6-5 loss in Coors
It was Marx who said that when history repeats itself it would be "the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce." Things are so bad I'm quoting a goddamn commie. The Giants are fatally crippled in the bullpen and they blow late leads with regularity. So regularly do they blow leads that a promising season is slipping away. In fact, that may be it. The Giants fall to five back in the West and cling to a mere half-game lead in the Wild Card. And trending downward, unfortunately, with 23 games yet to play.
Santiago Casilla got pulled after the homer, the strikeout, and the hit and does not get assigned either a 'loss' or a 'blown save'. In fact he gets credit for a 'hold'. But his three-batter outing set the stage for the collapse, Osich and Nathan were merely stand-ins for the final blows. Maybe Boch should flip everything over and have Casilla be the first guy out of the 'pen and Okert and Strickland finish. Can't get any worse.
--M.C.
Showing posts with label Casilla. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casilla. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
A Hit By Pitch, a Bobble, a Wild Pitch, an IBB, a Walk - We'll Take It!
Ai, yi, yi, yi, yi.
What the Giants have to go through to get a win.
Another 13 inning game. A win, not really of the Giants making. Beats hell out of another loss, though. On to Azirona!
Madison Bumgarner on the hill. 6 2/3 innings, 3 hits, only 1 run, 4 walks, 5 K in 116 pitches. Madison does not quite have the pinpoint control that we are used to from years past - he would frequently go 8 with only 1 BB. Not that the ump was very helpful in this regard, a small and not particularly consistent strike zone was not helpful to either pitcher. The Giants took a 4 - 1 lead into the 8th and I was thinking, "See, see what you can do when you score a couple......" but then, Cory Gearrin allowed 2 to put the Giants in need of a save by Santiago Casilla. They didn't get it. Giants had their chances. They put runners on every extra inning, but could not push one across. I guess that should not have come as a surprise, the Giants were 2 for 16 with RISP in this game and 4 for 33 (I think) in the series. Buster, who hasn't had a hit in days, got the gwrbi for not striking out. Bloogies get a day off, the Giants don't until next Monday. Giants used 8 pitchers and Albert Suarez got a win. 4 games in Az, where the Giants have been able to hit in the past. Time to act like we have some cajones in this division.
What the Giants have to go through to get a win.
Another 13 inning game. A win, not really of the Giants making. Beats hell out of another loss, though. On to Azirona!
Madison Bumgarner on the hill. 6 2/3 innings, 3 hits, only 1 run, 4 walks, 5 K in 116 pitches. Madison does not quite have the pinpoint control that we are used to from years past - he would frequently go 8 with only 1 BB. Not that the ump was very helpful in this regard, a small and not particularly consistent strike zone was not helpful to either pitcher. The Giants took a 4 - 1 lead into the 8th and I was thinking, "See, see what you can do when you score a couple......" but then, Cory Gearrin allowed 2 to put the Giants in need of a save by Santiago Casilla. They didn't get it. Giants had their chances. They put runners on every extra inning, but could not push one across. I guess that should not have come as a surprise, the Giants were 2 for 16 with RISP in this game and 4 for 33 (I think) in the series. Buster, who hasn't had a hit in days, got the gwrbi for not striking out. Bloogies get a day off, the Giants don't until next Monday. Giants used 8 pitchers and Albert Suarez got a win. 4 games in Az, where the Giants have been able to hit in the past. Time to act like we have some cajones in this division.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
TEN
That's the Giants Elimination Number for the NL West race. It also happens to be the Elimination Number for the NL Wild Card. The Giants are behind the Dodgers by 7-1/2 games and they are behind the Cubs by 7-1/2 games. San Francisco, at 77-69, has 16 games left on the schedule. Los Angeles and Chicago have identical 84-61 records and thus both have 17 games remaining. The Cubs still have a shot to overtake the 87-58 Pittsburgh Pirates for the top Wild Card spot but the situation for the Giants stays the same. Any combination of wins by the leading club and losses by the Giants that equals ten means the 2015 season is over.
The math, gloomy as it is, still represents a chance albeit a vanishingly small one. The MLB Postseason Probability tracker currently rates the Giants at 0.9% for the division title. Not much of a bet, eh? RMC's official position is "it ain't over 'til it's over" but that's the only position any self-respecting Giants fan can take, am I right?
Last night's exhilarating and agonizing win over the Reds got me thinking. Is Jake Peavy finally healthy enough to be a reliable starter? That home run was a nice bonus and a clutch hit to boot. The Giants are paying Peavy $15M to be a part of the 2016 rotation and his 2015 performance has not been encouraging. He'll be 35 in May and has 2200+ innings on his once-formidable arm. What can we expect next season? I'd like to pencil him in for 30 starts and 180+ IP, but is that realistic? If not, who takes his spot? I don't have the answers, but I like to think if he can stay healthy he can still be a productive player.
I'm also thinking about Santiago Casilla. It seems all of his saves lately have been both tortuous and torturous. He'll be 36 in July and I believe the club can buy him out for a million bucks this off-season and make him a free agent. Should they? Is it time to move one of the young bucks like Hunter Strickland into the closer role? I'm leaning that way, I admit. The Core Four is getting old and the remarkable run of consistency and high-level performance we've seen from these relievers is contrary to our usual experience. Most bullpen arms just don't last this long. Strikeouts are up this year with Casilla but walks and hits are as well. What's he got left? It's worth noting that 36-year old Jeremy Affeldt is a free agent next season after a injury-marred below-par campaign. Can you envision the Giants without the goofy lefty? Both of course are in the pantheon of all-time great Giants and I will never speak ill of them and always wish them the best in their careers. Speaking of one of my most beloved players, did you see AmyG talk to Andres Torres on the telecast last night? That 2010 year was so special and he was such a massive part of it I get teary-eyed whenever he shows up.
On the horizon for the home squad are three games with the Diamondbacks this weekend. Madison Bumgarner goes Friday night. Then it is six road games with San Diego and Oakland after an off-day Monday. The boys return home on the 28th with four against the Dodgers and finish the season with three against the Rockies. Nine games before LA comes to town--will they clinch before then? They have ten games to play in that stretch including three against the Pirates this weekend. If the Giants go 6-3 they'd have to go 7-3 to do just that. Is it just me or is it looking increasingly likely they will have to win in San Francisco to take the West? Could make for some great games, but could also be a hideous run-from-the-room and shield-the-eyes-of-the-innocent moment. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
The math, gloomy as it is, still represents a chance albeit a vanishingly small one. The MLB Postseason Probability tracker currently rates the Giants at 0.9% for the division title. Not much of a bet, eh? RMC's official position is "it ain't over 'til it's over" but that's the only position any self-respecting Giants fan can take, am I right?
Last night's exhilarating and agonizing win over the Reds got me thinking. Is Jake Peavy finally healthy enough to be a reliable starter? That home run was a nice bonus and a clutch hit to boot. The Giants are paying Peavy $15M to be a part of the 2016 rotation and his 2015 performance has not been encouraging. He'll be 35 in May and has 2200+ innings on his once-formidable arm. What can we expect next season? I'd like to pencil him in for 30 starts and 180+ IP, but is that realistic? If not, who takes his spot? I don't have the answers, but I like to think if he can stay healthy he can still be a productive player.
I'm also thinking about Santiago Casilla. It seems all of his saves lately have been both tortuous and torturous. He'll be 36 in July and I believe the club can buy him out for a million bucks this off-season and make him a free agent. Should they? Is it time to move one of the young bucks like Hunter Strickland into the closer role? I'm leaning that way, I admit. The Core Four is getting old and the remarkable run of consistency and high-level performance we've seen from these relievers is contrary to our usual experience. Most bullpen arms just don't last this long. Strikeouts are up this year with Casilla but walks and hits are as well. What's he got left? It's worth noting that 36-year old Jeremy Affeldt is a free agent next season after a injury-marred below-par campaign. Can you envision the Giants without the goofy lefty? Both of course are in the pantheon of all-time great Giants and I will never speak ill of them and always wish them the best in their careers. Speaking of one of my most beloved players, did you see AmyG talk to Andres Torres on the telecast last night? That 2010 year was so special and he was such a massive part of it I get teary-eyed whenever he shows up.
On the horizon for the home squad are three games with the Diamondbacks this weekend. Madison Bumgarner goes Friday night. Then it is six road games with San Diego and Oakland after an off-day Monday. The boys return home on the 28th with four against the Dodgers and finish the season with three against the Rockies. Nine games before LA comes to town--will they clinch before then? They have ten games to play in that stretch including three against the Pirates this weekend. If the Giants go 6-3 they'd have to go 7-3 to do just that. Is it just me or is it looking increasingly likely they will have to win in San Francisco to take the West? Could make for some great games, but could also be a hideous run-from-the-room and shield-the-eyes-of-the-innocent moment. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
A Winning Weekend
The Giants rack up another big number--this time it was nine--and close out the weekend with their third straight win. Chris Heston couldn't get out of the 3rd, but Yumseiro Petit kept enough of a lid on things to hand it over to the late-inning crew and they got it done. Jeremy Affeldt had a challenging time, but Santiago Casilla made up for it with an overpowering nine-pitch save. In the end the Giants scorching hot lineup scored on every Reds pitcher except Aroldis Chapman, and they created an opportunity against him with two hits. There were heroes up and down: three hits and three RBI from Aoki; three hits (including a clutch late homer!) and three runs scored from Belt; two hits and two RBI from Pence; two hits, three RBI, and a run from BCraw; a hit, walk, and a run from Blanco; and two hits and an RBI from Duffy. They needed every damn run today, that's for sure. I'm happy to see that the hitters can take advantage of a offense-friendly park and match up with these bandbox brigades. We know they can play their special brand of walk-off bad-bounce one-run win at home, but a great team has to win those slug-fests on the road now and again as well. A good club has lots of dimensions, and we saw that this weekend with thirty runs scored.
The Giants return to San Francisco for a quick three with their SoCal rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers before hitting the road again. Thursday we get to see Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw. The Tims man the other two starts.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. The Giants have now scored 145 runs which equals their 145 runs allowed.
The Giants return to San Francisco for a quick three with their SoCal rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers before hitting the road again. Thursday we get to see Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw. The Tims man the other two starts.
GO GIANTS!
--M.C.
p.s. The Giants have now scored 145 runs which equals their 145 runs allowed.
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