The Giants continued their pattern of falling behind early then catching up only to lose it in the later innings as they went down to their 4'th consecutive loss. In the midst of the gloom, though, there were a few rays of hope. Let's go to the Key Lines:
Gregor Blanco- 0 for 5. BA= .257. It's happened over and over. Just when you think somebody has emerged to fill an essential role, they turn in a stinker of a game like this. Still, I'd leave him in this spot awhile and see what he does with an extended look.
Melky Cabrera- 2 for 3, 3B, BB. BA= .311. How great has Melky been, both on offense and defense? The triple was a liner that was smoked up triples alley as hard as any ball I've seen hit. I don't think the ball got more than 4 feet off the ground at any time but still went deep into the gap and took two skips to the wall.
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, SB(3). Pagan extended his hitting streak to 18 games. According to Alex Pavlovic, he was also the victim of a very bad umpiring call, although I missed some of the game as we were out celebrating my daughter's birthday and didn't see it.
Brandon Belt- 1 for 3, BB. BA= .294. It looked to me like Belt should have been credited with another hit and an RBI in the 6'th on a ball that was hit really hard under Rickie Weeks' glove with Weeks being charged with an error.
Nate Schierholtz- 0 for 1. BA= .254. Nate was brought in to pinch-hit for Tim Lincecum in the 5'th with 1 out, a run in and runners on 2'nd that 3'rd. He struck out. Nate is now 1 for his last 23. Timmy had retired 10 batters in a row and was only at 84 pitches. On the other hand, I can see the argument that the Giants had an opportunity to get back in the game and don't have that many opportunities to score. You have to go for it when you have the chance. Tough call that Bochy said he regretted after the game. Now THAT doesn't bode well for Nate, I would say.
Tim Lincecum- 5 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 5.68. Timmy was as messed up in the first two innings as I've seen him. Still, a hard ground ball hit a foot or two farther right in the first inning would have changed a two run single into a DP grounder to end the inning and he would have been out of it with just 1 run given up.
Steve Edlefsen- 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, GO/AO= 3/1. ERA= 0.00. Edlefsen threw just 16 pitches in 2 innings.
The Dodgers lost to the Cubs 5-4 in an afternoon game so the Giants remain 5 games behind in 4'th place in the NL West. The Dangerous D'Backs topped the New York Mess 5-4 to move into sole possession of 2'nd place 3.5 games behind. The Rockies lost a slugfest to the Braves 9-8 to remain 4.5 games behind. The pathetic Padres lost to the Marlins 9-8 to remain 8.5 games back in last place.
Madison Bumgarner tries to be the stopper today in an afternoon game facing Randy Wolf who is not a very good pitcher but who has given the Giants fits in the past. I guess you can say that about a lot of pitchers, huh?
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Pretty sure Nate pinch-hit with only 1 out. Even worse.
ReplyDeleteWent back and re-read the game log. You are correct. Fixed!
Delete\Correct Fail.
DeleteSecond day in a row where Nate came up with men on 2B and 3B and less than two outs in a key Giants rally. Killed it. Day before, one pitch foul out, runners stuck at 3B/2B. Yesterday 4-pitch strikeout, same result. This is not a Nate funk. This is Nate being a weak out vs a tough out (see Blanco, Gregor). This is Nate "trying" to hit the ball rather than controlling the strike zone. This is Nate swinging over the low and inside backfoot slider - an easy out pitch for an MLB pitcher. Did he learn this from Rowand?
Look I love Nate's abs and arm. But he has been an in the majors since 2007 - and still not correcting this basic flaw in his pitch recognition and plate approach. Yeah, when Nate is hot he is all world. Given John some of his best home run calls. And the Giants have given him time to get his @#$% together.
Sorry but Nate deserves to be in Bochy's doghouse. Blanco is in, even his 0-5 felt like he was battling. Nate not at all.
Pagan has 18 game streak.
ReplyDeleteSorry. Fixed!
DeleteBochy F'ed that one up with pinch hitting Nate instead of Pill. He just can't get it through his thick skull that lefty righty matchups aren't everything. Blanco had good approaches at the plate, you can't expect him to get a hit every at bat or even every game so give him a break. His line drive to center with 2 outs and 2 on in that inning was hard hit and could have fallen. I don't need to see more Gillespie at third, give me more Pill.
ReplyDeleteI had family fun as well so I missed the comeback. Bummer about Schierholtz pinch hitting woes. That is a spot custom made for Pat Burrell. You really really want your three true outcome guys up, and Nate has to realize a fly ball either day scores the damn run. I hope Boch gives Blanco another shot, and at this point I am satisfied with Belt's PT as well as the Giants finally getting some good PR with that sfgate Scott Ostler article and clarifying the situation. Good job Greybeards, that is how you manage fans expectations correctly. So if Pill gets first crack at ol Randy Wolf and his 89 MPH paint I won't be bellyaching.
ReplyDeleteFamily fun or watching the Giants ugly - think you picked the better time today Shank.
DeleteThe Ostler article confirms a couple of things on Belt: 1. OGC is vindicated in that all the strikeouts are a problem and something Sabes and Bochy are very aware of. 2. I have been correct in saying that Belt is not going anywhere, the Giants are high on him and very much want him to succeed.
DeleteThe strikeouts are stats for all to see and have been indisputable.
DeleteThe conjectures were and are
1 He will get more playing time when hits better
2 he needs more PT to hit better
It's the old chicken or egg problem
He is playing better. He wasn't before
Without controlled experiments we will never
My guess is he got more PT because Huff is out. More PT lead to better hitting.
Hi, from Victoria, Vancouver Island. I've followed the Giants since 1962. I catch many of their games on Digi Cable. As bad as last year's edition of the G's were, this year's lineup in far worse. All the bad omen's were there when they were swept by the D'Backs to open this season. As someone with a build similar to Freak, I perceive that his low velocity fastball, stems not from his arm, but his legs. He must work on his quadriceps, until this happens he will continue to be out of sink and a liability to the team. Madbum and Matt are their most consistent hurlers at this point, and only a paucity of run support has kept them from better win loss records. Crawford's problem was supposedly, hitting, however, even his glove has betrayed him thus far. Whatever huff had, he seems to have given it to Buster and Nate-the not so great. I've little sympathy for the players. They make obscene $. I do, however, sympathize with loyal supportive fans such as yourselves and those at AT&T. Cultivate a sense of humor, I have a feeling you'll need it. Ian.
ReplyDeletethis lineup is not far worse
Deletethey just are doing the right things at the right time
for that, i blame bochy
who pretended that he would play small ball in st....then chose not to once the season started
This is a better lineup although it could end up as bad if the injuries continue to build up. So far, LIncecum has struggled and the bullpen may be an arm or two short right now. What's hurt the most has been the errors.
DeleteFor all the howling about Bochy and Sabes favoring vets and hating young players, this is actually a very young team and we're seeing a lot of young player mistakes and growing pains.
Once again, Bacci, small ball is not the problem!!
Bacci,
DeleteHow is Nate striking out with runners on 2'nd and 3'rd and 1 out Bochy's fault in any way and how on Earth would playing small ball help? Nate's job was to put the ball in play almost anywhere. He didn't get it done, pure and simple.
This is an extremely young team for sure. And the hatred of Crawford, Pill and Sanchez spilling out in certain corners of the internet is laughable. That is exactly right, growing pains. Gotta take the lumps on that. The hitting talent is better than the 2008 version of play the kids. I should say, it appears to be better, we have to see what turns out. 40 PAs is no way to judge that. Let it breath.
Deletedoc
Deleteits bochys fault cuz he shouldve had pill there
at least brett wouldve got wood on the ball
TIME TO BRING IN DECKER AND HIS CATCH PHRASES
oh, and welome to the board
Deletenice to have canucks join us
dont let doc scare you....hes just a big pussycat at heart
Here we go with the Bochy Bashing again and for no good reason. RHP, Nate is a LH batter. He's been solid as a PH over the years. I don't think there is a manager in baseball who would have put Pill up there instead of Nate in that situation. He just didn't get it done. Oh, and Brett Pill doesn't have anything to do with "small ball" anor "situational hitting" either.
Deletesomething is wrong with nate. outside of those 2 games in nyc, he has looked terrible...this does not fit his pattern
ReplyDeletefreddy back in extended...time to close the book on him...bochy now saying 50-50....hahahahah
they want huff to play lf when he gets back....they gotta give it up
question is...who gets released?
no buzz on trades
O's picked up miggs....question is why
finally....timmy better get his head screwed on straight very soon
Bacci,
DeleteWhat are you talking about? Nate has always run hot and cold. The joke is on those of us who thought he had a chance to become consistent? He's consistent alright, consistently inconsistent!!
I'd love to be wrong, but 1100 major league ABs do tell a story.
Deletehot and cold...never stone cold, i have no clue what im doing at the plate
DeleteNever? Man, I don't know what you've been watching over the years, Bacci, but yeah, Nate can and has gone stone cold more times than I can count.
DeletePreviously Nate always seemed to get hurt just when he was emerging. Now it's just Nate fail. Sorry but I am getting off the Nate wagon.
DeleteMost of Nate's cold streaks have coincided with injuries, but one I could not correlate was when he took over for Fred Lewis in the OF, he was super hot then super cold, about a month each, until he had an injury that finally took him out of the lineup. I was thinking that was fortunate because had he been colder any longer, he would have been taken out. Then he came back too soon (unbeknownst to the Giants), was put straight back into the starting lineup, and was stone cold since he was still injured, and finally was taken out of the lineup.
DeleteI don't recall any injury issue around the time after the Mets DH, so he just appears to be too cold.
I think Pill will get sent down, not for lack of performance, but numbers game with Arias and Blanco looking good, and he still having an option. However, I think Huff gets a month in time to get straight, but not necessarily starting no matter what for the whole time, and Sabean/Bochy would make the call to release him and bring Pill back up.
Only other option I can see is releasing Theriot. But after his cold start, he's been hitting .292 in limited play, so I don't see that happening.
Actually, check that, Burriss probably goes before Theriot, he not only hasn't been hitting, but his defense hasn't been good either.
And I just remembered that Bochy said that Belt/Pill would play 1B once Huff returns, so it looks more like Burriss vs. Theriot, as the only other option after that is sending down a reliever, but with the bullpen in flux like it has been, I don't see how they would do that. Given all this, Burriss looks like the one off the 25-man when Huff returns.
Oh, just remembered that Gillaspie is another option. Given Sandoval being out and Arias looking shaky at 3B defensively previously, this would be a good opportunity to see how Gillaspie does in majors, very good. Still, Panda is out at least 30 days, so Gillaspie could go back for at least the 10 day minimum, the Giants could try out Theriot, Burriss, and Arias at 3B, and if nobody fills the bill, Gillaspie could come back up, and the Giants would have effectively pushed off the tough decision another 10 days at min, could even get to 20 days and still be able to bring back Gillaspie and give him a couple of weeks of starting.
This looks like a better option right now, not that I'm that big a Burriss supporter, but it does give the Giants more time to evaluate Burriss. Then again, maybe they have had enough time...
Giants need long ball hitters in their lineup every day. When one swing of the bat can turn a loss into a win, such as Pagan's 3 run jack in New York. Theriot has no power and barely hits over .200, he should be benched. I like Manny Burriss' speed and glove. Play Pill & Belt. If Bochy inserts Huff, Bochy should see a psychiatrist along with huff. Even when Giants score runs in an inning, they still end up stranding runners that come back to haunt them. Bench Mota, he's a liability. Buster seems to have emerged from his funk (.382-.317) keep him at 1st. When Posey's up with a man on 1st, send the runner. Too many times, Buster hits into rally ending dp's. Pagan's better than I first thought and has some pop. If Freak has just one more bad start, put him on the dl and have him lift weights to strengthen his legs.I said earlier that this lineup was worse than last year, not so, however, they're making far more errors and stranding too many runners. Loses to bad teams is not a sign of a good ball club. Stick with power hitters and our good pitching will carry us through. Ian, Victoria, B.C.
ReplyDeleteWell, Ian. The Giants best power hitter is currently out with an injury. Posey can put a hurt on the ball. I'm still optimistic that Belt can turn into a power hitter you can just write into the 5 hole every day. The power is there. Let it develop. Not much the Giants can do about Panda's situation except wait for him to come back and hope the wrist injury doesn't kill his power for a year or two.
Delete