GAMEBALL and JOKER--> ROCKIES at GIANTS 9/16
GAMEBALL
BULLPEN
Didn't seem relevant at the time, but after the near miss in the 9th the dominating performances from Ruzler, Affeldt, and Romo were HUGE….shutting down the potent Rockie attack and keeping the Giants "close" with 3 innings of 1 hit ball with 5 K's….and Affeldt and Romo are looking like they will be on top of their games down the stretch shortening the game by 1-2 innings, and RUnzler is suddenly a major player with his high-90's heat from the left side…..Good job kids, keep shutting them down….if the Giants make a run in the seasons final 2 weeks, you know these 3 will be major players…..
TIP OF THE CAP :
URIBE
Wasn't as big a game , but was on base all day with a hit a walk and a HBP….throw in a groundball thrown away by Tulowitski and Uribe was everywhere…even had the presence of mind no to charge the mound after getting a fastball in the side
JOKER
RENTERIA
The highlight of Renteria's night was either calling De La Rosa out, or the linedrive at em ball in the at bat immediately following the shouting match……otherwise Renteria was useless and his return to the lineup, catalyzed the shuffle that weakened the defense and …..had runners on all 4 times at the plate and failed in each appearance including a Double Play in the 2nd and of course the weak ass pop out in the 9th…..Sure no one would complain if Uribe and Sandoval manned the left side of the infield the rest of the year……
SMACK OF THE STICK :
TORRES
Struck out with 2nd and 3rd and nobody out, but the reason he is here is the fucked up double play….leading off second with 1 out……got caught leaning towards 3rd on a hard ground ball to Short….first of all, knowing Tulowitski's arm he should have been breaking back to the bag once the ball was basically hit AT him….second, once he was caught leaning, all you can go is get into a run down…..make Tulo either run you down or make a throw to third…hesitation was the worst play possible…..
MEDDERS
Shoulda just nailed Tulo….you got nothing to lose... Giants pen is deep, game looked out of hand at the moment…and if Tulo charges the mound you both likely get suspensions….and that’s the best thing the Giants could hope for……
SANCHEZ
Lead off the 9th with a single, but otherwise looked foolish at plate swinging over De La Rosa's slider all night……The more I watch this guy, the more I consider him a curiosity…..either he is hitting the ball on the screws all night, or he is flailing at air….When Krukow says something like, "I don't think he is picking up the rotation on the slider" what he means is "Why the fuck does he keep swinging at that"…its almost like he was traded from the AL or something….DUDE, the PIRATES are the NL…..you HAVE seen these guys before, haven’t you???? (fyi, before tonight Sanchez WAS 6 for 11 off De La Rosa)
ROWAND
If Sanchez looks like he is lost some nights…well, you are looking lost almost every night…..dropping a sure catch was the highpoint of the night…..the low point was when BOCHY actually had seen enough and pulled you for a PH in the 9th…..stings don't it……wonder if you will do some Zitoesque soul searching this offseason…..
WINN/ SCHIERHOLTZ
Both failed to bring home the tying run…and both had pitches to hit……
BOCHY
GODDAMNN IT….The Infield of Uribe at Short, Sandoval at 3rd, Sanchez at 2nd and Ishikawa at 1st was working……Sandoval is way more comfortable at 3rd than 1st…..Uribe is more comfortable in the middle than at 3rd, and Ishikawa is our best defensive 1st baseman….Yes, I understand that De La Rosa is a lefthander, but if you can start Nate, why can't you give Ishikawa a chance…..it's not like he has stunk it up versus lefties at the major league level sure, only 44 PA, but a .300 AVE and .364 OBP….looking at his minor league numbers, he has a weakness against Lefthanders, but then again Renteria has a weakness against Major League Pitching…and Ishikawa has been your goddamn lucky charm with the Giants going 10-2 in his last 12 starts…..hell, I hear some players don't change their underwear if they are on a hot streak…..its like your NEED to platoon is a genetic condition…. probably a side effect of the Elephantitis that boated your skull……
FINAL THOUGHTS
All that being said, I had a strange feeling in the 9th inning….something I haven't felt since 2003…..butterflys in the stomach, cold sweat on the palms…..sure we have had many "must win" games this year, and the word "playoff atmosphere" has been thrown around more often then batteries at a Candlestick Dodger game…but tonight was actually the first time I had the real feeling of a playoff…..sure we came out on the wrong side of this one, but there are a little over two weeks left and it is likely to come down to that final weekend….and really winning 2 of 3 was enough to keep us alive as we not only cut 1 game from the lead and gained a little momentum…but we assured that if the season comes down to a 1 game playoff, it will be at AT&T Park by virtue of the new head to head tiebreaker system……
SHARE VIA FACEBOOK
SHARE VIA TWITTER
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..)
No comments:
Post a Comment