Power Outage…..
I found this while I was cleaning up my desktop this morning. Forgot about it.
And here’s how the race is currently unfolding. At least Loo nailed the superfecta, albeit if he had boxed it. But hey, we were both so far off, I consider this a lost bet for everyone, including the team. A better pre-season question should have been, “what are the chances THE TEAM will hit 100 home runs?” They have 76 and have almost no chance of getting there but I think we all would have taken the over and gotten soaked on that one…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
I’m not a very successful gambler. Neither was Brian Sabean. This year. You win some, you lose a lot. This year.
There’s still 5 weeks . . . . . 25 in 5 weeks? For most teams, not a big deal . . .
Back in Aptos for our last weekend. Gorgeous day. Gonna get cooked at the beach . . .
that pic of you and your wife was fantastic. Seriously.
you don’t want a signed photo of torres getting picked off of first base 😉
It’s just kind of odd…Will Venable now has 19. He’s putting together a nice season and I know the pads moved in the fences in the RF corner and elsewhere, but no way I would have believed he’d have 4 more bombs than any giant. I don’t get it.
Last night the kid on the pirates hit his first of the year, turning on a high inside pitch from Lincecum and yanking one out to LF. And he’s just one of a bunch of non power guys I’ve seen hit HRs lately at ATT, none of whom are Giants.
That’s why I tire of hearing about park factors. Why can others teams hit bombs (and it can be their weakest hitters) and we can’t at AT&T ?
Of course the pitchers are also giving them up. The park factors are no less real because they are repeated ad nauseum. Also no less real is just how truly fucking awful our starting pitchers have been this year.
What this all means for next year is a real conundrum, though. If the Giants were forced to choose to either overhaul the pitching or the position players, I’m not quite sure which side I would come down on.
it was a tight race thru june. they were on pace for 82. kruk’s ‘big boys’ – buster, panda, and pence- have been the killers- 5 between them since july 1. five. cinq. dizzgusto.
Those HR totals are just pathetic.
When your leaders per AB percentage are Pill,Belt and Sanchez,tells you just how bad this year has been.
at home we were much worse last year as to hruns —-31 all year, 33 now—-all in all- we’re on pace for 95 hruns, 8 less than last year. look- we all know this- the team is worse in all phases of the game- hitting, pitching. defense, erin coscarelli is a huge downgrade from jaymee…
enjoy the game, guys.
Re Pawlie’s POTD, Scherzer’s performance is certainly noteworthy so far. With a WHIP of .92 in the AL, that’s impressive. But, he’s also #1 in getting run support of all starters in all of MLB, at 5.92 runs per game. Verlander is 5th with 5.30 rpg support, so Detroit is cranking out runs for those guys. I think if Tim, Bum, and Cain were getting nearly 6 runs per game support, let’s say 5.0 adjusted for the NL and no DH, they’d have a few more wins, too. Bum would probably have 15-16, easily…
I don’t deny that — and it’s not just a matter of getting more wins. It’s how. You just pitch differently with run support or the confidence in getting it. It’s not an excuse for our guys, though. I truly believe the #torture in 2010 prepared us for the postseason, and in 2012 having our backs to the wall in the playoffs brought out the best in the World Champion San Francisco Giants (I like to use that while I can) — while all the Detroit Tigers could do was breeze through it and then watch and wait — and go stale.
One of the most disappointing things this year is the absence of comebacks, close wins, high drama — pretty much, not entirely, but pretty much ever since Angel Pagan’s inside-the-park homer. Sure, we had Tim Lincecum’s no-hitter. That’s drama. But I’m talking about the big hit, the big catch, the big win. Since Pagan’s injury (and I’m not saying it is cause and effect necessarily) those things have been pretty rare.
We pleaded with the GIants “No more torture!”
But at least torture meant close games.
Be careful what we wish for.
Observations at the game yesterday.
1. I kinda like the 6:05 start. It’s a little rough early on the OFers with the sun/shadows, but for the fans, I like it. There’s enough daylight left, 2+ hours or so, where you can enjoy the game in sunlight and then dusk, then not too much of the darkness and cool/cold wind. Although, it was, I thought, unusually warm after about 8 pm last night, the wind seemed to die down from earlier. Plus, you get out earlier from the game, which is good if you have kids. Or, if you want to have a nightcap pop somewhere after the game.
2. I saw craft beers now $10.25 per. Wow.
3. Apparently, you can grab beers in the Public House, then walk into the stadium from the PH’s inside entrance with your beer. I was told that, can’t confirm. Those beers are about $2 cheaper in the PHouse than from the concessions in the park.
4. The Snarkettes and I watched Timmeh loosen up on the side before the game, just sitting in some seats about 15 rows up, took pictures. Younger Snarrkette is a dancer. She said, “Look, Daddy, Timmy can do splits better than I can”. Yep, he can stretch very well, that’s for sure. 5 minutes, tops, on the grass, then threw about 20-25 to Hector. Done. Ready to go. Compared to Zito’s 45 minute routine, it was nothing. It looked in his warmup that he was having a little trouble throwing high, which he seemed to do off/on during the game.
5. You could tell right away that Liriano didn’t have it. He was up, then he was in the dirt. He was trying to find the rhythm and was adjusting, but just couldn’t find it in the first inning. Luckily, the Gmen dinked and dunked 4 out of it, with Arias getting that nice double as a highlight.
6. Before the game, we had an early dinner at a place called the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen, across 2nd street from the 21st Amendment. If you or your kids love grilled cheese sandwiches, like mine, this is heaven. Both Snarrkettes had a grilled cheese sandwich with mac and cheese filling. Tasty, but call your cardiologist. I opted for the Cobb salad and a brew.
7. After the game, older Snarrkette got a new SF Giants cap in the dugout store. I’ll tell ya, the bad straits of the team don’t seem to be deterring the shoppers. Place was loaded, stuff flyin’ off the shelves.
8. I’d say there were a good 5000 or so empty seats all over. Maybe a few more than that. Sellout in name only.
9. Pill in LF is probably not going to work. He’s not a good runner. He lopes, not runs. That one sinking liner he caught early at his shoetops — he took a route to it that involved a visit to Berkeley; made it way tougher than it should have been. Oh well, Burrell probably would have just fielded it on a bounce.
10. All in all, a good, solid game, and a fun time. And, a Giants win. Cool…
great recap. You should write Flapalooza’s too.
I’ll do something about it, sure. I’m sure everybody will have a contribution to make, if we can remember anything… 😉
Very nice recap…
it’s bad enough that kieschnick is hitting the ball with all of the authority of manny burriss but i wouldn’t mind some of that dejected body language that belt got criticized for. or least some sign of life. he reminds me a bit of linden, who seemed more concerned with how his uniform looked as he strode ever so cooly to the dugout after another meek out,..
I’m up for Kiesch playing the rest of the year, every day. He looks pretty good defensively. We need to see if he has any shot at being a hitter. Maybe the light bulb will go off after 100 ABs up here, he’s only at 62 or so. He’s striking out a 33% clip, that can’t continue, else he’s headed for AAAA status. Pill in LF is a joke, a circus act. I saw him in LF last night, that’s going nowhere on any kind of LT basis – strictly for the “give Pill a chance” fluffers…
looked to me like he (K) misplayed the ball he slid for last night, and that isn’t the first time I’ve seen him do that.
I haven’t been impressed with his D myself–and the way he’s hitting, I don’t think he’s everyday material.
Yeah, Willie, I only saw that play from up above, so I can’t say specifically if he misplayed it. On Pill’s play, he clearly kind of circled it and took a long route to the ball. Kiesch at least made a passable dive, so he made the decision to go for it, at minimum it didn’t get past him. No, I don’t see a budding gold glover in Kiesch, but he seems at least average out there, may improve with coaching. His strikeouts and lack of pop, as Oracle pointed out, if they don’t improve, that combo won’t get it done…
perez is the best defender of the ‘kiddie’ group, and i’d like to see former a’s prospect javier herrera next spring. and i’ve seen mac williamson on milb tv, i think he might be the left fielder by 2015. a sleeper for the rotation in 2014 might be edwin escobar, i saw him before he moved up to richmond ( whose games aren’t shown) and he’s pitching well there. we got him from texas for ben snyder in 2010…
i’m not against kieschnick playing most every day but he has shown zero power up here, as far playing *every* day, they’ll probably platoon him with peguero soon, imo. i think they’ll sign pence or another free agent and go with another platoon for the other outfield spot next year. quiche, gomez, gomez, and/or gomez.
Nice throw by Posey for the caught stealing…
Another good play by Posey to start the tough DP. That cut the inning short…
That option year on Vogelsong is looking pretty good today.
I would let Voggy try to finish the shutout. He’s thrown just 98. Come on. If one guy gets on, bring in Romo. If a guy tags one for a homer, so what, we’re out of it anyway. Let’s see a shutout…
Season it a nutshell, bouncer off the 1B glove right to the pitcher for an out at 1st.
Nice by the Panda. Dumb pitching right there, or bad execution — you gotta just throw him garbage there and hope he gets himself out, or he walks and you set up the force at home. Anyway, he’s getting a little bit of stroke back. Last night he really smoked a single to right; frozen rope. Hey now up at least 3-0, you gotta let Voggy try to get the shutout…
Well, I guess not. Up 4-0, Voggy should pitch for it. He hasn’t even thrown 100. Show some balls, Bochy. I’m sure Voggy wanted it, and he was in good rhythm. I hate this pitch count bullshit, or whatever was going on. If Voggy reports he was gassed, then I take my Bochy bash back. And, there’s no guarantee this Pen is going to mow ’em down…
i see no reason whatsover to push vogie in the slightest, he’s looking to be a huge part of any chance to bounce back next year.i do understand the opposing view, however. but he’s still well below last year’s velocity, baby him a little.
anyway, nice weekend of baseball.
I only followed the game by blinking dots of pixels, but even from that cyber-vantage point, this looks like one of the most satisfying games of the season. At least for me it was. Good going, World Champion San Francisco Giants!
Agreed Pawlie. Solid game. Encouraging things were Voggy going so well, and the defense was above average on several plays, and routine plays were made. Panda had a bad throw error to first, but he made a fine play to snag the ground shot, so he gets a pass on the boo boo…
Always a good way to end a home stand. And, if not mistaken, Flapalooza is on the next homestand. Would love to see the boys roll back into town on a hot streak, though that inflates ticket prices 😦
on to the niner game- it might be nice to see ck more than a series or two. are they just so confident in him despite little playing time in the preseason or are they scared shitless what an injury will do to the season. that’s a terrible group behind him.
well, good night all.
Great recap of yesterday’s game in person, Señor Scribe Snarkk.
Good news from L.A. with Boston beating the Bums 2 of 3. Although the Red Sox didn’t have to face Kershaw and Greinke, the Dodgers managed just 4 runs total off Lackey, Lester and Peavy, who just threw a complete game.
just dropped a pic of me and Blade into flap photo bucket. Blurry pic. Idiot didn’t know how to work an iPhone.
Great pic regardless. Man Mountain Shady and The Bladerunner . . . Not bad for one full fledged (me) and a half (Flav) old fucks. 🙂
By the by, the pic you took didn’t come out? Send it to me via email . . . Thanks.