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

08.13.2008
Astros 12, Giants 4: Kneecapped

If you haven’t heard by now, the Giants’ world stopped spinning on its axis for a few minutes last night; the oxygen was pressed out of our lungs with a great sucking sound. Tim Lincecum was thwacked on the knee by a line drive back up the middle. He jumped but couldn’t avoid it, then crumpled to the ground. 

After a few minutes he limped off the field with a little help. Post-game reports say he’s OK, just a bruise, and his agent says he’ll make his next start. We’ll see about that. Don’t mess with the Franchise.

Turns out, then, the real assault and battery last night took place in the seventh inning as the bullpen gave up eight runs. The numbers were bad all the way around, especially Jack Taschner’s, as he allowed all three inherited runners to score, then four more of his own for good measure.

Andy Baggarly made an excellent observation late last night on his blog — which, by the way, is the best source for a steady stream of Giants info anywhere and miles better than the Chron’s “Splash Blog” effort. It’s exactly how the medium should be used: quick, informal, witty, backed up with real reporting, and with an occasional peek behind the curtain of sports journalism. It’s the type of stuff I’d hope to write if following the Giants were my day job.

Here is Baggarly’s question/comment about the bullpen:

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the Giants attempt to rebuild their bullpen for next season. If Sabean and Co. really think they can contend, do they spend money on a proven set-up man or two?

I think bullpen building is one of the best ways to judge an organization’s pro scouting staff. Look how many failed arms or obscure minor leaguers have found new careers after being pulled off the scrap heap. (Chan Ho Park…who knew?) Not much to choose from at Fresno that we haven’t already seen. Do you think Scott Munter has a second life in him?

The conventional smarty-pants wisdom from people like me is that bullpen arms are fungible. Even the magical closer with God-given ninth-inning abilities is an overvalued beast created by dumb statistics. For every Octavio Dotel, who got $11 million from the White Sox to help set up closer Bobby Jenks, there’s a Chan-Ho Park, who as Baggarly notes has revived his career at minimum wage.

Walker and Taschner’s erratic performances this year make them big question marks for next year, which is why I wrote the other day that the Giants would absolutely love Billy Sadler to assert himself as a late-game option. Romo, Matos, Hinshaw? Your guess about their near-future non-fungibility is as good as anyone’s. (Espineli? He’s a future LOOGY at best if I ever saw one.)

To address one of Baggarly’s points, making a big bullpen splash would be foolish. Money that goes to someone like, say, Justin Speier (4 years, $18 million), is much better spent on hitters.

Add this to the flippy-floppy file: Baggarly also notes on his blog that Lincecum and Matt Cain have thrown the most pitches in the National League this year. Cain #1, Lincecum #2. How’s that for protecting the young arms?  

JoeSMALL PRINT UPDATE: Now listening to The Future is Unwritten, the soundtrack to the documentary of the same name that chronicles the life of Joe Strummer, ex-frontman of The Clash who died a few years ago at the age of 50. What’s especially sad about his death is that he was just starting to feel comfortable in his own skin. The success and breakup of The Clash threw him into a long funk, and he took a long time to emerge. But when he did, it was with all his poetry intact and a lot more humility and humanity in his heart. It’s a great record to put on, or a great film to watch, whenever you’re feeling cynical about the world.  
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[August 13, 2008 2:27 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Chris said

I totally agree with on shopping Wilson a little, just to see who nibbles, in the offseason.

I love Geno but man, I'm not sure if he's going to cut it in the majors. According to FanGraphs, his average FB is 81.2mph. I really hope he sticks. He's done well in the minors but he's looked really hittable in a brief time in the majors.

Still, those stirrups rock.

[August 13, 2008 2:33 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Chris replied to Chris

Sorry, I was reading more than one Giants blog at the same time when I replied to you! You didn't say to shop Wilson, but I agree with that idea in theory.

I like Romo, Sadler, and Hinshaw for the '09 'pen. Sadler and Hinsahw need to work on their control and I'm a fan of Romo. I'm not really big on Matos.