Nice Start, Zito Needs to Step it Up…..
Very nice overall game, we showed power (2 bombs), patience (5 walks) and it should have been more than 6-2 (that bases loaded nobody out fiasco was infuriating)…..
This is a good team for Zito to pitch against today. He has been painfully below average for the last month. He’s never beaten Oaktown. A stud performance against them would get him re-started, I think…..
Anyone got a problem with Pat the Bat playing every day?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Minus Suzuki, yeah. Should be nice night, ball should carry more than usual. Mazzaro should not last second time through LU. Burrell starts today, sure, , but is a 2 out of 3 guy to me. Have fun, xoot.
Sf is spanking the baseball lately, at a .290 clip since the last series vs. A’s. We out homered Reds in their own park. There are only two teams in NL that have less losses, LA and SD. Other than the pen (and the GIDPs), lot to like, and be thankful for….no more fighting! And STOP arguing about the fucking LU!!!
and really, if Zito can’t get it going against this punchless group it’s time to officially start worrying about him again….
i keep wondering when/if rent. gets healthy and can contribute and everyone else keep playing up to potential, etc. when do we think about moving bengie?? i love the guy, but who you gonna send on their way if all come back strong??! there’s no space…
“…who you gonna send on their way if all come back ”
Eli seems to be the logical choice. JS will just have to get over it.
Sounds like Rent might be good to go as soon as Monday or Tuesday, we’ll see…“…who you gonna send on their way if all come back ” I would imagine Downs gets the heave ho. Say what you will about Whitey, but Bochy loves the guy. He’s not going anywhere. Get used to it.
BTW, I don’t like tonight’s lineup.
Pat Burrill will cool off of course but until he does run him out while he’s got something in his bat. Bochy has to stay flexible and his approach allows for that. Play the hot hand and change the lineup around when the hits don’t come. Posey batting third for certain games is a good move and his play will lift the Giants in many ways. Molina still may get hot with some pop. The key for Molina is getting days off and staying fresh. Pablo should start getting in a groove and his numbers are not that bad so far. We just expect too much from a young ballplayer. Be patient and let the good times roll!
good post, Nip….
Whitey is here for the rest of the year.
No problem with Pat playing everyday, albeit, the outfield defense will take a hit if both him and Huff are out there on patrol. Yikes!
Glad to see Tim back on track. Absolutely agree with Flav about Zito . . . Hopefully, he will get back to his winning ways (oxymoron? OH OH). Seriously, I’m happy with Zits overall this year. Moreover, as Willied pointed out, “There are only two teams in NL that have less losses, LA and SD.” You have to be happy about that. Go Giants!
Oh the sweetness of beating the A’s with Fosse in the booth to watch.He is the worse kind of “HOMER”.
Examples-Play at the plate in the second,he immediately says,”I don’t think so” before seeing the replay and then having to say,”Oh yeah,good call.”
Posey standing at third,after the triple breathing hard,and Fosse says,”I don’t even think he could have scored,he’s so out of breath.”
After Burrell’s Homerun,which followed Uribe not being rung up on maybe a check swing strike,he says,”no third strike on the check swing,suddenly your down two runs.”
And Kruk just baits him,baits him.I love it!!!
BTW…Giants are now 6-0 in those wacky Friday orange jerseys.Go figure.
Posey should move up and down in the LU depending on the opposing starter. Pablo should be back in the 3 spot when he’s back in the groove. Until then, he can move around a bit, too. I still say it’s a Rubik’s puzzle setting the LU for this team evey day, but it’s doable. The good news, obviously, is that there are more good choices than there are slots. Tough luck, huh? Burrell looks fine in LF right now, but Huff doesn’t look so good on the bench. Renteria’s coming back and Uribe continues to play at a near all star level. Luckily, Bochy has an army of young baseball zealots with supercharged laptops and expensive software calculatiing the Rubik’s alternatives for him every day . . . .
Come on Zito!
kat, Krukow’s good natured bs seems to rattle Fosse. Krukow’s hyperbole is pretty funny; Fosse’s is defensive. Fosse’s just a fucking stiff.
B Jenks says we are “one big bat away” from WS contention. That’s a little too general of a comment if you ask me. Expand on it, who could that bat be? There are only so many positions available. OF? Negative. Infield? Where would a big bat go there? Unless you get rid of Molina, put Posey behind the plate and trade for a big 1B bat I don’t see how we fit a new player via trade on to this team. Even if Pat the Bat fell apart we still have OF options that Boch would turn too before Sabean engaged in a trade. I don’t even want Sabean thinking about a mid season trade, he’s worse than awful at pulling them off anyway….
Xoot, agree.It’s great to get under Fosse’s skin.Since Kruk had little ammunition to use in the Oakland series.When you score only one run in 3 games,Fosse can say any thing he wanted to and we had to eat it.Paybacks a bitch now Ray.
Part of that is just that Jenkins is grudging about giving the Giants any respect.
He’s all: “Yeah, the Giants are pretty good, but….”
I get tired of the local columnists’ act.
Does the A’s organization EVER consider the fact that one of the reasons they’ve lost fans over the years just might be because Fosse is such an awful stiff? He’s horrible. He contributes practically zero insight on anything. And he’s BORING.
isn’t he? It amazes me that someone decides each year that the broadcast team for the A’s is worth re-upping.
Last night Fosse said something interesting about Gio at one point — how the subbing catcher was not setting up inside and forcing Gio to “finish” his motion, to follow through to aim at the down and in target. Intersting to know that’s how the A’s typically try to corral their lefty. J Sanchez has similar issues with his delivery and the Giants (try to) handle it differently.
But here’s my point: That little comment was the ONLY thing I heard from Fosse all night that was worth a shit. Krukow, for all his bs, offers more info and insight than that every five minutes. I’ll take the high spirited amusing and effusive homer over the dull mean-spirited stiff any day.
Speaking of the A’s- this past week, the A’s were playing the Angels for firstplace in their division, and how many fans showed up to the Coluseum each game? About 10,000. The A’s ought to move to Nashville or somewhere.
Btw- is it just me, or does it seem like over the last few years, Affeldt has made some of the worst throws to bases you’ve ever seen from a pitcher? I seem to remember a couple of other horrendous throws. He just kind of rears back and lets it fly.
I haven’t gone back through yesterdays posts, so I don’t know if this is old news. Wellemyer on DL, Joe Martinez brought up.
was that DL serendipitous? A well timed answer to a manager’s dilemma; I have to say, as much as I hate to see any player DL, this seems well timed.
A month to go to the all star break
Let’s make some momentum
Another impressive stat by Posey.His triple in the 7th continued his hitting streak to 10 games.Longest by a NL rookie in 2010.
Yeah that’s correct Kevin. Too bad Wellemeyer wasn’t placed on the 162 game DL.
What the fuck is that shirt the Bat is wearing?
Looks like the roadmap to hell.
Fuck the lineup. Bochy is doing fine with whatever he does.
Hey, it worked yesterday.
Zuma, the announcers are the least of the A’s problems. An owner who has pretty much ignored and blown off the fan base has a bit to do with it. Letting dirty Al ruin was used to be decent sight lines has something to do with it as well. The fricking Rivercats draw better half the time.
Affeldt is soon to appear on a DL near you . . .
As in hockey, he has a lower body injury . . .
With the off-day coming up later in June, the Giants have the opportunity to skip the #5 start. By my count, Timmy could get 5 more starts before the All-Star break. A few more wins would lock up another All-Star appearance for him. Cain has a shot at it, too. Zito looked like a contender, but really needs a strong streak again.
I don’t see any position players making the All-Star team.
Here is a discussion I have been waiting to throw out there. This may be a good day for it. Let’s say Zito keeps pitching as he has for the last month. Getting by but not lights out. Acceptable but not outstanding.
Let’s say come trade deadline, an AL team comes looking for some extra pitching help and inquires about Zito and offers to pay the remainder of his salary for this year and half of the remaining salary for the next three and willing to split the last option year buyout.
Looks like under this scenario, the Giants would have to eat $32 million to save about $41 mill.
What would the Giants do? I would jump at the offer and say bye bye to Barry and start planning on how to use that extra $10 mill a year roughly for the next 4 years.
If Posey stays consistent and I don’t mean batting .400 just keep getting on base and pounding out some hits, Sandoval starts an uptick, Renteria stays on the field and Burrel can keep up the resurgence this club doesn’t need another bat. Plus where would you put this supposed new guy from a trade. I don’t think they’re peaking at all offensively, they are just starting to jell and scratch the surface.
Zito got to sleep in his own bed last night so he likely spent the evening in deep thought with his pink pillow and snuggle blanket. He probably even got a wheat grass shot this morning or something.
I look for him to pitch well today.
GH, If that presented itself the club should jump all over it.
Flavor, the only bats I think would make a difference is someone like Adrian Gonzalez or Miguel Cabrera, but the the amount of valuable young talented players it will take to acquire such a star is beyond what I wiould trade or we wont probably be able to match other young players that the Boston Red Sox or Dodgers could put on the table in a trade.
With Burrell there, I dont see a Jose Guillen being acquired either. My prediction, no blockbuster or any other trade will be made. If we fall shorty, then let’s see if we finally go after a big bat for next year…
Again, the big news is that Timmy has returned to something like 90% efficiency, IMHO anyway. With Timmy around 90 and Matt the Horse right around a full 100 currently, a good deal of pressure is taken off Zito and Sanchez, enabling the pair of lefties to more or less slide into their games. Bullpen took a hit in that last Cincy game, but before that they were jack on track. Most bullpens take hits at the bandbox.
Unless either Zito or Cain has an early inning meltdown this weekend, not likely with Matt but slightly possible with Barry; its likely we will see Martinez start that second Baltimore game. Martinez gets the longman call with either Zito or Sanchez starting and then Bumgarner would be the man in that second Baltimore game. All in all, though there is a question or two, pitching looks solid.
Xoot; i like your Rubik’s cube analogy regarding the ever-changing lineup. Apt. Hoping last night’s LU was the exception because Huff needs to play at least 6 of 7 games. He leads the team with a .396 OBP and is the most patient hitter on the squad. Key presence, though the odd game off for a bit of rest is okay. Huff the Magic Dragon, btw is 6th in the league in OBP, an almost unheard of stat for Giants in recent years. Torrid Torres is not far behind with a .392, good for 11th in the NL. He’s also tied for 5th in doubles with 17 and 10th in SBs with eleven. Sando is close behind in two-baggers with 16.
Interchangeable parts and all the team currently is 3rd in the league in BA with a .266, but a mere 13th in runs scored, They also happen to be tied for 10th in HRs; 6th in doubles and 8th in OBP. Currently, the staff is 3rd in ERA. Last night’s performance was a relative rarity as the walk ratio was strongly in favor of SF. BBs have been a problem for the team, both in terms of drawing them and in giving them up. In fact, walks given up or taken constitute the single biggest shortcoming for the Giants as a team. Oops, forgot a bigger one: GDPs. Sooner or later this shortcoming should pass or at least ease up a bit. Partly due to hacking tendencies, the other aspect seems to be mischief on the part of the baseball gods, who have appointed Loki the Trickster to keep an eye on the Giants, so they do not soar too high too soon.
Giants have been in the process of jelling ever since the appearances of Sanchez, Posey and Burrell. Now with Timmy back in the groove and Molina at long last breaking out of his HR schneid and Bochy being way mostly successful in manipulating that Rubik’s Cube, SF is poised for a breakout. A homestand sweep would be sweetness unlimited. Five of six is doable and would be beautiful. Anything less than 4 of 6 from Oakland and Baltimore would shock me.
2.5 games behind the LaBumbos and the Dagos. Bums are running on fumes and luck. Lady Billingsley got pasted by crosstown rivals last night. Squelched by Joel Pinero, no less. Pads pulled one out, but their offense is anemic and their young starters Latos and Richard may not keep the league guessing throughout the season. Correia’s ERA has already puffed up to close to .500 and Garland gradually reverts to form. Giants, on the other hand, have no major holes any longer, except maybe those BBs. They are poised as a team ready to make a run. They have not peaked yet, but it seems imminent.
There’s no reason to do a damn thing other than send Bautista down and bring Bumgarner up. Downs goes for Edgar.
Zito? He isn’t going anywhere. Best just try to enjoy him through the good and bad. Something has to give tonight. Barry’s pitched exceedingly well at home, and we all know his numbers vs his former club.
As for tonight’s lineup, I’m really hoping Bochy starts Buster at C and gives Pat another start in left. He has to, right? And we can forget about Nate taking any starts away from Rowand. That ain’t happening either. Voodoo doll might be our last resort in his case, and I’m already thinking Aaron has an immunity to pins as well.
So i assume Iron Joe starts Tuesday against the Birds.Give him that start then move him to long relief as Bum takes over the 5th spot and the Giants jettison Wellemeyer into outer space.
Well you guys are optimistic at least. A lot better than the Splash. Look for the Giants to change players around on a daily basis. Either batting in the lineup or changing positions in the field players will be in flux. As for obtaining another bat, that goal is more like a daydream than reality. Sabean will have to give up some pitching and so far he’s reluctant to do that although he pulled the trigger on the Sanchez trade last season which has only lately come to fruition.
It took those limey blokes just under 4 minutes to score on the Americans. We couldn’t even beat the world in *our* game of baseball. How the hell are they going to win at someone else’s sport.
England has to win at something. Their motorcycle industry went down the tubes. Same with their auto industry. The Irish hate their guts. Their food is bad. Ever go to an English restaurant? Of course not. Perhaps a pub found in the larger US cities. They’re forced to drive tiny autos because the price of gas is one big ouch!
Suffice to say, Nipper is no longer a member of the London Chamber of Commerce.
GOOOOOOOOOOOAL! USA!
I don’t know much about soccer, but I’d say what that English goalie just did was the equivalence to the Buckner ball.
TF: Another good post. Bautista for Bumgarner- Downs for Renteria. As per the various trade rumors and proposals, these two moves give me the feeling that the last pair of puzzle pieces would be in place in Xoot’s Rubik’s Cube. With those two additions team roster looks to be pretty well complete: Great flexibility; capacity for setting a good LU for virtually any contingency; fabulous rotation; better than adequate BP; very good bench.
What’s not to like?
Well, it’s early but they’re 5th in runs scored this month, and first in their division. They have to ride Burrell for as long as he can shoulder the load, he’s as notorious as Rowand for lonnnnnnng slumps but is far more explosive in his hot streaks. This is a guy who camn pop 8 or 10 in a month and drive in 25-30. He’s swinging well now, they need to capitalize on it: he can also hit a buck fifty for weeks…
USA got a goal of a gift; did ya hear how quiet that stadium got after the botched ball?
Lewis hamilton at pole in Canada and somewhere someone is driving as fast as they can for 24 hours. cool.
BTW I am at an English restaurant having faggots and mash with parsley sauce and a Guinness.
😛
Not to beat a dead animal, but this Rowand getting played over Nate thing is starting to irk me–again. Bochy was quoted as saying in regards to Nate not starting…”I’m sure he wants to start but we’re kind of going with the hot hands right now. ”
Am I missing something here again? How the hell is Rowand a “hot hand?” Granted, Nate been to great shake himself, but his numbers vs lefties far outweigh Rowand’s this year and *should* have garnered him a start last night. I just can’t see how an outfield of Pat-Rowand-Torres, is better than Pat-Torres-Nate. I really can’t.
” Where would a big bat go there? Unless you get rid of Molina, put Posey behind the plate and trade for a big 1B bat I don’t see how we fit a new player via trade on to this team.”
The OF would be the best place to squeeze in another bat. The Rays aren’t going to trade Crawford, but a player like that would make it the best LU in the NL. Rowand goes to the bench on the days Huff or Burrell are playing the OF.
BTW Renteria isn’t going to help the team. He’s the joker in Bochy’s Rubik Cube. You cannot have a SS with the worst range in MLB starting everyday. Uribe is only slightly better, so the Giants would be better served by having a utility IF who’s a good defensive SS. Someone like Kevin Frandsen. You know what’s so frustrating, there’s no way in hell would the Angels trade Frandsen for Renteria, even if their SS got injured, even if the Giants paid most of his salary. They’re paying nine million dollars for a player who makes the team worse. Compare the Giants record since Sanchez returned, with and without Renteria on the roster. I have a sinking feeling it’s going to be worse with him screwing up the defense.
When you’re wanting Frannie instead of Renteria, just put the gun in your mouth and end it all, pal…
The less knowledgeable don’t understand the advanced feastures like RF and UZR. Rent’s numbers were poor last year because of his injured ARM, not his range. When you can’t make some throws, it reflects on RF and UZR and leads the ignorant to believe he isn’t getting to balls. Last year his UZR/150, which takes into account all factors, was a plus .05, totally average . This year, he’s at PLUS 9.6, 4th among NL shortstops with 100 innings or more. Edgar is a plus defender and he’s fucking hitting .326… if he’s healthy this time around ( admittedly a big “if”), he’s THE clincher, they are in..
You’re wrong twinfan. In 2010, Frandsen is more valuable and much less expensive. If the Angels lost their SS, do you think they would rather have Renteria or Frandsen fill the position? Last season Renteria had the worst range in all of MLB. This season it’s considerably worse. How is that acceptable at a key defensive position.
USA just tied the Brits! Now, most would say that a tie is like kissing your sister, but in this case I thinks it’s much more pleasurable. Say like having sex with your step-sister, which we all know is perfectly A-OK.
The best role for Renteria is as a PH and backup IF. When he starts, he’s either replacing the leading RBI man, or fucking up the defense.
The facts contradict your prejudice, Stu.
my step-sister is a hottie
Twinfan, you’re right about one thing, I don’t understand that UZR stat. My main gripe with Renteria was that he needed that operation during the 2008 season. He toughed it out, not to help the Tigers, but because it was a contact year. He made millions of dollars by not having a necessary operation and he completely fucked the Giants over. Uribe is the only reason why the Renteria signing hasn’t been a complete disaster.
FUCK RENTERIA!…LONG LIVE KEVIN FRANDSEN!
Uribe is a MINUS 15.2 UZR/150. Translated for the stat challenged, Juan will give up TWENTY FIVE runs over Renteria in 150 games played at SS. They both will, and should, be in most games together. But Edgar is by far the better defensive SS. Frandsen? That’s a fucking joke. He isn’t a shortstop to begin with, dipshit. He hasn’t played one fucking inning there this year and not even 200 innings in his fucking MLB LIFE.
Frandsen? You must be joking.
Prejudice is a terrible burden. It buries deep in our mind and reveals itself like stupidity at the most unfortunate of times.
“The facts contradict your prejudice, Stu.”
The facts have yet to be established. My theory is that the Giants’ record will be better on the days Renteria doesn’t start and the the Giants winning % with Sanchez/without Renteria on the roster will be better than their overall winning %.
The facts are referred to are his defense. And they are established. Who gives a flying fuck about your dumb ass theory? Giants are 11-11 with Freddy starting, BTW…
What is Frandsen’s UZR at SS in 2009 for the Grizzlies?
A SS is like a quaterback for the infield. As a rule, you want one guy to play the position everyday. If you have FGreddy Sanchez, you want him to start everyday at 2B. You can move Pablo to first, but he’s turned out to be a solid 3B, as has Huff/Posey at first. Maybe the team will be better with Renteria playing most days at SS or whatever they plan on doing. I’m just trying to thing of a great team that didn’t have an established everyday SS.
If Frandsen can help the Angels, cool. I can’t remember him doing ANYTHING to help the Giants win any games.
I’m going to go with the ol’ theory of: trust what you saw with your own eyes. Frandsen sucked when he was with the Giants. Was he even hitting .200 when they finally got rid of him?
And with the Frandsen bullshit, you’ve established that facts are the least of your concern, you have a nearly psychotic prejudice against Renteria. Nothing else can explain it. Send me an E-Mail, I have some lorazepam left, I’ll send it to you..
I don’t know that they have UZR for minor leaguers, look it up yourself. I do see he made 15 errors in 60 games at SS, the equivalent of 40+ in a full year. VERY fucking encouraging…
The Giants are 11-11 since Sanchez was activated? I forget, did Renteria ever play with Sanchez, if so, those games are moved to the overall winning %.
If Renteria is that much better than Uribe defensively, then by all means start him everday. All I’m really saying, defense at SS is important. A lot of groundballs get hit in that direction, you need to turn them into outs as often as possible.
Twinfan has me convinced with that UZR rating. Renteria, not Uribe, should play everday at SS, and they should move Uribe to the bench. Just measure the success rate objectively, it’s easy to do. What isn’t easy to do is figuring out a Rubik’s Cube. The acronym KISS has a double meaning in thise case. Keep it simple stupid or Keep one SS
Wow, Twin. That was a quick victory for you. Record time I think.
Stu, I want both of them in and they will be most days. Look, Juan is not quite as good as any of the 3 “regulars” defensively at their position. He’s probably best at third, though, and I supect that he’ll get more time there than the other two spots if everybody is healthy. So we’d see a lot of Huff in RF and Panda at first base, perhaps 2-3 times a week or so. And Rowand sitting more.
I sent Stu twenty bucks to his Paypal if he’d act like I convinced him.
Yes, she is, Edd . . .
So, benching the team RBI leader is a prudent idea?
Who is benching him, fuckwad? one day at SS, one at 2B, two at 3B, then start over. He plays EVERY day, shit fer brains…
“And with the Frandsen bullshit, you’ve established that facts are the least of your concern, you have a nearly psychotic prejudice against Renteria. Nothing else can explain it.”
I admire guys like Kevin Frandsen, because even career minor leaguers are tremendous ballplayers. He’s not quite good enough to succeed at the Major League level, but he’s worked his ass off trying to get there. He’s done nothing to warrant the contempt he’s received here, and the parting shot he received from Renteria was disgraceful, evn if it was in jest.
My gripe with Renteria is twofold. He did as I assert, know he needed to deal with the bone spur in his elbow before he signed with the Giants. He is a member of a union that doesn’t recognize any other union and causes job loss. I’m putting this mnessage in all caps. It’s not directed at twinfan nor anyone else on this blog, but for our fuckwad sellout of a president. A guy I worked my ass off to0 help get elected.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FUCKING JOBS! THE PLAYERS UNION AND BASEBALL OWNERS’ EXEMPTION FROM OUR ANTI-TRUST LAWS CAUSES JOB LOSS. YEAH, IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT THE PLAYERS. THE PEOPLE IN THE CITIES, THE CITIES THAT PAID FOR THER VENUES, NEED FUCKING JOBS. INCREASE ATTENDANCE, CREATE JOBS!
I like Kevin, he’s not a big league SS is all. He is, as I said he was, an acceptable utility guy and I’m delighted he’s getting his chance with a good ball club. We don’t need him, they do…
And this month will tell a lot about that other guy, Mr. Electric… after a big May (.333 BA, .366 OBP, .927 OPS, he’s having a poor June ( .211, .250, .566). Fred was always streaky, it will be interesting to see if he can avoid the prolonged slump that a lead off hitter just can’t have.
Pablo in the 7 spot, Huff in the 3 for tonight. Sounds right. Gotta go. Want to catch some BP.
Even if Lewis succeeds in Toronto, and I hope he doesn’t, you can’t blame Sabean. It’s all on him. He wasn’t focused enough on a day to day basis. Even out of shape bloggers have a right to criticize professional athletes who make mental mistakes.
Here’s my shot at a rotating LU. All that’s needed is two things,excise the Molina cancer and use what’s left intelligently.So to say one is about as likely as the other.
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
Torres CF X CF CF RF CF = 5/6
Scheirholtz RF RF RF RF X RF=5/6
Burell X LF LF X LF LF=4/6
Rowand LF CF X LF CF X= 4/6
Uribe 3B 2B SS X 2B SS= 5/6
Renteria SS SS X SS SS X=4/6
Sanchez 2B X 2B 2B X 2B=4/6
Huff 1B 1B 1B 1B 1B X =5/6
Sandoval X 3B 3B 3B 3B 3B=5/6
Posey C C X C C 1B= 5/6
Whitey X X C X X C= 2/6
That is a set of lineups that will score some runs,enough runs with any reasonable projection of the current pitching,to very seriously contend and keep guys fresh.Thoughts? Beside this looking like a mess to figure out.
Torres, Sanchez, Huff, Uribe, Burrell, Posey, Sandoval, Molina, Zito..