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.

Petit, Pagan, Posey Pound Padres

Matt Cain apparently had a little problem with a knife while making a sandwich. He cut his finger and was scratched! Matt, lad, you make $20M/year to throw a baseball--use your left to make sandwiches. Better yet, hire the bat boy. Naturally the CSN guys kept trying to get us a picture of Cain and his wounded digit, and they did capture Matty and His Finger, just not the one they were hoping for. I missed the moment, damnit, as I had to piss, but I could hear my lovely bride laughing in the other room. Super-sub Yusmeiro Petit stepped in and calmly shut the door (Game Score 70) on the pesky Padres. He retired the first nine he faced, and thanks to solo shots by Buster Posey and Angel Pagan in the 1st was cruising comfortably when the Giants broke it open in the bottom of the 3rd with three more runs. Hector Sanchez racked up three more RBI and he now has 11 to go with his 16K and .171 BA! Hanchez caught Petit and Posey manned first base with the lefty Eric Stults on the mound. Struggling Brandon Belt came in on a double switch in the 8th. Both Jean Machi (6 outs) and Santiago Casilla (3 outs) were perfect--the Padres only managed three hits off Petit and had no other baserunners all night.

Brandon Crawford made a beautiful play in the 8th on a hard grounder from Nick Hundley that was headed for the 5-1/2 hole and into left field. He ranged to his right and speared the ball cleanly, then turned his body and threw to first in one motion, not taking the time to set his feet. He was still moving away from the play when he uncorked the perfect line drive right to Belt's glove. B-Craw has a hell of an arm! It was a difficult play, but what makes all those Crawford gems so impressive is the effortless grace with which he pulls them off. You have to watch the video if you haven't seen it.

Tim Hudson tonight. He's gone at least seven innings in all five of his starts.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

A Rivera Runs Through It

The San Diego Padres are 3-1 against the Giants after winning last night in San Francisco. Rene Rivera did the damage with 5 RBI including a back-breaking 3-run homer in the 5th that proved to be the difference. Madison Bumgarner was not sharp--he walked four, gave up seven hits, and threw 93 pitches in five innings. He'd thrown particularly well his last time out, but has yet to find his normal, consistent groove. Journeyman Rivera had a career night. The 30-year old catcher from Puerto Rico came up with Seattle, played in Minnesota, and now splits time with Yasmani Grandal and Nick Hundley. Yes, the Padres have three catchers. The Giants had their chances but could not make it all the way back as the Padres bullpen was very tough. Michael Morse continues to be the offensive leader (.398 wOBA, 163 wRC+), he had three hits and two batted in, and Brandon Hicks launched another homer, his .283 ISO leads the team.

Matt Cain tonight.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Vogelright!

Ryan Vogelsong had his best start (Game Score 77) of the young season, twirling seven strong and allowing only two hits. He was backed by some stellar defense as well as four extra base hits including a game-winning 3-run bomb in the 9th by Brandon Hicks. The radio guys (I didn't get to watch, too busy out back cooking up some homebrew) raved about the double play The Three Brandons turned on Nick Swisher in the 3rd, and also complimented Brandon Belt for some nifty work at first base. That's a good thing because the big lefty had himself an ugly weekend with the stick (9 K in 12 AB!). Our boy goes blind sometimes, doesn't he? But the story is the bounce back start from Vogie, who looks so bad every other time out there it makes us wonder whether he's got anything left. I like to think that this game and the one against the Dodgers on the 16th are what he will begin to deliver more consistently as the season goes on.

Cleveland's young fireballer Danny Salazar was bringing some serious heat and kept the Giants offense from getting much going other than the back-to-back two-out doubles from Panda and Brandon Crawford in the 4th to open the scoring. Vogie left leading 1-0 but Santiago Casilla, who has been lights-out so far, gave up a solo homer to another impressive youngster, catcher Yan Gomes, in the 8th to tie the game. Fortunately Buster Posey singled off hard-throwing reliever Cody Allen to open the bottom of the 9th and the Giants seized their chance to push across the winner. A bunt from Gregor Blanco moved pinch-runner Adrianza to 2nd, but Sandoval whiffed for the second out. An intentional walk to B-Craw gave Hicks the chance to be a hero and he delivered. With Marco Scutaro on the shelf, the Giants have mixed-and-matched at second base, but the third Brandon on the roster has staked a claim to regular starts. He's only batting .224, but 11 walks and 6 extra-base hits have him raking an .846 OPS.

The Indians were a Wild Card team last season and have some talent in their lineup. It was an impressive weekend for the home team, though, who racked up 14 runs and only allowed five in the three-game sweep. It is too early for scoreboard watching, but the Colorado Rockies gave the Dodgers and Hyun-jin Ryu a good thumping today to take the series and surge into a tie with LA for second place. Guess who is in first with a 15-10 record? Very tough road trip coming up--three in Atlanta, the hottest club in baseball, then three in Pittsburgh, a playoff team last year but under-performing so far, and finally four in big-budget Los Angeles, everyone's pick for this year's West title.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.


p.s. I neglected to say the Giants have three at home with the Padres before the road trip. San Diego is by far the worst in scoring runs (2.6 p/g) but fifth-best in runs allowed (3.5 p/g). Bumgarner, Cain, and Hudson get the call.

WHIPped Tim

GAME SUMMARY: 

A healthy little offensive outburst and a dominating bullpen performance were the stars on this windy afternoon as the good guys beat the Indians, 5-3, in front of consecutive sellout crowd #257.  Tim Lincecum was fooling no one and the Indians' starter looked strong but a Gregor Blanco pinch hit, as well as contributions from Pence, Pagan and Posey highlighted a thrilling comeback win.

TIM FACTS:

 Start #5  ND  (1-1, 5.98)   4.2 innings  9 hits  3 runs  2 earned  2 walks  3 strikeouts  0 hr

Tim Lincecum faced 24 batters and used 98 pitches in his rather short stint. He only got 14 outs.  That meant he was putting runners on base at a crazy rate, clearly a recipe for disaster. I've always thought that WHIP was a super useful stat, easy to understand since it SO CLEARLY corresponds to crappy pitching. As Tim demonstrated tonight with an absolutely yucky job.

HIGH and/or LOWLIGHTS:

A spectacular job by the bull pen once again!  Gutierrez, Machi, Affledt and Romo completely slammed the door on the hapless Indians. No hits, a hit batter and one lousy walk in 4.1 innings. That is dominating!  I knew they would be good, but who knew they would be the best!

Wasn't it rather amazing how little they cared about Blanco stealing second in the fateful fifth inning? He represented the go ahead run and sure enough, Pence's single brought him home and gave us the lead. There were two outs, so it was a rather bold move. Way to go, Sharkie!

Buster got plugged the next time up after hitting his beautiful homer. Want to bet Vogelsong is going to get some payback tomorrow? Boys will be boys.

Down to the Last Pitch

Hyperbole is part and parcel of sportswriting. After all, it's just a stupid game. You've got to generate some interest because there are thousands of these games and millions of fans. In Tim Wendel's newest book Down to the Last Pitch he argues that the 1991 World Series was the “best” of all time. Sure, it was a terrific Series—seven games, three (including the final two) in extras, five decided by one run—and it featured two teams who had finished last the previous year. I remember it well, actually, and I can say that it was a gripping contest. The Minnesota Twins, unfortunately, played in perhaps the ugliest stadium in baseball history. I thought, at the time, that the setting took some of the luster off the games just as it had in 1987 when the Twins beat the St. Louis Cardinals for their first title.

Nonetheless the Series was reminiscent of some other classic contests like 1975 and 1986, both going to seven games and featuring great players and epic highlights. The book is organized into seven chapters, one for each game, and Mr. Wendel gives you back stories on all the principals. Giants fans will appreciate the presence of Dan Gladden, Chili Davis, and Steve Bedrosian on the Twins roster. Both teams had some fascinating characters like Lonnie Smith and Kirby Puckett, both of whom had serious off-field issues. Puckett, of course, was the hero of Game Six, and Smith the goat of Game Seven. Jack Morris pitched himself into baseball immortality with his ten-inning shutout to seal the deal, and that remains one of the greatest post-season performances of all time. John Smoltz and Tom Glavine anchored a Braves rotation that went on, with the addition of Greg Maddux, to be arguably the best of the modern era.

Down to the Last Pitch: how the 1991 Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves gave us the best World Series of all time was a fun read even if you don't buy the “best” label. Being a Giants fan, I have to say Brian Wilson striking out Nelson Cruz on November 1^st, 2010 was the best moment in baseball history even if that Series was a bit one-sided. (We all have our biases, don't we?) Wendel writes in the introduction that “1991 remains for me one of the last fine times.” Soon after would be the 1994 strike and the increasing use of PEDs that tarnished the national pastime for many. Wendel is also critical of what he sees as the dominance of corporate group-think in running sports franchises. As I've said before I'm not particularly nostalgic. I think the phrase “good old days” is oxymoronic, especially when applied to baseball. I think a truly modern game would have no draft, no reserve clause, and no monopoly. But that's a column for another time.

--M.C.

Giants Slug Past Rockies

Matt Cain gave up seven runs in six-plus today and the Giants won the game. That Cain fellow isn't known for his luck--I suppose this is his seasonal allotment. "Not getting a loss" isn't much in the way of luck, but that's baseball. The Giants score 12 runs in their seven previous games, and then score 12 runs today. That's baseball, too.

Balls were flying out of the yard in Coorsian fashion all afternoon. A brace apiece of big, booming bombs from Michael Morse and Hector Sanchez won the day for the Giants. The Giants hit six--one each from Brandon Hicks and Brandon Belt were also part of the barrage. The Rockies hit half as many, Troy Tulowitzki and Charlie Blackmon connecting off Cain, and the last-gasp Justin Morneau bomb in the 11th off Sergio Romo.

Hector Sanchez was the hero. The grand slam that broke the tie and set up the win came on a ten-pitch at-bat. He fought off some tough ones and kept his eye on the prize and finally delivered. He also gave Buster Posey a break--that was a 4-1/2 hour slog today. Greg Papa and the CSN crew were raving about Sanchez' work with Affeldt on the mound in relief of Cain in the 7th, blocking those scuds with a runner on third and preserving the tie. I didn't get to see it, but I'm happy to hear it. No reason to think Hector can't keep improving his game. He's young and still unpolished but he needs to be in the majors and mentored by guys like Bruce Bochy, Buster Posey, and Billy Hayes. He's on a steep learning curve but I like what I see as far as focus and demeanor on field. So, good on you Hector! Way to bounce back.

The Giants get a cathartic win and avoid getting swept. They are off on Thursday and send Tim Hudson out on Friday night when the Cleveland Indians come to San Francisco. I'll put up a review tomorrow of Down to the Last Pitch, Tim Wendel's new book about the 1991 World Series.

--M.C.


p.s. I don't have to call him 'Hanchez' any more, he's the only 'Sanchez' on the 40-man roster! And Jean Machi threw five pitches and got the win, his fourth, which ties him for the league lead.