Giants got a couple back against the Marlins, but the last one we should have won … and let get away. Josh Osich may just need a second after the week he had. Consecutive beanings of the same DBacks player the second of which led to a bench-clearing, followed by giving up the dinger that cost us the last game. Ouch.
Just a quick Reader this week to feature, as usual, a few good bits you may have missed. In the parlance of our times ICYMI:
John Shea has an excellent piece on early returns from the experiment of using the Starting Pitcher in the 8-spot (which we of course love so much here at GBC). It’s too early to say anything definitive, but I LOVE that Bochy is committed to a serious sample size. This early data will be immensely useful down the road.
And with Barry Lamar back in town with the Marlins, Gutierrez at ESPN wrote about it, thusly, but I really loved this moment: Bonds seems so relieved of bad and idiotic and rude and hateful press. It is nice to see him laugh … and to hear him brag about himself again!
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.
The Padres were preyed upon by the Giants, who were licking their wounds after being swept in Milwaukee in games which exploded the ERAs of Barry Zito and Matt Cain.
So the Giants relished the opportunity to face a weak opponent back at home in the friendly, wide-open spaces of AT&T – they were eager to do what they do so well they’re the World Series Champs.
The formula is clear: pitching, defense, just enough hits and taking advantage of opponents’ mistakes. We should stop calling Giants Baseball “Torture,” because it’s the Giants’ method that creates the tension. They want to set the conditions taut and then to play crisp, so the other team will make a mistake first.
Giants Ball is small ball with four basic priorities. The simple formula applied effectively, can be beautiful. In order of importance:
1. Pitching – quality starters and a stable pen. The Giants rely heavily on starting pitching and on the bullpen. Bochy continues to improve at making the necessary moves to prevent runs from crossing the plate.
2. Crisp Defense – Marty Lurie on Bench Coach Ron Wotus: “What Ronnie said was, ‘If you get a double-play ball you better turn it. (beat) That’s the difference between a pennant winning team and another team.'”
3. Just Enough Hits – situational hits to produce “just enough” runs. It’s a different philosophy … think Just Enough Hits as opposed to Murderer’s Rows. We keep mowing down Murderer’s Rows in the World Series. Pitching wins out over a month of postseason play. All you need is just enough hits.
Jon Miller: “Sandoval is now hitting a *cool* five fifty with runners in scoring position. Pablo’s playing the chauffeur telling those runners in scoring position, hop in, I’m driving you home.”
4. Take Advantage of Opponents Mistakes
Some may think of plays that result from opponents errors as lucky, but when you play tight, crisp, team ball like this, you create conditions by which to seize upon errors of the opponent.
It’s a plan that’s going to generally result in close games. Lurie: 14 of 19 games have been decided by less than 3 runs and the Giants are 10-4 in those games.” We’ll take that!
So quit chewing your nails and get used to it. Learn to enjoy the chess match from the defensive perspective, let’s talk pen vs. pen.
I joined Marty Lurie on the Post Game to talk about that and other joys of small ball … and it was fun:
Thanks, Marty!
The highlight of the weekend was Angel Pagan’s walkoff double on Friday night. Though the Giants had to come from behind and score late to win it, the score was low because the pitchers were doing their thing.
Pitching
Giants starting pitchers gave up two runs over 27 innings and had two shutouts.
Bumgarner got tagged by Chase Headley for those runs, which was an anomaly in his pitching. Otherwise he was on target and the team didn’t let him get the loss: Pagan’s walk-off prevented it.
Tim Lincecum’s performance was dominant – with eight strikeouts over 6 innings – and the Giants’ system worked most efficiently in Game Two. Pablo Sandoval’s two run homer was all the scoring we needed and all we got. Mijares, Casilla and Romo cleaned up, held and closed.
In Game Three, Bruce Bochy left Barry Zito in through the 7th, which, if it were Bumgarner or Cain I would consider exactly the wrong move (please see other posts) … but Zeets is a special case, pitching perhaps the best of his life. He wants and deserves the innings. He was, to borrow Marty Lurie’s word for it, “electrifying” – seven shutout innings on 102 pitches with 71 strikes and pitched a great game.
Chad Gaudin came in with a five run lead and in a non-save situation maintained the shutout for the final two innings. The bullpen is really starting to gel.
Hitting
Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey each had a two-run homer in the series: Buster’s first home run of the year and Panda’s game two decider. The Giants have hit 11 Home runs, and I believe that’s 3rd worst in the Major Leagues – Just Enough Hits as opposed to Murderer’s Rows.
In the absence of power, key hits are what’s important and several guys on the team are doing the job to create a collective effort – a different hero every night.
Pablo’s bat has woken up after back-to-back, 0-fer nights and he is now leading the team and ranked int he league in RBIs, hitting .550 with RISP, which prompted Jon Miller to remark: “Pablo’s playing the chauffeur telling those runners in scoring position, ‘Hop in, I’m driving you home.'”
Angel Pagan won Game One with that walk-off double but has been getting other key hits throughout the young season. Last year he tied the 109-year-old Giants record for home hit streak and he seems focused on breaking it this year. He and Andres Torres have been picking up the pace to get on base as Marco Scutaro starts to find his stride.
Hunter Pence has been getting key hits as well and has four home runs to lead all Giants. Brandon Crawford is having his best year hitting in the majors thus far, threatening to end the season as a .300+ hitter and a Gold Glove winner.
Zito is getting calculated, intentional hits: well-executed bunts, infield hits and even a base hit swinging that looked great. Bay City Ball has a great piece about where Barry Zito’s hits go. Hint: the same way all the time.
Nick Noonan continues to show presence that’s unusual for a rookie – key pinch hits, solid infield work. Brandon Belt has been streaky, still looking for his swing. The negative comments on a hole in his swing get ugly. I still have faith.
This was a good series against a weak opponent that featured pitching and just enough hits by the Giants.
MTK The Writist 