Countdown to Scottsdale #29: Eugenio Velez, UTL

I sing the song of Eugenio Velez, who began the 2010 season as a platoon starter and ended it as an afterthought — one of those guys in the pictures of the World Series victory celebration who you'll have to identify for your grandchildren one day. In his short time with the Orange and Black, Velez became such a fan favorite that his recent defection to the Hated Ones at Chavez Ravine drew nearly as much ire as that of NLCS hero Juan U-RIBE (more on that to come). Velez — or "Count Chocula" as he came to be known by fans, bloggers, and talking heads alike — consistently impressed with his speed and clutch hitting, particularly the over-sized power he generated with an under-sized body. Few of us will forget the sight of a dude listed as 6-1/162 sending the rawhide flying into the Arcade like a Sally Struthers infomercial version of a certain juicer, er, future Hall of Famer. But even fewer of us will miss E's haphazard behavior on the base paths, his inability to play left field with even a modicum of confidence (or skill), and his uncomfortable-looking batting stance. (Don't try this at home, kids.)

One of my happiest memories of Eugenio came in a game I left early — and referenced in Countdown #42 — last April in Los Angeles. The G's had gone down early and big to the Hated Ones, and though I hated to do it, I had to return to the downtown convention center to fulfill my duties as a California Democratic Party delegate. As I inched forward in standard LA traffic on the 110, I tuned in to Doyer radio to catch the last few innings. Trailing 10-3 entering the 9th, the Giants scratched out a pair of runs and had another pair on base with two out when Velez went yuck-a-doo and launched a rally-killing homer 400-plus feet into the night. I nearly drove into the center divide in excitement, but I managed to pull off the freeway and stop the car in time to hear Renteria end the game with a grounder back to the pitcher. If the boys had pulled out a W that night, I probably wouldn't have forgiven myself...

Typically, my colleagues at McCovey Chronicles hit the proverbial nail on its head with this post shortly after Velez signed with the Doyers. I'll leave you to chew on that as we all look forward to Opening Weekend, when we get an answer to the age-old question: "How would Count Chocula look in blue?"

Gracias, Eugenio.

98 down. 64 to go.

Friday: Jonathan "Dirty" Sanchez. What to do with this headcase? If he could find a way to get the first batter of the inning out... If he could find a way to throw strike one with consistency... If he could find a way to focus on making his pitch, one pitch at a time... The guy's pretty iffy, if you catch my drift. But boy, he's got some pretty stuff. I guess that's why it's so frustrating to see him exiting after six, even five innings. The line doesn't look bad, but he misses out on decision after decision because he simply cannot keep himself in the game, and our bullpen ain't exactly watertight right now. And it's not just hurting the Giants, and it's not just hurting him... It's hurting Team Hopey Changey. The guy needs a voodoo witch doctor to come into the clubhouse and exorcise the demon that walks the bases loaded with nobody out and leave behind the guy who finds a way out of that jam more often than not like some kind of magician. BTW: Where in the world did Andres Torres spend his days before emerging in the orange and black last season? Who the hell is this guy, and why did it take so long for him to become a beast? Giants win without Buster in the lineup = very good news.

Saturday: Listening to Doug Greenwald on the radio is like being transported back to the late '80s, when Will Clark was still "The Natural", and the only U-RIBE we knew was José. The guy sounds eerily like his dad, Hank, who brought me into literally thousands of games in my youth with his signature raspy voice and clear-cut call of the play. Now, with Jon Miller and Dave Flemming cavorting in Cooperstown, we get a taste of the next generation, as Doug has been called up from Fresno to broadcast this series in the desert. Listening to him call an Aubrey Huff home run gave me chills. He's still adjusting to the pace of the big league game, but I look forward to hearing more of this young prospect. BTW: The Giants are certainly acting the part of a contender: winning on the road, beating the lesser teams, and battling with the best. They won't score 10 runs very often, but they only need to score 4. When they do that, they're 47-8 (.855). That's not bad.

P.S. Butch's thoughts and prayers go out to Eugenio Velez and his family. Hang in there, Count Chocula. Humm baby!

Butch's LA-LA Road Trip

Just a quick jaunt down the ol' I-5. A run to Zankou, a calzone from Damiano's, apple caramel cheese pie from Claim Jumper, and a little place called Chavez Ravine, where the smog is thick, parking is terrible, and the hot dogs are overpriced.

Friday, September 18th
Giants 8, Hated Ones 4
WP: Howry (2-6); LP: Troncoso (4-4)
HR: SF - Velez (5), Sandoval (22), Rowand (15); LA - Ramirez (19), Furcal (8)

Around the eighth is when it happens. It could be any time after the Do-yers fail to score late in a game they’re trailing to their hated rivals at home, but usually, it’s the eighth when it happens. A crowd that’s been all too willing to sit idly by and let the Giants and their fans enjoy the run of the house suddenly turns into a rabid beast.

Perhaps they’ve been waiting patiently for the inevitable comeback by the hometown nine. After all, this is a club that leads the world in comeback victories, and Andre Ethier has been a one-man walk-off highlight reel — with multiple video testimonials to that effect playing throughout the game.

Perhaps alcohol has been accumulating in their bloodstream ever since they got to their buddy’s place after work and ripped into that 30-pack of Natty Light. They got lost on the way down Sunset and ended up parked in some godforsaken corner of the lot after getting ripped off for parking — which you can do for free if you know your way around. The walk to the stadium left them winded and their buzzes killed, so the first thing they did once they got inside was pound another beer.

Perhaps they only just got settled into their seats after arriving in the bottom of the sixth with over-hyped Dodger Dogs and whack knock-off garlic fries cradled in their arms. The argument over their seats with the family that’s been in them for the first six innings didn’t help their adjustment to the game’s tempo. They only managed to get their game faces on in time to see Man-Ram strike out for the second time.

That’s when I cheer on my team: “Yeah, Serg!”

They turn around and glare. “Who told this guy he could sit there and wear the wrong shirt and say the wrong things?”

Non-confrontation is my policy of choice, and it’s because of the history I have with the fans of the Hated Ones. For the most part, they’re like anyone else: they like baseball, they like their team, and they want them to win, and good for you if you come out to support the other team because that’s what makes America great! They may be slightly more ignorant than your average Giants fan, but that has more to do with them being from Los Angeles than it does with their baseball allegiances.

But there is an element out there that the team would be ashamed to call their fans. These are the most vile and putrid types who care nothing for the game or its rich history or things like common decency and honor in defeat. They are the ones who throw food, hurl unprovoked insults in your direction, threaten physical violence just for looking them in the eye, get up in your grill and scream F-bombs, tell you to “go back to Frisco with the rest of the gays,” and if you’re really unlucky, they’re the ones who stab you, take your money, and leave you to die in the parking lot. (This has actually happened twice, but one of those times, the Giants fan was shot.)

People wonder why I continue to return to this place of eternal damnation and filth, with no leg room for a man of my stature and no respect for the most basic tenets of our society’s rules of engagement, and more importantly, why I insist on going alone. First off, I go alone because the friends and fellow fans I used to drag along with me have long since been scared off by the treatment they receive by association — that or they’ve been scared off by one or more of my many baseball-triggered breakdowns, which have an uncommon knack for occurring at Chavez Ravine.

As for why I keep coming back, it’s because this is the gauntlet with which we are presented as Giants fans. This is our rivalry, and it’s played out in two houses. To know the struggle from only one perspective would diminish the experience. If I were a Red Sox fan, I would take pride in a sojourn to the Bronx for a showdown with the Yankees. If I were a North-sider from Chi-town, Busch Stadium would be a yearly destination. But I’m neither of those things. I’m a Giants fan. This is my battlefield.

Come get some.

Butch’s BTW

Today’s BTW is devoted to two superstars of the game:

Gino Velez stayed hot at the dish and continues to make a case for himself when the club starts to think about next year’s starting eight. As was noted elsewhere, he came within one Andre Ethier diving catch of the first cycle I’ve ever seen live, and he set the game off on the proper tone with a smash off Vicente Padilla, who’s given the G-Men fits in the past.

The Giants bullpen won this game. Entering a tie game in the fifth, the relief corps tossed 4.2 scoreless and struck out Manny Ramirez twice. Jeremy Affeldt picked up his Major-League-leading 31st hold — whatever a hold is — and “Beach Boy” Brian Wilson put the cherry on top with a mercifully quick ninth.

Quick shout out to the Kung Fu Panda, who went yard to give the club an early lead. His first-pitch jack was out of there faster than I could say, “Get up!”

Stat of the Night

Coming into tonight’s game, the Giants were hitting .247 and averaging 3.6 runs per game on the road. At the Cove? They’re at .267 and scoring 4.5 rpg. Thanks, Haft!

Quote of the Night

"I have to take him out to dinner, I guess.” - Fred Lewis, after Manny Ramirez grossly misplayed Lewis’ pinch-hit, game-winning double in the sixth

Saturday, September 19th
Hated Ones 12, Giants 1
WP: Garland (11-11); LP: Penny (3-1)
HR: LA - Belliard GS (9), Kemp (25), Loney (13), DeWitt (2)

I tried not to smile when Man-Ram straight dropped Gino’s well-struck drive in the top of the first. I tried not to smile, but I think I did anyway. I let the Devil in, and he paid me back ten fold, well, twelve fold really. The minute Ronnie Belliard’s slam settled into the Do-yer bullpen, I settled in to a long afternoon with my portable radio, listening in as my Trojan football team fumbled and threw away a gimme game a short 1140 miles away.

The abysmal second half combined with the events playing out on the field in front of me to create a ceaseless rain of body blows that on any other day would’ve filled me with rage to the point that I erupted, with bad consequences all around. But today, I was sedated by a force beyond my control. I went to my happy place and stayed there, and I avoided the worst of the doldrums.

It’s just not healthy to get too worked up over these things once they’re done. It’s all well and good to get hyped up before a game, during the game, up until the final play, but once the results are in, there’s nothing anybody can do about it, and no amount of pointless aggression is going to change the score, much as we wish it were so sometimes. Much as we wish it were so.

I got to watch and hear the seasons of my ball club and my alma mater go down in flames within the same three-hour span. But I’ve had worse days, days I’m loathe to recall, days I’ve considered doing worse things than cursing out a fan of The Other Team. I’d rather think of tomorrow. I’ll have a pretty good view of Timmy as he takes the bump for another round with our SoCal counterparts. I like our chances, even against Randy Wolf.

One thing I will get all Negative Nancy about is leg room. How is it that I could be so cramped last night, only to move one row back today and have a luxurious amount of space to maneuver my tree-stump knees? Is there some drastic difference between rows G and H of the Loge level? When they put the new seats in a few years back, did they get cheap with the limb space in favor of more seats, more money, more Manny?

Greedy bastards. I’d like to see them “enjoy” a game in my shoes. Size 13.5, btw.

Butch’s BTW

Once again, attention must be paid to the little silver linings, without which games like this would suck altogether way too much donkey knob.

So props to Buster “Parker” Posey for collecting your first big league hit. I hope one day I can be glad to say I was there to see it, cause it was the only thing worth sticking around for after the first inning, at least from the whole, you know, Giant perspective.

Comeback of the year honors go to Joe Martinez, but the runner-up is the man he replaced in today’s game. Randy Johnson got in his first live work since July 5th, and looked more than a little shaky. But he proved a point. He wasn’t done. You can talk all you want about disappointments and overpaid athletes, but the guy had 8 wins before he went on the trainer’s table, and I’ll gladly pay him $1M per. After all, that seems to be the going rate for W’s in MLB these days. Check this out and do the math yourself. (Note the Giants right smack dab in the middle of the pack, just in case anybody’s wondering if they could be spending more... They could. A lot more.)

Franny Watch

Kevin Frandsen should start every game against the Hated Ones. He obviously gets it up to play them, and it’s not hard to imagine why, seeing as how he’s a die hard fan of the Orange and Black from way back. Anyway, kid got his first AB since last week against this very same Other Team, when he collected his season’s first RBI with a ringing double.

Today’s appearance didn’t turn out quite as well, but the kid got himself an opposite field knock and lifted that average all the way up to .167. I’m sure it’s not the season he would have predicted and certainly not the season he could have hoped for going into spring training with a legit shot at the cornerstone, but such is baseball, and such is life.

I don’t know what will become of him after this season, but I truly hope he’s enjoying himself and not taking this all too seriously, ‘cause there are a billion and one kids out there who’d give their left nut to be where he’s standing. A lot of them are bigger, more athletic, and even more gifted than he is, but the one thing he has that no one can touch and no one can teach is drive. That tells me we haven’t seen the last of him, with the Giants, or without.

Stat(s) of the Day

In case you were wondering, this defeat marked the largest margin of victory for the Hated Ones over your San Francisco Giants since a 16-4 shellacking during the 100-win 2003 campaign.

We al remember his late-inning heroics in the 2001 World Series, but Randy Johnson's last regular-season relief appearance came on July 18 of that year at San Diego, when he struck out 16 in the completion of a suspended game.

Quote of the Day

"It starts right with me and this is where it stops, right here... I'm not doing a good enough job making points on how we win.” - Pete Carroll

Sunday, September 20th
Hated Ones 6, Giants 2
WP: Wolf (11-6); LP: Lincecum (14-6)
HR: SF - Torres 2 (5); LA - Ethier (31)

I don’t have the stat right in front of me, and I don’t expect to have the time to look it up, but I can’t recall the last time the Giants scored a first-inning run in all three games of a series. I also can’t remember the last time they opened two games in the same series with a leadoff home run. Furthermore, I can’t pinpoint in my memory the last time the Giants’ leadoff hitter collected two dongs in the same game. To put the icing on this bad boy, I’m willing to bet that a Giants leadoff hitter has never accounted for his team’s entire offensive output with two solo jacks — at least not since that leadoff hitter was Brett Butler. All of these things happened in Sunday’s game. None of them could prevent the meaningful portion of the 2009 season from finally, at long last, coming to a close.

A lot of that is due to the fact that the Do-yers are just plain good. They’ve got talented hitters up and down the lineup, a serviceable starting staff, and a stout bullpen that’s been the cornerstone of their success all year. (It’s the only pen in the majors with an ERA lower than the Giants’, but it’s also logged the second-most innings in the league.) They hit for power, they hit for average, they bunt guys over, they steal bases, they catch the ball... well, everyone but Manny... and they have that aura of knowing how to win whatever game you throw their way.

Unfortunately for the forces of good in the universe, the Giants didn’t throw much of any game at their hated rivals over the final two games of what could have been a season-salvaging series. After a strong finish to Game 1, our boys came out flat and lifeless, particularly the starters, who — including the first two games in Arizona — have failed to make it out of the fifth inning for an entire five-game rotation. Brad Penny looked like he was more concerned with his pitch count and the Do-yer faithful than actually, you know, getting guys out. And after a typically dominant couple innings, Timmy faded quickly in the mid-80s temps and grueling sun of the smog-infested L.A. basin.

Lincecum’s struggle to adapt in warm climes seems like a trend the club would have a vested interest in curtailing. I’d recommend a yearly trip to the tropics to build up his heat tolerance after spending his first 22 years in the chilly Pacific Northwest and pitching his home games at the Cove. If this team continues to score runs at this anemic pace, they’ll need every quality start they can get out of their rotation, and any weakness will be amplified tenfold.

Speaking of anemia... This had to be one of the most painful pair of games a Giants fan has ever had to sit through, but because the home team had both contests in hand by the third inning, we were spared the usual brunt of Chavez Ravine aggression toward anything orange (see Game 1 notes). There’s nothing like a blowout victory and a hapless opponent to turn 53,000 agitated Angelenos into putty for Nancy Bee and her Organ of Doom. The guy they have doing a karaoke version of “Don’t Stop Believing” in the middle of the eighth certainly helps to lighten the mood.

Of course, the kid-glove treatment I received could have more to do with the price of admission in my seating area than the general attitude of opposing fans. I s’pose when you pay $70 a ducket, it’s easier to keep your cool since that’s too much change to waste on getting tossed for being a jackass. It really is shocking how much tickets are going for these days at other parks. In case you ever find yourself bitching and moaning about Mr. Neukom and the cost of seeing baseball (COSB) at AT&T, have a look at the price points for Do-yer Stadium.

Stat of the Day

Randy Winn extended his career-best errorless streak to 200 games but also extended his career-worst homerless drought to 453 at-bats.

Quote of the Day

“You can tell by the look on my face I'm not really happy about my outing and the way I let the team down." - Lincecum, owning it like a ten-year vet

Series debrief

Driving back to my friend’s place after Friday night’s game, I did a little opp research and turned on the Do-yers AM affiliate for the postgame wrap. My first observation, and one that came within moments of flipping on the radio: These guys suck. Honestly, is this the best breakdown crew for a team with Vin Scully’s name on the press box? My second observation: The Hated Ones are going nowhere in the postseason.

I listened for about five minutes as the hosts of the show fielded questions from fans about their team’s postseason rotation. Who should go first? Who should go in Game Two? Do you play match-ups or do you go on gut instinct? What would Torre do?

It struck me that they don’t know. They don’t know who would start Game One of a postseason series! This is a team leading their division by five with twelve to play, the epitome of cruising, a team that can afford to align its rotation any way it likes, and they have no idea who their frontline starter would be.

I can’t say that I blame them. With Chad Billingsley quickly falling to pieces, this staff lacks a credible ace and even a serviceable two-man. Matched against a powerhouse like Philly and their one-two of Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels or the Cards and the deadly Adam Wainwright-Chris Carpenter combo, even a team with as many offensive threats as the Do-yers boast doesn’t stand a chance unless it can match the level of play at the center of attention.

It is truly a shame that the Giants lack the consistent offense to get them into a short series with one of those teams. I think they could hang with either one of them.

The Big Payback

Series of the year, game of the year, hit of the year, not necessarily in that order.

Friday, August 28th
Giants 2, Rockies 0
WP: Lincecum (13-4); LP: Jimenez (12-10); S: Wilson (31)
HR: SF - Sandoval (20)

If there’s one player the Giants can’t afford to lose, it’s Tim Lincecum. If there’s one more, it’s Pablo Sandoval. They needed both of them to win this one. They’ll need Panda to win the next two. No doubt about it now. They have to sweep, and they’ve set out to do just that.

Yeah, of course they need to do better with situational hitting. Tell me something I don’t know. It’s as if by writing and talking about it incessantly, folks think they can actually change the status quo. Do they seriously think Carney Lansford, Shawon Dunston, Roberto Kelly, and every other hitting instructor in the dugout hasn’t reamed every man on the roster about this at one point or another? They probably bitch and moan about it all the time. Eventually, we have to accept that this team is chock full of free-swinging pine tar gamblers. They see the ball, they hit the ball. Sometimes they make 27 quiet outs, sometimes they don’t.

That said, it looks as though Gino Velez has righted the ship to some extent, though it makes me smile to think of a guy who’s been up in the Show less a month righting the ship. Truth is, he’d have to spontaneously combust to return to the level he was playing at in the weeks after he got the call.

My inner child smiled a bit when starting catcher pro tempore Eli Whiteside nailed Troy “Hometown Boy” Tulowitzki not once, but twice while trying to steal second base. I’ll admit, I have no idea why I hate the man known as “Tulo,” but he seems to have replaced Matt Holliday as my least favorite Rocky. Maybe it’s the cheer they do for him at Coors. Maybe it’s his cocky home run trot. Maybe it’s just his ass face. Whatever it is, guy bugs is the point, and Whiteside flashed some serious skills that made me forget that Bengie Molina’s still riding the pine.

While Matt Cain’s gone winless since July, Ubaldo Jimenez has been the ace of my fantasy staff. The decision to start him against the Giants was not a hard one to make, particularly after their abysmal performance against him in Colorado in his previous start. But if you don’t mind my saying, it worked out pretty well for all those concerned. The G-Men got the W, Jimenez didn’t get lit up too much, and nobody got hurt. The only better scenario would’ve been eight shutout innings from Jimenez and a ninth inning walk-off victory against the bullpen.

Once again, the Giants recover within 24 hours of a demoralizing defeat and add to the legend of 2009: The Team That Wouldn’t Stay Down.

Stat of the Night

This marked the sixth time Lincecum has pitched at least eight scoreless innings this season. No other pitcher has done that more than three times.

Quote of the Night

"You want to get that game one, then go for tomorrow, then the sweep. Obviously it's tough to sweep a team, but right now is the time to do it, and if we can do that, we can just get a little momentum going." - Brian Wilson, who picked up save #31

Saturday, August 29th
Giants 5, Rockies 3
WP: Zito (9-11); LP: Marquis (14-9); S: Wilson (32)
HR: COL - Hawpe (19); SF - Sandoval (21)

Barry Zito got a curtain call. By now you know that is not a typo. It’s been the talk of the town since he walked off the field in the top of the ninth after surrendering what could have been his first shutout since 2003.

Updating previously-reported stats, ZIto is 4-2 with a 1.77 ERA since the All-Star break. Is that line good enough for $5,000 a pitch? Of course not, but at least it doesn’t suck.

The patience of Giants fans has been tested over the past three years by Peter Magowan’s $126 million impulse buy. (Funny how he only splurged on guys named Barry.) Only now are we witnessing the potential of the stoner with a curveball who left UC-Santa Barbara after his sophomore year and finished up his collegiate career at another party school, USC. To say that I’m rooting for Mr. Zito would be a drastic understatement.

Two years ago, in the Summer of 2007, I attended a three-game series at Chavez Ravine, as I’ve done every year since returning to the place where thing make sense (every year but last year, when something more important got in the way). Zito won the rubber match with seven strong innings, and lost in the postgame haze, I stuck around outside the gates with the autograph hounds.

At the start of the season, I’d bought a new home jersey complete with the All-Star patch and the number of the Giants’ big free-agent acquisition, my fellow Trojan, Barry Zito. Just like the decision to hang around in hostile territory after dark, my choice of jersey was made in a haze. It just made sense at the time. It made even more sense when I found myself wearing it in the parking lot waiting for players to emerge from the clubhouse and struggling to recognize them in street clothes.

Zito came out last and was swarmed immediately. A crowd of twenty to thirty men in their late teens to early fifties, all carrying Sharpies and 8x10 glossies of Zito in action — many of them taken while he was with the A’s — followed him like a pack of rabid dogs to the car he’d driven to the game. He was gracious and signed for everybody, even chatting up the guys who engaged him.

Eventually, he had to stop in the middle of the lot as the crowd got too thick, and I squeaked to the front of the pack. I borrowed the silver pen of a guy with whom I’d struck up an earlier conversation over a cigarette, took the jersey off my back, and passed both to the 126 Million Dollar Man. He thanked me for some kind words about his performance and signed the vertical line of the 7 in his number. I got the jersey back, returned the pen to its owner, and watched him sign something for every single person in that crowd.

Maybe the scene would’ve played out differently if he’d been lit up by the Hated Ones that night, but I don’t think so. The raindrops just seem to roll right off this guy.

The postscript to that story is I’ve had the jersey hanging in my closet untouched ever since and still haven’t procured another home jersey to replace it. Even without Zito’s autograph, I would’ve retired it anyway. That same night, I was struck in the shoulder by a hot dog thrown by a disgruntled fan of the Hated Ones. The attack left mustard stains on my jersey, but I didn’t stress the mess. In fact, I wore it as a badge of honor.

Butch’s Btw

Yes, my sphincter was just as tight as yours while the Rockies rallied in the ninth, but if you think anything’s gonna come easy for this team, you’ve got another thing coming.

Stat of the Night

Zito struck out the side to start a game for the first time since July 29, 2001, against the Kansas City Royals.

Quote of the Night

"I don't think it's gonna be a good night. I'm tired." - Pablo Sandoval, just before he crushed the 50th Splash Hit by a Giant despite playing through a strained right calf and flu-like symptoms

Sunday, August 30th
Giants 9, Rockies 5
WP: Medders (3-1); LP: Betancourt (1-3)
HR: COL - Helton (13), Tulowitzki (24); SF - Rentería GS (4)

Revenge is a dish best served cold. I prefer it with a healthy portion of karma on the side. Edgar Renteria’s grand slam in the bottom of the seventh had plenty of both.

Forget the inability to score with runners at second and third with nobody out in the sixth. Forget working only 23 pitches out of Jason Hammel the first time through the lineup. Forget Ryan Spilborghs and 14 innings of frustration at Coors Field. Edgar made that all go away with one swing of the bat, and if your head didn’t hit the ceiling when it happened, either you’re not a Giants fan, or you were standing outside. I can tell you this much: If you were watching that game, there’s no way you weren’t on your feet.

Among all the heroes to emerge from this improbable season before Sunday, Renteria was almost an afterthought. Maligned by fans for his lofty contract before he’d even had a chance to step into the batter’s box, he’s quietly been a leader in the clubhouse. Recently marginalized by the revelation of bone spurs in his elbow, which will require off-season surgery, he’s responded with his best ABs of the season. Disrespected on a daily basis by the likes of Damon Bruce and Mychael Urban on the 50K-Watt blowtorch, the man finally stuck it up their collective ass.

What a way to end an August in which the Giants went 16-12 and experienced every fathomable emotion and faced an endless string of must-win situations. Much has already been written about the tremendous turnaround of the past week and the miraculous finish to this game in particular, and I won’t add to the redundancy except to say that of all my years as a baseball fan and a fan of the Orange and Black, I’ve never felt as funny as I do right now. There have been many good years, a couple prolonged runs of success, players with exceptional talents, a new ballpark, and several South Bay ballpark initiatives, but for the first time in my adult life I feel as though, with this team, anything is possible.

That said, there’s still one long month of stressful games to negotiate, but after surviving a week like this, Giants fans should be ready for anything.

Some game notes:

• Give it up to Jeremy Affeldt, the workhorse of the Giants’ bullpen, who got himself into a tight spot in the eighth but was man enough to get himself out of it. Hopefully an appearance like this can help him forget his one poor stretch of the season and propel him the rest of the way.

• How ‘bout that Ryan Rohlinger? I’m not discontinuing my membership in the Franny Fan Club, but that was one crucial hit for a almost-rook still searching for a batting average. And how classic was it to watch him relive the entire AB with Roberto Kelly once he got to first. I can hear Roberto now, “Nice hit, kid. Now shut up and pay attention.”

• The wait is never a long one for a visiting player to look awful goofy trying to defend right field at 24 Willie Mays Plaza. Even when an out is recorded, the play usually looks so bad it makes Giants fans appreciate guys like Randy Winn and Nate Schierholtz even more.

Stat of the Day: Former Giants Edition

Rockies backstop and past San Francisco fan favorite Yorvit Torrealba singled in the eighth to extend his career-best hitting streak to 10 games.

Quote of the Day: Full Circle Edition

"If you have ambitions of playing baseball in October, when you get knocked down you've got to stand back up.” - Rockies Manager Jim Tracy

Series debrief

There’s a lot to be said for chemistry. Can a team win without the players going out for coffee? Sure it can, and Giants fans need look back no further than 2002 to know that’s the truth. If you’ve got the talent top to bottom of a team like the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals or Phillies, you can live with a little bad blood in the clubhouse. When you’re scratching and clawing to stay in the playoff race on a team playing far beyond it’s career stat lines, chemistry is everything.

A team of haters would have imploded after a game like the Giants experienced a little less than one week ago in Colorado. A clubhouse full of prima donnas would have eaten itself alive. A chartered plane full of spoiled brats, no matter how talented, no matter how overpaid, would have folded the season and made reservations for Pebble on October the 5th.

This team rebounded with a resiliency only a tight-knit brotherhood of professionals can produce. They trumped everyone’s expectations once again and shot themselves back into the pennant hunt like a Saturn 5 rocket.

P.S. Brian Sabean just pulled a Brad Penny out of his ass to lock down that five hole in the rotation, so it looks like the MadBum faithful will have to wait ‘til next year. Meantime, Butch is ticked because he figured off days would allow the No. 5 spot to be skipped twice before his trip to L.A. for the final series with the Hated Ones. That would line up Lincecum, Zito and Cain to pitch those three contests, which still might go a long way toward determining the season’s endgame. With this addition the starters for the L.A. trip should be Sanchez, Penny and Lincecum. Not bad, but we just caught a glimpse of what the big three can do in a short series.

Hangovers & Hated Ones

It’s okay, Chicken Little! You can put away the noose! The sky isn’t really falling... yet.

Monday, August 10th
Hated Ones 4, Giants 2
WP: Kuroda (5-5); LP: J. Sanchez (5-10); S: Broxton (25)
HR: SF - Ishikawa (8); Molina (14)

One pitch. That’s all it takes to ruin a pitcher’s day.

Jonathan Sanchez threw that pitch to Matt Kemp in the top of the fourth, and Kemp cleared the sacks. That J. Sanchez survived to pitch a stellar fifth is testament to his newfound confidence. But for one inning, it was the Sanchy we all know and try to love: teetering on the brink of a full-on physical and mental breakdown.

One inning. That’s all it takes.

To all the squakboxes who like to quack about the Giants’ lack of pop: They’ve been putting on a power display of late, and how much do they have to show for it? I love watching Ishi and Bengie go deep as much as the next guy — a bit more seeing as how they’re on my fantasy team. But if Fred Lewis — or anybody, for that matter — is on base at the time, a home run is a lot more effective.

In a bit of news that’s hard to categorize, the Hated Ones announced No. 1 starter Chad “Barbara” Billingsley will miss at least one start with a sore leggy-poo and be replaced this turn by journeyman a-hole Jeff Weaver. Here’s hoping Chad’s got some good painkillers and that he’s out for a wee bit longer than anticipated, and also that someone talks a little s**t to Weaver during Wednesday’s game.

Oh yeah, stay hot Eugenio Velez.

Stat of the Night (Road team edition)

The Dodgers’ 31-12 record against the N.L. West this season is the best intra-division mark in the Show.

Quote of the Night

"This is not the way you want to start a series but it's not desperation time. We need to relax and play our game." - Bruce Bochy, Zen Master

Tuesday, August 11th
Hated Ones 9, Giants 1
WP: Wolf (6-6); LP: Martinez (2-1)
HR: LA - Ramirez (13); Kemp (16)

One play. That’s all it takes to turn the momentum of a game.

I’m sitting here, still thinking about it. If he’d let it go through, Velez would’ve grabbed the ball right on the bag and had an easy turn of two. Instead, he made a circus play that would’ve made it to the top of the Web Gems... had he not knuckled one to Gino, who conveniently dropped the dime. And the Boys of Summer were off and rolling again.

You have to feel for Joe Martinez. He was acting on instinct, and he made a tremendous play. But as he knows all too well, the game can be cruel. And so can Manny Ramirez. Seriously, when Casey Blake is “defending” him in the five hole, why would anyone pitch to this guy?

Speaking of ManRam... Don’t know if anyone else noticed, but there was a pretty thick cloud hanging over the Cove on Tuesday night, and it wasn’t the “marine layer”. For years, we learned to live with our own embarrassment of a left fielder because he was our embarrassment and when you strip away all the hype and the dope, he was still the greatest hitter many of us have ever seen live. We heard the Think Blue Mafia chant “Bar-roid” and “Barry Sucks” — even when Bonds wasn’t playing! They booed him, they taunted him, and through it all, we defended him because he was electric.

Pot, meet kettle.

Btw, I have to admit, I couldn’t deal in the 7th. The mediocrity was simply too much to take. The fact that it was coming from Brandon Medders made less sense than the endless string of hits he allowed. This guy has dealt all year, but for one inning, he looked like garbage. But one inning is all it takes, sometimes.

Stat of the Night

Eugenio “Babe” Velez’s 16-game hitting streak ended with an 0-for-3, but he made the most productive of the Giants 27 outs, driving in Fred Lewis with a 3rd-inning groundout. He had one last chance to collect a knock in the 8th, but he was hit by a pitch that first bounced in the dirt. During the streak, Velez hit .420 (29-for-69) with three homers and 11 RBIs. It was the Giants' second-longest streak of the season, trailing only a 17-game run by Aaron Rowand.

Wednesday, August 12th
Giants 4, Hated Ones 2 (10)
WP: Wilson (4-5); LP: Mota (3-4)
HR: SF - Uribe (5)

You always hear the cliché when someone’s talking about another sport: “You don’t want the refs deciding the game.” Kobe says it about basketball. Mike Nolan used to bitch about it in (American) football. And just this week, Tiger mouthed off about the officials at a golf tournament. Read that last sentence again, and bear in mind Mr. Woods won the match.

My point is, you don’t often hear that excuse in baseball. Because 99.9% of the time, umpires effectively render themselves invisible. Think about the sheer number of calls made by a four-man crew over the course of a single game. Now think about how often you actually see a call worth questioning, even after rewinding and replaying your DVR recording of the play at least fifty times at six different speeds.

That said, the umpires almost gave this one to the Hated Ones, and luckily I’m not an employee of MLB or any of its franchises, so I can say that without getting fined. On no less than three separate occasions, this crew absolutely and unequivocally blew the call.

The first time, it cost the Giants a rally. The final time, it cost Tim Lincecum a complete game victory and on any given Wednesday could have cost the Giants the game. The time in between, it added insult to injury after one of the scrappier tiffs this rivalry has produced of late. It got so bad out there, the Giants had their manager ejected... twice. (That has to be a first for Ron Wotus. I’ll have the research team check it out.)

A quick note on the bench-clearing petting zoo: Russell Martin doesn’t have to prove how hard he is. He’s a Major League catcher. That should be enough. Instead, he had to wave his d**k around in Panda’s face, and Panda didn’t do nothin’ to nobody. So back off, Junior, or you’re goin’ on the list right under Casey Blake.

And now a note or two about the baseball:

Redemption, like revenge, is a dish that is best served cold, and it tasted awfully sweet when Juan Uribe lit up Guillermo Mota on an 10th inning 0-2 mistake to send everybody home googly eyed and grinning. In a lot of ways, it had to be Juan Uribe.

This is the same Juan Uribe who left seven men on base earlier in the game. The same Juan Uribe who fouled off a hanging Mota breaking ball earlier in the same AB. The same Juan Uribe who made what could have been a costly an error on an easy bloop in the top of the inning.

Looking back at this semi-disastrous homestand and taking into account the Giants’ position in the playoff race, this was a huge moment. Biggest of the season. The lead was blown, but the Giants were still alive. Still alive in the Wild Card. Still alive in the West. Brian Wilson just laid down the law with four strikeouts. If something was going to happen, it had to happen soon. As in now.

This was a must-win game before the first pitch, but it became an absolutely positively have to win or you can kiss your season goodbye kinduva game right around the time Uribe rounded third and everybody took a moment to think about what we would’ve been facing if the Hated Ones prevailed... Swept by the rivals at home, headed on a brutal 11-game trip, to the East Coast, in the dog days.

I felt these same emotions surging through my bloodstream once before this season. It was a warm May night in Seattle. Call this movie Unlikely Hero Redux.

P.S. Anybody get goose bumps when Wilson struck out Casey Blake to start the 10th? Much better revenge than plunking him. And just think, if they’d won this in nine, we would’ve missed a classic AB.

Stat of the Day

Before Freddy Sanchez’s RBI single in the fifth, the Giants had been 0-for-14 with RISP in the series. They were a whopping 1-for-18 by the end of it.

Quote of the Day

"I was worried about running out of managers today." - Bruce Bochy, who was ejected in the second inning (Interim manager and Bench Coach Ron Wotus was ejected in the ninth.)

Series debrief

Giants pitching shut down their rivals’ offense for 22 innings over the three-game series. In the other five innings, the San Francisco staff allowed 15 runs — 13 in three innings through the first two games.

The big inning has been a Giant killer all year, and the Hated Ones are built for crooked numbers. Their lineup is solid from top to bottom, and they jump on every mistake you make and every gift you hand out.

The Giants were far too generous with their charity in the opening two games, but no one can fault their valiant performance against a 13-man squad on Wednesday. Sure, you need to score with the bases loaded and nobody out, but it’s hard to complain about some good ol’ fashioned drama as evidenced at 24 Willie Mays Plaza this week.

I could tell you guys were into it. Wanna know how? Because I still heard you cheering in the bottom of the ninth on Tuesday night:

“Beat L-A! Beat L-A!”

Brain Fart

Wtf?

Friday, August 7th
Redlegs 10, Giants 5
WP: Weathers (3-3); LP: Wilson (3-5; BS 5)
HR: SF - Molina (12), Velez (2)

This is one of those games you forget about quickly lest ye lose focus on the matter at hand. But it flashes through your mind just as quickly in that late-September moment when you realize you're going to miss out on the promised land of October in San Francisco by one or two games.

This game was ours. We should have owned it for nine innings. Instead, we sub-leased it to a surrogate team for the final two. They're a scrappy bunch, the Redlegs, and they've been suffering, and you never want to awaken a scrappy team, especially in the first game of a series.
The way we look at it, Brian Wilson and the bullpen just gave up the ghost. The way Reds fans they look at it, they just beat Tim Lincecum.

Did I mention the Hated Ones blew a ninth-inning lead and lost in extras? This could have been moving day. It should have been moving day. Instead, we're back into a tie with the Rocks — who just won't go away — and still staring at a 6 1/2 game deficit in the West.

Now that the anger is out of my system, some shout outs:

Stay hot, "Gino" Velez. (Thanks to Mychael Urban for the nickname.) The bat speed he displayed on that lawn dart of a round-tripper made me think of Barry Bonds... circa 1987.

Bengie Molina just missed a big night, hitting three balls that would've been out of a lot of parks. Fortunately, one of them managed to scrape the fence and get out of ours.

Tim Lincecum continues to impress. Even without his best stuff, he bends but does not break. Rolen's double was the only decent hit the Reds got off of him. He didn't have the strikeout touch, but Matt Cain's resurgence should have proven by now that pitching works just as well as throwing.

Dagnabbit, anger returning, Butch turning into Hulk...

How in the name of everything holy did the Reds score five runs in the ninth inning while hitting only one ball out of the infield?! Bonus question: Did anyone else hear circus music in the back of their mind while watching that agonizing display of mediocrity?

Quote of the Night

"We kind of let that game get away. We didn't allow our defense to make plays behind us, and then we had some faux pas on the field... This was a game we should have had in the bag in the sense of how we usually play." - Jeremy Affeldt

Saturday, August 8th
Giants 4, Redlegs 2
WP: Zito (8-10); LP: Arroyo (10-11); S: Wilson (28)
HR: SF - Velez (3); Molina (13)

Nice recovery, boys. That's a sign of a winning team if I ever saw one. But if this keeps up, we may have to rename the site "Unicorn Lovefest."

Seriously, the Z-Man is dealing right now, and while it's still not $5K per pitch dealing — seriously, does anyone else realize that may be what we have to pay Lincecum in three years? — it's not freakin' bad given what this guy's been through in a Giants uni. And if you don't believe me, check the stats, then refer to Zito's lifetime line, and tell me we shouldn't look forward to more of the same down the stretch...

Post All-Star break (2009):
3-1, 31.0 IP, 27 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 9 BB, 25 K, 2.32 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, .239 BAA

Post All-Star break (career):
73-37, 909.0 IP, 749 H, 382 R, 347 ER, 362 BB, 688 K, 3.44 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .224 BAA

How you like 'dem apples? Now, at the risk of "jinxing" something that has absolutely nothing to do with what I write on the Internet, have a look at these numbers:

Postseason (career w/ A's)
4-3, 44.1 IP, 34 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 17 BB, 33 K, 3.25 ERA, 1.15 WHIP

With Timmy and Matty topping off a four-man rotation and Barry Z mixed in between, we're talking a lethal three-man punch in a playoff series. I'm just sayin', and I'm not the only one.

Btw, stay f**king hot, "Ricky" Velez — thanks to Baggs for another new nickname.

The same goes for Bengie "Molasses" Molina, the new rising star of the Giants offense — and a three-year vet of my fantasy team. Imagine if he'd been hitting like this since May. Unfortunately for the naysayers, looks like his recent run is re-cementing his spot in the cleanup role.

My take on lineups is this: after the first inning, the order's all shot to hell anyway. What you need is diversity in all three sections of the lineup: a rabbit, a professional hitter, and a guy who can mash. Obviously, when the pitcher's spot comes around, the proverbial wrench arrives, but you get the idea. Unfortunately, the Giants just don't have the everyday talent to field a lineup like that. But as with the weather in New England, wait a while...

I'll just say this about Fox's exclusive rights to Saturday afternoon: %$#@*! That said, it was a wonderful opportunity to rediscover the beauty of baseball on the radio. I feel like I saw the game without seeing a pitch, and that's due to the fine work of the Giants broadcast crew.

Stat of the Day

Jeremy Affeldt picked up his 24th hold, good enough for second in the majors just behind the Cubs' Carlos Marmol (25).

Quote of the Day

"I don't know what happened to him when he left, but he doesn't look like the same guy." - Bob Howry, on Eugenio Velez's return from Triple-A Fresno

Sunday, August 9th
Redlegs 5, Giants 2
WP: Harang (6-13); LP: Cain (12-4); S: Cordero (24)
HR: CIN - Phillips (17); Rosales (4)

Once again, Matt Cain is done in by a bomb and a blast.

Add that to a weak offensive display against a struggling starter, and you've got one of the most embarrassing series defeats of the season, right up there with getting swept by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim near the airport by Disneyland. At least the Halos are a decent team — a division leader at that. Dusty's squad hadn't won a series since the first week of July and hadn't won one on the road since mid-June.

Silver lining: Rowand made a great play before tweaking a hammy and — in a shocking move — allowing himself to be pulled from the game lest the injury worsen. Perhaps he's finally beginning to understand the limits of the human body. I'm sure his family appreciates that.

Stat of the Day

Why pitchers want to play in San Francisco, Reason 976: The two dingers allowed by Matt Cain matched the number of homers he'd surrendered in his previous seven home starts.

Quote of the Day

"It's a series that you think that we should win. We just didn't get it done. Our pitching let us down." - Matt Cain

Series debrief

Yes, they're only 5 1/2 games behind the struggling Dodgers, who are under .500 since the All-Star break. Yes, they're tied for the lead in the Wild Card "Division". Yes, Barry Zito continues to look, well, solid. (Hey, it's a start.) But for only the second time this season, the Giants lost games started by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain in the same rotation cycle.

The other time was during a certain forgettable six-game Southern California roadtrip coming off the first week of the season. Our G-Men dropped six straight in San Diego and L.A., and put a permanent kink in their quest for a Western Division title. If they'd gone 3-3 on thaty trip — with two of those wins at Chavez Ravine — the Giants would be facing a 2 1/2 game deficit in the West.

Okay, so maybe some of the guys were caught looking ahead to the series with the Hated Ones beginning tonight. Can't say that I blame them. With the series in our house and the Hated Ones on a sour stretch, this is gonna be a huge set of games.

I think I felt their plane landing late last night at SFO. A darkness filled the air, and there was no sound. No sound...

Hot to Trot

Used to be the G-Men owned Enron Field. Good to see we're getting back to basics now that the place is named after orange juice.

Monday, August 3rd
Astros 4, Giants 3
WP: Hampton (7-8); LP: Cain (12-3); S: Valverde (13)
HR: HOU - Blum (6), Matsui (5)

Matt Cain’s had a tough time trying to collect his unlucky 13th victory, but nobody can fault him for lack of effort. In his last two outings, he’s turned in a nine-inning shutout of the Bucs and an eight-inning gem against the ‘Stros. The first was spoiled by a non-existent offense; the second by a chip shot and a fluke. In a gimmicky park like this, the team with the most homers will generally prevail, and the home club had more of those on this particular night.

BREAKING NEWS: Eugenio Velez human after all! Of course, he also picked up a pair of hits and scored a run.

We’ve still got at least a week before Nasty Nate returns from his gruesome injury suffered while being a baddass, so the jury’s still out on what the starting outfield will look like when he does. But as much as I love the kid from San Ramon Valley High, the new-and-improved Velez is opening a lot of eyes — mine included. No clue he had this kind of talent, and there’s only so much longer we can go on expecting it not to last.

Here’s a play that got me thinking of a possible solution, and I’m pretty sure the bone spurs in Edgar Renteria’s elbow had nothing to do with it. The guy’s just lost a step... or two, and I’m pretty sure EV could play a little short if his manager asked.

Quote of the Night

“Why not? I gave up 35,000 Big Macs already.” - Matt Cain, who gave up a dinger to Kaz Matsui that clanked off the Chick-Fil-A ad that runs along the screen on the right field foul pole, awarding free chicken sandwiches for anyone with a ticket stub from the game. Last year in St. Louis, The Great Pujols took Cain deep into the Big Mac seats. You can guess what fans got for that.

Stat of the Night

Velez’s BA stands at a blistering .439 during a 10-game hitting streak.

Tuesday, August 4th
Giants 8, Astros 1
WP: Sanchez (5-9); LP: Paulino (2-6)
HR: SF - Sanchez (7), Sandoval (17)

There’s a lot to be said about the awakening of the Giants road offense, and a lot of it has to do with the newest additions to the club, but Jonathan Sanchez deserves some major kudos tonight for picking up his first road victory of the season. Better late than never, right? Don’t look now, but this team’s most dangerous and unpredictable lefty starter is beginning to figure things out.

Getting back to that awakening offense...

How sweet was it for Freddy “Boom-Boom” Sanchez and the Kung Fu Panda to go back-to-back to put the game officially out of reach? I was on the phone with a friend who ended up getting an unexpected earful of nonsensical shouting. By the time I remembered I was s’posed to be contributing to a conversation, I’d nearly blown out her eardrums.

BREAKING NEWS: Eugenio Velez still a robot!

Quote of the Night

“Baseball works in funny ways. You hit the ball hard, that’s what you’re supposed to do, and you don’t get hits. It can happen to anybody. It happened to me. Hopefully the hits will all be at the end of the year.” - Bengie Molina, who collected three hits in a breakout game. As his fantasy owner, I’m hoping for the same thing.

Stat of the Night

Jonathan Sanchez collected an infield hit in the fifth inning to snap out of a horrendous 0-for-40 slump that stretched to June 12 — of last season.

Wednesday, August 5th Giants 10, Astros 6
WP: J. Martinez (2-0); LP: Moehler (7-7)
HR: SF - Whiteside (1) GS; HOU - Pence (14)

Three cheers for Joe Martinez! Not only did he come back from an injury that would’ve sent many a man to permanent obsolescence, but he’s been born again hard, and this team has rallied to his side. Joltin’ Joe’s teammates willed him to victory by overcoming a deficit of more than two runs for the first time since Sept. 20 of last year.

These are the games you need to win if you’re going to make a splash come October, and the Giants finally have the offense to do it. I can’t express how deflating a 3-0 second-inning deficit would’ve looked prior to this week. But with contributions from the new kids on the block and a landmark shot from Babe Whiteside, worry has been replaced with a calm I haven’t felt in a long, long time...

This victory puts the Giants twelve games over for the first time all year — indeed, for the first time in five years! It also marks the first time since Randy Johnson went on the DL that the team won back to back games started by the fourth (J-Sanchez) and fifth (Sadowski/Martinez) starters. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

One final note about this piece of s**t ballpark and I’ll leave it alone: Something has to be done about the grassy knoll in centerfield that should’ve stayed in Dallas. One of these days, somebody’s gonna get seriously hurt, and when that day comes, all the Cassandras like me will be there to say, “I told you so.”

Stat of the Day

Since joining los Gigantes via last week’s trades, F-Sanchez and Donnie Garko have a combined line of 14-for-44 (.318), HR, 3B, 2B, 7 R, 6 RBI.

Series debrief

Regular McCovey Chronicles contributor Grant has a great piece on the trials and tribulations of being a die-hard fan of the Orange and Black. Reading it took me back to a time when all I did was wait for the other shoe to drop, walking around with a scowl on my face after a three-game sweep because the offense only went 2-for-15 with RISP. But let’s face it, after five disappointing seasons that ended without an October and 51 years of frustration piled upon aggravation, it’s high time someone brought a little bit of optimism to this idiom.

I’m typically more than comfortable in a cynical mode and would not hesitate to point out that this team has let us down many times before and could very easily do so again, but I can admit that I’m looking ahead with a smile on my face. After all, we weren’t even supposed to be in this position at this point in this season. Remember when our new Managing General Partner made .500 the benchmark for success in 2009? How easily winning can turn us into spoiled little children.

This is baseball, everybody. It’s not energy independence, comprehensive immigration reform or universal health care. In other words: There are more important things in life for us to fret about. Let’s do ourselves a favor and treat this game for what it is: entertainment. Our happiness should not ebb and flow with Pablo Sandoval’s OPS.

I will now descend from the soap box.

Fear This

Time for blogging is hard to come by, but I make time for my fans — all three of them...

Thrusday, July 30th
Giants 7, Phillies 2
WP: Sanchez (4-9); LP: Lopez (3-1)
HR: SF - Sandoval (16); PHI - Utley (23)

This had all the makings of an important series on so many levels:

The Giants needed to prove they could compete with the defending World Series Champs, a likely Division Series opponent come October.

Barry Zito and Jonathan Sanchez needed to prove they could contribute in a major way down the stretch.

And Pablo Sandoval needed to prove to Charlie Manuel that he should have thought a little harder when selecting his All-Star team. (Okay, so this was probably more important to fans than to Pablo, but I’m sure it crossed his mind.)

Check, check, and... check.

On the 50th anniversary of Willie McCovey’s major league debut, Sandoval took his place in Giants lore with the 49th Splash Hit into the cove named after the wildly popular first bagger — whose retirement was announced to the crowd at my first live game in 1981. They didn’t show a replay of Manuel’s reaction on TV, but I’d love to imagine him accidentally swallowing his gum when Panda made contact.

Meanwhile, Sanchez allowed a first inning run and later shared a little drama with Chase Utley before the All-Star second baseman took him deep. But on the whole, he turned in a strikingly solid performance over 5 2/3 innings.

In the process, Sanchy improved to 4-1 with a 3.26 ERA at 24 Willie Mays Plaza, compared to 0-8 and 6.33 on the road. If he can find a way to get it done in the bottom halves of innings, we might finally see the full package from the most intriguing — and frustrating — arm in the organization.

A quick aside is due to one Eugenio Velez, who stayed hot as a Saharan summer with three more hits and three more RBIs to pad his constantly improving stat line. He and Panda combined to drive in all seven of the Giants’ runs.

If this keeps up, my man crush Nate Schierholtz might find playing time hard to come by when he returns from the DL. But let’s temper our enthusiasm with a dose of reality and remember that many a Giants farm hand has made a splash for a week or two. Sustained brilliance, however, has been harder to come by.

Quote of the Night

"I lost my release point. It was supposed to be [outside]. I didn't try to hit him. I have nothing against him." - Jonathan Sanchez, on his 6th-inning confrontation with Utley

Friday, July 31st
Phillies 5, Giants 1
WP: Lee (8-9); LP: Sadowski (2-4)
HR: PHI - Werth (22)

When Jeremy Affeldt allows a run without getting anybody out, Kung Fu Panda goes 0-for-4 at home, and Merkin Valdez has the best night of any Giants reliever, you’re not going to win that game. Period.

It didn’t help that the G-Men were opposing reigning AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee in his debut with a new team. He was out to make an impression. I imagine a complete game victory should win him some fans in the City of Brotherly Love. I’m sure his prowess with the bat didn’t hurt either.

But the Giants have had trouble with southpaws all year, and I give Lee one bad start at home before Philly turns on him. (Remember, that park is a band box, nothing like the Jake. In other words, he’s gonna have to keep the ball down to be successful.)

While it wasn’t his worst start by a long shot, this may have marked the end of Ryan “The Big” Sadowski’s run in the Show. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that his shoulder acted up in the middle of his fourth loss in as many starts since his whirlwind debut, but it’s just as well. He’s pitched four or less innings in his last three starts, and sure enough, he was banished to Fresno on Saturday morning.

As of now, it’s anybody’s guess who gets the start Wednesday in Houston. My money’s on Joe Martinez, but I’ll admit, it’s a sentimental bet. I’d love to see that kid get a chance to be a part of this playoff hunt after all he’s been through and knowing how much love the other guys in the clubhouse have for him.

As of all reports, rushing MadBum from AA Connecticut is not an option.

Quote of the Night

"It's a little uncomfortable, but you play through uncomfortable things. I played with blood in my brain. I'm not worried at this point." - Ryan Sadowski on his achy shoulder. Sadowski suffered a subdural hematoma in the minor leagues.

Saturday, August 1st
Giants 2, Phillies 0
WP: Lincecum (12-3); LP: Blanton (7-5); S: Wilson (27)

What else can you say? Even when he doesn’t have his A-game, Tim Lincecum still manages to appear dominant. This time, it was against one of the most potent offenses in the Majors.

Timmy lowered his ERA to 2.18, second in the National League to rotation-mate Matt Cain's 2.12. (Update: St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter, who began the season on the DL, just pitched enough innings to qualify for the league lead at 2.10.)

The Freak also struck out eight to increase his Major League-leading total to 191. He’s fanned eight or more in his past 10 starts. That, my friends, is consistency. The changeup he developed last year has turned into his strongest out pitch and could be credited with turning a great pitcher into a legend.

Three cheers for Tim Flannery and his balls of brass for sending Aaron Rowand on Juan Uribe’s shallow fly ball in the fifth. A smart third base coach can win you a game or two over the course of a season, and with Timmy on deck and two outs, this move put Flannery’s game knowledge on full display.

Between his two sacrifice flies tonight and one the previous night, Juan Uribe has been the Giants offense over the past two games. (Just a guess, but I’d say we’ll need more than that to beat a good lefty in Cole Hamels on Sunday.)

The first day of August brought with it an update to the daily packet of statistics issued to the press at each Major League game: a Wild Card rundown. But the fans I encountered at the yard didn’t need a press packet to tell them it’s time to get down to business...

On the way down the ramp as Tony Bennett serenaded the seagulls, fans spontaneously erupted in chants of “Let’s go Giants!” I haven’t felt this kind of energy at the park since the 2002 playoffs. This is exactly what I was talking about when the team returned from Colorado. Keep it up, everybody.

Btw, the Giants registered their 10th home sellout of the season with a paid crowd of 42,694. I have to imagine the Dog Days promotion didn’t have as much to do with that as the Lincecum strikeout deal. But I doubt management is happier with more butts in the seats since many of them got $15 bucks off their duckets thanks to Timmy’s career high 15 Ks Monday night against the Bucs.

Quote(s) of the Night

"You find yourself being a spectator, watching him do what he does. It's fairly difficult to concentrate on every pitch, because he's out there hitting his spots with every pitch that he throws... Then the guy hits one at you and you're like, 'Oh.' " - Aaron Rowand

"It's something San Francisco probably wanted for the last couple of years. We're glad we can show them what we're made of and get baseball back on the map over here." - Brian Wilson

Stat of the Night

Lincecum improved his career record to a 37-13. Tim Hudson (38-12 with the A’s) is the only active Major League pitcher with a better record through his first 50 decisions. Can you imagine where this kid would be if he had a decent offense to support him?

Sunday, August 2nd
Giants 7, Phillies 3
WP: Zito (7-10); LP: Hamels (7-6)
HR: PHI - Rollins (11)

On a day when Barry Zito had to fight to make it through six quality innings, the offense finally stepped up to give him the support he’s desperately lacked:

Rowand played through pain after taking another pitch to another elbow on a high hard one from Joe Blanton on Saturday night. With results like this, I kinda wish the guy was hurting all the time. Of course, that didn’t work out so well last year.

Meanwhile, Freddy Sanchez was almost the goat in his Giants debut after an ill-advised throw allowed the go-ahead run to score in the fourth. But he made his blunder into an afterthought with this blast that made the yard shake and propelled us to a crucial victory. Only in baseball can one witness such a fascinating turn of events.

Stay hot Eugenio Velez.

Haters should take note that Zito now has as many victories this season as his Sunday opponent and 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels.

Quote of the Day

"They just keep pushing at you and pushing at you and manufacture a hit here and there. All of a sudden three or four runs score and you're going, 'What just happened here?' " - Cole Hamels' absolutely dead on balls take on the Giants’ offense

Stat(s) of the Day

The Giants finished the homestand with a 6-1 record and a 1.55 ERA overall, which includes a 1.14 mark for the starting staff (with Cain making only one appearance).

The Orange and Black improved to 37-16 at the Cove, the best home mark in the majors. With 28 games remaining in the City, they’ve already matched their 2008 home victory total.

Series Debrief

As expected, this was definitely the series of the year. With the Hated Ones and Rockies continuing their torrid paces, the Giants needed to win, not split. If they end up reaching the postseason for the first time in six long years, I think we’ll look back at Sunday as one of the crucial victories that put them there.

Allow me to take a moment to invoke an old baseball adage: Good pitching trumps good hitting. That was never more evident than over this weekend, when the Giants’ best-in-the-bigs staff collectively shut down the hottest offense in the league, holding them to 10 runs over four games.

Particularly feeling the burn was Philly’s quartet of power-hitting lefties, who were relatively neutralized all weekend, with the exception of a couple decent games from former Hated One Jayson Werth:

Utley: 3-for-14, HR, RBI, 3 Ks
Howard: 2-for-15, 2B, RBI, 8 Ks
Ibañez: 1-for-10, RBI, K
Werth: 6-for-16, HR, 3 RBI, 2 Ks
Totals: 12-for-55 (.218), 2 HR, 6 RBI, 14 Ks

This should be all the evidence any October-bound team needs to deduce that they do not want to draw the Giants in a short series.

After six years of hopelessness, our team inspires fear. Humm baby!