All thanks to the baseball gods that I was out of earshot of yesterday’s game from the fourth inning onward. I turned off the radio when it was 6–3 Giants, and though it was obvious Tim Lincecum wasn’t feeling his freshest, I figured the Giants would be OK if they could scratch out a couple more runs. The Royals, after all, were the worst offense in the majors. Lincecum and the bullpen could hold them down for five more innings.
Somehow hearing the sad tale of pitching woe only hours later — Lincecum gave up two more, then Yabu and Taschner and Chulk gave up five to tie the game — gave me a zen-like quality of detachment. This too shall pass. Yabu was the main culprit, and he was due for a really bad day at the office. Plus Henry Schulman jinxed him. Let’s cut him slack. See? Detachment. Cool-headedness. Perspective.
AAAAUUURRGHGHGHGGGRHGHGGRRGHHHH!!!! A seven-run lead, gone! To the worst offense in the majors! It’s a travesty! It’s Brian Sabean’s fault! Fire everyone!
So it got me thinking: Lincecum has now given up nine earned runs in his last two games. He’s at the 100 inning mark, still well shy of last year’s total (177 IP in Fresno and S.F. combined), but could he be a bit fatigued? I know everyone including Lincecum himself thinks he has a rubber arm. But let’s watch his next couple of starts carefully. Bochy and Rags are smart to keep the rotation intact even though the Giants have their second off-day today in the past week. Instead of skipping, say, Zito’s turn, they decided to give everyone extra days of rest.
* Anyone notice that the Giants have three guys in the National League top-30 in OBP? Winn, Lewis and Rowand are bunched around .370. Durham at .386 would be top-15 if he had a few more qualifying plate appearances. Aurilia is at a respectable .354. Suddenly what was once a team weakness is now a strength. Problem is, two of these guys (Durham, Aurilia) will certainly be gone next year, and a third (Winn) is their best trade chip. I’m eager to see if Manny Burriss’s respectable line (.353 OBP / .352 SLG) can hold up as he gets more playing time, which he likely will as Vizquel continues to slump. Not only could he be the 2009 starting shortstop, he could be a top-of-order guy. As long as we’re fantasizing, how about this for the 2009 opening day lineup?
LF Lewis
SS Burriss
CF Rowand
C Molina
1B Bowker
RF Schierholtz
3B Castillo
2B Frandsen
P Lincecum
SMALL PRINT UPDATE!
Travis Ishikawa is now in AAA Fresno, a nice reward for his resurgence this year in AA Connecticut. It’s a double-edged sword, as this is probably his last chance to prove he’s a prospect. If he catches fire the rest of the year, the Giants will at least have another option to consider at first base next year.
He’s not on the 40–man roster and thus not listed to the right, but reports say Pablo Sandoval will move from high-A San Jose to Connecticut, but he hasn’t yet appeared on the Defenders roster. There was chatter earlier that Sandoval would jump directly to AAA, so maybe the reports are wrong. I’ll mark him as AA for now.
Another non-roster notable: 25–year-old Mike Mooney just made the jump from high-A to AAA and so far is crushing the ball. Mooney isn’t considered a real prospect, but keep an eye on him.
Are you worried about Timmy? Have the Giants handled him properly this year? If he makes the All-Star team, should the Giants let him appear? Discuss.
