game. Dwight Yoakam has a song, It Won't Hurt, where he sings in that plaintive drawl "but even whiskey cannot ease your hurting me." That was tonight. No sense wasting good whiskey.

--M.C.

Just the Facts, Man

I'm tired of opinions. They are fooking goddamn everywhere. Everybody's got one. You know something? I don't give shit. I don't want to hear it. Get in line. Write a blog. Stick your opinions up your bleeding fecking areshole, mate. I'm so sick of opinions I don't even want to hear my own.

So we are sticking with the facts, here. The Giants got their asses handed to them lost. It was 4-0. They got four hits. And one run. If I had an opinion, I might opine that four runs allowed and five innings pitched by a visiting starter in Denver ain't half bad. But I don't have an opinion and I don't want to hear any fucking opinions. The Giants got four hits. And one run. And they have played 79 games and lost 41 of them.

There, see? Don't you feel better when people stick a sock in it? When they hold back on that verbal diarrhea they can't help spewing? I know I do. The Giants lost Friday night's baseball game in Colorado.

--M.C.


p.s.  I'm off on a two-week holiday, my friends. You won't be hearing anything from me until the middle of July. The rest of the ro' will be chipping in, of course, and they are free to spout whatever the hell they want. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank my blog-mates all of our readers and regulars and hecklers and lurkers. In my opinion, you make it all worth it! Thanks for sticking around. See you in a while. GO GIANTS!

Padres Pile on the Misery

The Giants got their asses handed to them this weekend in San Diego. The Padres won a close, hard-fought pitchers duel, a close, see-saw slugfest, and one-sided Sunday beat-down. Ryan Vogelsong has yet to find his dominating October form and continues to be vexed by the long ball (7 HR in 30 IP so far). The failure was not exclusive to anyone in particular: there was poor fielding, bad pitching, and punchless hitting aplenty. The whole team has contributed to the five-game losing streak. The Giants worst month in 2012 was July. They went 12-12, losing five in a row (their longest of the season) from the 25th to the 30th. That included a three-game sweep at AT&T by the Dodgers by the combined score of 19-3! There's nothing to panic about here, of course. It's April. But there's lots to whine about. Five losses in a row stinks, no matter how you look at it.

I know I'm grumpy about the Giants losing, but I find myself almost unable to tolerate Mike Krukow on the CSN telecasts anymore. I realize he is a beloved figure in our world, but his constant repetition of the same stupid phrases ("down in the squ-aat, puttin' down the signs" or "getting greased up in the 'pen" or "I wanna get that, I wanna get that") and his inane, tiresome commentary about fans in the stands ("there's a gamer" or "they wear the colors well") are grating on my nerves so badly I sometimes have to leave the room. Add in his long-running pitching idiocy ("he's got a base to play with" and "there's anger behind that fastball") and his non-stop, hyperactive babbling and I'm worn out. I don't know if I can take it for another season. The radio guys are sooooo much better, and Duane Kuiper has, at least, the good sense to shut up now and again. It's TV, man, you don't have to read the stats on the screen to us! And I'm truly sick of the endless, lingering camera shots of people in Panda hats, people eating, little kids looking lost, yuppies playing on their goddamn meThings™, phony fans in costumes, and perfectly normal people becoming crazed loons because a foul ball gets close to them. Don't get me wrong--I'm thrilled the Giants have the best team in their San Francisco history going right now. It's a lot of fucking fun. But the clowns that populate my screen every night are enough to make me gag. It's not a ballgame, it's an event, and I don't need to watch a bunch of attention whores madly scrambling for their ten seconds of screen time. Sure, I dug the goofy celebrations for Opening Day and whatnot, what Giants fan couldn't appreciate what they've done these last few years? I remember those dark, cold nights at Candlestick when the team sucked and the fans stayed away and I don't want that ever again. But at least we could watch the game back then, and the broadcasts, even with goobers like Gary Park (may he requiescat in pacem), mostly focused on the action. It's a brave new world, I know, I'm embarrassed to be ranting like a cranky old-timer. If I ever see Kruk in person I'll probably make a fool of myself begging him to take some bloody Adderall before he goes on the air. I guess I'll just have to tune in to KNBR (via GameDay Audio) more often, or watch with the sound off. The radio, alas, is not synchronized to the TV, and is, in fact, a pitch or two ahead, most infuriating.

Like I said, I'm grumpy about the Giants. They've been lousy this weekend, and it's put me in a foul frame of mind. Appy polly loggies, then, me buckos, for subjecting you to this. At least I didn't subject you to recaps of the last two games, that would have been worse.

C'mon, Giants--pick it up!!

--M.C.

Giants Unable to Get Crawford to the Plate in 10th

Or: A Pitch (or several) Too Far

That was the story after Madison Bumgarner was left in to start the 8th after seven brilliant innings and Jose Mijares was left in to give up a double and a single after two outs in the 9th.  Chad Gaudin, normally reliable, was brought in for the 10th, got the first out, then gave up a walk, a double to Cody fucking Ross (who is not nearly as beloved as some claim), then intentionally walked the next batter to load the bases and was left in to give up a sac fly for Arizona's 11 inning victory, 3-2.

If only Brandon Crawford could have made it to the plate again in the 11th.  Brandon had himself a heck of a game, 3 hits in 4 at bats: a single, the run-scoring double, and a 9th inning home run to tie the game at 2 runs each.  In the 11th, after two outs and a Brandon Belt double, Joaquin Arias could not keep the game alive to get our sole rbi source to the plate.

I really do not like to have lost, again, late, to those Arizona motherfuckers.  They are like the dodgers, with sand.

Madison Bumgarner gave up 3 hits and 1 walk in 7 innings, before a double and run-scoring single in the 8th.  He threw 64 strikes in 101 pitches, sacrificed a runner to second and was allowed to bat in the 8th with one out, one run in and Brandon Crawford standing on third.  He's a pretty good batter for a pitcher.

We should have won this one 1-0 if our relief had done their job.  I will admit that Arizona is gritty.  Ian Kennedy was gritty through 6 before giving up a single to Gregor Blanco and the run-scoring double to Crawford.  They have talented pitching and a good group of young hitters.  But we should have won perhaps all three games, and certainly at least two.  Yesterday's conclusion was sloppy, badly pitched, poorly defended and badly coached (still don't know if Pablo blew a stop sign or not).  Today's was badly managed, for Bochy not having his mojo working to know juuuuuust when to make a move, and badly pitched.  Bad Giants.  No first place.

BBWAA Hall of Fame Votes Itself Into Irrelevancy

This is a rant.

As most everyone knows, the BaseBall Writers Association of America decided that none of the eligible candidates, which included first-time eligible candidates Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Shilling, among others, were worthy of induction.  Everyone who is NOT in the BBWAA who knows anything about baseball responded with a heart-felt "What the Fuck?"

Yes, you've heard the arguments, and they hinge on the "character" clause, which apparently is interpreted to mean any damn thing the BBWAA voter wants it to mean at that moment.  The reason no one, apparently, was inducted into the BBWAA HOF was because of steriods.  That has to assume that steriod, or other PED use, was emblematic of insufficient character to warrant induction.  It takes, of course, no more than a moment of reflection to realize that this line of reasoning is full of holes.

The use of steriods is cheating.  Not always, but at some point the use of steriods and other PED was determined to be illegal under the rules of baseball.  So apparently it is the cheating that has been determined to be emblematic of insufficient character.  Except that, this doesn't seem to be a very constant point against eligible players.  Gaylord Perry was inducted into the HOF in 1991.  Mr. Perry was known to have altered the baseball with which he pitched on numerous occasions.  That clearly is cheating, but he was elected.

Baseball lore, in fact, love cheating.  The game is full of stories about everything from how pitchers doctored baseballs to how players stole signs, to tales of Andre Dawson hiding extra balls in the ivy at Wrigley Field so he could retrieve one if the ball in play bounced into the ivy and he couldn't find it.  Andre Dawson was inducted into the HOF in 2010.  So it is not really cheating that is the problem, apparently, it is the degree of cheating, or perhaps the type of cheating.  But it can't really be the degree of cheating, because no one can tell if PED usage ups your stats, or your competence level, by 5%, 20% or any other number.  So the line of reasoning has to be the type of cheating.  Use of PED is cheating and this specific type of cheating is an indication of specific character (insufficiency?  flaw?) to allow a brilliant player to be inducted into the BBWAA HOF.  That is, even if you really knew, which in many cases, you (BBWAA) do not, no matter how much you think you do.  That is why they have a court system in this country, so that smart-ass members of the public with half-assed information don't get to arrest, judge and execute people.

Here are some of the types of character flaws that are not considered detrimental to induction in the BBWAA HOF:
wife-beating
unrepentant racism
taking other drugs
cheating except for PED
moral turpitude
wearing a uniform six sizes to big.

So, one thing I noticed is that Craig fucking Biggio got about twice as many votes as Barry Bonds.  Is any one of these clowns fucking serious?  [here is the part where I drop any pretense of a structured argument and just bitch]  I know Mr. Biggio had a long and productive career, and he played several positions, but, REALLY?  Wasn't about half his OBP because of uniform shirts HBP?  I suggest that the BBWAA just drop the HOF and dedicate the building to themselves.  That way, they can put "BaseBall Writers Association of America" in bigger letters, because they have decided to make it about them and their silly, old, white notions of what integrity is all about.  They can re-label the part of it that has players in it "Former Baseball Players of Mention, or, at least, that We Like."  Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, just to name two, were among the greatest ballplayers ever, regardless of whether they took PED or had upstanding moral character.

Some of my fellow blog authors may remember one fine day sitting in the Candlestick bleachers as they put up the line score from a Boston-Seattle game.  Specifically, it was April 29, 1986.  As I recall, the collective sentiment was, "Who the fuck cares about an American league...holy fuck, 20 strikeouts!"  Well, then there's this: http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2013/1/9/3857262/top-5-barry-bonds-home-runs-where-im-picturing-a-writers-head-as-the.

Ridiculous

Major League Baseball should simply hand the post-season broadcast reins over to the Yankees Network. After all, the entire playoff schedule is based on making sure the Yankees are the prime time game. The Giants and the Cardinals, the last two World Series Champions, play at 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time today--that's 3:00 p.m. Central in St. Louis. That's a ridiculous time to start a baseball game. Unless, of course, you have to accommodate the Yankees. It's one thing to be the richest, most successful team. It's another to be constantly shoved down the throats of every baseball fan in America. Hey Bud, fans of other teams don't like the Yankees. Casual fans don't, either. The rest of the world is praying fervently that the Tigers send them packing. Look, we know that Steinbrenner, Inc. is on your speed dial and that you seek permission from them before you wipe your own ass, but maybe in the future you can be a little less obvious about it.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.