Win 5-4, @ SD
The second "half" of the season to forget has officially begun and the Giants earned a tight win over the Padres. I have to honestly admit that I barely watched and only checked in occasionally. That is pretty much the plan for the rest of this crap season. I did catch a few images: a shaky JohnnyC continuing to flail in mediocrity ( 4 innings, 3 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks ), a beaming Gorkys Hernandez collecting 4 hits for the first time ever, and the same old Buster putting a perfect swing on a fat pitch for the difference making homer. In general, it was a well played close game that was sickeningly insignificant.
I'm not sure if there is any significance to the rest of the season at all. What do we root for? Decency? Do we want a #1 draft pick? Do we want JohnnyC to suck? Or to be great and want to return? Is it all about looking at prospects now? Or is it about figuring out which veterans to jettison? Or all of the above? ...I'm confused.... All I know is that I really don't want to watch it any more... And that is after a win!
6 comments:
At this point let's just be happy about wins! I'm rooting for good baseball. And I'm looking forward to seeing some youngsters step up. I'm happy to see Belt looking better--he's a fine player having a rough year. And Buster is a continuing marvel. What a great player he is. Tonight the 'pen was excellent--let's see more of that.
Barbara, the sister of both JC and me, continues to watch every single game on TV, she's a truly faithful fan who had partial-season tickets during many crappy years in the 70s & 80s. But we do watch a lot in the little box in the corner of the screen, especially when it becomes obvious that yet another loss is inevitable. My devotion is far more fickle, as you may have deduced by my limited contribution to this blog recently. Between trips to Europe and an unhealthy preoccupation with the ongoing fascistic coup-d'tat in the world's only superpower, my interest in sports in general has taken a hit. I remember when it was mandatory to watch the Indy 500, the Kentucky Derby, the Masters, etc. Now?Fuggedaboudit.
According to the paper, Johnny Cueto has blister problems. This is the first year in his career that he has had those problems and he (and almost everyone else) thinks it is a smaller, flatter baseball. Bochy says he might skip a turn in the rotation if he needs to. Which means it is a good thing that we have Cain around. I am not sure Cain to the bullpen is the best move if you want to win, after all, he is only the third worst pitcher lately. But it's not about that - it's about next year. I think the best we can hope for is to see Johnny C improve next year as a Giant.
So root for decency. And good baseball. And to hope the chances of the Panda's return are between slim and none. The man will not improve Giants baseball. Don't root for a draft pick, those are unreliable in baseball. Root for Madbum to be a beast. Root for the Giants to pass the Padres. Root for the Giants to get to .400, and keep improving from there. Root for the Giants to show they are the team they were up to one year ago, not the team they have been since then.
Cueto may miss his next start. I guess these blister issues are indeed a big source of his struggles. I've seen a lot people speculating on the composition of the baseball, you're right most seem to say that it is more tightly wound and the seam height is lower. But MLB says the balls are the same. I guess we'll never know. But obviously JohnnyC is not right. I'm not worried about his talent or age. If he stays in SF I think we will get plenty of good pitching from him. Sometimes guys have bad years. He'll bounce back. And I do think Cain's demotion is a way for him to depart honorably from the team before the Giants cut him. It's time to see what Tyler Beede and the rest of the youngsters can do. Play good ball and build for next year, as you say.
Baggs linked to this blister article. Seems JohnnyC is not the only one.
FanGraphs chimes in on blisters.
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