The Giants got another tough as nails pitching performance from Ryan Vogelsong and the offense came to life late in the game for a stirring come from behind victory. Key Lines:
Ryan Theriot- 0 for 2, 2 BB. BA= .186. The Riot got on base from the 2 hole. That's the single most important thing a #2 hitter does, get on base!
Melky Cabrera- 3 for 4. BA= .376. 3 more hits. 50 for the month of May to pass Willie Mays for the most hits in the month of May in SF Giants history. Randy Winn holds the record for most hits in any month with 51 in his great September of 2005. Melky has one more game to try to tie or break that one.
Buster Posey- 2 for 4, 2B, SF. BA= .302. Buster did his job as the cleanup hitter driving in 2 of the Giants 3 runs.
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, SB(10). BA= .313. Pagan's line does not show any Runs or RBI's, but he contributed to the insurance run by keeping the line moving.
Brandon Belt- 0 for 0, 2 BB. BA= .240. Whatever we think of Brandon Belt, it was obvious the D'Backs did not want any part of pitching to him with runners on base. Some of that had to do with L-R matchups, but Arias is not a terrible hitter and the D'Backs clearly preferred to try to get him out than Belt.
Ryan Vogelsong- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.36. That's a terrific looking pitching line, but it doesn't tell half the story. 4'th inning, bases loaded 1 out. Nobody scores! 6'th inning, runners on 2'nd and 3'rd. Nobody out, nobody scores! Vogelsong has definitely passed on to a new level in his career. Last year we marveled at his unexpected success. Every game, we wondered if this would be the game where we would wake up from the dream. This year, once he got a couple of great starts under his belt, we've come to expect a well pitched game and more every time he toes the rubber. Tonight Vogey was in a game where he could not afford to give up even one more run and once again, he refused to lose!
Clay Hensley- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 1.77. Anybody else digging what Hensley has brought to the bullpen? Chalk up another terrific offseason signing by Sabes, I'm sure with a strong recommendation from Bruce Bochy. He might not throw all that hard, but he pitches with heart and has a wipeout curveball. If for some reason Casilla could not close for a game or 2 or a season, I would have no problem if Boch handed the ball to Hensley in the 9'th.
Santiago Casilla- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, Save(14). ERA= 1.17. Casilla has really settled into the closing role, hasn't he? I'll say this, his 9'th innings tend to have a lot less drama than BWeezy's. Kruk was commenting that he has really learned to use the 2 seamer to get ground balls, but still has the velocity and secondary stuff to get the K's.
The Crowd- The Giants always have supportive fans, but this crowd had a different feel to it tonight. It was louder, more raucous, more confident. They are feeling something building here and I think the Giants are feeling it too.
The Melkmen- Melky is rapidly endearing himself to the fans for obvious reasons. Tonight there was a group of guys dressed up in white with white hats calling themselves the Melkmen going around with signs urging people to vote Melky in as an All-Star starter. Man, did they ever look like they were having fun! Great stuff!
Pablo Sandoval- Pablo really needs to get back in the lineup if for no other reason than to give him something to do besides make shaving cream pies and smashing them in players' faces during Amy G's interviews. That one's getting a little old, Pablo!
The Dodger lost again to the BrewCrew 2-1 so the Giants gained another game on the NL West leaders to 5.5 games behind. Arizona stayed 10.5 games back with the loss. Rockies gained a game to 12.5 games off the pace and the Pathetic Padres lost their 5'th in a row to stay 16 games behind in last place. The Giants win moved them 4 games over .500 for the first time this season. The remain 1 game behind the Marlins and Mets for a Wild Card playoff spot.
Tim Lincecum tries once again to get his season on track tomorrow facing Ian Kennedy as the Giants try for payback of the opening series sweep at the hands of these D'Backs.
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Love that Casilla is doing well in the closer role. Should provide time for Hembree to develop in AAA.
ReplyDeletecome to att....the baseball version of comicon...and nothing wrong with that
ReplyDeletei believe the melkmen are a good selling point that baer and sabean have to use...c'mon melky, money means a lot, but name the other town where you had your own personal cheer squad...dressed like milk men....bam
mrs v tweeted that she was as amazed as everyone else to watch vogie get out of those men on base situations....thought she was passed that...i am...wasnt amazed at all...camera kept showing his face...he was locked in
was pretty amazed at that weird k zone though
what melky has done is better than what winn did, even if he doesnt break the record tomorrow...may vs sept...think about it
arias did beat out that first dp, although it was close...really time for replay
everyone played well....dfa huff...pointless and a waste of money and space to have him be a ph...he has the money, let him go home for intense therapy and to work on his marriage...i have spoken
someone tweeted that they were chatting about the drrty for melky trade in the snakes booth and they heard that kc brass believe that drrty lacks motivation....duh...i really wonder how sabean bamboozled the royals...that would make for a great story
speaking of the snake's booth...grace is a moron and a buffoon...how in the world did that man have a successful baseball career? he is an idiot...he cant be playing a character...he is there to give color
in the 4th, with the bases loaded and the count 2-0, grace said that vogie would have to come down the heart of the plate....of course, the next pitch vogie threw hit the outside black for a k...and grace said...oh, i guess he didnt have to throw it down the middle
how does he have a job?
i see that the giants were hemming and hawing over when bonds could come back to do something...if ever
mlb...most hypocritical pro sports org...ever
fact...every gm, owner, president and the commish, knew exactly what was going on during the roids era...and they did nothing to stop it...they just sat back and counted the money
keep bonds out of the game? none of them should have jobs. and ya, that goes for your beloved sabey sabes and bochy too
Bonds can not coach. I've heard this guy talk (albeit to the press) for 20 years and he's never said a single genuine thing.
DeleteKrukow lobbing softballs to him, he can't answer with ANY honesty.
Krukow: Isn't it great being back at AT&T?
Bonds: Oh, yeah. This is where it all began. I mean, not here. But here. I mean, I started in Pittsburgh, but this is where my career really began.
First of all, easy answer, SERRA GRAD. You were raised in the Bay Area, and really consider it your home. But he can't even get a platitude lie correct. What, with being from LA now, I guess I understand. It's confusing to him.
And what the HELL was with Bonds trying to get in a pissing contest with KRUKOW, of all people, for?
Using his perfect Bonds Logic:
Batting line vs. Kruk is 3 for 11, 3 Ks, 1 HR.
Bonds: You only got me out 3 times.
Krukow: No, I got you out 8 times.
Bonds: No, your teammates got me out 5 times. YOU only got me out 3 times.
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot...
Bonds was not playing around. He was trying to show up Krukow, who is the biggest homer player-sweetheart guy ever. Bonds is too egotistical and ignorant to understand when someone is trying to HELP him ease back into baseball.
Bacci, you and I agree completely on the how Major League Baseball is responsible for the steroids. They loved the era. They raked the cash. Now they play dumb and allow individual players, who made them rich, get sold down the river. Disgraceful.
So it's unfortunate that Bonds is the poster-boy for steroids in Baseball. But, wow, he is about as unlikeable person that there is. And regardless of his knowledge of baseball, he has zero understanding of people. Would make the worst coach imaginable.
I agree with Kelly Bonds do have good knowledge, but i only see him as a person that come in from time to time and give advice to hitters or help during spring training. If we had to bring in a former Giants Jeff Kent would be better.
DeleteMaybe they could make Bonds the hitting coach and Kent the first base coach. Now THAT would be fun to watch!
DeleteBacci,
DeleteDang it! Thanks for bringing up the K zone. I was going to post Joe Saunders' line and comment that a big part of the reason for his good start was the ump was giving him low strikes that were at least 3 inches below the knees. When guy like Saunders gets the low strike, he's going to be very tough to hit. Not saying Vogie didn't get it too, but Vogie uses the whose zone, not just the bottom of it so Saunders is the one who benefits more.
Nice suggestion DrB!
DeleteEric Byrnes on KNBR yesterday talked long about how Bonds (father and son) helped Eric out at Stanford's field, even though he was still in college and apparently had a lot to learn still about hitting. He spoke long and admiringly of how Bonds was able to give him all these pearls of advice that helped him greatly.
I think Bonds should be a hitting consultant with his own personal projects. First up would be Brandon Belt, obviously. He might have resisted others, but if Bonds was on his case, he might have changed sooner than waiting until now. And it is natural, two lefty power hitters.
I would also suggest Brandon Crawford and Emmanuel Burriss. Both show good knowledge of the strike zone, but neither has been doing much with the pitch when making contact. Bonds should be able to diagnose that and help them. His stature in the game and in the history of the Giants should get them developing faster, plus, gives them one advice to follow, as young players often hear from so many people with advice, they don't know whose to take. Bonds should be the only voice for the select few whose improvement could advance the Giants cause immediately.
Well, the Bonds/Kent suggestion was a bit tongue-in-cheek, but yeah, Bonds has a lot to offer in an advisory role. Pablo's been seeking him out for advice for a couple years now. I'd say it's probably helped Pablo....a lot! And how smart is it of Pablo to take the initiative and seek out Barry for advice?
DeleteYeah, I know it was tongue in cheek, just went straight to the Byrnes comment.
DeleteRecent Pablo interview noted that he spoke with Bonds and couldn't share what was said. Shades of elementary school!
Lots of elusive goals coming for the game: series sweep, 4 game winning streak, Timmy getting right. Here's hoping like hell.
ReplyDeleteWhere does Melky's upside end? "Rowand money" is being brought up a lot, the 5/60MM deal. With this type of performance, he won't be cheap. What I was thinking last night, both Melky amd Pagan have to be loving it here - an intense crowd like in NY but a different crowd, more supportive, less insane judgement, and fun being had. Both are veterans of the NY media scene, they must enjoy to more laid back West Coast environs. Between the 1 year qualifying offers for draft picks and the fact they seem to be enjoying the team immensely, that is a leg up. Now its always about money, but these are small advantages for Los Gigantes. First month was a bit rough, but its clear now both trades were huge wins for Sabean.
One word on young Brandon Belt: throws darts home. Out at the plate. Scoops up Crawford's errant throws like a champion. Took out the 2B to make sure Arias was safe the 2nd time. Those are all signs of a good baseball player. He is one of the big keys to a winning season, he may struggle with contact and overthinking things, but he's not taking it that to the other aspects of the game.
Yup, Belt's D is, dare I say it?.... making me forget about JT Snow! I was impressed that the D'Backs wanted no part of him at the plate with runners on base either.
DeleteThe Giants are interesting again...damn this is fun.
DeleteCome on Timmy, join the party.