GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/10 GIANTS at DBACKS

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/10 GIANTS at DBACKS

GAMEBALL

MONEY

Combine Molina's ownage and Davis with the Giants affinity for Chase Field, and you get a nice offensive might……taking a 3-2 fastball on the outside to just to the Right of Center, Molina gave Zito and the Giants a crooked number early……
Don't look now, but slumping MO, looks like he is showing signs of turning back into Money MO with 3 multi hit games in the last 5…..
So Good work Mr Mo…..and lets hope Bochy rests you rnough to keep you fresh for the rest of the season….

TIP OF THE CAP :
BATS
What the FUCK???
ANOTHER game where the bats dominate?
Just hold em to 4 runs and we will take care of the rest?
That’s the 5th game in Chase this year, and the Giants are now averaging 5.8 runs a game, and have scored a minimum of 4 runs…..
.310 AVE, .352 OBP, and those went DOWN today…..Chip in 7 Homers, 16 Doubles, and a triple and it feels like spring training all over again……Keep in rolling for the sweep and bring some of that Desert Air home with you this weekend…….

ZITO
Was far from sharp…..but hey……last year this time this woulda been a L

ROMO
God I love this kid……and he solidifies the pen, and changes the whole tone…..don't think for a moment that his presence doesn't relax the rest of the group

WILSON
Kerpow, Kerpop, Kerplunk……and that’s all she wrote

HOWRY
Thanks for staying home

VALDEZ/ AFFELDT
I love you guys too, just not as much as Romo

JOKER

OFFICIAL SCORER

Wow, that's a tough error…….Sure if that was a Giants centerfielder I would be pissed……but think about this…..
Ball hit right at him, and tailing towards RF, he TURNED his BACK to the play and went straight back to get himself to that spot……now 17 strides later you are 2 feet from the TALL WALL in center, and now in the shadows (if, you got a Tivo, freeze frame it) you turn to catch the ball and think you are about to hit the wall….and it's not there…….
That's why he missed that ball, he was in the shadow of the wall, he was thinking wall, feeling for the wall, the wall wasn't there and his missed the ball……Could he make that play? Yes……SHOULD he make that play? Probably……but that was a long way to go and a lot of shit to deal with……I don't think you can tag that on Young…..you give credit to my man Torres….and yes, I am VERY biased……


SMACK OF THE STICK :
DBACKS GLOVES
Thank you very much for run #1 and for contributing to runs #4 and 5

CHICK ON FIELD
OK, what the HELL was THAT????
Now, don't get me wrong I am all for drunk chicks, but if you are going to run on the field, we have certain rules of engagement……
1) Streaking or flashing is the preferred spectacle…..male or female, exposing yourself while trespassing not only ads entertainment value, it will also add a sex offender "scarlet letter" to your criminal record
2) Short of exposing flesh, you must at least be willing and agile enough to evade security for a minimum of 120 seconds….think of it like a Bull at the Rodeo…..you are gonna get tossed, but the key is to see how long you can prolong the process……
Now, she looked a little young, and we don't want any pre-18 nudity….so she was left with option 2…..unfortunately, she decided she was going to hide behind Chris Young……not effective, he is too tall and lanky to provide adequate cover…..next time, if you are going the hide and seek route, I suggest hiding behind Molina……or at the very least behind Bochy's head…..

FRANDSEN
For nothing more than being snakebit…..also its kinda fun to see the Franny lovers get all upset……but seriously……hope he hits his tail off and turns into Mark Loretta…

RALLY PUMPKIN
Dude, get your act together and get on the road, Kruk and Kuip are asking for it…..now is your time to shine you Media Whore you……

Giants Top 3 Draft Picks 2009 Vids and Scouting Reports

Here are the links


Zack Wheeler Giants 1st Rd Pick 2009 Vids and Scouting Reports


Tommy Joseph Giants 2nd Rd Pick 2009 Vids and Scouting Reports


Chris Dominguez Giants 3rd Rd Pick 2009 Scouting and Vids

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/09 GIANTS at DBACKS

Draft Day!!!
Like a second opening day, for the geeky…..Kids too young to suck yet, and in our minds eye they are all-stars…..well….except for Jackson Williams…..

I dig the fangraphs thing,


here is the link for tonight
FANGRAPHS
And here are the MVP'S

PANDA +0.393 (78.6% of a win)
URIBE +0.138 (27.6% of a win)

And the LVP'S
Lewis -0.089 (-17.8% of a win)
Cain -0.136 (-27.2% of a win)


GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/09 GIANTS at DBACKS

GAMEBALL

PANDA

That Arizona air feels good, is it the thin air, the altitude, the proximity to Scottsdale Stadium???? Well whatever it is, he loves it….
In between dinking and doinking 3 panda hits, he turned on a Fastball high and in and CRUSHED it into the right field seats for the go ahead game turning hit…..
That brings Panda's line in the desert to ave .500 obp .500 slg.750 slg with 2 HR's and 8 RBI in 34 Plate Appearances….Love the AVE OBP SLG..line….nice and neat

TIP OF THE CAP :
URIBE
That "infamous" 20 HR power that has kept him in the big leagues showed up tonight with a solo shot to give the Giants an early lead……the way this offense has sucked, that first run is always the hardest…..and that was big and helped the offense relax……

RENTERIA. ROWAND WINN
See, that’s what a real 2, 3, 4 in a lineup should be doing….and Happy 35th Randy……shhhhh….don't let Sabean hear how old you are

WHITEHEAD
Looked solid behind the dish…..and nice laser shot off the wall……does anyone miss Steve Holm?
And for those who think is name is Whiteside….please click here

FRANDSEN
I will agree with Krukow, with the bad luck outs this kid has made, that shoulda been a 2nd hit……was getting ready to smack him for that wanna be double, but that 2nd hit and a nice play up the middle moved him over here……and come on, Chris Young made an easy throw for an out, if it was Velez everyone would be out for blood……lets just hope that got it out of Frandsen's system….stick to the basics until you get comfortable, no need to go all Pete Rose on us now……

CAIN
Hey, a little shakey, but screw the haters……he deserves any support he gets after all the shit he has put up with…..VOTE CAIN FOR ALL STAR GAME……what do you mean, we can't vote for pitchers??? What the fuck kinda stupid rule is THAT……

WHEELER
Welcome to the org…..now go to the mirror and practice……and if you haven't seen Bull Durham….get the DVD and let Crash help you with your interview skills

EVERYBODY WHO VISITS
So far 2nd biggest visit day on this site with over 1200 unique vistors with over 1 hour left could end up being the biggest…….draft day 2008……1,453 unique vistors

JOKER

LEWIS

Bunion boy took the collar in ugly fashion, pouting when left out of the party……I can't raise too much bile after a win like tonight, and hey…..Yeah, he should be happy with the win, but if you are sucking its hard to hold that poker face……The Talent is there…..just concentrate on what you are good at, stay back and take the ball the other way……

SMACK OF THE STICK :
DBACKS PITCHING
What the fuck????
Bill Buckner?
Clay "Rollie" Zavada?
Is this 1984?
Its like I stepped into a Red Sox v Brewers game

DBACKS DEFENSE
Wow…so THAT'S how a team with so much talent can suck so bad…..this ain't soccer kids, you are allowed to grab and hold onto the ball once in awhile…..

GIANTS BASERUNNING
Ouch…..Franny got gunned, and if it wasn't for the aforementioned Dbacks Lack of D, we would have lost a run at home and at 2nd…..not good when you are a struggling offense……

WILDCARD
You tease…….bastard……Does that mean Alderson and Noonan for DeRosa????


I don't want to end on a negative on a day like today
Good win, got some more talent in the system, got a good chance at finishing above .500…..and maybe not this year, but very very soon the Giants will be BACK in the playoffs……and maybe even win the……well…..lets not go there yet…….

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/08 GIANTS at MARLINS

Just ANOTHER HA HA HA HA HA….Laugher……
Only not the good kind Mr Krukow……

And for those of you who said "GAME OVER" after the 3 run shot……sadly enough, that was more true than you think……

Here is that FANGRAPHS.com thing again



And that stupid thing doesn't even take into account that we suck….amazing……

Giants MVP's?
Torres +0.020
Valdez +0.003
Renteria -0.001

and Carol's 3 run shot? +0.216 or 43.2% of a win

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/08 GIANTS at MARLINS

GAMEBALL

RENTERIA

Mr -0.001, finished 3rd in Win Probablilty Added…..BY NOT SUCKING as badly as 14 other Giants…..
But really, I will give him the game ball for saving us the embarrassment of being no hit with a leadoff single in the 7th…..

TIP OF THE CAP :
TORRES
Do I need to rationalize Man-Love to you
Something about the way the sun gleams off his gold necklace as he tracks down flyballs leave me smitten……a failed prospect is just another word for a guy who just needs ONE MORE CHANCE…..Frandsened (that's a verb now, right) by Tigers way back when, has been the 25th man on the roster for too long….sure he is long in the tooth, but that speed is intact…..…and hey, he wouldn't be the first speedster to break out post 30……(see Nixon, Otis)
No real place for him to play…..but a speedster with range and instincts in center in ATT….shift Rowand over to left or right….don't matter to me, I just love dreaming of that speed/ instinct package in center……Hey, a man can dream…….

RJ
Hey, he went on 3 days rest……dumb or not…..team player…..and saved the arms of youngsters on the staff…….although I would have loved to see what Pucetas could do……and now that I think about it, Sanchez owes RJ dinner…..I'm sure Sanchez DIDN’T WANT to see what Pucetas could do…..

JOKER

BRET CAROL

OH where do I start
First off, what the fuck is up with your name…..I don't care if you add an extra T to your first names, and an extra L and R to your last name…..you got two first names and they are both female…..
Second, this 26 year old had to wait until his 100th at bat to pick on a 50 year old man on short rest to get his first HR……sure, I bet RJ will be a Hall of Famer at his peak when CAROL tells the story to his grandchildren about his only HR in the majors before the Marlins wised up and brought up a player with actual talent……

SMACK OF THE STICK :
MASCOT
A Marlin?? got to be one of the worst team names in baseball…..I mean when Sports use animal nicknames, they should stick to general names or well known animals or even the bird motif works…..
Bears, Tigers, Lions Blue Jays, Orioles, Cardinals, Sharks, even Dolphins….but a MARLIN????
Good god, most people probably don't even know what are Marlin is…..
Hey Dbacks Bengals Rays and Ravens, would fall in the same category, but at least they are menacing………..what the fuck is a Marlin going to do to me……poke me????
hell Miami Land Sharks would be a better name…..
PS….Don't ask me what I think of the "Miami Heat"……

ORGAN
OK……baseball in a cavernous football stadium…..hot tubs in right…….cheerleaders, teal uniforms, and a FUCKING FISH for a mascot…..that Organ isn't going to fool me into thinking this is Old timey Baseball, I don't care how many times you play "GOTTA HAVE HEART….MILES AND MILES AND MILES OF HEART…."
And the Green Acres theme only works if there are fans in the stands to clap

FANS
Speaking of which……do you really think a dome is going to transform Miami into a baseball town??? You wanna go to the beach for free get drunk and check out some young betties? or you wanna pay way too much to go indoors and watch some baseball……Hell even if you got kids, you would rather go to the beach
Sure, whatever hardcore fans there are (all 7 of them) will go…..hey, they are already there!

SCHEDULERS
4 game series in Miami???? Hell 1/2 of Miami didn't even know there was a game……this has got to be the worst schedule I have seen…..2 gamers, 4 gamers, no off day for travel….off days when you don’t need them A's and Giants homestanding together…..what did you hire all the old GM Execs to be your Schedule makers or something…….tell you what….let the Japanese make the schedules next time…….

BATS
Sucked….get used to it…..

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/07 GIANTS at MARLINS

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/07 GIANTS at MARLINS

GAMEBALL

TIM

Despite struggling with his control during the early innings, and giving up lead off runners in the first 4, Timmy was able to nut up at the critical moments and twirl a 7 inning gem….Gotta think the moisture humidity was screwing with the mound, his grip, or maybe just his mind, but no matter what it was Tim showed poise and the ability to adjust and get outs with whatever is working…..so sign him up LONG TERM NOW…..even if he loses some edge on that nasty stuff……this kid will be pitching for a long long time….
PS…..the kid can hit too!

TIP OF THE CAP :
ROWAND
Man, this run reminds me of Randy Winn circa September 2005
17 games and counting, and that’s 10 multihit games, 13 extrabase hits, 12 Runs, and 11 RBI's…….just crazy…..add to that scorching bat a solid glove in center…..if he wasn't such a douchebag I might actually start to like him…..for now, I will just appreciate him

WILSON
Speaking of douches…..what you gonna do…..he keeps making it interesting and keeps getting the save……..god, I hope he gets better soon……and at the very least, he makes the rest of the team look less douchy by comparision……

MOLINA
Nice to have you back in the offense……and not to mention some nice glove work on the Bonifacio bunt, and knocking down those curves in the dirt……

SANDOVAL
The ugliest 2 hit day you can have…..slapping a one hander down the line, and chopping one off the pitcher…..hey, you take what you can get……

ROMO
Nice to have the sidearmer back, and loved that K of Hanley…….beautiful…overpower them with slop baby!

FRED
BAD ASS SLIDE………nuff said……

JOKER

BASERUNNING

Does looking at that base standing on end make you feel a little sick?
Well, that's what watching Giants baserunning did to me.....Wow, what a weird fucking game…..
The baseball gods are toying with us…..more than our share of doink hits, but just when you thought things were breaking your way, the Giants lose 3 runners on the basepaths, and if it wasn't for a stubborn Uribe not breaking home and a nifty slide from Fred, we would have lost 4 runners at the plate…….

SMACK OF THE STICK :
PADRES
Good grief……an 18th inning game is ugly for sure…..but the Pads took ugly to a new level…..
After scoring 5 runs in the 9th, including a 2 out 3 run shot from Eckstein…..the Padres proceeded to be NO-HIT for the next 9 innings, only to lose the game when they brought in their utility man to pitch in the 18th……9 pitchers + 1 infielder as pitcher was used……the only pitchers not used…..Corriea, who pitched yesterday, Peavy who pitches tomorrow, and Chris Young fresh off injury…….

COGHLAN
Good god, right when it looked like we might actually win this sloppy game, the rookie with 1 career homer and slugging .293 comes through with a 2 run bomb…..Not Uggla, Not Hanley, Not Cantu, Not even Hermida……freaking LEADOFF MAN COGHLAN…….man, looking at his numbers, you would think he was a Giants 1stbaseman…..

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/05 GIANTS at MARLINS

GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/05 GIANTS at MARLINS

GAMEBALL

PANDA

HOLY SHIT……PANDA POWER…….so that what happens when you swing at pitches in the Zone…..I mean GOOD GOD this kid has pop……no extension whatsoever, basically the knob of the bat 2 inches from his Panda Belly….and it was a laser shot into the right field seats……Nice to have instant runs once in a while…..and although the Giants wouldn’t score again, the timing of the HR gave the Giants enough momentum to take them to the win…….BTW, that that’s the second HR by a Giants 1st baseman….

TIP OF THE CAP :
MEDDERS
Critical point in the game, nutted up and was able to get out of a 2 on, 0 out situation with on the one run across

ROMO
Woo Hoo….hell yeah…..nice to have the Wiffleballer back in action…..and he looked as good as we all remember, dazzling and bouncing his way through 2 critical innings with barely a whimper from the opposition…….This means we see less of Howry in critical situations?...hell that’s worth at least 5 points off my blood pressure……

ROWAND
Keeps on ticking…..14 game streak, 8 multi hit games…..and batting .302…YES that was….THREE ZERO TWO……..Simply amazing……

BURRISS
Looks like we got a gold glover in the making……tonight with one spectacular play turned airmail but immediately made up for it with another flipped to 2nd for the out….but really, you are here more for yesterday's omission more than anything……

ZITO
Dipped into his sack of magic curveballs and got the job done for 6 semi-solid innings…….hey…..a win is a win……

JOKER

WILSON

GOOD GOD WILSON, That was the longest scoreless inning in the history of baseball he proceeded to walk the based loaded before finally getting out of it…..literally a non stop 16 minute thrill ride (that would extrapolate to a 4 1/2 hour 9 inning game)
Dude, you are supposed to be GETTING BETTER not WORSE…….
Instead of emulating Nen or Beck, you have decided you would rather pitch like Brantley or Garrelts……hell if it wasn't for a gimme out with the sac bunt, a border line check swing, and a generous strike zone……you probably would have walked in the winning run…….
So put down the goddamn plastic fake guitar, and concentrating on your mechanics…….or maybe your twitter buddy can go visit Narnia and get you a magical +2 rosin bag of control, or perhaps the mystic cleats of hard breaking curveballs

SMACK OF THE STICK :
MARLINS FANS
OK, so nobody in the stadium……do we HAVE to have the microphones turned to sensitive so you can hear every stupid freaking noise?????
It doesn't make it sound like the park is full, it makes it sound like the park is full of retards…….I swear to god, who the fuck kept yelling TIMMY!!!!
Ok, who is Timmy….well maybe they are saying Jeremy for Hermida…..no…..they are definitely saying Timmy…….
And THAT was the coherent stuff coming from the stands…….really most of the crap you can hear sounds like Tibetan Monks reading Dr Seuss, with a few small animals being tortured for good measure……

SPONGETECH
OK what the FUCK???? I've seen ads all over major league baseball….and now RIGHT BEHIND THE PLATE in MIAMI????
Are sponges such a good business that you can buy premium advertising space now?
OK, maybe its some big ass company offering contract services like Aramark or something
WRONG…..don't even give them the gratification of going to the site……
IT’S A GODDAMN "INFOMERCIAL-STYLE" PRODUCT…..good god…..has baseball advertising sunk to this level?
Is it just a matter of time before we visit Sham WOW Park, or ChiPet Stadium, or maybe even…..Flobee Field……

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/04 GIANTS at NATS x2

DOUBLEHEADER EDITION

RAINOUT GRAPH from FANGRAPHS.com


Just wanted to include this because of the rainout
Most Valuable
Cain +15.6% Rain +14.5%
Don't worry, I'm not going post graph thing everyday…..


GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/04 GIANTS at NATS x2

GAMEBALL

El Rato Grande

Randy Johnson, 300 Wins…blah blah blah
Well, that's not cool give the man his props…..300 wins is one hellova milestone……hell, ask Blyleven what he would give for another shot at it……
By now, you have read 100x about Randy's accomplishment and his "solitary" road to 300…..which got me thinking…..300 wins has GOT to be one of the loneliest milestones in baseball…..a stat which relies heavily on team performance, ends up being a near solo performance by the time you get to 300……
Lets look as some of the recent 300 game winners.
Randy is the 10th player to reach 300 wins since Perry in 1982 (before that it was Early Wynn in 1963)
Here is the list, with total wins, most wins with 1 team, and 300 win team

Only 1 player won his 300th game with the team he won a plurality (more than others) of his games…and even Carlton spent a good chunk of his early career with the Cardinals and played for 6 different teams
So by the time a pitcher gets to 300 games, he is more or less a hired gun either rounding out the end of a staff or brought in for PR…..so really Randy is the norm, not the exception…….
You see Gaylord Perry on that list? After wearing 8 different uniforms and winning most of his games away from the orange and black, many people don't see Perry as a Giant. For me, if it wasn't for the retired number, the in park ceremonies, and the bobblehead I see Perry in a Rangers uniform, just because that’s when I first remember knowing who he was……
And in a way, I think this puts him in a special position to understand Randy's career…..
Now what could a Fireballing Leftie have in common with a spitballing Righthander……
Well there is some interesting symmetry…..
Gaylord is identified with San Francisco(134 wins), and won his 300 with Seattle
Randy is identified with Seattle (130 wins), and won his 300 with San Francisco
Both players won less than 50% of their games with one team
Both pitchers won 100 games in the AL and NL
Gaylord took 21 years and 7 teams to win 300
Randy took 22 years and 6 team to win 300
Both pitchers won the Cy Young their first year away from "home"
Randy with Arizona, Perry with Cleveland
So for the Journeyman Randy, today is a day to recognize your accomplishment……a truly individual milestone with a team stat in a team game…..quite a feat to be sure….. and here's hoping Gaylord gives you a call of congratulations….as only he could possibly understand the road you traveled

TIP OF THE CAP :
CAIN
7-1…..hard luck loser got the late support from the Offense right before the rain came down……xERA, BPV, LOB%, BABIP, FIP, YMCA???? Who gives a shit…for all the bad luck this kid has put up with the past few years, he deserves any "luck" he is getting now
and BTW statheads…..K/9 went from 6.24 to 6.69 in 1 game..feeling better about that K rate?

RAIN
Hey…..I'll take it…..as the Giants slip away into the rainy night with their 3rd road series win of the year……and the pen is rested up for the rest of the roadtrip

ROWAND
Wasn't exactly as hot as the past week, but converted hits in both games…..and that’s a 13 games hit streak with 12 runs and 9 RBI……including the tying RBI and winning Run in the rain shortened game…..

SCHIERHOLTZ
Did that hit count? if so, that’s every single starter with a hit in 5+ innings of game 2……

JOKER

WILSON

Good god twitter boy…. you trying to give Randy a heart attack????
After gnawing at the bit all day yesterday and through the delay today, you came awfully fucking close to blowing 300 for the Unit….called on to get 1 out in the 8th, Wilson walked Zimmerman to load the bases…..which means THROW STRIKES to the Dunn…and with the count full you got bailed out by a strike 3 call, that was borderline at best…..and something tells me that the last thing the Umpire wanted was a tie game…….Good thing the Giants scored in the bottom 1/2 of the 8th…..cause nobody wanted to see what could happen if you needed 3 more outs….

SMACK OF THE STICK :
NATIONALS "FANS"
Really?
You kidding me right….sure it was a Wet day and an unplanned double header, but when you got more people on the field than in the stands, something is wrong…..
And looks like "Nationals Park" already lost that new park appeal with 20K average attendance comes in just ahead of Pittsburg, Oakland, and Florida……I don't think is what MLB had in mind when they moved the team from Montreal…….Just get it over with and contract Florida and Washington already…..and while you are at it, we will take Zimmerman and Hanley off your hands…..

GROUNDS CREW
Wet track around 3rd almost killed a few Giants today….from Fred Lewis slipping and sliding, to Randy Winn looking like he was going to break an ankle, to Panda doing a face plant ……hey, when you are throwing down the turface…..make sure you get some around the cut of the grass near third……..

GAMEBALL and JOKE 06/02 GIANTS at NATS

Win Probability Graph
From the Good Folks at Fangraphs.com


Big Winners?
+28.2% Rowand
+14.3% Uribe

Big Losers?
-42.4% Howry
-14.9% Molina

Big Pitches
-30.0% 8th inning Gonzalez Single off Howry to tie the game
+11.0 7th inning Kearns ends inning off Howry

Big AB's
+10.7% Rowand's walk, WP + Error scores 2
-7.5% Burriss Lineout in 5th, with 0 out and 2 men on


GAMEBALL and JOKE
06/02 GIANTS at NATS

GAMEBALL

ROWAND

What can you say, this is one streaky mutherfucker…..
After moving to the leadoff spot he has an 11 game hitting streak with 7 multihit games……while hitting .404 with 3 homers 10 runs and 8 RBIS…..yes 8 RBIS in 11 Games leading off…….
His batting average has gone from .246 to .294, and after a horrid start to May, once again has his batting line near what we would normally expect considering his historical averages…….Will he keep it up? Probably not, but its nice to think he might actually beat that .265-.275 with 10-15 HR line….when just a few weeks ago it didn't look like he would even get to THAT level……

By the way, everytime I look at this guy…..I think he's a pair of sideburns and a coke spoon necklace in the shape of a cross away from being in this movie….


TIP OF THE CAP :
URIBE
Hot with the stick to be sure…..say hello to your new starting 3rd baseman……lets just hope when he cools off to that ..238 hitter with sub .300 OBP, that Ishikawa will get another chance……hell a line like that would get Ishikawa DFA'ed……too bad he wasn't a proven veteran…….well anyway….in the meantime I will take the hot stick…….(insert Beavis Laugh)….hot stick…..sounds like Zito and Wilson pretending they have Unicorn horns…….

WINN
Unsung, underappreciated, overpaid…..two out or three ain't bad…..


JOKER

BULLPEN

What the FUCK was THAT……
After Wilson's blown save in San Diego, the bullpen has proceeded to go 25 innings of 1.44 ERA baseball with 19 K's and a WHIP of 1.08…but that bullpen was providing to relief tonight……from Affeldt's bouncing 59 foot curves to Molina, to Howry and Merkin giving it up like a drunk teenager in a motel on prom night……except this time the bullpen lost more than their cherries…..they lost the Win for the 500 K Phenom, and started the longest road trip of the year on a sour note……Good job jackasses…..hope you got that our of your system…..And Howry…..Misch called, he said Cutco is hiring Salespeople..….on second thought….maybe that’s not the job for you….you see Salespeople actually HAVE to PERFORM…….

SMACK OF THE STICK :
GLOVES
As much as the Giants have relied on their bullpen, they have also counted on the leather….And tonight a couple miscues set the stage for a close game……first on Uribe's misplay down the line and the Renteria's airmail relay to 1st……sure Uribe had a hot night with the stick and made a fabulous play with the glove…..but you NEED to make the routine plays too…….dumbasses…..

MOLINA
A trooper for sure behind the plate, but that 0 for 5 in the cleanup spot really stands out when the rest of the lineup has their hitting shoes on…..the Giants coulda have delivered a knock out blow a few times…..and that 0 for 5? it included a 0 for 4 with Runners in scoring position……

Matt Cain…..for better or worse……

Matt Cain…..for better or worse……

I you are like me you have been watching Matt Cain this year and think he finally gets it….mixing pitches, throwing strikes, going deep into games….What's that, his velocity is down? What do the stat heads have to say about that? Strand rates are up BABIP is down its all just luck?...I don't want to listen to this….the Joe Morgan is me tells me that Cain is "clutch."….which of course was probably proven not to exist by a sabermatrician back in 1982…..but I digress……
What do we make of all this noise?
Well, lets review what we DO know……
Fastball velocity is down a little
2006 = 93.4 MPH
2007 = 93.2 MPH
2008 = 92.4 MPH
2009 = 91.8 MPH

First off this is average velocity, and Cain is still hitting 95 MPH at times this year.
Second that's only drop of 1.6 MPH over the course of 3 years…..by itself, really not anything to get excited by…..and perhaps the trend is more troubling than the numbers themselves……but is this indicative of an aging or damaged arm or a pitcher that is learning to throttle down, hit spots, and use movement……

Well, lets look at a couple pitchers who's velocity loss is fresh in our minds….
Jason Schmidt
2002 = 93.0 MPH
2003 = 95.0 MPH
2004 = 93.5 MPH
2005 = 91.8 MPH
2006 = 92.4 MPH
2007 = 86.9 MPH
Cain looks like a model of consistency compared to Schmidt, and add the known arm troubles he had as far back as 2002 he was pulled from a start with Shoulder Tightness…..

Barry Zito
2002 = 87.1 MPH
2003 = 87.5 MPH
2004 = 86.9 MPH
2005 = 87.3 MPH
2006 = 85.8 MPH
2007 = 84.5 MPH
2008 = 84.9 MPH
2009 = 86.5 MPH
Again, Cain is a model of consistency compared to Zito who lost his magic touch after smoking too many unicorns……

Lets throw in one more pitcher just for fun
Johan Santana
2002 = 91.0 MPH
2003 = 91.7 MPH
2004 = 92.4 MPH
2005 = 92.4 MPH
2006 = 93.1 MPH
2007 = 91.7 MPH
2008 = 91.2 MPH
2009 = 91.0 MPH
He Gained 2.1 MPH and then over the same years in question for Cain, lost 2.1 MPH……you think Johan is worried?

My point? Well, don't stress out about the velocity data…..you need a lot more evidence about velocity drop than that to get worried, variations happen and it would take more than a 1.6 MPH drop to get me excited……

But HEY, Strikeouts are down !!! His ERA is a product of an unsustainable strand rate!!!!
Well it would make sense that if he was "pitching to contact" and trying to get deeper into games instead of going for the K…….
Is it possible that Cain is "bearing down" with runners on, and being less careful with the bases empty or 2 down…???
Well, the best data is the most data, so I broke down the situations with the most data
Runners On vs No Runners On….certainly if there is something going on we see it here…..
Cain situational Stats



Wow, what we have is some ridiculous numbers….either Cain is the most clutchiest pitcher in the world, or he has been extremely lucky with runners on and extremely unlucky with the bases empty….Additionally, he is getting GDP's in over 5% of PA thanks to that men on magic, but also improved groundball flyball splits…..
Groundballs???? I thought he was a strike out pitcher?
Well., according to Infosolutions, Cain's Curveball selection has gone from 10 to 16% of his pitches, mostly at expense of his Slider, but also at the expense of his Fastball……
So really he is throwing 6% less pitches that usually get the K's, with a overhand Curve than can get topped into Double Play grounders……..

So, I could type all day, but here is the bottom line as I see it…..
Cain's velocity is nothing to worry about, but deserves watching
Cain has been lucky, but has also changed his game…the luck will even out and the league will adjust…..so don't expect a 2.50 ERA for the year…..honestly I think an ERA in the 3.50-3.75 range with 200+ innings is acceptable….
However, don't be surprised if Cain's magic continues…..stats aren't the whole story and many for all of the theorems and postulates and proofs the sabermatricians come up with, they are all based on trends……It is very possible that these trends can be upset by a set of data, especially by a set of data as small as a single season……
All told, I find this data very encouraging for one fact…Cain is showing the ability and willingness to adjust his approach, which is what this game is all about…….
The league will figure you out, you might lose some stuff whatever it is, eventually you will need to adjust to survive, and being able to make those adjustments is the most important thing to longevity in this game……



Cain Overall stats
And FIP is Fielding Independant Pitching (think of as what his ERA should be based upon peripheral stats)


P.S.
In the modern world, people often take science for truth forgetting what has lead us to this point…. What people must remember is that science isn’t a bunch of equations in a book that must be memorized and calculated…..science is only humans trying to come up with explanations for the world around him…. many of these explanations are very useful at prediction behavior of the world, but the are NOT the world…just models of the world…..science has life cycles….a theory is excepted as fact…and then as time goes on it become less and less useful, and then someone comes up with a better theory….and now we have a new "Fact"…..
I think sabermatricians would be wise to learn this lesson….don't get blinded by stats….baseball is not played on a computer, but between the lines…..Now, I LOVE the stats, and they are very useful and some theories are more solid than others, but don't ever let that make you think that stats are the game…..



P.S.S

Fan Graphs are pretty negative here

Baseball Prospectus is much more even handed here,
but not sure if I buy all their pitchfx stuff about pitches breaking more with runners on
makes the Randy Johnson data I presented look like
La'Chatelier Principle