Left for Dead, Now Seizing Their Moment
Yesterday, I was all about the fringe guys who just get a taste of the big leagues and then disappear into the obscurity of an assignment designation. And then last night we see the flip side of that—Check out 4 players who are seizing their opportunity and not letting go….
1) Santiago Casilla. I know, I know, this is his 9th major league season so he’s not really an unknown guy *seizing* his one shot at the big leagues. But Casilla is a guy who was basically left for dead by the A’s. After he got released he had exactly one team call: the Giants. With the A’s, he was maddening to watch, his ERA with them was 5.11 and he seemed to walk most of the batters he faced. His bb/9 rate hasn’t gone down a lot with the Giants (it was 4.5 per 9 with the A’s, 4.2 with us) but he has harnessed his *stuff* and he is making the most of this opportunity as a closer. As I said last night, to ME it looks like he’s balking every single pitch but as Michael pointed out, he’s never been called for a balk. He seemed more wound up than normal last night. It’s something that bears watching as the pressure of closing can get to a pitcher, you have to have the right personality to succeed at that job. But success reinforces success, and from last Summer till now Casilla has come through almost every single time. He just needs to slow the game down—and shaking the ball (and his mit) before he pitches is something he might want to stop doing. I don’t know why that’s not a balk, he’s not coming to a complete stop, ever………
2) Brett Pill. Facing the right hander Belisle, Pill found a way to muscle a ball through a hole in the infield. This guy has hit timely bombs and now he’s coming through at the most important times. He can hit, and we need guys who can hit. Pill was another *left for dead* guy. Drafted in ’06, he toiled in the minors for nearly 6 years, going from prospect to suspect to AAA roster filler. He turned some heads last September, did what the team told him to do (learn new positions) and he’s another young guy who is seizing this moment. I still hold my breath when a ball is hit to left field but not when he’s hitting. That dude can flat out hit…….
3) Gregor Blanco— There is one fan in the world, outside of Blanco’s family and friends, who has been in Blanco’s corner from Day 1: The Flap’s own “Bozo”. That fucking Clown knew what he was talking about, didn’t he? He was touting him and predicting grand things (I’ll look it up later if you like) from the first day it was disclosed that the Giants had signed him. After a brilliant spring, Blanco made the team. And then he sat on the bench while we went through the 36th Chapter of Nate starting in right field. Blanco seemed pretty glued to the bench and it was fair to wonder if winning the Venezuelan Winter League MVP is actually not all it’s cracked up to be. He got a couple of starts in early May but it wasn’t till May 12th, with the Giants desperate for offense, that Blanco took off. He’s had 3 fabulous games in a row and he’s our starting right fielder at the top of the line up from here on out. I can’t believe that there’s a 37th chapter in Nate’s underwhelming novel, but we’ll see. Blanco might turn out to be the reincarnation of *Torres 2010* and if that happens it will be so huge for this team that is choking on it’s own offense this year………
4) Joaquin Arias. The PTBNL in the A-ROD/Soriano deal, Arias found himself unemployed this Winter. The Giants took a flier on him and he nearly made the club coming out of spring training. What this guy has done has been just a huge as what Blanco’s has done. He hasn’t done the same thing offensively that The White Shark has done recently, but he’s brought at least SOME offense to spots in the LU where his predecessors were bringing no offense. And he’s won 2 games with his glove at third base. We found out what kind of a player Arias is last night after he bungled that simple ground ball that would have ended the game. He didn’t dwell on it or check out mentally, he stayed focused and when that slow roller got hit to him he made the play that he simply had to make in that situation. That play won the game.
And that’s what all 4 of these guys have in common right now. They are making plays st the most critical times that are contributing to us winning games. No one expects them to succeed in every opportunity. To me, it’s more important to watch how they respond after they fail. All four have been casting aside failure and succeeding at the times we need them the most and as a fan of this team that’s all you can expect from 4 guys who were left for dead at different points in their career……..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Oh fuck
That’s profound!
How fucking depressing. I think I’m gonna hurl…
settle
Wow. Didn’t hit the ground. Progress.
Lopez.
Some of you guys are wired too tight.
Are you wired loose?
Sorry. That may have been too personal
And you are just wired differently
hard to think of who hasn’t had a bad AB for us- maybe Blanco
Yes
On the other hand–it’s baseball
Pretty accurate…sad, but accurate…
Let’s Go Giants!
Wired tight? Yeah, some (probably a lot) maybe think I’m “just a little too emotionally invoved in the Orange and Black.” You know what I think…Fuck ‘Em!
Pagan
FUCK YOU ALL====PAGAN
Pagan!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really would like to see Romo get a shot in the closer role.He’s back been filthy all year with great command.Dude is easier on the ulcer then Casilla.
Romo??!! With his 0.00 ERA??!! ARE YOU CRAZY??!!
Woh, that was close.
Come on MudBug!
That was as close as a gnat’s ass.
OK crawfish . . . You can be the hero.
And so he was.
I have to shut up now to watch Nate
Rockies announcers are right about Nate insofar as being death to the Rockies. Let’s see what happens . . .
EVERYONE SHUTUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF? That was almost in front of the plate.
Uhm…
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(deep breath)
Whatever. Sweeps is tough. 3 game win streaks is tough to do as it is. I love Pagan but… Enjoyed watching and posting with all my Flavor Nation Allies .
Be strong and goodnight, gentlemen (question mark)
Tracy is livid in the dugout about that last pitch not being a SO.
No doubt about the last one.
How can you watch that fucking pitch with two strikes??
Damn Nate, right down the pipe. See you all tomorrow night, hopefully a different outcome then.
After all that he takes one right down Broadway.
Catch ya on the flip-side Flappers…
Christ. PROTECT???
Weird game. G’Nite everyone . . .
Best fucking pitch of the AB and he watches it…un fucking believable…
Yeah, I suspect we probably wont see Nate for another week or so.
Nate’s Giants career is over.He will be gone by ™mid June.He is any other team but ours 5th OF the or try for a DH job in AL.
Vastly tired of Nate.
Vastly.
Tired.
Vastly
Casilla had been 14 for 14 on saves since Wilson went down last year. And we have someone wanting him out of the closer role. Unbelievable
And that someone is who? I thought we all loved Casilla
Did I miss a post?
Kat. You responded to it, Ted.
while watching it live i was following on cbs blog…after nate’s K one guy blogs “what were you looking at?”, and the following comment was, “fresno.”
How prophetic, flav’s topic had “seizing their moment”…few guys tonite might have seized the opp to enjoy bus tour of central valley this summer.
I think it’s the whole “English” thing. Seize the opp. We may have to push the Latin.
Carpe Oppapizza
Latin: dead as Nate’s bat.
sorry Ted..I’m just too lazy to type out words like opportunity or especially these days.
2 for 17 RISP … bah!
Anyone having a stiff drink?
Stiffdrink is preparing a new “closer…non-save” rant for the morning.
We had too many NON-HITTERS in HITTING situations…
I went back to see if anyone commented on the worst AB ever! If I was manager on any team and some weakass dumbshit swung at the 1st pitch ( almosty in the dirt no less) after the bases were loaded on walks would be fined or cut!
You’re *all* right.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. To quote Blade:
“Pfffft”
Goodnight, Gentlmen.
I shall now go back to use the internet as it was meant to be used.
Japanese porn
lol