Hump Day!
Another frustrating loss. I can’t imagine what this will do to our power rankings. I can’t bear to look. 🙂
I think it’s fair to say that Hest-by-Hest is settling nicely into the number 4 or 5 slot in our rotation. And really, were we to expect something better than that?
Hudson vs Liriano tonight. Seems like a million years ago that he signed with us in 2000. In 2003, he was traded with Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan for AJ Pierzynski. Amazing that AJ is still playing…..
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
We’re doomed! The power rankings are going to go to hell! Just get one fucking win to avoid the sweep, puleeze….
I knew going in that this would be a tough series based on the starters the Bucs were throwing at us, and also how they have been swinging the bats of late.
In other news around the Giant’s minor league: Tyler Beede has been promotoed from High-A San Jose to the Flying Squirrels. They also moved Crhis Straton and Jack Snodgrass from the Squirrels to Sactown.
Day before yesterday i was looking at Beede’s stats and wondering when he would get the jump. Snodgrass has been recovering somewhat from a totally bad start. Stratton still surprises me as he even yet cannot seem to find the plate. Of course Correia’s defection left at least one opening at Sacville.
Agree, Stix. It is good that we have all these young arms in the pipeline, since Timmah, Vogey, and Hudson are all free agents after this year, and Cain and Peavy…well we all know the story there…big question marks.
for Kokonuts:
On this date in 1888, the poem “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer was first published in “The San Francisco Examiner.”
Damn…good knowledge. You are quite the Renaissance man, Flav. Had me fooled. 😉
Not my favorite; it’s kinda cheesy, isn’t it? Maybe I am just grouchy after these losses.
Heston has a lot of company at that 4/5 slot, including the guy who went before him and 2 after.
Man, what a player Andrew McCutchen is. Guy has been scorching ball ever since he stepped into batter box at ATT. Runs like a demon too.
Going into this home-stand i posted here that i was hoping for a 4-3 series against a couple of medium-tough teams ~figuring take three from Atlanta (where Casilla and Craw blindsided me) and one from the Bucs. Still hoping for that, but my hope for the win was Heston, not Hudson. Well, maybe the old boy can do it today.
I think we just needed to get that June Swoon thing out of the way. Now it’s time to get back to playing winning baseball.
I am going to the game. I will talk to Huddy, tell him the Flap is pulling for him. Also Zumm, I don’t have my section and seats. I will post them out here when I find out.
Hope you do better than the last few Flappers who have attended games (names will be withheld to protect the guilty).
I need to get my ass down down there soon…I am 3-0 (or, I should say, the Giants are 3-0) when I have been at the yard.
Go Gigantes!
“Amazing that AJ is still playing.” Even more amazing that the Giants brain-trust made that trade…
Again, a starter does not do well after the first time through the lineup. Was a bit surprised yesterday that NOBODY responded in any way to my concept/suggestion that with the Giants having a now growing majority of starters who do not seem to be able to go 6, why not stack them up when the Rotation can include 6 or even seven guys. One starter goes three and is pulled for his partner who gets the next three. Then the bullies take over. If four of the 7 are in that bracket, then we have no problem with a seven-man as you get two pairs covering six innings each. Should the starter, or the designated vulture, have great stuff that day and is simply mowing them down, there is no reason why he should not stay on the mound till the signs start showing up.
With 6 or seven guys who are starters the Giants are in a unique position to test out this concept or something similar. If the team had a deeper R-L balance in starters then it would even be possible to match them in opposite look switches.
Somebody please tell me whether this line of thinking might be workable and whether they think Bochy can operate that far outside the box of convention,
I responded, but simply said that I had never heard of, or seen it before, and if it was a good recipe, you would think teams would have tried it before.
I think Colorado tried something like that a few years ago, it didn’t work out to well for them but I think they were taking out a guy even when he was doing well, so maybe if managed better.
That was the first thing I thought when I read this. If I remember right it was imposed by the front office and the Rockies manager Tracy was none to happy about it.
I’m grumpy after these winnable losses. I’m in an avert-my-eyes mood. Stop talking to me.
With you Pawlie, losing winnable games suck. Trailing after 6 innings spells disaster for the team as well, as their 1-21 this season😖
No Pence today…and I hope like hell, NO sweep!
1. Nori Aoki (L) LF
2. Joe Panik (L) 2B
3. Angel Pagan (S) CF
4. Buster Posey (R) 1B
5. Matt Duffy (R) 3B
6. Andrew Susac (R) C
7. Justin Maxwell (R) RF
8. Joaquin Arias (R) SS
9. Tim Hudson (R) P
The more I look at that line-up, the less confident I am…
Maybe it will be one of those “we have no fucking chance to win this game” and they will surprise us.
Jesus Christ,
Bochy ‘s white flag LU.
It would be nice to get a win started in June, but not impressed with scubs starting .
Hey Kat – the positive is that “the bench” looks pretty damned good. Maybe they surprise us…
Pagan looks great in the field, lost at the plate.
Yep…he has struggled over the past couple of weeks. Still hitting .298, but his OBP and average are tailing. Maybe Bochy put him in the 3 hole, hoping it inspires some confidence in him. I am grasping at straws here…just get a win.
…and Maxwell may’ve maxed out.
The radical Rockies experiment of 2012, when they used a four-man tandem pitching rotation with a 75-pitch limit, has since faded from Colorado’s strategy. Dunno if this is still true (Wilcojoe?), but in Houston, it gained steam for awhile too. The Astros in 2013 became the first team to use a “piggyback” system at each level in their farm system. It worked well enough that Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow brought it back again in 2014. Again, no idea if they are still employing it.
The Sherpas in 2012 blew up convention 65 games into the season. Their pitching staff in shambles -Colorado’s starters that season started 13-30 with a 6.28 ERA – Rockies management decided to start piggy-backing. General manager Dan O’Dowd installed assistant GM Bill Geivett in Colorado’s clubhouse to oversee a four-game pitching rotation, with a three-man carousel of second-arm relievers.
It worked. Sorta. They improved in their next 64 games, gaining four games in the win-loss record and lowering the starters’ ERAs. It was enough improvement that O’Dowd said he wanted to continue the system, only with a proper piggyback (two pitchers per game) into the 2013 season.* As Dirt alluded to, Tracy said, “Fuck this shit” (umm, maybe not those exact words) and adios – he was out of there. The high school coach (Weiss) was then hired. lqtm.
* It’s gone the way of the Dodo bird.
I beleive the Astros are still doing it in their lower levels. May explain why I have been burned on McCullers getting the hook so early despite pitching very well. I don’t think he has thrown 90 pitches yet.
He’s doing pretty good right now. I have him in a couple of tourneys.
My concept is different from the one Colorado used ~ only vaguely similar. Remember, we will at some point have 7 starters, with an easy four really questionable for more than 3-5 innings more games than not. Piggybacking relievers early on is not a part of this notion.
Heston and Susac getting dogged by K&K in the pre-game. I was supposed to be at today’s game but couldn’t make it. I hope may work colleague enjoys my seats and brings home the win.
I am in LB135, on the foul side of the foul ball pole, about 10 rows back of the pole.
ANOTHER early lead, let’s see if they can hold it…
I missed the call on the play that was reviewed. PFFFT…
Didn’t take long for the Giants to monetize the ring bling.
Just walk McCutchen.
Not a very inspiring SF lineup on an oughta, nearly gotta win day ~ to cut the losing streak and to salvage a split series.
Looking at this lineup, now I know why the Giants never come back late in games.
How the hell did the Giants score 1 run?
Excellent outing by Hudson. Not deserving of a loss. Past him and it was a general systems meltdown. They finally got to Strickland for a couple of hits and then the Romo meltdown. Hard to take. Five in a row at home is a real damper. Seems most everyone caught the April infection.
Hell of a bench today.
Keep that conga line moving
Arrgh.
Well, I guess I was a bit hasty on declaring the June Swoon over early this year.
I’m not a big fan of June. The Giants usually have a hard time winning, the Atlantic Hurricane season starts (although we already had a named storm in May), and the first hard rain in June brings out the Yellow Flies.
Speaking of bad weather – we have a tornado, severe thunderstorms, and hail forecast in Denver. Doubt they get the game in.
Stay safe out there, Steve.
Fuck that city Blade. I completely forgot to check the weather in Denver before I did my lineups. I might as well concede our match right now.
Looks like just one really bad cell. As long as others don’t pop up, I might be ok.
I had a Sherpa stack going in about 3 tourneys and 2 H2Hs (including our’s) . . . Then it started getting dark and then all of a sudden it started releasing rain, then hail. I had 15 minutes to change my LUs and didn’t even complete my DK LUs (but fortunately, you can do those while the session has already started).
Thanks John . . . My condo is like a fortress – still I am staying away from the windows. Unbelievable lightening going on right now. Not certain, but I think after Florida, Colorado has the best lightening shows in the U.S.
Giants may have used up their season quota of shutouts already. Pitt is good, they are no joke…
Just watched the highlights package on MLB. Looks like Aoki’s not super-high baseball IQ was on full display on a couple of occasions.
BTW, those MLB highlight packages are great. They show not only key plays and most punchouts, but also lighthearted moments and good interviews. Whoever puts those together does a helluva job. You sit down for less than 10 minutes and you really get a feel for the game it seems.
arrrrrrrrrgh indeed. The Pirates plundered. btw, for book lovers, Shakespeare & Co. Books on Telegraph in Berkeley closed this week. Not that long ago, you could compare used-book quality and price between S&Co and Moe’s for a tome you wanted, and pick the best deal. It was a nice way to send an hour or so before dinner. All Moe’s territory now, although I don’t think the monopoly is worth much. Moe’s is a great book store. I just can’t imagine it closing, but the writing’s on the web.
Sad news when an indie bookstore closes. Tough market these days.
yep–and Berkeley used to be teeming with great used bookstores and indie stores. btw, when you’re in the East Bay, you might want to look at Walden Books on Grand Ave. in Oakland. Used to be just another fine bookstore; its survival has made it more important lately. Black Oak, btw, moved way out to San Pablo in Berkeley–still well stocked, last time I was there.
Meanwhile, Piedmont Ave. in Oakland has become the center of the East Bay used book world–4 stores within easy strolling distance of each other. Black Swan and Book Zoo are both very interesting places.
Yeah, that’s been my knock on Aoki. He’s a good solid hitter, but once on base, he’s a bit of a yard sale.
Nice weather at the yard today.
Yeah, Aoki’s base-running killed two rallies today.
Nice game from Hudson.
The A’s mascot was on the BART handing out free A’s tickets, and having trouble finding takers.
The Red Sox sat Sandoval today in the first game of a double-header, and won 6-3. Started him in the other game, and got shut-out. I’m not saying Sandoval’s starting job is in jeopardy, but it’s not rock solid either.
Rockies rally for 3 in the 9th to beat the Bums!