When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

09.05.2007
Arms and Elbows and Shoulders...Oh My

ArmsI watched Tim Lincecum’s start last night, and the kid didn’t look sharp. Yes, Lincecum limited the damage with key strikeouts on nasty pitches in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Yes, the numbnuts home-plate umpire generally didn’t call strikes at the belt or above (and then cemented our low opinion of him by ejecting Brian Wilson in the 8th for hitting Torrealba with a pitch — total idiocy).

But Lincecum was missing spots by plenty — most egregiously when he plunked the weak-hitting Iannetta with two outs to force in a run and when he walked the opposing pitcher. I liked the decision to pull him after the leadoff batter singled in the 4th. Top September priority: keep the young arms healthy.

Still, the back-to-back early KOs for Cain and Lincecum make me nervous. All around are reminders how fragile arms can be. Noah Lowry has a “slight strain” in his elbow; Special Agent Jack Taschner has a sore shoulder and is back at HQ for debriefing and magnetic-resonance recon.

You have tons of pitching depth until you don’t, and with the flick of a wrist some cosmic joker can drain the pool overnight, making that early-morning bellyflop with your eyes closed very painful indeed.

So with all the call-ups, shuffles, and injuries, here’s a quick overview of the pitching situation:

Starters
Zito
Cain
Lincecum
Correia
Sanchez

This could change, although with three days off this month there might be enough built-in rest to give Bochy the flexibility to skip Timmah’s turn without overtaxing the rest of the rotation.

If Lincecum drops from the rotation, a Misch/Atchison combo could make a spot start and give the Giants five or six innings. Or the team could call up Travis Blackley, who is already on the 40–man roster.

Relievers
Hennessey
Wilson
Walker
Kline
Atchison
Misch
Munter
Giese
Threets

I have to register at least slight concern that Brian Wilson since his recall on Aug. 11 has pitched in 13 of the Giants’ 25 games. Keep an eye on his workload, please. Once in a while, someone else can pitch the 8th inning with a lead. How about Giese? Hell, why not Threets? Let’s have some fun out there.

Last night’s umpire-aided choke notwithstanding, the Walker-Wilson-Hennessey triumverate has worked well so far. A bit formulaic, but there’s something to be said for letting relievers start their own innings instead of mixing and matching lefty/righty in mid-inning.

Final note: With last night’s blown save and loss, Hennessey’s WXRL dropped from 2.80 to 2.42.



Also on the Network:



[September 5, 2007 6:17 PM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive said

As the WXRL turns...

That's the beauty once you get a pitching factory going and you reach critical mass: when one goes down, another should be ready to take over, and even when one doesn't go down, another should be ready to take over, creating trading chips over time, particularly as better replacements come up.

[September 6, 2007 3:56 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Cyrus said

Everyone seems to recognize that the biggest holes on this team are at the corners, but one name I don't think I've heard for 1B is Carlos Pena. He seems to be realizing his potential with the DRays, but is only signed to a 1 year deal (according to Cot's). He's only 28, is posting a 1+ OPS, but because he's only done it 1 year he may not command too huge a deal... thoughts?

[September 6, 2007 4:09 AM]  |  link  |  reply
giantsrainman said

Cyrus:

Carlos Pena is still just arbitration eligable and not yet Free Agent eligable. There is no way the D-Rays will not offer Carlos arbitration and therefore he can not become a free agent. The only reason he was a Free agent last year is because first the Tigers and then the Yankees released him and then the RedSox did not keep him on their 40 man roster and offer him arbitration.

[September 6, 2007 10:56 AM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

The bigger question is, who is the next Carlos Pena and can the Giants find him?

[September 6, 2007 9:28 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Cyrus said

Lowry for Pena then. Risk vs. risk. Risk for Lowry, can he do it again, is the elbow strain that serious (prob not). Risk for Pena, can he do it again... works for me. Plus, the DRays have so much young hitting talent and such a dearth of pitching this might really make sense.