June 2010 Archives

Do the freakin' math! I'm not sure what that means, but it's fun to say. Am I being a bit too light-hearted after the most demoralizing rout since the 2002 mid-term elections? Well, I say, peep this. That's right. Bye-bye...
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LA 4, SF 2: This is the Weeping Song bit.ly/bRss9a...
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Or if you prefer your cultural references filmic, this was the crying game. The symbol of the night was Pablo Sandoval's utterly bonehead baserunning that killed the team's (admittedly dwindling) chances to score the go-ahead run in the seventh inning....
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With the Giants playing their first game against LA since mid-April I nearly forgot that Vicente Padilla broke Aaron Rowand's cheek with a fastball. It seems eons ago -- or one long Rowand slump, if you're counting in dog years...
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BOS 4, SF 2: Why Is This Man Smiling? bit.ly/dfD7EH...
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Saturday's game was the best loss of the year, and hear me out before you curse a blue streak. Sure, the Giants' inability to come back against the Sox bullpen once Clay Buchholz departed in the second inning was disappointing....
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SF 5, BOS 4: I Just Peed My Pants bit.ly/cE31lz...
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...out of joy, because Madison Bumgarner is going to start Saturday's game. The plan was this: If Joe Martinez needed to pitch in relief Friday, someone else would start Saturday. Martinez warmed up in the second or third inning when...
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Fix the Bullpen bit.ly/992i3X...
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With two bad starts in Houston from Zito and Cain, with the Red Sox in town this weekend, and with a trip to Coors Field looming, I worry about the Giants bullpen. I worry worry worry. Our gut feeling that...
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I wrote this two weeks ago: Buster's not going anywhere. Yes, he's doing a nice job at first base, but it's time to start putting a real transition plan in place. It'll be easier for Bochy to ease out Molina...
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Two plays made the difference tonight. First, Freddy Sanchez turned a nifty double play early in the game with Houston up 1-0, Lincecum looking ragged, and the Giant defense getting sloppy. The bases were loaded with Lance Berkman at the...
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Buster Posey is a big leaguer. Madison Bumgarner is close. And that's about it. No one else has given the Giants confidence they can fill upcoming gaps with youth next year, and there could be several major gaps. Shortstop and...
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Busy day today, so I'll get right to it. Players of the Week: - Among pitchers it's Barry Zito for his eight strong innings Friday night with only a loss to show for it. He gets the nod over Matt...
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I haven't been keeping up with the trade rags, so I was surprised to see that the film version of Michael Lewis's Moneyball is back on track with a different director, Bennett Miller (Capote) instead of Steven Soderbergh. But it...
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The staterati are starting to notice. FanGraphs gives a shoutout to Aubrey Huff today. BP's Jay Jaffe has the Giants ranked third in this week's hit list, and Rob Neyer admits he's been wrong about the Giants. Nowhere in those...
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The Giants have a long tradition of power tandems, slugging duos who might not be caught nightclubbing together but who stir each others martinis once the games begin: Mays and McCovey. Clark and Mitchell. Clark and Williams. Kent and Bonds....
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With Orioles' starter Chris "Hot Burrito #4" Tillman pitching Monday night like he was Frank Sobotka with an envelope stuffed down his pants, the game was over before the second inning was over, if that's metaphysically possible. In other words,...
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I'll get to Aubrey Huff in a moment, but first, among the questions we're asking these days: Is Pat Burrell some kind of reverse-karmic sign that it's time to let Fred Lewis go? Fly Fred, be free! If he never...
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After Brian Wilson reached out with his right arm tonight and pulled a Giants victory from the stinking maw of defeat, it's tempting to say, no doubt, the man's an All-Star this year.But I'm not here to talk -- or...
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The Giants are facing lefty Gio Gonzalez tonight, and Buster Posey has traded places in the lineup with Pablo Sandoval. Buster is hitting 3rd, Pablo 7th. The Panda has been awful from the right side this year, though Hank Schulman reported...
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Our intrepid beat reporters reported in reports Wednesday that Bruce Bochy sat down with Aaron Rowand to explain his benching. I suppose a personal explanation is the gentlemanly way to go, and let's hope that Rowand didn't puzzle over it too...
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It was either that or "My Posse Got Velocity," after seeing Matt Cain throw his fastball up, down, inside, outside and past the potent bats of the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday night. Krukow is right: fastball command is a wonderful thing....
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If Bruce Bochy is looking for every excuse not to start Andres Torres in center field and Buster Posey behind the plate, he's running out of excuses. At least Boch has installed Torres in the leadoff spot and dropped Rowand to...
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Brian Wilson on Sunday allowed his first home run of the year, and committed only his second blown save. He's been rock-solid, if not always soothing. I would question the fateful pitch choice -- a 3-2 slider to a punch-and-judy...
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Powerball. Dingerville. Tatertown. Three home runs in one game from the Giants, each one more important than the next? Lawdie Miss Clawdie, I do declare. And all for the benefit of Jonathan Sanchez, who only gave up runs because Buster Posey...
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The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the clubhouseAll the cold cold wet day. With our hitters' big batsTied in pretzely knotsOur thinking was tied upIn very bad thoughts Oh what can...
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I'm listening to FP Santangelo argue that instant replay would ruin the spirit of the game, even though tonight in Detroit it would have restored justice to Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga who was robbed of a perfect game and a...
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Oh, yeah. COL 2, SF 1 (11 innings). Love that formula: Make opponent's struggling starting pitcher look like Tom Glavine, waste fine work from own starter, race through own plate appearances as if the waiting post-game spread were composed of...
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