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Showing posts with label San Francisco Giants. Show all posts

Monday, 29 August 2011

Gigantic Expectations

The Giants are my second favorite team. If the Red Sox can't win the World Series, I hope the Giants do.

And call me a glass half full kind of guy... but I am starting to think that might happen.

Now I am not saying the Giants ARE going to win the World Series. Until someone proves otherwise, I am sticking with my pick of the Yankees winning the whole kit and also the kaboodle.

But at this writing, who would you pick over the Giants in the National League?

The Braves? They've got good pitching but they are also taking on injuries and may not even make the playoffs if the Phillies continue their comeback?

The Phillies? Their offense can be shut down... and let me say seven words: "Coming In From The Bullpen... Brad Lidge."

The Cardinals? Lincecum and Cain can match Wainwright and Carpenter. And get past Pujols and Holliday and you can keep them off the board.

The Reds? Might be a little volatile and Giants fans know that Dusty isn't the best in game post season manager in the world.

The Padres? They will probably win the Division, but pitch around Adrian Gonzalez and you've are home free.

The Giants can match up with anyone of them.
They have as good a starting staff as anyone else in baseball. Ray has given them some bullpen depth. And they are starting to hit enough to keep winning.

If they get hot, they can ride the crest into the World Series like the Phillies did the last 2 seasons and the Rockies did in 2007 and the Cardinals did in 2006.

It's as good a year as any to get some momentum into October. And maybe, just maybe my dad can experience some of the joy I had in '04 and '07.

Just remember as I cheer the Giants on... if it were Red Sox vs Giants in the World Series... I would root for the Red Sox to sweep.

Sunday, 28 August 2011

October Collision Course

Two teams had walk off wins today that were thrilling and made me really hope they face off, for many different reasons.

The Giants won this afternoon thanks to a pair of home runs by Pat Burrell, a shot by Sandoval and a walk off by Torres.

I guess all of my begging and pleading for the Giants to sign Johnny Damon wasn't necessary. Torres has done the job just fine.

And Pat Burrell has turned into the best mid season pick up for the Giants that I can remember since Rick Reuschel in 1987.

Meanwhile, across the country, the Giants arch rival Dodgers had their season basically end in a disastrous 9th inning that was partially caused by the spell and hexes cast onto the the L.A. Bullpen from this young Phillies fan.

As gruesome as the 9th inning was for Los Angeles and it seemingly will put a nail in the coffin of the Joe Torre era in Chavez Ravine, it also shows that the Phillies are peaking at a very advantageous time.

Any time you are down 9-2 in the 8th inning and can pull off the win, against a team with a winning record no less, it is time to pay attention.

I think the Phillies and Giants are on a collision course that will meet in October.

Now there is one problem with that prediction... as of this writing, both teams are in second place. The Giants and Phillies are tied in the loss column for the Wild Card.

Maybe that is where the collision will be.

Imagine a Wild Card play in game with Tim Lincecum versus Roy Halladay or Roy Oswalt.

But truth be told, I think both teams are making the post season. It will be only a matter of time before the Phillies leap frog the Braves.

And we'll see what happens with the Giants after this weekend's series with San Diego.

But Holy Cats, I want to see the Giants and the Phillies square off for meaningful games in October.

Not only will there be the intrigue of two teams with multiple aces...

Not only will there be the return of Pat Burrell to Philadelphia...

Not only will there be two passionate fan bases playing in new beautiful ballparks...

But my dad is a huge Giants fan.

And his brother, my uncle Don is a huge Phillies fan.

The potential fireworks between the brothers with meaningful games in October is too wonderful to avoid.

Now a potential Giants/Phillies showdown was thwarted before... in 1993 when the Giants won 103 games and missed the postseason because they were inexplicably in the same geographical division as the Braves.

So once again the Braves could stand in the way of a Giants-Phillies showdown.

Let's go Giants and let's go Phillies... if the Red Sox can't make it in October, I had better experience some other family fireworks!!!

Thursday, 25 August 2011

There will be a new Cy Young winner in the National League

I've been writing a lot about the 2010 National League Cy Young race. I started writing in April when it became clear this was going to be a special year, pitching wise.

I wrote about it as recently as yesterday and I will probably be writing about it through the end of the season.

And I've always mentioned Tim Lincecum in the conversation out of respect for the two time defending Cy Young winner and also because I knew he was always a dominant month from reclaiming the lead.

Well, I don't think it is happening. Not after today. The stats don't match up with Adam Wainwright, Roy Halladay, Josh Johnson or Ubaldo Jimenez (who was robbed of win #18 today.)

And the Giants needed him. They were 2-8 against the Padres for the season, but after yesterday's come from behind thriller, the Giants were on the verge of winning a critical series, pulling to with 1 1/2 games and serving notice that they are as formidable as any team in the National League.

Instead he got thumped. The Giants have only won 2 of 11 games against the Padres.
Can you imagine if the Giants were merely mediocre against the Padres?

Let's say they were 5-6 instead of 2-9. Still allowing a losing record to San Diego.

If that were the case, the Giants would be 70-49... the best record in the National League.
The Padres would be 66-50, 2 1/2 back, 1 in the loss column.

Instead the Giants are 5 back in the loss column and have the Phillies only one back in the loss column for the Wild Card.

A win would have been big today, but Lincecum didn't come up big.

A few years ago, Brandon Webb looked like a lock to win his second Cy Young Award. But a pair of terrible starts against the Dodgers that helped knock Arizona out of the pennant race cost him dearly.

The pitcher who won in his place?
Tim Lincecum.

It comes full circle.

Stay focused, Giants

The Giants won their biggest game of the year yesterday.

They were just a few innings from going 1-9 against the Padres and falling 4 1/2 games out.

They were a few innings from losing a series at home against the very team they should be chasing down.

But they came back, played smart baseball, Posey took an extra base and AT&T Park went nuts.

Congratulations. Now dust yourself off and do it again today.

This is what makes baseball the greatest sport of all and the most pressure packed in some ways. If a team wins a football game like this, there's a whole week to get ready for the next game. Basketball and hockey usually have a rest game.

In baseball? Yesterday's extra innings thriller is already in the "What have you done for me lately?" file.

Lincecum is on the mound. A loss today and it will still be a series loss at home to the team the Giants are trying to catch.

A win and suddenly the Giants will be 1 1/2 games out...3 back in the loss column and tied with the most wins in the NL.

Focus... focus..

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

11 runners stranded in the last 4 innings

That's damn near impossible to do... but the Red Sox did it.
The Giants couldn't have made this easier for the Red Sox to win if they started putting the ball o a Tee.

Brian Wilson was pitching as if gamblers paid him off to blow the save.

And yet the Red Sox could only muster the three run homer by Youk and the run Youk scored in the 9th after his triple.

What's that?
Pedroia is hurt?

PERFECT!!!

Let's update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 23

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 21

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)

June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)

June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)

Down to +1.

I am happy for my dad, the biggest Giants fan I know. I am happy for my son Aidan, who is developing into a Giants fan himself.

But come on Sox!
They are now 4 back in the loss column of the Yankees... I want a rally!

Red Sox versus Giants starts tomorrow... it's grandfather vs. father vs. son in the Sullivan home!

So was Torre's plan to have Broxton pitch until he died?

Yankee fans got to have all sorts of nostalgia this weekend.

They got to see Don Mattingly again.
They got to root against Manny Ramirez again.
They got to rewind lots of great clips of World Series past again.

And they got to see Joe Torre bungle the bullpen again.

Three batters into the 9th inning it was clear that Jonathan Broxton was toast. Even Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday were talking about it on the broadcast. His fastball was flat and he was nibbling.

And the inning kept going... kind of like a Star Wars prequel... you kept hoping for that awesome thing to happen but as it kept going on you realized it was going to end up sucking.

And Charlie and Rick kept pointing out "nobody is warming up in the Dodger bullpen."

Once the Yankees tied it 6-6, I turned it off. They won it right then and there. There was no need to play the bottom of the 9th nor the 10th. The entire planet knew the game was over.

And I had a great blog post all written in my head... and instead all I've got is this half assed entry.

Tip of the cap, Joe.
Now off to San Francisco.

Red Sox vs. Giants was fun... let's do it again in October

Lester came to the rescue today, but Heaven forbid the Red Sox have a game without an injury!!!

So with Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz and Victor Martinez banged up, the Sox leave San Francisco with 2 wins.

I am glad about that... and I will root for the Giants in EVERY game for the rest of the season.

They are my National League team.

I went to high school in the Bay Area and I rooted for Los Gigantes in the 1987 and 1989 post season.

I would cut class from time to time and drive up to Candlestick Park and see Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Matt Williams and Big Daddy Reuschel play for the great Hum Baby teams of Roger Craig.

And I also have seen many games with Barry Bonds at both the Stick and on China Basin.

And then there is the matter of my dad and my son.

My dad is the single biggest Giants fan I have ever met in my life.

He is up listening to the post game show when the Giants are 20 games out.

He is the first to call me when a big Giants prospect has been called up.

He was a Giants fan way back when they were in the Polo Grounds and he has cheered them from Coogan's Bluff to Seal's Stadium to Candlestick Point to China Basin.

And his grandson, my son Aidan, whose middle name is also my dad's name, loves his grandpa (or Poppy as he is known) so much that with no prompting he has claimed the Giants as HIS team.

He doesn't know the players yet... but when asked what his favorite team is, with great pride he says "The GIANTS!"

So for the generation before and after me, I hope the Giants go all the way to the World Series.

And I hope the Red Sox are there too.

And I hope the Sox SWEEP!

(Love for family can only go so far)

Monday, 22 August 2011

The Giants won today's game

The Giants scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th today against the Mets for a dramatic 4-3 victory and completed a 4 game sweep.

That's what actually happened. Anyone who saw the game today saw Mets third baseman throw high in a play at the plate, scoring Ishikawa for the winning run.

It was that way with the naked eye.
It was that way with the replay.

But like Jim Joyce and Armando Galaragga's complete game, reality doesn't matter... only the opinion of the umpire.

Phil Cuzzi, who already unnecessarily delayed the game by jawing with K-Rod, called him out at home.

Even the Mets announcers were saying as it happened "The Mets caught a HUGE break."

And that was BEFORE they looked at the instant replay.

And the replay was shown on the New York station while Bruce Bochy was still arguing... which spits in the face of the insane "Well, it will slow down the game" argument against instant replay.

He was safe. The Giants won the game... except they didn't.

If the Giants miss the playoffs by a single game this year, remember that play.
And know that the entire television audience saw the call was wrong in less than 1 minute.

I guess you can't waste a minute in determining who won or lost a game.

It's bonkers.
Just bring in instant replay!!!

No longer sleeping Giants

Did you notice the Giants are 9-2 since the All Star Break?

Chances are if you said "Yes" to that, you are my dad.
But for the rest of you... the Giants are suddenly for real and if the playoffs started today, they would be playing the Atlanta Braves in the Division Series.

Now they could probably use another bat, but with Buster Posey making his own case for Rookie of the Year, it might not have to be a huge impact bat.

That being said, as the unpredictable Marlins come to San Francisco, Giants fans need to do something unpleasant:

You need to root for the Dodgers this week.

I know it is hard for you all, but trust me it is for the best.

The Giants are 4 back in the loss column of San Diego and they've been winning with smoke and mirrors all season. A nice losing streak by the Friars could land the Giants in first place and the possibility of being on top of the standings is worth a few Dodger wins.

Trust me on this one.

Sunday, 21 August 2011

I have a feeling the Rookie of the Year race will come down to Strasburg and Posey

When I made my award picks at the 1/3 mark, I had Jason Heyward as the NL Rookie of the Year.

And when I my made 1/2 way mark picks just this week, I had Cardinals pitcher Jamie Garcia as the rookie of the year.

And if the season ended today, he should be...

But don't you get the feeling that Heyward and Garcia are going to be in third place at best when all is said and done?

I am guessing Stephen Strasburg and Buster Posey will be battling this one out.

Stephen Strasburg (whose presence in the All Star Game may have boosted its ratings above "Worst Ever" territory) just kept doing what he does best last night in Florida.

6 shut out innings and 7 strikeouts lowering his ERA to 2.03, giving him a 4.86 strikeout to walk ratio and a WHIP of 1.02. He's struckout 68 batters in 48 2/3 innings.

And his ERA+ is 203.

Now I confess, I have no clue what ERA+ means, but it sounds good.

Meanwhile Buster Posey has been everything the Giants would have wanted and then some.

Since Bengie Molina was dealt away to the Rangers and Posey was given the full time catcher spot, his average has gone up from .289 to .352.

His slugging was at .381... now it is .566. And OPS jumped from .695 to .954.

That's almost comical. Throw in the 6 homers in the 13 games since the Molina deal and maybe the Giants finally have a centerpiece for their line up.

But of course the main worry was can he call a game like Molina?

Well, the Giants have let up a grand total of 2 runs in their last 27 innings that Posey has called.

He knows what fingers to put down evidently.

What I am saying is if Jamie Garcia wants some hardware this off season, he had better pick up his game.

Waking Giants... Pessimistic Dad

Some people can see the glass as half full.

Others see it as half empty.

And others see it not only empty but shattered on the floor.

After a dreadful 2 weeks, the Giants went into Milwaukee demoralized... and then did nothing short of pulverizing the Brewers.

They didn't just win. They swept a 4 game series... On the Road... by scores of 6-1, 6-1, 15-2 and 9-3.

It was a 4 game winning streak that was just what the doctor ordered. They are just 5 games in back of San Diego and they have kept pace with the surging Dodgers and Rockies.

Naturally I called my dad, the biggest Giants fan I know, to talk about his team's good fortune.

"Your guys looked good today."

"Ahhh, Zito didn't. He was so wild that he couldn't even finish the 5th inning."

"But you scored 9 runs... in fact your bats went berzerk."

"We could have used some of those runs against Colorado."

"But after all of this you are still within 5 games of an overachieving San Diego team, a Dodgers team that can't make a big trade and a Rockies team that has been up and down."

"Ah we blew it."

Let's hope the Giants can keep their winning ways against Washington.

Maybe an 8 game winning streak will get my dad excited.

For Bobby Thomson's sake... Let's pick it up Giants!

On August 11th, I wrote about how the Giants had about as good a chance as any to win the NL Pennant assuming they made the post season.

None of the other NL Teams were powerhouses and San Francisco could steamroll them through the NLCS.

The Giants have dropped 4 of the next 6 games including the brutal first few games of the Phillies series.

So now the Giants have fallen out of a playoff spot... they look lost and even my dad, the biggest Giants fan I know declared them dead.

But guess what? They looked dead in 1951 as well.

While I wrote about the Giants hopes on August 11th this year, on August 11th 1951 the Giants were 13 1/2 games behind the Dodgers before they completed the Miracle at Coogan's Bluff and Bobby Thomson hit the Shot Heard 'Round The World.

Thomson passed away this week and while that was nearly 60 years ago, the home run still resonates in baseball lore and should be looked on as hope for the current Giants club.

OK, there's no Willie Mays or Monte Irvin on this squad. And yeah, their starting pitching is in a huge slump.

There's no 13 1/2 deficit to overcome. In fact if the Giants and Jonathan Sanchez can beat the Phillies and Cole Hamels this evening, they'll be only 2 games back in the loss column with 40 games to play.

Making up 2 games in 40 games isn't a miracle. It's focus.

Come on Giants. You can still win the Pennant! You can still win the Pennant!

The Giants are making all the right moves... SO WIN ALREADY!

I've been calling for the Giants to make some key moves since May.

And because the San Francisco front office evidently listens to me, they've been taking my suggestions.

Burrell is a Giant and homering.

Posey has been recalled as has Bumgarner.

And now the Giants took a risk by dealing away a terrific pitch caller in Bengie Molina. But they are putting Posey behind the plate where he should be for the next 10 years and they brought in Chris Ray who should give the bullpen a little depth.

The sum total of all these moves?

A 6 game losing streak.

And not just any losing streak... the last 4 have been to the Dodgers and the Rockies, two of the teams that they are bunched up with in the NL West race.

What the hell? They are improved and yet have dropped nearly a week into the loss column.

Let's pick it up, Giants. You've got 3 more in Coors Field, and I am heading up to the Bay Area this weekend and will spend some time with my dad, the biggest Giants fan I know.

He's happier when the Giants are winning and I want a happy dad.

You've got the pieces... WIN!

It looks strange when you see that sentence typed out, doesn't it?

I mean the Giants were supposed to be better this year... but here we are in August and the Giants have as many wins as any NL team (and that team they are tied with is the Padres, which is even stranger.)

I mean weren't the Phillies supposed to be the powerhouse of the NL?

Even with the divorce woes, weren't the Dodgers supposed to be in this?

How about the Rockies or Cardinals? They were destined for 90+ wins this year.

Nope... Los Gigantes are better than all of them.

And it brings up a very interesting scenario for the many Giant fans who read Sully Baseball. If the Giants pass the Padres in the standings (and they are only 2 back in the loss column) and finish the season with the best record in the NL... then they would have home field advantage in the Division Series... in the NLCS... and the World Series.

That's what is at stake in the NL. For the first time since 2001, the National League team will host Game 1 of the World Series (and potentially a Game 7.)

Let's take a look at each American League team since 2001 who finished the season with the best record and how they did in the post season:

2002 - Yankees (Lost in Division Series)

2003 - Yankees (Lost in World Series)

2004 - Yankees (Lost in ALCS)

2005 - White Sox (Won World Series)

2006 - Yankees (Lost in Division Series)

2007 - Red Sox (Won World Series)

2008 - Angels (Lost in Dvision Series)

2009 - Yankees (Won World Series.)

OK, it isn't a lock for anything... but in those 8 years there were 4 pennant winners and 3 World Series winners.

It's a small sample, but half of the teams that home field advantage since the All Star Game determined which league would host the World Series opener went on to win the pennant.

Can you picture it Giants fans?

Can you imagine how 2002 could have been different if Games 6 and 7 were by China Basin?

The Giants have the pitching, the hitting is coming around and the Padres have lost 3 of their last 4 games.

Could this be the year the Giants fans have been waiting for?

Just keep winning and it is there for the taking.

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