Since I left last week, the Giants have been nothing but a tease…they had jumped back into relevance with 2 wins versus the Rockies, only to lay an egg in LA falling to 4 back in the loss column…. the Giants then took 2 of 3 in the desert to pull within 3 1/2 games, and on Thursday the Giants came within 1 strike of cutting the lead to 2 games with 9 to play…..2 back with 9 to play is anyone's ball game, especially when the Rockies play their last 3 in LA, where they are 1-5 this season (and 3-12 overall vs Dodgers)…and as crazy as it seems the hope was still alive the next day, as Lincecum was on the mound trading Zero's with Zambrano and the Cards tied up the Rockies in the 7th…..but the Rockies won with a walk off and the Cubs got through to Lincecum and 3 hit the Giants and the last embers were extinguished
Can't get too upset though…it has been a great season and this team broke their streak of 4 losing seasons. They got great performances from Lincecum, Cain, Pablo, and the Bullpen… solid second 1/2 surges from Zito, Velez, and Uribe…. but you really can't blame Giants fans from being frustrated and wanting more…..
1st base , 2nd base, and Left Field were in flux all year long…..And the Vets manning Center Field, Right Field, and Shortstop each turned in their WORST full season in the Majors….and their Cleanup hitter, the ageless Bengie Molina had his worst offensive season since 2002, but at least that year he won a Gold Glove and some Jewelry to go with it…..
GAMEBALL and JOKER--> CUBS at GIANTS 9/27
GAMEBALL
CAIN
Cain had a personal 3 game losing streak going, which culminated in a spanking in Arizona so bad that it made my ass sore….Was Cain gassed from the strain of the year? Was the league catching up with him? After going 10-2 in the first half, and stat heads pointing to BABIP, Strand Rates, and Partial Differential Equations claiming it was all luck, Cain seemed to be proving them right with a return to the High 3 ERA and a record of 3-5….it was 2007-08 all over again ….so despite the lack of a postseason hope, this was a big game for Matty. It would set a career high in Wins, give him a chance at 15 Wins, and perhaps more importantly… Allow him to gain confidence and something to build on going into next year…..and Cain responded with his best start since July, going 8 shutout innings, with 8 K's and 3 hits and just 2 walks and 2 sac bunts for good measure…..Good job Matty…….
TIP OF THE CAP :
ISHKAWA/ WHITESIDE
It was the Travis and Eli show there for a moment as Ishkawa twice lead off innings with Singles, and Whiteside twice drove him in with Doubles….I swear I remember when a lineup had a top a middle and the bottom, and any runs you got from the bottom were gravy and you did your damage in the 1-5 spots……well this team is one big bottom of the lineup, and ANY runs are gravy…..
VELEZ
Lead off the game with a single, and after failing in a previous attempt to get Whiteside home from 3rd with 1 out, he got a second chance and got it done with a basehit….
JOKER
WILSON
Its only been 72 hours, but it feels like a month ago…..Wilson has had his detractors but he has really turned it on down the stretch…. since the debacle in Milwaukee in July he only had two blown saves, and both were times he was brought in during the 8th inning with the bases already juiced…..so despite a leadoff walk, when Wilson got to that last strike on some Rockie reject named Jeff Baker, everyone was chalking this up in the win column……but it wasn't to be…..as after throwing a tight slider off the edge of the plate for a Swinging strike, Baker took two sloppy sliders that weren't close…..and then with Whiteside setup on the inside corner at the knees, Wilson delivered a belt high strike that leaked towards the middle of the plate, a perfect pitch to jerk and elevate, and that’s just what Baker did…..
SMACK OF THE STICK :
ROWAND
And after THAT debacle, came the next one….with one out Winn legged out a single and Travis ground out a full count walk to put runners on 2nd and 3rd….and then our Gamer came to the plate….. Taking two called strikes down the middle before chasing a slider nowhere near the plate…..I haven't seen an at bat that bad since little league……and that was from one of those kids who didn't want to be there, but had to because "Daddy made them"…..well, pretty sure Rowand didn't want to be there either, but if he doesn't show up for work, he won't be able to buy another Aston Martin or four……
ROMO/ AFFELDT (with assist from Everitt)
Couldn't bring it home with a 5 run lead….
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Back from Chase Field…..overall a fun time, but a weird park…its fucking HUGE and I don't know how many rows are in the upper deck, but there were a ton…like Monkey posted elsewhere, the air conditioning was weird….night games, so the roof was open, but it was 95+ outside….every so often the air would shut off for 5-10 minutes and you would get a BLAST of warm air likely rushing in from the "windows" in center field…..not sure what effect this would have on flyballs, but I am sure if they wanted to the DBacks could figure out the effect and use it to their advantage……
Lots of Giants fans in attendance, and Dbacks fans did their best to keep their pride in the presence of so much orange and black…..I actually got a "Going home already" remark during the Cain start, of course I was just leaving my seats to get myself a Kosher Dog……and funny thing was, the Dbacks fans were the one's leaving early even when they had the lead…….
Arizona must be a mixed bag for players, as there were many autograph seekers who were pretty obviously going to be selling the shit….Arizona must be a haven for these leeches, with Spring Training, Minor League Camps, and the Arizona Fall and Summer Leagues……There was one really creepy guy in a Will Clark Jersey, who didn't strike me as a Giants fan, and another who got a response of "DIDN'T I SIGN FOR YOU YESTERDAY?"….of course he said it was going to his nieces and nephews……
Then again, this is a homecoming for many players with their families in attendance or nearby, as Arizona is a popular offseason home for Baseball players with its warm winters and lack of state income tax……
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GB and JK ARCHIVES AT THE GIANTS BOARD BLOG
(The fine print: There will be cussing and bad taste. This is written with the heat of the moment feel you may have during the game, with rational though sprinkled in now and then. This is entertainment folks, sure there is a lot of truth and I am a genius, but this is all about having a laugh and enjoying the ride…….now lets go heckle Jeff Kent in when he gets inducted to Cooperstown..)
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