Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Game Wrap 5/7/2014: Pirates 4 Giants 3

Brandon Belt hit a HR and drove in 3 runs, but got little help from the rest of the lineup, and the Giants could not overcome the 4 runs Tim Lincecum gave up in the first 2 innings.  Key Lines:

Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, 2B, HR(9).  BA= .266.  Belt has been having trouble catching up to fastballs, so you would think a pitcher who has hit triple digits with his heater might embarrass him.  Instead, Belt was the one hitter in the lineup with a multi-hit game and they were both for extra-bases to boot.  Belt is now tied with several hitters for second in the NL in HR's behind Giancarlo Stanton's 10.  He is 6 for 17(.353) over his last 5 games with 2 dingers and 2 SB's.

Tim Lincecum- 4 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K's.  ERA= 5.55.  Another disappointing start for Timmy, putting his team in a 4-1 hole after 2 innings.  He did pitch a scoreless 3'rd and 4'th inning, but 4 IP is just not deep enough into the game.  7 starts into the season, Timmy's record looks quite similar to what it's been the last 2 seasons.  He has just 2 QS out of the 7 and has made it through 6 IP in just 3 games.  Maybe OK for a 5'th starter on a non-contending team, but Timmy is getting paid $20 M to pitch for a team that has aspirations of doing a lot more than contend.  Gotta kick it up a notch, there, Timmy!

The Loss dropped the Giants into a first place tie in the NL West with the Rockies who clobbered the Texas Rangers 9-2.  The 3'rd place Dodgers lost to the Nationals 3-2 and are 2.5 games back.  The Padres lost to the KC Royals 8-0 to remain 6.5 games behind in 4'th place.  The last place D'Backs gained a game to 9.5 back with a 3-2 win over the BrewCrew.

The Giants now move to LA for a 4 game series in SoCal with Ryan Vogelsong facing Josh Becket tomorrow night in game 1.

12 comments:

  1. To be honest, the lineup for this game left a lot to be desired. I cringed a little when I saw it. Despite his struggles, I feel like Sandoval is a much greater threat than Arias right now. Plus no Posey or Pagan. No excuses for Timmy, but I feel like this game was punted from the beginning.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But it wasn't punted! Belt saved the lineup. If Timmy had just pitched a QS, the game would have been at least tied in the late innings.

      Delete
    2. Besides that, Sandoval's hand is hurting. 1 AB is a lot different than playing a full game with a hurt hand. Posey and Pagan can't play every day. This was a winnable game for the Giants, at least until they went down by 4 off the bat and that was not the lineup's fault.

      Delete
    3. I hope Pablo heats up soon. He's capable of getting super hot for a month. That requires a healthy Panda though, sans a hurting hand.

      Delete
  2. DrB I think its time to give up on Timmy, and just look at him as a really bad 5th starter on any team. If he was capable of going consistently 6 or 7 I do think the Giants could survive with it but going 4 innings every 2 starts, man Bochy has to make a decision if this carries on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. $40 M says Bochy is going to keep running Timmy out there for awhile, but yeah, this is getting tough to watch. You start to think of what else the Giants could have used that $40 M on, not just this year, but next year too.

      Delete
    2. timmy is an overpaid 4

      his ace status is no longer a factor

      4s are usually inconsistent

      we have been spoiled

      didnt expect the team to beat cole....and they rose to expectations

      nice to see belt out of his slump

      giants need to split in los angeles

      here is puig flipping his bat on routine fly ball

      http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/yasiel-puig-bat-flips-routine-fly-ball--because-of-course-he-does-025149356.html

      here is fat tommy, being fat, stupid, disgusting and saying to the world that he should be kicked the hell out of baseball

      http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24553486/tommy-lasorda-on-v-stiviano-i-hope-she-gets-hit-with-a-car

      the bums are, always have been, and always will be a classless org

      bacci

      Delete
    3. Come trading deadline and if we are looking at improving the rotation, is that when they look at Timmy's spot if he is the same at that time?

      Delete
    4. DrB, I greatly appreciate your comment regarding Lincecum. They are so many Giants fans on different blogs who just keep defending this guy when he's got nothing left in the tank. For the past 2 years he has been mediocre!! Everyone knew $40m was going to be a waste of money even the Giants brass. And you are right of course they are gonna keep throwing him (1. salary and 2. not much better options right now, probably until half season if a trade was to happen).

      Delete
    5. For the past 2 years he has been mediocre!!

      Mediocre would be a huge upgrade.

      The way he's pitched the last 2 years and these 7 starts, if his name was Joe Jones, he'd be out of baseball.

      Delete
  3. Hoping for Big Time Timmy Jim to show up... is that a catchy blog title or what?

    Like ships in the night, here's his salary and accomplishments:
    Minimum, CY, 7.9 WAR
    Minimum plus, CY, 7.5 WAR
    9MM, Ring, 3.7 WAR
    14MM, 4.2 WAR
    18MM, Ring, -1.7 WAR
    22MM, -0.6 WAR
    17MM this year so far, -0.6 WAR

    In the who the hell knows category, batters have a 393 babip against him. His walks are down, he's coming in on hitters and they're... responding well.

    You have to give him half the season. 11 more starts easy. Then it might be talk about the pen, 2-3 inning fireman role.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree he will get plenty more time to show us the same lack of stuff he has for the last 2 yrs. I heartily endorse your idea of a 2-3 inning fireman. I hope Sabean has the intestinal fortitude to make the change, because I think Bochy won't have a problem with it.

    ReplyDelete