August 2009 Archives

Queridos fanaticos de los Gigantes, I give you your new fifth starter. Don't blame him for once being a Dodger -- unless he sucks as a Giant. Now we know why the Giants had that Welcome Back, Kent party Saturday....
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Giants 9, Rockies 5: The quote above could well describe the entire three games this weekend, or perhaps this entire home stand. From four games back Monday, doubled over and spitting blood after a back-alley mugging in the late-night streets...
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Giants 2, Rockies 0: If I weren't so relieved about the win I'd whack myself in the head with a hammer. More like a ping than a whack, actually, just enough to remind myself that when you're a Giants fan,...
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  Word has it the Giants slapped a waiver claim on the Brewers' closer Trevor Hoffman, who despite being 63 years old and throwing 28 miles an hour, is once again one of the league's top relievers. He's doing it...
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 Bengie Molina's remarkable pinch-hit home run last night was made even more remarkable by the fact that he was pinch-hitting for Ryan Garko, the clean-up hitter. You could see the move as the ultimate sign of respect for Bengie, or...
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Giants 4, D-Backs 3: The Dodgers have their Kirk Gibson moment. The Giants have Bengie Molina. Improbable, unwinnable, unthinkable. Bengie cranks a pinch-hit, 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th to give the Giants the lead, he limps around...
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Giants 5, D-Backs 4: Hey Brian Wilson, here's the bill for my hospital stay. You nearly gave me a heart attack, and I spent the night with my ass sticking out the back of a little blue gown. I don't...
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* The Giants' quaint little playoff hopes are doomed. Mathematically, not even close. They're four back of Colorado with 38 games to play, 22 of them at home where the Giants have the best home record in the N.L. Six...
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Rockies 6, Giants 4 (14): Fuck off. It was. Probably the worst thing I've seen since the 2002 World Series. Do I need to recap it for those who weren't watching or listening? Please don't make me. OK, briefly: After...
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This time of year, when your team is actually playing for something after several seasons of irrelevance, it's easy to sprinkle around "game of the year," "catch of the year," or as I did Friday night, "pitch of the year"...
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Rockies 14, Giants 11: Just because I made reference to ghosts of Denver past in last night's post doesn't mean I summoned them, Ouija-board-style, to rise up and bite the Giants on their collective french-vanilla-and-orange asses tonight. It just seems...
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Giants 6, Rockies 3: If you weren't a Giant fan in the late 1990s, tonight's seventh inning probably didn't have you so freaked out your teeth were squeaking. But even with a 6-1 lead late in the game, the sight...
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Giants 1, Reds 0: If you care deeply about a pitcher's win-loss record, you might think Barry Zito got shafted tonight. He threw six beautiful shutout innings that could have been no-hit, save for a couple excuse-me bloopers. There was...
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Word from Washington, where I’ll be in late September rooting for the Nats to derail the Dodgers, is that interim GM Mike Rizzo is getting the boot in favor of a Diamondbacks executive. Rizzo is widely credited for building the...
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Giants 8, Reds 5 (10 innings): Biggest comeback of the year, four runs down in the sixth, and of course the two guys over whom I cast aspersions earlier today on the Twitters led the way. (What? You don't follow?)...
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Giants 10, Mets 1: The Giants signed top draft pick Zack Wheeler, a right-handed high school pitcher from Georgia, but he reportedly won't pitch in the minors this season. Where might he debut next year? Remember that Tim Alderson, currently...
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Last week we discussed next year’s outlook for the pitching staff. Let’s dive right into the position players. I’ve listed in bold the active-roster players under contract or control for 2010. In italics are 40–man players (or other minor leaguers) with...
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All of a sudden, I'm concerned about the Giants' bullpen. Brian Wilson has done yeoman's work his last two outings, Wednesday in the extra innings vs. L.A. and Saturday with 2 2/3 innings to beat the Mets. (Though that 0-2...
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As big as this week’s Dodgers series was, there’s a bigger one coming up. To cap the road trip that starts today, the Giants play four at Coors Field, known among horror-movie buffs as “Hell at 5,000 Feet.” Four games...
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OK, everyone take a deep breath. The Giants have the day off in New York, and if any of them are so inclined I highly recommend a stroll around this place to give the mind a chance to wander. To get...
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Giants 4, Dodgers 2 (10 innings): When Pablo Sandoval watched his near home run in the bottom of the 9th, thinking he had a walk-off, but only got to second instead of taking the easy triple  -- a bonehead move...
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Dodgers BLECH, Giants UGH: I'm not going to wait til the end of the game to write this one. I don't think you'll disagree: Worst loss of the year. HOWEVER. It's not a huge deal. Really, no biggie. Eugenio Velez...
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Thinking about White Sox GM Kenny Williams’s wily waiver grab of Alex Rios and the $60 million-plus left on his contract led me to this thought: Could the Giants still add a bat before Sept. 1? (If it led you to a different...
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Dodgers 4, Giants 2: I'm back from the Sierra wilds, my back a little sore after a few days of carrying 30 pounds of Monkeypants through the woods at 7,000 feet, but soaking one's feet in crystal clear, ice cold...
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Giants 7, Phillies 3: Best homestand of the year, best series of the year. Three of four from the Phillies is more than anyone expected, with encouraging signs all around for the next two months: Tim Lincecum continues to dominate,...
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Giants 2, Phillies 0: Saturday night's all right for phlailin'. Is it my imagination, or is there a wee rivalry brewing between these two teams? Nothing like Giants-Dodgers (or Phils-Mets, for that matter), but if  - knock on wood -...
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Waldis Joaquin, up from Double-A, Sadowski down to Fresno. The Giants obviously feel the need for more bullpen help in the next four days before deciding about their new fifth starter. But Joaquin, when there are guys at Fresno with...
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