April 2008 Archives

Rockies 3, Giants 2: The only thing more subjective than the balk rule is your favorite kind of cheese. So many possibilities, so many nuances, so many interpretations. In case you missed it, the Giants lost last night when home...
# continue reading

Barry Zito is in the bullpen. Picture this: Jonathan Sanchez strikes out 8 in four innings but throws too many pitches and quickly tires in the 5th. Get the long man up! Bring in Zito before this game gets out...
# continue reading

The weekend brought several developments, none of them good. The biggest and least surprising was the continued horribleness of Barry Zito, prompting Giant brass to wonder aloud if Zito can remain in the rotation. Did you catch J.T. Snow on...
# continue reading

Giants 3, Reds 1: Best pitching performance I've witnessed in person since this game. Sanchez almost answered my question from earlier in the day -- Which Giant starter will throw the first complete game of the year? -- and he...
# continue reading

I wrote this on April 14, almost two weeks ago: A truer test comes in the next 10 days. First, the D-Backs arrive with three strong starters. Randy Johnson, in his first game since back surgery, is a wild card,...
# continue reading

Giants 1, Padres 0: Tim Lincecum and the bullpen shut down the Pods. Rich Aurilia hits a home run. Brian Sabean leans back, rubs his hands together, and murmurs, "My plan is working to perfection!" PLODAG: Aurilia, for old time's...
# continue reading

Looks like the A’s claimed Rajai Davis last night and DFA’ed Kirk Saarloos. So long, Raj. You were my man-crush last August, and I’ll never forget it. He’s in center field and batting ninth for the Oaklands as I write this....
# continue reading

Giants 3, Padres 2, 13 innings: The Giants had their Croix de Candlestick for the die-hards who stayed to the end of an extra-inning night game. The Padres should give out free fish tacos. Question: Why in the hell were...
# continue reading

Tyler Walker’s nasty outing last night — strikeouts of Jackson, Reynolds, and Upton — got me thinking. How good has the Giants bullpen thrown so far? To the naked eye, everyone seems in good form except Brad Hennessey, and Erick Threets...
# continue reading

D'Backs 5, Giants 4: Freddie Lewis did all he could to boost the Giants, but the rest of the team coughed this one up. Culprit #1 was Barry Zito, who optimists said only needed a little run support to relax...
# continue reading

D-Backs 4, Giants 2: It’s as simple as this — Arizona hit the ball out of the park, the Giants did not. Well, Freddie Lewis did, but Aaron Rowand didn’t, and his double couldn’t score Bengie Molina from first. Eugenio...
# continue reading

I make this observation every year, but it’s always worth the mention: We are blessed with the announcers we have. Now that I’m an MLB Gameday audio subscriber, I’ve caught bits and bites of other teams’ broadcasts, and they range...
# continue reading

Giants 3, Cards 0: Tim Lincecum earned his merit badge today in cardinal-domination. It wasn't 11 Ks in 6 innings, his tally from his last start, but it was perhaps more impressive as he kept his pitch count down and...
# continue reading

It’s a well-worn axiom, at least among statheads, that getting caught stealing more than one-third of the time is counter-productive. In other words, 67% is break-even. Chris Haft discusses the Giants’ emphasis on baserunning this year, and he notes that their current 68%...
# continue reading

Omar Vizquel is moping about, his return from knee surgery delayed indefinitely. He told the Merc he wouldn’t be as agile when he returned. Could this in fact be the end of his career, the final injury that never quite...
# continue reading

D-Backs 8, Giants 2: Walks and home runs, not a good combo, Mr. Correia. Vinnie Chulk is coming back, and Keiichi Yabu is going to Fresno. That means Brad Hennessey, despite his early-season struggles, is staying put, and probably becomes...
# continue reading

A few minutes before a weird Tuesday afternoon game time, and I see that Aaron Rowand is in the lineup again. I appreciate his hustle, his grit, and his desire to play every day, but watching last night’s game, it’s...
# continue reading

Giants 5, D-Backs 4: Watching on the free MLB.tv tonight, I saw two of the best at-bats I'd seen all year. First was Bengie Molina in the seventh inning. One out, a run already in, and the go-ahead run on...
# continue reading

In the post-game chatter yesterday, KNBR talk guy Michael Urban insisted the Giants have a shot at .500 this year. (Here’s what the Chronicle’s Gwen Knapp, in a fit of new-year optimism, wrote about that goal.) Urban conceded he might...
# continue reading

It's Sunday night, the Giants just won 7-4 and with one better bullpen inning Saturday would have won a second straight series against a good team. Without the implosion Saturday from The Big Sweaty, we're talking a 5-2 homestand. No...
# continue reading

* If L.A. and Colorado lose and the Giants win tonight, the Giants will be in third place in the division.  * Small sample-size stats, press-notes style….Jose Castillo, tied for 3rd in the NL with 6 doubles…Jonathan Sanchez, tied for...
# continue reading

Giants 5, Cardinals 1: Great starting pitching, timely relief with runners on base, and a few clutch hits: that's the how this team has to win. Five runs is a cornucopia. But all of a sudden, perusing the rest of...
# continue reading

Dave Roberts is probably out for months with A.G.E. in his knee. It’s probably the best news the Giants have had all year. I never wish injuries upon anyone, but if this is the way Fred Lewis gets his full season’s...
# continue reading

Giants 1, Padres 0: Daniel Ortmeier is the obvious hero with his game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth, his first professional at-bat after his abandonment of switch-hitting. And good for him. The Giants brass gave him the booty...
# continue reading

Giants 3, Padres 2, 11 innings: There's nothing more entertaining than watching Bengie Molina jiggle-jog his way around the bases. If he were naked, it would be like watching a scene from the Borat movie.Report from the 1-3-8: Best heckle...
# continue reading

Much talk today about the unruly crowd at Opening Day, starting with the Barry Zito heckling in pre-game introductions. I, too, reserve the right to boo my own team, though I exercise that right sparingly. Neifi Perez and Pedro Feliz got me...
# continue reading

Padres 8, Giants 4: I give to you five things I hate about Opening Day. 1) The military flyover. Fourth of July? Sure. Fleet Week? Of course. Opening Day? Why? 2) The amateurs. Thousands of people who don't pay attention...
# continue reading

Geoff Young — no relation to Chris, presumably — covers the Padres on his blog Ducksnorts. He and I chatted last week about the current state of our favorite teams, and he kindly refrained from rubbing my face in the mess the...
# continue reading

Other than Keiichi Yabu slingshotting himself in the eye with his rubber tubing, all went according to plan this weekend: utter domination by the Brewers. (At least the Giants are better than those no-good lousy bums from Detroit.) Barry Zito...
# continue reading

Brewers MANY, Giants FEW: I’m writing my game summary before it’s over. Can you blame me? It’s 13–2 in the sixth, and the rest of the day beckons. No reason to get upset: the Brewers are good, the Giants are...
# continue reading

The top four affiliates all start their seasons today. Fresno is in Portland, Connecticut is at home against New Hampshire, San Jose walks the streets of Bakersfield, and Augusta hosts Greensboro.  This, my friends, is where the real Giants season...
# continue reading

Giants 2, Dodgers 1: When is a win not a win not a win? When you see the health of the franchise, or The Franchise, flash before your eyes. Big Papi Malo was asleep by the time the rain stopped,...
# continue reading

Great singer, dumb movie. Great leadoff man for a decade, now disintegrating into nothingness. It’s a shame about him. So now that Durham is the root of all evil and the millstone of the defense, what to do? Release him?...
# continue reading

Dodgers 3, Giants 2: Speed and defense! Except it was Rafael Furcal's speed and Ray Durham's defense that cost the Giants the game in the ninth. For those who missed it, Furcal scored from second on an infield grounder that...
# continue reading

We have Opening Day rosters for most of the minor leaguers, at last. Oddly, the low-A Augusta Greenjackets as of noon today are the only affiliate to have the roster posted anywhere correctly. Prospect geeks, behold: Villalona, Culberson, Noonan, and...
# continue reading