Until now, the Giants have lived a charmed defensive life with an obviously heavier Panda at third, two water buffaloes in the outfield corners, and a fleet but historically fragile gazelle in center field. I'm not sure what animal metaphor makes sense for Juan Uribe and Edgar Renteria at shortstop, but it isn't a beast that, say, ranges far and wide to protect its territory.
Until last night, I hadn't seen a game in which the plodders afield really hurt the Giants. Sure, Tim Lincecum's meatball festival had a lot to do with the Cubs' success, but a couple key plays on defense made things worse on a night Timmy needed all the help he could get. First was in the fourth inning. Lincecum retired the first two batters, then catcher Koyie Hill dunked one into left-center. From my seat in the bleachers, it seemed Pat Burrell got a bad jump, and he never got that close. I can't be 100% sure, but you have to wonder if most left fielders would've made that play, three outs, back in the dugout, with the pitcher Dempster to lead off the next inning. Instead, three batters later, the Cubs had two more runs on the board and a 6-2 lead.
The second key play was in the eighth. The Giants had rallied for two and closed the gap to 6-4, and Guillermo Mota was in. With one out, Soriano hit a hard grounder to Sandoval's left. He dived, the ball went off his glove for a single. Again: a little more range, a little faster on the feet, and that's probably an out. The Cubs went on to score twice.
There's not much Bruce Bochy can do right now. Burrell's bat is too valuable to remove from the lineup -- there's no question that he, not Rowand or Schierholtz, deserves the bulk of the at-bats right now -- and Boch has done well to get him out of the game in the late innings with a lead. As for Pablo, the team has no infield defensive specialist that can provide a significant late-inning upgrade. For better or worse, at the plate and in the field, the Giants need Pablo to come through.
It's certainly a concern. With Edgar Renteria constantly dinged up -- he came out early last night with a recurring bicep strain -- and Uribe nursing a sore hammy, Bochy has his hands full down the stretch to field not only a productive lineup but a defense that doesn't turn too many bloops and grounders into hits. In other words, more Marlon Byrds and fewer Tim Salmons. Ouch, sorry.
Until last night, I hadn't seen a game in which the plodders afield really hurt the Giants. Sure, Tim Lincecum's meatball festival had a lot to do with the Cubs' success, but a couple key plays on defense made things worse on a night Timmy needed all the help he could get. First was in the fourth inning. Lincecum retired the first two batters, then catcher Koyie Hill dunked one into left-center. From my seat in the bleachers, it seemed Pat Burrell got a bad jump, and he never got that close. I can't be 100% sure, but you have to wonder if most left fielders would've made that play, three outs, back in the dugout, with the pitcher Dempster to lead off the next inning. Instead, three batters later, the Cubs had two more runs on the board and a 6-2 lead.
The second key play was in the eighth. The Giants had rallied for two and closed the gap to 6-4, and Guillermo Mota was in. With one out, Soriano hit a hard grounder to Sandoval's left. He dived, the ball went off his glove for a single. Again: a little more range, a little faster on the feet, and that's probably an out. The Cubs went on to score twice.
There's not much Bruce Bochy can do right now. Burrell's bat is too valuable to remove from the lineup -- there's no question that he, not Rowand or Schierholtz, deserves the bulk of the at-bats right now -- and Boch has done well to get him out of the game in the late innings with a lead. As for Pablo, the team has no infield defensive specialist that can provide a significant late-inning upgrade. For better or worse, at the plate and in the field, the Giants need Pablo to come through.
It's certainly a concern. With Edgar Renteria constantly dinged up -- he came out early last night with a recurring bicep strain -- and Uribe nursing a sore hammy, Bochy has his hands full down the stretch to field not only a productive lineup but a defense that doesn't turn too many bloops and grounders into hits. In other words, more Marlon Byrds and fewer Tim Salmons. Ouch, sorry.
