Tardy Tim

I have just returned from the wonderful isolation of the Humboldt Redwoods. I guess I needed a break from this season but I sure did miss Tim! Just think of what a nice road trip that would have been if we get Tim a couple runs. Jeez, a 1-0 game at Coors Field is a true testament to the power of humidity. I was a little worried that Tim might suffer from my inattention. Yeah right.

Here's some help from my concise bro:

I waited in vain for Jon's Lincecum report, so I'll do it for him:

Same Old Same Old Tim. Seven shutout innings, yadda yadda... okay, whatever. More excellence, leads the world in quality starts, etc. One thing I want to write about is the last play of the game. Good throw from Lewis, "He's out!" Taschner goes wild, but no, the ball's sitting there on the grass, not in Molina's mitt, game over, Rockies win. Oh my god. But it was wonderful anyway, wasn't it? I love baseball.Which brings us to today's game. Sanchez stinks up the joint, but it's a typical Coors Field day and the Giants offense goes off, so Bochy can afford to leave Sanchez out to finish the fifth, and he barely does, and he ends up with a W. So now Sanchez actually has a better team win record than Wonderboy, even though there's no dispute who the better pitcher is. Sometimes it's better to be lucky. Oh, and did you catch what Sanchez did at the plate? FP called him "Babe Sanchez." Ya gotta love it.

****Again, I know this is a little late, but a must read for all Lincecum lovers. This slick article comes to the charming conclusion that Tim is ...well....perfect. Who knew?

****How about this news item? Rafael Rodriguez and Angel Villalona...if we still know these two names in four years, we will probably be very happy about that!

****Look, even the the largest and oldest living things are Giants fans!!! We can't be a stupid as we seem!!!

6.1 8 1 1 6

Matt didn't make it out of the 7th, giving up hits to batters number 25 and 26. 107 pitches. 6 groundouts, 5 flyouts. 1 walk, 6 strikeouts. NO HOME RUNS. Yabu got the DP ball Cain couldn't, and preserved the chance for a win. Matt was tough and effective against a poor team in a hot, humid ballpark. It would have been nice to see him get through the 7th, but the 6th seemed to wear him out. It took 12 pitches to strike out Flores with 2 out and 2 on to end it. He was effectively done at that point. He did his job, and deserved the W. M.C. has had two glaring problems so far: walks and homers. I can't complain about one and zero.

The bullpen and our fielders tried to give it away. Bengie: the good, the bad, the ugly, all in one ballplayer. Throws guys out, throws it away. Swings at atrocious pitches and makes a lot of outs, swings at atrocious pitches and gets a lot of big hits. ¡El Gamerino Gordito! The guy is FIFTH in all of baseball in BA. Bengie's sending Buster Posey an "I ain't through yet, kid" message. (BTW, Buster Posey's Seminoles beat Conor Gillaspie's Shockers to go through to the CWS.)

BIG, BIG effort by Wilson to save the game for Cain. Matt needs some more of that good luck. Can you believe we have won 7 in a row on the road?

Eight for Tim

Sorry I’m late, the dog ate the computer.
What can I say? Tim is a God.
8 wins, but that’s still 3 behind Webb.
Another quality start, is that truly Tim’s strength?
No walks and only eighty three pitches thrown.
The first eleven Nats were easily blown away.
Everyone was thinking no hitter for a sec.
The Franchise got a bases loaded walk too.


Pardon the lame scheme*, the tank’s running dry.
It ain’t quite as easy as it seems.
Reply in kind, that is if you dare.

*Eight words per line, eight lines…no duh.

He ain't no poser, dude

It is official: BUSTER POSEY, the Florida State catching phenom, is the #1 pick of the San Francisco Giants (#5 overall).

I am stoked. Great pick. This guy is dripping with both talent and "intangibles."

Check out this video link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?videoId=3394234

What is your response, team?

5 5 5 5 4 3

5.2 3 0 0 4 5
4.1 7 5 4 5 5
6.2 3 2 2 3 5
3.2 8 9 9 3 4
7.0 5 1 1 3 7
5.1 4 0 0 5 3
7.0 3 2 2 1 8
6.1 9 5 5 1 5
8.0 7 2 2 4 5
7.0 6 6 6 3 6
6.0 5 2 2 2 6
7.0 7 3 3 1 6
5.0 5 5 5 4 3


Matt has yielded 5 runs or more 5 times in 13 starts. He just can't seem to put together a string of quality outings. He's walking too many guys and throwing fat cheese over the middle of the goddamn plate!

That Huey Lewis tune is running around in my head: "I need a new drug."

Golden Boys

Our new young buck, Brian Horwitz, made quite an impression his first week in the show, clubbing big fly #1 last night in a huge win against an angst-ridden underperforming group of superstars.

"Unbelievable, extraordinary ... it's an out-of-body experience and I'm really enjoying it," said Horwitz, who obtained his home run ball from the fan who caught it by giving him an autographed bat. (Chris Haft article)

The 24-year old seems to have been pegged as a career minor-leaguer, a familiar refrain in our organization, mostly due to a lack of power. He's a .400 OBA kind of guy--check him out at The Baseball Cube. The real reason we are excited about this fella here at RMC is that he is a GRADUATE of the University of California! He's a goddamn GOLDEN BEAR, my friends! Let's hear it:

GRRR-Rah! GRRR-Rah! GRRR--RRR--RRR--Rah!

We already got to know our 49er, John "Dirtbag" Bowker. And our Golden Eagle, Steve "Backup Catcher" Holm. Add to the list future shortstop Emmanuel Burriss. Why? Because he's a GOLDEN FLASH! Emmanuel is a Kent State University product. They are The Golden Flashes. Don't you love college nicknames?

Player development in baseball is a bit like prospecting, eh? Trying to unearth the precious nugget from the mountains of gravel. Let's hope we found some gold in this bunch.

Consistently Tim

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" - Ralph Waldo Emerson.

I hope it is not boring to be consistent. I always get up at the same time, walk the dog the same place, vote Democratic...you get the idea. Hell, I am just about the most consistent Giants fan that you will ever meet. I always felt that being consistent was a sign of strength. Ol' Ralph does not seem to agree.

The level of consistency that Tim Lincecum brings to the Giants is most definitely a team strength (is there another one?). Tim's gutsy and, somewhat artless, performance continues his streak of quality starts. We have won 9 of the last 12 Lincecum outings, including the last six. Seven starts after losses are all victories. That was his thirteenth straight quality start. You all know the numbers. Tim clearly wasn't his dominant self, yet the only run came from a bases loaded walk by a reliever. Tim seems like our only pitcher that gets tougher when men are on base. If he is a hobgoblin, then I want a team full. (He was a Spiderman foe, right?)

So, I guess this consistency thing, a real sticky point among my crowd, comes down to the definition of "foolish." What is "wise" consistency? Consistency in baseball can't always be good, can it? Tim's type: wise. Sabean's type: foolish. A Giants' fan type: ????

Who was the most consistent Giant you remember? Was it "wise" or "foolish" consistency?