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

08.11.2008
Of Fist-Pumps Sadlerian and Maneuvers Bocherian

Like mice chewing through ill-secured electric cords, the Giants put the Dodgers on the fritz twice this weekend, doinking them not to death but certainly to distraction.

The only grand power stroke came through the left-field wall about 45 minutes before Saturday night’s game (Saturday night game? Can we please stop this madness next year?) and told the Dodgers he’d beat them again ‘cause he hasn’t retired yet. Wishful thinking, perhaps, on Bonds’s part, but it was big of everyone all around to mend fences so quickly. And don’t overlook how a show of niceness from Mr. BLB, just as the sands of time run thin on the few teams that might desperately need his services down the stretch, could tip those decisions toward a two-month pro-rated contract.

That said, it was all warm and a lot fuzzier than Jeff Kent’s moustache, and the Giants obliged Saturday and Sunday by not getting all Zitonian by falling behind the backup catcher 3–and-1 and grooving fastballs that even a Danny Ardoin can handle. They kept it close both days, but not without controversy.

Saturday, Billy Sadler threw two lovely innings but piqued L.A.’s ire with a big fist pump after striking out Manny Ramirez in the seventh. When Kent popped a go-ahead home run in the 10th off Tyler Walker, he apparently gestured toward Sadler in the dugout. I didn’t see the fist-pump and can’t judge its degree of etiquette breach. There are degrees, you know. A “Yes!” with the head down and a subtle fist-clench is one end of the spectrum, a wild hip-thrusting whack-a-mole gyration a la Derek Lowe in the 2003 playoffs against Oakland is the other.

I suspect Sadler was a bit too emphatic for a greenhorn, and even though the unwritten rules in this case go against someone wearing my team’s colors, I’m glad he got a bit of a scolding. It’s antiquated, baseball’s adherence to ill-defined codes of conduct, but in this day and age when U.S. Olympic athletes need classes to stay classy and N.F.L. players might want to hire consultants to help plan touchdown celebrations, isn’t it nice that one sport’s players still give weight to professionalism? Not every strikeout is a celebration, not every victory in a six-month season is an excuse to dog-pile. 

That said, the post-“walk-off” jumping pile, in which the winning team pummels the head of the provider of the deciding hit, is getting ridiculous. The Giants tried to give Eugenio Velez the treatment yesterday, but come on, the dude hit what should have been a game-ending an inning-ending comebacker that the pitcher let squibble through his legs.

There are other ways baseball’s straight-laced code has frayed around the edges. Some teams blast fireworks into the sky when the home team hits a home run. Down 10–2 in the ninth and the backup shortstop hits a fence-scraper? Rockets’ red glare, baby! I give the same thumbs-down for the air-raid-siren treatment, but I give the Giants a pass because their home-run signal is a foghorn and a misty spray, which at least blends into the environment.

The other raised hackles this weekend came Sunday, when Bruce Bochy let Matt Cain throw 126 pitches and ultimately give up a two-run double to Manny Ramirez with two outs in the seventh. You might object because of the pitch count, or the in-game strategy — why not walk Manny with an open base? — or both. The outing boosted Cain’s pitcher-abuse ranking to eighth in MLB (Lincecum is 6th). The past two years, Cain has finished eighth and ninth; not yet 24, he has already thrown a lot of pitches in his career. The Giants don’t have an off-day until Aug. 28, and Cain’s next assignment is Friday in Hotlanta; it would be nice to see Bochy go easy on him, get him out of there with 90 pitches or so if the situation allows.

Bochy is flirting with a breach of the prime directive. If he were Bart Simpson, he would have to stand at the chalkboard before every game and write

I promise to keep the young pitchers healthy. I promise to keep the young pitchers healthy. I promise to keep the young pitchers healthy…
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[August 11, 2008 1:10 PM]  |  link  |  reply
trilljester said

Wasn't the game tied when Velez hit that "game-ending" comebacker? It just would've gone to extra innings.

If the Giants do the same thing to the Dodgers during the last weekend of the season, I'd be even more happy. Especially if it knocks them out of the playoffs.

[August 11, 2008 1:25 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

Whoops -- you're right, my bad.

[August 11, 2008 1:51 PM]  |  link  |  reply
trilljester said

No biggie, I'm surprised the Dodgers gave that game away. It SHOULD'VE been a game ending comebacker, but True Gamer Casey Blake helped out a bunch.

We can't hit home runs but man, we are FAST out there. I like that.

[August 11, 2008 6:09 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

I'm sitting in my air conditioned office in SC, so I am definitely not a pitching expert, so I would like your comments. I was pretty upset, given the ptich count and the fact that Cain was getting hit, and, in particular, that he was to lead off the bottom of the 6th, that Bochy didn't pinch hit for him then and start the 7th with someone else. In a close game like this, I would favor starting the inning with a pinch hitter rather than the pitcher. I also think Bochy has a tendency to let his starters pitch to one hitter or one inning too many. It seems to me that the pitch count thing should be followed more strictly. I think I see a tendency for ptichers, after being abused/having a high pitch count coming out with nothing the next game. So, I am in favor of keeping the next game in mind. I would favor, for a guy like CAin or Lincecum, their going 6 innings if it has been a bit of a struggle, and especially if they are going to hit that half inning, or pitch 7 innings if their pitch count is low and they are likely to finsih at 105 pitches if they do pitch thru the 7th. Thoughts?

[August 11, 2008 6:31 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Horacio Verde said

Didn't see the game, but Cain is supposed to be a "Horse", i.e., a big, strong kid who can throw a lot of innings without injuring himself. Agreed that Le Boche is no expert at handling pitchers, but the way that a pitcher conducts his business (falling behind on the count, breaking balls flattening out, losing release point) should be the measure of when to take him out, not an arbitrary pitch count.

[August 11, 2008 11:01 PM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

I'll address Frank's comment:

100 pitches should be a guideline, not a hard and fast rule. 100 pitches through 5 innings, with constant deep counts and much of the work out of the stretch, is high stress. (It also generally means the pitcher has given up at least a few runs, so it follows that he'll be replaced by a pinch hitter earlier.)

100 pitches through 6 or 7, depending on the pitcher, could merit one more inning to see if the guy can get through it easily. Horacio is right to note there are signs of fatigue one can spot, regardless of pitch count. A flattening breaking ball, for instance, is a sign that the pitcher's arm is dropping slightly, quite possibly because of fatigue.

I don't mind seeing Cain and Lincecum throw a lot of pitches every so often, but game after game of deep counts, grinding innings, and 110+ pitches should be avoided. The body is a complicated machine with a lot of moving parts, and pitching wears it down more than most other human activities.