Tyler Beede, RHP

Bobby Bonds got tagged as "the next Willie Mays" when he broke in with the Giants. Now Bonds was a terrific player, one we were privileged to watch, and he had a great career. But comparing a rookie, any rookie, to one of the very best players in the history of the game is a comically limiting view. Bonds was Bonds. Not Mays. And to appreciate him was to appreciate his Bonds-ness and not his Mays-like-ness.

Which brings me to Tyler Beede. Tyler Beede was a first-round draft pick (2014). Expectations are higher for fellows with that sort of pedigree. After four seasons and 70 starts in the minors we expect our number one guy to be ready. We've been spoiled by Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Madison Bumgarner. We think all number one picks are like that. We forget about David Aardsma, Craig Whitaker, and Tim Alderson. And Zack Wheeler, Kyle Crick, and Phil Bickford have all been traded. Fellow first-round pick (2012) Chris Stratton is almost three years older and finally (we think) finding his groove. And he'll get there by being the Chris Stratton-est Chris Stratton that he can be, not some ersatz version of Matty, Timmy, or MadBum.

So Tyler Beede needs to become Tyler Beede, whoever that is. And we need to watch and appreciate his Tyler Beede-ness. What that will turn out to be is anybody's guess. Today was a little disappointing but it's only one day. There will be, we hope, many more.

Johnny Cueto is pencilled in to start Tuesday in Arizona. Hallelujah!

--M.C.


p.s. boxscore for today's debacle

Fuckiki

I'm not sure if that is how his name is spelled and I'm not going to look it up.  I turned off the game in the bottom of the 4th.  The Giants have no defense.  Colorado turned out horrible, and this game is horrible.  I have 0 confidence in the Giants and doubt I can bring myself to tune in the rest of this weekend.

Peee-Yeww

I was lured into thinking that the Giants had bottomed and were directionally correct.  You know, blown out, then no-hit, then an extra-innings loss, then a tie (or rain-out, if you prefer).   But tonight was a stinker.  Matty threw like crap.  I don't know........maybe the Giants do need to make a move.  If so, I'm hoping they can get Shin-Soo-ji.

I would sincerely like the Giants to show that my opinions are posted just in time to make a fool of me.

The Final Fifty-Four

1st inning: 9-9
2nd inning: 9-9
3rd inning: 12-6
4th inning: 10-8
5th inning: 10-8
6th inning: 9-9

Sunday's win behind Timmy in Colorado finished the first two-thirds of the season (Game 108). It was a bit of a rough patch, that 6th inning, and tonight's affair was the first of the 7th inning and the first of the final third of the season. The Dodgers won't be gentlemen about it, they have no intention of letting the Giants have the last dance to themselves. They are going to have to be called outside for an ass-whuppin' before the good guys get the goods. It's going to require everyone on the team to step up and be studly. With Tim Lincecum emerging and Pablo Sandoval returning one can feel good about the Giants chances.

Then there's Matt Cain. It's no secret he has not been the same guy since El Perfecto. He made a nice splash in the All-Star Game, as did the rest of the orange-and-blackers, but the starts since then have not been up to snuff. To wit:

                                                   
Date    Opp Rslt    IP   H  R ER BB  SO HR HBP  BF GSc
Jun18   LAA W5-3   5.0   6  3  3  4   4  1   1  25  43
Jun24   OAK L2-4   7.0   3  1  1  2   7  0   1  26  72
Jun29   CIN L1-5   6.2  11  5  5  1   7  2   0  32  38
Jul5    WSN L5-6   6.2   6  3  3  1   4  2   0  26  53
Jul15   HOU W3-2   6.1   5  2  1  1   6  0   0  25  62
Jul21   PHI W6-5   8.0   5  5  5  2   4  3   1  30  54
Jul27   LAD L3-5   7.0   9  3  3  0   2  0   0  29  49
Aug1    NYM L1-2   5.0   7  2  2  3   5  1   0  23  47

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 8/6/2012.

Now that's some pretty good pitching. For most guys, that is. 51-2/3 IP, 52 H, 24 R, 39 SO, 14 BB, and  9 HR over 8 starts will get you a regular gig in the majors (52 average Game Score). But Matt Cain is no longer just another regular. He's earned the right to be paid like an ace and to be treated like an ace and that means he now has to pitch like one. (Matt gave up 9 total home runs 2011, for example.) It's not like any of these starts were Zitovian meltdowns, although last week against the Mets came damn close if not for some lucky breaks and good fielding. Tonight was about as close to a meltdown as Cain gets. All players go through rough patches, and if this is as rough as it gets for Matty I can hardly complain. But stretch drive is here. The pennant race is on. This is when it gets decided. The Giants will have to get Master Cain back out there for the 7th, 8th and 9th innings.

Tonight in St. Louis against an excellent hitting squad our boy could not finish the job. He'd get to two strikes or to two outs (or both) and give it up. They wore him down and chased him in the 6th with a patient, relentless attack. Normally we see Matt hold his own and get those big outs, but this is not the same Cain we watched in the first half of the season. Is he tired? Hurt? Or just on the bottom end of a long slump? We never have the answers to those questions, do we? There's a lot more on big righty's shoulders these days. It used to be nobody noticed, and when they did, they undervalued what they saw. You win a World Series ring, an All-Star Game, and pitch a perfect game, people pay more attention. Teams pay more attention. (Not to mention the gargantuan contract and the scrutiny that comes with that.) The marquee name on the squad has a rough first half, the second name on the list gets bumped up. It's the big leagues, you can fly under the radar for just so long. Looks like everyone has Matty in their sights right now. He's going to have to fine tune that out-making machine real soon, and get back to delivering the kind of starts he's spoiled us with so many times before.

7th inning: 0-1, 17 to play.


--M.C.

Matt Cain shows emotion and gets yanked

I know it was the 7th inning and the pitch count was over 100, but I had more faith in Matt Cain at that moment than anyone in the bullpen. And the Giants have a good bullpen. I don't argue much with Ol' Boch, he knows his guys, but I would rather have watched Cain pitch to those clowns than either J-Lo or WillyMo. Alas, he managed a no-decision, which I'm on record as favoring. I'm convinced that Matty got yanked when he cursed to himself after walking James Darnell. The rookie was having at party at Cain's expense and I've no doubt it pissed him off. But Matt is all about sangfroid and Ol' Boch is all about what we call here in America same thing. So when he saw Mr. Cool lose his cool, it was time to cool him out. It wasn't Ol' Boch's fault the normally stalwart bullpen gave up back-to-back doubles to tie the game and raise it to new and soaring heights of anguish. I'm tired and want to go to bed. Please win, Giants.

--M.C.



UPDATE 0640 Wed: Giants win in 12!! Once again, the tried-and-true extra-inning formula of "wait until the other team uses their worst pitcher" works to perfection. It amazes me that DeRosa is actually playing and hitting well. I'm impressed by his resolve. I thought he was going to have to hang up his cleats, but he battled back. His $6M comes off the books next year as he's a free agent. Arbitration looms for Lincecum, Sandoval, Romo, Vogelsong, Ramirez, Casilla, Torres, Keppinger, Fontentot, and Schierholtz--should be an interesting off-season. Lopez, Mota, Burrell, Cabrera, Beltran, and Ross are all free agents. Rowand gets his last paycheck ($13.6M for 2012) and Zito still has $46M coming. Giants have a lot of decisions to make!

Attention Giants: plan not working

'Pitch like hell and hope you hit enough' was the mantra I was brainwashed into believing. Giants baseball is close, low-scoring games that the good guys pull out at the end because of superior superiority. And awesomeness. Don't forget the awesomeness. Awesome awesomeness, in fact. But that hasn't been working lately. They haven't done the 'pitch like hell part.' Well, some. But not every day. Too many other guys on too many other teams pitched better. And 'hit enough' hasn't happened since 2007 or something. The Giants, as a franchise, stopped hitting in the middle of the decade. I can't remember the exact date, somewhere at the convergence of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Bruce Bochy. It's been pitching, pitching, pitching since then. OK, some defense and some big hits. But mostly it's about arms. Arma virumque cano and all that. (Vergil, you ignorant gobshites.) Like I said, there's a problem in the execution department. The theory is great. I'm down with the theory. I get the whole Pythagorean Runs thing. 'Runs prevented' is more important than 'runs scored.' Hey, I'm on board. You're preachin' to the fookin' choir here, laddie bucks. But ever since this team pulled in to Cincinnati on July 29th they have played some piss-poor ball. Now I understand that teams have slumps and whatnot, but you don't defend a title by watching the other team score. Or watching the scoreboard. C'mon Giants, win some goddamn games.

--M.C.

Downer in Denver

Here I thought it was all lined up for a good time: home brewed beer, freshly made guacamole, and me in the middle of my vacation with Matt Cain and the Giants on TV in HD. It was not to be. Cain got rocked for most of his 4-2/3 innings, the pent up Rockies taking it all out on the normally stalwart righty. I want to say it was great to take two of three in Colorado, and it was, but the heaping dose of unrequited greed that courses  through my veins makes that hard to accept. I'll look back on this winning road trip at some point and praise the Giants for grit and fortitude, but today I wanted a genuine, Made in America CainStart™ and I got a bucket load of moldy Jell-O instead. I suppose Matt has to pitch poorly occasionally, something about the Law of Averages and all that statistical shite, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Troy Tulowitzki, held in check the first two games, was the hitting star for Colorado along with Ty Wigginton and Ryan Spilborghs who smacked the requisite three-run home runs. The Giants never really put anything together, succumbing meekly to Jorge de la Rosa who gave the Rockies the big start they'd been looking for. Buster Posey got battered all day by bats and batted balls but still managed to get hits and RBIs. That guy is one hell of a ballplayer. But you knew that.

Travel day tomorrow, then three at home with the Braves this weekend. Madison Bumgarner gets the call Friday against Tommy Hanson.

--M.C.



p.s. We Don't Have Enough Reasons To Hate The Dodgers Dept: Selig steps in. Enjoy your time in McCourtville, Bud.

26

26 balls (not baseballs, anti-strikes) thrown in the 8th inning. Compared to 8 strikes. For three pitchers. Not including Wilson.