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M.T. Karthik

~ works, thoughts, events of 1977 – 2017

M.T. Karthik

Tag Archives: series

The Giants Biggest Home Stand of the Year

12 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by mtk in Commentary, Uncategorized

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AT&T, baseball, Bumgarner, Cueto, Francisco, giants, johnny, Karthik, League, Madison, major, mlb, mtk, National, park, run, San, series, sf, stretch, win

And so it comes to this.

The best first half in the majors and the second-worst second half in the majors sums to the most important home stand of the year with twenty games to play.

Seven games: three against the Padres and four against the Cardinals who are outside looking in and trying, with the Mets, to pry us from atop the National League Wild Card standings.

The difference between eking out the Wild Card and seizing the division from the nemesis lies in these next seven games. We have to take five.

We were happy in June. This team looked built to make the run. The pieces all made sense and our record was the result of beautiful play. We were happy because we won without Pence, Panik, Duffy and Romo. If anything we were enthused because we knew we’d have them all back healthy for the stretch run. The pain of last year when all the injuries hit in August was fresh in our minds. (To be honest we’ve been pretty lucky in that regard).

Johnny Cueto tore it up and started the All-Star Game. We voted Belt into the summer classic with vigor. Cain and Peavy were mostly bad, but it didn’t seem to matter. Until he went down Romo was a great set-up man for Casilla who collected the majority of his 31 saves and looked like he could be the closer. (That team still exists).

Then this epic collapse of hitting and failures in the bullpen in the second half necessitated re-engineering the rotation, forced us to deal beloved Duffy.

I for one fully support what I think was swift and bold decision-making by Bobby Evans, Brian Sabean, Larry Baer, Bruce Bochy and staff. We had to do something quick and if we didn’t pick up Matt Moore, I am not sure we would even have a chance right now. Add to that the success Eduardo Núñez has had at third and at the plate, and I’m more than pleased we made the deal.

If we have to play the Mets or Nats in the play-in game I am confident we can send out MadBum and have a great chance to win. But thanks to the trade, I now also feel, with Cueto starting against the Cubs, then Samardzija/Moore and back to Bumgarner, we actually have a shot to beat the league leaders, to win the NLCS.

and today, David Schoenfeld, the SweetSpot Blogger on ESPN says,

“Consider:

  • The Giants are due to play better. Maybe they weren’t actually the best team in baseball when they ended the first half with a better record than the Chicago Cubs, but clearly they’re not the second-worst team in baseball.
  • Baseball teams are streaky. While the Giants’ extreme splits are abnormal, a bad stretch doesn’t necessarily predict more losing. They’re just as likely to go on a nice winning streak now. That’s baseball.
  • The Dodgers play 13 of their remaining 20 games on the road, and they’re 47-27 at home and just 33-35 on the road.
  • The teams have six games remaining against each other, including the season-ending series in San Francisco.
  • Hunter Pence is hot, with eight hits in the Arizona series. Buster Posey is due to get hot as well, right?
  • Strickland, if he does win the closer’s role on a regular basis, will be fine. He has a 2.41 ERA in his major league career and has held opponents to a .202 average (.213 this season). He has been the Giants’ best reliever over the past two seasons. So why has Bruce Bochy been so hesitant to name him the closer? It probably goes back to the 2014 postseason, when Strickland, with just seven innings of big league time, allowed six home runs in eight appearances. It’s tough to trust a guy in close games after seeing that, but Strickland is a solid reliever and has earned the opportunity. (As a bonus, rookie Derek Law, with a 1.94 ERA and excellent peripherals, is due to come off the DL this week.)”

Which brings us to the biggest home stand of the year.

Our biggest concern is a big one: the bullpen is a mess. Our second biggest concern is an ongoing lack of timely hitting, a situational slump at the plate particularly with runners in scoring position that has made #RISPsigh a thing now.

But on the positive side we got what we asked for, all the pieces we need and we are healthy. Hunter Pence just decided to turn it up several notches. Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey know the stretch.

Panik has to follow Núñez who has also been making it happen. Span and Pagan gotta get hot at the same time and Belt … I need you Brandon, I need some power from you. More aggressiveness at the plate. I love the walks and the on-base percentage, but take a chance and rock that thing.

The sharpness is returning to the starters. I like that. And the bullpen? Well I know this, they can’t do it without our support. I can’t be there, but the yard better be rocking.

Let’s Go Giants! Take ’em one day at a time and win ’em all.

25 Guys One Common Goal

Win Today!!!

 

 

 

 

Love,

MTK

 

 

 

The GBC Reader, Issue Twelve, As In a Dozen – with Four Dozen Games Left to Play, BCraw’s 7 Hit Game

12 Friday Aug 2016

Posted by mtk in GBC Readers

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12, AT&T, baseball, corner, dugout, Francisco, gbc, giants, issue, mlb, mtk, number, park, reader, San, series, sf, sign, twelve

With 48 games left to play, the San Francisco Giants hold a one game lead over the nemesis in the NL West and have returned home to the confines of AT&T nee´ Pac-Bell Park for a much needed ten game home stand.

Hunter Pence came home with a black eye. Buster Posey’s face was all busted up. We lost a 1-0 CG by Bumgarner and we pounced on and beat Strasbourg. Brandon Crawford had a seven-hit game! We won a 1-0 game for Samardzija. It was a crazy trip.

But now we are home and we’re up a game and there are four dozen left to play. Here at Giants Baseball Corner we changed the avatar of the Twitter account to the one we have used for the stretch run since 2012, our photo of the dugout sign that was featured in the Emmy-award winning Episode 7 of SFG Productions Orange October.

25guys

I only have one wish left and that’s to see Bruce Bochy vs. Joe Maddon in the NLCS.

But I must be patient, be filled with fear and hope. I must focus on today. Win today.

ON TO THE GBC READER NUMBER 12:

Brisbee posted a really nice analysis of the way we swing the bat. What we hit, what we miss and how. I encourage you to read it ’cause there are silver linings galore.

Brandon Crawford had SEVEN HITS in a game! It was insane. He went 7 for 8! His batting average increased by 13 points in one night. It was boss. Doing what they do best, which is archiving, CSNBA and AlPav did a really cool bit covering two men to have seven hits in a game. While in Miami, they found the previous and they got them together. Was awesome.

Berman even wrote about Crawford’s wonder.

Baggs has a nice piece on a turning point for the bullpen. Stricky looking better, with more pitches and some command. Casilla coming back with a vengeance from the humiliation of the balk. Derek Law putting up numbers.

48 to play. Let’s get this done.

Win Today.

Have fun.

 

love,

MTK

 

 

The 1962 World Series Between The Yanks and Our SF Giants

22 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by mtk in history, World Series

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1962, baseball, bobby, Francisco, game, giants, last, McCovey, mlb, out, richardson, San, series, seven, sf, Willie, world, yankees

We’re playing in New York City against the Yankees this week, and immediately my thoughts turn to Willie McCovey whose line drive that could have won the first World Series in San Francisco was caught by Bobby Richardson in Game 7, beginning a 27-year World Series appearance drought for the G-men.

 

Hence my two new hashtags:

#BeatTheYanksForMcCovey

#SweepTheYanksForMcCovey

WillieMcCoveyMTK2012

Many long time fans associate the Game Seven loss with intense feelings not only because of the drought that followed, but because the drought implied we couldn’t win it all in San Francisco. The implication that we were somehow cursed not to win in SF grew for another 26 years and it’s the basis for the intense feeling of relief we all felt when at last we won in 2010.

The history of the ’62 Series fascinates decades later because of the incredible talent on both sides, but among fans I have interviewed about it, there lingers a feeling that the Giants let this one get away. So many of us ache for Willie McCovey.

Rather than share my interest in it, which would just be more historical slather, here are links to three from the net that might interest you:

  • A nostalgic take by Baseball Almanac
  • A statistical take from Baseball Reference
  • A pseudo-authoritative take from Wikipedia

From Wiki:

“This World Series, which was closely matched in every game, is remembered for its then-record length of 13 days, caused by rain in both cities, and its appropriately dramatic conclusion. The Yankees took the Series in seven games for the 20th championship in team history. The Yankees had won their first World Series in 1923; of the 40 Series played between 1923 and 1962, the Yankees won half.

The Giants had a higher cumulative batting average and lower earned-run average, hit more home runs, triples, and doubles, yet lost the Series.”

And here is the MLB’s one-hour World Series Film about the entire 1962 World Series

FUN!

Go Giants!

 

 

 

mtk

 

 

 

 

 

Lincecum Showcase

10 Tuesday May 2016

Posted by mtk in pitchers, Relief Pitching

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AT&T, baseball, cain, corner, Francisco, giants, League, Lincecum, matt, mlb, mtk, National, park, San, series, sf, Tim

It’s been an up and down couple of weeks for the Giants – with Bumgarner, Cueto and Samardzija providing the ups and Peavy, Cain and the batting lineup bringing us down.

And of course last Friday brought the highly anticipated Tim Lincecum Showcase, made glaringly significant by the failure of Cain and Peavy. I watched the Lincecum showcase on the ‘net and my opinion is:

1. CSNBayArea still sucks. Their cameraman was an idiot who set himself up in the wrong position (directly behind the plate) and kept fiddling with the zoom button – making it practically impossible to fairly judge what Timmy was doing. And they had no gun.

So basically, CSNBayArea capitalized on the interest to make us all watch it on their site and, typically, gave us a crap product to watch. CSNBayArea remains so transparently interested in their own bottom line and drawing in non-baseball fans – being the soccer mom’s channel for watching baseball. When it comes to anything that matters, they can’t even film it right.

2. I’m glad John Shea (@SheaHeyKid) was there because he is reasonable and sound of judgement, but also because he provided some of his own footage from an angle that made it easier to see what was happening.

3. That said, to me, Timmy looked a little off-balance at first, most likely a bit of nerves, and then settled down by using a really good-looking breaking ball,  which seems to have impressed everyone else, too.  He also worked location on the fastball, which was average. If, as everyone says, he touched 92 and averaged 90-91mph, then the location on those fastballs was not bad. I think against a real batter, and with a real ump it would be much easier to judge.

4. And so in conclusion, 41 pitches, facing no batter in front of a handful of scouts is no way to judge if Tim Lincecum is ready to be a starting pitcher in the major leagues again.

However, Jake-Ed and Matty are pitching really, really, poorly right now. Nobody is afraid to just jack them, seemingly at will. They have cost us every single week and are hampering the starting three SPs and the rhythm of the team.

I could easily see offering Tim Lincecum a deal where he gets to work himself up to being a starter and gets his shot, as long as he is willing to return to the ‘pen as long relief if it goes poorly. I would be content with that. Tim Lincecum is beloved in the Bay Area. I would be proud to have him back.

We can’t deal Matt Cain because we owe him too much money, but we could deal Jake-Ed, who has two rings with two teams in the last three years and thus has trade value as a veteran with experience.

Conclusion: Promote Heston and sign Timmy. Keep looking for an SP before trade deadline, when we rid ourselves of Peavy.

The GBC Reader, Issue Four: Struggles on the Road, Infield Errors, Relievers Injured and Back to .500

19 Tuesday Apr 2016

Posted by mtk in GBC Readers

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baseball, Francisco, game, gbc, giants, League, mlb, mtk, National, reader, San, series

It’s absurdly early in the season, so there’s no reason to panic – because the Giants have shown us what they’re capable of in flashes of brilliance with the lineup we’re currently fielding: we had come-from-behind wins and a home run parade to start the season.

Still, other than Johnny Cueto’s start, the last week has been a bummer. Infield errors lost us a MadBum start in Chavez Ravine and we eventually lost that series to the Nemesis, three games to one.

The last one was one that got away. Jeff Samardzija (the #Smarj) was looking great, but one mistake to the phenom Joc Pederson was all it took for the Nemesis to pull out the win. Our bats went silent against new Japanese Nemesis Maeda.

Then last night in Arizona we had the lead three times and couldn’t hold on, with Santiago Casilla failing to close – his second blown save in five chances – and the snakes winning in extras.

Injuries, especially to the relievers, are playing a role in this. Romo and Kontos are now down for 15-day DLs, and the one game we lost BCraw turned into error-filled madness in the infield that cost Bumgarner a win. But I would much rather be injured now than in August – last year was a drag.

So the silver lining is that it’s early. Rather it might be good to take a look now down the road. Steve Berman’s got a piece on 10 Important Questions for the Giants season.

And at least Matt Duffy’s slump may not be as bad as you imagine, according to Brisbee.

Enjoy the Reader!

Love,

MTK

Go Giants!

 

Consensus Opinion Among Giants Fans? Screw Coors Field! Giants Lose Series 1-2

15 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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baseball, Brandon, cain, colorado, Francisco, giants, Jake, loss, mlb, Peavy, rockies, San, series, sf

Game One

It is easy to forget the lone victory in our three games in Colorado, but it is important not to do so. Jeff Samardzija looked as good as he has yet looked in a Giants uniform and the Giants took Game One of this series 7-2, behind a stellar performance by The Shark.

Samardzija went seven strong innings, gave up just two runs and six hits, striking out four. He had two walks, but managed the game well and was in control of a tough Rockies lineup throughout.

The Giants continued their Home Run hit streak throughout the series and rookie C Trevor Brown had two in that first game, bringing his total to three for the year – his first three hits in the majors are all home runs! Hunter Pence added another two-out, two-run homer in support and the Giants were looking good.

Then the wheels fell off …

Game Two

Jake Peavy is going to be a problem unless he can right himself quickly. His opening day start at the yard in which he put us in a 0-5 hole in the first four innings, was calamitous and in Colorado his second start was worse. He was shellacked by the Rockies early and often.

Jake Peavy gave up a NY/SF Giants franchise-high 10 Extra Base Hits in this one – the most allowed by a pitcher since Curt Schilling gave up 10 for Boston on Aug. 10, 2006, against Kansas City. It was seriously ugly.

Arenado homered twice, Peavy was a total meltdown. The Rockies ended the day with 12 XBH and a blowout, defeating the Giants 10-6. Brandon Belt did homer in this one to keep the Giants Home Run streak alive at nine games.

Game Three

Matt Cain came into the rubber match as a question mark, as usual. Which Matt Cain would we see? Well, for four innings the answer was AWESOME MATT CAIN.

Cain was precise, throwing 92- and 93-mph fast balls to great success. It was a thing of beauty long-forgotten since we hadn’t seen him this sharp in a while. It was pretty exciting for a few innings there.

Then all of a sudden in the fifth, Cain gave up a dinger, then a double and then found himself in a chippy battle with Craig Wolters, who finally just barely got the best of Matty with a bloop flare over the head of Matt Duffy. That was the beginning of a collapse that ended in embarrassment as the Giants gave up 9 runs in the 5th inning.

In this one, Matty had struck out Arenado twice and was to face him in the fifth with the bases loaded, but Boch decided Matt was done after a 35+pitch inning that had him on the hook for those three base-runners. He brought in Chris Heston who was pitching on consecutive days for the first time in his young career. Hesto gave up a double to Arenado and the run-parade began.

Meanwhile, Jorge de La Rosa pitched a great game and managed the Giants bats well. This was a tough loss. Belt managed to homer again though – a bright spot is our ten game homer streak.

But at  the end of the day, the Giants gave up 31 hits in the last two games to these Rockies at altitude, prompting a lot of fans on twitter to express their hatred for Coors Field once again.

Some injury news, Romo is out temporarily with an elbow thing. Brandon Crawford had to leave with a flexor flare, and Posey who was held out a couple of games to help heal his toe, came back and caught well for Cain during his comeback 4 innings.

Glad to be out of Colorado and on to face the Nemesis in Chavez Ravine with MadBum v. Kershaw II tonight at 7:10pm.

Using Timely Hitting the Giants Open the Yard with a 3-1 Series Win Over the Nemesis

11 Monday Apr 2016

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps, Uncategorized

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AT&T, baseball, corner, Francisco, giants, mlb, park, San, series, sf, win

In case you haven’t been paying attention to baseball yet because you’re wrapped up in Warriors or Sharks or The Masters coverage, our San Francisco Giants are looking really good at the plate. Yes, that’s right, THE GIANTS ARE HITTING!

We had 36 hits over the series and with 14 home runs we stand second behind the altitude-assisted Colorado Rockies (17) in homers.

With 64 hits, we stand second behind the Nemesis (76) in hits (they had a breakout opening weekend at the plate).

Those stats are for the MAJORS, both leagues – we are second in hits and homers in all of baseball.

But first things first, from Opening Day at AT&T park here’s GBC’s footage of Your 2016 San Francisco Giants lineup.

The home opening weekend series against the Nemesis was just about perfect (except for George Kontos and a few other reasons we couldn’t hold on to Game 3 to sweep – Brisbee has those here).

While pitching is taking a little while to get on track, our lineup is covering for the starters. The three wins were all come-from-behind victories and once the hits and runs start, with these guys, they seem to pour out.

It’s infectious, situational contact hitting – bunts, singles, doubles, sacs and homers on the regs from Span, Duffy, Panik, BCraw, Pence and Posey surrounded Trevor Brown’s first major-league homer over the weekend. Move ’em along and hit ’em out seems to be the philosophy of this group and it is pretty thrilling stuff.

Many have remarked – and it doesn’t take long to notice if you watch the Giants – that there’s really no weakness in the lineup – everybody is a threat to do something with the bat. We are bunting and moving ’em over and sacrificing and getting ’em over and hitting balls out of the park with startling regularity.

Most importantly, the hitting has been timely.

and of course, at last, we are batting the pitcher in the 8-spot AND IT IS WORKING.

Angel Pagan seems to be healthy at last and looks way better than last year. Pagan is showing the form he had in the Championship seasons. With pitchers who rake, like MadBum and Peavy, and with Pagan in the 9 and Span at the top of the order, the Giants are turning what used to be dead innings into run-producing opportunities.

A sweep would have been truly perfect, but Madison Bumgarner’s second homer off Kershaw in the lone loss made it palatable, and honestly, with the Division lead and the way we are hitting, I couldn’t be happier.

Go Giants!

Love,

MTK

 

 

I Concede. I’d Rather You Awesome Guys Just Go Out and Enjoy Some Games

20 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by mtk in Uncategorized

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baseball, best, champions, corner, fading, Francisco, giants, Karthik, League, major, mlb, moments, mtk, National, nl, San, series, sf, world

Go out and have fun.

It’s a shame the season turned out like it did, but not really.

After a weird-bad opening we OWNED May, June swooned, badassed July, and had the bottom fall out in August – injuries.

But there are so many reasons to be proud.

Special Thank You to @Madison05587725 Bumgarner #MadBum You make us all want to play hard,work hard and win. Never Change #TheLegendOfMadbum

Thank you @bcraw35 for quietly having your most outstanding season yet. Love your laid-back, get-it-done style. You are the #NLGoldGlove SS.

Wow! What a ride you young guys gave us! Thanks! @kelbytomlinson, @JoshOsich and especially @JoePanik and @mm_duffy for outstanding play!

Thanks for great stuff this season (good quotes, AlPav) @AlexPavlovic @hankschulman(Get Well, Hank) @extrabaggs @baseballmarty @JohnSheaHey

I really wish, Aoki-san, we could’ve gotten you, Marlon @mjbsr6 and @MikeLeake44 a World Series Championship ring. Thanks to all. @sfgiants

Thank you vets @MikeLeake44, Nori Aoki, @JakePeavy_44, Tim Hudson and especially Marlon Byrd @mjbsr6 for joining our team, giving your all.

Thank you @kelbytomlinson, @JoePanik, @JoshOsich and especially @mm_duffy for outstanding play from rookie/first year @sfgiants @knbr @mlb

Well, we will have won half of the last six world series after this one is played. I’d like to see the Cubs take it all. #Maddon #OddYear

No One Has Yet Won Back-To-Back World Series in The 21st Century

05 Saturday Sep 2015

Posted by mtk in Commentary

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back, baseball, commentary, end, giants, mlb, mtk, series, sf, to, world, year

… and with our current seven-game slide, looks like there won’t be one now.

I am quite proud of our biennial success. 2010, ’12 and ’14 represent, at least in the absence of back-to-back championships, a kind of a dynasty. I call it the Bruce Bochy Era and it has been a blast! an incredible ride!

I’m not giving up on us yet, but being swept in LA after losing two to the Cardinals at home put us in need of desperation wins. Every game counts and the loss to the Rockies last night just about puts us away.

It has been another roller coaster season, horrible opening, followed by the best team in baseball in May, then an epic June swoon that turned right into an excellent July.

Injuries claimed our month of August.

HEY, MLB: STOP THROWING AT AOKI-SAN!

The absence of Pence and Panik and Pagan and Aoki at the critical juncture of our season killed us. But the bright spots were brilliant – starting with the National League Rookie of the Year performance put in by Matt Duffy. The Duffman was fantastic.

Joe Panik had an incredible year and Brandon Crawford had his best year yet in every statistical category. Kelby Tomlinson and Josh Osich, rookies who debuted and performed exceptionally well under pressure, were another bright spot.

Cain’s problems, Huddy’s age, and Lincecum’s hip were a bummer, but Chris Heston threw the first no-hitter by a San Francisco Giant rookie in over a century!

Posey was excellent and our hitting was the best in the league for long stretches, with almost five guys hitting over .300!

It isn’t over, but I thought I would wax philosophical about the road to now.

Go Giants, do the impossible – win back-to-back for the first time in the 21st century!

Believe We Can Win Back-To-Back World Series with Champs Blood

09 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by mtk in Commentary

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#championshipblood #champsblood, back, back-to-back, baseball, believe, best, can, champions, championship, commentary, corner, giants, Karthik, mlb, mtk, series, sf, to, win, world

Sigh. At this moment we’ve lost three of four games in Chicago and are down 2-0 in the last.

Last night, Brian Murphy, typically, doomsaid in the towel;

but our pitching is a hot mess from starters to the ‘pen and losing Joe Panik has sent our batting order round the bend. It’s an odd year and we look cooked. So Brian took to roasting the team.

This was the day after George Kontos muted me on twitter for sending a tweet saying the ‘pen has to tighten up … I suggested maybe we should all go out and throw darts together.

Yo, George! I meant it seriously! as a stimulant, let’s go to a bar and throw some darts in a few friendly competitive rounds of “cricket” to get the juices flowing – a little less oversensitivity and a little more performance appreciated, kid. It isn’t just sixteen-year-old girls who like your hair out here. It’s also long-time Giants fans who have seen a LOT of relievers come and go. I like you, man. You’ve improved a lot. But don’t get your panties in a wad when I beg you and your pals to focus and play better.

Anyway, let’s put all that aside. Because this bad mojo and weird vibage needs to fall away.

I say we’ve been here before and we can defeat The Odd Year Curse because we have the talent and we have the experience and our management knows what they’re doing.

Bochy

We’re only missing the timing.

and I think that’s starting to come together even as we make mistakes. Roberto Kelly at 3rd has been a learning experience, but I think he has climbed that steep curve swiftly. Same can be said for Cain. Everybody keeps dogging the big horse, but I see a work-in-recovery-in-progress. He knows the game. He is still hitting 92 occasionally. He can peak in September for all we know.

Jake Peavy, already looking better generally, may come through like he did last year at this time. He is way better than we expected when he came off the DL.

In 2010, we went through this game in August against the Reds and it was a seriously low point for the team. REALLY READ the entire blog entry of that  game. I wrote it in one fell swoop after the game happened and I think you’ll feel it. At that moment we were severely sunk. And what we did from that game on, was epic.

I am pretty sure the Sabean/Bochy private meeting with the guys that Brian Murphy refers to in his post happened immediately after that particular game. I am trying to get you someplace we have been before but with DEPTH.

Now in the 2012 season we faced the departure of Melky Cabrera. We were at the game almost exactly three years ago when it was announced Melky had tested positive and would be gone. Woah, what a weird vibe. Lincecum vs. Strasburg at AT&T. There were Milkmen and Milkmaids at the game … dressed! They were selling hats!

But again, everybody said after Melky was gone we couldn’t do it. And we swept the Tigers in epic style, with Panda’s three including two off Verlander and Cain outdueling Scherzer and my favorite closeout ever: Sergio Romo’s fastball – NOT SLIDER – getting Miguel Cabrera looking … ohhhhhhhhh, god … that is nice.

2014 came with it’s own challenges, but we were full strength and with Panda and Madbum and Posey and Cain and the whole machine working. Out here in the Bay, we knew what nobody in the country knew – that these guys have #ChampionshipBlood.

Ishikawa had to go yard. Panik had to draw that 9th inning walk so we could go nine more innings and finally win off the Belt homer in the top of the 18th. It all had to happen. For the rest of the country it was hard to chew and swallow. But we knew we’re the best.

We are the best TEAM around. We play as a team and we pick each other up. Every other night another hero. #25GuysOneCommonGoal

So there we were without home field advantage and we had to be the bad guys by beating the darlings of the nation in their house. We sent Madbum out there to handle it. He mowed ’em down in epic fashion.

(btw, Peavy’s still in and it’s still 2-0 Cubs in the 4th)

It would be easy to give up to the odd-year phenomenon. I say, don’t.

The National League is intensely competitive this year and the Mets, Nationals, Dodgers, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates and others beat each other up as much as they beat us up; so anything can still happen. We gotta play smart, stay healthy, and win the right ones.

I think Bochy and upper management are staring intensely at the health and well-being of guys and trying to get ahead of that process. The absence of Joe Panik in Chicago this week speaks to that. (I even got to a point where I thought, maybe Boch doesn’t want Maddon to even see Panik – we do have to face them again this month after all).

So because of all this intense competition, we can win the division. I will repeat that: We can win the division. I’ve been using the hashtag #SeizeTheDivision because once we grab it we cannot let go.

I think if we field Aoki, Panik, Duffy, Posey, Pence, Belt, Crawford, Blanco and Maxwell.

And if we have Bumgarner, Heston, Peavy and Cain as starters and Kontos, Affeldt, Lopez, Osich, Vogey, Romo, Strickland and Lincecum as relievers

by August 20th.

And if those guys, are supported by Pagan and Hudson, Susac and Sanchez … we can spend the last six weeks of the season actually winning this thing.

I believe in that group of guys for the last six weeks, but the math has it that we play the Cubs again, and the Pirates, the Nationals, the Cardinals TWICE (who are due for some losses) and the Astros this next few weeks. So it may not happen right off.

This is the worst stretch of our schedule. All we have to do is what Rich Aurilia said and go .500 during this stretch to stay in the mix.

I think this year the NL is going to come down to the wire like in 2011 when the Cardinals went crazy and the Red Sox tanked and we all watched four TVs on the last night of the season.

and I think if we are smart we can take advantage of that. We can time Bumgarner right because we have lots of starters. We can sneak wins in when they matter most in the last few weeks of the season by juggling our talent.

We can do this.

I believe.

Let’s Go Giants!

Let’s win Back-to-Back and be a true #SFDynasty Tighten up, play the game right and with 25 Guys sharing One Common Goal, let’s Win Today!

It is the 7th inning in today’s final game at Wrigley and we are still down 2-0, so while I was writing this it sounds like Jake Peavy after giving up the initial coupla runs settled down and Arrieta is rolling along. I don’t know. I do know we can prey on a bullpen with only a two-run deficit and I do know that I love our community and I hope you all read this and believe we can do this. We can win back-to-back. We can turn all this around on a dime and take over.

BECAUSE WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIEND.

AND WE’LL KEEP ON FIGHTING TILL THE END.

Let’s go Giants!

Incredible Season, Relentless Team, Hall of Fame Manager

30 Thursday Oct 2014

Posted by mtk in Commentary, World Series

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Bruce Bochy, I’d like to shake your hand.

I want to thank you, congratulate you and apologize for doubting you from time to time. What you have done with a number of different players over the last five years is testimony to your brilliance and inspiration.

You finally brought a championship to San Francisco, and not just one, now, but three – and you did it with an ever-changing array of players, overcoming injuries and incredible odds.

Your staff – Righetti, Meulens, Wotus, Kelly, Flannery and the others take their lead from you and have all been superb. Your team and staff management is a thing of greatness. In my opinion, sir, you have earned a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Yet you always give it up to the guys and wow, what a group of guys. Without Matt Cain and without Angel Pagan and without Michael Morse in the regular lineup for much of it; without Buster hitting the way he usually does – likely from sheer exhaustion – they fought and never quit.

The grittiness, stick-to-it-iveness, toughness, persistence and grind-it-out effort were a thing of beauty. The 18 inning game was one of the most impressive efforts I have ever seen made by men in Giants uniforms.

Guys, I am so very proud of you all and our team spirit. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for another world championship. I feel truly blessed.

Sincerely,

M.T. Karthik

in Giants Baseball Corner

Your World Series Champion San Francisco Giants

29 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by mtk in Game 7, World Series

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champion, champions, Francisco, giants, mlb, San, series, sf, thank, world, you

Your World Series Champion SF Giants

Thank you Brandon Belt @bbelt9

Thank you @hunterpence

Thank you @BusterPosey

Thank you #MadBum

Thank you @KFP48

Thank you @bcraw35

Thank you @gregorblanco7

Thank you @JakePeavy_44

Thank you @kimberlybhudson and family of Huddy Thank you Huddy.

Thank you Bruce Bochy(HoF)

Thank You Brian Sabean

Thank you @JeremyAffeldt

Thank you @JoePanik

Thank you Michael Morse @Mcode38

Thank you Juan Perez @juan_perez24

Thank you @SergioRomo54

Thank You @Ehire21

Thank you Yusmeiro Petit! Seriously!

Thank you @andrewsusac (and @sophia_susac)

Thank you Travis Ishikawa.

Thank you Matt Duffy  @mm_duffy

Thank you Hunter Strickland @hstrickland60

Thank you George Kontos @G_Kontos

Thank you Brandon Hicks.

Thank you Dave Righetti.

Thank you SIR Bam-Bam Muelens.

Thank you Ron Wotus.

Thank you Roberto Kelly.

Thank you Tim Flannery.

Thank you Thank you

Thanks to all #25GuysOneCommonGoal

Your World Series Champion  #sfgiants

Bay Bridge Significant Series

08 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by mtk in Uncategorized

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A's, Athletics, Bay, bridge, Francisco, game, giants, half, nagging, oakland, pre, San, series, sf

It would all be in good fun if it didn’t mean so much to us.

Having been nine and a half up six weeks ago and now down a half a game and knowing the Dodgers are down by a sh*t-ton to the Tigers in Detroit right now, it’s motivating. (Man, I hate interleague). If we can get the win tonight we can erase that nagging half game.

Go Giants!

Giants Take 2 of 3 in Cincinnati on Two Morse Big Flies

05 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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baseball, Cincinnati, Francisco, giants, League, mlb, National, nl, Reds, San, series, sf

Haven’t had time to keep up with the blog, but the Cincinnati series just ended and the Giants continue to impress on the road. They took two of three from the Reds, after taking two of three from the Cards last week.

We lost the first game of each series, this week it was because of what would normally have been called a Lincecum implosion, but it was really slightly different from the other ones.

Timmy settled down after giving up runs in the first, but then got frustrated and distracted by base runners – particularly the speedy Billy Hamilton, who is right behind Dee Gordon in steals in the NL. Though a distraction to Timmy, he provided a defensive highlight: it was pretty cool to see Buster Posey gun him down at third in this game. But then came the Lincecum implosion.

The Giants and Lincecum lost 8 – 3.

Game two was a Vogelsong gem as he threw a quality start and had nine strikeouts. That’s the most K’s Vogey has ever had in a regular season game. You may remember he had nine in the 2012 WS year on the road in St. Louis.

Michael Morse boomed a homer in this one and then Juan Perez followed suit later in the game to give the Giants a 3-2 lead they never yielded. Romo got the save.

Morse homered again in the third game of the series, the rubber match this morning. And the Giants won 6-1 after Brandon Crawford blew it wide open with a three run homer.

The Giants look really good. The road trip was 4-2 and we return now for a ten game home stand. Looking forward to thrashing the Mets this weekend.

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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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.

 

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.

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!

Marlins Continue Hitting AT&T, Take Two From Giants

18 Sunday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Mid Series Reports

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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.

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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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.

 

 

Giants Lose Two in a Row, Series in Pittsburgh

08 Thursday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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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.

State of the Giants at the End of April; Huddy Takes on Pads in Rubber Match

30 Wednesday Apr 2014

Posted by mtk in PreGame GBCs

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Yesterday Matt Cain was scratched from the lineup because he cut his finger trying  to catch a kitchen knife he’d dropped, on a day when Brandon Belt was off for rest – which gave Giants fans pause for concern; an emergency start without Posey behind the plate nor Belt at first.

But Yusmeiro Petit came in well-rested off the bench and had a great start. The Giants bats woke up and the Giants shutout the Padres 6-0, to even the series. The system responded very effectively to what will be a one-start absence by the big horse and gives confidence in at least one SP from the bench for an emergency start or a horrible outing (such as Petit’s last performance recovering for Vogey).

Petit held the Padres to three hits over six innings and struck out four. Jean Machi held them scoreless for two more and Sergio Romo kept them blanked to get his eighth save. Home runs by Buster Posey and Angel Pagan – who lead the team in RBIs – and clutch hitting in the form of a 3RBI single by Hector Sanchez, provided the runs.

Giants ace Tim Hudson goes tonight versus the Padres lefty Robbie Erlin and the batting lineup is absent Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval.

1. Juan Perez (R) CF
2. Hunter Pence (R) RF
3. Buster Posey (R) C
4. Michael Morse (R) LF
5. Brandon Belt (L) 1B
6. Brandon Hicks (R) 2B
7. Brandon Crawford (L) SS
8. Joaquin Arias (R) 3B
9. Tim Hudson (R) P

 

If Huddy can get the win it will be the NL West leading Giants’ sixth win in seven games, and second series win in a row including the sweep of the Indians.

The only blemish was the 4-6 loss to the Padres on Sunday when Madison Bumgarner looked completely out of sorts and was touched up for it. The bats just couldn’t get going.

The Giants lead the division by half a game and have shared it equally with the Dodgers. They often look good but an honest look at them at the end of April reveals:

Some problems:

* Belt, Posey and Pence are still only hitting around .250

* Pablo Sandoval continues to languish at the plate (.177). Worse, his distracted play in the field resulted in Sandoval having more errors (4) than homers(2) or even RBIs (3) until very recently. (Now 6RBIs)

* Timely hitting appears for the Giants in a game with steals, bunts and sacs moving guys over but then it disappears entirely for several games. The situational hitting lacks consistency and no single order seems to be better than any other.

On the bright side:

* Hector Sanchez is playing better

* Michael Morse has been very good at the plate and decent in the field – platooning him in and out works well late in games, too.

* The defense, particularly the infield, has been much more crisp. Brandon Hicks has been a welcome surprise at replacing Marco Scutaro, whom it seems may never make it back to the lineup: the back problems just aren’t getting better from what I hear. But the Brandons are playing better together weekly. Arias will need to play some 3B to spell Sandoval and that gives Hicks more playing time, and right now it’s working out well.

The Giants just barely lead the Rockies and Dodgers in what is turning out to be a pretty good NL West division. It was great to sweep the Indians and get crucial Inter-league wins. But the Giants need to get wins against the Pads and D-backs consistently to set the pace against the Dodgers or even the Rockies.

Padres quality bullpen and good hitting will put them in the spoiler role against all three top teams. It isn’t just Tim Lincecum’s nemesis Paul Goldschmidt that puts D-Backs sweeps in jeopardy. The Giants haven’t produced runs against Arizona consistently and have had lapses in defense that cost them close games. Close games, games against weaker teams and Inter-league series are all going to be “50/50 games” for the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies in pursuit of the Division lead.

Whoever plays smart, crisp baseball and hustles the most will take the division – and the SF Giants have an excellent shot at being that team.

 

Giants Beat Indians 5-1, First Interleague Game Win of 2014

26 Saturday Apr 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts

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5-1, Al, american, angel, baseball, cleveland, Francisco, game, giants, Hudson, Indians, interleague, League, mlb, National, one, pagan, San, series, Tim

I didn’t see this game, but I’m trying to make at least a placeholder on the blog for every Giants game this season.

From the papers I gather that Angel Pagan had a great game at the plate and running the base paths, with two singles, a steal and two runs scored.

Tim Hudson continues his steady, consistent pitching for the Giants. He went 7+ and allowed only one run. Huddy is averaging 5Ks a game!

The Giants won in their first Interleague game, 5-1, and the Dodgers lost in 11 last night so we are back in first place by half a game.

Go Giants!

[the comment below is the comment below]

mtk

I happened to be at the game last night. The buzz where I was sitting centered around the Mike Morse homer in the 421 area of the park. A big blast! Hudson’s steady pitching–I believe he had a 5 pitch, 3 up, 3 down inning. Very cool to watch. Last but not least, Pablo legging out a triple with a thunderous belly flop into third base and no throw from the defense.

The Kuiper home run video, bobble head and interviews were fun too. Check out the Kuiper video —csnbayarea.com. Cheers

Andre Reynier

Series Recap: Melky Comes to Town, Hits Well, Loses, RA Dickey Wins

07 Friday Jun 2013

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In Melky Cabrera’s first game back at AT&T Park he received boos and catcalls, but still hit well.

However, the day belonged to Tim Lincecum, Andres Torres and Sergio Romo as the Giants won 2-1 on seven strong innings from Timmy, a great 8th by Affeldt and a good save by Romo. Torres’ 2-run homer that continued his ownage of Johnson was the game winner.

Giants 2, Blue Jays 1

In Game Two, Cy Young Award-winning knuckleballer R.A. Dickey mowed down the Giants and Barry Zito gave up 8 hits and 4 runs, but didn’t look too bad. The story was Dickey, who was nearly unhittable and in command.

Blue Jays 4, Giants 0

Series Recap: The Cardinals Have “Figured Out” Matt Cain

02 Sunday Jun 2013

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2013, baseball, busch, cain, Cardinals, doubleheader, giants, june, Louis, matt, mlb, recap, sanfrancisco, series, sf, St., stadium

Crazy double header in which the Cards scored an obscene number of runs off Matt Cain for the second time in a row in, specifically, the third inning – representing some adjustment they are making to a habit he has that allows them to shell him for hits the second time through the order. Ouch.

That said, in the final game of the series the Giants got back to basics, played crisp defense and got a GREAT start from Chad Gaudin. This win was important for many reasons, maybe later I’ll get into some of those but it was:

Cardinals 15, Giants 1 in the doubleheader as they won 8-0 and 7-1.

Giants 4, Cardinals 2 – Chad Gaudin gets the win in his first start of 2013.

Series Recap: Bay Bridge Series – Only Thing Missing is The Yakkity Sax (1-3)

01 Saturday Jun 2013

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2013, Athletics, Francisco, giants, oakland, recap, San, series, sf

The Athletics beat a loose, sloppy, error-filled, weak-hitting Giant team for three games and succumbed to decent defense and slightly better hitting in game four.

The only thing missing from these Giant losses was the Yakkity Sax music that makes anything it goes with look cartoonish. sigh.

Series Recap: Giants Come Back Against the Rox (2-1)

26 Sunday May 2013

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The Rockies won the first game 5-0 and it seemed their recent success against the G-men was going to continue, but the G-men stormed back to score 13 runs in the next two games to win 6-5 and 7-3 behind pitching by Cain that settled in after a mini-freakout.

Series Recap: Giants Come Home Beat Nats Vogey Breaks Hand (2-1)

23 Thursday May 2013

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affeldt, AT&T, Nationals, pablo, park, recap, Ryan, Sandoval, series, vogelsong, washington

Game 1: Giants 8, Nationals 0

Ryan Vogelsong came out of his slump and got the win, but then had his hand broken when hit by a pitch and will be out 6 – 8 weeks. But it was a good outing til then.

Game 2: Giants 4, Nationals 2

Pablo Sandoval’s walkoff two-run homer in the 10th ended this one. Affeldt got the win.

Game 3:Giants 1, Nationals 2

Affeldt took the loss in the 10th. Bumgarner had a great outing but the Giants couldn’t score enough.

 

Series Recap: Turning Point for Giants Starting Pitchers (3-1)

14 Tuesday May 2013

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Save for Ryan Vogelsong’s fifth inning implosion that lost game one of these four with the Atlanta Braves, this series was a smile that became a grin as everything from starting pitching to batting came together.

Starting Pitching

Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum were all dominant in their performances against the Braves, limiting them to less than  a single handful of runs spread across three days and quieting the bats of the Upton family and McCann, Uggla and the Braves’ vaunted rookie Andrelton Simmons.

Only Ryan Vogelsong’s mechanical issues marred what was otherwise an ideal rotation for San Francisco. It might be time to consider changing the order and moving Vogey up to third, so Zito falls between Vogey and Lincecum. I think Vogelsong is suffering for some reason by being in a different position in the order than last year. GBC proposes:

Cain Bumgarner, Vogelsong, Zito, Lincecum

– which alternates lefties as well.

The other starters were golden: Matt Cain found his groove. Bumgarner was typically consistent and had a season-high 11 strikeouts in beating the Braves for the first time in his young career. Tim Lincecum struck out seven and felt he was hitting spots he had been seeking for some weeks, calling it a good start. The team backed him up with three home runs, making the start considerably more comfortable.

Relief Pitching

Because the starters went so deep, the relievers weren’t needed as much in the last three games. But Lopez, Affeldt and Kontos did their jobs well. Romo picked up another save.

Santiago Casilla is needing more rest and it makes sense. I said at the beginning of the year that as a member of the World Baseball Classic Champion Dominicanas, Casilla has played more intense ball than most this spring. We should give him as many days off as possible.

Chad Gaudin could be a problem. He doesn’t look like he has command. Bay City Ball and BASG have commented on this recently as well.

Hitting

wow. multiple home runs including a splash hit on Mother’s Day by Pablo Sandoval, homers by Scutaro, Belt.

Gregor Blanco took over the platoon from Torres amidst game two of the series – starting off as a pinch hitter – and immediately went 2 for 2 and drove in four runs. He was excited to play and ready to go. This platoon reminds me of the one Affeldt and Lopez were in as lefty relievers in 2010 – each pushing the other to perform better.

Against Atlanta, El Tiburon Blanco was 3 for 9 with a double and a triple and he drove in five  runs. Torres got rest and some time to calm down, which seems to be an issue when he plays too many games in a row.

Pablo, Pence, Posey and Pagan are all hitting. It looks like it’s straight out of the playbook: leadoff hits, sac flies and bunts to move runners, steals here and there, doubling in runners in scoring position, homers!

Belt is finding his groove. Brandon Crawford cooled a little, but had a double and a couple of rbi’s versus Maholm in Game 3. Marco Scutaro is right back on track. Giants hitting looked GREAT against Atlanta – scored 26 runs over four days!

A turning point series in that we lost out of the gate but then turned it around to win the next three. The team seemed fit and in tune. We now own the second best record in the National League. But the team I have been most afraid of since the beginning of the year, the St. Louis Cardinals, are still better.

The Cards look a lot like us in form and came into our house and took the home opening series. They have a chip on their shoulder: the Triple Kiss that got by poor Pete Kozma.

Right now I am most concerned about our abilities against the Cards, Reds and Nats.

Series Recap: Phillies Take Two, Giants Fight Back (1-2)

08 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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Tags

baseball, blown, chase, corner, Francisco, giants, hitting, howard, jimmy, mlb, philadelphia, phillies, pitching, recap, rollins, Romo, Ryan, San, save, Sergio, series, sf, utley

The Philadelphia Phillies came into AT&T Park with a chip on their shoulder. They had just endured a a 12-run loss to the lowly Marlins at home and were eager to prove they were a solid pitching, good hitting team capable of beating the World Champs.

They did just that two nights in a row, behind the pitching of Cliff Lee and Kyle Kendrick and the bats of Chase Utley, who worked Tim Lincecum, and Ryan Howard, who also went yard.

The Giants came back in game three and prevented the sweep, but Sergio Romo blew a save preventing Barry Zito from getting a win after a great outing, and the Phillies forced a 10th inning before it was all over. Andres Torres was the hero tonight with a game-ending single with bases loaded to win it 4-3.

Starting Pitching

Pitching is getting better and though the starters were outpitched by their opponents in games one and two, Bumgarner and Lincecum hung in and lasted long. Bumgarner was stuck with three earned runs that the Giants petitioned to have removed (details). Timmy had 6Ks but gave up critical hits and homers to Utley and looked awkward when struck by a comebacker. Barry Zito was excellent and was robbed of a win by Sergio Romo tonight.

Relief

Relievers were struck with injury and bereavement as Jose Mijares had to leave to pay respects for the passing of his grandmother and Affeldt remained in injured reserve. Mijares got tagged in Game Two, his first game back, but it must have been very difficult to be out there after laying his grandmother to rest. He gave up a homer and two more hits, but managed two strikeouts and just one walk.

Sergio Romo got jacked and blew a save. Romo allowed Jimmy Rollins’ leadoff double, an RBI single to Chase Utley and Delmon Young’s tying sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.

Hitting

Oh whither did you go lumber and crack? The bats fell asleep all week as the Giants managed only 7 runs. Hunter Pence was effective throughout and Posey, Scutaro and Torres came through in the clutch in game three.

Not much else to report:  Phillies beat us good twice and we took back the last one.

Series Recap: Snakes Swept! (3-0)

02 Thursday May 2013

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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Tags

action, baseball, corner, diamondbacks, diego, Francisco, giants, mlb, San, series, snakes, sweep, woo

After opening on the road with a less than stellar performance in San Diego that resulted in a sweep of the Giants by the lowly Pads, Giants fans were eager for big wins in Phoenix to wrap up the road trip.

The Giants did not disappoint, with come-from-behind wins on the strength of clutch hitting, good pitching from Madison Bumgarner and decent outings for Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.

The Giants found their stroke, and hit homers to win it. Hunter Pence, Brandon Belt, Pablo Sandoval and Angel Pagan all went long to ensure victory.

The trip to Arizona was a series of retribution. The snakes stole two out of three in late and extra innings at AT&T last month, so it was great to sweep them in their park. The Diamondbacks play a very similar game to ours. The two series with them reveal a tough match up. We will be fighting Arizona for the division, mark my words.

But right now it’s time for our nemesis, the Dodgers. Go Giants. Beat L.A.

mtk

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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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