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M.T. Karthik

~ midcareer archive, 1977 – 2017 plus 2022

M.T. Karthik

Monthly Archives: May 2014

Giants Come From Behind, Hit With RISP, Beat Cards in St. Louis

30 Friday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Commentary, Post Game Blasts

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baseball.st., Cardinals, commentary, Francisco, gia nts, Karthik, League, Louis, mlb, mtk, nl, one, San, series, sf, win

This was the game where I began to wonder if we might have this. We might have the division because we are a real team … built from good guys.

I was worried because St. Louis is a baseball town and they’ve won the most titles in the National League, and their … culture, their actual baseball culture is so much better than ours – I don’t mean our best versus their best, I mean our current fans versus their perennial ones.

[I am not DONE complaining about this, you people need to CHANGE].

But this team shows a flexibility and a stick-to-it-iveness that is quite impressive. Giants came from behind twice with power from Morse (doing what we hired him to do) and Pablo Sandoval – wow, the cowboy boots shift is turning crazy now – who hit for an RBI for the 9th consecutive time, with a homer, which has brought comparison to Barry Bonds from everyone.

It is interesting to remember that Bonds arrived in SF from Pittsburgh at the age of 28. Pablo Sandoval will be 28 this August. What if Pablo’s “Barry Years” lie ahead?

(Just tweeted the shit out of that line)

Vogelsong pitched well, the ‘pen continues to impress and Romo continues to be a little shaky. He gave up a run in the ninth and had runners on who, crossing the plate, could cost the game. He wrestled his way out, inducing a pop up to end the game and I tweeted:

TWEET by @giantsbaseballcorner : “I don’t mind Romo struggling a bit against a decent team on the road and fighting his way out of it. #ElMechon #sfgiants 17th save. Builds.”

Moments later Ray Woodson tweeted he would spend the post game show trying to calm down the Romo Angst. My reply was:

TWEET by @giantsbaseballcorner : “Romo angst is typical of the non-baseball playing bandwagonning dumbasses who now occupy our park claiming to feel “tortured”

and I still feel that way this morning.

But it did lead to a discussion for me about the word “torture” and why it offended me when taken on as a badge after Krukow said it. It was true when Kruk said it about 2010.

It was “Torture” for the fans who have watched for five decades as the G-men kept getting close and failed to win the World Series in San Francisco. It was torture for anyone who watched ’02 …. ’93 …. ’89 … ’62.

But after we finally won, the word for the first win in SF was “RELIEF”

See, it can’t really be “TORTURE” again until 2068.

If we don’t win the World Series until 2068, that summer would be torture. Use of the term before then is insulting to long time fans – well at least to me.

 

Kayaking a Giant Game [feat. McCovey Cove Dave]

29 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in etiquette, McCovey Cove

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AT&T, baseball, cove, Dave, giants, kayaking, McCovey, mlb, park

wow. this was something I’ve wanted to do for fifteen years. McCovey Cove Dave has always encouraged me to do it via twitter (@McCoveyCoveDave).

I am so glad my son and I went – HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

 

Giants Maintain Best Record in Baseball with Most Series Wins

29 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Mid Series Reports

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2-1.mlb, baseball, chicago, cubs, Francisco, giants, San, series, sf

The Giants took 2 of 3 from the Cubs on their visit to AT&T. I didn’t get a chance to write about it because I was out fishing and KAYAKING MCCOVEY COVE! – woo hoo.

I am posting a video of that as my next post, but wanted to add  this as a placeholder. The Giants took the Cubs series 2-1 to continue their dominance of both leagues – best record in baseball and the most series wins in both leagues.

Really looking good headed to St. Louis today for four against a tough National League opponent.

Keeper Halibut

26 Monday May 2014

Posted by mtk in fauna, fish, fishing, S.F., SF Bay

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adrian, california, club, dayton, gun, halibut, Karthik, keeper, Marin, MRGC, mtk, norcal, Rafael, rod, San

Lincecum and Vogelsong Continue Giants AL Dominance

25 Sunday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Mid Series Reports

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Al, AT&T, baseball, Francisco, giants, inter, League, Minnesota, mlb, park, San, series, Twins, wins

The Minnesota Twins are tied for second in the AL Central but have a .500 record because it’s a division dominated by the powerful Detroit Tigers. Their power hitter Joe Mauer has been struggling terribly, but still, they have Kurt Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar batting above .300.

Tim Lincecum had a crazy outing on Friday – at one point Andrew Baggarly noted he had 55 balls and 55 strikes, matching his number. He ended up with six walks, five strikeouts and gave up five hits. Bruce Bochy described him as “bobbing and weaving,” but when it was all said and done, despite letting a lot of Twins on and having to pitch out of jams, Lincecum and the Giants won 6-2.

Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Hicks homered again – it’s starting to look like the Panda is back. Andre Reynier asked about Brandon Hicks in the comments and so we reflected on how well the young man has played in place of Marco Scutaro. It’s looking more and more like Scoots may never return – the back may have just  given out – so the question of Hicks’ effectiveness season-long becomes important.

Andre feels Hicks might be considered another excellent pick up by Brian Sabean, and at first blush, I agree. He has been technically exacting in the field and powerful at the plate. However, he has also made some “rookie mistakes” – like when he missed the bag legging out a double and was called out, andthere have been a couple of flippant throwing errors here and there.

The question is whether or not he can sustain the play through 162. I have no idea if he can, but even Brandon Crawford has sustained drop off in the second half over a couple of years. We shall just have to wait and see. But right now, it is working and it’s fun to watch the DP’s and homers-a-flying.

Game Two of this series was Epic Ryan Vogelsong. If we are talking about Panda like he’s back, it is starting to feel even more true for Ryan Vogelsong, who is dropping Quality Starts like it’s 2012 again.

Last night Vogey was dominant through seven. he nearly finished the 7th, but was forced from the game by silly throwing error. he would have had the last out, but flipped the ball to first too casually. Bochy, to his credit, evaluated the lapse correctly and immediately pulled Vogey in favor of our bullpen. (Though they gave up a homer before closing it out).

The Giants played their style of ball. Good Starting Pitching, crisp defense, just enough runs and taking advantage of opponents mistakes led to a 2-1 victory for Vogey, that could have been a shutout, save for a homer hit off Machi in the ninth. Machi closed it out and got the save.

Hoping to sweep today! Go Giants!

Take the Hair and Put it on the Face

24 Saturday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Commentary

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and, bobblehead, face, Francisco, hair, it, Karthik, Lincecum, milan, mlb, mtk, ocean, omm, on, pitcher, put, San, take, the, Tim

Suspended By Hail and Rain, Giants and Rockies Rubber Match Ends Deadlocked 2-2 in Sixth

22 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Mid Series Reports, midgame posts

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baseball, called, colorado, Francisco, game, giants, hail, mlb, play, rain, rockies, San, stopped, suspended, suspension, weather

The game has just been called due to the weather. Hail stones and rolling electrified thunderstorms suspended this one, tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth, with David Huff on the mound for the Giants, a runner on for the Rockies. The game will be resumed at that point during one of the first three days of September when the Giants visit Colorado again. whew!

TWEET: Suspension of #Rockies #SFGiants series by hail and rain, has something poetic about it. Like two teams too equally matched to conclude.

This has been a tense couple of days and the road trip ends, fittingly, without conclusion, suspended, in limbo and somehow still tense.

This year the Rockies and Giants seem fated to do battle down to the wire. One wonders what the records will be like in that first week of September, in the home stretch of the season. Are these three and a half remaining innings going to be incredibly significant?

And what about the idiotic way in which clowning around by the dugout and Santiago Casilla led to four weeks on the DL for Casilla and the Giants having to call up George Kontos? This was a weird week. Three HBP’s in game one, and after his retaliation plunking (for hitting Tulo) Bumgarner got into it verbally with the Rockies as he ran up the line. Romo getting tagged.

Still, the Giants have to be happy with the trip. They got the Rockies to play by the Giants’ tempo. It still really feels like the Giants won both of these … just one hanging slider away from four up on the Rockies.

Giants pitching tamed the hard hitting Rockies in their park, at altitude. The game plan was intact and the Giants had a shot at taking both and indeed all three of these games.

Looking forward to the Giants coming home this weekend for some Inter-league ball – so we get to make fun of their pitchers swinging the bats – followed by a visit from our historic rivals, dating back to the 1800’s, everybody’s second favorite team (’cause they’re never a threat to anybody’s first) the Chicago Cubs.

Double Hammy Whammy – Giants Win, Lose Cain, Casilla to DL

22 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in pitchers, Post Game Blasts

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cain, Casilla, colorado, double, Francisco, giants, hammy, hamstring, matt, rockies, San, santiago, sf, strain, whammy, win

Even when the Giants win lately there’s some weird issue – an HBP directly on the thumb sidelines Brandon Belt, plays that should be routine for a first baseman in little league bungled by Michael Morse, nutty throwing errors by Pablo or, an injury by someone trying too hard, like Angel Pagan’s shoulder strain diving for a pop fly against the Marlins on Sunday.

The latter category still reminds me of how we lost Freddy Sanchez, in May, on a routine play when we had the lead in a game that “didn’t really matter.” He flew high and hard to snag that ball, landed on his shoulder and never played in a Giants uniform again.  Or how about Pagan last year, legs out the only ever walkoff inside-the-park homer in history and we lose him, and the season,the next day. Again … in May.

Of course, we love effort and those plays are exciting … how about just a little caution in the early months, guys? Not telling you to take it easy, but … what happened last night was completely unnecessary.

Yet they continue to win. The team experiences these careening moments even as they slug and claw their way into come-from behind victories; doing it with all home runs one game, and sudden inspired situational hitting, and no home runs in the next.

The only consistency has been that the Giants are inconsistent, yet somehow pull it together in the later innings behind a great bullpen to get wins. It isn’t confidence inspiring with regard to a long season, and the anhedonia has resulted in at least one blogger, Grant Brisbee of McCovey Cove Chronicles, losing his mind to the duality.

Yesterday, in Colorado, things were going along just fine – the game plan was in place and the Giants and Matt Cain were holding the Rockies offense down, when all of a sudden Cain came up gimpy. He had to be pulled from the game in the third inning with a strained hamstring, forcing Yusmeiro Petit into yet another emergency start. Worrisome.

Still, the plan was working. The Giants bullpen, with Petit working long, held the Rockies scoreless through seven innings. On the offensive side meanwhile, they used the altitude to their advantage and Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Crawford all homered, while Hector Sanchez had a deep double for another RBI. They had an early lead and held on.

Petit threw three scoreless and Bochy once again was masterful with the ‘pen; using four more guys to seal the win. Juan Gutierrez, Javier Lopez (LOOGY), and Santiago Casilla took it to the ninth.

In the top of the ninth, with a four-run lead and Sergio Romo resting after having been rocked the night before, Bochy decided to leave Casilla in the game at the plate, with the intention of letting him close the game.

Casilla was given specific instruction when he went to the plate, alternatingly described as, ‘to just stand like a statue,’ and ‘not to get hurt.’ Bochy says he told him just to jog up the line if he made contact.

But the veteran Casilla did none of these. Apparently inspired by the play of Juan Machi a few weeks ago, who legged out a bunt to drive in the winning run in a 13-inning game, Santiago Casilla tried to get on base. He was perhaps goaded by the dugout, as the guys teased him about doing what Machi did. For whatever reason, Casilla hit a ball hard to the infield and in, a totally loony moment, tried to leg out the single!

Casilla hit the bag and fell to the grass immediately, thrown out and flailing in the grass, pounding his fist on the ground in obvious pain. First base coach Hensley Meulens had no idea what to make of it.

It turns out that like Matt Cain earlier in the game, Casilla had strained his right hamstring. It was the same pointless injury that sent reliever David Huff to the DL two weeks ago – a pitcher trying to leg out a single.

Jeremy Affeldt came in and pitched a scoreless ninth with a strikeout to end the game, a non-save situation. But the mood was severely depressed in the wake of losing not one, but two pitchers to hamstring strains in the same game.

The win kept the Giants in first place in the NL West by three games going into tonight’s rubber match, which will feature the two teams’ best pitchers. The Giants’ aging ace, Tim Hudson (4-2, 2.09) returns from resting his back on the DL, to face Jorge De La Rosa (5-3, 4.14), a longtime nemesis of the G-men.

Both Casilla and Cain will undergo MRI’s today to determine the severity of their injuries, but it seems likely that Cain will miss at least one start and that Casilla may not be available for a few weeks; frustrating to say the least. [UPDATE: looks like Casilla’s was a strain and not a tear, so that’s good]

Hopefully the Giants can come away with one more win in Colorado before the upcoming home stand which could be an easier ride. The Twins are up first and the Giants seem to play Interleague well at home, having swept the Indians in April. The Twins will be followed at AT&T by a visit from the last place Cubs.

Romo Can’t Lock It Down, Giants Lose Opener in Colorado

21 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts, walkoffs

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baseball, blown, colorado, Francisco, giants, mlb, rockies, Romo, San, save, sf, walkoff, win

This game was going according to plan. Madison Bumgarner and the Giants defense quieted the red hot Rockies lineup, holding them to three runs. In fact, it marked a milestone for Bumgarner who set the Giants team record for most consecutive road starts holding opponents to three runs or less (18), when he walked off the mound in the 6th.

The Rockies sprayed nine hits across eight innings but couldn’t get more than three men home, leaving 21 on base (Team LOB 10). It was a taut, well played game of strategy between very competitive teams. The teams traded HBP’s and when Bumgarner was plunked in the 7th he jawed at the Rockies’ dugout all the way down the line as he took his base. They gave it right back. This could be going all the way down to 162.

The tense affair remained a 3-3 tie until the top of the ninth, when Brandon Hicks hit a one-out single, and former Rockie Tyler Colvin drove him in with his second double of the night.

Sergio Romo entered with a one run lead but was immediately in trouble, issuing a walk to Justin Morneau and a sac fly to Michael Cuddyer that advanced him to scoring position. Troy Tulowitzki grounded to force out Morneau, but was safe at first because Brandon Crawford had no play. That might have been a game ending double play if Brandon Hicks’ throw had been tighter. Crawford had no play because the relay was just a bit off.

Romo then gave up a single to Carlos Gonzalez, who hit it straight up the middle and just over the outreached glove of Crawford. When Nolan Arenado stepped up to the plate with two out and two on, he was was 0-4 career against Sergio Romo. Sometimes a guy is just due.

It was an ill fated two-out, two-strike, hanging slider that ended up the game winning walkoff double for Arenado. Rockies win 5-4. Other than that pitch, though Romo wasn’t bad. The hits were tight. The double play was doable. He could have had them. Tough loss. Tough for Romo and for the Giants. Emotions were running high. This isn’t going to be easy.

The Rockies use their home field advantage to stack the deck in their favor offensively. If the Giants want to avoid a sweep and giving up the division lead, they will need to play even more crisp defense and be ready to respond to the inevitable onslaught of runs.

That’s why this one hurts: it was within reach. Everything was going according to plan. And just one pitch … just one relay throw … just one play … made the difference. Game two promises to be equally competitive as Matt Cain (1-3, 3.92ERA) faces Jhoulys Chacin (0-2, 4.76).

Go Giants!

The Battle for First Begins a Mile High

20 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by mtk in PreGame GBCs

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Bumgarner, catcher, colorado, Francisco, giants, Hudson, Madison, pablo, rockies, rosario, San, Sandoval, sf, Tim, troy, tulowitzki, wilin

After beating the Marlins 4-1 Sunday the Giants flew directly to Denver and checked into their hotels so as to enjoy as much of their day off yesterday as possible. Ryan Vogelsong’s strong outing made the home stand a winning one and kept the Giants three ahead of Colorado in the NL West standings. The rest was much needed.

The Giants are ready to get back to baseball tonight against the red hot Rockies who boast three of the top five best hitters for average in Justin Morneau, Charlie Blackmon and Troy Tulowitski. Tulo leads the league in average (.393) and Home Runs (13) and is third in RBIs.

Tulowitski’s line is staggering: .494 OBS/.764 SLG/1.259 OPS and he leads in every category by a wide margin including Wins Against Replacement. His 4.5 (WAR) is way beyond. The Denver Post has a nice article about Tulo today.

The Rockies have tasted first place in the NL West already this year and could tie for the lead with a sweep. They’ve been blasting the ball and have hit 62 homers as a team. They beat the Giants in Colorado on April 22 of this year on the strength of five homers and they smashed five in Cincy on the 10th to beat the Reds.

The Rockies clubhouse was struck by a viral infection which sent Catcher Wilin Rosario to the DL, but he has been reactivated from the injury list.

Madison Bumgarner pitches for the Giants tonight, followed by Matt Cain tomorrow night. Tim Hudson will likely be returning to the starting lineup for Thursday’s day game. Hudson missed his last start and was sent to the DL to rest a sore right hip, but has been throwing on flat ground since Saturday and will throw bullpen today.

Angel Pagan is listed day-to-day for the series because of his left shoulder, which he sprained diving for a ball in the last Marlins game.

Pablo Sandoval has begun hitting, stepping up in the absence of Brandon Belt. His solo homer yesterday was nice to see. His nine game hitting streak could include more long balls in the altitude of Coors Field. Let’s hope so.

Go Giants!

Marlins Continue Hitting AT&T, Take Two From Giants

18 Sunday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Mid Series Reports

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AT&T, baseball, Francisco, giants, marlins, miami, mlb, park, San, series

After the come-from-behind victory in game one, the Giants were forced into another come-from-behind situation in game two, when Yusmeiro Petit was burned by Marlins bats for four runs in the first four frames.

In fact, the very first batter Petit faced, Christian Yelich, ripped a line drive home run. The day already felt long. But Petit evoked three consecutive fly balls for outs and looked for the most part, together.

In the bottom of the first, Pablo Sandoval not only extended his hitting streak to 7 games, but added an RBI, doubling in Pagan to tie the score, 1-1. But the Marlins bats went to work on Petit after that, culminating in the four-run 4th that chased him from the game.

To their credit the Giants clawed their way back and tied this one 5-5, But Santiago Casilla imploded in the top of the ninth allowing the Marlins to knock in two more for what would be the final score, 7-5, Marlins.

Miami got 14 hits and seven runs in this one. Beat us up. What is it with their bats and our park? Man, I hope we don’t see them in the playoffs.

After game two, the team, fans and broadcasters didn’t seem too concerned. After all, Petit was making an emergency start for the staff ace, Tim Hudson. He was chased, the Giants responded, and the bullpen was due, maybe even overdue, to blink, after weeks of successful shutdown work. So O.K. put it behind us, get a good night’s sleep and move on.

But then came last night’s 5-0 shutout loss for Tim Lincecum … featuring Brandon Hicks missing first base on a one-out double that had advanced Sanchez to third. Reviewed. Out. … Ugh. Oh, and a missed tag at the plate by Hector Sanchez added to the Giants woes.

Tim Lincecum had a quality start, went six and allowed just three runs, but the Giants couldn’t get anything going against the Marlins Tom Koehler. Rough outing.

Now the brows start furrowing, as the home stand is at 3-3, with today’s game being the difference between tying or losing the series to these Marlins in our park, again – and winning or losing the home stand.

Ryan Vogelsong goes for the Giants vs. Jacob Turner. Luckily Turner’s not great (0-1, 6.75ERA). But the bigger question is whether we can play sharp ball and defend against the Marlins bats that love AT&T Park.

Finally! Cain Gets Run Support, First Win; Giants Overcome Marlins

16 Friday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts

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Buster, cain, Francisco, marlins, matt, miami, michael, morse, necklace, pagan, pence, Posey, San, sf, the, win

When the Miami Marlins came to town last year with Matt Cain on the mound, my son and I took his grandmother visiting from India. Here they are after the game, and you can see the Marlins crushed us 7-2:

DSCN3593

In fact, Miami historically score a lot of runs at AT&T and have forced the Giants to do the same to get their wins. So yesterday, after Matt Cain fell behind early 1-4, it looked like the same old script: Cain gets behind early, gets no run support, but settles in and quiets the opponent, scattering a few more hits, only to lose because the Giants can’t plate any runners.

BUT WAIT!

Not this time. Even with Belt out, the Giants lineup looked daunting and filled with guys who have been hitting this year: Pence, Morse, Colvin, Posey … and even Sandoval, who entered the game with a slump-breaking six game hitting streak. It looked on paper like a lineup that could, possibly, maybe, finally produce run support for Cain.

Flashback for Perspective

Five years ago, in 2009, when the Giants at (79-66) were chasing the Rockies (82-64) and a shot at the Wild Card for the playoffs, we were within a game and a half with a three game series at AT&T on tap. A sweep would put the Giants in first, my favorite Giant, Matt Cain was on the mound, and it was as close as we had been all year. So I took my son (that little cute guy in the photo there) for his first night game.

Cain followed his incredibly consistent modus operandi: scattering five hits and four runs (via two homers) across six innings. The Giants had runners in scoring position in the 9th down 4-3 and Nate Schierholtz struck out to end the game. This was close as we would get to the playoffs … until the next year when we won it all. : )

But as we all know that game was not only typical of what happened to Matt Cain all that year long, it has continued to this day. The poor guy hasn’t had a win all season because the Giants sometimes can’t score even one bloody run for him.

I want to be honest … it physically hurts when I think what we have done to Matt Cain’s win-loss record. This guy should be HoF bound and may not make it on any ballot because of that win-loss record. That is why he is my favorite Giant … because I know I’m going to be spending the rest of my days arguing for his election to Cooperstown.

But unless you’re the New York Yankees, or now, the Dodgers or Angels, help for the batting order requires an incremental build up of bats over a few off-seasons. To his great credit, Giants GM Brian Sabean has worked at it: Fontenot and Ross during the season of 2010; Melky, Pagan and Blanco in the offseason and Scutaro and Pence during the season of 2012; and now Michael Morse – the biggest bat of all – in 2014.

Cost Effective? Shoot “Mr. CE” should be Sabean’s nickname. With two rings in four years, he has out-Moneyballed Billy Beane.

So last night, when the Giants bats fought back from a 1-4 deficit to take a 6-4 lead for Matt Cain, I almost wept … years in the making.

Hunter Pence was 3 for 5 and scored three runs. Michael Morse crushed an opposite field home run to right and Buster Posey drilled the go-ahead two-run double to give the Giants the lead they would never relinquish. Way to go Gerald! The increasingly impressive ‘pen did the rest.

And though he wasn’t as much of a factor, Pablo did extend his streak with a hit that advanced Hunter Pence to third and later in the game moved Posey there on a deep sac fly. Posey would score on a Morse single.

This was a significant come from behind win for the Giants.

I really should make mention of Pagan’s at-bat that may have saved this game … but instead I will let El Lefty Malo do it.

There were some negatives: Pablo had another errant throw. We got lucky a ball that hit Pence on the foot (which would have been an automatic out) went unobserved by the refs (and that there is as yet no replay). But all those fall under Category 4: Take Advantage of Others’ Mistakes.

As you must have read by now, staff ace Tim Hudson has been scratched tonight for a minor injury that is basically a “rest scratch” for the oldest guy on staff. Yusmeirio Petit will get his second emergency start of the season. He has been up and down and we are starting to develop a really team-oriented approach to the early season, so I LOVE this: keeping Petit from getting cold and resting the old guy with potential to get injured. It’s just like spelling Pagan and letting Blanco develop in case it has to happen more often. These are all moves that create a 25-man roster that can win any game, with any lineup.

I am starting to get really good feelings about this season. Yesterday, when Cain was down 1-4, for the first time this season, I broke out:

The Necklace.

After I put it on, we swarmed back to win.

We have never lost the season or the World Series when either my son or I wear The Necklace every game day.

Batty, Batty, Batty in the Heat; Giants Crush Braves 10-4, Win Series

15 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts

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10-4, AT&T, atlanta, baseball, braves, crush, Francisco, giants, heat, mlb, San, series, win

What a day for baseball at AT&T Park. Temperatures crossed 80 degrees and the bats responded as they have in the past. The two ace starters, Julio Teheran for the Braves and Madison Bumgarner for the Giants, were forced into a combined 61 pitches in a first inning that ended 2-2. Teheran threw 41 pitches … in the first inning!

The continuing shifting of position players in response to the absence of 1B Brandon Belt (out with a broken thumb for anywhere from 6-8 weeks) had Gregor Blanco playing center field and Michael Morse at 1st. Blanco had a problem with a fly ball in the first that found the wall and gave the Braves an early 2-run lead, but “the white shark,” el Tiburon Blanco more than made up for it the rest of the game with patient at-bats and inspired base running.

Starting as the lead off hitter for the first time this season in order to spell Angel Pagan, Gregor Blanco did something yesterday that Willie Mays never did: he stole three bases in a game and scored three runs. It was a display of speed not seen around here since The Bullet, Darren Ford. It helped the struggling Blanco to perform at the plate as well, as he showed more patience, drew a walk and even drove in an RBI with a single.

Blanco responding to the absence of Pagan was just what the Giants needed. I refused to see resting Pagan as a problem or an issue yesterday, but rather as an early-season opportunity to develop alternatives to Pagan in the lead off position. Blanco performed exceptionally well. Tyler Colvin looks like an option, too. If we want Angel Pagan to last the entire season without injury, spelling him for games is the way – another great decision by skipper Bruce Bochy.

Blanco’s speed was accompanied by an awesome display of power on a hot, hot day at the yard – Hunter Pence, Michael Morse and Brandon Crawford all went yard. Brandon Crawford’s homer found the water of McCovey Cove , his second splash hit of this season and his career, to bring the total hit by Giants to 67. Pablo Sandoval extended his slump-breaking hitting streak to six games but had to leave the game after five innings with an injury to his big toe.

Pablo is listed day-to-day, but it adds to the shifting and substituting in the infield and means we’ll be seeing Arias throwing to Morse or Posey or Sanchez on different days. The shifting of players in reaction to injury is an example of the team philosophy from top to bottom in this organization. It seems to be a shared effort every game. Truly 25 Guys with One Common Goal … to win today!

Madison Bumgarner had a frustrating, hot afternoon, allowing four runs and five hits in five, striking out five and giving up a walk. But MadBum still managed to get the win, secured by a bullpen that, increasingly, must be considered one of the best in baseball – both at the skill level and with regard to managerial decision making about their use. Bochy has become masterful at bullpen management.

The Giants had 15  hits and six walks and chased Teheran from the game in the 4th. Teheran is 3-2 on the young season, but both those losses have come at the hands of the Giants, once at home and once on the road.

The Giants have the best record in all of baseball again and among the leaders in home runs, having tacked on three more yesterday. They also lead the league in series victories, with nine.

The surprising Miami Marlins are in town today and through the weekend. They arrive having destroyed Los Angeles yesterday. The Dodgers wholly imploded and failed at every aspect of the game, losing 13-3. Brian Wilson got crushed and the lowly nemesis had to turn to position  players to pitch – ridiculous.

 

 

Why I’m Doing This and Who It’s For – apologies, explanations and a request for readers

15 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Commentary, etiquette

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Every day or at most every couple of days, I set aside my responsibilities as a father and all my work as an artist and a writer to create the entries on this blog. It costs me time and, arguably, money.

So, recently I’ve wondered why I do it at all. Today, I want to answer that question as an attempt to invite you, dear reader, to read, follow and engage with me.

I do this because I love the Giants and I love to write. I think I have novel ideas about the state of play and the team itself, that are NOT being expressed in the social media realm. I express them on the radio as “M.T.” and on this blog, and in tweets @giantsbaseballc as an attempt to get my two cents in sure, but more, hoping to improve the team and the discourse.

I’ve been a fan of the Giants longer than many of the current fans I read on twitter have been alive. As a 47-year-old, my view is informed by three decades of watching this team, not just the four years since we won our first World Series in SF. I’m no bandwagoner.

Coincidentally, one of my high school friends married into the Magowan family in 1994, so I was lucky to be able to meet Peter and his family and to be a part of the Giants family in a small way, too. I’ll never forget running into Peter Magowan out in front of the park on a gray day in November of 2010. He was just walking on King street toward the parking lot with his brief case in his hand. I looked up and said, “Peter.” (stupidly … I mean I should have said, “Mr. Magowan” .. I was just taken aback ’cause he was standing right in front of me). I’d only met the guy once 15 years earlier, but he stopped, remembered me by name and had a thrilling chat with my son and I about our deliriously exciting World Series win. It felt like we were part of the family.

The same happened in 2012 when SFG productions asked my son and me to participate in the “Together We’re Giant” campaign, following us through the NLCS and World Series games. When they were done editing it, we were amazed to find we were the first people fans hear and see in the critical episode. That was so cool. Our episode even won an Emmy!

So I do this because I want the team to win, but because I believe that can only happen if the fan base is smart, analytical and keeps a high tenor to the discourse. I believe I occasionally make avant-garde analysis in an attempt to push the team and our fans toward a deeper, more nuanced view. I’ll just give you one example fans from 2010 may remember.

In the summer of 2010, when Jeremy Affeldt was blowing starts, I went on a radio and text campaign to praise and push for the employment of Javier Lopez in all of Affeldt’s would be starts until Affeldt could rectify whatever was wrong. I did this loudly, as M.T., and for a time was the only one doing it in early July of that year. I have recordings of the first times I went on KNBR to discuss this.

Mychal Urban picked it up and gave me some air time. The discussion picked up steam … and we all know what’s happened since. The two lefty relievers compliment each other perfectly. Affeldt used the push of Lopez to improve. Instead of competing they worked together. It’s one of the reasons I use a quote from Lopez as this blog’s tagline: “focused on the relentless flow of the positive river.”

Of course, I am not so narcissistic as to believe I changed team chemistry or team management. I do believe however that a lot of fans discussing it may have helped let it seep into staff ideology.

I try to do this kind of thing all year long, to come up with a way we aren’t looking at it or that’s different somehow and push it into the discourse. It’s fun and makes me feel like I am part of the collective will of our team, our fans. I am occasionally provocative and just plain wrong. It’s an inevitability of trying to be avant-garde, to think outside the box. This turns a lot of people off on twitter and elsewhere. But it’s like a prototypical swing-for-the-fences guy … lotsa homers, lotsa strikeouts.

In my opinion, in recent times, the quality of coverage of the Giants has been significantly reduced by the demands of a sportstainment complex that seeks to equate all fans – bandwagoners and old-timers, fans who know little about the game and those with lots of knowledge, the young and the old.

All of this takes place in the social media realm in a very commercially driven way … so diversity of coverage has dropped and reiteration of the same (sometimes banal) points goes on ad nauseum.

The very language of coverage has changed so much that Henry Schulman, whom I admire, has changed his style to suit the social media demands. The beat writer changing good, journalistic, analytical language for petty, social media chit-chat is only one example of something I lament and last year, it got me in trouble.

I went out drinking with some friends who bought too many rounds, more than I usually indulge in. I came home and read one of Schulman’s particularly offensive stretches into what he obviously must do as the beat reporter to keep followers in this new era, and foolishly, I berated him and tweeted that he “only had his job because of the Giants.”

This was misinterpreted by him and others as a critique of his fine work and I paid a price socially (social medially?) for it. People thought I was mean-spirited. IN FACT THAT WAS NOT WHAT I MEANT AT ALL.

What I mean, and I really, really wish Henry would understand this, is that the San Francisco Giants in 2010 saved the SF Chronicle. They were forced to fire and lay off dozens of people. They were going to shutter the paper … close it down.

Then … the Giants went on the epic tear we now celebrate as our first World Series victory in San Francisco. The team saved the paper.

That is what I meant.

I tweeted it, and taken out of context (granted coupled with my criticism of Henry’s work being reduced to inane social media blather), it read all wrong.

I don’t think I owe Henry any more apologies than I have already exchanged with him, but I never got to explain what I meant, that I hate when he is forced to do stupid work to stay “social.” Of course, I appreciate Schulman when he does great work, I have for a decade. I simply meant he and the rest of the workers at his paper are lucky they still have a place to go to work, and it is in large part due to the Championship team that sold papers all summer and autumn of 2010. Their winning ways help to this day.

From the Comcast producers’ ideas of spending so much time covering people’s hats, outfits and behavior in the stands, to the utterly pathetic non-baseball blather of Gary and Larry on KNBR, much of the coverage that seeks to mollify the half-interested under an umbrella of “social-ness” has gotten base and/or way too social, and so it’s often unreadable or unlistenable to me. I enjoy it sometimes of course, but I long for something … else.

So I do this because I want coverage like the kind I produce here: text driven, summative, analytical, long form, which takes critique seriously; instead of the sycophancy of a social media insider’s crowd. I think there is way too much glad-handing and empty critique. The result is that all of the coverage is filled with social media asides, petty complaints about irrelevancies, catty chat, and, increasingly, less baseball analysis and discussion.

As an aside, I do credit Marty Lurie, who joined us only recently – 2010 – and whom at first, I disagreed with considerably more than I do today. He is a true fan of the game and it is a pleasure to talk about it with him … most days 😉 … I hate when you are dismissive of my wilder suggestions, Marty, but I get it, you’re a lawyer.

I wrote this in 2012 about my experiences with Marty Lurie.

So I am writing this for people who agree with me about some of these complaints or attitudes, if you will, and who seek another positive, but honest fan’s perspective. I don’t mean to condescend or to be naive or to offend.

Recently I offended a twitter follower and Giants fan simply by suggesting a statistical response to her single word critique of Bruce Bochy. He pulled a pitcher and she wrote “WHY???”

I replied that the next batter was particularly good against lefties and so management probably was looking to odds. I listed the batting stats in the reply. I was just trying to provide a stat that might explain the skipper’s actions.

What I received in return for this was vitriol and accusations that I was condescending to her. It was totally uncalled for and very representative of what I hear on the radio more and more, and read on twitter, FB and elsewhere. It’s over-emotional, with way too much “homerism” and often devoid of perspective.

I know for a fact I’ve been a fan of the team longer than this particular person has been alive. In fact, I suppose I am on twitter just so I can find some other way to relate to younger people.

But I was just trying to contribute, to take the conversation to another level. I asked her why she had me on blast … and got a loud, defensive reaction. We unfollowed each other promptly afterward. I don’t think I need to apologize, but I will here, since you know who you are. I hope we can re-follow one another someday and this explanation of my somewhat eccentric methods helps to explain my approach.

I just don’t like the way the new media is affecting coverage of the game. I’m old school, I guess. The beauty of a blog is that I can do whatever I want here. … so I have been.

But it takes a lot of time, and unlike Henry, Kruk, Kuip, Dave, Jon, Alex, Baggs, Marty, Haft, BASG, Brisbee or the others I enjoy, I’m not being paid for my efforts. That’s not a plug, just a fact … I don’t seek to make money from this blog … I seek to be taken seriously as an analytical voice in the Giants community. It’d be nice to be invited to contribute.

I am disappointed in much of what I read and hear and see, so I want a place were I can write and re-read the season with analysis that’s leaner and more focused on the overall trending of the team. My own view.

Here I must say guys like Henry, Kruk, Kuip, Dave, Jon, Alex, Baggs, Marty, Haft, BASG and Brisbee are all good at a lot of things. That’s why I read and listen and have read and listened to them all so often, but the overall language, in general, is changing in a way that doesn’t make it enjoyable to a guy like me.

I know there are fans out there who, like me, think of the players as numbers and positions more than personalities; who like to indulge in aggressively calculated second-guessing and deeper analysis of management decision-making; who like to READ longer sentences, more poetic and prosaic approaches to the game itself.

If so, that’s who this blog is for.

I really hope you will join me, but if not, that you will pass this address on to someone else who might. It would be comforting to know there are at least a few out there who like looking at the game for the game it is, talking positively about opponents when they make good plays or perform well; admiring the state of play; and being capable of critique while supporting the Giants as fans and analysts.

Maybe this is all just a long-winded way of saying I don’t think my stuff is working the way everybody else’s is. But I think I am also saying, I don’t really want or expect it to. I’m not a kid-journalist trying to get a job. I’ve already had careers as a sports journalist, a news correspondent, a published author, a collected artist. I’m in mid-career. This is a labor of love for me to try to get back something I miss. If you miss it too, please join me.

Best,

MTK

Dueling Aces Rubber Match in Scorching Heat; Giants vs. Braves at AT&T Park

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by mtk in PreGame GBCs

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atlanta, baseball, braves, colvin, giants, heat, mlb, preview, Romo, scorcher, Sergio, tyler

In some ways the Atlanta Braves mirror the Giants – great pitching, good defense and “just enough runs” come to mind. Looking at Andrelton Simmons and Crawford side-by-side does, too. Or how about the pitching staff … for example in today’s game when it’ll be Bumgarner versus Teheran – dominant big pitchers.

So when the Giants went into Atlanta and swept the Braves last week, it wasn’t so much a surprise as the first move in a chess match that could easily end in the National League Championship series playing for the pennant.

In the first game of this week’s series at AT&T Park on Monday, Tim Lincecum turned back the clock and turned in a glittering performance: the FreaKKKKKKKKKKK – yup that’s 11 strikeouts.

Timmy was backed up by an equally exciting performance at the plate – by Tyler Colvin – who smashed a splash hit into McCovey Cove in his first at-bat as a Giant. Colvin followed that stellar drive with a bases-clearing triple that drove in three and gave the Giants a 4-1 lead. Wow, what a debut!

Romo got the save, but not before giving up another run to the Braves. In fact Romo’s been pretty shaky the last couple of outings – including giving up a game-tying HR for a blown save in LA.

Hey Romo, Maybe worry less about your new shoes and more about keeping your eyes on the prize: 50 saves … you said that was your goal two years ago, Sergio. Make it happen, cap’n.

Then of course, the Giants went to sleep in game two, and couldn’t plate a single run for Ryan Vogelsong. The Braves’ powerful lefty Mike Minor mowed down the staff and earned Atlanta’s first win over the Giants this year.

Vogey fell to (1-2), despite a decent five innings. It all fell apart in the 6th. The critical error in this one was that Buster Posey missed a tag at the plate, that he should have easily made. The 6th inning unraveled after the play and the game was lost.

It’s going to be over 90 degrees at the park today as the two aces take the mound. Julio Teheran has only been beaten once since April – but that was by the Giants – and Madison Bumgarner seems to have righted his course and is back to his winning ways. Will the warm weather knock one or both of these guys out? Or will it be a lock-down nail biter?

Stay tuned – it’s Giants and Braves at battle once again.

 

Giants Take Three of Four in Chavez Ravine

12 Monday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts

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Now that was a great road trip.

On what was meant to be the Giants longest and most difficult road trip of the season – ten consecutive nights facing the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, the Pirates in Pittsburgh and four vs. the Dodgers in LA, the Giants emerged with a 7-3 record and showed flexibility, poise and power.

They swept the Braves in Atlanta for the first time since 1988, using power – a parade of home runs – and pitching. They lost two of three in Pittsburgh, but the one game they took was a wild one that went 13 innings and in which 21 runs were scored. Bizarrely, after being unable to score with RISP in Atlanta, the Giants flipped the script and won that one with situational hitting; moving runners over with bunts and sacs, getting timely hits with RISP. It ended with Jean Machi’s bunt RBI and not a single homer.

Despite losing Brandon Belt to a broken thumb and having Sergio Romo blow a save in the ninth in LA, the team managed to chip away and fight for wins to stay on top of the NL West by two games over Colorado and four and a half over LA.

Back at the friendly confines of AT&T this week, it doesn’t get  much easier, as the top two teams of the NL East are in town. The Braves are certain to have vengeance on their minds after the Giants swept them last week in their park. Then next up, it’s the Miami Marlins, a surprisingly good team this year, just two back of the Braves out East. After the homestand, it’s back on the road to face the Rockies in Colorado – who will be looking to seize the division lead. It’s going to be a tough stretch the rest of May.

Tim Lincecum is on the mound tonight. He will face the Braves’ Gavin Floyd.

 

Giants Crush The Hopes of the Nemesis in 10th, Defeat Dodgers 3-1

09 Friday May 2014

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Mr. Quality Control is back.

MrQC

Vogelsong was truly #Vogelstrong, throwing just over 100 pitches, easing his way out of jams and holding the Dodgers to a single run. He out-dueled one of the Dodgers’ high value starters, Josh Beckett, went seven and an out, and looked controlled doing it.

When we won the World Series in 2012, Ryan Vogelsong was absurdly consistent. He had a quality start run of sixteen consecutive games in which he went at least six innings. And in that run, he allowed less than three runs a game, a machine.

Then last year Vogey had a rocky start. I think he liked being third in the order in 2012, and perhaps changing the order in 2013 and moving him down to fifth contributed to his struggles at the beginning of the season. His rhythm may have been disturbed by it, because he struggled with command and confidence, looked shaken and was getting shelled. He was asked if he was worried he might lose his place in the rotation. He responded with a glare, “Why would I?”

Then he had a decent game. It seemed like he might have turned the corner. So Vogey was just starting to find his groove when he had the bad luck to be hit on the hand while batting. Some bones in his hand were broken and he had to sit for weeks. It destroyed his rhythm and he never came back like the dominant pitcher he had been. (still, fuck the DH, that’s just NL ball).

In the off-season, all of this affected contract negotiations. But Ryan was happy to re-sign and get back to doing what he likes to do – pitch. And now we know some things about what he needs to do the job well.

Ryan Vogelsong seeks order. He eats the same thing before every game: #RallyEnchiladas. Vogey needs to find a season-long groove. He likes consistency so he can be consistent. He has great command when he is comfortable and he showed it off against the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine last night.

The Giants executed the game plan to perfection last night in L.A. Vogey handed the ball off to Affeldt for a single batter, then Yasel Puig stepped up to the plate with one out and a runner on in a tied game. Puig is hitting .357 against lefties right now and in the low .290’s against righties. Bochy went to Santiago Casilla, #TheWorkhorse, who mowed him down in a dominating strikeout at-bat.

Casilla took care of business and worked the Dodgers into extra innings and in the tenth, the Giants drew a series of walks off Dodger reliever Jamey Wright and got RBI’s from Brandon Belt and Hector Sanchez: clutch hitting with Runners in Scoring Position.

A note must be made of the ridiculously crisp defense backing up pitching staff. The Three Brandons – Crawford, Hicks and Belt – are having fun and making great plays. It’s a joy to watch. (#TripleBrandonDP is a thing now).

Romo came in to seal it and acquire his eleventh save and The Workhorse, Santiago Casilla got the win, his first of the season.

I have come to the conclusion there are three horses on this team in the Year of the Horse: #TheBigHorse, Matt Cain; #CrazyHorse Angel Pagan; and #TheWorkhorse Santiago Casilla.

Last night’s win and Colorado’s loss put just a little distance between the Giants and the rest of the division. The Giants are in first by a game over the Rockies and by three and a half over the Dodggers.

Game Two today features Madison Bumgarner (3-3; 3.18) versus Paul Maholm (1-2; 4.70), a match-up that, at least on paper, favors the Giants but it depends on which Bumgarner shows up. I think he gets motivated following a performance like last night’s by Vogelsong.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. Go Giants!

Giants Lose Two in a Row, Series in Pittsburgh

08 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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baseball, Francisco, giants, mlb, Pirates, San, series, sf, wrap

Game One of this series was one of the craziest games ever witnessed. 13 innings of scoring and hits which end on an RBI bunt by the winning pitcher Jean Machi. I can’t even get into it here, but it was an epic win. Giants 11, Pirates 10 in 13.

That crazy game was, sadly, followed by two losses in which the Giants bats went back to sleep. The Game Two loss was due to instant replay review allowing a game-winning run to score when the play was called out at the plate. Giants lose 1-2 on the first ever replay walkoff.

The Game Three loss was a Tim Lincecum debacle in which he gave up 4 and we weren’t able to score more than 3. Belt did hit a homer though to continue the Brandon Belt Parade O’ Homers around the major league ballparks of the United States and Canada. He has hit a home run in every ball park the Giants have played in this year.

Giants thus lose the series to the Pirates 1-2

Now it’s off to Los Angeles to do battle with  the nemesis, with the division-lead on the line. Vogey is up first facing Beckett, so don’t get your hopes up. We’ll see if the back-to-form Vogelsong is for real, I suppose. Sure would be nice to get some of those home runs going again.

Yusmeiro Petit to Start vs. Pirates in Gm1

05 Monday May 2014

Posted by mtk in PreGame GBCs

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cain, cut, Dunning, finger, Jake, kitchen, knifes, matt, rest, stats, update

Today the Giants have landed in Pittsburgh, PA. Yesterday, the team announced they are giving the Big Horse, SP Matt Cain, an extra start off to allow the small cut on his finger to completely heal and that today in his place against the Pirates Yusmeiro Petit will get the start.

The Giants website mistakenly had Jake Austin Dunning, starting. So there was some confusion. But @hankschulman and @knbrmurph both confirmed this a.m. that it will in fact be Petit.

Yusmeiro Petit’s been killing it and it’s good to go with the guy who’s hot right now and to let Cain’s finger fully mend. Schulman’s piece is crisp and clarifying on all that has gone on.

Since the team put Cain on the DL, they had space for Dunning, a tall (6’4″), 26-year-old, right hander who pitched twice for the Giants last year. He was 0-2, but had 2.84 ERA. So Jake Dunning has been called up for long relief, for example in the instance of a Lincecum or Vogey implosion.

Dunning will not be facing Jeff Locke, who in a weird twist of fate, is in fact, making his season debut after coming off of injury. He is 11-13 as a Brave and left rookie status in 2012.

Raise the Jolly Roger says this about him

“We all know about Locke’s up and down season last year, which pretty much made him an afterthought coming into this year. Now, the way the pitching has looked, he has a chance to step up and give the staff a boost. He was off to a pretty shaky start in the minors, so my confidence isn’t all that high, but even if the Bucs can get lightning in a bottle for a few games, that would be huge.”

Which makes me feel like we are going to light this 23-year-old young man up!

Here’s your lineup:

  1. Pagan CF
  2. Pence RF
  3. Posey 1B
  4. Morse LF
  5. Sanchez C
  6. Sandoval 3B
  7. Hicks 2B
  8. Crawford SS
  9. Petit P

I like this one a LOT, especially against a young guy, just back from injury, like Locke.

I expect the Giants to score a lot of runs in this one. Pablo should be able to jump on this kid and hopefully snap the slump.

Bumgarner Fans 9, B-Craw Goes Yard 2x, Giants Sweep the Chop

04 Sunday May 2014

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atlanta, Brandon, braves, Bumgarner, chop, Crawford, field, giants, Madison, sweep, swept, turner

The Giants swept the Braves with good pitching and home runs, a LOT of home runs.

In today’s final game of the series, Madison Bumgarner was dominant, striking out the side twice and ending with 9Ks. Brandon Crawford had his first ever multi-homerun game with two dingers that provided all the runs.

Giants win 4-1.

Giants Seek First Series Sweep in Atlanta Since 1988

04 Sunday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts, PreGame GBCs

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atlanta, baseball, belt, Brandon, braves, Bumgarner, Crawford, Francisco, giants, Madison, mlb, morse, Posey, Ryan, San, seek, sweep, vogelsong

In Game Two, the Giants held the Braves to just one run on the strength of pitching under pressure by Ryan Vogelsong, home runs by Michael Morse, Brandon Belt and Buster Posey and good defense – in particular once again by Brandon Crawford – who made a 270 degree spin and threw out his counterpart Andrelton Simmons to end the game. Giants win 3-1.

Vogelsong had a good game. Vogey went six innings and had as many strikeouts. He was stable and pitched particularly well under pressure. He gave up five hits, four walks and a run. He looked in command, much like the Vogelsong of old – I hope he has turned the corner.

Brandon Belt has now homered in every single baseball park he has played in this year. Michael Morse continues to impress. The three homers were against the Braves’ ace Julio Teheran – a good sign. But once again the runs were all solo shots. So the five runs in two games that have won this series have all come from homers with no one on base.

Today Madison Bumgarner takes the mound in the state he was born and raised in, where he grew up cheering the Braves. He will likely have a lot of friends and family in the stands. Good. Because Madison has not been pitching well. He looked utterly befuddled in his last start and was touched up for it. He has lost three straight starts.

Bumgarner faces Alex Wood, whose 2.93 ERA helps the Braves have the lowest team ERA in the league, but he has endured four straight losses. One of these guys should break that streak today.

Here’s your Giants lineup for today’s game:

  1. Pagan CF
  2. Pence RF
  3. Posey C
  4. Morse LF
  5. Belt 1B
  6. Sandoval 3B
  7. Hicks 2B
  8. Crawford SS
  9. Bumgarner P

EVERYBODY’S talking bout “just enough runs”

04 Sunday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Commentary

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I started talking about “just enough runs” a year and a half ago and have been on KNBR to discuss it. The idea that – comparable to the Rockies park where they rely on scoring runs at altitude – we at AT&T know we have a pitchers park and rely on hits dying.

We know at AT&T that pitchers come to our park and get pumped. They have epic performances and match our pitchers and defense.

Last year on this blog, and with Marty, I proposed that the formula reads:

1. Starting Pitching Hangs in There, ‘Pen Holds

2. Score Just Enough Runs

3. Play Crisp Defense

4. Take Advantage of Opponents Mistakes

I used to add about the 4th one that many people perceive of us as “lucky” and “unlikely champions” – because when Hunter Pence’s bat shatters so precisely as to find it’s way out of reach of Pete Kozma, they call it luck.

Marty and I chatted about it, but he was dismissive, like, “Well, yeah …” (duh)

In the face of the Dodgers and their $235 million budget. smart acquisitions like Tim Hudson and Michael Morse serve to buttress what is essentially a pitching-based team. We like locking games down with pitching. For us, scoring runs is secondary. Runs we need, but pitching and defense we must achieve to survive.

Hence our attitude … we don’t need thirty runs … we need just. enough. There’s no point in going after one huge hitter and allowing his contract to suck up payroll for a year or two, forbid six.

just enough runs.

Tactical Giants skill set.

been sayin’ it.

 

Tension! The Giants vs. Braves in Atlanta

03 Saturday May 2014

Posted by mtk in PreGame GBCs

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angel, atlanta, baseball, braves, field, Francisco, giants, julio, Lincecum, michael, mike, minor, mlb, morse, pagan, Ryan, San, teheran, Tim, turner, vogelsong, win

Game one of this series was a doozy. A great pitching duel with crisp defense and good baseball all around. National League Ball. Again here’s the diagnosis I came up with last year of the Giants’ basic strategy:

1. Starting Pitching Hangs in There, ‘Pen Holds

2. Score Just Enough Runs

3. Play Crisp Defense

4. Take Advantage of Opponents Mistakes

and yesterday, it worked.

Tim Lincecum found himself starting the Braves Series in Atlanta facing the strong lefty Mike Minor, who was making his season debut after enduring several weeks off from baseball due to a urinary tract procedure.

Minor was cleared to play and given a minor league start to ensure he was all right. But in that start he gave up four home runs. Though Braves staff felt he looked good in general, it was a concern. Angel Pagan made sure they stayed concerned, by smashing a homer off him in the lead off at-bat of Game one, Giants up 1-0.

Minor was quick to settle down and rarely gave the Giants opportunities, though when they got them, the G-men continued to fail to plate runners in scoring position. This game would be decided by homers once again – a recurring theme in Giants’ wins this season (credit due to Morse, Belt, Pagan and Posey).

Tim Lincecum hung in there and showed command. He kept the ball down and looked like he was putting it where he wanted it. In the third he threw a pitch down and out and it was popped up into center field. Immediately after the ball hit the bat, Timmy pointed up and looked down, confident the ball wasn’t leaving the park. It showed an increasing confidence in his command.

Tim pitched his way out of jams twice and went six innings, giving up just one run off six hits. He had only four strikeouts, instead relying on his command to generate ground outs and popups. This was what we have been looking for from Lincecum: to turn to other options than a strikeout fastball, to work out the hitter and force him into a 3rd strike mistake like a weakly hit ball.

After Pagan’s homer, Michael Morse added a solo shot to give the Giants the 2-1 lead they would never relinquish, but it was a tense affair.

The Braves stranded 12 runners and were 1 for 9 with RISP. Timmy’s pitching at key moments wasn’t the only reason why. Brandon Crawford provided the crisp defense in this one. He made several good plays and one monstrous one that saved an inning. Crawford slapped down a hard driven liner and picked it up and fired it to first to end an inning and in another made a leaping throw to get the runner. Then there was this gem in the 9th:

BCraw Does It Again

Way to go BCraw!

Jeremy Affeldt entered in the 7th and was good again, getting two quick outs, but giving up a hit. Santiago Casilla came in and slowly, his way, picked up the third out and manhandled the 8th inning.

Sergio Romo struggled at the very end of this one again, giving up a walk and a steal. But as Marty said, “He was working.” With two-out and one on in scoring position, and the score 2-1, Giants, Sergio Romo battled with the Braves best hitter Justin Upton.

On a 3-2 count and after several foul balls, Romo froze Upton with a fastball to win it. Dave Flemming made an awesome call, “strike three called on a fastball in-there! and … shades of Miguel Cabrera in the World Series …”

It was a great pitching duel, with only the two home runs given up by the just-returned Mike Minor being the difference.

Brian Sabean looks like a genius right now for picking up Hudson and Morse in the off season. This week they looked AWESOME.

Game Two later today will be considerably tougher for the Giants as they face the Braves’ ace, Julio Teheran (2-1) – a big, hard-throwing right hander who has 26 strikeouts in the young season and boasts a 1.47 ERA.

Pitching for the Giants today, it’s the up-and-down Ryan Vogelsong. It’s very difficult to tell which Vogey we’re going to get nowadays. When he feels steady and gets support he can go six innings, but when he implodes he does so badly. Hopefully Yusmeiro Petit will be available if necessary, but I hate thinking like that.

These games are my favorite kind of baseball – National League pitching duels requiring alculated management, situational hitting and crisp defense. Looking forward to another good one. #RallyEnchiladas #RallyVogey #BeatATL

Go Giants!

 

Hudson One Pitch from 89-pitch CG, Giants Win 3-2

01 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

ace, AT&T, baseball, Brian, busch, championship, diego, fontenot, Francisco, giants, Grandal, hit, Hudson, inning, mark, match, mlb, padres, pagan, pitcher, pitches, ring, Ross, rubber, sabean, San, scutaro, sf, splash, ten, theriot, Tim

Tim Hudson was incredible. He averaged only ten pitches an inning over eight innings during which he allowed one run amongst five hits. It was a stunning display of command over himself and control of an opponent’s  lineup.

Thus, in the top of the 9th, with a 3-1 lead, Hudson faced the possibility of averaging ten pitches or less in a complete game. With the pitch count so low, Bruce Bochy left him in.

As Dave Flemming put it, on the radio, live: “Why not? He’s only thrown 80 pitches.”

Hudson quickly sat down the first two batters of the 9th on six pitches. Then he had a two strike count on the Padres Yasmani Grandal when he sent an 87mph cutter down the gut that Grandal timed perfectly, connected on wholly and sent into McCovey Cove – a solo shot. Hudson’s 89th pitch ended his night, one out shy of a CG.

That condemnable 30th Splash Hit by an Opponent was retrieved by kayaker Mark Busch:

MarkBuschOpponentsHR

I hope Mark’s dog rips that thing to shreds.

Because, as Alex Pavlovic of the Mercury News tweeted it best:

“If Grandal swings through that last one, Hudson has himself an 89-pitch complete game.”

Sergio Romo came in to get the one-out save, his seventh, and this one was in the books as another outstanding performance by the SP who must be considered the Giants’ ace of 2014 thus far, Tim Hudson.

The Giants’ offense did score twice early. A Michael Morse double was plated by a Posey RBI in the first. Then in the second, The Giants made it 2-0 on a solo shot by the increasingly impressive Brandon Hicks.

Hicks’ homer was hit right handed, inside-out to deep RF – only Bonds ever did that kind of stuff at AT&T. It blew minds. But afterward, the Giants struggled to support Hudson at the plate.

Padres lefty Robbie Erlin settled down and he found a groove. Pitchers love our park and often play to our level of pitching competition. It’s an issue. It means we have to fight, scrap and hustle – with knowledge of our park they don’t have – to produce runs.

The Giants had RISP on three occasions and blew them all. The worst was a leadoff triple by Brandon Crawford in the 4th, when he was left stranded by a clunky, sputtering Giant offense. But in the previous inning the Giants had Morse and Belt on 2nd and 3rd with two out and could do nothing.

Luckily, Buster Posey singled in Arias (who had doubled in the 7th) to provide an insurance run that would prove to be necessary. Had Buster not hit that RBI late in the game, Grandal’s massive splash hit would’ve tied it up!

The Padres’ bullpen is decent and will fight in extra innings to steal wins. We could have easily been involved in a dog fight again on a night when Tim Hudson was throwing like Greg Maddux.

Point being, the Giants need to be more consistent about situational hitting with runners in scoring position. After Buster’s RBI single, with runners in the corners, Morse struck out, failing to get Pence home from third.

Team RISP: 3-for-11.
Team LOB: 7

ugh. Mark my words: whichever team – Dodgers, Giants or Colorado – plays smart, crisp baseball and hustles most for 50/50 games, will take the NL West. The SF Giants shot at being that team will depend on sacs, bunts, steals and hits with runners in scoring position.

On the bright side, as May begins, the Giants (17-11) lead the division by one and a half games over the Dodgers. On the road for our first two weeks of this month we face the Braves, Pirates and Dodgers next.

It’s time to tighten up the hitting in these batter-friendly parks and to continue hitting well against the nemesis in LA. I’d love to see us take 6 out of 9. Go Giants!

TWEET: #kudos to Brian Sabean, GM of #SFGiants for @Mcode38 and #TimHudson; excellent calculated expenditures in face of $235million #Dodger budget

After Cody Ross and Fontenot in 2010 and Scutaro and Theriot in 2012, this looks like a pattern: Morse and Hudson in 2014. Hmm. “World Series Champions 2014,” has a nice ring to it.

(photo by McCovey Cove Dave @mccoveycovedave – whose sign they use for Opponents Splash Hits)

M.T. Karthik

This blog archives early work of M.T. Karthik, who took every photograph and shot all the video here unless otherwise credited.

Performances and installations are posted by date of execution.

Writing appears in whatever form it was originally or, as in the case of poems or journal entries, retyped faithfully from print.

all of it is © M.T. Karthik

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