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M.T. Karthik

~ midcareer archive, 1977 – 2017 plus 2022

M.T. Karthik

Tag Archives: vogelsong

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

09 Friday May 2014

Posted by mtk in Uncategorized

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Tags

#Vogelstrong, angeles, baseball, belt, Brandon, clutch, dodgers, extra, Francisco, giants, Hector, hits, innings, los, mlb, Mr.QC, nemesis, rivalry, San, sanchez, sf, tenth, vogelsong, win

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 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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Tags

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

Tension! The Giants vs. Braves in Atlanta

03 Saturday May 2014

Posted by mtk in PreGame GBCs

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Tags

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!

 

Vogey QS, Brandon Hicks Walkoff HR Giants Sweep Indians

28 Monday Apr 2014

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts, walkoffs

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Tags

AT&T, cleveland, giants, Hicks, hr, mlb, park, sf, vogelsong, walkoff

yeah. great way to start the Interleague action.

Three run homer for Brandon Hicks with two out in the bottom of the ninth.

Ryan Vogelsong had a major bounce-back game, throwing seven shutout innings, his longest start of the season. Vogey gave up two hits, both to Michael Bourn, walked two and struck out six.

The Indians SP Salazar was brilliant in this one. But Brandon Hicks ended it with his first major league walkoff.

Giants 4, Indians 1

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

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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Tags

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

Posted by mtk in Series Recaps

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Tags

AT&T, ATL, atlanta, baseball, braves, Bumgarner, cain, cards, chip, corner, Francisco, giants, kiss, Lincecum, mlb, pagan, park, pence, Posey, recap, San, Sandoval, scutaro, series, sf, shoulder, St.Louis, triple, vogelsong

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.

Vogelsong Implodes in 5th, Braves Take Game One

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts

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Tags

atlanta, baseball, braves, fifth, Francisco, giants, implodes, inning, mlb, San, sf, vogelsong

Mechanics.

Ryan Vogelson struck out seven, but then imploded in the fifth inning giving up two triples to stack more runs onto the home run he had already yielded to McCann.

Everybody’s talking about it, so there’s not much more to add. Relievers added seven strikeouts and defense wasn’t terrible.

I think I might stop doing the daily reports on games and just focus on the series recaps with a few posts in between.

Lohse Impresses, Milwaukee Outlasts the G-Men

18 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by mtk in Post Game Blasts

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Tags

baseball, Brewers, Casilla, Francisco, giants, Lohse, lose, milwaukee, mlb, RISP, San, santiago, sf, vogelsong, win

Game Two was well-played and much more like a normal Giant game – a close, low-scoring, pitchers duel – and sadly, one in which we couldn’t score enough runs to get the win. The Giants left five on base and Pagan, Belt and Crawford, failed to bring runs in with Runners in Scoring Position with two outs: better than recently, but in a tight game, too important to neglect.

Vogelsong looked good, hit his spots for the most part, and while Kyle Lohse dominated the Giants the first time through and had a no-hit, near perfect game going through 5, the whole order made adjustments to make it a game. The Brewers won on a 9th inning bases-loaded single off Casilla.

Brandon Crawford continues to bat well, which is a great bonus thus far this year. I would love to see him hit .300 and win a Gold Glove. He and Sandoval have 10-game hit streaks now. Hunter Pence drove in two runs to give him 10RBI for the season – he’s batting .262.

Santiago Casilla has played more ball than most, having anchored the World Baseball Classic Championship team from the Dominican Republic and while he has had great outings, like last week against the Cubs, last night’s was shaky at best. He was behind in the count a lot and Bochy left him in way too long, given his performance.

I approve of working middle and late relief, but in a tight game, Bochy has to be more responsive, quicker on the trigger.

Today’s a day game, so I’m off to set up the gear in the corner.

Go Giants!

Image

Me and Marty on Willie Mays Plaza Pre Game 3 of the World Series

27 Saturday Oct 2012

Tags

3, AT&T, away, california, championship, detroit, Francisco, game, giants, knbr, Lurie, Marty, Mays, park, Plaza, radio, ring, Romo, San, San Francisco Giants, series, shutout, tigers, vogelsong, Willie, world

ALL YEAR LONG I HAVE HUGE … OK NOT HUGE, BUT ALL KINDS OF LITTLE DIFFERENCES WITH THIS GUY AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE DOES?

He invites me on the radio to talk about it.

and last Saturday he let me wear the Championship Ring from 2010. wow.

Marty Lurie, radio host who joined KNBR after working to cover the A’s, was immediately a lucky element for the Giants.

He and I stood exactly where we are in this photo two years before, and bore witness during the run that finally made the Giants World Series Champs in San Francisco. Marty walked in and we won.

For decades a criminal defense attorney, and at that a New Yorker, Mr. Lurie became a historian of the game of baseball independent of what he does now for KNBR. If anyone must, Marty Lurie must be associated with the cross-country relationship the Giants have that reaches back to the Polo Grounds in New York City.

But yes, by providence and timing, Marty has grown into a unique role and is now an important member of the San Francisco Giants team.

Mr. Lurie’s an excellent radio interviewer whose competence is a direct result of his research. I loved watching him at the Public House in Game 5 against the Braves back in 2010. He sat down to score the game and pulled out a yellow legal pad to do it. He’s a baseball nerd trained as a lawyer!

Mr. Lurie’s interviews of baseball players and managers, which he’s been conducting season-long for three years now, are a growing chronicle of the game.

Lurie brought a whole lot of AL contacts over to KNBR  the first year and was eager to share with us NLers the value of certain stories. But slowly over the past three years, he has joined the stewards of the Giants Championships of 2010 and 2012 who collectively are arbiters of our first time championship memories.

So Mr. Lurie is an attorney who can discuss both leagues’ histories very effectively.

Marty, I’m saying it here for the first time: You’re the only lawyer I really like.

Thanks for letting me wear the Championship Ring and for doing such a bang-up job behind the mic.

sincerely,

“M.T.” and, in 2010, “Carter from Oakland”

(just pissed off a whole lot of lawyers I know who think me and them’re “real close”).

Posted by mtk | Filed under baseball, S.F.

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NEVER tweet a no-hitter

08 Sunday May 2011

Posted by mtk in sport

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Tags

baseball, giants, no-hit, no-hitter, no-no, sf, tweet, Twitter, vogelsong

There’s a well known jinx in baseball that if a pitcher has a no-hitter going through five innings you don’t mention it.

It will guarantee its end.

Today, I tested the jinx against Twitter. I tweeted after the 5th that the Giants’ Ryan Vogelsong had a no-hitter going after five, purposefully, stating the experiment in the tweet. The very next batter hit a single and broke up the no-hitter. check the tweets @KarthikRajanSF

Lesson: NEVER tweet a no-hitter.

… best to do these things early in the season when the games don’t matter as much. That’s our Manager Bochy’s philosophy … and our GM Brian Sabean seems to agree. I am growing to understand it myself.

Go Giants.

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

a minute of rain

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