Had Barry Zito pitched a gem today, and the Giants clinched an NL West Division Championship, many Giants fans might have been willing to forgive and forget the $127 million he is being paid to be a San Francisco Giant for at least 7 seasons. Instead, he once again laid an egg, not a goose egg, and once again the Giants failed to clinch the division championship. Key lines:
Juan Uribe- 2 for 3, 2B, HR(24). BA= .248. Uribe's HR in the 7'th finally got the Giants on the board. His bloop double down the RF line in the 9'th gave them a faint hope of making a 9'th inning comeback.
Pablo Sandoval- 2 for 4. BA= .268. Panda is back. A rocket off the RF wall that bounced back to the fielder holding him to a single and then a RBI single to LF going with an outside pitch by Heath Bell to put the potential tying run at first base in the 9'th.
Jose Guillen- 0 for 1. I'm not sure who's decision it was to use Guillen as the PH in the 9'th. Bochy had been tossed in the 6'th for arguing balls and strikes. Admittedly, by this time the choices weren't great but Guillen has been ice cold and Rowand was available and had hit a PH HR last night. I think I might have taken the chance that lightning might strike twice. Velez is a fast man who can hit LH. With the DP being the worst case scenario here, I might have gone with Velez. A 3 run HR was not absolutely necessary in this situation and Velez at least had a higher probability of staying out of the DP. It can be argued either way, but I think Rowand or Velez might have been better options here. Instead, Guillen hit into the game-ending DP.
Barry Zito- 3 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 4.15. Just atrocious pitching here totally erasing any shred of redemption he had gained by a very good first half performance this year. Of course, without that first half performance, the Giants might not still be even in contention, but this game has to pretty much cement his legacy as a failed FA signing.
Giants Bullpen- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K's. A valiant effort by a valiant bullpen to keep this one close enough for the Giants to still have a chance in the 9'th inning.
With the Loss, the Giants lead over the Padres in the NL West shrank to 1 game with 1 game left to play. Should the Giants lose again tomorrow, there would still be a 1 game do-or-die playoff game on Monday in San Diego. In the Wild Card race, the Atlanta Braves are trailing the Phillies in the 9'th inning 7-0. Should that hold up, they would be tied with the Padres and 1 game behind the Giants. Now, if the Braves lose again tomorrow and San Diego loses, there would be a 1 game playoff between the Braves and Padres for the Wild Card. Should the Braves lose and the Giants lose tomorrow, then the loser of the Padres-Giants playoff would be in the playoffs as the Wild Card. Should the Braves win tomorrow and the Padres lose, the Braves are in as the Wild Card. Should the Braves win and the Giants lose the loser of the Giants-Padres 1 game playoff would then play the Braves in another 1 game playoff for the Wild Card. Got all that? I'm not sure it's right either!
There's obviously still a long way to go, but Giants fans now face their worst fears of blowing a seemingly insurmountable lead. This fanbase, especially those who have been around since the early days of the franchise in SF, has suffered so many bitter disappointments that blowing this lead seems not only possibly, but downright likely.
Jonathan Sanchez, an incredibly talented pitcher who is still working to overcome his tendency to let emotions get the best of him in certain situations now carries the hopes of Giants fans with him to the mound tomorrow against Mat Latos, a young fireballer who beat Sanchez in a game earlier this season in which Sanchez allowed just 1 hit. Giants fans will be watching with both excitement and dread.
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if the atl lose tomorrow and the friars complete the sweep, there is no tie breaker game between the friars and giants
ReplyDeletefriars automatically win the west by virtue of kicking the giants asses in the season series 13-5....so you can have a scenario where the friars win, celebrate in front of the giants...but the giants still get to go and face the phillies...and be destroyed...simple as that
in regards to zito, i am hoping that today was his last in a giants uniform...he isnt even a good 5th starter....5th starters eat innings...in his 4 years as a giant, he hasnt once gone over 200 ips....that stinks
bochy may have been kicked in the 6th, but the guillen move had his name written all over it
put ford in to run...then put a hacker up there against what is a totally burnt out closer????
OK, well thanks for clearing that up, Bacci. The playoff scenarios are so convoluted it gives me a headache as does thinking about tomorrow's game. Not gonna stop believing, but a long time Giants fan has to be prepared for the worst.
ReplyDeleteI think I would rather see the Giants face the Phils in a short series than the Padres, who clearly have some kind of hex or psychological advantage over the Giants at this point. Giants play the Pads even, and they are clearly very evenly matched teams, and this 3 game series would be a season ending formality.
As for the decision to use Guillen as the PH, I think a lot of managers would have made the same decision, but I expected the outcome to be bad when I saw him come to the plate. Give me Rowand or Velez, as distasteful as both those options are.
ReplyDeleteBTW, thanks for being a faithful reader and commenter on my blog, Bacci. I really do appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteDr B
After going over the box score one more time, I think the obvious best choice to pinch hit in the 9'th had to be Freddy Sanchez. He may have a hurt wing, but can still swing the bat. With just one out in the inning, the Giants did not need a 3 run HR at that point. They needed someone who would battle Heath Bell, make him throw some more pitches and keep the inning alive. Hey, Freddy has even hit more HR's of late than Guillen!!
ReplyDelete