Monday, August 15, 2011

Game Wrap 8/15/2011: Braves 5 Giants 4

There is an old country song by Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart titled "This One's Gonna Hurt You For A Long Long Time" which pretty much sums up how I feel about the game tonight. Ouch! Now THAT hurt! The Giants got a few runs for Madison Bumgarner who hung tough after giving up 2 runs in the first two innings. They had it within their grasp in the 9'th with a 2 run lead and closer Brian Wilson taking the mound. Alas, it was not to be. There were a couple of tougher losses last year: The extra inning game against the Rockies in Colorado and later the broken bat triple game in AT&T, so I'm not ready to throw myself down the stairs just yet, but yeah, this one was painful to watch. Key lines:

Mike Fontenot- 1 for 3, HR(3). BA= .213. Fonty had to come in at 3B for Pablo who left the game after fouling one off his right foot. Fortunately, X-rays were negative. Fonty got an insurance run with a HR. I wonder if Pablo might have made a couple of those plays in the 9'th inning though. We'll never know.

Nate Schierholtz- 1 for 2, HR(9), BB, HBP. BA= .277. Nate got his second HR in 2 games and seems to be hot again.

Madison Bumgarner- 7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K's. ERA= 3.49. Bum has been sharper, but still a mighty fine effort to leave the game with a 2 run lead.

Brian Wilson- 0.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K, BS(5). ERA= 3.19. Wilson's back has been bothering him but he got his heater up to 97 MPH in this one. Maybe he's a bit rusty from too little work lately, or maybe the odds just caught up with him in this one. I really thought he was going to get Freeman for the last out, leave the bases loaded and come away with a 4-3 win. Credit Freeman for hanging tough and hitting it back up the middle for the game winner, but Wilson should never have been in that position. As an aside, I have to wonder it it might have been a different outcome had Pablo been playing 3B and Crawford playing SS in the 9'th.

With the Loss, the Giants dropped another 0.5 games down to the D'Backs who were idle.

Jonathan Sanchez tries to right the ship tomorrow evening facing rookie Randall Delgado who is tremendously talented but possibly a bit raw. He is taking the place of Tommy Hanson who is on the DL.

11 comments:

  1. ok...pablo was hurt...nothing can be done about that...but craw has to be back and soon

    i dont care if cabrera is hitting 30 pts higher...he has no range

    giants record when they score 4 runs is astounding...because of pitching and defense

    wasnt luck that got the giants to 17 above...it was pitching and defense....

    sabean did make the team worse

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  2. Sabean did NOT make the team worse. That is just so much horse manure. Keppinger has been in improvement. Cabrera has been a net improvement. Beltran has been a dud and if you say you knew it all along, you are a liar.

    I do think Crawford could still help the team as a late inning defensive replacement but he also needs to be getting AB's down in Fresno.

    Just a tough loss, that's all.

    It wasn't entirely luck that got the giants to 17 above, but you don't win that many 1 run games without some luck on your side.

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  3. An update from Baggs says the Giants have signed each of their top 13 picks. Interested to see what Oropeza gets...

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  4. doc,

    i think we are gonna have to agree to disagree

    look, sabean and bochy get a pass for this year...the loss of posey and freddie, the deterioration of both zito and durty, the lack of anything from huff, pablo being out an extended period, torres being all messed up after the achilles deal...this team, even with pitching...should not have been in contention

    and no...didnt think that beltran was gonna be a bust...but i dont like straight rental trades...and as a result of runs scored against, i dont think cabrera is a net plus...but you are right..kepp is a keeper

    but the team has been significantly worse since the break...and maybe this is the way it shoulda been all year...who knows...i just dont think so

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  5. doc...ricky is now officially a giant...for 550 bonus...heckuva deal

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  6. Didn't Wilson have a nasty, hard, sharp-downward-breaking slider last year that he used a LOT?

    I rarely see him throw a slider this year, and when he does, it ain't the same pitch. Am I imagining this?

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  7. Kelly, I think you are right. I never see the slider. He's ditched it for the cutter which is a good pitch, but maybe not the wipeout K pitch the slider was. He also would occasionally throw a changeup last year which I never see this year. He's just going with mainly two versions of the fastball, the new 2 seamer and the cutter. Occasionally adds the 4 seamer but less and less as the season has progressed.

    Bacci,

    I just think the Giants are in a rough patch and will come out of it. Hopefully before the D'Backs get too big a lead.

    I think Mom is probably quite happy with Ricky's bonus.

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  8. Oh yeah,

    Disclaimer here because I am definitely not unbiased about this but I think the Giants got a good one in Ricky. They got at least a supplemental round talent in in the 3'rd round with Ricky and I think he was a bit undervalued in the supplemental round. Go look up his sophomore year stats at USC. THAT's the real Ricky! Last year was messed up due to him having to hit for the first third of the season with the wrong sized bat and also by the new coach wanting him to use a more level swing and hit line drives.

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  9. I agree in that no one could see this coming with Beltran. But,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I do believe the Giants are protecting his free agency by not putting him on the DL. I also believe that Carlos is over protecting himself because of his free agency. Maybe they are thinking about signing him in the off season?

    Doc, I'm sorry but I believe that Cabrera's lack of range and arm has been a subtraction. I realize Brandon needs more seasoning, but it doesn't subtract the fact that Cabrera is lacking.
    I know this is going to rile some folks, but here goes. Keppinger is solid and I have no complaints with his play. But... Burris converts the pivot at 2B as fast as anyone I have seen in 50 years of watching baseball. Pity Burriss' bat can't keep up.

    The future - with an eye on Augusta, this team seems like they are onto something good. Really looking forward to San Jose next year. Just hope more of it pans out than not.

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  10. Make that an eye on Salem-Keiser...

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  11. A keystone combination of Crawford and Burriss simply sacrifices too much defense and was not a viable option going forward. Cabrera's range is much better than Tejada or Fonty's and his hitting is significantly better than Crawford's. Not a perfect solution, but likely the best available.

    I believe Beltran wants to win a championship and I believe the Giants do to. To think there is the equivalent of adding 2+2 and getting 5!

    S-K indeed has several very interesting players: Panik, of course. Galindo has turned himself into a serious prospect. Murray for his bat, if nothing else. SJ should definitely field another championship caliber team in the Cal League next year.

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