Steamroll Time…..
Man, “Hello driver’s seat”….At least in term of the Wild Card and the NL West. I know SD is still ahead of us but I am telling you, they are not to be feared. Admittedly, I didn’t think they’d last this long. But the ace in the hole in the innings pitched their young pitching staff is accumulating. Latos and Richard are going to be putting on innings in September that those arms haven’t seen before. And the Pads aren’t going to be led through Sept by Garland and Correia. We probably steamroll them before Sept 1 but I’l certainly take it when the season ends, too. And the teams underneath us in the NL West just don’t inspire me. We’ve got the upper hand on everyone right now, as far as I’m concerned…..
Cain finally gets his first win against the Dodgers. He’s now 1-8. But his career ERA vs them is only a half a run worse than his career ERA against everyone else. 1-8 is not a fate this guy deserves……
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
What a great weekend to be a Giants fan!! Most of the Bay area Sports analyst think that Huff should be a strong candidate for NL MVP. And I have to agree. He brings it everyday!!
We just finished a 20-win July; a three-game sweep of the Bums capped off by Cain’s first ever victory over the hated ones which included the GW hit by Renteria and continued expert managing by Bochy. Not much to bitch about. Gonna be a slow day on the blog.
What a weekend!!! First three game swwp of the bums since 2003. What’s not to love about that. And the way they did it in comeback fashion Fri/Sat and a Cain shutout yesterday, simply awesome.
To add to the excitement, I was on the field for the postgame picnic Sat and was served beer by Cain (told him he’d get his first Dodger wiin the next day) and Will Clark. I even got a photo of The Thrill holding my 19 month son.
A fantastic three days. Who could bitch about that?
jumpin’ jehosaphat, seems like just days ago, we were 9-21 vs NL West. 18-21 is looking pretty good right now, with more to come.
why are the pads 3 games down on us? The giants have 56 games in the 63 days remaining giving them 7 days off. Does that mean the Pads have only 4 days off the rest of the way? Pressure should be on them.
go giants
Yep, Dennis, nothing much to complain about. The bitchers and the groaners, the moaners and the boohoos will not much present us with their presence. Not too many of them here on the Flap anyway, but wth.
Driver’s seat? I’d tend to agree. Not yet the Catbird seat, but comfy and not a helluva lot of looking up left to do. Right, Flav. Really no need to look down. Rox and LaBumbos not gonna catch the Gigantes. The series just ended cooked LA’s goose to a fine, crispy turn. Rox prove time and again they cannot win on the road. So that leaves the Dagos and their surprising young starters, plus the pair of retreads. That great bullpen they sport will soon have its hands full as the rubber in their starters arms gets ALL stretched out. One of em could even snap. More than one may get all loosey-goosey. When it comes down to the stretch run ain’t nobody out there capable of matching Matt the Horse.
July was a masterpiece, with Buster being that one extra bat needed to change this squad from a sputtering offense into a smoothly purring machine, with a multifaceted drivetrain made up of just about every position player on the team. Great harmonic balance between that revved up attack and the dominant rotation. Steady defense, with occasional shows of brilliance by the likes of Torres and Ishi, often gets overlooked, but plays a vital role in the team’s upward thrust. A bit of tinkering by Sabean, picking up that L-R. pair of situational relievers has solidified the one faltering element on the team, an injury-plagued shaky pen.
Giants are not the type of outfit that very many teams look forward to facing in October. More and more, they loom as the Halloween Machine.
Halloween Machine, Halloween Machine
Now that’s just a chant waiting to happen. I like it.
Edd, did SD have a slew of rainouts early in the season?
That is odd . . .
Yeah, someone else mentioned that before. They said it was due to stupid MLB scheduling
If it was mentioned already I apologize for missing it but did Flav meet up with Nastu at the ballpark?
Not sure, but I did see Nastu’s name recognized on the scoreboard.
SD picks up a game tonight . . .
not only do we have these extra days of rest over the Padres…Bochy could skip the Bum a couple of times to save his arm for more September starts…that might make the difference in burying the Padres in September.
Nice to have a day off tonight after the intense weekend. I guess we want the Dodgers to win tonight, but nice to know that if they have a bad series losing 3 of 4 against the Padres, they could fall as far as 10 games out…
We need to jump all over Cook tomorrow and take the pressure off in the second game against Jimenez…
Well, this is pleasant. Schierholtz’s brother charged with a DUI in Danville. Hit a bicyclist, a pedestrian, two other vehicles and a light pole
Yeah, I saw that on SF Gate. Was there anything in Danville he didn’t hit?
He missed Rowand? His brother would pissed.
Yeah, SD catches up for August tonight. They pick up the other two in Sept. Only two off days to our four.
It was a busy weekend at my house, including going to the games Sat and Sun, so I didn’t get a chance to check out the Flap, but Craig, I loved this line at the end the post regarding the blog going forward:
“These changes have nothing to do with you, they are all for *me*.”
I’m overjoyed the flap will carry on, but did you just break up with us? It’s been a few years since I got the “it’s not you, it’s me” line. It put a smile on my face.
Thanks for keeping this going. We all appreciate it.
Well, he hit the bars, that’s for sure. 10:00 am? He must have been still going from the night before . . .
Weirder to me is his name is Cain . . .
Matt Cain: 14 starts in his career against the Dodgers,0 wins.It was one the most ridiculous stats in baseball.Don’t even look for a hyperbole in that statement,When a pitcher as good as Cain goes winless in 14 of anything-night games,games in May,any games-it’s a total fluke.Fluky fluky fluky fluky fluke.He doesn’t lack some sort of “viscous rival-pummeling gland” next to his inner ear.In 2008,Cain had a 2.79 ERA against the Dodgers in six starts.No wins.fluke.
And wretched offense.But we’ll focus on the fluke part for now.It was the Stat that must not be named around these parts.It meant nothing.Cain is good.Cain is fantastic.Cain can be my wingman anytime.It meant nothing.
So while it’s always amazing to watch the Giants sweep the Dodgers,getting rid of that phantom monkey on Cain’s back makes the victory ridiculously satisfying.
You goiong to site that Alleykat?? Or are you Grant?
Looks like Nate’s brother gets more hits then Nate.
I have pushed for a replacement for renteria almost since the start of the season. Still think we need to address it before next season. However, I will have to give him his due for last nite. That’s the Renteria I remember from his Florida years. And he always screwed us! He and Eckstein would drive me crazy.
Nice to see him pay us back some last nite.
Did not notice the difference in days off the rest of the way. With guys banged up those extra two days could really make an impact. Case in point: do you think either LA or SD want to play that game tonite while the Giants sit and watch sucking on a cold one? To use BF’s expression, one of them is going to smoke a Big, unpleasant pole tonite while the other gets a little more tired.
I’m with OSF. I’ve made my disappointment with Renteria well known and after he didn’t come through with runners on in his first two ABs, I was screaming from my seat as loud as ever. But he deserves all the credit in the world for his 2 RBI 3 bagger. An awesome win and Rent was the man in this one.
GH: Good point about getting to Cook early on tomorrow night and not letting up. Main thing will be for the disciplined hitters to drag out those counts, forcing him to throw something other than slop. Maybe Pablo should bat eighth against him. It would mess with his pride a bit, but could also piss him off positive. Huff and Posey could do some real damage against him and i’d suspect Burrell could give him some grief too. Also, it would be good for Drrrty to let him get on cruise control virtually from the get go.
My suspicion is that the PTB would love to start easing Bumgarner’s load right about now, but may hold off a bit, to see if that 1.5 game deficit can get shaved a bit. Were i to venture a guess as to when that happens, perhaps if he’s due to pitch in that Cubs series right after the current road trip ends.
Some of you guys are ready to bail on a player forgetting their assets will shine through eventually. This time of year, experience is not to be denied and Rent is the latest example. Same with Burrell.
Nips: Yup, good ol dog days. Time of the year when some of those vets are out to prove there’s still some octane in the mix.
It’s ironic that the August photo in the Opening Day give away calendar is of Edgar. He definitely started off the month right.
TED– I did not hook up with Nasty. We got there literally as the first pitch was thrown. It took a half an hour just to get a dog and some beers. I wasn’t going to waste anymore time NOT watching that amazing game. At one point I tried to visually scout out where his group was since I was only 2 sections away but I was distracted when a hot Dodger whore (all Dodger fans are whores but this one was dressed like one, too) crossed into my field of vision and that was the end of my Phil Nastu thoughts……
Those damn Dodger whores!!!
Okay, thanks. Too bad but hey, so it goes
It’s amazing how quickly thoughts can go from Nasty to nasty.
Well now I DO have something to bitch about. Tweet from Henry: Rohlinger indeed optioned to clear 25-man spot for Ramirez. Unless other move, looks like Gs going with 13 pitchers again…
Totally asinine. This already bit us in the ass earlier, now they’re gonna do it again with Uribe a little nicked up?
Fucking stoopid. They need Denny fucking Bautista on the roster like we all need another poke in the eye. Unacceptable.
Settle down, Dennis. Most likely it’s just for the inevitable 23 inning Coors game.
Yeah, they said it was just gonna be until the ASG as well. And thinking you’re gonna *need* another arm because it’s Colorado is defeatist thinking. “Well, they’re gonna blast us up there, better have an extra arm to eat some innings…” Bullshit.
Dennis, you are a professional alarmist. You ALWAYs have something to bitch about. Frankly, if you’re upset I know they’re doing things right.
Nine of the Giants’ 10 runs in the Dodgers series came with two outs. If that’s not a good sign for the offense, I don’t know what is.
Frankly, Bochy has shown himself to be such a genius in getting a scoreless frame out of multiple relievers, I’m delighted to give him 13 guys. No better manager in the game in getting the most out of a pen. BTW: maybe I missed it, but I don’t see where anyone here noted that it was Bochy who called Blake on being out of the batter’s box…
I missed that entirely until I read about it in Osler’s column today
Osler called Bochy Deputy Dawg for it
OK, when Bochy is forced to bat Whitey in a crucial situation because his bench is short, remind yourself to be “delighted” then as well.
I was at the game. What was that all about? I read that Bochy called him for being too far back, but it looked like the ump placed the bat along the inside edge of the box as if Blake was stepping onto the plate or something.
From Baggarly:
“Yes, the Giants have the upper hand in the rivalry once again. That’s pretty obvious to me, because it’s pretty clear which team is in the other’s head.
Bochy has played a big part in that. Thanks to Bochy’s eagle eyes last month at Dodger Stadium, we all know the specifics of rule 8.06(b). And Bochy used a bit more gamesmanship to distract the Dodgers tonight.
He asked plate umpire Joe West to check the end line of the batter’s box, where the chalk had been kicked away, to make sure Blake wasn’t standing too far back.
At Bochy’s behest, West used Blake’s bat to measure the box and instructed him to stay in it.
Afterward, a reporter asked Bochy: Isn’t it normal for a hitter to be out of the box like that?”
“It’s illegal,” Bochy harrumphed, with a bit of a smile. “There’s been a few cases when it’s come up. It’s been brought up before on our side, too.”
TV cameras caught Matt Kemp scowling on first base, clearly displeased with Bochy’s intervention. But the head game might have worked just as the Giants skipper hoped. A moment later, Cain picked Kemp off first base.”
Yeha, that deal with Blake was pretty funny. They had Joe West miked up, and Blake was his usual whiny self. “Huh? What? I ain’t too far back! Whatchoo talking about?”
I’ll watch Mets/Braves then Dodgers/Pads. No way there will be a day off the rest of the way in the Zeke household.
I’ll know after Wednesday’s MRI if I’m going to England or my daughter is coming back here. Her marraiage failed so I’ll help her out if I can.
Sorry to hear about that. Are you saying the results of the MRI tell you whether or not you can travel?
I assumed Posey called it. Or that West was doing it on his own.
Hersheirser thought West was showing up Blake.
yeah I thought it was West too, though as Joe Morgan said, no one on either team argued with him, really, throughout the game; he was otherwise very even-handed
Was that Charles2, Mike?
Yeah, former dodger (and Giant) Oral Hygieneheister, on ESPN, thought it was “unprofessional” of West. I did not know Bochy instigated it. I love messing with their heads. Shades of Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky in Reykjavik in Iceland in 1972.
If we get to the playoffs, I really like Rent. His hit for the Marlins in 2003, or was it 1997, was so big. He might have gone 1 for 12 [not saying he did] but he got the big hit. And still does. And looks fit to me and exudes a positive presence, the way Vizquel did.
Ugh, these off days are a killer. Especially when it’s “steamroll time”…..
Has anyone noticed that Mr.Flamethrower Ubaldo Jimenez is not even in the top ten in NL strikeouts? He stands at 13th.Pretty fast drop off after he dominated the first 2 months.His last 6 starts 33IP,31 H,28 R,26 ER,19 BB,32 K’s 7.09 ERA 1.52 Whip. Very beatable now.His control is gone, has been for quite awhile now.I like MadBum in this match up.Especially after we raked him last time out.
Just ruminating here, but this day off couldn’t come at a better time.
After the last 2 wild emotional games, and with lots of guys being dinged up, this day off is just what the Dr. ordered.
Short flight to Colo, and all is good. Nasty has to get Nasty though. He’s given up 5 in 2 of his last 4 . . .
I wonder who took Bumgarner out last night
Given the circumstances and current place in the standings, I’m not ashamed to say (at least for tonight)…
Go Dodgers!
That was like swallowing vinegar, wasn’t it?
Watch it Denny. Haven’t had any reason to use the penalty box yet but…..
Who took bumgarner out? Gawd, anyone but his wife, I hope. Can you imagine what possessed this dude to get married at 20? All the $$$$ he’s gonna make, all the chicks who will offer to bang him over the course of his career, all thrown away with the silly decision to get married…
That’s right! I forgot he was married already! And people wonder what Lincecum is smoking
If he found a soul-mate at such a young age, good for him.
Btw, quick comment on how either Joe torre is a liar or just clueless. I read an article today about torre re-committing himself to broxton and assuring everyone that he was physically fine. He discussed the pitch to burrell and then went on to say that broxton was lights out in the bullpen. Excuse me, he had nothing in the bullpen (as I was able to watch him warm up from our seats 10 feet away from him). He contantly tugged his arm and never once popped the MIT the way kuo did routinely in his warm up session. My buddy (a pitching coach) clued me into his struggles and said flat out that he wasn’t going to have a good outing. He was 92-94 in the gm (his one pitch above that was the 96 to burrelll). This is a guy who usually goes 96-99. So torre us full of shit one way or the other…..
My brother Jack’s comment 30+ years ago: Joe Torre, the human raccoon.
Could be the reason why they got Dotel. Baby Huey could lose his pacifier at any moment.
Sporting News’ most recent power poll ranks the Giants as #4 in MLB after the Yanks, the Rays and those guys from north suburban Tijuana, Not badly positioned going into what just a month ago would have seemed a very daunting 6 game road trip to Denver and Atlanta. Rox’ Purple bloggers seem to feel the trip could be rough for SF. I’m not so sure about that.
Weird, funny kinda luck the Giants been having this season with their opponents’ key performers on the DL or dinged up or somehow unable to play when SF visits or hosts them. Happened with Ethier AWOL for the birth of his kid over the weekend. The only other specific one i recall right now was when Chipper Jones was out of action when the Braves came to SF early in the season. Well, its happening again. Martin Prado, 2nd baseman and key offensive force for the Braves went on the 15-day and won’t be available when the Giants go to Hotlanta. Also dinged up and a bit uncertain is Giants killer Dexter Fowler of the Rox who had to be carried off the field Sunday. Just hoping this weirdity doesn’t swing around 180 degrees and land on the Giants.
Giants need to mess around in the Rox kitchen tomorrow night and get to their Cook before the recently heated-up Coloradans get inside Drrrty’s head. Kat, good points on Ubaldo. He has evidently reverted to human. Bumgarner has already faced those guys and if Fowler is gimpy or not playing, the edge might just go to the visitors.
A month ago, taking one of two in Denver was just this side of unimaginable. Basting the Cook early on in the game, like the first inning, might be the ticket to achieving the otherwise unimaginable in the series.
True. But easier said then done
If I’m Torre and Broxton hits the shelf (wouldn’t surprise me at all based on what I watched Sat) I’d have Kuo close instead of Dotel. At this point in his career, I think Dotel is really more suited for the 8th and Kuo is almost unhittable right now……
They do have a kid called kenley jansen. Not much experience yet, but he can really throw it. He did get a save againt the mets. He’s been in 3 games, 3 innings, 1 hit, 0 w, 5 k….
sounds like a feckin cricket player, mate
In a way, I wouldn’t mind the padres burying the dodgers once and for all… if they were to split, or even win that series, while we beat the rox 2, it would definitely turn into a 2 team race…
Either way, it’s still likely SD and SF regardless, WSW. So, I’d rather see SD go down.
Anyone here know where to find the SD/LA game on the internet? Go Giants
I’m actually with Flav regarding san diego…Can’t see those young sp going as well from here on out…contrast that with the dodgers. 1st time all season they have 5 sp who are capable…bury them 1st.
“Sorry to hear about that. Are you saying the results of the MRI tell you whether or not you can travel?” No, just whether I live there or here. I’m undecided on what I’d do either way.
Twin, we’ll let you move to the You-Kay on one condition: no “-our” spellings and all that, no use of fortnight or brilliant or eejit or bint or telly, et al. Eddddddacker is allowed, only because because…Well, because.
IH: I watch on MLB.COM, it’s not free. You have to subscribe.
Thanks. I’ve subscribed before. Wasn’t worth it, too many blackouts for Giants. Can you buy games individually? I couldn’t get an answer in the FAQ
check justin.tv or atdh.net or whatever it is
Four game series between SD and LA. Solomonic solution would be a 2-2 split, including a couple games that go deep into extra innings. It would flatten the Pads’ trajectory and keep the Bums from picking up any ground.
IH1978, the deal now for MLB.COM is $31.96 (20% discount off of $39.95 if you use your MasterCard) for the rest of the season.
By the by, I was wondering about your nick . . . Are you an industrial hygienist? I was the occupational safety and health director overseeing one of our Federal agency’s employee OSH programs prior to retiring early 4 years ago.
Rays won, Skanks losing. If the $kanks lose they’re tied.
Cubs brought up an RHP named Thomas Diamond. Well, there’s a natural. Cue up a thousand cliches and heds.
Blade: Thanks for the info. And no hygiene. I like to fix up International Harvester Scout 4X4s.
Ahhh . . . “IH” is also the professional designation for industrial hygienists. Hmm, International Harvester . . . Who knew?
Pawlie, Tampa Bay just brought up RHP Jeremy Hellickson, the team’s top pitching prospect. He was called up from Class AAA Durham to make his major league debut this evening and was “lights out” against Minn (4-2 win).
Blade, impressive. Even more so because the kid was promoted because Grant Balfour got injured from horesplay with his pitching coach. What is horesplay anyway? Dennis?
Must be what they do when I bet on them. Because they sure in the hell don’t run.
I wouldn’t mind picking up Vernon Wells on some sort of Andalusian-Kazakh-Hopi arithmetic waiver deal.
his salary is astronomical for a few more years…
Get in your “wayback machine” and set the date to last year . . . Wells could have been had for a plugged nickel back then.
“Tommy diamond”. Sweet. I have a buddy named “bobby Hollywood”, gonna have to break the bad news to him that he doesn’t have the coolest name anymore…
you sure Bobby Hollywood was not, um, in the adult cinema industry in the 1980s? (And, Bobby, as Don Rickles says, “We kid.” I hope he’s not 6’7″.)
Oh man- only the Dodgers could figure out how to get 5 straight singles and not score. The non-hustle of Kemp continues to dog them. Kemp actually looks really bored out there, like he’s lost interest in the sport.
Kemp rips a double. He wanted to show me up.
Richard on pace for a 21 hit shut out. 0 runs 7 hits for Bums through 3.
Kick em while they’re down…3/0 pads still batting top 4
Hey, IH. Used to have a 1971 Landcruiser FJ40. Pretty good offroader. Saw many a Scout back in the day . . .
Hoping for anything from the Dogs at this point is, well, hopeless . . .
The one time I’m rooting for those goddamn bastards and they’re treating home plate like it’s a leper colony.
POTD?
Probably…
That’s perfect game, in OSF’s book, Mike.
2 run single for Tejada . . .
5-0 Pawds