Jonathan Sanchez pitched the game of his life(he's had several of those in the last year and a half, huh?), only to have Eric Hinske deliver a knockout punch in the form of a pinch-hit 2 run HR in bottom of the 8'th inning off of Sergio Romo to put the Giants down for the count once more. With 2 outs, a runner on first and Freddy Sanchez swinging wildly at pitches nowhere near the strike zone, it appeared the count was about to reach 10. Once again, the Giants picked themselves up off the canvas and kept on fighting. Freddy somehow gathered himself and hit a sharp single up the middle. Bobby Cox brought in a LHP to face Aubrey Huff who drilled a single to RF scoring Travis Ishikawa from 2B. Buster followed with a sharp one hopper that ate up Brooks Conrad, hopped into right-center field, Freddy scampered around third to score the go-ahead run. Brian Wilson nailed down the Save in the bottom of the 9'th and now the Giants have 2 games to get one win and move on to the NLCS. Key lines:
Andres Torres- 1 for 4, BB, SB, CS. Torres led off the game with a single to CF. He went to 2B on Freddy's walk then got thrown out trying to steal 3B. I thought he as safe, but I guess I'll happily trade that call for the one on Buster Posey Thursday night. Did I hear Bob Brenly right when he said Andres swings a 37.5 oz bat? Holy moly! THAT is a big piece of lumber!
Freddy Sanchez- 1 for 4, BB. Freddy is not having a good series at the plate, but as mentioned above, he pulled himself together just in time to keep the 9'th inning alive and eventually score the winning run.
Aubrey Huff- 2 for 5. Huff has also had a tough series. I don't think anyone wants this more than Huff Daddy. Don't think that red thong is going to be able to hold cojones that big after THE clutch hit of his career so far.
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, BB. No credit for the batted ball that resulted in the game winning run scoring, but Buster atoned for the GIDP by hitting a sharp one hopper that ate up a hapless Brooks Conrad who committed 3 errors in this game alone. 2 of them were very tough plays though.
Mike Fontenot- 1 for 4, 3B. Fontenot payed immediate dividends after being put in Pablo's spot in the lineup as well as 3B. His triple off the top of the RF wall in the 2'nd inning resulted in a the Giants first run of the game, one that Jonathan Sanchez almost made stand up. Fontenot scored on a popup down the RF line off the bat of Cody Ross dropped by poor Brooks Conrad on a play that should have gone to Jason Heyward who arrived too late probably because he was shaken up on Fontenot's triple.
Jonathan Sanchez- 7.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 11 K's. Sanchez took yet another giants step forward in his development as a pitcher. With a big time start in a must-win playoff game under his belt, he now takes his elite stuff and becomes an elite pitcher. My Gosh! Do the Giants have enough jack to pay him, Timmy and Matt Cain? Good thing they have Bum on the cheap for another 3 years! It is 3 years, isn't it?
Sergio Romo- 0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K's, BS, W! Experiences like this can literally end careers, if not lives. I felt so bad for Sergio looking at him sitting in the dugout after the 8'th inning. All I could think of was how heartbroken he must feel and was going to feel for a long, long time. I'm sure it's still going to be tough for him, but man, did his teammates pick him up, or what? Still, if the Giants need an 8'th inning guy tomorrow in a close game, it better be Casilla!
Brian Wilson- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save. Willy closed this one out uneventfully except for a harmless single on a tough pitch to hit by Brian McCann. Good to see Wilson back on track. I have a feeling the Giants will need him a lot more before this postseason is done.
Game 3 of a tied series is always a crucial game. The Giants, in the course of two crazy innings went from facing an enormous uphill task, to being in a commanding position for the 5 game series. It looks like MadBum gets the call tomorrow against Derek Lowe on 3 days rest. Lowe may be able to pull it off as a sinkerball pitcher, but Lowe looked pretty gassed in game 1 already. I have a lot of faith in Bumgarner right now, so I'm saying I slightly favor the Giants to close it out tomorrow. If not, then it's Timmy for Game 5 in SF on 5 days rest and you've really got to like the Giants chances in this series.
Then again, as we have already seen, anything can, and probably will happen. Keep your seat belts buckled!
Go Giants!!
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I thought Torres uses a 35 inch 33 ounce bat. I am pretty sure that Brooks Conrad is a Giant in disguise. If Bobby Cox wants to enjoy a few weeks of early retirement, we better see Conrad back in the field! The Braves might be regretting that they let Kelly Johnson go after his rebound season this year in Arizona.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Sanchez was the best Giant today, but Brooks Conrad was a close second. You think Sergio Romo is going to feel bad? Brooks Conrad's mailbox is probably already filled with hate mail.
ReplyDeleteThis was discussed in the pre-game: Torres moved to a heavier bat as the season wound down, not lighter!?! Didn't catch all the numbers, so I don't know if the numbers quoted here are correct, but it was noted that he had a heavy bat already but then upped it late in the season.
ReplyDeleteI feel confident about Bumgarner too, I think this is the best route now, let Madison get his first playoff start out of the way, without the pressure of having to win, but still, the way he pitched in September, he was arguably the Giants best starter, so the Braves should not expect to do better against him than they have against the other starters, which have basically shut them down.
Man, has Posey been aces or what? He has been our offensive leader so far, by far. And we got 6 more seasons, at least, with him, because he didn't get brought up until later.
I made it a point to notice Torres' bat after Brenly made that comment. It is big enough to almost qualify as a log he's hauling up there. Maybe he needs to go back to the bat he was using mid-season. Man he was hitting the ball HARD back then!
ReplyDeletei will not blame romo
ReplyDeletebochy lost the chess match 2 games in a row
someone needs to explain to me why this team needs a 7 man pen, when it seems that the manager has no confidence in 4 of them
when cox pulled his stunt and put in henske, bochy should have gone out and pulled romo and brought in a lefty
cox has a depleted bench...what was he gonna do?
i know that romo has been good against both righties and lefties, but cox is a master...and he knew that if henske could fight off some pitches, he was gonna hit that slider.
thank god for conrad
giants and bochy were gifted this one
they may not be so lucky tomorrow
and torres should use a smaller bat..he isnt a power hitter..he just needs to get on base and make things happen
Bacci,
ReplyDeleteYou need to brush up on the rules. Bochy brought in Romo when Troy Glaus was announced as the PH. Then Bobby Cox pulled Glaus and sent up Hinske instead. Unfortunately, the rules state that once Romo is announced, he has to pitch to at least one full batter. The only way out, that I can see would be if he somehow got injured before the AB was completed. I'm not sure what the rules are in that case. I think the new pitcher in that case would have to finish out that AB and then face one more full AB.
Romo has been the 8'th inning guy all year. If you need a RHP in the 8'th inning, Romo was the guy. You don't bury a guy like that for one bad outing. Now, if the Giants need a 8'th inning guy tomorrow, I would say it definitely should not be Romo. Just a guess, but I bet Bochy is thinking the same thing. I'll be shocked if we see Romo tomorrow, or the next game if it goes 5.
i cant find the rule...its not in the pitcher section
ReplyDeleteand once glaus was announced, isnt that the batter that romo was sent in to face?
or does he have to enter the batter's box to make it an official at bat first
but where is the rule? cuz it isnt in the section 8 of the main rules
but i did find this rule...which is broken during every game
3.09
Players in uniform shall not address or mingle with spectators, nor sit in the stands before, during, or after a game. No manager, coach or player shall address any spectator before or during a game. Players of opposing teams shall not fraternize at any time while in uniform.
I'm not a rule book reader so I can't site chapter and verse, but I've been following baseball now for 44+ years and I can clearly remember Russ Hodges and Lon Simmons explaining it several times. It's a very well known rule, I am very confident of that.
ReplyDeleteOnce Troy Glaus is announced, he is the batter. Once Romo is announced, he is the pitcher. Troy Glaus can then be taken back by Bobby Cox, but is charged with an appearance so cannot re-enter the game. However, Bochy cannot then pull Romo until he has faced the new batter for a full AB.
I have no idea where that rule is written in stone, but that's the rule, it's always been the rule and it is applied frequently, so it's not like it's one that's never applied or nobody knows about.
Any rule book experts out there who want to point out the exact location of the written rule?
Bacci,
ReplyDeleteThe rule regarding the pitcher being required to face one full batter is in Section 3.05 of the rule book.
The rule regarding pinch hitters is in Section 10.03b.
Hope that clears it up.
I hope you are right regarding Wilson, let say we'll need him 9 more times ;-)
ReplyDeleteNobody is talking about how much Cody Ross may have been the difference between the Padres and the Giants in the regular season.
Now I like how the outfield is set up with a good defense and a balanced offense between (Ross, Burrell /Schierholtz, and Torres). Not too bad for a move that have been well "mocked" at the time it was made.
GIP
GIP,
ReplyDeleteYup, I love how a lot of people have ridiculed the Ross pickup as an accident. I remember in college attending a lecture by a Nobel Prize winning physicist whose entire talk was based on a simple idea: Chance favors the prepared mind!
Yeah, maybe all Sabes was trying to do was keep Ross out of the Padres' hands, but that was still a darn good move to make. Can you imagine what might have happened if the Padres had gotten him? Oh my goodness. The rest might have not been planned, but Sabes and Bochy made the most of it. Maybe made the change from Guillen to Ross a bit late, but I can easily imagine Ross being the difference in the NLCS and beyond!
thanks guys
ReplyDeletei was sure that i had seen a manager switch out a pitcher after a move was made from the bench...i was mistaken
and i was looking at the wrong section...thought the rule would be under the pitcher's section
so my apologies to bochy..although cox did out maneuver him
good win tonite...was surprised that cox allowed lowe to talk him out of taking him out...im sure he wouldnt have thought twice if he had his closer.
was also surprised that bochy didnt have nate pinch run for burrell....so was my 12 year old nephew (whos voice is changing...i teared up)
this is a battle hardened group...win or lose against the phillies...they are gonna give their all
and yes...kudos to sabean for the ross pickup...smartest move this season (next to getting the pen arms)
ross and madbaum stepping up means no guillen or zito....ever
I may be in the minority here, but I think Bochy outmaneuvered Bobby Cox more often than Cox outmaneuvered him. Nobody can manage every game perfectly. Too many variables and too many factors dependent on chance and simple human failing. Amazing how much smarter Bochy was at managing the bullpen tonight when the pitchers, you know, came in and got people out.
ReplyDeleteI think Bochy did a fine job managing this series, starting with leaving Zito and Guillen off the roster and keeping Bumgarner and Ross. And especially when compared with Cox. Only perfectionists would have a problem with Bochy, and there seems to be a lot of them who are Giants fans.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, we have Bumgarner cheap for three seasons, then three arbitration seasons as well. I think it is up to Neukom to step up to the plate and deliver the money he said he could if Sabean made a baseball decision that needed more money. Then we could afford not only Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, but also Wilson.
I hope the plan for the Giants is to extract as much money out of the A's for the move to San Jose as they can, then use that money to keep the core of the Giants beyond Rowand and Zito's contracts, and into the late 2010's. Plus, it would not hurt to get one big investor to plop in some money mid-decade to keep things going.
Hey everybody! I think 14 comments is some kind of record for this blog. Maybe we are building our own little community of Giants fans here? I love it! Keep 'em coming!
ReplyDelete