Panik 2 LA and The Rest of SF 0

Posted in Uncategorized by Flavor on March 31, 2018

There have been 511 pitches thrown in these two games, most of them by the team that supposedly has a terribly pitching staff. Exactly two of them have been hit out of the park, both by one of the least likely hitters to do so. I can’t remember a more remarkable two game exacta between these two teams.

Today and tomorrow is the definition of playing with house money. I can’t believe Holland can keep this going but in my wildest imagination I didn’t think the first two games would have gone the way they did so I am going to be positive and hope Holland can go 5 innings of 1-2 run ball.

Now, it is time for the rest of these jokers to start hitting. Or even one of them other than Little Joe.

WillieD and San Dawg met up for clams and deviled eggs last night at The Goose. Sorry I couldn’t make it boys.

Screenshot 2018-03-31 at 7.50.43 AM

118 comments

118 Responses

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willedav said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:35 am

yeah Giants bats haven’t done much but they’ve scored 2 more runs than Dodgers. Cueto was fun to watch. Really great for him to set the tone and be #1 with dominant performance.
- Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:52 am
  
  sorry i couldn’t make it last night! I uploaded a pic of you guys into the main thread.
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:37 am

What time is the ring presentation?
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:58 am

Good post Flavor and you’re right – “now, it is time for the rest of these jokers to start hitting.” Specifically, this is what Murphy of McCovey Chronicles said . . . and I agree with him 100%:

“Evan Longoria and Buster Posey are out in front of everything and Andrew McCutchen’s timing isn’t quite there yet. Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford have looked positively overmatched in two games against two very tough lefties, Austin Jackson has looked okay and Hunter Pence has looked Pencey enough, but it’s Joe Panik who’s taking pitches and swinging with purpose and authority.”

Also, is it possible that Kershaw and Jansen are slooooowing down? Thoughts? Personally, I think in regard to Kershaw, he’s the same, i.e., most pitchers build up their velocity in the first month of the season. I think I read where his fastball normally sits at 93MPH and it was around 91MPH against us. Equally important, other than the hiccup with Joe, he’s been perfect going back to the beginning of spring training with that 0 ERA. I don’t know about Jansen.
willedav said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:07 am

Ha, yeah fun time with SD on his long way back toward home front.

Watching Pence…there isn’t a hitting coach on the planet who is going to change his swing or the pitches he tries to hit. But even at his age he hustles butt down the line on every dribbler he hits like he’s 10 yrs old still.
And yeah he turned wrong way but found it in him to get to the ball as it hooked toward corner and reach up and grab it.
Guy really is one of a kind.
- willedav said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:10 am
  
  and he does have ring lot nicer than anything Dodgers gonna get.
  ?—Wilco remember any of him when he was with Stros? Where did he play/what was hitting style?
unca_chuck said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:03 am

He’s always looked like that. He was RF in Philly anyway
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:08 am

how bout this bullpen, eh? A lot better so far than people thought.
unca_chuck said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:15 am

I missed the watson deal. He’s looking good. Strick was better yesterday with his slider location. He’s got the look now anyway. Kruk said no one expects the slider from him as he was strictly gas for the past 4 years.
dirtnrocksnomo said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:29 am

Great start – may as well set the tone with some early season torture. If Cueto eats innings like last night the Giants will have a good chance to stay above water. They’ve seen a lot of Jensen and had success (1.3 WHIP, 3+ ERA). Only 4 teams in the league with better numbers against him.
xoot said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:01 am

years ago I attended a July 4 game featuring Lincecum v. Oswalt, with Pence in RF. He moved exactly the way he moves now, odd manic quick but effective. He seemed like the most dangerous Astro on the field. (Lincecum cruised to a win. We had lots of elbow room in the 3B club level.)
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:12 am

Dodgers shut out in their first two games for first time since 1968. They got blanked 2-0 by the Phillies’ Chris Short in the opener, and then 4-0 to the Mets’ Jerry Koosman the next game, both at the Latrine. Why they opened with the Phillies and then played the Mets the next game to start the season I have no idea.
- zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:16 am
  
  It probably was due to the MLK assassination on April 4th, and some game cancellations.
  - Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:24 am
    
    That explains it.
    
    https://www.mlb.com/news/opening-day-2018-shares-distinction-with-1968/c-269707548
  - zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:32 am
    
    Great article; thanks!
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:22 am

Autopsy information on Stephon Clark was released yesterday. Almost all of the police bullets hit him in the back, which would seem to contradict the police report.
Emotions are running high in Sacramento and around the nation.
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:26 am

More fun facts: Panik became the second player to homer off Kershaw and Jansen in the same season. Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt did it in 2013.
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:28 am

Interesting little scenario after the game last night: Roberts blamed Jansen’s lower velocity on a slight glitch in Jansen’s mechanics, and Jansen denied any mechanical glitch and said ‘who cares what my velocity is?’
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:34 am

How many 1-0 games did we win last season?

Answer – zero.
wilcojoe said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:38 am

Great pic. Willie resembles Pete Carrrol a bit.
- snarkk said, on March 31, 2018 at 11:08 am
  
  WillieD would have run Marshawn for the TD against New England…
snarkk said, on March 31, 2018 at 11:11 am

Where/what’s the Goose?…
- zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 11:30 am
  
  Maybe this place?
  http://www.dutchgoose.net
  - zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 11:34 am
    
    Menu looks good.
snarkk said, on March 31, 2018 at 11:24 am

I know it’s a one time deal, but the game I saw in Peoria during ST, Holland pitched 3 full and looked pretty good. Good command, good breaking stuff. One inning there were some loud outs, but hey, that happens to everybody. I thought he looked the best of the pitchers that night, after Cueto. I said at the time Cueto looked like he was going to be good. I like the guy, he doesn’t over train in the offseason, but he keeps in shape the way he needs to in order to go through his ST on his terms to get ready. He doesn’t leave his arm in Phoenix. The guy knows his body. If he can avoid the blister situation, he’s looking like a good contributor this year. Gyros need him to step up…
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 11:25 am

I read a thing that said the short flyball bloops that Jackson caught last night were examples of balls that Span wasn’t catching. Interesting take on that.
alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 12:45 pm

Yeah Dutch Goose is a legendary place going back to the 60’s. It’s located in Menlo Park on the Alameda.Use to go their after softball for a burger&belt.Great food 🥘 even steamed clams,It’s like the Oasis that sadly just closed down,college place(Stanford students) both are/were great hangout joints..
alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 12:57 pm

I watched that game Snarkk was talking about with Holland pitching and he was sharp in those 3 innings.
Right now the Giants have all the mojo going, and I believe Holland will ride that mojo from the other 2 starters and keep this great pitching/BP going.
Dogpile are frustrated and playing shitty all as well (4errors lol) their d is pathetic compared to how good the Giants is!! Let’s gets this 3rd straight one☝️ Go Giants!! Fuck LA!!
- Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 1:43 pm
  
  maybe the ring ceremony will spur them on!
  - alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 2:00 pm
    
    They can stick those rings where the sun don’t shine..
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 2:24 pm

Tonjght, the lineup we saw in ST against righties:
Panik
Belt
Etc.

Blanco gets the start over Jackson, and bats 8th. Would have been more fun seeing Duggar getting that start.

The Dodgers sit Seager already. That’s a red flag. He might still be hampered from injuries from last season.
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 2:31 pm

They’re piling on down in L.A. Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his MLS debut today for the LA Galaxy and scored an incredible goal, leading to this tweet:

#Zlatan has more goals than the #Dodgers have runs. https://t.co/VbvkoW0gLf

— Dylan Hernandez (@dylanohernandez) March 31, 2018
- zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 2:37 pm
  
  Ha! You and I were on the same wave-length there.
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 2:34 pm

Dodger reporter Stacie Wheeler: “Little did I know this is the only time the Dodgers would have the runs.”
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DZlnAS6UQAICnXg?format=jpg
- Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 2:56 pm
  
  Hahaha!
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 3:00 pm

Matt Moore’s Rangers debut: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6K. The only surprising stat is the zero walks.
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 3:12 pm

Trade rumor floating around: Ryan Braun to the Dodgers for Kemp + prospects.
- zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 3:15 pm
  
  Braun is not listed in the Brewers lineup tonight. Kemp is listed in the Dodgers’.
- Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 3:41 pm
  
  weird time of year for something like that to happen
  - zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 4:08 pm
    
    Dodger beat writer Mike Petriello just tweeted out:
    “This report has been floating around for months, never really from any of the notable rumormongers, and has never made a lick of sense, at all.”
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 4:11 pm

good news:

Samardzija: 20 pitches off a mound today, another ‘pen Tuesday, perhaps a 3-inning rehab game in minors this weekend. Possible the Giants only need to use a fill-in No. 5 starter once on April 10 before Shark returns.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) March 31, 2018
- snarkk said, on March 31, 2018 at 4:15 pm
  
  How do they go from one week ago that he’ll be out a month, to now he’s piready pitching off a mound? WTF?…
xoot said, on March 31, 2018 at 4:44 pm

Schulman makes a good point–wouldn’t it be great if Watson walked out tonight to get his l.a. ring?
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 4:56 pm

“#Brewers GM David Stearns broke from policy to shoot down Ryan Braun -Matt Kemp trade rumor.”
- zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 4:56 pm
  
  Ah, the baseball rumor mill….
Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 5:03 pm

Just make damn sure Shark is healthy before they bring him back.
pawliekokonuts said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:09 pm

‘we score we win’ is back
- Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:10 pm
  
  it never left….
pawliekokonuts said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:10 pm

I would love for the Giants to win the next two games 1-0 on Panik homers. Now THAT would be a singular drop of water in baseball’s tsunami of stats.
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:12 pm

It’s only the third game, but it appears new Phils skipper Gabe Kapler likes to change pitchers the way Hunter Pence likes to drink coffee.
- Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:13 pm
  
  and it sounds like the players aren’t really down with it. Phillies in danger or mutiny 3 games into the season? Yikes.
  - Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:47 pm
    
    I know a couple fans who ain’t too happy with him already.
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:12 pm

I’m interested in seeing Holland pitch. I didn’t watch a single second of spring games so this will be the first time I’ve seen him in years, outside of box scores.
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:19 pm

posey looked fucking awful in that at bat.
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:21 pm

Kruk says Holland goes “low to mid 90s”??? Uh, I gotta see that….
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:23 pm

hey, there’s 93. I didn’t know he had that in him
xoot said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:28 pm

Posey and Cutch both looked pretty bad in first ABs. Holland’s not fooling anyone so far.

Pavolic’s doing a pretty good job as beat writer. He was the first I saw to mention that Bochy last night became the first visiting manager to win 100 games at Chavez Latrine.
Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:28 pm

Holland looks like shit. Terrible location. Unless the Giants’ bats wake up, this one is over already.
Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:31 pm

Krukow keeps talking about adrenaline. Holland is a 9 year Major Leaguer. He makes it sound like it’s his first start.
alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:33 pm

Should of traded Kemp before the game.Yeah Holland’s look like shit.Needed that DP atleast..
Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:36 pm

Crawford has been waving at everything so far.
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:47 pm

Are you kidding me? Any flapper could have handled that hopper.
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 6:53 pm

Crazy stat from 1st half of Villanova-Kansas: ‘Nova 13-26 on 3s and only for 4-7 on 2-pointers.
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:09 pm

McCutchen had no chance to catch that ball, what the fuck was he doing? Fake hustle?
- blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:11 pm
  
  K and K saying be aggressive . . . STFU. ‘Cutch had zero chance.
- Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:13 pm
  
  Exactly, keep the damn thing in front of you and they get no run. Stupid.
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:10 pm

What an upgrade defensively at RF.
- Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:13 pm
  
  That was ugly. Let’s hope it was an aberration.
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:13 pm

Holland deserves better.
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:38 pm

Blanco still shoulda caught that
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:39 pm

This is one of those, What the hell were they doing in spring training games.
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:39 pm

Fucking Blanco. DFA him NOW!
alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:39 pm

Are you fucking kidding me??
Blanco&Cutch neither one wants a can of corn flyball???
Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:41 pm

What the fuck was McCutchen even doing in the vicinity. What an idiot. He was called off the play.
- alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:45 pm
  
  Yep Blanco totally called him off but then came up Blanko..
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:49 pm

Blanco’s the CF (he’s the field general) and he called him off . . . I have no problem with Cutch in the area. That’s all on Blanco.
- Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:58 pm
  
  He had to veer off at the last second because he was going for the ball, not backing up Blanco. He distracted Blanco, who still should’ve caught it, yes.
alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 7:53 pm

Kruk …Ron Wotus Yeah 1st year as a coach he was a 3rd base coach next 19 years a bench coach but he’s a good one at 3rd??
Wtf he hasn’t been their in 19 years but he’s a good one??
- Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:00 pm
  
  he did it for 7 years in the minors.
alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:01 pm

Longoria looks like shit.
- Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:02 pm
  
  Yes he does. Completely overmatched. Crawford too.
Lurker John said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:03 pm

Why did the Giants bring Blanco back again? Because they knew who he was?
- alleykat69 said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:10 pm
  
  Unfortunately Blanco’s 2 hits gives him another month in “The Giants way” philosophy..
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:07 pm

Sandoval in for defensive purposes? lqtm . . .
xoot said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:08 pm

hope Buster’s not hurt, but I’m sure Longoria’s out just to give him time to think
- Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:11 pm
  
  he did have that slide into second….maybe they want to let him play tomorrow? That’s probably not it, Buster’s day offs are pretty regimented….
blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:11 pm

Good play by ‘Cutch
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:13 pm

Longoria, as I thought at the start of the season, is going to probably scuffle for a while. I’m a little surprised he’s this bad right now but McCutchen is pretty awful too (maybe to take the heat off one another? lqtm)
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:14 pm

As we're discussing in the press box, Hundley was ready to go in. Maybe he's much more familiar with Pierce Johnson? Anyway, there was no visual sign of an injury with Posey. (Will ask anyway.)

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 1, 2018
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:39 pm

Well, so much for having an upgraded offense. The offense looks as old and tired as last season.
- blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:43 pm
  
  It’s early Zum . . . Even as pessimistic as I am about the team this season, I don’t think we’ll know anything definitive until the end of April/Mid-May.
  - zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:02 pm
    
    Yeah, I jumped on the gloom-train rather quickly there. 🙂
- xoot said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:47 pm
  
  right now the Giants are not at the bottom of mlb in HRs for the season. That’s a huge improvement over last year. But it’s early, right?
- blade3colorado said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:10 pm
  
  The pitching is holding up. Even Holland only allowed 3 earned runs in 5 innings. Bullpen was outstanding. The errors and zero offense killed us this evening.
Flavor said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:48 pm

Plus side! That's nine shutout innings for the Giants bullpen in three games. And Reyes Moronta was throwing the premium octane.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) April 1, 2018
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:48 pm

Gorkys just needs to go away.
xoot said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:49 pm

I have no idea if it can continue, but the pen this year so far looks a hundred times better than last year
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:57 pm

I was just hoping not to get swept in this series, and the Giants have already won two, so I can’t really complain.
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 8:58 pm

McCaw took a really hard fall just now vs. the Kings. A stretcher is being brought out.
- zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:00 pm
  
  Vince Carter undercut him.
Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:13 pm

Giants 0 for 2018 with RISP.
- djloo27 said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:16 pm
  
  Huh?
  - Macdog said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:18 pm
    
    2018 being the year, not the # of at-bats.
  - djloo27 said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:22 pm
    
    Sorry, of course. Hard to grasp that it’s 2018…
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:22 pm

I’ve always thought Blanco was overrated defensively. Gorkys, too. They’re not the wizards K&K keep saying they are.
djloo27 said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:25 pm

Happy Easter, everybody.
The Welcome Back Kotter theme always made me think of Jesus…
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:27 pm

On the radio pregame show, Fleming said it’s been calculated that the Giants’ April is the most difficult month any MLB team will face this season.
- djloo27 said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:51 pm
  
  Well, it’s kinda like strength of schedule in the NFL.
  It could change in hindsight…
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:30 pm

The depleted Warriors had an easy win vs. the Kings. I think the Kings have fully embraced high draft pick tank-mode.
PaulinAsia Banh Bao said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:37 pm

9 hits isn’t bad. New lineup just needs to improve its efficiency in stringing them together better….
- PaulinAsia Banh Bao said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:38 pm
  
  But I’m sorry, as long as both Blanco and Gorkys are on the 25-man roster, that’s just not a good sign.
  - djloo27 said, on March 31, 2018 at 9:52 pm
    
    You’re not the one who should be apologizing for it.
    It is horrendous, nevertheless…
zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:02 pm

Yelich had five hits tonight.
Bogarts has five doubles this season already.
Pretty impressive.
snarkk said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:29 pm

I saw the replay on MLB on that dropped fly ball to Blanco. I blame Cutch as much as Blanco. I don’t know why Cutch went by Blanco so closely, that was BS. Nonetheless, Blanco should have caught it. Didn’t really matter — Giants weren’t going to score tonight. Cutch and especially Longoria not looking good, I predicted Longoria would take some time to adjust to NL hurlers…
- zumiee said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:33 pm
  
  Cutch took the blame in postgame interviews, sort of. He said he needs to learn Blanco’s range and signals. Seems like that should have been worked out in ST, but whatever.
unca_chuck said, on March 31, 2018 at 10:35 pm

Has the right field curse struck again? Cutch looked fricking lost on the plays I saw. But I missed the last 4 innings. And that play you are talking about.