A third of the season officially passed us with Saturday’s loss. I have general thoughts, but first, a few specific comments on the Phils series so far:
Jack Taschner was bad yesterday, walking Chase Utley and throwing a fastball down the middle to Ryan Howard. But yesterday’s loss didn’t gall me — good hitters will sometimes prevail. They beat up Lincecum, Utley refused to budge on Taschner’s sliders, and Victorino hit a decent pitch the other way for a cheap home run. The loss Saturday didn’t burn me too much, either. If Noah Lowry had shut down the Phils, you’d be saying, Wow, that Lowry, when he’s on he’s a tough guy to hit. Not: What’s wrong with the Phillies’ bats? So give credit to Cole Hamels. Sometimes good pitchers prevail. And he is very, very good pitcher. A victory today would earn a series split in a ballpark that usually gives the Giants fits: I’ll take it. Then two of three in Arizona, and it’s a .500 road trip. Not earth-shaking but respectable in the microcosmic view.
Post-game: I’ll vault into the macrocosm.
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P.M. UPDATE: How Zito gave up no earned runs today, I’ll never know. He pitched brilliantly when he wasn’t pitching terribly. Ray Durham didn’t help him out much, either. Without Durham’s error on the DP ball in the 5th, Zito probably could have gone an extra inning.
I’ll give the Giants credit for this: Zito may be overpaid and under-velocitied, but he’s damn fun to watch when he’s on. I noted this years ago even though I was no A’s fan. That big curveball dropping from the sky and across the plate is as much a fan-pleaser as a high Cain fastball or a Vizquel double-play pivot. Part of his salary is marketing dollars, no doubt, but as long as he’s healthy and winning ballgames, he’ll earn his keep.
Let us now talk offense. Don’t let the 31–15 run differential in this series fool you. The Giants gut-punched a mediocre pitching staff in a bandbox ballpark. The coming series against Arizona and Randy Johnson, Brandon Webb and Livan Hernandez will be much more telling.
First order of business: no panic. If Roberts returns this week and the Giants fail to creep a little closer to the top of the division by, say, the third week of June, it wasn’t meant to be. Please, no short-term offensive reinforcements if the team is seven games out. Until the current crew makes things more interesting, I promise I will not demand a trade for a hitter even if they’re shut out three straight times in the desert. Just tie me to the mast and, whatever I do, ignore my commands.
Things could be a lot worse — like in the Bronx, where the season has irretrievably, uh, strayed. And in Chicago, where Lou Piniella’s agent should try to ink Lou to a mouthwash endorsement. I’ll throw in the ad copy: “Give ‘em hell, but keep it fresh.”
Out here, it’s just a run-of-the-mill freak show.
If Sabean can fleece another GM and build for the future with a Noah Lowry-for-Carl Crawford type of deal (ha), fine. Otherwise, sit on your hands a while longer, Brian.
First-third MVP: Bengie Molina and Barry Bonds.
First-third Cy Young: Matt Morris.
Hard to argue that Bonds isn’t most valuable to the Giants, but I’ll give Molina a co-pilot award for being so clutch and being the only worthy bat in the order after Bonds for most of the year. As for Morris, he’s pitched at least 6 innings in all but one start, he’s given up more than 3 earned runs only once.
