Matt Cain's problems with lack of run support reached the point of absurdity as he allowed just one unearned run in 7 innings of stellar pitching only to leave the game trailing 1-0. The Giants went on to lose 2-1 in their, what, 8'th game decided by 1 run in a row? Key Lines:
Angel Pagan- 2 for 4, 2B, SB(4). BA= .385. Pagan's efforts went unrewarded in terms of run production.
Brandon Belt- 2 for 4, HR(6). BA= .309. Belt continues to hit at a breakout pace. Unfortunately the HR was too little, too late in the top of the 9'th inning.
Matt Cain- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K's. ERA= 2.88. Another classic Caining, and yes, Cain has every right to trash a locker or two in the clubhouse!
Bruce Bochy- OK, here's what I would have done differently in this one, aside from fielding perhaps the weakest offensive lineup of the season: Top of the 7'th, trailing 1-0. Sandoval singles to open the inning and Pence follows with a walk, bringing Hector Sanchez up with runners on first and second and no outs. I say you have to bunt those runners over there! If you don't have faith in Sanchez' ability to get it done, you pinch hit with someone who can. You have to get at least 1 run to tie it up and give your team a chance to win a bullpen game of attrition. Instead, Hector was swinging away and grounded into a DP, ending the threat for all practical purposes. Crawford followed with a line out to SS.
The Loss drops the Giants record to 10-7. The Dodgers and D'Backs are tied 2-2 in extra innings with the odds favoring the home team Dodgers in that one.
Tim Hudson tries to square the series tomorrow night facing LHP Eric Stults.
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bums lose as the result of the giants grinders taking a toll on their pen
ReplyDeletethe torture is back as the giants offense returns to the mean
bochy returns to form with his refusal to bunt in late innings
and all is right with the world
bacci
In fairness to Bochy, he has a strong statistical defense for the no-bunt strategy. You take your shot and live with the results. I just think that the way Ross was pitching and the success the Giants bullpen has had changes the equation there and you have a better chance of tying that SOB up if you can get those two runners bunted over. He still had Morse and Posey on the bench as well as two middle infielders. Getting those runners over opens up a whole bunch of possible ways to score and gets out out of the DP. If you don't have faith in Sandoval getting to 3B on the bunt, pinch run for him. If you don't think Hector can get the bunt down, send a pitcher up there to bunt.
DeleteThere is a strong argument the other way, but that's what I would have done.
One more thought: You play big ball with the top and middle of the lineup. You play small ball with the bottom of the lineup. With Posey and Morse both out, the top of the lineup was a lot shorter last night.
Deletedon't you want to play for the bigger inning, instead of the tie, on the road? Although not sure SD is the road.
DeleteSanchez and Blanco wear the goat horns. Maybe Bochy for batting Blanco #2 instead of 7 and not asking Blanco to bunt Pagan to third - since Blanco's bat handling skills are very poor for a speed player.
Bruce Bochy, noted sabermatician. Its not an easy call, but with slow speed at the plate and at 2nd he might have been thinking station to station, hoping for that 3 run home run. I would have bunted as well, scratch out the run, hope for a good grounder or a fly ball for the 2nd out.
DeleteAgain, the CW would be to go for the win on the road, but given the situation, but with only 2 more innings to go and no sign of an offense, I think you need to get the tie to make it a new ballgame and buy your pitching time. The Giants have had success with their bullpen outlasting the opposition. Why not give them that opportunity again? Besides, if you get both runners over in the 7'th, you still have a chance to take the lead late in the game, an even better situation for the bullpen.
DeleteYou'd never know it from the way Bochy is mocked in a lot of discussions, but he does generally play sabermetrically sound baseball. He just doesn't proclaim it like a Joe Maddon, just to name one, so a lot of people who don't really understand what its all about don't recognize it when they see it.
DeleteI agree, Sandoval as the lead runner and Hector at the plate are not the ideal players for moving the runners over, but that was the moment when they had a chance to get back into the game and there were options on the bench. You could pinch run Arias for Sandoval and send up Huddy to put down the bunt.
If you go buy the numbers in the average situation, bunting with no outs and runners on first and second raises the chance of scoring two runs by a few percent. It seems somewhat contradictory that bunting with a runner at first and no outs lowers the chance of scoring a single run by a few percent. Must be that getting two runners on base represents a different state of the world beyond the extra runner itself.
DeletePeter
Maybe having the runner at 3B limits what kind of pitches the pitcher can throw such as avoiding balls in the dirt?
DeleteThe other part of the equation is it is not a given that a sac bunt will be successful in that situation. Teams have gotten to be pretty good at defending the bunt and I've seen it fail a lot of times.
DeleteI think the time may be nigh to put an actual #2-type hitter in the 2-hole, and Crawford now seems to fit that profile better than anyone. Additionally, reward Belt for being the most productive hitter so far, and put him in at #3. There needs to be a shake up, even though it's early. There's no reason a lineup like this should be underachieving so badly. Oh yeah, that and bunt runners over in a one-run game. Refusing to do this is only gonna result in more one-run losses when your lineup doesn't understand plate discipline and situational hitting.
ReplyDeleteTheSincere
I don't know what the numbers are this season, and it's a very small sample size anyway, but in recent years, the Giants have actually been one of the best teams in baseball at advancing runners so I do not agree with the "situational hitting" gripe.
DeleteCrawford and Belt 2-3 against RH pitchers would be OK with me.
Oh I agree with that assessment, as it's pure fact, but I only meant recently. When a team is struggling to score runs, playing small ball and situational hitting is not only practical, but just may get them jump-started again. Hitting is certainly contagious, as is run-producing, no matter the method. Changing times call for changing measures. Play smart ball until the big guns get firing again.
ReplyDeleteTheSincere