Results tagged ‘ Dodgers ’
A Bright And Shiny New Penny
I
was one of those conspiracy nuts who thought Tim Lincecum‘s “injury” was just
meant to push his start back to the Dodgers so the Giants could avoid Brad
Penny‘s start against his former team and avoid an escalation of the boisterous
behavior he exhibited against the Padres last Monday. But I was wrong. Tim
Lincecum really was hurt. And I listened to the radio commentators who
predicted Brad Penny would blow up against the Dodgers in the game he’d pitch
on Sunday instigated in part by his proximity to the always-verbal Larry Bowa in the Dodgers third base coaching box. But they were wrong. Brad Penny kept
his cool on a cool Sunday afternoon.
It
was a cloudy day on Sunday. The forecast even predicted rain later in the day.
I got there early to get my Giants Rivalry Cap which had “Beat L.A.” printed on
back. It was cool so I’m going to make it my game day hat from now on. Mike
Krukow‘s daughter, Tess Krukow, sang a nice, simple, slightly country-swingish version
of the National Anthem which was pretty cool. And to top it all off, our newest
ex-Dodger that we now like to like pitched six straight scoreless innings
against his former team mates to begin the game and that was an extra chilly,
freon-free cool! So the sellout crowd of 40,575 was in a pretty good mood when
shortstop Juan Uribe hit a two run homer that just barely cleared the leftfield
wall in the bottom of the second inning.
IThe
Giants scored another run in the fourth inning when rightfielder Nate
Schierholtz started off with a double followed by Juan Uribe‘s single and first
baseman Travis Ishikawa‘s double all into rightfield for a 3-0 lead.
And although second baseman Freddy Sanchez and leftfielder Randy Winn opened the fifth inning with singles to leftfield, third baseman Pablo Sandoval effectively ended the threat with an odd double play started by second baseman Rafael Belliard‘s throw to shortstop Rafael Furcal to force out Randy Winn before Rafael Furcal then pivoted and threw a strike to catcher Russell Martin who threw out Freddy Sanchez at home by plenty.
But the Giants batted around in the sixth inning when the first three Giants (Juan Uribe, Travis Ishikawa, and catcher Eli Whiteside) all singled off of Dodgers pitcher Jeff Weaver before leadoff hitter Andres Torres walked in a run, new reliever Ronald Bellasario wild pitched in another and then Freddy Sanchez drove in the last with a single to make it a 7-0 lead.
Although the Dodgers scored two runs in the next inning when Russell Martin blasted a two run homer off of his former battery mate, Brad Penny. But the die was cast and the Giants fled past the Dodgers to salvage a game in the series and get ready for the Rockies coming into town. 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!
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!
If A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words…
… then let these pictures constitute 36,000 words describing the Giants’ 4-2 loss to the Dodgers Monday night:
Round Pegs Meet Round Holes
It’s a nice day for a ballgame. It’s neither too cold nor too windy. I bought my repast and refreshments before getting on the ferry to the city. Outside the ballpark, I had a leisurely lunch reading the new issue of the USA Sports Weekly and listening to “The Razor and Mr. T” on the local sports radio station. I learned from Manny Pacquiao‘s trainer that Manny will probably knock out Ricky Hutton before the ninth round next Saturday. We shall see.
The gates opened to the public at 5:15 p.m. and I went in to watch the Dodgers take batting practice. Standing at the outfield wall with his young son was this middle aged white-bearded white guy wearing a Dodgers uniform and artificial Mannyesque dreadlocks under his blue batting helmet. He shouted at Matt Kemp to throw him up a souvenir baseball but Matt just laughed at him and threw the baseball up towards another group of fans. As the faux Manny father took his son and walked back up the bleachers, I seriously considered whether it was my civic duty to report this man to Protective Child Services so that they could rescue that poor little boy and put him safely away in a foster home for mercy’s sake.
Tonight was the first time Boy Wonder (Tim Lincecum) would pitch against Bat—-Crazy Man (Manny Ramirez). Adding to the zaniness was Dodgers manager Joe Torre‘s decision to bat his pitcher Eric Stults eighth in batter order before Juan Pierre. Not since Dodgers manager Walter Alston batted hall of fame pitcher Don Drysdale seventh against the Pittsburgh Pirates had any Dodgers pitcher ever begun a game batting higher than ninth in the order. And Don Drysdale went on to hit seven home runs, a triple, and nineteen RBIs in 1965. Eric Stults has only has nine hits and two RBIs in his four years in the majors. (And not only did Don Drysdale not get a hit in that game but he ended up getting charged with the 4-2 loss.) I suspect Joe Torre is pulling a gimmick trying to get inside young Tim Lincecum’s head.
The mercurial Rafael Furcal came up and shot Lincecum’s first pitch of the game to the opposite side of the diamond where third baseman Pablo Sandoval snagged it out of the air on its way to left field. Them the methodical Orlando Hudson looked at a pitch but then clubbed a grounder down the first base line where Rich Aurilia short-hopped it before it could continue to the outfield corner and stepped on first for the second out. And finally, the mysterious Manny Ramirez also looked at a pitch before he stroked the next offering to the opposite field where rookie Nate Schierholtz rushed in to catch the sinking liner below the knees with two hands for the third out. Five pitches for three outs was a good omen to start off a game.
The Giants soon amplified that positive portent when Edgar Renteria hit a single to right field with one out and Pablo Sandoval followed suit with a single to left field. And then Bengie Molina cashed them all in with a deep fly ball to centerfield that bounced high off the wall and past Juan Pierre for a triple. Bengie Molina has only hit five triples in his twelve-year career. That is not to say that Bengie is a slow runner but this fly ball was a true thing of beauty to behold. And so was the Giants’ 2-0 lead after the first inning.
Over the next six innings, Tim Lincecum struck out seven swinging Dodgers (six on slow 85 mph change ups) and gave up no runs on three hits and two bases on balls. Meanwhile, the Giants battered Eric Stults for five runs in the initial three innings on more hits by Edgar Renteria, Aaron Rowand, Nate Schierholtz, and Emmanuel Burriss. When Fred Lewis walked with two outs in the sixth inning and came around to score the Giants’ sixth run on Edgar Renteria‘s double to centerfield in the sixth inning, the Giants fans couldn’t have been happier and the Dodgers fans couldn’t have been quieter. And then Bengie Molina led off the seventh inning with a home run into the bleachers and all was right with the world.
But then the world began to spin off its axel and the center was unable to hold. The Dodgers led off the eighth inning with three straight hits scoring Juan Pierre for their first run. Then Lincecum walked Ramirez on five pitches to load the bases and the 2008 Cy Young winner’s night was finished. In came lefty Jeremy Affeldt and, on his very first pitch, induced the ever-dangerous Andre Ethier to hit a sharp grounder to substitute third baseman Juan Uribe who stepped on the bag and threw to first base in time for a double play. Although substitute Dodgers catcher Brad Ausmus drove in Manny Ramirez with the second run with a single, Affeldt won his six pitch battle with Casey Blake when Juan Uribe leaned over the railing at the stand and caught his foul ball for the last out of the eighth inning.
However, the Dodgers fans began to get very vocal through all this. And the Giants fans began to get very demonstrative in their response. And the policemen were running up and down the bleacher stands with ballpark security personnel in tow leading miscreants and misfeasors by the dozens down the stands, through the exits and out of the stadium in their individual walk of shame as the pictures below detail.
But the Giants righted the listing ship in the bottom of the eighth inning primarily on the strength of htting by Edgar Renteria, Juan Uribe, Bengie Molina, and Aaron Rowand inability to duck out of the way of a Guillermo Mota shoulder high hard slider. The picture below shows Emmanuel Burriss up with the bases loaded before he eventually struck out on a 93 mph Mota fastball. So even when Brian Wilson drew out the drama in the ninth inning with a run on a couple of hits, the Dodgers finally succumbed at 10:15 p.m. to a score of 9 -3. I slept well last night. The Giants were able to end April with an even 10-10 record and I was able to witness six of those victories in person at AT&T Park. I think May will be even more interesting to watch.
Love Unrequited
I don’t know why I did it. I don’t know why I got back on that ferry after work again last night. Well actually, I do know why I did it. I was in search of that sweet intoxication of a rare come-from-behind Giants victory over the hated Dodgers I had experienced the night before. I was like a junkie dragging himself out of his one room flophouse Sunday morning, down to the ally looking for Vinny and desperately promise him anything trying to duplicate the same exquisite high I felt the night before. But it never is the same. It never can be the same. It always fails. And so did the Giants last night.
Although the Giants did have their chances. Jonathan Sanchez started off the game strong, as usual. He even walked Manny Ramirez the first two times up which is smart. And we Giants fans know smart walking when we see it after watching Barry Bonds break the career base on ball records over the past dozen plus years. In fact, the game would have been scoreless to the late innings but for the bone-headed Fred Lewis error on Andre Ethier‘s line drive leading off the third inning and shortstop Juan Uribe‘s inexcusable short-armed through to first base in the fourth inning allowing Andre Ethier to score the Dodgers’ second run.
After that, the Giants pitchers began stupidly pitching to Manny Ramirez and he cracked three doubles; two while leading off an inning for which he came around to score on both those occasions (once on a bases loaded walk). Argh! Meanwhile, Juan Uribe was hitting into rally killing double plays; Travis Ishikawa was running into line drive double plays; Randy Winn was getting tagged out at the plate; Nate Schierholtz was running into inning ending double plays; and Eugenio Velez was swinging wildly with the bases loaded and the game on the line to end the Giants’ last scoring chance in the ninth inning. The Giants put sixteen runners on bases and left nine men on base during their 5-3 loss. Double argh!!
And to make matters worse, there were Dodgers fans sitting all around me. And not just nice, polite Dodgers fans but high, drunk, delusional Dodgers fans with loud voices. This one guy would get up and scream at the top of his lungs every time Matt Kemp caught a pop up or Russell Martin walked to first base. And then he would cup his hand to his ear and shout to the Giants fans behind him, “WHY CAN’T I HEAR YOU?! WHY ARE YOU SO QUIET?!” So I shouted back at him, “BECAUSE WE’RE NOT CLUELESS DODGERS FANS LIKE YOU!!!!” Luckily, he had a Giants fan friend sitting next to him who kept him somewhat in check by pounding on him whenever he got too out of hand. That was funny. But it was an ugly game on the field so it was an ugly night in the stands. Many fights broke out, many security people scurried about, and many fans were ejected. I took this picture of one being led down and out of the ballpark.
But tonight, Tim Lincecum is pitching. Revenge is in the air. I shall get there early for batting practice. And if everything goes right, I shall be rewarded with that sweet kiss of victory to which nothing else can compare because it comes at the expense of those hated, undeserving Dodgers. And maybe even those dumb Dodgers fans will finally shut up. Go Giants!
The Good, the Bad, and the Funny
Getting on the ferry at 5:30 p.m., the wind is whipping and it is cold. Maybe not arctic cold but it is definitely Washington State cold. The Giants are playing the hated Dodgers tonight so it will be bitter; both figuratively and literally. It will be Candlestick Park bitter like back in the days when the Dodgers always seemed to be in first place and the Giants fans were always looking to vent their baseball frustrations; preferably on nearby unsuspecting Dodgers fans. It may have been cruel but it was an undeniable fact of life.
Coincidentally, the Dodgers are again in first place and the Giants just experienced a disappointing (i.e. bitter) extra inning loss yesterday to the D-backs. Barry Zito is pitching tonight and if he doesn’t keep the Dodgers in check, the Giants fans will likely act out their disappointment on nearby vocal Dodgers fans. It will be like a Friday night at Candlestick Park and the moon might as well be full. I suspect it will be drama at its best; both comic and tragic.
Barry Zito sets down the Dodgers in the first inning on nine pitches and the Giants answer by getting to Dodgers pitcher Randy Wolf for three gift runs which should have all been unearned because Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Orlando Hudson all came together in short right-centerfield on Edgar Renteria’s one out pop up and conspired to bump into each other like Larry, Moe, and Curly and let the ball bounce to the ground for a double. And then Randy Winn hit a routine looking line drive to centerfield that Matt Kemp froze on like a Popsicle in the AT&T winds before drifting back and allowing the orb to sail over his outstretched glove for a triple. Then Aaron Rowand picked up Rich Aurilia for striking out and banged a double to right to drive in Randy Winn for the second run. More accurately, Aaron Rowand popped a double over Andre Eithier who never got back to the wall he was slowly backing up to. And Pablo Sandoval singled in Aaron Rowand for the third run and the game was on. The crowd was in a festive mood. The Dodgers fans were safe… for now.
Barry Zito sailed right on through so the sixth inning competently handling all adversity facing him mostly by getting fly balls hit to Randy Winn in right field or double play grounders to the infielders. But all hell broke loose in the seventh inning when Barry Zito walked Mark Loretta on a full count and then balked him to second on an accidental eephus pitch that landed somewhere between first base and home plate. Two pitches later, Casey Blake pumps a two run home run deep into the left field bleachers and the fans turned surly. The guys behind me started to heckle the Dodger fan standings at the exit watching the game telling them it’s the seventh inning and time to leave. By the time Orlando Hudson drove in pinch hitter Juan Pierre with the tying run and Manny Ramirez drove in Rafael Furcal with the go ahead run, Giants fans everywhere were grumbling and moaning. I even managed to yell to a typical blonde Dodgers fan waving her blue cap to the fans that she wasn’t impressing anybody but her pimp. But Merkin Valdez finally stopped the blue bleeding with a double play by Matt Kemp to keep the score at 4-3.
We Giants fans didn’t give up. We kept razzing Matt Kemp standing within earshot. And the Giants didn’t give up either. They mounted a rally in the eighth inning helped along with pitcher Ronald Belisario‘s comedically wild glove-handed over throw home on Rich Aurilia‘s swinging bunt down the first base line trying to stop Fred Lewis from scoring the tying run but instead allowed Edgar Renteria to reach third base with only one out. And pinch-hitting Benjie Molina brought in the go ahead run with a hard fought, two-strike grounder to Casey Blake and the Giants fans were happy again. The bare armed Brian Wilson struck out the ninth inning in order and the Giants fans celebrated. The Dodgers fans were safe again. And so the circle of life completes itself.
I’ve got to post this without proofing it so I can get to work on time. But I will go back to the ball park tonight to watch Chad Billingsley (he of the gaudy 4-0 record) test the young left arm of Jonathan Sanchez. It should be a great game and hopefully not as cold. Go Giants!
Tattered, Torn, Bloodied but Unbowed
What a long strange trip to the Southland it must have been for the Giants last week. They kind of played like they were somewhat dead and none too grateful for the experience, too. But I would hardly know since I left early in the morning after opening day on an allegorical death march of my own (or, more accurately, a death “drive” if you will) to the bottom of Death Valley National Monument itself no less. After checking into the Ridgecrest Motel 6 Wednesday night, I was able to catch a snippet of Randy Johnson giving up that horrendous three-run homer to the Brewers pitcher and absorbing a 4-2 loss. And the next day, at the Stagecoach Casino and Hotel in Beatty, Nevada, I monitored ESPN for several hours after dinner waiting for visual highlights of the Giants 7-1 victory but when they finally got to it (after all the massive coverage of the tragic passing of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart), all I was shown was Joe Martinez taking one off the noggin from Mike Cameron‘s line drive. Everyone on the field, including Cameron himself, looked visibly shaken as the Giants trainers tended to Joe. That was unfortunate, not the least because I thought Joe looked like young Joe Nathan with great stuff. Now I wonder if he’ll ever be as effective again, especially this year. I believe a hit like that to my head would change my personality forever and some would say for the better. I hope Joe gains strength from his pain.
When I got home on Friday night and was finally able to relax to watch my second Giants game of the season, only to finally settle in and watch Barry Zito go wild in the first inning and put the Giants behind the 3-ball right off the bat. But at least he settled down and found his rhythm so I could watch the Giants claw themselves back into the game 4-2 behind the pitching of Justin Miller and Alex Hinshaw. But then they brought in the young Latin flamethrower Merkin Valdez (whom we got from the Braves in the 2002 Russell Ortiz trade?) and he proceeded to throw gasoline on the fire by letting our longtime nemesis Scott Hairston, who has hit like three quarters of his home runs with the Padres against the Giants, add to his totals upon blasting a three-run homer in the eighth inning to effectively end it. But hey, no big deal. The Giants might have been due for a little let down after the traumatic injury to Joe the day before. And Barry Zito got over his opening day, first inning jitters to show he had good stuff this year. And tomorrow was my birthday. The Giants were sure to win on my birthday.
So I had a nice cocktail, decadent (i.e. high fat) hors d’oeuvres and stuffed clams with asparagus for dinner. And then, when I settled in before the almighty tube, I discovered that my Comcast feed only offered me a meaningless Warriors game against the Utah Jazz. I’m a prisoner of a deficient cable package because of the televions feed my sub-landlord has arranged with his Uber Landlord (the circumstances for which are too complicated to explain here). So I listened to the Giants game on my radio headset. By the time the television feed was switched from end of the Warriors game in Salt Lake City to San Diego, Jonathan Sanchez‘s four inning, one run, multiple strike out gem against the Padres and their ace Jake Peavy had turned into ripe manure when he stopped pitching strike outs (seven) and started pitching base on balls (five) and couldn’t get out of the fifth inning. So my first birthday visage of the Giants was Jonathan’s long face looking out from the dugout as the Padres were proceeding to an easy 6-3 victory. And Sunday’s game remains a complete mystery to me as I spent Easter afternoon with my family out on the backyard deck of my brother’s house. I never even sought to seek the ESPN highlights of that lopsided 6-1 loss that day. But at least I know I didn’t jinx them.
On Monday, I brought my radio headset to work so I could listen to the Giants play the daytime opener in Los Angeles against the hated Dodgers. But soon after the game started, my single AAA battery began to fail. And the spare battery I thought I was keeping in my fanny pack for such an occasion turned out actually to be a used one that was totally dead. So I would listen to the game at very low volume until it faded out and then I would turn the radio off for awhile so the battery could recharge again before I turned it on to repeat the pattern again. But every time I turned it back on, the Dodgers were running around the bases and by the time they finally scored six runs in the fourth inning off of Randy Johnson, I gave up the ghost and got back to work. At least there was no game on Tuesday so I was able to regain a slight piece of my sanity and equanimity until Wednesday.
Wednesday’s game went great. Well, it didn’t start out great because young lefty Clayton Kershaw threw thirteen strikeouts and gave up just one hit (albeit a Bengie Molina‘s home run) and one walk (to Rich Aurlia who was doubled up at first because second base umpire Angel Campos was out of position and failed to make an out call on Matt Kemp‘s catch in centerfield) in just seven innings. But then the Giants went to town on the Dodgers relievers in the eighth inning culminating in a Aaron Rowand first pitch swinging (again) three run home run (again) giving us a 4-2 lead. So bring in our newly acquired set up relief men to put this baby to bed. So in came Jeremy Affeldt and Bob Howry and they spanked, and they taunted, and they shook, and they tortured that poor baby until closer Brian Wilson finally had to come in and bury the poor, battered, and bruised young thing with a bases loaded walk in the ninth inning. All personal sanity and equanimity, however slight, went back out the window that night. So it’s going to be that kind of year, huh, Giants? Okay. No problem. I can deal with it. I’ve been through this before. I’ll just have to stock up on my laughing gas supply, that’s all
Last night… gee, what happened last night? Oh yeah, my Giants game was pre-empted by the Sharks opening playoff game against the Anaheim Mighty Mighty Ducks (or so they played last night). Anyway, I listened to the Giants lose to the Dodgers on my radio headset (again) although Barry pitched well after a shaky start (again) only to take the loss (again) in part due to the fact that the Giants had a weak offense (again) and miscues in the field (again). Sound familiar? It’s déjà vu all over again, to quote the Hall of Famer Yogi Berra. And it didn’t help that the Sharks fell flat on their snouts getting shut out in the Shark Tank. (They tanked in the Tank, I guess.) Hand me down my laughing gas, mama. Oh well. This weeklong post mortem was not intended to be a bitch and moan session. I merely wanted to catch up and get current with the 2009 season in my blog before I get going to my second Giants game tonight.
Maybe tonight, I’ll wear my orange Giants fright… er, I mean rally wig and stand up in the middle of the game to sing in my unwavering falsetto voice that well known Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevaialle O’Malley Armstrong (my Lord, how many times did that woman get married?) lyrical hit “White Flag“. You know, the one that repeats the refrain “I will go down with this ship and I won’t put my hands up and surrender. There will be no white flag above my door. I’m in love and always will be.” Wouldn’t that be lovely? I’m sure it would catch Aaron Rowand‘s attention; deep knee squats and all. But it is too early to panic. I remember the year 2000 season when the Giants lost their first seven games in their new ballpark and went on to make the playoffs that year. Of course we had Barry Bonds back then but stranger things have happened. And what could be stranger than what has gone on so far? We will see trades, demotions, promotions and releases. And by the time this season ends, we will see the foundation of a Giants team that will be built upon for many years to come. So keep the faith, Giants fans! Don’t get your collective daubers down! Hummmm baby!
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