May 2009

…same story..different result…

This was the day to turn it around…this was the day to get back to .500. The stage was set, Lincecum was on the hill vs. former Giant Kevin Correia. The Giants know Correia, they know his tendencies…should score a lot of runs right? Again, the Giants showcased offensive impotence…one run against Correia? Are you kidding me? Kevin freakin’ Correia…

 

Tim set it up perfectly, had 10 k’s and showed his dominance over the Padres’ hitters, only problem is our batters made Correia look like Johan Santana…So guess what? Tim gets his third no decision in a row and hasn’t won a game since being in Wrigley Field. The Giants scrounged up enough offense to put up a run in the top of the ninth to give them a 2-1 lead? Score sound familiar? Yeah, that’s right the first two games ended with the score 2-1 in favor of the Friars..who I think have the best mascot EVER…a bald fluffy monk bouncing all over your dugout will make anyone smile…

 

Here comes our All-Star Closer Brian Wilson…first batter..infield single…second batter..out…third batter..walk…next batter..walk…and up comes David Eckstein, probably one of the most annoying players to watch in the league…first pitch, he leans in and takes the all off his shoulder..no attempt to move out of the way..run scores, it’s tied. And just to make things perfect, Scott Hairston comes up and hits a single to win the game…

 

The Giants are now 0-6 in Petco Park and the Padres have won 6 straight games…The Giants are on a plane to Seattle…wonder what the conversations are like on that plane…

 

Some side notes…remember how I talked about who we needed to call up for some much needed offense? Jesus Guzman? Yeah, he’s here now…and this was his line 0-2 with one strikeout and two errors on ROUTINE throws to first base…welcome to the big leagues my friend…

…Deja’ Vu?

..did I just finish watching yesterday’s game again? I could have copied and pasted yesterday’s entry and used it for tonight’s entry…

 

Tonight’s game was a battle between two struggling pitchers. Chad Gaudin vs. Jonathan Sanchez. They are basically the same pitcher…lots of walks..control issues. Exciting stuff right? Nope..this game was a snoozer..I actually fell asleep during the 4th inning. One of the few times that I have felt that watching a Giant game was a waste of time. Why? Because it was the same problem as yesterday. Giants hit 1-10 with RISP. Last night, they were 0-11 by the fourth inning! The man of the night…Emmanuel Burriss. It seemed like every time a big hit was needed, he was up to bat. It was not his fault…every hitter before him failed to move the runner to third…or struck out. The Giants know they are struggling…just look at the looks on the faces of the players in the dugout. Another winnable game..another great pitching performance…wait, ok it wasn’t great. Sanchez did have control issues but he got into a groove later in the game. He only gave up 2 hits, one just happened to be a big fly over Lewis’ head.

The pressure is on Bochy..another lineup change…with an interesting twist. Rowand at leadoff? He hasn’t done that since playing for the Phillies…but it worked. He was 3-4 tonight..that was half of the whole Giants’ hit total. Bochy needs to find the right lineup to maximize the teams run potential. It looked good at first..Giants scored first on a Burriss infield RBI single..why is that significant? Because the Giants are 15-0 when they score the first run…make that 15-1 now.

Did Sanchez pitch well enough to keep Tim Alderson and Madison Bumgarner off his back? I think so..but it’s obvious that he has a lot on his mind. He needs to learn to control his emotions, one bad call…a ball that should have been a strike..and he gets frazzled.

We are not 0-5 in Petco Park..but that should change tomorrow night. Tim LinCYcum will take the hill vs. former Giant Kevin Correia. This is must see tv folks, I expect Correia to hit a few batters..maybe throw one right into the dugout towards Bochy..

Interesting side note..they showed a couple of shots of people working out at the game. Who does that? Who says “man, i have to work out..gotta get to Petco Park”? Are the Padre games so horrible that a person would choose to spend 45 minutes on an elliptical machine or thighmaster than watch Chase Headley strikeout? I go to games to do the OPPOSITE of working out…in fact, what I do at the games give me the NEED to workout…Garlic Fries..Hot Dogs…Cotton Candy…

…a GIANT issue…

…fundamentals….fundamentals…for the first four innings of the first game of this three game series with the Padres  the Giants had someone in scoring position and achieved nothing. A Velez single and stolen base led to nothing…a double from Winn led to another zero…it was the story of the night. You really have to feel badly for Zito, six great starts in a row…and he is now 1-4 with an ERA of 3.62. Let’s look at that number..3.62. That is a decent ERA, great actually when you think about Zito’s first two years as a Giant. Do you know that Zito is ranked 21 in ERA in the National League? Not impressed? Check out who he is above on that list: Jake Peavy…Edinson Volquez…Roy Oswalt…and a certain number 55 on your beloved Giants. Zito is dealing…his confidence is up and he is challenging hitters…what is his problem? His hitters are not scoring runs for him..the Giants average 1.94 runs for him everytime he pitches..he is this year’s Matt Cain. I really questioned the lineup they ran out there for him today. Velez leading off? Aurilia over Ishikawa? Especially since Chris Young is a righty..and Ishikawa is hitting better as of late. The Giants need all the help they can get against Chris Young. They have faced him 3 times this year and have a grand total of ONE run against him. That’s right…one run! Why does it seem like Young magically turns into Peavy when we face him? This guy’s fastball tops out at 87 MPH. Another Padre magic trick is turning Scott Hairston into an all-star..for some reason this guy kills us…

 

I do feel a shake-up is imminent. Tomorrow is crucial for Jonathan Sanchez. Another bad start and we could get acquainted with Madison Bumgarner or Tim Alderson real soon. Nothing sparks performance like competition. This shake-up will affect the lineup also. The Giants have absolutely no HR’s from the 1B position. ZERO from Ishikawa and ZERO from Aurilia. What can we do to fix that?

 

…Drum roll?…..Ta-da Jesus Guzman! Call him up from Fresno..can he hit? yes..he is batting .363. Is he young? yes…24 years old. Power? 6 HR’s so far in the young season. Can he play defense? NO…NO….NO. He is definitely a defensive liability, but you have to make sacrifices my friends. Let’s sacrifice some defense for some offense. We play Seattle in the short future, call him up to play DH..let’s see what he can do..

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