K K K K K K K K K K K K K K shit

Madison Bumgarner spotted the Giants nearly 5 innings last night, and they still couldn't get a win.  At least they got a couple of runs, which I guess you can say is directionally correct for his starts.  Those runs, though, were the product of a dribbler (to be kind) off of Gregor Blanco's bat in the 5th inning, scoring Matt Duffy.   The ball died as a productive swinging bunt and San Diego's pitcher, Odrisamir Despaigne, couldn't pick up the ball.  Gregor was fast enough to get to first, and then score on a Joe Panik double.  Were it not for the misplay (ruled a hit) it probably would have been 0 runs.  Again.  In 11 innings, the Giants could score no more and Hunter Strickland gave up a 3rd run to San Diego.

Madbum: 14 K, which ties a San Francisco Giants record, previously set by Atlee Hamacker.  Also 2 earned runs, 7.1 IP, 5 hits, 1 BB.  Those hits came together in the 7th for San Diego's 2 runs.
Despaigne looked pretty  good, but only lasted 5 innings.  I am not sure why he was pulled, but San Diego seemed to have plenty of relief pitching.  In his 5, he gave up 5 hits, 2 runs, walked 2 and struck out 2.

These losses, at home and against our division rivals, are galling.  I'm sure they are wearing on the team.  I may have to leave town myself to turn things around.

Petit Is Grand

The Giants find their way today and beat up on the Diamondbacks 8-2. Patrick Corbin has seen his fortunes change in the last two starts, giving up 14 runs in 10 innings after a complete game win at Cincinnati two weeks ago. The young Arizona lefty is having a great season but might be hitting a wall as he approaches 200 innings. The Giants had a big day, rapping out 15 hits with a new-look September lineup. Yusmeiro Petit had a career-high 10 strikeouts, and is making a pitch for a spot in the rotation. Chad Gaudin is going to have some competition, and that has to be a good thing for 2014. Fifth starters don't have to be very good, and if they are close to league-average, or at least better than most team's fifth starters, they can be valuable pieces.

The Giants need to start stockpiling pitchers as there is a new arms race in the West. The Dodgers have the best pitcher in baseball (Clayton Kershaw) and a healthy number two (Zack Greinke) who would be the ace on most clubs. A resurgent Ricky Nolasco (I guess you were right about him, Ron!) has put together perhaps his best stretch ever, and MLB-rookie Hyun-jin Ryu gives them another formidable southpaw. I note that even with Chris Capuano holding down the 5-spot, they still picked up Edinson Volquez as insurance. And they still have two veterans on the DL who will likely be back next season, Josh Beckett and Chad Billingsley. The LA team has been dubbed "The West Coast Yankees" for their otherworldly payroll, and this season their depth has certainly paid off. They are winning at an historic pace since their early-season woes. It will be interesting to see how the Giants will try to match up with the new front-runners in the off-season.

Believe it or not, Barry Zito is listed as the starter for tomorrow's game in San Diego.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Something to Celebrate!!

I got home just in time to see the last inning and Hector Sanchez' big fly. Wow, that was incredible. They fell just short of a comeback hit last night, so it feels good to see them get the big hit today. Roger Kieschnick has been striking out a whole lot, so I was happy to see him get on base in front of Sanchez via the walk, his second of the game. Maybe as he gets more confident with his batting eye and strike zone judgment he will start flashing the power he was known for in the minors. Speaking of flashing power, you have to love Brandon Belt's recent surge. He has looked more like the hitter we think he can be and that's good news for next season. And speaking of Brandons, the leaping catch by Brandon Crawford to rob Bryce Harper of a hit and get the first out in the bottom of the 9th was beautiful. That was great anticipation and execution, something we get used to seeing from him. Sanchez, Belt, and Crawford are all on the same clock: under team control for 2014, arbitration-eligible for 2015-2017, and free agency in 2018. Young, cheap players with lots of upside. That's the magic formula, right? Maybe one of the young arms like Eric Surkamp can start to contribute as well. Chad Gaudin gets the ball tomorrow night in Miami.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Pitching in 2014

Ryan Vogelsong is in the second year of his deal that paid him $3M last season and pays him $5M this season. The club has an option for next season at $6.5M ($0.3M buyout). Safe to say they'll pick it up and pencil him in for 30+ starts. Matt Cain is locked up until at least 2017. Madison Bumgarner is, too. Jeremy Affeldt is inked for 2014 and 2015, as is Santiago Casilla. The Giants have Sergio Romo signed for 2014, but he's a free agent in 2015. That's the nucleus: Cain, MadBum, Vogie, Affeldt, Casilla, Romo. Three starters, three late-inning relievers. Total cost in the neighborhood of $48M. Throw in another $7M to give Barry Zito his walking papers and you've got half of a payroll for an upper-echelon team. The Giants have consistently spent in the top third of ML franchises, this year they are seventh at $138M.

Three pending free agents loom large: Javier Lopez, Chad Gaudin, and the biggest of them all, Tim Lincecum. Nothing but good things have happened to the Giants since Lopez has been on the payroll. He's the quintessential LOOGY, something the team values and is willing to pay for ($4.25M this year). Alas, he turns 37 in July. Jesse Orosco pitched until he was 46--anyone willing to bet on Lopez channeling his inner Orosco? Chad Gaudin, surprise story of 2014, started 34 games for the Oakland Athletics in 2007 when he was 24, and 25 games for two teams in 2009. Otherwise he's been a reliever. Will he be the next chapter in the Rags-to-riches tale? Finally, there's nothing to say about The Freak that hasn't been said already. He could be the most interesting potential free agent signing in all of baseball.

What, then, should the Giants do? What say you, my friends? I've said nary a word about Jose Mijares, Jean Machi, Guillermo Moscoso, Mike Kickham, Eric Surkamp, George Kontos, Sandy Rosario, Jake Dunning, Edwin Escobar, Dan Runzler, or any of the other newbies, re-treads, or up-and-comers. I understand there's an entire minor-league system full of barely-known hurlers with the potential to be Giants. Build me a pitching staff, me buckos.

GO GIANTS!

--M.C.

Brewers Win Earned-Run Contest, Lose Game

Can we just get rid of "earned" and "unearned" runs? When a runner crosses the plate, the team gets a run. The team with the most of those plate-crossings gets a win. How the hell can one kind of run be "earned" and another be "un-earned?" Is it some kind of moral judgement on the manliness of the lineup? Like they didn't deserve the run somehow because the shortstop booted a grounder? If that's the case, the Giants lost the game last night. After all, they only scored one "earned" run and failed to "earn" the other three. On the other hand, I'm certainly happy that the Milwaukee Brewers are a bad baseball team.

Chad Gaudin was lucky that the ball hit by Juan Francisco in the 7th bounced over the fence. That was a bomb, and should have scored both runners. The Brewers also missed a suicide squeeze. It's nice to see the Giants play a team that is not only worse, but much more unlucky than they are. Otherwise, Chad was very Gaudinian with his eight strikeouts and four hits allowed in 6-1/3 IP. If Ryan Vogelsong is the Greatest Scrap Heap Reclamation Project in the history of the organization, Go-Dan ain't far behind.

So, who should lead off for the Giants? The numbers say Marco Scutaro, he of the high BA (.306) and OBP (.365). Naturally, he goes 0-for-5 with a whiff in his debut. That was only his 27th whiff of the year. You know who has the most walks on the team? Buster Posey (38), of course. Brandon Belt (37) is right behind him, and Scutaro (35) is third. Posey has the highest OBP (.378) but also the highest SLG (.505), so he stays where he is. But Brandon Belt has the third-highest OBP (.345) on the team. It's worth considering the much-maligned youngster for the top spot. No beef with Scutaro, but maybe a lefty option now and then. Sure, his 88 whiffs are ugly (most on the team), but ugly is the operating word for the 2013 Giants. Last year the team won its 50th game on July 17th.

Matt Cain tonight. GO GIANTS!

--M.C.