I'm back from a weekend spent mostly on this side of the California-Nevada state line but on the far side of behavior I'm allowed to report on a family blog. It was my brother's bachelor party, and the timing was such that I was able to catch some of Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter and most of Saturday's Cain-thwacked victory before other, shall we say, events transpired. I also caught much of today's debacle on the radio on the drive home, which I'll comment upon in a moment.
The biggest news was obviously Sanchez. But the most important part of the no-hitter -- more important than the amazing family story of his dad coming to S.F. to see him pitch or the possible boost of confidence the effort could give Sanchez -- is that Dave Righetti might have unlocked the elusive secret. If you saw the side-by-side comparisons of Sanchez's motion, one frame from April, the other from his no-hitter, you could see a big difference instantly. His body has more twist, his lead leg more curl, his drive toward the plate more deliberation. It has shades of Tim Lincecum in it. (For more on Righetti's work with Sanchez, read Baggs' excellent Q&A with Rags.) Will the work carry over to his next start, and the next, and the next? Will the changes be as effective from the stretch, which Sanchez barely needed Friday?
Freddy Sanchez rumors aside, it's going to be tougher for the Giants to trade J. Sanchez now. There's no clear timetable for Randy Johnson's return; Barry Zito, as we saw today, can still be a horror show; and Ryan Sadowski's carriage could turn back into a pumpkin at any moment. Trade Sanchez, and unless the Giants pull a surprise and sign a free agent (Pedro Martinez, Paul Byrd, Mark Mulder) who gives them capable back-of-rotation work, the depth will be lacking.
Apparently the post-break rotation will be Lincecum, Zito, Cain, Sanchez and Sadowski. That should give Sanchez three starts before the trade deadline. Everyone will be watching closely.
One comment on Zito today: it was obvious to the guys in the radio booth that the Padres were looking fastball and swinging hard at the first one they saw. Zito obliged by keeping his pitches up. The radio guys noticed this well before Eliezer Alfonso's three-run homer which basically salted away the game. My question: If the broadcasters see a pattern, and the Paders see a pattern, why didn't the Giants break the pattern? I think Bengie Molina gets a certain amount of blame for this; isn't it his job to call the game?
