Early Observations from Section 104

Courtesy of the Butch Husky Estate © 2012

Ten games in. Time for a bunch of irrational and reactionary tweeting about Lincecum sucking out the wrong side of the bong, the Melk Man going Iced Mocha over the last three contests, and the need to lock up Buster Posey into his retirement years.

Or, we could just throw a few bullet points at the white board of life and see what sticks in a month or two. Anything's better than obsessing over Matt Kemp's OPS two weeks into the season.

With that, here are my 10 observations from the first 10 games of the young season...

Game 1 (D-Bags 5, Gigantes 4): We could legitimately focus on Timmy in three of these points, but this game was instantly noteworthy because last year it would have been over after the first inning. This year, there's a little more pop, a little more bop, and a little more je ne sais quoi. This year, they're going to make every game interesting. At least we all can hope they do.

You're a good man, Charlie Manuel.

I'm choosing to ignore recent baseball-related events in Cincinnati. I will expunge them from my brain before I incur any collateral damage. I shall wipe the slate clean and look upon tomorrow as another day. Instead of wallowing in pointless abandon over this horrendous lost weekend, I will roll with the post I've been aiming to write since Thursday night...

This has to do with that little series in Philadelphia and a certain manager's comments afterwards regarding the relative merits and demerits of two young starting pitchers. To provide a frame of reference for the following diatribe, please allow me to introduce you to the studly dudes in that picture there:

About Last Saturday Night...

I didn't invite anyone over, didn't Facebook anybody, didn't go to the bar, didn't pull my brothers and parents together — as it probably should be — didn't answer the phone, didn't respond to texts or emails, didn't communicate with the outside world aside from screaming at ballplayers dancing on a field three thousand miles away, their images recreated on my 47" HDTV. To say that I enjoyed Game 6 of the NLCS would be a massive misstatement. It was baseball at its finest, and as such, it churned my stomach, shrank my sphincter, and chapped my throat. That in the end my team emerged victorious served only to allow me to sleep comfortably — that and a six pack of Mendocino Oatmeal Stout. But lord, what a beautiful game. Okay, I'll admit it: I guess I enjoy the torture... By the time Jonathan Sanchez was wetting the bed in the first, I was already 40 ounces to freedom and tweeting up a storm. Y'all probably coulda done without about 2/3rds of those. Sorry. But a man alone needs an outlet... And before you get to cracking wise about that, let's talk about defense. The Giants played fairly mediocre in the field over their six pack with Philly, but Chase Utley, Placido Polanco, and Jimmy Rollins played like their gloves were made of granite. Like Brooks Conrad in the 'DS, the Phillies' infield conspired against their chances to advance, and it came to a head in the third inning of Game 6. The Giants were down 2-1, having already eeked out a run off Roy Oswalt on a single from the Huff Daddy. After Huff took second on the throw, Buster hit one right to Polanco. He throws wide to Howard. Ball gets away. Huff scores. Game tied. Just like that. Such a huge play. Not just because they'd had such a hard time with Baby Roy in Game 2 and not just because it tied the game until Jazz Hands put the good guys up for good in the eighth. It's huge because it encapsulates an entire notion of this Giants postseason shared by many pundits: The Giants are lucky to be here. Well maybe we are. Maybe this game is 70% luck and 30% skill. But that's life. There's so much about this game that reminds us of ourselves, holds up a mirror to our false starts and failures, and makes us keenly aware that one day we will die. And when we die, it's alone, swinging hopelessly at a ball in the dirt as our teammates file up the tunnel to the clubhouse... Okay, no idea where that came from. But I kinda like it, so I'm not gonna delete it. Maybe add a warning... "Where were you when Weezy froze Howard?" I was on my couch, trying very hard not to show any emotion, regardless of the fact that I was alone. In the immediate aftermath, I paraded around the apartment like a screaming banshee, announcing to anyone within earshot that "I am a Giants fan, and my team is going to the World Series!"

BTW...

> F**king Juan U-RIBE! I've written about this more times than I like to think about, but once again, on Saturday night, I was reminded of a cold night in Seattle... Uribe went to right field that night as well. He split the gap to clear the bases, scoring more runs with one seventh-inning swing of the bat than the Giants had scored in a week. It was May 2009... Snap back to reality. It's October 2010, and Mr. Clutch is at it again. He takes the previously unhittable Ryan Madson oppo taco into the first row of the seats along the flat-planed wall in right. I'll betcha none of those obnoxious and noxious Philly phans were very hot on their bandbox of a ballpark right at that moment. Reminded me of the time Mark Sweeney put one into the right field corner outcropping at Petco. "Why'd you put that there?" I asked perplexed San Diegans around me...

> As I mentioned above, Dirty wet the bed. Philadelphia was all over him, chanting his name, standing for every 3-ball count, exploiting his one true weakness: his head. It was a smart move. A valiant move by a fan base on the verge of desperation, pulling for a team on the verge of elimination. And it worked. Dude was totally shell shocked from the minute he got out to the bump, and he never recovered. (I am not counting the bottom of the second as "calming down".) When he finally plunked Utley, I could hear Lou from the Major League Indians in the back of my mind: "I think you can go get him now." The funniest thing about the bench clearing incident was that Dirty and Utley seemed like the two players with the least interest in brawling of anyone on the field... And now, 'Chez is poised to start Game 3, again on the road, albeit in a slightly less hostile environment. But let's not kid ourselves, it's Texas. They go big there. And if the series goes longer than any of us would like, he's lined up for Game 7. Much as I love me some Dirty and will defend him against all comers, I just don't know if he has the brass for that assignment. Maybe we'll find out. Hopefully, we won't...

So where you watchin' the game tonight?

A Week at the Cove

Cody Ross is human. This much we know. We also know the history of the Giants on the road with a chance to close out a seven games series. Hint for the uninitiated: It's not good. In 1987, the Giants left for St. Louis up 3-2 and brimming with confidence. They had One Flap Down. They had Will the Thrill. They had Kevin Mitchell. And then came Jose Oquendo. In 2002, the Giants won Game 5 at Pac Bell 16-4 and went back to Anaheim up 3-2. They had Rich Aurilia. They had Jeff Kent. They had Barry Bonds. The Angels had a Rally Monkey and Scott Spezio. We all know what happened there. So what, if anything, sets Gigantes v.2010 apart from those two tragically flawed teams? Pitching. Lots of it. From the first out to the 27th, this is the best staff in the league. Philly has the horses at the top, but our 'pen and the critical 4th starter set us apart. They can throw Baby Roy and Cole Hamels. We can counter with Dirty Sanchez and Shotgun Cain. Timmy and Big Roy split their starts. MadBum stepped up with the relief corps and Juan U-RIBE! to best Blanton's Boys in Game 4. If the other two parts of the Big Three split again, we win this series, and we'll look back on that triumphant sac fly bat flip from Uribe as the defining moment. We won the game that was set up for us to win. The rest is a crap shoot. Let's hope Dirty's rolling 7's tonight...

Game 3

Tuesday's game is still a blur. I got the day off work but had to bang out a PowerPoint before I left from San Jo in the morning, so brunch with my season ticket partner was out the window. We just started drinking. There was a funky haze lingering over the entire Bay Area that gave me pangs of fear... The daytime start meant the extra tickets we'd purchased and put up on StubHub were virtually worthless. Ducats were going for less than face online, and the lot was no better. We ended up selling low and eating $30. But at least we know some real fans got in. We don't mess with the scalpers. This town is full of vultures, vultures everywhere... We entered just as the jet fighters were buzzing the yard and settled in right along with Matt Cain, who looked his usual stoic self. When Babe Ross broke the ice with an RBI knock in the fourth, a sort of calm settled over the Cove — a thunderous orange calm, to be sure, but a calm nonetheless. Funny, a guy on the mound who'd never beaten Philly facing a lineup stacked with power, and we were one confident bunch with a 1-0 lead. Huff Daddy and Freddy Sanchez upped that to 3-0 — with an assist from Chase Utley, who's become quite the reliable adventure at second base — Javy Lopez shut down the big bats, and Weezy sent the kids home happy. The postgame was marked with two dinners, three bars, old friends, new friends, and an assortment of adult beverages that conspired to send me home with a silly smile stuck on my face...

Game 4 (with a Game 3 flashback)

How classic was that? 21-year old rookie pitches his heart out. Offense scrapes out a lead. Bullpen squanders the lead. The bats come screaming back. The Phils punch in a run to tie it late. Walk off win in the ninth. Too many storylines for a team of reporters to cover... It started for me with the National Anthem. The previous day, I'd regretted for the first time my regular bathroom trip during "God Bless America". I'll be honest, I'm as patriotic as the next guy, but songs where the separation of church and state is so blatantly ignored only serve to aggravate my sensibilities. So I use the opportunity to relieve myself and try to make it back to my seat in time for "Take Me Out To The Ballgame". But on Tuesday, as I was letting it out, I heard a familiar crooning pumped through the PA. When I got back to my seat, my lady friend had a silly grin on her face. I'd missed Zooey Deschanel. Fudgcicle. Oh well, the result of the game made me forget my regret real quick. But later that night over dinner, some newbies to the scene wondered aloud who would do the anthem the next day. I told them I would be shocked not to see Huey Lewis and the News before this playoff run was done. The next day, around 4:50, I sent one of the newbies a tweet: Called it. Long story short, I had a good feeling about this game the whole way... Of course, the wives in the Phillies family section in front of us did everything they could to kill my buzz. As I've mentioned before in this space, our season tickets are perched at the top of Section 104, which just happens to be where the opposing team reserves tickets for their loved ones, friends, and hangers on. My ticket partner and I have been known to do a good amount of what you might call "ragging" on this section. But we always keep it clean, and we try to keep it intelligent. This being the NLCS, we had a lot of immediate family members below us, so tensions were already pretty high before a pitch was even thrown. The team had flown in bodyguards to watch over the section during the series, and San Francisco's Finest were flanking the aisles at all times. For three games, we sat in the safest section in the park. And we didn't get the boot once. A miracle, really. Course, it helps to know your usher and make nice with the bodyguards during the game. But nothing could've prevented one of the wives from losing her shit around the bottom of the fourth and turning to us with her middle finger in the air and the f-bombs flying. After that, it was on. I felt bad about it later, especially since we kinda made her cry, but we kept it clean, we kept it intelligent, and most importantly, we kept it loud. You simply don't make it personal with the fans in a hostile environment. They're lucky we didn't puke on them...

Anyway, some thoughts on the game: Guess Buster Posey didn't get the memo that Cody Ross is supposed to drive in the first run of every game in this series. Okay, seriously, how crucial was it for somebody to step up and have a game whose name does not spell Ssory Doc backwards? Four hits, two doubles, and the play of the game, receiving a short-hop seed from Aaron Rowand to tag out Carlos Ruiz and preserve the Giants' lead — for another moment at least. The kid has been pressing through his first postseason, but he looked like the Buster we know and love on this night, particularly in the ninth, when he stroked a single down the right field line to send Huff Daddy to third and set up the heroics from U-RIBE! Speaking of clutch, how about getting down 0-2 and fighting off a bunch of nasty s*** before reaching out to somehow pull a low-and-away changeup deep enough to left to plate the winner? Uribe's pretty much penthouse or outhouse, all or nothing, titanic whiff or jazz hands. So a sac fly is not the first thing you'd expect in this situation. I, for one, called a home run, but after he got to two strikes, I'd pretty much given up on the AB. Good thing he hadn't. On the way out of the park, I stopped on the Portwalk and lit up an American Spirit. The crowds spilling out of the Lefty O'Doul gate were still caught up in the glow. "UUU!" went the call. "RI-BE!" went the response. And it carried on into the dark of night. No time to party hearty this evening. Save it for tomorrow. Giants on the verge, and it's gotta happen in five, right?

Game 5

We were late getting in. That's where it started. Yes, we scored early and Timmy looked possessed, but something was just not right. Maybe it was the rain, a strange October drizzle that seemed to hang around like an unwelcome house guest planted on your couch and eating all your food. Then came the third inning. Timmy plunked Ruiz with two strikes, and that empty feeling that had been building all day in my stomach bubbled over. I knew we were going to lose. Even as we staged a comeback. Even as we put together chance after chance, I knew it was a futile effort. We were going back to Philly. Even the wives in front of us knew it to be true, and though we chanted for them to "Go back to Philly!" the night previous, now that seemed the embodiment of our worst nightmares. I sunk inside myself and got very quiet, came alive at the appropriate moments, but mostly tried to let the game, the moment, the season sink in. After all, that could be the last time I saw that field in 2010. That could be the last time I saw that team. I wanted to remember the fun times. I didn't want to think about this latest round of torture. As the Philly bullpen cruised through the final innings, I took it all in, and I made a pact with myself: if we screwed the pooch in the City of Brotherly Love, I would not allow it to dictate my mood for the next six months. I would take it like a man and brush it off my shoulder like Jay-Z. We'll see in the next couple days whether or not I have to live up to my end of this bargain with myself, and if I can...

BTW...

>  I'm loathe to pick apart losses, especially when shoddy defense was the key contributor to the defeat, but a lot of people harped on it, so I wanted to point out one thing from Game 5. Cody "Superman" Ross got nailed at third base trying to move up on a Panda flyout in the fourth, after he'd just knocked in the Giants second run with a double. It was the third out of the inning, a fundamental error on the basepaths, and with seemingly little upside should he have succeeded. But at the risk of sounding like a Cody apologist, here was my take on the spot: Uribe's up next. With two outs, Halladay either walks him to get to Lincecum or throws him nothing but 55-foot sliders until he strikes out. I'm thinking Cody Ross bet on the latter and figured he might score from third on a passed ball. So he took a chance, and Jayson Werth uncorked a perfect throw — the only way to ring up a fairly quick runner. Again, I can't excuse, I'm just trying to explain. The double play certainly sucked some momentum away from the home team, but I don't believe it affected the outcome...

>  Fact: The Giants are 0-2 this postseason in games when orange pom poms are the free giveaway.

>  So, how are the Giants doing on fulfilling my series prediction? Well, let's just say that baseball loves to obfuscate, which is precisely why I don't believe in attempting to predict it. I still hold to my call that the best scenario for a San Francisco victory was a five-game series, but I have to admit defeat nearly across the board. I was fairly spot-on in my call for Game 1. The boys "kicked the ball around" — as Marty Lurie would say — and made my Game 2 pick look like wishful thinking... which it was. Matt Cain did not disappoint my prognostication, but the offense did, and Game 3 kept me on course for an all-around win. Game 4 didn't play out quite like I expected, but then again, it didn't turn out like anybody expected. Game 5, well, f**k. So it's back to Philly. And since I didn't make a call for Games 6 or 7 because I didn't want them to happen, Here's my take:

Dirty has to win it tonight. The offense will get him three or four runs off Oswalt, who I don't believe can shut down the Giants three starts in a row (going back to August), but he's got to hold the Phillies in check. If he can keep them off the board through the first turn of the batting order — which is normally not too difficult for him — the bats can put some wind in his lungs and confidence in his heart, and we can run out the clock. If they get on him early and he s***s the bed, the bats are going to have to light up the night. But even J.T. Snow hit three homers in one game at the Bank, so maybe a shootout wouldn't be as lopsided as everybody thinks. If we go down tonight, I'd usually say we didn't have a chance in Game 7, but this Teflon Team has surprised me all year. Why should they stop now? It would be up to Matt Cain to get away from his flyball pitcher M.O. and keep these guys on the ground. If he can do that, we've proven we can get to Hamels. But in the end, I think this will all come down to the bullpens. And if it does, we've got a fighting chance...

>  Watching the game at home today. Probably alone. I don't know what it is, but something about going to a bar and watching with a bunch of rowdy fans has always turned me off. Probably because both times I did that during the '02 series, we lost the freakin' game...

Enjoy the torture, everybody.

The Last Tweet... (A new feature)

Oct. 20th, 2:19 PM
@ArcadeDreams The Sun wasn't going to come out today, but Cody Ross was cold. #sfgiants #NLCS

4 down. 7 to go.

It's getting lost in all the talk about "Babe" Ross and the whistling for Timmy, but my personal favorite Mr. Clutch had what was probably the hit of the night. The Giants had just gone up 3-1 when Raul Ibañez misplayed Pat the Bat's double to the wall. Bochy predictably inserted "Nasty" Nate Schierholtz to run for Burrell. And Juan U-RIBE! stepped to the plate against a struggling Roy Halladay. He promptly mashed a seed up the middle to drive in Nate and adroitly took second on an ill-advised throw home. A timely hit, and even more timely hustle. If Fontenot finds a way to bleed one into left off the Doc, the game is suddenly approaching out of reach territory, and Charlie Manuel is likely gesticulating toward the bullpen. He's had a rough postseason thus far, but I shouldn't be the only Giants fan hoping that one AB can resurrect U's bat. No doubt he's a streaky hitter, but when he's streaking right, this team streaks right along with him. Don't be surprised if he puts a couple in the bleachers before this series is through, and definitely don't be shocked if they tie the game or put the G's ahead. That seems to be how he rolls. After all, while his RBI in Game 1 only served to pad the lead at the time, it proved to be the winning run...

BTW...

> So, my Game 1 prediction wasn't bang on, though I'll take full credit for nailing the end result: a W for los Gigantes. Neither starter got "lit up", but the G's made me look good by rapping 8 hits off the un-hittable Halladay, including the incessantly replayed identical twin doinks from Cody Ross. Didn't get the boost I was expecting from Aubrey Huff, but it's only a matter of time before that sleeping giant awakes. Big Time Timmy Jim punched the clock and gave us seven solid innings with only two real mistakes. (Honestly, in that park, giving up a couple first-row homers to right is par for the course.) And the combo of Javy Lopez and B-Weezy shut the door over the final six outs...

> I still stand by my call for Game 2. It's time for the Giants to make like Gordon Gekko and get greedy. I'm looking for Dirty Sanchez to come out hard and keep the place quiet long enough for his compadres to make a few dents in Oswalt's armor...

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Baseball

Yeah, I know. We've been hearing it all week: The Giants have no chance against the two-time defending NL Champion Phillies... Well you know what? I'm not a talking head on the MLB Network. I'm a Giants fan, and I love our little Teflon Team. As such, I know we've got slightly more than a chance in Hades. So here's how I see the NLCS playing out if we're gonna make it to the Classic:

Game 1
One of the Cy Young aces is getting lit up tonight. As a Giants fan, obviously I hope it's Doc Halladay. The pundits and prognosticators are predicting a 1-0 duel in South Philly, but any fan knows baseball exists to thwart expectation. So I'm gonna go out on the limb, leap before I look, and say the bats are gonna come alive and pepper the short porches to support another stout performance from Big Time Timmy Jim. Los Gigantes prevail 7-2. Look for an early wake up call from the Huff Daddy and his Rally Thong.

Game 2
Absolutely crucial. You've got what you wanted, a guaranteed split, but you can't let up now. Dirty Sanchez has to come out and put his foot square in the Adam's Apple of every phan in the Bank. He has to be electric, because they're gonna come out swinging like their postseason life depends on it. Be calm, be focused, be collected, and most importantly, keep the ball down. Dirty will make it through six strong with a high pitch count, and the bullpen will bend but not break. The G's have shown no difficulty in getting to Little Roy, so I'm calling a 5-3 win. Up 2-0 coming home...

Game 3
This being the 2010 Giants, there has to be a little torture involved. I admit, I'm gonna play off the 2002 NLCS a bit and say this is where someone spills the beer bong. Matt Cain is going to come out just as strong as he did against the Braves, pitching through seven, giving up a pair of runs. But the bats will suddenly come up limp in the October heat of China Basin. Shotgun has long been our hardest luck starter — only recently eclipsed by Zito in terms of paltry run support — and he'll watch a familiar scene play out as the bullpen holds but the offense can't produce in clutch situations against lefty Cole Hamels. Phils win 3-1 and take back the Mo.

Game 4
Madison Bumgarner became a man against the Braves. In this game, he becomes a legend. The sidewinding lefty, who at times this season has reminded me of a young Randy Johnson, finally got his first home win against the D'Backs in the final homestand at the Cove. This is a very important note. It got that gorilla off his back, which will give him the confidence he needs to follow Dirty's lead and shut down Philly's lefty boppers. Charlie Manuel will get greedy and throw Halladay out there on short rest after an early exit in Game 1. The Giants will scratch out a few runs, Weezy will load the bases with one out in the 9th and get a double play to end a 3-2 Giants victory.

Game 5
Here's the deal: We can't go back to Philly. We have to close this out at home. Game 6's and 7's just don't agree with us. And in this scenario, we'll get a dream matchup: Timmy vs. Oswalt. Lincecum is undefeated in his career against Little Roy, and I don't forsee that changing with a chance to close out the series in front of the orange-clad faithful. Buster Posey hits the go-ahead homer in the fourth, and Timmy cruises through 8. Weezy comes in and cleans up in the ninth. Giants win 4-1. Game over. Series over. We chill at home for a week and wait for another Game 1.

Optimistic? Most definitely. Ridiculous? Not really. Possible? Por supuesto. After all, this is baseball,  this is the Giants, this is your life. And it's ending one inning at a time...

Enjoy the ballgame.

122 down. 40 to go.

So who the hell was that? The guy who took the ball tonight and climbed up on the bump. The guy who twirled a gem and got yanked before he's had enough. The guy who's been up and down so much over the past three seasons that his real nickname should be Yo-Yo. Was that really "Dirty" Sanchez? I'll be damned, it was. Where was this Dirty on Orange Friday against the Padres, after guaranteeing a sweep, after opening his big fat mouth like he's bloody Juan Marichal? He's not Juan Marichal. He's not even Juan Valdez. He's a tremendous pitcher with the best natural stuff of anybody on this staff, a guy who could be a legit Number One, an ace in the hole... if he could just keep his dome straight. You can see it in his eyes the moment it happens. Sometimes it starts with a foul ball. He rubs up the new one and stares off into the abyss of the crowd, wondering what they're thinking, knowing they're all watching him. He comes to and gets the sign from the catcher like he's glancing at an accident on the highway. And when it comes in, it's either way off the plate, in the dirt, or nice and juicy. Then, you have evenings like this. Evenings that make you want to scream "WTF? Where was this when we needed it?" Because he's on my fantasy team, I was having a look at Dirty's splits. In four April starts, he went 2-1 with a 1.85 ERA and a WHIP of 1.11. In May, he posted a WHIP of 1.09, but his ERA jumped to 3.58. He went 1-3 in six starts. So, what caused the ERA jump if his WHIP stayed virtually constant? In April, he didn't give up a home run. In May, gave up four. Here endeth the lesson...

BTW...

> I don't have anything interesting to say about Wednesday night. Andres Torres continued to impress for Team Hopey Changey with a leadoff bomb — his 12th! — but los Gigantes didn't muster much more beyond Pat the Bat's encore tater in his return to Philly. Funny as shit to see him get a standing O on Tuesday before his first at bat, only to be booed after putting one in the seats...

> I know I just spent some space on this blog lauding the bullpen's stalwart performance of late. Perhaps I should hold my jinxing tongue... :)

> Always great to see Matt Cain get some run support. [sarcasm] As rough as it's been for the Giants starters of late, you have to feel for guys who go out there sometimes thinking they're gonna have to throw a shutout just to have a chance to win. The tendency, I imagine, would be to take too fine an approach, to nibble, and nibbling never got anybody a Cy Young Award... or two...

> Ten bucks says Buster Posey loses another double and an RBI when the official scorer has a second look at the ball Shane Victorino misplayed in the third. Dude gets enough hits anyway, right?

> War Panda. Finally.

120 down. 42 to go.

It's getting serious now. The gap is widening. The Fathers are playing cupcakes. Los Gigantes are struggling with winning teams. The starters are 0 for their last 13 with an ERA approaching 6. And last night, hours after I lauded the bullpen on this very blog, they suffered a monumental collapse and let the Phils blow a close game straight to hell. No chance for a 9th-inning miracle. No joy for long-suffering fans of the Orange and Black who should be poised to go on suffering if the trends of this roller coaster season continue to play out. Right now, the team is 14 games over .500, right where they finished in '09. If they can manage to post a winning record the rest of the way, they could be said to have "improved". But truthfully, in this division, with this talent in the rotation, true improvement means a pennant. Absent that, this is a lost season, and anyone who tries to put a rose on it is selling you something. I know most pundits predicted a middle-of-the-road finish for the China Basin 9. But those of us with a couple drops of faith left in the tank saw modest improvements, a couple stout prospects on the way, and a never-say-die attitude and thought, much like the construction worker in Major League: "These guys ain't so f**king bad." Now, we're starting to sound like the Japanese groundskeepers from the same movie: "They're still sh**ty." So what's it gonna be then, eh, Giants? Another season to forget, or a resurgent race to the finish line? God help me, you know I'm praying for the former. But the latter appears increasingly more likely with every passing day and every minor disappointment...

BTW...

> War Jose Guillen. No, I did not want him. Yes, I'm glad to have him. At least with him in there behind Posey, Huff, and Burrell, the lineup doesn't look so... weak. If Panda continues his gradual rise from the realm of mediocrity, we might actually scare a few pitchers down the stretch...

> I'm not gonna rag on a guy who's been the obvious MVP of the club since April, but it looks like having to carry the team for the first three months of the season is finally catching up to Aubrey Huff. Let's hope he catches a second wind sometime on this road trip, because we're surely gonna need his bat to make a run...

> I don't know how serious Chris Ray's injury is, but it's awful dubious to get lit up one night and find yourself on the DL the next day, just in time for a rehabbing teammate to return to the 25-man roster (see Affeldt, Jeremy)...

> Quick hit: Barry Zito gave up more runs in 5+ IP last night (4) than the Giants' staff allowed in a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park last September (3). FYI, they lost two of three in that '09 series...

Will Matt Cain beat the streak? We'll find out soon enough...

Ghosts of Giants Past

Does anybody else finds it rather odd that the Giants now have three guys on their roster who played on three of the past four teams to eliminate them from the postseason: Edgar Renteria ('97 Marlins), Bengie Molina ('02 Angels), and Brad Penny ('03 Marlins)?

Far as I can tell, they don't have anyone who played for the '00 Mets, but they did pay Edgardo Alfonzo to man the hot corner for two long and mostly forgetful seasons.

Ah, well. On to the baseball, shall we?

Tuesday, September 1st
Phillies 1, Giants 0
WP: Hamels (8-8, CG); LP: Sanchez (6-11)
HR: None

Okay, coulda done without seeing that one and had a perfectly fruitful life. What was that I said after the D-Backs series about Doug Davis and the success of lefty pitching against the Giants’ bats? Well you can add Cole Hamels to the list.

There is nothing in this world more frustrating than a 1-0 loss, especially when you never even had a chance to win. Kudos are due to J. Sanchez for continuing his recent roll. It’s obvious just from watching his body language that he’s felt a tremendous boost in confidence since his epic no-no on July 10th.

Now, I’m not one for believing in jinxes, so if you are, you might want to skip ahead a few graphs...

With the acquisition of Brad Penny and his subsequent dominance of a possible first-round opponent (see next entry), one could lead themselves to believe that the postseason rotation would include the newest Giant at the expense of the young southpaw who’s got this stat line since the break: 3.35 ERA; 1.17 WHIP; .190 BAA. (The fact that he’s 3-3 over that period says more about the Giants’ absent-minded offense than his pitching prowess. Wait, I think I’ve said this before...)

They’d be right to go with Penny. After all, the guy’s been to and won a World Series, and there’s no self-respecting Giants fan over the age of ten who wouldn’t remember that. In point of fact, his beat down of the Giants in Game 2 of the LDS that year is really what did them in. But it’s oh so easy to hate on Jose Cruz, Jr. Hell, I do it all the time.

Last week at a house party, my buddy tossed me a can of beer. It went right through my hands and straight to the floor. And what did I say? “Aw, look. I pulled a Jose Cruz Jr.”

I bet everybody who skipped a couple graphs are a little confused right about now.

Butch’s Btw

Don’t tell me this wasn’t embarrassing as all get out.

Stat of the Night

From Baggs: The Giants average 3.58 pitches per plate appearance, which is far and away the lowest in the major leagues.

Quote of the Night

"I thought I was there. It was close." - Andres Torres, who was picked off of first base with nobody out in the top of the ninth in a one run game, on being thrown out at second base

Wednesday, September 2nd
Giants 4, Phillies 0
WP: Penny (1-0); LP: Happ (10-4)
HR: SF - Uribe (9); Rowand (13)

Say, “Hello,” to Brad Penny.

Now say, “Goodbye,” to Brad Penny (at least if you’re wearing Philly colors).

My kinda game, ladies and gents. Quick, painless, victorious, and injury-free, unless you count Panda, who’s been banged up for weeks. And the $100K man was up to the task. If we make it to the promised land by a single game, the signing will have been more than worth it.

I don’t know what Penny was smoking while he was with Boston but I want some of that. This guy looked like the Penny we saw back in ’03. Hard stuff, down in the zone, painting the corners, getting quick outs, and just plain mowing down perhaps the most explosive offense in the game in one of the best launching pads of all time.

Props are due to the bats for getting something going in support that performance, in particular, Juan ”U-RIBE!” and Aaron Rowand, who went back to back in the sixth. Those two jacks put the team at 96 on the season, eclipsing last year’s mark of 94, the lowest output in the Major Leagues. Of course, they had to do it against J.A. Happ, one of the studs of my fantasy rotation. (For some ungodly reason — probably his home split — I decided to sit him for this one, so the Nimbys avoided taking a hit from my real world team.)

Barry Zito was probably salivating over the quartet of runs supplied to his new rotation mate.

Butch’s Btw

Adding to the eeriness I referenced in the lede, watching this series has been like having a front row seat for a performance of “Ghosts of Giants Bullpens Past.” I mean, holy effing sheet, dood. I know relief pitching is a dangerous occupation with a high turnover rate, but this is bordering on ridiculous. Scott Eyre, Tyler Walker, Jack Taschner, oh my! And if you want to take it a step further, I’ll raise you a Pedro Felíz just to sweeten the pot.

Stat of the Night

16 of 28 (57%) plate appearances against Penny ended in three pitches or less. The Major League average is 47%.

Quote of the Night

"There's not a guy who's called a better game for me in my career. I'd grab a pitch that I'd want to throw and he'd throw [the sign for that pitch] down. We were on the same page. I didn't have to shake [him off] a whole lot. That's pretty impressive for never catching me." - said Penny, a 10-year veteran

Thursday, September 3rd
Phillies 2, Giants 1
WP: Pedro Martinez (3-0); LP: Lincecum (13-5); S: Lidge (28)
HR: SF - Velez (4); PHI - Werth (30)

Dirty. Filthy. Nasty. Un-hittable. And that was the losing pitcher.

Somewhere along the line, between the surgeries and the stints on the DL with minor bumps and flares, Pedro Martinez learned how to pitch. He never had to before. The stuff he had in the late ‘90s and early aughts was so electric, he could toss it up there blindfolded and end up throwing a no-hitter. He’s a different man now, an older man, but he’s crafty like nobody’s business, and he showed it in the rubber match against the Orange and Black.

When Tim Lincecum came up in the spring of ‘07, the comparisons drifted to Pedro almost immediately. Their tiny stature and swing-through touch are a unique combination to the point of scaring off coaches and GMs for fear of injury cutting short their usefulness.

Tonight, we got to see them up close and personal. The Kid and The Master. Head-to-head. And it was fun up until the moment we lost. Good to see Timmy return to his double-digit-strikeout form. Sucked to watch our bats go quiet for nine innings following Gino Velez’s first-pitch leadoff home run.

Stat of the Night

One more from Baggs, by way of statistical guru Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.com: Lincecum became the first Giants pitcher to log seven or more innings, allow four hits or fewer, strike out at least 11 and lose since April 26, 1968, when the Dodgers defeated Ray Sadecki at Candlestick Park.

Quote(s) of the Night

"It's ridiculous how nasty his stuff still is. When you watch him, it's obvious he knows what he's doing out there." - Lincecum on Martinez

"He reminds me a little bit of me, but he's twice as good as me at this time of my career. It took me seven years to win a Cy Young." - Martinez on Lincecum

Series debrief

All things considered, you hate to lose a series when you give up three runs in three games, but it’s not like we’re not used to this from the G-Men this season. Despite the fact that the offense couldn’t produce, the staff held this team to three runs in this park, and you have to imagine they’ve earned the respect of the entire league. And after their anemic performance at the Cove just one month ago, you have to imagine this Phillies team is more than a little intimidated by our young guns.

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!