Q: Any team, even the best, can go an ugly 2-5 at any stretch of the season. This just hurts more because everyone was hoping for a nice little start to the year. Right?
A: Right! Between June 18 and June 23, the 2001 Seattle Mariners -- winners of 116 freakin' games -- went 2 and 5. Ergo sum et voila.
Q: Isn't this four-game losing streak confirming our worst fears? The offense sucks according to plan, but the starting rotation -- oh, the beloved rotation! -- is acting like 10-year-olds who've lost their Ritalin prescriptions.
A: Nice analogy, but come on. Tim Lincecum might not repeat his Cy Young, but he'll end up pretty darn good this year. It's possible Randy Johnson might finally fall off the big karmic unicycle, but he finished strong last year, he said he felt better this spring than he had in a long time, and in his first outing last week he was dominant until the pendejo Gallardo home run. The Unit might not be the ace he once was, but I'll bet a few precious bucks he ends up close to last year's numbers.
Q: So WTF happened today?
A: He ran into a good-hitting team having a great day. Even their strikeouts were productive. Russell Martin went down swinging to start the dreaded 4th inning but did so after squeezing ten pitches out of the Unit. Johnson was obviously gassed after that.
Q: Manny Burriss! Edgar Renteria! Pablo Sandoval! Argargrgghh! Mggmgmrrthtpph!!
A: I agree. But let's first remember this: Everyone this side of Albert Pujols has seven games of crappiness. None of the above mentioned are Albert Pujols, of course, but I'm not throwing anyone overboard yet.
Q: Not even Burriss?
A: He's been hard to watch at the plate, I'll admit. He can barely get a ball out of the infield. And according to the radio guys today, his little hissy fit in the dugout after striking out for the second time got him pulled from the game. If he's still hitting .100 in another week or two the Giants should strongly consider a Burriss-for-Frandsen roster swap.
Q: And the other guys?
A: We shouldn't let small sample sizes confirm our worst fears. Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus had a good column today on the very subject. Being dispassionate and telling the howling masses to drop a few ice cubes down their pants doesn't make for great radio, but it's only fair. If you don't subscribe, here's a taste of what Sheehan wrote: "Baseball is about six months, not six days. Two starts mean nothing. Losing five out of six games is meaningless--every team in baseball will do that at some point during the season. It doesn't mean more just because you started that stretch at 0-0. I can go through a full season's worth of 35 plate-appearance stretches and find a whole bunch that look like .304/.448/.870. Saying Brandon Inge has a 1300 OPS 'for the season' is factually correct, but functionally irrelevant."
Q: Mmkay thanks, Mr. Stats-Are-Cool-Unless-I Say-So. Don't any of the Giants' numbers mean anything so far?
A: Absolutely. Their hitters have drawn the fewest walks and hit the fewest home runs in the league. Their pitchers have surrendered the third-most walks and are middle of the pack in home runs allowed. It behooves the Giants to change these rankings.
Q: How?
A: For hitting, it'll have to be through a trade. There is no one in the high minors who can make a big difference in the next three or four months. But panicked GMs rarely make savvy trades. For pitching, there's not much to do with the rotation. The Giants will basically live and die by these five all year. For the bullpen, Alex Hinshaw has been awful and is on the hot seat when Sergio Romo comes back or perhaps before. Most of all, the bullpen really needs the starters to go deeper into games.
Q: Can't Bochy do something?
A: Like...tell Tim Lincecum to pitch better? Hit Bengie Molina sixth because he's not really a cleanup hitter? Bochy has played his limited hand well so far. No panic, no massive veteran lovefest, no 135 pitches over 5 innings for Lincecum or Sanchez just to give them the chance for a "W" next to their names in the boxscore. I'd like to see a little more Nate Schierholtz, though.
Q: Bochy is burning out the bullpen!
A: He has a choice?
Q: Bring back Jack Taschner!
A: I think you need some sleep. The off-day tomorrow won't hurt, either.
