Scrappy Loss
Lincecum reinforced my belief that most of his problems are mental after he got the 2nd inning *out of the way*. He was brilliant after that inning and was seeming to pitch with a *F-this* attitude. Of course, I don’t see how that’s going to help him next time since every start begins with an uneasy tightness that doesn’t relieve itself till he has that blow up inning. From a pure *interest* standpoint, I don’t think there are two more anticipated starts in baseball than a Zito or Lincecum start………
It was impressive how the team fought back after being down 4-0. They were reminded later in the game that in a close game they’re always going to have to fear the long ball. Not only do we not hit home runs anymore, it feels like we don’t even hit balls to the warning track anymore….
I’m loving The Riot’s hot streak right now but remember, this is a super streaky hitter, he’s done this his entire career (and I’ve followed his career closely since college). He’ll come back down to earth soon. But even on earth he”’ be producing far more than any of our other possible 2nd basemen…….
I don’t fault Bochy at all for using Edelfsen in the 9th. With Casilla down the entire bullpen is getting shifted and there are going to be games where any pitcher on the squad is going to need to step up. Since we know Lincecum is likely not going to get into the 8th or 9th inning any time soon, everyone in the pen is going to need to be ready in his starts…….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Weatherproof games: Braves-Marlins, Cardinals-Astros, Cubs-Brewers and Rockies-Diamondbacks
Wednesday is shaping up to be another good weather day for baseball as rain chances are minimal in most parts of the country. The only wet areas appear to be in the Northeast, where Orioles-Red Sox could see rain early on and Rays-Yankees, Mets-Nationals and Dodgers-Phillies might experience a shower in the later innings. None of these games appears to be in jeopardy of a postponement, though.
romo was warming up alongside eds, wasn’t he? Then he stopped throwing last shot I saw…posey grounds out on a dribbler, eds is in, the ball is out game over.
I’m starting to be in on the play to the park all D unit…SF got 4 last night in the comeback that featured nothing bigger than a double, coupled with great baserunning, successful steals and couple sac flys. They had a great homestand that did not involve the long ball, at least on SF part; superior defense and great pitching up and down the staff alongside guys getting on base.
If you can get quality D from the likes of T, crawford and belt, with arias as a back up in the middle I’m OK with them not hitting as well as others in the league at their position. Hector, as snarkk mentioned last night, can run into one and so can Pill, but I really don’t think the amount of HRs the Giants hit (or don’t) is important. I think with sando back you can score enough runs to win, so the key is preventing them. The park is going to be a factor in holding down the opposition as long as you catch the ball.
Agree with willieD that the HR totals are not important. When they play at home, the park negates HRs on both sides of the field, so it isn’t that big of an advantage for the other team. As long as they don’t play “station to station” baseball – which they aren’t – the GMen will be fine.
Well, they didn’t hit one last night, but they do hit HRs on the road ( and even at Petco, where they hit 8 last year). And while we know it’s tough to hit them at home, 6 is ridiculous. Panda should help, the main culprits are Belt (0) and Posey (1 at home)..
Romo was only coming in if they took the lead in the 9th.After Posey grounded out it was unfortunately Edlefsen time.
There was no reason to question using Edlefsen. Until Casilla is ready, Romo is the closer. In a tie game on the road, you don’t use your closer. And Romo hasn’t pitched 2 innings in more than a year. Everyone in the pen has to be able to pitch in tight games. Edlefsen has been asked to in his last two outings and has failed miserably. He should be sent down. Logical choice is RHer George Kontos, minor leagur vet acquired for Chris Stewart. He’s pitching light’s out for Fresno, and he had a brief stay with the Yankees last year and pitched well.
He’s said to have good stuff, low 90’s, good slider, decent change-up. He has a nearly 4-1 K/BB ratio, under 1 WHIP, 1.79 ERA..had Tommy John in 2009.
Well George has 2 fans in Alex and Frank.Just needs to get Vern and Velma on board.
OOPS ….VERA
Great posts the last 2 days flav! Loved the one on zito and mess opinion about Pablo! I’m so stressed out when Timmy’s on the mound these days and excited to see zito pitch, what a crazy upside down world it has become!
It’s never easy.
The Phillies ain’t helping things with their inability to beat the Dodgers at home so far. Come on, Philly, what’s up with that?
Ray Bradbury passed away today. He had a big influence on my reading skills early on as a youngster. I read a lot of his stuff back in the day.
One of the things not to do today: burn a book.
Quirk of the schedule today- Giants at 3:30, and it’s the earliest MLB game on a Wednesday. No regular day games today.
Late Day Baseball!
I for one am kind of missing some homeruns. Obviously the team can win without them, but I also tend to think they can win even more with them. If that’s not true, I’m sure someone here will find the stats that refute that. Left field at China Basin ain’t that difficult for righties, the team has had plenty before but isn’t now. Pablo’s return certainly will help, hoping it (his return) isn’t going to be more complicated than it’s currently appearing.
Yeah, just read about Ray Bradbury. People rave about his sci-fi, which was stellar, but it was Dandelion Wine that did it for me. I think I was the same age as the main character (Doug? Spaulding?) when I read it. Made me think, and loved some of the writing, pure craft.
Great baseball card there, Michael, where do you find this stuff? I’m such a luddite…
I’d like to say it’s a big secret of mine, but I just do an image search on Google, and depending on the subject, try to find one that’s either unusual or representative. Could be this:
Or this:
If you can get a nice pair in there, even better:
Fucking classic stuff, Michael…LMAO on the “if you can get a nice pair in”…
Timmy says: “I’ve put myself in a big hole and I feel I’m finally crawling out of it.”
That may be so, but this is the 4th winning streak that he’s killed.
2-10 in hsi starts now . . .
Gives new meaning to the term “stopper”…
I not a critic of Bochy using Edlefsen last night when he used him.
I’m a critic that Edlefsen is on the staff so he can be used…
While saying that during rehab Panda was under daily club supervision, Sabean on CSNBayArea said that Panda’s eating habits are “seemingly out of control”.
Wow…
Well, when you look at him, that seems like an appropriate and fair statement. Didn’t someone say here at the Flap, that it was reported that he was going on midnight chicken or taco runs back in 2010?
Not saying it’s not appropriate to say, Blade. The “Wow” factor I see is who was saying it, and publicly. To me, that says the club is exasperated with him, and applying public pressure where prior private pressure must be seen as not working. To me, a tag team of Bochy and now Sabes going ultra public with biting criticism signals trouble in Pandaland…
Yes snarkk, I think they have reached their exasperation point and have said, “Enough!”
They don’t have the responsibility, or more importantly, the right, to put him on 24 hour lockdown. If he’s pigging out on the sly, knowing the consequences, he and the team are in major trouble.
Snarkk gives out a “Wow…”
When he was “enrolled” in Camp Sandoval or Pandaville or whatever they called it, he was seemingly doing great. Then he got permissioon to go to Venezuela and Mom said “you’re wasting away, my Pablito. Eat, eat..” It may not be a stretch anymore to think he went home just so he could pork out..( all of this is tongue in cheek, I have not abandoned my Panda.. ). But I do think he has to stay away from Mma’s cooking, isn’t she in San Bruno or somewhere else near?
Never leave your tostada unattended!
You also can’t discount him feeling bad about saying no to mamasita. For example, I have slowly changed my diet to the point where I am a vegetarian, albeit, not a pure vegan. However, there would be hell to pay if I visited the SF bay area and stayed at my Mom’s house, saying, “Gee mom, I can’t eat your cooking anymore.” Quite frankly, she is a gourmet, so my willpower is nil anyway. However, things would be exponentially worse, if I also refused to eat her cooking because of some diet I am on. In short, to get along, I go along . . . Pablo might have the same situation at his house (especially, if she is living with him).
Blade loves Mom’s cooking!
And admits to being an almost vegan!
Yer killin’ me . . . Keep up the good work Nip* . . . 🙂
*Next time though – add that I love my Mom too. Sometimes, she checks in here. OH OH!
Together we love our Tacos! I’m cooking the meat right now!
I’d invite Pablo but I only have 3 lbs of meat!
Bobby Evans just stated on 95.7 that there is NOT a weight clause in Panda’s contract; and that they are doing everything they can to put professionals on the job to help him deal with his weight problem…
Is their a rape clause? Grin.
I don’t think Panda would have a problem if he lived here . . .
Ahhh, too bad about Ray Bradbury. I’ve read so much of his stuff. Met him when I was in HS, and my mom let me play hookey so we could see him do a lecture and book sigining down at SJ State. Old-school guy to the end . . . Got a signed copy of the October Country somewhere’s around here. If you get the chance, the Collected Short Stories of Ray Bradbury is great. 1400 pages of short stories by the master.
It’s my fault we lost last night. Couldn’t keep my eyes open and went to bed in the 7th. So I figure the L is on me.
Speaking of diets, I’m on the Rum diet and it’s working great. I’ve already lost two days.
gold.
Gold, Silver, Dark…WTF…it’s ALL good!
Blanco RF
Theriot 2B
Cabrera LF
Posey C
Pagan CF
Pill 1B
Arias 3B
Crawford SS
Bumgarner LHP
Timmy’s not having a good season overall, so far, but the trotting out of the “team record in games pitched” can be an unfair thing. And I don’t even remember it being used much before now. But suddenly Tim’s become the poster-boy for “team record in games pitched.” So, he gets a loss on that record last night, even though he was up for a win when the relievers came in.
Yes, I totally get the fact that he left after 6 innings, and that’s not impressive. But still- I don’t remember hearing much of “team record in games pitched” until lately. The pitcher’s W/L record itself is a flawed measuring device, so this other one is even more flawed.
Good Point Zumie , the BP denied Timmy the win last night.He was fabulous after the 2nd inning.Tim will be fine I’m not worried.
It was used for Zits a lot these recent years . . . Timmy’s actually lucky he doesn’t have a few more losses. They’ve bailed him out of big decifits 3 times this year.
Not that it makes up for all the 1-0 losses the previous years . . .
5.82 ERA says a lot though. That’s just crap. Beyond crap.
The walks are way up as well. He averages around 75 walks a year, and he’s already halfway there.
Look, he could very well turn in around. I hope he does. But his starts are becoming reminiscent of Zito’s. You sit on edge waiting for the inevitable melt-down. The telling thing yestaerday was he kept throwing his fastball, which got smacked hard in the 1st, into the 2nd it got hit harder in the 2nd. Granted the big hit was a broken bat double, but leading up to that, his fastball was getting spanked. THEN he stopped throwing it as much.
He’s had 4 no decisions in which he’s pitched 20.1 innings and given up 17 earned runs. Of his quality starts, he’s only lost one. 2-10 for the team record is totally reflective of how he’s pitched. Just fact, not criticism .
If any of the papers or media have had anyone reporting on how Panda looks at the plate or in the field during his rehab, I haven’t seen it. He’s now played third twice, no errors but why no coverage on how he’s handling it ?
I don’t know about the Chronicle, but I don’t think the local papers, like, say, the Stockton Record would report on his weight in this situation. If Panda plays against Stockton, the Stockton paper would be basically just celebrating the fact that a San Francisco Giants star player is playing in the A league for a few games. The local papers would be inclined to promote the events and stay positive in the stories, in my opinion and experience in reading some of the Valley newspapers.
Obviously, I’m referring to the local papers-especially the Merc and Chron. And certainly Baggarly, being promoted like he’s the ultimate insider. I think they can all afford to send a reporter to Stockton or Fresno.
It’s a weighty problem for sure.
These Bay Area papers nowadays barely have enough sports dept. budget to send reporters to cover major events of local teams, let alone send a reporter somewhere out of the area to Stockton or Fresno to report on Pablo’s latest girth developments. Looks like this kind of info from now on is going to be sourced from the blogosphere…
BS. This has been made into a huge story. It’s not budget.Just poor coverage.Or not wanting to piss off the Giants coverage. Send a stock boy with a scale, that’ll do.
There are bloggers and tweeters everywhere putting stories on the Web about sports they see first hand – like BleacherReport — and they write for FREE. Panda’s a pretty big story, but the Chron and local TV aren’t sending a body with a W-2 and real expenses to watch Panda spill his gut over his pants in Stockton. http://www.news10.net/sports/article/195446/3/Troubled-Giatns-Sandoval-begins-rehab-appearance-in-Stockton
It’s cheaper for the Chron and other big media to link their sports sites to these other sites for this kind of stuff…
Fine, then we’ll just characterize it as lazy, cheap, irresponsible reporting.
This early game is a blessing. I’m starting to wear down a little…
LOO out of gas?
they are all out getting him grande burritos in order to secure an exclusive.
It can’t be that the scribes are afraid of angering management, shit Bochy and Sabes are the ones taking this story TO them. There’s no excuse for not going down there and doing a story, even if they don’t interview him. These writers seem happy to blog out their thoughts to their minions without doing much research anymore..
Well, it’s cheap. Media all around is firing people left and right. I used to get Newsweek. I don’t anymore — it’s about as thick as a napkin. The actual paper SF Chron looks like the weekly PennySaver. Personal reporting on the state of Panda’s pants is pretty low on the scale of where to allocate headcount resources. Especially when ten dudes with a ticket to see the Grizzlies can tweet immediately on the spot from their iPhone what he looks like in the box and whether he can bend over to pick up a grounder without splitting his pants…
Back to the HRs (home and away). I don’t believe this will have a huge impact on winning games, or not. The specifics (HRs and some other offense-related numbers):
Home: Record 18-11, BA = .256, Runs/Game = 3.2, HR = 6, Games w/5+ Runs = 4.
Away: Record 13-13, BA = .259, Runs/Game = 4.7, HR = 25, Games w/ 5+ Runs = 12.
So, all the numbers are up on the road, except wins.
Anyway, I love the way this team is playing – being agressive, taking the extra base, etc. THAT, and playing error free (or near error free), and continuing to get quality pitching is how this team will win.
I’m with snarkk – I don’t have a problem with them using Edlefsen in that situation…my problem is that he is even an option (on the team). I like Kontos’s numbers (as mentioned earlier by Twin), and then you have Penny trying to make a come-back in Fresno…will be interesting to see how that develops. But in the meantime…get Kontos up here.
Just posted – Giants plan to activate Pablo in time to be ready for Tuesday’s series with Houston.
Well, I explained last night why he was used. And I’ve tried to explain how pens work. In fairness to Edlefsen he had been pitching well until his outing against AZ, followed up by last night’s. Those two were in pressure situations, not his usual situations. If Casilla had been available, Affelt would never had pitched the 8th and presuming Romo did his usual job, Casilla would have pitched with a lead in the 9th. Bottom line-Edlefsen has *immediately* been torched in his presssure situations. He’s gotta go.
He’s Gotta Go (by Apollo out of Dashing Mariah). That gelding has long since been retired. I see no reason why Edlefsen shouldn’t hit the barn either.
so I turn on the game and MadBum is warming up. I notice crawfish made the last out and my first thought is, “they changed the lineup since Twin posted it.”
Then I see the score.
woo hoo!
Ideally, and obviously dependant on workloads:
Edlefsen, Loux- long relief, team behind
Hensley-7th inning
Romo-8th inning
Affeldt- swing guy, pitches all situations
Lopez- late inning, crucial situation loogie
Casilla- closer
The late inning “aces”, Romo, Lopez,Casilla should not be pitching when behind, and rarely in ties. Hensley, Affeldt would pitch predominantly when ahead, but they’re used with more flexibilty. Edlefsen, Loux, in a perfect world, pitch only when team is behind and never when ahead.
This is a dumb ass start time for a mid week gm.
when I looked at my schedule I thought it was 3:35pm EDT so I set my game clock to 9pm. Then I realised I was reading my SF Giants schedule which is always pacific time. By then I already had it in my head to watch tonight so here we are.
kinda sucks for your working man.
Ed, any start time that’s more reasonable for you I’m all for. You, Loo, Pawlie, Mac, and Bozo are fuckin rockstar Giants fans to watch the games when you watch them
I keep thinking this game is now on the offence. And then Bumgarner struggles.
N i i i i i i i i i i c e
Is that one of those homer thingies?
It’s a home ran!
(BF, I still chuckle at that.)
Me too
First HR in the last 9 games. Hit a homer once every nine times you come to the yard.
Reminds me of Chuck and his success rate at the whorehouse.
You can’t even score with your hand . . .
Good God. Another crush job. Maybin? Almost as unlikely as Blanco.
Logan learns that sports can take you from the penthouse to the outhouse in a hurry.
Ole!
When the Shark bites.
Forsythe might have employed three of them, but he’s no Angel in the outfield.
Just your everyday 2-run infield double..don’t be picky, it was *essentially* an infield hit..
Bumgarner may or may not finish the game, but they just drew straws and Bill Hayes gets the job if they do pull him..
I hope the bullpen can hold this lead so that Bumgarner won’t get a loss in the “games he started” statistic.
Z, it’s not like Tim pitched well and got jobbed, as I noted earlier he had no decisions in 4 games where he gave up 17 runs in 20 innings.*He* could be 2-10.
this is a rootin’ tootin’ excitement of a contest.
there is that hole in Belt’s swing I keep hearing about.
Well, then it’s the second one, that’s not the one they talk about. Let’s see, low and in breaking pitch- that’s the “Universal Hole”
Last year 6 runs and we would be ecstatic
this game? not so much
A 6-5 score in a Giants/Padres game seems almost decadent.
68 MPH curve! Wow…
Does this qualify as an emergency? As in Casilla comes in for the 9th? Or Romo if Hensley scuffles?
They have Lopez warming. Romo is closing…we hope.
Does Panda make that play?
Absolutely. Right after he makes stops at the taco truck and Chuck’s whorehouse.
Gee, maybe they need Kontos *and* Hembree.
Kontos? That sounds Greek. I bet he makes a good cup of coffee.
You betcha:
George Nicholas Kontos
and the chant goes up
two runs for romo
two runs for romo
shit, Ed, he won’t need no darn runs bubba
Party at Bochy’s house.
Way to go Sergio!
Gutty save by Romo and no, he’s not the closer after Casilla returns, so don’t ask..
Cheap win for MadBum, does he say “Thank You” this week?
Cheap win? What the fuck is that? He went 6 innings. The other 3 guys went 3 innings combined.
Oh settle down. He had a 6 ERA, gave up 4 walks and 7 hits. Cheap win, say “Thank you”..
Listen, he was my pick for staff ace, still is, but the kid obviously has some temper issues. Just drop it. He got a cheapie, no BFD…
Like in one million years you ever would have ever popped off with “Dirrrty got a cheapy today.” And believe me, the dude who was king of the 5 inning/105 pitch games had a few cheapies in there.
Don’t tell me what I’d say. Especially when it’s wrongo. I’ve been behind MadBum when you and many others were freaking about his velocity. He got a cheapie, say it, you’ll feel better.
we all know what you would say. And you would NEVER FUCKING EVER say, after Dirrrty got a win, that he *got a cheap one*. Just admit it, it might help you move on from your loss of him.
Do not tell me what I’d say. You don’t know and neither does anyone else. All you know is that will be interesting and spot on.
maybe to your animals….Human beings who can access their frontal lobe functions might feel differently……..
The Flapsters let the phrase “Universal Hole” go by? Who’da thunk it.
Did you asee the pitch Romo got Denorfia on ? That’s where the “Universal Hole” is. The one to Belt was even a little better. Pablo can hit those, a few other guys. For everybody else, the only hope is to lay off if they can
In terms of their mental approach to pitching a game, I’d put Bum about 50 mental notches above Dirrrrrrty
BF likes BUM!
I just wouldn’t go out of my way to call a win that he worked his ass off through 6 innings a *cheap one*. Starting pitchers get totally fucked on W’s. The rule should change and it should be at the discretion of the official scorer. No starting pitcher should ever pitch 7 or 8 innings and get pulled for some vulture 0.1 inning fuck………
I agree.
He’s another mumbler, BTW. What was he saying when he left the mound after the 6th?
I agree that he has a better mental approach than Jonathan. But I think we need more explanation on what the official scorer should have the discretion to decide. Some of these guys are ridiculous, we all know that.
Lets root for the Giants again and while at it for motherhood! And Day baseball tomorrow!
Don’t forget the Flag and the Star Spangle Banner and God Bless America!
You’re slipping Nip. No “apple pie?”
Remember the Phillies with their “4 aces” press conferences last year and all that?
Pfffffffftttttt……..
My thoughts exactly. 🙂
Yeah, Zumie…..they called it “Mound Rushmore”
David Berkowitz had a better mental approach than Dirrrrrrty…
On the way from work I heard byrnes give a mini rant, and completely different take from anything I have heard re: Sando. According to him, he gets a pass on his character issue until proven guilty, and as a hitter he was the team MVP when he got hurt. Further, his worst season wasn’t so bad, last year was excellent when all others failed dismally, and he did have near gg season in the field last year.
So…his take on SF best LU would be Arias (the better athlete) at 3b and Pablo at 1b, with Theriot and Crawford rounding out the IF.
I think there would be a real chance for team dissension with that line-up. Pablo, in essence, would get “rewarded” for gaining the weight.
sabean said huff came in last year out of shape, but never took ABs away from him. And his 2011 was way worse than sandoval 2010, his only bad season out of 4 now.
I don’t recall them saying anything about Huff’s condition then. But I guess it shows how totally worthless Cactus League numbers really are- Huff tore it up in ST last year.
Huff’s “out-of-shapeness” was revisionist history, IMO. It became the cover story for why he sucked. And he still sucks this season, so we know it wasn’t that. He’s just done. It happens to all ballplayers eventually.
As I said when this was raised before- Sandoval should be activated when he can play third and not before. And the idea that even Big Foot can play first acceptably is a prevalent but inaccurate theory. And Z is right, it’s a horrible statement from management. “OK, Pablo, you’ve ignored all warnings, you’re fat and out of condition.This is the final straw………………we’re moving you to first base..
The Thunder in the finals! Little Scottie Brooks, from Lathrop, CA, will be coaching in the finals! Is this a great country or what!
Revisting the ASG discussion, Melky is obviously still the near certain pick. Deserving players are Melky, Pagan, Posey,Cain, Bumgarner, Vogelsong, Romo, Casilla. That’s 8. I think they’ll get 4. Remember how the selection goes before anyone gets all frothy about LaRussa- he gets to choose 9 of the 34 players. My picks are based on the choices being made tonight. We’ll have no one voted a starter. I’d go with Melky, Bumgarner, Cain, and Casilla. The left out:
Zito (not listed)-just too many pithers having better years
Vogelsong- deserves it, but not enough decisions
Romo-if only one reliever from SF goes, I’d pick the closer. But it’s close. Romo has been, well, dirrrrty..
Pagan- has the BA, but the RBI total hurts him. Being in the 1 for 6 weeks doesn’t help.
Posey: toughy. Ruiz and Molina are in. Only other contender is A.J. Ellis. So I changed my mind- Posey is in. So we have 5.
I’ve tried to balance what I’d do with some degree of what’s likely to happen. If it were just me, I’d vote for all of the guys listed. 5 is a lot but all of those picks are deserving- and very possible. At the least, I think we’d get 3. The player vote is the key, they get 16, including 8 pitchers.
Do you think they factor in that Posey is #2 in the voting for catcher so far? Do they even care who is #2 in voting in those situations?
byrnes take is this is your best power hitter…his weight is gonna be an issue, forever, and his current condition wasn’t “news” to the Giants. He was in favor of batting Belt 8th, so it’s no surprise he’d rather have Pablo at first rather than anyone else, for his bat, and arias for his glove, over at 3b. I think ideally the best LU pablo is at 3b, arias (whose OPS is at crawford level under .600) is super sub, and belt (the better defender) is at 1b.
Yeah, Pablo at third, Arias as super-sub seems like the ideal thing. Crawford’s defense is vastly improved; his confidence is rising. If he can hit .230, they’ll live with that. Theriot is locking down secondbase, and showing some “Fruckiness,” to use TF’s word.
“Fruckie” was certainly not a complimentary nickname to begin with, but there’s no denying that he was a huge factor in their 2010 success… and Fruckie is Freddy and Freddy is Fruckie. One day he’ll live down the street from Vern and Vera. BTW, update on the dearly departed: Stewart is hittimg .227 0 HR 6 RBI in 44 AB for NY.Whitey is at .208 1 HR 11 RBI 96 AB at Fresno. Hard to imagine that Hector doesn’t have a statue yet, after the shit we’ve endured..
I didn’t hear the Byrnes rant but I don’t think he saw just how bad Pablo got in 2010, especially in Sept and through the playoffs. He couldn’t field ground balls safely. He whiffed aimlessly at hittable and nonhittable balls.
Here’s a story that we should all remember: (Did Byrnes have any comments about THIS guy?)
http://tinyurl.com/86zyl5j
I’ve posted this story before. The thing that stands out for me is the *inverted row* part of the story. Go google that exercise and see how simple that is to perform.
The Giants have shown before that they can show tough love at the risk of the W/L column. In 2010, you all remember, they delayed Bumgarner’s promotion to the majors by a week, because of a big tantrum he threw in AAA, where he yelled at an ump and threw the ball into the outfield. The Giants gave that start to Joe Martinez against the Orioles, a game that would have been perfect for a Bumgarner first game, and Martinez lost to the Orioles. Bumgarner’s first game was moved to 5 days later to a game vs. the Red Sox, a tougher opponent. Bum had a rough first inning, and got better during the game. The Giants lost that game, but Bum showed he had MLB stuff. And we all know how close the division was at the end. The Giants made a statement by giving that Orioles start to Martinez.
I remember all that because I was at that Red Sox game.
I remember and I wasn’t at the game…. also, pre-tantrum there was debate in the front office whether it should be MadBum or Hacker to come up. Not sure what happened, whether it was disappointment or what, but Hacker went totally south after Madison got the call. As we know he’s back at Fresno and pitching superbly again- and had a nice start here. He’s, essentially, our 6.