Winning in San Diego
Seeing as how Kershaw gets to take Edwina Jackson out to the woodshed today, it’s safe to say that Tim Hudson needs to bring his A-game to his start v San Diego. At least we’ll have the crowd on our side and while I haven’t heard from him, I’m trusting that my main man on the San Diego scene, San Dawg, will be storming PetCo Park at some point this weekend.
I’m watching the A’s free fall and wondering something: If Beane screwed this up in New York he’d be gone a day after the season ended. But if the A’s miss the playoffs, he keeps his job, right?
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Bottom feeders like White Sox Astros and Rangers have ruined once proud A’s last couple weeks. Just a word of caution I’m sure Giants players are well aware of.
Sucks that Andre Ethier, forgotten man of the crowded LA OF, winds up last night’s hero after Cubs had scored 4 off Greinke. Ethier has 4 HRs this year while batting .250 with under .700 OPS and has only been up 330 times. Puig has run him off CF, Kemp bounce back year has him firmly in RF, Crawford and VanSlyke kid in LF. When 2 trips called him out early last year bloggers pointed out same thing Flav said recently about Lincecum–$17 mil just doesn’t get you what is used to.
CBS site is doing analyses of teams already eliminated in “RIP 2014” series that seem pretty fair and balanced. Just saw the one on the Reds which noted all 4 of their top SPs (including Cueto Bailey Latos) will be FA after next year. As noted this will be very competitive division as Cubs likely to improve and Pirates Brews Cards already at the top and fighting it out for top spots. Think any of those guys might want to get away from bandbox yard? Hmmnn.
Add Leake as 4th guy, pretty good pitcher who can also hit.
…SEEMS to me the A’s began their fall shortly after they traded Cespedes…
Yeah, at this point, if the lovable cubbies can steal one from the bums, that will be a plus (Haren goes on Sunday, so Saturday is probably their best bet). If they can take two that would be bad ass.
All the games are huge at this point. bums and Giants have 10 to play. I was thinking just a day or two ago that 7-3 (5-2 against Dago and 2-1 against the bums) would win the division. Not so sure now.
No one is rolling over…Bucs won again last night, as did the bums. I am going to stick with my MO for the past couple of weeks…just focus on one game at a time, and win, and see what the hell happens.
Go Huddy – GO GIANTS!
And to answer your question Flav, yes, if the A’s miss the playoffs, I think Beane keeps his job.
I think Loo is right, Belt to LF would be unprecedented. Most other guys go there as last resort due to injuries (like Banks) or just age/inability to cover OF, while team wants to keep their bat in the LU (like Al Oliver). Even guys like Reggie Smith, who came up as 2b with Red Sox and then went to OF, didn’t start off career at 1b.
Cool POTD Flav . . . Just my take, but I get tired of the funny jokes (which are funny). To me POTD is supposed to be baseball related and insightful. snarkk conveys it perfectly when he says, “. . . he’s the kind of stuff baseball memories are all about.” Awesome.
Flav, I’m not sure about the if-Beane-was-in-NY thing. This will be two straight years now that the Yanks will miss the playoffs, which is beyond unacceptable in the Bronx, and yet I don’t hear anything about Cashman’s job being in jeopardy. Now if George was still aive . . .
I don’t see Beane ever leaving his position in Oakland. Doesn’t he have an ownership stake in the A’s?
Yep, he’s got a small chunk of ownership. No idea how much, probably a point or two, at most…
There’s nothing odd about putting Belt in LF. They’re trying to get their best hitters to the plate.
The future depends on how they address Pablo this offseason, but as of now it’s about getting bats in the lineup. And Perez out of it . . .
I’m sort of mystified by the Belt to LF discussion.
It’s based on the idea of moving Posey to firstbase full-time next season, which I don’t think the Giants are going to do.
lol, I know that part zumiee. I mean the idea that Belt will just be terrible due to this unprecedented move.
Would he be worse than Morse out there? And probably less injury-prone. Maybe.
I think Belt would be fine out there and probably become pretty good. Certainly better than Morse. Posey would be fine at 1b too. Not as good as Belt but he would improve to average over there. I don’t think he would be very good at 3b.
I’m not necessarily fully awake in the mornings. 🙂
Belt is athletic for a big guy, runs well. He’d be fine in LF. Fine meaning at least average defensively. Would he catch a bunch of low liners like Blanco? No. Would he botch stuff like Morse? No…
Maybe I’m wrong, but it just feels to me like a window is closing for the Giants after this season for a while, unless they make some big moves in the off-season. If they don’t get a bounce-back season from Cain, improve the starting pitching, and get a healthier Pagan, solve thirdbase, then it’s going to be a struggle all season next year.
With you on that, zum. Many imponderables to be pondered this offseason.
Starting pitching is the big issue. That’s been the strength of this team that bought them 2 WS titles in 3 years. It’s not there anymore to that dominating extent. Need a much more balanced squad. Bum and ? for next year. Cain depends on how his elbow recovers. Peavy will want some coin to stay, he’s no spring chicken. Voggy is gone. Huddy is on the decline – Kruk said this morning on radio that he’s now an 85 pitch pitcher. Petit is a bit of a questionmark. Sometimes great, sometimes very hittable – at least he’s not old. Lincecum is getting $17 million to scratch his head. Sabean needs to work some pitching magic this offseason…
Suddenly the Pirates are making a strong push for the #1 Wild Card spot. As others have mentioned, the Giants really don’t want to have to go into Pittsburgh for a 1-game playoff. Given the Giants history in Pittsburgh, it’s something to be avoided.
Well, they are making a push in that they continue to win, but so have the Giants of late. The Bucs have gained maybe only half a game in the last week. The Giants just need to keep winning. With 7 of their last ten against Dago, they need to put the boot on the throat. IMO, they need to win at least 5 of 7.
Next year they’ll have Bumgarner, Cain and Hudson. Lincecum maybe starts the season in the rotation too. If they can add a solid or plus starter I think they’ll be fine regardless of 3b but Pagan is a real issue. I like Pagan but the club needs someone else to hit out of the lead off spot since he’s never going to play a full season outside of a contract year.
Peavy has settled my SP issues a little. He’s on a 2 year deal isn’t he? With Bummie, a fixed-up Cain, and Peavy, we’re ok. One more arm and we’ll be good to go there.
Peavy’s a FA for 2015. The last 6 weeks he’s been making himself a lot of coin…
Ideally they retain Peavy, cut ties with Lincecum and add another arm. Probably costs too much to hope for someone like Cueto.
Cut ties with Lincecum? You mean give him a 17 million dollar handshake. They’re on the hook for 17 mil. I don’t see Tim going anywhere next year, except maybe to the bullpen.
Hence the word ‘Ideally’
Why even the play on words. We all know there is a snowball’s chance in hell that Tim goes anywhere. They will have to suck it up on that 17 mil.
Really we don’t know that. Maybe they give some run to start the season then he’s stashed in the BP or some mystery DL stints and then cut like Rowand mid way. My point is that I think they should just cut ties. I wasn’t saying it was without a doubt happening.
I would be down with Peavy. Only thing is, it will probably take a three year deal. Do the Giants really want to go there? There are a number of decent SPs who will be FAs next year.
Also, if Pablo walks, I would like to see the Giants make a run at Chase Headley to hold down 3rd. He is making 10 mil this year. Something in that price range is quite a bit less than what Pablo will demand, and get.
I don’t think anyone shared this. Looks like there may be a chance that Bond’s felony conviction on obstruction is overturned.
http://tinyurl.com/om767rt
Fuck it. Bring on the Bucs. We never did avenge that ’71 playoff disaster. Bob Robertson and gravedigger Hebner killed us. It would be an ironic(?) coincidence if we couldn’t start Bum because he was needed on the last day of the season to clinch a spot – like Marichal was back in ’71.
Loo, on the revenge tour, are the Bucs 1st, 2nd or 3rd? I see the Angels number 1, A’s 2, and then your Bucs. Of course, the Dodgers have emeritus status . . . 🙂
Don’t forget the Marlins.
Good question. And the Mets and Yanks, too.
But how great would an SF-LA NLCS be?
Our biggest edge in that match-up could be Bochy (and I still love Mattingly)
I was a kid seeing my first Giants game at the ’71 playoff game when Robertson hit 3 dingers at the Stick. Yeah, if we have to take on the Pirates, fine. Bring ’em on. But, at ATT. That PNC place has been a horror house for the Giants the past few years…
I was at game 1, Perry’s win. Didn;’t Kingman butcher a play in the OF for a 3 run HR in that game?
The radio guys queried Kruk about Timmeh possibly taking a start against the Pads. Kruk rejected that out of hand, saying he’s still a mechanical mess. When Kruk says that, you know it’s pretty bad…
talk about brain teasers…
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/95341554/possible-tiebreaking-scenarios-explained
The good news is the Cubs scored 3 runs in the 1st off Kershaw. The bad news is they’re still losing, 6-3.
Even hoping the Cubs will help you out is probably not a good strategy…
Unless the Brewers can sweep the Pirates this weekend, essentially the Brewers are out of the WC race, they are 6 back of SF in the loss column as of today. If LA takes 3 of 4 from the Cubs, which looks definitely possible now (Kershaw up 8-3), to me it looks like the only race left, barring a total LA collapse their last 7 games, would be WHERE the Giants would play the Pirates in the WC game. But, back to the one game at a time thing — let’s get this one tonite. Padres are actually one of the best clubs at home in MLB, they’re bad on the road. This series will be tough…
14-3 Dogs? Schitzo team of the month goes to . . .
The further (farther?) we go, the more tempting it will be to send Bumgarner out there on short rest…
Furthur
So do teams have a champagne celebration when they clinch a berth in the one game WC playoff?
Then another one if they win it?
Yes. It’s ridiculous, but leave it to baseball to do it this way. A team can have 4 champagne celebrations without winning the World Series.
In all the other sports it would be seen as celebrating too much before the job is completely finished.
Maybe playoff adrenalin will turn Lincecum back into the super middle reliever that he was in 2012.
With so many question marks in the starting staff, that could be a very key role.
If Tim can’t do it someone else might have to…
I obviously am still rooting for the Cubbies, but jeez, they do suck or what (rhetorical question…we all know the answer). Come on…grow some balls and win a game or two against the bums.
Pirates remaining schedule is 3 @ home with Brewers, then onto the road for 4 at the cratering Braves, ending with 3 at Cincy. Pirates are hot, they could easily win at last 6 of these 10. Giants would have to go 4-6 to make a WC tie. A tie places the WC game at the home of the winner of the season’s series of the two tied. Pirates beat SF 4-2 in the season, so a WC tie sends the WC game to Pittsburgh…
Well shit, all I can say is Fuck the Bucs. I think it is time for a cold one…gotta get primed for tonight’s game…
burp……
My bartender recently got me hooked on this Blue Moon Pumpkin stuff.
it disappoints me, as a beer drinker, to find out you drink a beer with “pumpkin” in the name…..
Don’t worry, Flav. I think it’s only seasonal.
What do you have against pumpkins?
Speaking of Brews, they’re up 2-0 on the Bucs in the 5th…
pumpkins belong on my porch, not in my beer.
I’ll eat the seeds if they’re properly seasoned.
About the furthest I get into a beer where the maker actually gives it more than half-a-go at making it is Sierra Nevada…….
Otherwise I’m fine with Coors or Bud.
Even if, as seems likely, a well-rested Huddy takes up where he left off, we know who is not our enemy:
Padres got sick of watching Chase Headley struggle at the plate and dumped him before contract issue could get settled up. I don’t see ATT as being much friendlier yard for him to hit in. If I’m the giants and the Yanks wanted to trade him for Sandoval straight up, I’d make them up the ante.
Off to first b-ball workout of season. Enjoy game guys!
On Peavy, there was fangraphs column last week about him changing grips and using different pitches and altering location in last couple years. He seems like someone who knows what he is doing and makes proper adjustments as he is aging. Amazing to me that being around likes of he and Hudson, Lincecum can’t seem to absorb anything and is as lost as he is. And I agree with Dirt–anyone interested, make me an offer I can’t refuse.
Hudson. Ffffffff….
Padres tough at home.
so were the rockies right you front runner
He’s right, you know.
Yes – Rocks are tough at home as well.
Pads 43-32 at home this season, Rocks are 42-36
tell you what gloating cock…why don’t you take chico to dinner until your team appears in a world series….
I mentioned earlier this week I thought they should skip a start for Huddy, try Heston, as Huddy looked out of gas for the season. Of course, Bochy didn’t listen to me. Next season, the starting rotation will be a real question mark…
I hate when Bochy doesn’t trust Flappers Snarkk!
Feeling the same with you about skipping a Hudson start!
Now we are all feeling the pain of frustration!!
Managers don’t like to try new stuff that might be considered crazy down the stretch. And, PO a guy making $12 million next season. Bochy probably knew Huddy was a crapshoot for this game, but reality of big contracts makes a difference. It took forever to drop Lincecum out of the rotation after many futile efforts…
Huddy is becoming a big problem. 7-2 to likely 9-12.
Kershaw gives up 3 for 1st time in like a century and the Cubs suck even worse…Augh
Bleeeeeh. Airmail . . .
Jesus,
Panda airmailed that throw to Mexico!
And now it just bit Huddy for another run.
Does it really matter that Hudson sucked if the hitters keep turning Despanigineineingwhatever into Cy Young?
I think it’s better that our starter doesn’t give up 4 in the first inning, yes…
Well, that start sucked.
Giants better reconsider Hudson’s next start — scheduled for the last game of the LA series…
Panik has 2 hits, the only guy with hits tonight…
Everybody give up on the Gmen? Come on, let’s get a rally going here!…
Hey, Blanco was leading off there! Perhaps they can figure out a way to read his brain waves as he bats.
The Giants haven’t shown much of a pulse in this game Snarkk, but I’ll hang for a fellow flapper!
Way to go, Kat. At least Blanco got a knock. That’s a rally tonite. Lincecum actually pitched pretty damn well, as I look for a silver lining somewhere…
So much for that inspiring inning rally…😁
You know were reaching for story’s, when Kruk&Kuip are pumping up the Pumpkin festival in HMB!!
Good advice by the 2,you do want to leave early, say 6:00 and grab a Bloody Mary on main st at the Benito Bar!
Another “Shutout”!
Thanks for coming,
Drive home safely!
Well, basically, that stunk.
Pirates on fire, one back in the WC race for home field.
Giants need to get a good game going tomorrow…
The Giants were shut down by the mighty 4-7 Despaigne. The Giants have been shut-out 15 or 16 times so far this season. That’s 10% of the games. That can’t be good.
Well, it does add suspense.
Checking in from Maine (has any Flapper ever done that?). Would’ve been nice to get one run in the 9th, otherwise another clunker. I might be getting it from all sides tomorrow. My brother’s a fan of the red-hot Pirates. My niece is flying in from San Diego with her boyfriend, who works for the Padres. The lobster here better be all it’s cracked up to be.
Macdog is a great guy.
The Giants sure suck a lot this season. Hudson just ran out of gas this season. Giants offense……3 hits? Yikes….
I think I understand how the team must have felt following the 17 run shutout on September 13th. Mightily we try and yet, the losses loom large and the successes small. giving up can seem the right thing to do. there are many excuses: cain, belt, bench, too much famine and not enough feast.
Wait! Wait, we are there; the door to the post season is open. And where else would you want to be?
watching an organisation buy their place? out of the running with 20 games to go? in the AL? Not able to stop the slide that is taking your team from first to no wild card?
NOPE, this team is having a complicated relationship with winning and this has been a season full of baseball in the orange and black. Thanks Giants, one and all, rooks and multimillionaires. Coaches and fans. K&K (but not espn) Play ball!
Awesome post Ed! Agree completely.
Was out to dinner last night and then indoor sports, of sorts. In the wee hours of the morning got the Bad Baseball News. Gloomy glumness has to wrestle with sunny hopefulness. At least we are not the A’s, whose trades made them look as if they’d win by 20 games. So much for predictions. By the way, speaking of that, the NYTimes had a fascinating article on the Scottish vote saying bettors were better predictors than pollsters. Too complicated to summarize.
Scots vote down independence. Sir William Wallace is turning over in his grave.