GAMEBALL and JOKER ==> GIANTS at BRAVOS 08/06

The Wise Hall of Famer Casey Stengel's has one of the best quotes in baseball. "Most ball games are lost, not won." and the Giants put that quote into action tonight, being just good enough not to lose…..but as much as this feels like a gift from the Braves, the Giants put themselves in a position to win by playing good clean baseball, and capitalizing on mistakes….you think the Cardinals are giving back those 2006 World Series rings after scoring 8 unearned runs in the series? Think the Mets are upset that Buckner was the focal point of the series in 1986? Its part of the game, and sometimes being the team that doesn't screw the pooch is good enough…..

GAMEBALL and JOKER ==> GIANTS at BRAVOS 08/06

GAMEBALL

ZITO

It may not have been the prettiest game he has pitched, and he may have been in line for the loss before some late innings….ummm…"heroics"…..but I have to give the Gameball to Barry for notching his 3rd 10 strikeout game of the year and holding the Braves in check only allowing Gonzales jack and Chipper's wall scraper….this was the first time he has notched 3 double digit strikeout games in a single year since 2001….and in a Giants uniform he had only notched 1 double digit strikeout game before this year……and honestly, not getting the win may be a good thing….as it seems that Barry pitches best when he has a big old chip on that shoulder…..and in the big picture, Barry doesn't need W's on the resume to get fans on his side, all that has to happen is Barry keep pitching like he did tonight and for the GIANTS to get those W's…..cause the more W's the Giants get, the more people stop thinking about that price tag…….

TIP OF THE CAP :
HUFF
Started his day with a pretty cool interview on KNBR ….then got a RBI Ground out in the 1st and then ended the day with the two biggest plays of the night…..a Hit By Pitch to lead off the 9th…..and a Walk to lead off the 11th…..both times coming around to score critical runs

TORRES
Was a 1 man wrecking crew in the 1st inning with a single, 2 steals and a run……and along with Huff, the Giants have 2 players in the top 20 in runs scored in the National League…….the last time the Giants had ONE player in the top 20 in runs scored was Bonds in 2004…..and the last time the Giants had TWO players in the top 20 was Bonds and Kent in 2002……Torres and Huff…..Bonds and Kent…..betcha were making those comparisons in spring training….

BURRELL
Never take that sac fly for granted…..especially in a extra innings tie ballgame on the road

BULLPEN
Romo, Ray, Wilson, and Lopez…..4 solid…..and suddenly with Romo and Ray finding their form, and Lopez looking more than a Loogy…..the Giants pen is looking better than it did even BEFORE the injuries to Affeldt and Runzler…..maybe those injuries turn into one of those weird positives where guys step up and find themselves when the going gets …..tough

LOPEZ
1 inning 3 lefties outs and a single to the right hander……he is looking like just what the Giants needed…..and sorry Bowker and Martinez, Lopez has already proven more useful this year to this team......as Lopez is plugging a critical hole, where Bowker and Martinez would be extra pieces without a role……

PABLO
Put the ball in play……which ….well…..lets just say that Pablo doesn't always put the ball in play

JOKER

LARRY

Oh man, gotta love that shit……the man with the go ahead homer……Mr Atlanta Braves (sorry Dale Murphy)……future hall of fame gamer……the best Braves Position Player since Hank Aaron (sorry again Dale Murphy)….blows the play of the night ….charging a Pablo grounder trying to cut the run down at the plate……he gives us that Ole' Bullshit to tie the game that the Braves would lose in extras……would Huff have been out on that play…..yes…..did he need to go the backhand on that play…..probably not…..with your momentum heading to the plate, with the play right in front of you in your field of vision, with the angle in fair territory giving you a natural throwing lane….that's the easiest throw on the diamond…..and with 1 out, Huff didn't get a good jump and WAS LESS than HALFWAY down the line……yes, the backhand is the natural most comfortable play for a vet……but he had time to hang back a little square it up and make a throw…..sure you see vets backhand that all the time, but you better be sure to catch it on a short hop, and not the in betweener that Chipper tried to come up with…..

SMACK OF THE STICK :
ISHI
Made a nice play on a Hayward one hopper early in the game……but with the bases juiced and the Giants in need of sac fly in the 9th…….hit into the DP……..never take those Sac Flys for granted…..

ALEX GONZALEZ
First of all……quit changing teams…….I lost track of which Alex Gonzales you are……are you the one that fields shitty and can hit a little that was with the Marlins? or the one who fields shitty and can't hit that was with the Cubs?…..well, after watching tonights game I am guessing you were the guy that was with the Marlins…….popped a Homer in the 5th…and by the way, that was probably the only homer that woulda been out of ATT of the 4 the Braves have hit in 2 days….and then bounced a throw to Infante to keep the 9th innings alive and setup Jones Miscue

INFANTE
And by the way, you HAVE to catch that ball……sure it was a throw in the dirt, but that’s a makeable play….you should get 1/2 of Gonzales Error on that play…..or at least 1/4………



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 thought 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..)



by merkin

GAMEBALL and JOKE 5/27 BRAVES at GIANTS

GAMEBALL and JOKE
5/27 BRAVES at GIANTS

GAMEBALL

BIG RAT

299…you got to give him the gameball….but better yet….looks like RJ might have found a little consistency with back to back solid outings following the THRASHING by the Mets…..
Velocity? Check
Release Point? Check
Control? Check
Wow, looks like 1 hell of a #5 starter…..and heck if Sanchez, Zito, and Johnson all keep it up, this team could just stay in the race with this middling offense….

TIP OF THE CAP :
BATS
But it wasn't middling tonight, taking advantage of a less than sharp Kawakami….
The Giants were 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position which was good for 1 RBI (Molina gunned down)…..the Giants proceeded to go 4 for the next 4 chances before ending the game at 6 for 12…..
And contributions came from the whole lineup with 9 players getting hits, 5 players with RBI's and 5 players with Runs Scored……
And the timing was perfect, as every run the Braves scored was answered by the offense the following 1/2 inning, never allowing the Braves any momentum…..
I know there have been more runs scored by the Giants but I would have to say this was my favorite offensive game of the year ….especially after that road trip drought….
And that’s 16-8 at home, and heck if we cant make the playoffs…..I think you have 3 goals
1) Finish above .500
2) Dominate at home
3) Beat the freaking Dodgers
That should keep the fans satiated and the team thinking positive as we build to 2010…….


BURRISS
Mr Slappy made a little error leading to a Braves rally…..but I will go ahead and over look that as a error of youth…and instead look at the bright side
You see that play he made on that Diaz Foul???? LOVE that RANGE…..
And then with the bat….PULLED a ball through the hole to right……nailed a single just to the right of Center, and then smoked one over the head of Francouer to the wall in right……and all of that LEFTHANDED……the kid is growing up before our eyes…..and by the way after a mini slump he's back up to.a .271 average

RESERVE OF's
Schierholtz and Torres looks like they both are making a case for Lewis' AB's……
I especially LOVE Torres's range in CF….if Rowand was still slumping, I would be lobbying for some CF time for Torres….and nice snag in the corner and clutch hitting in a relief role for Nate

MERKIN
It's ok if I have a man crush on my namesake, right?
When Merkin is ON, nobody in the pen has better stuff…….
If you get Merkin, Affeldt, and Wilson going at the same time, you got yourself a bullpen you can build a championship team with…….well…..I know…..that's a very big "IF"

JOKER

LARRY

Freaking Larry……
Now perhaps the chat of "He's a bum" is worn, but it does seem to impress visitors just for coordination (of course, Yankees' fans actually rehearse their chants, but I digress)….but of all the stupid Bleacher Creature taunts I have heard, one sticks in my memory…….from when Chipper was in LF a few years back…..
"HEY LARRY……YOUR MOM CALLED FROM THE PAY PHONE……SHE SAYS THANKS FOR THE TRAILER"……classic stuff…….
And in a conversation I was lucky enough to have with an unnamed overly friendly Giant player at Momo's…..the discussion was about how Chipper lets fans get under his skin…..even more classic……
But if the fans didn't get under his skin, this 3 game set certainly got into his noggin…..
Picture yourself in his shoes, coming off a injury……it's cold, night game, and moist…..deep fence in Right……pinching hitting against a slightly wild high 90's Wilson….then coming back the next night to get schooled by the reigning Cy Young winner…..and THEN the next night, getting 3 K's from the old man Randy….topped off with a 97+ MPH moving fastball from Merkin……..
1 for 9 with 6 strikeouts…..and you are lucky you got one hit….


SMACK OF THE STICK :
PRADO
What the fuck was that????
In the fourth inning, Prado turned the pivot on a 5-4-3 Double Play…..the bad part…..there were already 2 outs……so obviously he didn't have his head in the game…..and then the next inning a chopper by Lewis….and Martin catches the ball and proceeds to think to much…..you see, I could tell because he was blinking….you see him blink?
Look at the pictures….on the left he is thinking/ blinking, on the right he is relaxed

But I digress……
What I think happened, is he had no idea who was running, and he panicked when he saw Lewis flying down the line……he had no chance at a DP on a chopper like that, get the lead runner…..and heck, Lewis almost beat that sucker out after the double clutch……
Good god……you make Lewis look like a natural…….

LEWIS
Speaking of good old bumblefingers…..0 fer……with a K, but did grind out the walk….and of course a little bumble on a Double that cost the Giants nothing…but people will remember……

KUIP
Now, Kruk and Kuip (as if they knew RJ would be pulled after 79 pitches) were going on and on about pitch counts, and I am open minded……but when Kuiper made the analogy about training for the 100 yard dash and now we ask them to run the 140 yard dash, he won't be able to do it……
Ummm, that’s wrong on so many levels…….
Running is more or less and natural motion, and the beating your body takes from a 100 yard dash is nothing like the beating your body takes from the unnatural pitching motion……pitching breaks down muscle….the body needs to heal…..100 pitches may be arbitrary, but so are speed limits……do speed limits save lives? Yes…..do speed limits make sense for every situation they are used? No……..pitch limits are there to protect pitchers arms and the investment clubs have made in them……will they prevent all injuries? No……do they always make sense in every situation? No……do they prevent damage to pitchers arms in some cases? Yes…..just like speed limits they are a check against potential abuse…..now, if you have a coach/ manager that is better at determining pitchers limits than an arbitrary pitch count…great……but as we have seen with the crucifixion of Dusty Baker in Chicago, if that coach/ manager takes responsibility….and an injury occurs, then blood is on their hands……and do YOU wanna be that guy? and with the value of these players, who wants to even take a chance……
And as far as Nolan Ryan, I am glad he has the guts to challenge the status quo…..love to see how that works out……now if we can get a major league club to listen to Dr Mike Marshall now THAT would be worth watching……


Footnote
Home record and vs LA Record
2009: 16-8 at home 4-5 v LA
2008: 37-44 at home 9-9 v LA
2007: 39-42 at home 8-10 v LA
2006: 43-38 at home 6-13 v LA