Results tagged ‘ Bengie Molina ’
Code Blue, Doctor
We traveled through a fog bank on the bay to get to
the ballpark today. It was eerie voyaging through the brief dewy density and
emerging into bright sunlight bathing the bayside cityscape on the other side. But the afternoon air was bracingly chilly and by the time the game against the Chicago
Cubs began in Thursday’s dying twilight, the fog was swirling into AT&T
Park reminiscent of night games at Candlestick Park played in the last millennium. And
dying, too, have been the Giants chances lately on reaching the playoffs this season. But
with ten games to go, the Giants are still just four games behind the Colorado
Rockies in the National league Wildcard Race.
Rightfielder Kosuke Fukudome smacked Brad Penny‘s
first offering up the middle for a solid single. But eight pitches later, shortstop
Andres Blanco hit into a routine 6-4-3 double play and first baseman Derek Lee
also grounded to shortstop Juan Uribe seven pitches after that to end the
inning. It was a good start to this ballgame. And in the bottom of the first,
the Giants got two hits. Unfortunately, Cubs manager Lou Pinella correctly
called a pitchout when leadoff hitter Eugenio Velez unsuccessfully attempted to
steal second base. Oh well. At least we’re hitting tonight. That’s a good sign.
Brad Penny got through the second inning with just a
two-out double but Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster got through the second inning
with just a two-out walk. Brad Penny got through the third inning giving up
just a single and a walk. The Giants went through the third three up, three
down.
Cubs leftfielder Micah Hoffpauir led off the fourth
inning with a double over the head of Aaron Rowand in centerfield and went to
third base on Mike Fontenot‘s single to John Bowker in leftfield. (Do the
Chicago Cubs own a French-Canadian pipeline to the Montreal baseball league or
something?) Micah Hoffpauir came into score the first run of the game on Jeff
Baker 4-6-3 double play ground ball.
The Giants answered in the fourth inning with a
two-out single by Juan Uribe followed by a screaming line drive double over the
head of Micah Hoffpauir in leftfield tying the score at one all. That was a
good sign as was the updated score on the rightfield wall showing the Padres
had tied the Rockies 3-3 in their game tonight.
From then on, Brad Penny bore down and got the next
twelve Cubs out in order (aided by a double play ending the eighth inning. In
contrast, John Bowker led off the seventh inning with a big home run into the rightfield Arcade. The Giants led 2-1 and the Padres were beating the Rockies
5-4 tonight. Everything seemed right tonight. The stars were aligning. All
things seemed possible.
And then the ninth inning happened. Enter Brian
Wilson. Derek Lee took a 2-2 slider leading off the ninth that looked like it
caught the outside corner. Umpire Brian Gorman called it ball three. Derek Lee walked
on the next pitch. But Brian got the Frenchies on a pair of pop ups so there
were two outs. Derek Lee stole second on the first pitch to third baseman Jeff
Baker spilling Eugenio Velez to the ground as he leaped to catch Bengie
Molina‘s high throw. After a second strike, Brian Wilson threw two balls. And
then, with the crowd cheering for once last strike, Jeff Baker sent the next
pitch deep in the leftfield bleachers for a 3-2 lead.
Everybody was dumbfounded. It was not supposed to
happen this way. And though Randy Winn and Travis Ishikawa were both able to
reach base in the bottom of the inning, Aaron Rowand and Freddy Lewis both
struck out on hard sliders ending our hopes tonight. But the patient is not
dead yet. The Giant is just flat lining a little bit. Maybe we can jump start
his heart tonight and get him back in the running to the finish line. Tony La
Russa and the St. Louis Cardinals will just have to help themselves (and us) by
winning the National League Championship on their own against the Rockies
tonight. Go Giants!
No Joy In Mudville
The Giants trail the Rockies by only 2.5 games this
Wednesday and a series sweep tonight would bring them a game closer with
sixteen games left to play in the season. And we have our 13-4 co-ace Matt Cain
facing the mile high boys and their 14-9 co-ace Jorge de la Rosa. I liked our
chances, especially when Matt escaped a two on, two out situation in the maiden
inning by getting Brad Hawpe with a ground out to second baseman Freddy
Sanchez.
However, I didn’t like our chances as much after
Jorge de la Rosa faced the minimum of Giants batters (twelve) over the first
four innings aided by an Edgar Renteria double play ending the second inning
and a Pablo Sandoval double play ending the fourth inning. Ouch. And shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki‘s solo home run leading off the fourth inning did not bode well
for the Giants. Nor did second baseman Clint Barmes‘ two out double driving in
catcher Yorvit Torrealba with the second run of that inning. Double ouch.
All in all, the Giants did not seem to be playing
with a sense of urgency tonight and the AT&T Park crowd also seemed a bit
complacent. The Giants did not help themselves when Edgar Renteria and Aaron
Rowand both struck out after Juan Uribe walked in the fifth inning. Oy. Nor
were their cause assisted when the top three of the Giants order all struck out
swinging after rightfielder Nate Schierholtz and pinch hitter Rich Aurilia
opened the sixth inning with a walk and a single, respectively. Double oy. So
when the Rockies hit back-to-back homers off of Matt Cain in the sixth inning
after two were already out, prospects for victory did not look good for the
hometown nine.
But trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning,
Freddy Sanchez, Pablo Sandoval, and Bengie Molina all led off with singles
followed by an error by Clint Barmes made the score 4-2 with nobody out. But
after Edgar Renteria popped up and Randy Winn grounded out to Todd Helton
thereby driving in the their run and pinch runner Eugenio Velez to third base
with the potentially tying run… mighty Nate Schierholtz struck out.
Somewhere children are playing. Elsewhere, people
shout. But tonight the Giants slipped behind the Rockies by 3.5 games again,
though we have neither time nor reason to pout because sixteen games remain to
be played this year. Go Giants!
Make Mine A Pastrami On Rye
Monday
the 14th. The Giants are 4.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies for
the NL Wild Card playoff position and the Rockies are coming into town today.
Hoo boy! Now is the time the Giants’ A-Team to break out their “A” game. Enter
Tim Lincecum.
Although
Tim walked lead off hitter Eric Young, Jr., he struck out centerfielder Carlos
Gonzalez and induced successive ground outs from the power bats of first
baseman Todd Helton and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to end the inning. However,
Rockies pitcher Josh Hammel threw two strike outs sandwiched around a Randy
Winn double to keep the game scoreless after an inning.
Tim Lincecum struck out the first two Rockies he
faced in the second inning to render the next walk and single he surrendered
meaningless when Josh Hammel popped up to shortstop Juan Uribe to end that
inning. And Josh Hammel did not fare so well in the bottom of the second
inning because Bengie Molina, Juan
Uribe, Travis Ishikawa, and Aaron Rowand began the festivities with consecutive
singles before lead off hitter Eugenio Velez drove in the third run with a
sacrifice fly to rightfielder Brad Hawpe.
Tim Lincecum escaped the third inning by again
sandwiching a walk and a single between two strikeouts. Bengie Molina then
answered that futile Rockies threat with a solo two out home run in the bottom
of the third. In the fourth inning, Tim Lincecum sandwiched a fly out to centerfielder Aaron Rowand between two strikeouts. And again in the fifth inning, Eric Young‘s single was also sandwiched between two strikeouts.
However, in both the sixth and seventh innings, Tim Lincecum served only allegorical open-faced sandwiches consisting of runners stranded due to two, identically nasty 84 mph strikeout pitches. All in all, it was a 117-serving of eleven total strikeouts by Tim Lincecum marred only by a Rockies run scoring on a pass ball that caused Todd Helton‘s two out walk in the seventh and last inning Tim Lincecum worked tonight.
n the meantime, it was fiesta time in the bleachers.
A delightful lady sitting behind me was constantly giving Carlos Gonzalez
coquettish “Carrrrrr-Loooooooos!” catcalls as he was stationed out in
centerfield followed by appropriate jeers of derision from fans all around us.
I even managed a well-timed, “Hey, que paso Carloscito?” Of course it helps to a secure lead when the
caterwauling begins.
And a secure 4-1 lead was locked up in the eighth
inning then the Giants earned three walks and three hits capped off by Eugenio
Velez‘s bases clearing triple for a 9-1 lead. By the ninth inning, it was all
over but the trip home. Fifteen of the Rockies’ 27 outs tonight came via the
strike out. Very impressive! The Giants are only 3.5 games out now. Go Giants!
Just Another Night At The Zoo
Take
one part Los Angeles Dodgers, throw in a good measure of pennant race fever,
add a warm Friday night, and mix it all together within an AT&T Park filled
with Giants fans and you’ve got yourself a potent potable (if not an outright
explosive substance). Enjoy! And I certainly intended to as I arrived to the
park at 4:30 to watch both teams take batting practice.
Matt
Cain did not start the game sharp. Although he got lead off hitter shortstop
Rafael Furcal out on a spectacular diving catch by Nate Schierholtz in
rightfield, rightfielder Andre Ethier hit a single to leftfielder Eugenio Velez
on a full count. And although the doubly hated and feared leftfielder Manny
Ramierez struck out looking at an 87 mph slider on a full count, centerfielder
Matt Kemp hit another single to left field. And then, when two out in the
inning, James Loney nailed a double over Nate Schierholtz‘s head and into
Triple’s Alley for a stand-up double and a two run Dodgers lead.
Tonight,
the Giants could not answer the Dodgers until the second inning when catcher
Bengie Molina led off with a single to leftfield followed on the next pitch
with a double into the right field corner by third baseman Juan Uribe sending
Bengie to third with no outs. Nate Schierholtz moved the runners over and the
first run on the board with a ground out Rafael Belliard at second base. But
Juan Uribe died at third when centerfielder Aaron Rowand impatiently swung at
two inside pitches from Hiroki Kuroda finally grounding out to Hiroki Kuroda at
third base and shortstop Edgar Renteria grounding out to his counterpart for
the last out. 2-1 would be as close the Giants would get to the Dodgers
tonight.
After
Matt Cain threw 31 pitches in the first inning, he threw 54 more from the
second through fifth innings giving up just two walks and a single to catcher
Casey Martin. During that span (from the third through the fifth innings) the
Giants went three-up, three down on just 29 pitches from crafty Hiroki Kuroda.
And
then the sixth inning happened. After getting the first two Dodgers out, James
Loney hit a home run for his third RBI of the game. That was as bad as Casey
Blake‘s home run just three pitches later for a 4-1 Dodgers lead. It’s
interesting to note that Matt Cain‘s second pitch to Casey Blake seemed to
catch much of the outer plate, thigh high; especially considering the strike
calls Hiroki had been enjoying.
I’m
not one to carp gratuitously on umpire’s calls but when a pattern of bias
appears to be established, I’m not shy about calling that fact out to the
responsible party. I asked home plate ump Brian Gorman where he was from.
Pacoima? Toluca Lake? When he did finally call a strike, I agreed that Matt’s
pitch was “right down El Segundo!” I know it’s obscure but if Brian was from
the Southland, he knew of which I spoke.
So
once Matt Cain was able to struggle through the rest of the Dodgers lines and
finally get the final out with a strike out against Hiroki Kuroda, he was
lifted in the bottom of the inning for Fred Lewis who could only manage to
ground out five feet to the catcher for the first out. The next two batters
were also dispatched on five pitches and the Dodgers lead stayed 4-1.
And
then the seventh inning happened. The first three Dodgers in the line up all
singled against reliever Merkin Valdez for a 5-1 lead. When Merkin walked Matt
Kemp to load the bases, he was lifted for Bob Howry. No “Neuvo Roberto” this
night. After a sacrifice fly by James Loney for a 6-1 lead, Casey Blake hit a
single and Russell Martin hit a double for a 9-1 lead by the time Hiroki Kuroda
struck out again to end the inning again.
At
this point, the only thing to do is to have fun… or fight. And, although there
were plenty of rumbles in the bleachers in the late inning causing security
personnel and uniformed policepersons scurrying all around the premises, my
section stayed relatively calm. There were a couple of elder “vato-ish” sitting
to my left but the just laughed off some of the comments directed at them. And
when the slaughter was in full flower, I shushed at them while they laughed and
celebrated at us warning then, “Those are the last runs you’re going to score
this weekend! You’d better enjoy them!” And there was another big, large
Dodgers fan with a 99 Ramirez jersey on who would stand up and taunt us at not
so crucial moments to which the funny, drunk young man would retort, “When are
you due, Manny?” Sit down before your baby drops!” “You shouldn’t be drinking
beer while you’re pregnant, Manny!”
In
the top of the eighth, Bruce Bochy finally treated us to a glimpse of the
future. He started the inning with this substituted lineup: Eugenio Velez LF;
Rich Aurilia 3B; Travis Ishikawa 1B; Kevin Frandsen 2B; Joe Martinez P; Nate
Schierholtz RF; John Bowker 1B; Ryan Rohlinger SS; and… Buster Posey catching!
This is what I had been waiting all season long to see. And although Joe
Martinez gave up the 10th Dodgers run with a walk to Manny Ramirez
and a double to Matt Kemp (all with two out), the young Giants answered with
their second run of the night when John Bowker triples into Triples Alley and
scored on Ryan Rohlinger‘s ground out.
But
Buster Posey struck out looking at a 94 mph fastball from Hiroki Kuroda to end
the inning and end his maiden at bat in the big leagues. And the Dodgers scored
their tenth run in the top of the ninth inning to lead 10-2 which is only
notable to mention because, in the bottom of the ninth with the crowd clearly
things, a gaggle of pre-teen girls gathered behind me to jump, yell, scream,
dance, and chant to their hearts’ delight. They call out to now centerfielder
Eugenio Velez if they could meet Aaron Rowand. And in the bottom of the ninth,
they invented the chant, “NINE IN THE NINTH!!! … NINE IN THE NINTH!!! … NINE IN THE
NINTH!!!” It was not only humorous, it even worked to the extent the Giants got yet another run on a two out rally no less via a single by Travis ishikawa followed by a double by Kevin Frandsen off of reliever Ramon Troncoso to make the final score of the night 10-3.
Those young ladies also represent the future of the Giants franchise insofar as if their enthusiasm in this dynamic product can be sustained for another two or more years with exciting playoff-caliber baseball, they and their fellow youthful “demographic” will imprint a fertile, growing fan base that will sustain the ball club throughout the next generation to come.
The Rockies won last night. The Giants’ prospects are slipping. But through it all, the Giants fans are remaining true and loyal. We fans like this team. It has character we can identify with and believe in. And if it is not meant to happen in 2009, it will get better in 2010. Go Giants!
It Was The Worst Of Times…
…
and even the worster of times. It was a day game after a night game and we were
still playing the lowly Padres who haven’t played so lowly lately, and
especially against the Giants this season. The crowd was sparse this Wednesday
afternoon giving me (and the rest of the bleacher fans) the chance to spread
out like we used to do at Candlestick Park and soak in the sunshine. Barry Zito
was throwing the longest long toss I’ve ever seen him throw warming up and I
shouted to him that the date was 9-9-9 and anything could happen hoping to give
him visions of great possibilities.
But,
alas it was not meant to be. The first batter of the game, shortstop Everth
Cabrera grounded down the right field line but after Pablo Sandoval speared the
ball running into foul ground, he turned to throw it to Barry covering first
but Barry was nowhere close to the bag and Pablo had to eat the ball. So it was
only natural that first baseman Adrian Gonzalez later banged out a single thereby driving in
the first run of the game.
And
Everth Cabrera later walked to lead off the third inning (after having an 0-2
count) and came into score the Padres’ second run just ahead of Adrian
Gonzalez‘ third run (and third RBI) via a home run blast into the leftfield bleachers
for a 3-0 lead.
Valiantly,
the Giants immediately answered the Padres in the bottom of the third inning with
rightfielder Nate Schierholtz‘s one-out single to the opposite (left) field off
of soft tossing rookie pitcher Wade LeBlanc followed by lead off hitter Andres
Torres‘ home run over the centerfield wall to make it 3-2.
But
the Giants could not get any closer. A no out, two on situation in the fourth
inning died when Edgar Renteria hit a routine 6-4-3 double play to close out
the inning.
The
Giants couldn’t get another runner on base until the eighth inning which, by
that time, they trailed 4-2 on the strength of Oscar Salazar‘s solo home run
leading off the sixth inning.
Beginning
the eighth inning, both Aaron Rowand and Nate Schierholtz drew walks off of
Wade LeBlanc which kicked him out of the game and brought in reliever Luke
Gregerson. Manager Bruce Bochy then sent up the seemingly star-crossed rookie Kevin
Frandsen (just brought up again from AAA Fresno) to bunt the batters over. But with a 3-1 count, Kevin inexplicably flicked a bunt attempt at Luke Gregerson‘s inside pitch while simultaneously running
towards first as if he was going to try and beat it out for a base hit. But all he did was pop the the ball
up high to third baseman Chase Headley for the first out of the inning.
The
crowd booed lustily as well they should. Part of it was for Frandsen’s
inability to execute a simple sacrifice bunt but I also think part of it was directed to manager Bruce
Bochy‘s decision to send the relatively inexperienced Kevin Frandsen up in a
crucial situation when he had many more experienced players on the expanded
bench to choose from. Heck, I would’ve liked to have seen Buster Posey up there to swing away
instead.
The
air was well out of the crowd by the time Eugenio Velez (pinch hitting for
Andres Torres who had already hit a home run today, fergoshdarnsakes) struck
out on a slider at his back foot. And Freddy Sanchez‘s popup to the shortstop
to end the eighth inning did nothing to calm down the crowd.
However,
to their credit, the Giants battled back again in the ninth inning off of Padres
closer Heath Bell when Pablo Sandoval lead off the inning with a line drive up the middle.
But at first base he stayed while Bengie Molina flied out to deep rightfield, Juan
Uribe struck out, and Edgar Renteria forced Panda out a second with a routine
grounder to shortstop.
So
the Giants drifted further back from the Rockies in the Wild Card Race today. But at
least there were pretty girls in the stands to brighten my mood a smidge and we now have the Dodgers and Rockies coming in next. So just when you think the
2009 Giants are out of it, they seem to have the knack to pick themselves off of the
ground and crawl back into contention. We shall see….
It should be very interesting weekend. Go Giants!
Welcome To The Show, Mr. Bumgarner
It was 4:00. I was at work. KNBR announced Madison Bumgarner was going to make his
major league debut in place of the ailing Tim Lincecum tonight. I couldn’t miss this
historic event! So I locked up the gates at 4:55 (five minutes early) and sped
home to pick up my game day knapsack (pre-packed with scorecard, mitt, peanuts,
camera, sweatshirt, clackers, tickets, etc.) and got to the 5:35 ferry with
five minutes to spare. Like myself, the Giants’ future was arriving at AT&T
Park tonight. The only thing better would have been if they allowed his AA
Connecticut Defenders battery mate, Buster Posey, to make his major league
debut simultaneously. But we are in the middle of a wild card playoff race so
that was not meant to be.
As
he strode out onto the field at 7:12 to take the mound, I could tell the young
lefty was a tall drink of water… and it had to be water because, at 20 years
old, he was too young to drink alcohol! Madison “Mad Man” Bumgarner threw a
called strike for his maiden pitch followed by three balls and then another
strike before Padres shortstop Everth Cabrera finally swung at the sixth pitch
and bounced the ball back to “Mad Dog” who knocked it down, picked it up, and
calmly threw to Pablo Sandoval at first base for the out and an auspicious
beginning to his big league career. Similarly, second baseman David Eckstein
hit the seventh pitch of his long at bat out to right field where Randy Winn
caught it and first baseman Andre Gonzalez ground the next pitch down to Freddy
Sanchez at second base for the last out of the first inning of the rest of his
life (to counterfeit a phrase).
To
help the under-aged rookie out, Pablo Sandoval started a two-out rally in the
bottom of the first with a double to the rightfield corner followed by catcher Bengie
Molina‘s seven-pitch single also into rightfield for a 1-0 lead. But “MB” gave
up the lead in the next inning when leftfielder Chase Headley took the
“Bumster” deep into the leftfield bleachers for a 1-1 tie. And then again, the
Giants got “M-Bum” the right back in the bottom of the second with
centerfielder Aaron Rowand‘s solo home run straight over the fence of his
“stomping grounds”. This time, “BumBum” held the 2-1 lead in the next (third)
inning but then lost it again when third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff pumped a solo
home run high into the left field bleachers leading off the fourth inning.
However, again like clockwork, the Giants answered immediately in the bottom of
the inning when Aaron Rowand led off with a single, took second base on
shortstop Edgar Renteria‘s ground out to Kouzmanoff, and finally scored on
leftfielder Eugenio Velez‘s line drive single off the glove of David Eckstein
for a 3-2 lead. This time, “The Future” protected the lead until Giants manager
Bruce Bochy took “B-Geezy” out after Adrian Gonzalez flied deeply to Aaron
Rowand to lead off the sixth inning. “He-To-Be-Nicknamed-Later” strode off the
field to a standing ovation.
It
would have been a fairy tale ending had the score not changed from 3-2 that
night, But, alas, the baseball gods were not so benevolent to the young phenom.
And why should they be? He was young and had to be taught the cruel and
heartless ways of the majors. Hey, at least he didn’t suffer a loss in his
debut the way Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain did when they started their first
major league games. Working his second inning in relief, Brandon Medders gave
up a long home run to centerfielder Will Venable that worked itself deep into
the right-centerfield bleachers for a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning. And to add
insult to injury, the usually reliable Jeremy Affeldt gave up three straight
singles to Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Chase Headley leading off the eighth inning
giving the Padres the first lead of the night at 4-3 and although Jeremy
pitched nobly to staunch the bleeding by leaving the bases loaded when he
finally got the third out (helped mainly by a leaping snow cone catch by Freddy Sanchez off the bat of catcher Nick Hundley for the second out),
the damage was done and it was irreparable. The Giants could not score another
run this night.
The
crowd was lively out in the bleachers. The mood was festive. We had won
yesterday’s game and were keeping up with the Rockies. But by the time the
Giants lost Madison Bumgarner‘s lead in the seventh inning, the mindset had
turned dourer. Some fans behind me even jeered at Aaron when he resumed his
positioning the seventh after grounding out to Everth Cabrera “Way to ground out,
Aaron!” (and there wasn’t even anyone on base at the time). I shouted back,
“Hey, he’s already scored two runs!” I don’t know why some “backbenchers” tend
to get on him, except he does tend to hit fly outs when I would rather see line
drives. I even stood up in the bottom of the ninth when reliever Bobby Howry‘s
name was announced to local rumblings and shouted to the crowd behind me
something along the lines of “Hey, why don’t we cheer Bobby Howry?” and the
Cassandra cry answered, “Because he gives up too many game ending home runs!”
(which is true) but I retorted, “Not tonight. He’s Nuevo Roberto!” which also
was true because he retired the Padres in short order (and even hit Adrian
Gonzalez on the thigh for good measure).
But
we lost 4-3. It was not meant to be. As I was packing up, a fan in a Giants
jersey came down to sit down next to me and silently rest his head on my
shoulder as if to say, “Nice try but it’s over now.” I mumbled some words like
“It’s alright.” After a moment we stood up, exchanged a silent bro-hug, and
departed. It seemed appropriate. It was a bad loss. But the deed was done and
there was nothing any of us could do but get our daubers up and look to
tomorrow. Go Giants!
I’m Stuck On A Feeling… High On Believing
It
was Randy Johnson Bobblehead Day so I got to the ballpark early to make sure I
collected my prize. The fog crept in overnight on its catlike feet surprising
me in my t-shirt and shorts as I took my place in line opposite the Willie
McCovey statue on the other side of his cove. The Giants Open Hand Charity 10-K
Run celebration was in full swing with booths, runners, and a loud disco cover
band who later sang the National Anthem (see pictures) got the party started
early this Sunday morning. To tell the truth, I was still hurting from my vain
attempt to catch Aaron Rowand‘s ball last Wednesday that he threw after
warm-ups just out of my reach and into the breezeway below. As a leaned to my
fullest extent over the railing, I re-injured my ribs again from the physical
starin. Ah, the vagaries of growing old.
So
I sat through the first few innings watching the Rockies run Matt Cain ragged
on the mound by getting multiple runners on base in every inning of the game
except the second (none) and sixth (one). In contrast, I watched the Giants
reward Rockies pitcher Jason Hammels by finishing the first five innings on
only 42 pitches albeit with one run scored on consecutive singles opening the
fourth inning followed by a sacrifice fly by rightfielder Nate Schierholtz. But
when big Nate came up again in the sixth inning with runners on second and
third trailing 4-2 and no outs, manager Bruce Bochy pinched hit for him with gimpy
Bengie Molina who struck out and the Giants didn’t score in that frame.
Truthfully, my mindset was resigned to failure this day as the Rockies were
roaring back fighting against a series sweep with back-to-back homers by first
baseman Todd Helton and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki the inning before. It seemed
the Giants were primarily concerned getting to the plane for Philadelphia ASAP
today after the game.
However,
the miracle began as the sun came out in the bottom of the seventh inning as
the Giants loaded the bases with only one out before leftfielder Eugenio Velez
struck out swinging. So when shortstop Edgar Renteria sent a high fly ball down
the leftfield line, I fully expected it to drift foul. It didn’t. The Giants
led the game 6-5. Even then I expected the Rockies to rebound in the next two
innings and third baseman Ian Stewart‘s lead off double against Jason Affeldt
affirmed my fears. But miraculously, the Rockies stranded runners on first and
third as Affeldt struck out pinch hitter Garrett Atkins and centerfielder
Carlos Gonzalez to end the threat.
I
finally began to believe when the Giants added three more runs in the bottom of
the eighth so that when Brian Wilson allowed two more Rockies to reach base in
the ninth inning, I still expected the Giants to win. They didn’t disappoint. I
was very happy to be wrong that day. The Giants tied the Rockies in the wild
card race. I didn’t even mind to discover that Randy Johnson‘s head was
detached from his springy neck when I got home later. I mended him with some
rubber cement and placed him on my computer. Randy Johnson and I will soon mend
our injuries and persevere. Go Giants!
A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight
It
was a warm, muggy day in San Francisco. It was enough to make one believe in
the reality of global warming… or that one was, in reality, in Miami instead.
But the Rockies were in San Francisco this Friday to continue their recent
dominance they demonstrated in mile-high Coors Field last week. The Giants were
trailing the expansionist Rockies by two games in the National League Wildcard
Race for the 2009 playoffs. So is the Giants were ever going to do anything to
correct that situation, tonight was a good place to start and the Giants had
their ace Tim Lincecum matched against Ubaldo Jimenez. Both pitchers had won
twelve games this season.
One
thing I noticed right off the bat when the game started was the Giants had
their in-stadium radar gun turned off. I’m sure this was in response to
suspicions that the Rockies had jiggered their radar gun to make low readings
when Tim Lincecum pitched in Denver last week. Or maybe it was because Tim’s
stuff has not been as fast lately as it was in the beginning of the season?
Whatever. Tim struck out the first two Rockies he faced this evening. He also
struck out two Rockies in the second inning while catcher Eli Whiteside threw
Troy Tulowitzki out at second base trying to steal. In fact, Eli Whiteside
threw Troy Tulowitzki out at second base in the fourth inning trying to steal
again. Although Tim didn’t have his good, hard, unhittable stuff tonight, he
did battle through somewhat spotty control to prevent the eight Rockies runners
who got on base in the first eight innings from scoring.
Meanwhile,
Ubaldo Jimenez was proving to be better as he allowed Giants onto the base
paths by the bushel load: three in the first; two in the second; two in the
fourth; and yet, like Lincecum, Jimenez didn’t allow any giants to score
either. But it all changed in the fifth inning. Like in the eighth inning two
nights ago, the first two batters up got out (and strike outs) and the clean-up
hitter came up and got two strikes on him. And like pinch hitter Bengie Molina
did Wednesday night, third baseman Pablo Sandoval hit a home run into the
leftfield bleachers to put the Giants ahead by a run: 1-0. Only tonight, Pablo
hit his home run left-handed to the opposite field. Quite an impressive feat!
The
Giants added another run in the sixth inning when Eli Whiteside drew a one-out
walk, was sacrificed to second base by Tim Lincecum, and came around to score
when lead off hitter leftfielder Eugenio Velez slapped a single into right for
a 2-0 lead. But the Giants also got a runner to third with less than two outs
in the first, fourth, and eighth innings but were unable to score. Nonetheless,
Tim Lincecum pitched superbly for his thirteenth win thereby leaving Ubaldo
Jimenez to absorb is tenth loss of the season by the time closer Brian Wilson
came in on Irish Heritage night and picked up his 31st save of the
season.
But
the game was not without its quirks and dramas like second baseman Juan Uribe
hitting a five-foot double in the fourth inning that landed untouched in front
of the plate or centerfielder Aaron Rowand taking a fastball high off the left
shoulder to lead off the second innings. In fact, it was the first game I was able to watch in San Francisco wearing only a t-shirt all night long. Weird! While the Giants fans were into every pitch, the Rockies fans couldn’t have been nicer. That’s because there were no
Rockies fans in the bleachers! I think Rockies Nation is more like a hamlet. It
was a great game and tonight’s should be no different. Go Giants!
Never Before Seen, Ladies and Gentlemen!
It
was a beautiful, sunny Wednesday afternoon out at the end of the South Beach
Harbor Pier as crabbers tossed their nets into the bay and strollers walked and
rolled baby buggies along the gray concrete causeway. The mellow ambience
followed into AT&T Park where I watched the end of the Giants batting
practice and the entirety of Diamondbacks warm up session. They didn’t hit too
many home runs into the stands except Mark Reynolds who consistently lofted bombs
into the stands. What surprised me later was that Diamondbacks manager A. J.
Hinch chose not to play that owner of 38 round trippers this evening.
But
it may have mattered not the way the game began. Jonathan Sanchez threw two
straight strikes to lead off hitter second baseman Ryan Roberts who then turned
around the next pitch pumping it into the left field stand. The anomalies
continued when Jonathan struck out the next batter, third baseman Augie Ojeda,
on a wild pitch in the dirt and to the backstop. But catcher Eli Whiteside got
to it in plenty of time to throw out the tardy runner at first except that he
short-armed a lollypop throw that bounced in front and then beyond first
baseman Ryan Garko. After shortstop Stephan Drew fouled out to third baseman Ryan
Rohlinger (who was making his first appearance thise season), Augie Ojeda stole
second base on Jonathan’s second pitch to rightfielder Justin Upton (who was
making his first appearance since coming off the injured list) and kept
motoring to third base on Eli Whiteside‘s second throwing error of the inning.
However, Jonathan Sanchez promptly struck out both Justin Upton and catcher
Miguel Montero with his next five pitches and the bleeding was staunched.
On
the other hand, the Giants could barely produce a scratch on Diamondback
pitcher Doug Davis who mowed through the first two innings on nineteen pitched
and a Ryan Rohlinger double play. He needed only eleven pitches to finish the
third inning despite two out singles by Jonathan Sanchez and leftfielder Eugenio
Velez. He then needed only six pitches to get through the heart of the Giants
batting order in the fourth inning. The game was moving fast and seemed to be
moving away from the Giants. In fact, the Giants didn’t get their next hit
until the seventh inning when second baseman Juan Uribe blasted a two out home
run deep into the left field bleachers that finally gave the Giants fans
something to cheer about.
Juan
Uribe‘s seventh inning home run would have tied the game up were it not for the
fact that Jonathan Sanchez walked Justin Upton on four pitches with one out in
the sixth inning and, after striking out Miguel Montero for the third time in
the game, was ordered to intentionally walk rookie first baseman Rusty Ryal
which I thought was a curious decision by Giants manager Bruce Bochy since Jonathan
was far from pinpoint in his control that night. Consequently, the Diamondbacks
increased their lead to 3-0 with successive singles by rookie leftfielder
Gerardo Parra and centerfielder Alex Romero before Doug Davis struck out on
three pitches.
It
was a credit to Jonathan Sanchez that he limited the Diamondbacks to just three
runs when he left the game before the eighth inning. He fought through errors,
wildness, and a high pitch count (108) to keep the Giants in the game by the
time reliever Justin Miller took over. He got through the middle of the
Diamondbacks order as a ballhawk sold me an autographed team ball of the 2008
Diamondbacks (including Randy Johnson) for just $40. Such a deal.
And
then the old adage “When you go to a baseball game, you’ll see something you’ve
never seen before” invoked itself. With Doug Davis cruising along in the eighth
inning on eighty-eight pitches and two outs in the book, he walked shortstop
Edgar Renteria on a full count and then rightfielder Randy Winn blooped a
single into rightfield on his first pitch. At that point, A.J. Hinch brought in
his closer Chad Qualls to face clean up man Ryan Garko but Bruce Bochy
countered by bringing in his normal but injured clean up hitter Bengie Molina.
It seemed all for naught when Bengie got two quick strikes on his. But while
the crowd cheered and I was pondering which pitcher Bruce Bochy would bring in
to pinch run for Bengie in the event he should get on base, Bengie Molina swung and
sent a flyball deep into leftfield that kept going… and kept going… and barely
cleared the leftfield fence for a three run homer and a 4-3 lead. The crowd
went absolutely wild.
And
then I saw something I had not seen before… at least something I can’t remember
the last time I saw it: A Giants closer came into the ninth inning and
protected a one run lead for the victory by throwing seven pitches… and all
strikes! And the closer was Brandon Medders getting the first save of his five-year career. Perhaps the Giants have turned this thing around. Maybe their mojo has
changed for the better. Could it be we will catch up to the Rockies? And there I
go believing again. I know it would be too good to be true. But wouldn’t it be fun if it
did happen? Go Giants!
A Crisis Of Faith
Reality
slapped me hard in the face this week. It was the Reality of the eventual fate
of our Giants’ hard-fought 2009 season. Specifically, it ruthlessly slapped my
metaphorical jowls last Friday when the Giants’ bullpen could not protect a 5-3
lead for Tim Lincecum‘s win. The Giants lost 10-5 after giving up five runs on
only one hit. Ouch! And that harsh realization was strongly reinforced last
Sunday when I watched Tim Cain‘s lackluster 5-2 loss to the comparatively
lowly, injured-riddled Cincinnati Reds from the plush comfort from my living
room couch rather that dragging my old, battered, sagging and sore body out to
cook in the blazing afternoon aluminum bleachers-reflected sun as I originally
had intended to before logic and reason was unmercifully imparted
intra-epidermally into the nether reaches of my until-then stubborn and hopeful
gray (and orange) matter that makes up a significant part of my unseen nervous
oblongata. And what (un)prodded me not to utilize my sole season ticket to
venture forth and claim my Giants Trading Cards Day prize was that I had come
to the personal realization that the Giants’ most improbable 2009 run had final
run its due course this year.
Let
me back, back, back track (with due apology to ESPN’s Chris Berman) to my youth
and state that based upon my personal experience as a Giants fan since I first
saw them over fifty years ago in Seals Stadium, I’ve seen this scene many times
before. Many seemingly strong and healthy Giants teams have faded on me late in
the summer as the other National League teams are making the home turn and
start sprinting for the October finish line. A stumble here, a falter there,
and the Giants slip back in the pack inexorably hobbled eventually to limp
nobly into Fan Appreciation Day.
Make
no mistake. I am not bitter. Nor am I particularly disappointed. In Spring, the
Giants were not expected to be doing this well this far into the season but I
bought a single season ticket nonetheless expecting something Tim Cain‘s lackluster 5-2 loss to the comparatively lowly, injured-riddled Cincinnati Reds
extraordinary might happen and something extraordinary did: Tim Lincecum, Matt
Cain, Pablo Sandoval, Jonathan Sanchez, and Nate Schierholtz to name a few. But
the tell tale signs of cracks in the engine are beginning to show. Randy Winn
is finishing his Giants career both weakly and inconsistently unfortunately.
Bengie Molina is still swinging hard but is either missing or pooping up (until
recently!). And ersatz rookie Pablo Sandoval is hitting only singles now
intermittently. And the temporary lift that the new additions Ryan Garko and
Freddy Sanchez provided the club when they first arrived this month were short
lived and mostly gone now.
So
it has come to this. Jonathan Sanchez pitched a very fine game last night if
you don’t count the fourth inning. His no hitting-vaunted arm slot inexplicably
slid down into an arm “slop” that one inning as he walked two batters before
allowing rightfielder Matt Kemp to clear the bases on a double that leftfielder
Fred Lewis all-too-typically had trouble digging out of the corner. Oh, the
Giants did hold their heads up high as first baseman Travis Ishikawa and
catcher Bengie Molina hit solo home runs both early and late in the game for a
4-2 loss. But it was too little too early and too late. No one was on. Nor was
I sitting in the bleachers. It was fun being a spectator listening to the
chatter of female Dodgers fans sitting behind me all night long. And there was
the spectacle of Giants-Dodgers fights always in play as the Dodgers protect
their lead in these home night games. But in my heart-of-Giants-fan-hearts, I
know this season is over for all practicable purposes.
I
hope I am wrong. I’d like to be surprised. But barring some miraculous
September turn around caused by the call up of rookies like catcher Buster
Posey and pitcher Tim Bumgarner and perhaps others, we will be watching the
collective behinds of the Rockies, Cubs, Cardinals, Marlins, and (baseball-gods-forbid)
Brewers finishing the season ahead of us. Ah, Cassandra cries and Giants fans
cry. But I will keep my dauber up and support my Giants as I continue to enjoy
this most improbable of seasons here. Go Giants!
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