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

05.14.2008
5/13/08: Cain

Giants 4, Astros 2: Nice to see Matt Cain go deep and go deep into a game, 114 pitches in eight innings thanks to some early-count swinging by the Astros in the middle innings. Though, dammit, four walks is still too many, especially with one to the opposing pitcher and one to the punch-n-judy Michael Bourn. With the Astros starting Brian Moehler and Chris Sampson the next two games, the Giants have a real shot at winning this series.

PLODAG: Cain -- eight strong innings, a home run, and he should have only been charged with one earned run, not two, as John Bowker flat-out missed Lance Berkman's well-struck but catchable single in the fourth inning.

The Upside: FreddieLoo! Dang if Freddie hasn't rediscovered his gap-to-gap stroke against right-handed pitching, just like I hoped. He had two opposite field hits Monday and three hits, one to each field, last night. It's impressive that he's made adjustments and seen such dramatic results. With Lewis (.370 OBP) and Rowand (.391 OBP), it looks like the Giants have a couple guys who understand the strike zone and also have enough power to keep outfielders honest. I see why Giants brass talk about Lewis becoming a #3 hitter someday -- but only if they find someone else with an OBP in the high 300s to lead off. Until then, Fred's the man.

UPDATE: This Baseball Prospectus writer is skeptical of Rowand's numbers, which are heavily skewed by hot hitting on the road and an unsustainable .414 average on balls he puts in play. One could also argue he's benefited from seeing so many left-handed pitchers -- check out his L/R splits. Back in the NL West, with a steady diet of Peavy/Webb/C. Young/Haren/Owings/Penny/Lowe/Billingsley/Cook....well, you get the picture. Though to be fair, that run of starters is enough to put a lid on any team short of the 1934 AL All-Star squad.

BP's Will Carroll also made this note about Barry Zito's performance Monday night: "Something looked very different about Zito last night; the results were certainly different. I'll go back and watch the game today on MLB.tv and report back. What did you see?"  







[May 14, 2008 3:06 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Johnny Disaster said

I didn't see anything (other than outs) unusual, but then I don't see anything obvious in the video clips in this:
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/crossing-the-bridge-a-closer-look-at-what-happened-to-barry-zitos-fastball/
But according to the guy, there's something there... I guess I need to train myself to better recognize pitching mechanics... anyway, an interesting series of articles, which have been coming too infrequently for my taste.

[May 14, 2008 4:03 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM replied to Johnny Disaster

thanks, Johnny D. For those who click through, pay special attention to the side-by-side video and still-frame comparisons of Zito 2000 and Zito 2008. The short of it: he's become a more 'north-south' pitcher (or as the author puts it, 'teeter-totter'). The next question: Will a return to his 2000 mechanics bring back his stuff?

[May 14, 2008 6:08 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Jefferson replied to ELM

Well, either his mechanics are the same and he's physically different (weaker, injured), or vice versa, or some mix of both. If it's just his mechanics that are messed up, then fixing the mechanics should largely resolve his problems.

Having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that pitching coaches don't understand "throwing mechanics," as Nyman calls them. That seems inconceivable.

[May 14, 2008 7:41 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Johnny Disaster replied to Jefferson

He seems to put a great deal of emphasis on the difference between pitching and throwing... he denies any expertise on pitching, claiming only to know about efficient biomechanics. I think what he is saying is that the art of pitching is upsetting the timing of the hitter and that's what most pitching coaches actually teach.

[May 15, 2008 12:39 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Jefferson replied to Johnny Disaster

I agree. What, then, do pitching coaches work on when they're helping a pitcher with "mechanics?"

[May 14, 2008 3:27 PM]  |  link  |  reply
MrLomez said

Re: Rowand's "unsustainable" performance. Probably to some extent, but A Row has the 3rd highest line drive % in the NL. He's been around 30% all year, an uncommonly high number. His high BABIP is buoyed by his equally high LD%, and is not just a matter of seeing eye balls and good luck (though that's part of it too).

[May 14, 2008 3:40 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

I thought Z looked much more focused and determined, particularly in the early innings. Later in the game he started losing that determination and intensity. He also started working slower. I would suppose he bagan slipping back into old, bad habits, the biggest of which is too much thinking.

[May 14, 2008 7:48 PM]  |  link  |  reply
bigO said

Sabes should be singin:

ADAM RAISED A CAIN

In the summer that I was baptized
my father held me to his side
As they put me to the water
he said how on that day I cried
We were prisoners of love, a love in chains
He was standin' in the door I was standin' in the rain
With the same hot blood burning in our veins
Adam raised a Cain

All of the old faces
ask you why you're back
They fit you with position
and the keys to your daddy's Cadillac
In the darkness of your room
your mother calls you by your true name
You remember the faces, the places, the names
You know it's never over it's relentless as the rain
Adam raised a Cain

In the Bible Cain slew Abel
and East of Eden he was cast
You're born into this life paying
for the sins of somebody else's past
Daddy worked his whole life for nothing but the pain
Now he walks these empty rooms looking for something to blame
You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames
Adam raised a Cain

Lost but not forgotten, from the dark heart of a dream
Adam raised a Cain

[May 15, 2008 2:12 AM]  |  link  |  reply
obsessivegiantscompulsive replied to bigO

What does Adam Cowart have to do with Matt Cain?

[May 15, 2008 3:06 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Jonathan Bass said

For the first time, Zito accepted his stuff and started to work with it, especially the change-up. He threw some changeups that looked fantastic, and his curve ball looked really good. He lost it in the 4th or 5th when he overthrew a fastball at 87 mph, he still can't completely let go. But his changeup looked great at times, and that will make all the difference for him. He still can't locate his fastball well enough, but he just has to accept that locating at 84 can be extremely effective playing off a 74 mph change below the knees. I saw the first glimmers of hope from Zito.