The Giants hitters staked Tim Lincecum to 2 leads which he gave back, the last 5 in a horrible 6'th inning in which he completely lost his stuff and Bruce Bochy had a brain cramp or two. Key Lines:
Andres Torres- 1 for 4, HR(1). BA= .340. Andres continued to hit the ball hard.
Freddy Sanchez- 3 for 4. BA= .272. Freddy's 3 hits helped produce one run even though he isn't listed in the scoring. He followed Torres' HR with a single, was forced on a Huff grounder. Huff then scored ahead of Nate's HR the same inning.
Nate Schierholtz- 1 for 2, HR(3), 2 BB. BA= .286. Nate again flashes he power in Coors field and even drew a couple of walks to boot. He continues to let his play on the field state his case for a starting gig in RF.
Tim Lincecum- 5/2 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 3 K's. ERA= 2.36. I know Timmy is the ace of the staff and has earned the right to prove he can't get it done, but by the time Carlos Gonzalez came up with 2 runners on base and the score tied 4-4, anybody who was paying attention knew what was going to happen. Timmy was getting pummeled by a parade of much lesser hitters than Carlos Gonzalez. They weren't bloop hits or bleeders either. By this point in the game, Timmy had completely lost command of the fastball and his deadly split-change was hanging up around the belt every time he threw it. If Bochy still has enough faith in Jeremy Affeldt to warm him up while the Giants still had the lead or were tied, then he's also gotta have faith the the LHP is a better option against CarGo than a Tim Lincecum who has completely lost his stuff. Timmy at his best or even his average? Yeah, I go with him against CarGo, but not on what he was throwing in the 6'th inning tonight. It wasn't like the bullpen had been overworked after Vogelsong's rain-shortened CG on Saturday and the rainout yesterday.
Thanks to the rainout yesterday coupled with the Rockies' loss to the Padres, the Giants came into the game up by 1.5 games in the NL West so remain in first place by 0.5 games.
Jonathan Sanchez tries to split the series tomorrow against Ubaldo Jimenez who has struggled mightily this year but could break out at any time.
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Yeah, I was wondering about why Boch did not bringin Affeldt to face CarGon. I wonder if they are showcasing Nate. They could also be giving him one last chance to show what he can do, he could keep Belt down if hitting well.
ReplyDeleteGIDP - League leaders... Phi Cappa Crappas of MLB. Time to start pistol whippings.
ReplyDeleteUmpires with variable strike zones for both pitchers anger me.
Timmy should have went to the movies. He never had a thing throughout his time in the game.
Nate sure is carrying his own... Nate needs to get some base stealing skills. He is the best RF on this team.
DeRosa plays what position worthwhile? His reaction time at 3B leaves a lot to be desired. Too slow for SS.
Huff still in need of running skills.
nate...one last chance???? when the fuck has he been given one first chance
ReplyDeletederosa is 0-14 off the dl, and bochy insists he is getting a full week...when has nate ever been given that sort of opp
showcase nate??? belt may have tore up the pcl when he has been sent down...but his avg has now dropped a full 75 points and he is back to looking more timid at the plate...with no pop
yes...i know that nate is the team's most tradeable commodity...but unless bochy is getting something that will not only shore up the left side of the if, but can be affordably signed for more than 2 years...it aint worth it
it was apparent that bochy doesnt have faith in jeremy, or else he wouldve lifted timmy....timmy just didnt have his breaking stuff all game
tomorrow should be a very interesting game...two pitchers who have underperformed this season
C'mon, Nate has had opportunities. He HAD the starting RF job in 2009 (June-July), OPS of 702. He had 250 PAs in 2010, OPS of 676. Those numbers don't make it for a corner outfielder on club that needs offense. Even if he is pretty much an elite defender.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Belt: I've never seen a guy who has a slash line of 388/533/567 in AAA get so much grief from fans. Timid? Please.
If Bochy doesn't have faith in Affeldt, then whytheheck was Affeldt the one he had warming up. After two days off, everybody in the bullpen should have been available. The game was on the line right there. Runzler absolutely abused CarGo earlier this season and Lopez is kryptonite to LH batters. If Affeldt is Bochy's guy, he should have been brought in to face CarGo. If not, he should not have been the guy warming up.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that if Neuks, Sabes and Bochy are serious about giving home grown players a chance and no blocking them with veteran FA's, then Nate has earned himself a chance to win the permanent RF starting job with his play so far this season.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteTake a look at Belt's slash line over his last 10 games. BA=.323=SLG%=.323. Meanwhile his OBP has risen while his BA had dropped. It would appear that he might have reverted into a too cautious approach at the plate, or it could be just a small sample size. or it could be AAA pitchers giving him the Bonds treatment. Who knows? It's just a pretty noticeable trend and one to watch as it evolves.
Correction: Belt's OBP over his last 10 games is .387. The point remains the same.
ReplyDeleteDoc, points taken. Like everyone, I'll keep watching what Belt is up to in Fresno.
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you someone else who doesn't seem to be swinging with authority on Giants. Our cleanup hitter. Buster has gone 13 Games without an extra-base hit. Every hit he gets seems to be a grounder up the middle.
Kelly, I agree with you about Posey. Last night, it seemed like there was just something off in his mechanics. Also noteworthy was that Cody Ross seemed to have a similar issue. There were multiple hangers belt high that would have been crushed by both players last year...
ReplyDeleteI keep thinking over possible trade scenarios in my head because this team seems to me to be just treading water. Awesome pitching has carried them to a nice 10 games, but look at the runs scored, just putrid. Unfortunately, the guys all the fans want traded have little or zero value because of contracts, poor hitting/fielding (that would be Rowand, DeRosa and Tejada in my book).
Doc, I think you are right on Schierholtz. It would be extremely near-sighted to trade him, especially because Cody Ross, although a good player, will command way more money for what I think would be similar slash lines over an extended period of time. Crunch the numbers and it is clear to me that Schierholtz has way more value as a controllable player than as a trade candidate.
One more tidbit. Despite his struggles at the plate, I have to give Posey some props for his demeanor behind the dish. When he threw CarGo at at third last night and I saw the replay of the jump off Lincecum, I couldn't believe the unload time/arm strength. We also saw him have a few meetings with Timmy last night, which tells me that Posey is taking control of calling the game, even with a 2 time Cy-Young winner on the hill.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteI agree on Posey regarding his character. I have great respect for the guy. The point I was trying to make by bringing him up with regard to Belt is that every player struggles. We're just focusing a ton on Belt right now (for obvious reasons).
I think Posey is going through a period where opposing teams have figured out some things and it's now up to him to make the next adjustment. His history suggests he will, but it could take a big chunk of the season.
ReplyDeleteStill pretty high on Belt, with just a bit of caution that he may actually be too selective and too cautious at the plate. If you are going to be ultra-selective at the plate, then you better be able to handle two strike situations. So far, I'm not sure Belt has shown that he can do anthing more than swing defensively with two strikes.
Agreed on the league making adjustments to Posey. And if ever there was a player who is capable of making adjustments back, it's Posey. And I agree, it takes time. I think Posey is doing what he can to make contact and put the ball in play while he's figuring out the adjustment. He's not striking out a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the 2 strike counts for Belt. But, really, I'm wondering what is happening in the hitters counts (2-0 and 3-1) that Belt is getting. These are the counts, by my reasoning, that Belt should be driving.
Well, Belt hit a Grand Slam today, so maybe it's all just a sample size thing.
ReplyDeleteNow you're talking, Doc!
ReplyDeleteLooked up the box, yeah, nice day for Belt. Sac Fly, couple of BBs, and the granny. Five RBIs. Real nice day.
For me, I just like the guy's eye. Remember last year when Huff was going so well in the first half? He was very patient at the plate. Lotta walks, more than his norm. When I see a guy like Belt, where that patience and sharp eye is the norm along with some power, well, I get excited.
I probably watched 50 of his PAs with the Giants, and I never saw what I thought was a bad AB. He wasn't hitting the good pitches he was swinging at, but he hardly ever swung at garbage.
IF the Giants bring him back up, I hope they keep him batting lower in the order. Like 7th, until he gets his confidence at the MLB level. Let him do his thing.