Game 41: Unreasonable, Giants lose 5-3

The Giants were swept in their 2 game set @ Colorado.

It is unreasonable to expect their pitchers to go out every start and protect a 3-run offensive output.  Even the best pitchers need a spell.  When your lead is always no more than 2 or 3, even one runner on base creates a high-stress situation.  Eventually, that will wear on a guy.

Whereas a pitcher with 2 Cy Young awards (Timmy) or perhaps a pitcher that is regularly deified for his professional ethic and for carrying a subpar staff for the few years before it became sublime (Cain) probably can deal with such games with a plum.  Those pitchers that are more emotionally fragile due to temperament (Sanchez), immaturity or inexperience (Bumgarner and maybe Vogelsong), or consistent scrutiny and criticism (Zito) are more apt to eventually collapse like a house of cards.

Without run support, this fantastic pitching staff is liable to fail and leave or fail and never recover.

On freaking notice:

• Mark DeRosa (DFA today)
• Miguel Tejada (DFA today)
• Mike Fontenot (cannot be a regular starter)
• Power outage (Pablo Sandoval still has the team lead in HR's, despite missing the last 3 weeks w/ injury)
• Dan Runzler (AAA if he has options)
• Jeremy Affeldt (less of a role, please)

Maddy Bummy

Just found out that Boche is starting Vogelsong over Bumgarner tomorrow.

Bochy!  Not a fan of that stinkin' idea.  The Pirates have almost-terrible hitting and their pitcher will be a guy who gives up 6 runs in 5 innings.  What better way to build up the kid than to put him up against these guys?  And ont he road, where he doesn't have the pressure of Dingus McClingus from San Francisco shouting that he's a disdappointment to his family and the entire Bay Area (just a r-tard from Pitt who doesn't know who the hell he is anyway).

Come on Boche!  Give him one more!

[edit @ 4:01]

nevermind

Looks like Vogelsong will start Thursday, which puts Timmy @ Friday in DC,

Upcoming: 3 @ Arizona

The Giants first non-Opening Day-related road trip will whisk them away to the magical land that they occupied not 3 weeks ago: Phoenix, Arizona.

The Giants will send Cain, Zito, and Bumgarner agaist Daniel Hudson, Joe Saunders, and Barry Enright.  Combined those 3 D-Back pitchers are 0-4, but Hudson is sporting an ERA just above 3 (the other 2 are at an eRA of 6)

Cainer should be able to handle the Zonas, even with their "best" pitcher on the mound. 

I worry about guys that have high ERAs after 2 starts because you know that they're due for a reaosnable start.

Saunders gives up baserunners, whereas Enright is a bit more stingy in that department.  I see another bullpen game in Z's future, but I see Maddy pitching a little more comfortably against a sub-par team.

Saunders will let the Giants hit, and I hope that it'll wake up Belt in that game in particular.  The Giants are going to have at least one 6, 7, or 8-run game, and I think that middle game will be the horse race.  It should also be the gravy game.

Game 3 moight be lower scoring, but I'd like to see Maddy take a 4-1 win in his pocket and go 7.

The way Panda Bear and Fred have been hitting, and with the hopes of an andres Torres return by Saturday, plus the Giants on an upswing, nothing would be better than taking a 3 game sweep into Colorado next week.  That would also put them 3 games over .500.

Road Trip Preview

Now that the season has "officially" begun, and now that there will be very few occasions for pre-game ceremonies or Sammy Hagar-worthy National Anthems, we can look at the Giants first legitimate road trip.

In-division road trips are never anything to scoff at, even if one of the locations is Phoenix versus the hapless D-Backs. 

Their first destination, Phoenix, will be a decent test for the back end of the ro-ro.  Whilst we all have enormous confidence in Cainer, Z and Bummy have been less-than-adequate in their first two starts.  And the Diamondbacks love to take all of nothing swings.  Cut down on the location mistakes, give 6 and let your lively bullpen arms blow hard cheese past the yuckadoos from Zona, the Giants should still take 2 out of 3.

The Rockies are another story.  Whereas the Dodgers came out of the gate looking to show everyone that they are actually a quality team, especially now that they're Manny-free; the Rockies have no need to prove their worth.  With a best-in-MLB 10-2 start, a 6 game winning streak, and home field advantage on their side, the Rocks are laying claim to the NL West throne.

Even with their best pitcher out for a bit, their hitting has pretty much cashed them in versus all opponents.  Tulo's got 7 dingers, this Herrerra kid's hitting .458 and the team has scored 68 runs in 12 games.

The only condolence is that their current 7-1 streak (6-0 in the last 6) comprises itself on 2 4-game series vs the Mets and the Pirates.  But, all 8 games were on the road.

The Giants will send Timmy, Sanchie, and Cainer against the Colorados, so we'll be praying for 2 ou of 3, and I foresee Cain pitching the rubber match.

Offensively, the boys are waking up, and the trip to the hot air and the thin air ought to spark Belt.  If he scuffles ont his trip, he's definitely headed back to AAA.

Wild Thing Timmy

At 9:17, I sent this.

At 9:17 and 2 seconds Timmy hit Uribe

At 9:17 and 5 seconds I sent this

I have no issues whatsoever in plunking Uribe. 

Bochy came out and gave Timmy one more batter, Timmy got Uribe to go 0-2 right away, but the next two pitches Uribe destroyed foul, and 2 pitches after that, Timmy could nip at the corners -- gassed.  So, he took a piece of Uribe.  Either that or walk him. 

He chose to plunk him.

Timmy is destined to be a badass in the "pitches that sail" department: I for one applaud him.  Timmy's got to eventually shed this happy-go-lucky kid thing, a surly, quasi-wild thing headhunter image may get him through the next five years.  After all, he's lost a few MPH's on his fastball already, a 93 MPH fastball looks a lot faster when you think it might be coming at your batting gloves.

Oh yeah, and way to go on celebrating a Dodger at AT&T Park -- I so don't think that's cool.  I don't care if it's Willie Mays: we do not approve of Dodgers being celebrated on our field.

Player Preview -- The Pitchers

My final posting that will preview the ol' ballclub (the previous two being The Infielders and The Outfielders) visits the strength of the team: The Pitchers

(more below the fold)

That Heavy Sinker Feeling

Jonathan Sanchez will have a good year this year.  I know this for truesies and realsies.

In fact, Jonathan Sanchez will be remarkable this year.  How am I so sure?

Because he has a sinker.  An honest to goodness, heavier than a brick sinker. Something that will mop up the bases when he walks a couple.  Something that will blow up the bats of the 2nd hitters in the league.  Something that will look big as big as a beach ball to the D-Back whiffers, but fall right off the table before it gets to the plate.

Jonathan Sanchez now has a tool to right his wrongs, and I'm excited.  I can see him going at it hard as a Giant, going somewhere as a free agent with a decent paycheck, and becoming an awesome bust.  And I couldn't be happier for the guy.  Go Sanchie.

This Whole Barry Zito Thing

Z's been threatened with a trade or all-out pay-off and release according to Bruce Jenkins and his source: some guy "close to the team".

Finally, a little bit of drama out of camp.

There's two things going on here:

1. Zito is under performing for any contract, let alone his big one
2. The Giants are uncomfortable paying dozens of millions to a guy that can't even make their post season roster

If there is anyone in the organization that would be disgruntled with Z's performance to the extent that they want him off the team, it'd be the coaching staff: most natoably Rags and Boche.  The coaching staff's job security is tied to player performance and team winning percentage, they have very little to say about the dollars and cents.

Meanwhile, the men in the front office (Sabes and Neukom) would be very unlikely to cut a guy to whom they'll still owe $60 million dollars over the next three years.  After all, good or bad, you don't want to loose a guy into the free agent market and pay him so that he can perform for another team.

Still, this threat smacks of front office motivational techniques.  I'd have a hard time believing that Rags or Boche would leak information like this knowing full well that Z's temperamental and their best back up plan is Jeff Suppan (I mean come on, Jeff Suppan?).  This would be something that the coaching staff would bring up the third week of March, if at all before the season.

Meanwhile, a feigned sigh, shrug, and finger wag might be the only thing Brian Sabean can do to light a fire under Z.  Let's be honest "a source close to the team," whoever that is, is operating as a mouthpiece for Sabes and Neukom.  Nobody in the front office would piss in front of the press without the GM signing and initialing three pieces of paper to OK it. 

Wane-wright: Can the Giants Trade Zito to the Cards?

Adam Wainwright is ailing.  Shut down at the end of last year, and now he will undergo Tommy John.  Season over already.

Maybe next year too.

The Cardinals are in desperate need of a pitcher.  Would they be in the market for a Barry Zito?

Well, the season hasn't begun yet, so I'd be surprised if any team would even return a call for one of their top 3 starters.  The Cards will have to bring a dude up or trade for a .500-at best pitcher.

So, let's talk about how Zito can fit into this mix:

1. Zito has never missed a start due to injury, and only one due to sucky.  Every pitcher in the St. Louis has had arm surgery.
2. Generally, over the course of his massively effedup tenure with the Giants, Z's been a 2nd half guy.  Last year, he was a first half guy.  This year, maybe he can actually put two decent halves together.
3. Zito is a similiar pitcher to Wainwright.
4. The Giants would entertain all offers for Z, including and up to a very nice picture of dogs and cats frolicking together, hand drawn by Tony LaRussa himself.

like this, only sketched in pencil or charcoal, with the animals holding balloons and hands and without the looks of general malaise plastered on their faces

Downsides to the Cardinals:

1. Over the last 3 years, the Pirates are the only NL Central team against which Zito's ERA is under 4
2. Oh, and there is the gigantic white elephant wearing a top hat and monocle lighting cigars with dollar bills over there in the corner.  All 3 years worth of that elephant.

oh yeah, he's on a ball too

Tony LaRussa thinks he can find the replacement in camp (or settle for Kevin Millwood........I wouldn't take Kevin Millwood), but hopefully he knows that the offer is on the table.