The Giants have almost become interesting just to see the varied and innovative ways they find to lose games. Tonight, they left 6 runners stranded in the last 2 innings with a total of 1 out between them. Then Romo gave up a HR to a guy the Giants gave up on. Ballgame! Key Lines:
Madison Bumgarner- 8 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K's. ERA= 2.76. You can't ask for better pitching than that. Another wasted effort by the Giants offense.
Pedro Strop(Cubs)- 1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. The Giants loaded the bases against Strop in the 8'th with a walk and 2 bunts. Things were looking terrific with Posey, Sandoval and Pence coming up. Alas! Strop shattered Posey's bat and he hit into a force out at home. Sandoval followed with a soft bouncer to Rizzo who again got the force at home. Pence then flailed at 3 pitches none of which I believe were in the strike zone.
Kevin Gregg- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K. After getting Francoeur to ground out, Gregg loaded the bases on a single by Arias and walks to Belt and Blanco. Tony Abreu then hit a sharp grounder to Rizzo who got the force at home and then took the relay back to first to complete the DP and end the ballgame.
Sergio Romo- 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 K. ERA= 3.00. I'll say it again, Romo does not have an out pitch to use against LH batters and he is in a lot of trouble if he has to throw a strike. Terrific reliever when used in the right situations, but not who you want as your long term closer.
Nate Schierholtz(Cubs)- 1 for 4, HR(14). BA= .281. Hate to see the Giants lose, but after what transpired in the 8'th and 9'th innings, they did not deserve to win anyway. Gotta be happy again for Nate, who has worked hard to make himself a solid MLB player, and for his family. I'll send out congrats to my old friend Vai, wherever he may be. Vai, are you out there?
With the Loss, the Giants dropped into a tie for last place in the NL West, 9 games behind the leading Dodgers who beat the Reds 4-1. The second place D'Backs dropped to 1.5 games behind the Dodgers after getting crushed by the Padres 12-3. The 3'rd place Rockies topped the BrewCrew 8-3 to remain 5.5 games behind.
Tim Lincecum tries to salvage a win out of the series tomorrow afternoon facing lefty Travis Wood.
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Dr. Agree totally that the G's didn't deserve a better fate. Hate to be picky but I just wish G's starters pitch counts were conducive to finishing games and not putting the tilt in the hands of relievers. See what happens when G's poop the bed, people start agreeing with Ian ,our former ranter. Brian.
ReplyDeleteNo starters on any teams pitch complete games anymore, so while it would be nice, it's very much wishful thinking.
DeleteAs much as I like Romo and his filthy slider, he is not your prototypical closer. Of all the things the Giants lack, one of those things is a true closer that can blow away batters with a mid- to high-90's fastball, a la Brian Wilson. Not saying the Giants should bring Wilson back, but Giants need a power pitcher (high velocity fastball, mix in a few cutters and/or sliders) to serve as their closer.
ReplyDeleteI agree. A true closer needs to have an out pitch for hitters from both sides of the plate and he needs to be able to reach back for the heat when he has to throw a strike.
DeleteThe fielding errors by the Panda and Scutaro caused Madbum to throw extra pitches which meant he couldn't go in the ninth inning.
ReplyDeleteThe G's didn't deserve a better fate, but maybe Brandon Belt did tonight. He did go 0 for 3 with a walk but I thought he had some good at bats and was robbed by a leaping catch by Rizzo of a rbi double in the 7th inning. Snakebit! Lets hope that Belt will learn lessons from that bad game he had on Friday night to make himself a better player.
LG
really hope people arent seriously blaming romo for the loss
ReplyDeletegiants didnt score any runs and were on the verge of being no hit again
ya...belt looked good at the plate....hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa
GOOOOOOO NATE....WAY TO GET REVENGE
bacci
Romo is not solely responsible for the loss. I think I did make a pretty big point about all the stranded runners in the 8'th and 9'th innings. The closer is not supposed to be giving up dingers in the 9'th inning though.
DeleteAgreed that this loss is on the offense for not scoring any runs and blowing great chances to score the last 3 innings. They made that rookie pitcher Rusin look like the 2nd coming of John Tudor.
ReplyDeleteBelt did have good at bats tonight seeing 21 pitches total. I'm wondering if Bochy issuing a challenge to Belt had something to do with it. I don't remember the last time Belt hit the ball that hard with a RISP like he did the 7th inning, that was a nice change. All I remember from Belt lately hitting with runners on base is a lot of 1st pitch groundballs to 2nd base or K's. When was the last time Belt had an rbi in a game?
Good for Nate getting that dinger!
LG
I don't want to go overboard on the Nate thing. After all, I am a Giants fan and he's not a Giant anymore, but after watching how hard he worked to first make it to The Show and then get himself established, I feel good that he is going to end up with a significant MLB career and be able to take some financial security from the game, provided he manages his earnings properly.
DeleteI always feel really bad that there are so many players who spend the best years of their lives trying to make it in this game and when they don't, they end up empty handed with nothing to show for it.
Schierholtz has earned over $4m (before tax) since 2010. I would assume he's already secure his financial situation as most people in the world dont earn that in a lifetime and still manage to live a comfortable life.
DeleteYup. I am happy for him. There is always the temptation when you are making that kind of money to live up to your means, if not beyond it. $4 M doesn't get you very far these days if the income suddenly stops coming in.
DeleteBTW, something that never ceases to amaze me is that a guy like Kevin Correia, who has never been more than a fringe 5'th starter his entire career, is guaranteed, with is current contract, to make over $20 M in his MLB career.
Yeah, the ironies are piling up...Still, I wish really great things for Nate. He has done an outstanding job in Chicago (OPS+ 135). Will always love the guy for his monumental D out there in right.
ReplyDeleteNew surroundings might be helpful for Belt. But not a great idea want to sell low on the guy. (A lot said on Belt yesterday.) I think the G's just keep trotting him out there in a lost year. I do wish someone would work with the guy regarding his projection of confidence. His failures (which every player suffers every game) are almost always followed by a head-down, gumby-shouldered mope back to the dugout. In the words of Jerry Maguire, "That does NOT inspire people."
I still think Belt could move an inch or two farther off the plate, get a better angle on pitches on the inner half, and still get coverage of the outer half.
DeleteDrb,
ReplyDeleteThe Giants play Tampa next weekend and I'd be interested in getting your assessment of Tampa's young phenom Will Myers. I've seen him play in 2 or 3 games, and he's an impressive hitter. I know he doesn't play for the Giants, but I remember the Royals/Rays trade discussed here before the season. I think the Royals are going to regret big time trading Myers away for 1 year of James Shields and Wade Davis. With the trade deadline looming, I guess this is why teams are hesitant to trade their best higher level prospects
LG
That will be interesting. Now I don't remember what I said about that trade. I think I thought it wasn't as bad for the Royals as the Fangraphs crowd was saying and I thought Wade Davis was the key.
Delete