That's about right.

Yep.

I do not care about this offseason.



images from icanhazcheezburger.com

I come here not to bury Caesar

...but to praise him.

Who would have thought that it would come down to September 30th? Coming into this season, did you think we'd be so close that it would come down to four games from the wild card? I didn't, and that's why I was so surprised and, honestly, pleased with this year.

Remember how we battled for .500 in April and May? And the fact that the wild card race was run up until today? There's been a lot of strides made for a not-very-powerful offensive team.

Some of my highlights of the season:

- The No Hitter
- 300
- Schierholtz' in-the-park home run
- Pablo's walk-off against the Natinals, and the Rise of the Panda in general
- The mohawks sported by Wilson, Uribe, and Romo
- Matt Cain getting some freaking run support and recognition
- The addition of BadAss Penny to our rotation. What can I say, I like the guy. Dodger-haters are always welcome on my team.

I'm proud of my boys. I came into this season thinking I was going to get my heart broken in September. I'm not -- I'm hopeful.

After this last week of games, we'll likely be saying goodbye to a lot of guys who've been on this team for the past few years: Rich Aurilia, Randy Winn, and Bengie Molina. Randy Johnson's only been here this year, and I think it's safe to say that Jack and I saw his last major league start on July 5th. Freddie Sanchez has burned the bridge of good will I had for him, so obviously we're going to keep him and I'm just going to resent him.

What were your highlights of the year? What're you looking forward to for next season?

And hey, technically we've still got four more games -- there's still some good baseball to be played.

And what a day to come back!

Look who's coming up today -- it's Madison Bumgarner.

Schulman says it might be because Timmy's hurt (say it ain't so) and can't pitch today. Unconfirmed, but unsettling.

Will be waiting for the press conference.

We're not dead!

Our chances: not dead.

Us: not dead either.

Yes, it's been since July. It's been weeks of heartbreak (we're not discussing that game with the Rockies, it never happened, you know which one I'm talking about, the one that never happened, just like that one with the Brewers never happened on Sunday) and triumph (we got Brad Penny to be our number five!!). Whether the Alderson for Sanchez trade works out for us in the end is yet to be seen. Buster Posey is in the big dugout, while Frandsen's still kicking around Fresno for all we know.

We are within striking distance of the Rockies. If you had told me that we'd be within six games of catching the Dodgers at the beginning of the season, I don't know if I would have completely believed you.

Believe it.

The ads are going around asking, are you in? Are you in?

I knew I was in in April. I'm still in. I'm still here.

We're not dead yet.

At Wrigley Field today for the Cubs and Reds. Pretty amazing place. That said, it's great to see a dude in a Lincecum shirt, Cain as the NL win leader, and BWeez as the NL save leader, here in Chitown. Let's go Giants! ...and yeah, go Cubs too.

Last Night

Last Night, I had my favorite Giant's moment of my life. Last night the most unlikely thing happened. No one saw this coming. Nobody would have believed you if you predicted it. The oddsmakers in Vegas probably would have staked it at 500,000 to 1. Last Night. Jonathan Sanchez, at 2-8 with an +5.00 ERA, and a WHIP Near 2.0 Threw the Greatest Game by a Giant in over 33 years. Say it with me, Jonathan Sanchez threw a no-hitter. It defies logic to just read that sentence out loud.

Last night Sanchez was the king of baseball, he had crisp control of his pitches, he was making batters look like absolute fools (one batter struck out swinging on a pitch that hit him in the foot for Christs sakes) He wasn't his usual mental case meltdown self. The defense had his back. He was cool, confident, and the man. He came one bad hop away from being just the 16th man in all of Major history to record a perfect game, somehow though I think he's ok with the n0,no.

Last night will always be special to me. I am so thrilled I got to witness history. My baseball bucket list has one less item on it. Thank you Sanchez, I know you and I have had out ups and downs, but last night was epic.

some advice

Top of the fifth, currently.

Now. I know I'm not a professional baseball player. Not only am I a girl, but it's a little too late for me.

That said, here are some tips that maybe some of the Giants should take to heart.

- Hitters, STOP SWINGING AT THE FIRST PITCH. Schierholtz has popped up twice on the first pitch. Ishikawa swung at the first pitch and hit into a double play with Pablo on 3rd and Renteria on 1st. STOP IT. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SWING AT EVERYTHING.

- Pitchers, THROW STRIKES. I actually yelled this at Valdez on Sunday, and Wilson could have used some of this yelled at him on Monday. (And now Sadowski has just walked the pitcher.)

THINK ABOUT IT.

Girl, where you at.

July is the busiest month of the year for me at work, and so June has been ramping up to the crazy that is July. That's where I've been.

That said, I went to yesterday's game (sad times, but great seats) and am going again on Sunday for B-Weezy Bobblehead. Of course I am.

Today's news: Randy Johnson is on the DL, and Kevin Frandsen's back up again. Good call on bringing in Franny -- we've got a huge bullpen (twelve guys! Timmy, Cain, Zito, Sanchez, Sadowski, Miller, Medders, Affeldt, Howry, Valdez, Romo, and Wilson), and our infield is mighty sparse. When we have to bring in Aurilia to play 3rd because Pablo's banged up his knee, thin infield. My bet is on Sanchez to get handed the ball on RJ's next turn, which would be this Friday against the Dads.

While I'd really like to point out that we were among the first who predicted Cain as an All-Star back on June 1st (along with Timmy, of course), we've still got a chance to get Pablo in! So don't forget to vote for Pablo!

ALL-STAR selections

Cain and Lincecum is in.... Sandoval needs to be voted in if he is to make it. Vote for the Panda!!! You can vote as many times as you can/want! Thoughts on the teams? Were the Giants snubbed?

Talk about a positive day!

That Kaiser Permanente lady says my heart beats 2.5 million times in my life.

They’re all for Timmy.

23 innings not a single run allowed.

No runner allowed past second base for the last 13 innings.

We have outscored the Astro's 22-0 in this series... and we have a game left to play

We are now 8 games over .500 at the halfway point. My friends I have to say we are a healthy ballclub.

Oh yea and one more thing... We have the second best record in the National League!

So much for a power-outage

In their last 4 games, Giants have out hit opponents 52-24 and outscored them 29-10 while hitting .344 and .400 with RISP

So, um

If i told you that the giants would have the second best record in the NL on June 29th back in march what would you have said?

wow

If I am Jonathon Sanchez, I am sweating Bullets right now! Sadowski is clutch! Anyone else as shocked as I am right now?

*update* or you know, Sanchez could come out and make a statement by striking out the side in the ninth.... the plot thickens!

Get your brooms out.

Wow, this is the second Sunday in a row We get to celebrate Broom Day. Even with the 3 game sweep at the hands of the Angel's we took this homestand 6-3. Even with the sweep we are 12-7 in our last 19. Im starting to think that the way this team is playing is no fluke. Some random notes from this homestand:

Pablo Sandoval is getting patient, and oh dear lord it shows. Pablo is batting .338 That is good for SECOND in the NL. This kid is TWENTY-TWO. If he doesent make the All-star roster I will die of an anuerism.

I was personally impressed with the Way Downs played after being called up. He is only batting .250, but he's drawing a lot of walks. He has a .400 OBP. He has a vbery solid approach at the plate and He's patient. I am really intruged by him.

Zito, wow Who knew? I mean he walked the first two guys and then just shut it down. I am thrilled the boys picked him up today and earned the Win.

Brian Wilson is in serious lock-down mode all of a sudden. I am digging it. He has struggled all year coming into a game in a non save situation but man last night he owned the Rangers.. Could he be yet another Giant's all-star candidate?

If Matt Cain does not start The All-star game I call foul. He looked amazing last night. Well let's be honest he has looked amazing all year. You think sabes is talking trade now? I think not.

Speaking of all-stars, I cannot remember any other time in my life where the Giant's had so many Legitmate All-star Candidates. In my honest opinion I count six possibilities: Rowand, Molina, Panda, Lincecum, Cain, and Wilson. Agree? Disagree? comment.

Colorado has won 16 of 17, they are right behind us. What in the world is going on in Denver

Next up, we hit the road. We are in Oakland tomorrow. Sanchez (groan) get's the ball. I gotta believe he's down to his last chance. But that is just my opinion.

Off Day Open Thread 6/18

We're not discussing yesterday's game.

We're not discussing Tuesday's game, either.

What we are discussing today are walk-on songs -- the songs that play when a pitcher takes the mound, when a batter comes up to the plate, etc. We know that Timmy's walk-on song is the rocking "Electric Feel" by MGMT, and Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" belongs to Robb Nen.

So of course the topic is -- what would you pick for your walk-on? Let's hear it in the comments.

Big Moves today!!

The Giants optioned Emmanuel Burriss, who was in an 0-for-27 slide, Matt Downs Was brought Up from Fresno. In order to do all this, Holm was designated for assignment. Looks like The Giants didn't want to wait around for Burriss that 0-4 night stranding 6 runners last night sure didn't help. Bummer For Frandsen as he was not eligible to be recalled as there is a 10 day waiting period to be recalled after being sent down.

Santana (forearm) is out for the Angel's Meaning Sean OSullivan will be making his MLB debut!

Tonight's Lineup:

SS Renteria
LF Winn
C Molina
1B Sandoval
3B Aurilia
2B Downs
P Sanchez

Question of the day:

Is Pablo Sandoval deserving of an All-star spot? I say with his batting average being in the top 5 and solid power numbers, rbis, hell yes! Your thoughts?

A little perspective!

Okay, it did not look good for a long, long time there. It was the return of The Bad Baron, when we've been seeing a lot of The Good Baron.

But: once we gave the ball over to the bullpen, we only allowed two more runs (dingers off of Miller and Medders) for the rest of the game.

During that time, we scored seven runs. And the guys who were coming off the bench -- Lewis, Whiteside, Ishikawa, flipping Torres! -- were the ones getting on base and scoring. Plus Pablo bringing the heat twice? Awesome.

So there's a bright side to all of this, believe it or not. Starting in the fifth inning, our bullpen allowed one run. Starting in the sixth inning, we scored *seven* runs.

It wasn't enough to win today, but it was enough to show that we aren't going to roll over and take it -- we're going to claw back.

Also, don't hug the panda; he will bite you.

How to Win a series

How to win a series:

a) Have two of three of your starters pitch complete games

b) Only have to rely on your bullpen for 2 out of 27 innings

c) Make some Amazing Defensive plays... including two impressive throws to nail greedy runners

d) Bench Fred Lewis in lieu of Nate Schierholtz

e) Hot an inside the park home run as Nate Schierholtz

f) Execute an awesome drag bunt (to piss of the a's fans) and hit a monster shot to left field

g) Dominate the Opposing line-up with light's out pitching!

I am fired up after this series. We did everything right... We put the league on notice. Were not gonna hit a ton but dammit, were going to dominate with our pitching, beat you with our defense, and do everything we can to beat you.

Were now 6 games over .500

Were now in the lead for the wild card spot.

Our top two pitchers are DOMINATING and are early cy young favorites... The young guys are producing and grinding... It is a great time to be a fan! Next up is the angels! Bring em on!

Aw, Bengie!

I have a soft spot for Bengie Molina, especially because his blog, Behind the Mask is so well-done. I love getting his insights and hearing his stories. When my Bloglines exploded, like, last week, it pulled up some old posts from April '08, including this post about his past and his family, and how Bengie nearly gave up on baseball until his mother harangued an Angels scout to take a look at Bengie, who had no baseball shoes (had to borrow Jose's, as he'd thrown his own up on a telephone wire in frustration) and a Wal-Mart mitt.

Anyway, from Baggs' post-game notes from yesterday's game:

"“A lot of times I feel bad about (my speed),” he said. “I want to help these guys get the RBIs they deserve. But this is what God gave me. I’ve got to do the best I can with it. If it were up to me, I’d score every time they get a hit.

“That’s why I want to catch, that’s why I want to block every ball in the dirt, that’s why I want to throw guys out. That’s why. There’s one part of my game I feel bad about. That’s why I want to do so many other things to overcome that.”"

And last night, Bengie also proved the point I've been saying: if you hit it out of the park, you don't have to run as fast!

A quick thought from Baggs on the draft

From today's post:

"As a postscript to the baseball draft and the beginning of the Stephen Strasburg era, SI.com offers this cautionary reminder. In 1997, the Tigers took reliever Matt Anderson with the No. 1 pick. He was in the majors by 1998, with a fastball above 100 mph. In 2002, he injured his arm — throwing an octopus in hopes of winning Red Wings playoff tickets. He was never the same."

I would say something about Red Wings fans, but, you know, maybe I will leave it to the two of you who actually do care about hockey.

Random thoughts:

Randy Johnson will be pitching tonight's game on 3 days rest: I know having a 45 year old pitcher going on 3 days rest seems pretty frightening but don't fret: Johnson has made nine career regular-season starts on three days of rest, posting a 6-1 record and 2.84 ERA with a strikeout/walk ratio of 80/16. Out of those 9 games, he has pitched 3 complete games!

How about Aaron Rowand! The man is on fire! Longest active hitting streak in the majors. He just seems to be seeing everything coming his way, it was fun to see Florida avoiding him towards the end of last nights game... Perhaps Rowand is can make a case for the all-star game?

Good to see the giants having a successful road-trip for once.. seems like everyone is contributing (well except for Renteria, whats up with that guy?) 4-2 with 4 to play... finish strong guys!

Todays stuff

Pat Misch has been picked up on waivers By the Met's. He was out of options with the Giant's and had to clear waivers to get back to Fresno. The Met's, dealing with the injury to J.J. Putz, apparently felt he would be a help to there organization. So long Misch. I never cared for you, but heres hoping you get that elusive win that has haunted you for so long.

As of this moment, the Giant's are in another *gasp* Rain delay! That makes four games in fours days! The boys are going to be pro's at this by the time they get home! Game ahould get in... Heres hoping for win number 4 in a row!

Check Out These Bad Boys

sweeeeeeeet

rumors

there is a rumor that matt cain will pitch monday on three days rest in place of randy johnson (johnson bruised his pitching shoulder on that awesome webgem last night during win number 300) Cain had 82 pitches in last nights rain shortened win. it is also rumored that cain volunteered for this...stay tuned...

Best Picture Ever!

Taken From Espn.com Page 2 (Kurt Snibbe)

I couldn't resist! Here is hoping tonight is the night for 300! Go Randy!

On the same wavelength...

Looks like Baggarly agrees with Garrett and me on the likelihood that Matt Cain will be (one of?) the Giant(s) at the All-Star Game.

From Baggarly:

"Cain is 6-1 and his 2.31 ERA ranks third in the National League. Improved run support helps to explain the jump in victories. But Cain also has been close to unhittable with runners in scoring position.

He has held opponents to a .109 average (5 for 46) with runners in scoring position. With two out, hitters are 1 for 24 against him in those situations."

Yes, he doesn't have the glamour stat of strikeouts, as Jack's pointed out, but the others are a pretty strong argument.

(Basically I do not want to talk about tonight's game. Can you blame me?)

I had no Idea!

A great Article on Espn.com (Jim Caple)Today about Randy Johnson. One fact in here I had no idea about:

"Johnson has been on the mound for 4,091 innings in his career and in left field for one inning. In the final game of the 1993 season, he played left next to center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. Unfortunately, no one hit a ball to him.
"He asked Lou Piniella and Lou said, 'Yeah, go get out there,' and I was like 'Huh?'" Griffey recalls. "I was definitely going to let him have everything. He's out there, I definitely have to see how much ground he can cover. Because they might put him out there again, you never know. He did tell me that he would take all the fly balls up high and I could take the ones down low because he was taller."

This reminds me of the time Noah Lowry took the outfield and Pedro Feliz ended up Catching due to a depleted bench. But Randy Johnson in the outfield? That is a sight to see!

Also Of interesting note. Randy Johnson has thrown over 68,000 pitches in his career! Yikes! Cruise on over to Espn.com and check out the article. It is quite neat!

Question of the day

So it's an off-day (boo) And with all the talk about All-star balloting I wanted to pose a question and see what you guys think...

Which Giant(s) at this point in the season do you think deserve to be in the All-star game? I for one think that Molina is making a strong case for his first ever all-star appearance. Not to mention Cain (6-1) and Timmy (4-1) are putting up the numbers to make a case as well. That's my list. Who do you got people?

Off Day Open Thread: 6/1/09

Happy June! We just finished our May over .500, we're heading out to play the Natinals, the Marlins, and the D-backs, then we head on home to host the A's and the Angels.

Found some good posts on the MLB Blackout policy, which tripped up me and Garrett back in the Oregon days. Turns out the majority of Oregon is claimed by both Seattle and the Bay Area teams, if you look at the blackout map, but as anyone in Oregon can tell you, you can't watch the Giants or A's unless they're playing the Mariners, since they're CSN Northwest (and thus, Mariners-only). Technically you're "in the Giants market" and so you can't watch Giants games on MLB TV, even though San Francisco is ten hours away. Bogus. The Dugout covers the stupidity of these blackouts as well.

For all of my groaning about AtBat killing my iPhone's battery, I'm relieved that they allow me to listen to my local team on the radio without blacking me out. (Not wanting to bring in an actual AM radio to the office, I have to listen to KNBR's non-game programming online and the game broadcasts on the iPhone, since KNBR can't rebroadcast MLB games on the internet.)

Anyway, I'd like to hear from out-of-market or in-market or wherever Giants fans today, and how you make it work for you.

St. Louis Cardinals at Giants Wrap-Up 5/31/09

Woo! I went to this game because a certain pitcher was *supposed* to have an autograph signing at the sports gallery across the street today after the game, but I guess no one except me remembered that today was going to be a travel game until they checked with him to confirm it this week, and then everyone went "oh, last home game before a road trip, duh, they're taking off for DC after the game, he can't make it." (I had a feeling that this would happen, because I pretty much have the dang schedule memorized, but I was still hoping they'd make the signing work today. Anyway, the signing is postponed but will happen eventually.)

Anyway, yeah -- I was shouting for Sanchez to keep his head in it, but he got pulled in the fifth. Thank goodness for our strong bullpen, guys. I also think Wilson's pulled it together after getting shaken up in mid-May by Blake and all of the drah-mah and nonsense.

Highlights of the game for me: Sandoval's squibbly single down the foul line (right by me), Lewis' amazing catch (also right by me), Medders getting it done, Richie shutting up some of the haters, Rowand's eleventh consecutive game with a hit, Bengie coming in, and getting the win.

Lou Seal highlights: because today was Little Leaguer day, there were kids out on the field when the Giants took it. But before that, Lou Seal snuck up on the third basekid, gave him/her a high-five and a huge hug, then went out to left field, gave the kid a high-five and a huge hug, then tackled him/her to the ground. AWESOME. Another awesome moment: when the Announcer Kid was announcing, the first batter nothing happened. The second batter, Lou Seal snuck up behind him and waved. The third batter, Lou Seal came out of nowhere, running and grabbing him and pulling him offscreen. Hilarious. I love Lou Seal.

Yes!

2 of 3 from the Cardinals! Big Gold star for the bullpen today! We are back to +500! That was a 6-1 homestand! Im feeling good about the upcoming roadtrip! *Glee*

*sigh*

I know it's a mean thing to say, but I really really would not be sad if Jonathan Sanchez was traded. It's a shame that a guy with so much talent just cannot get it together. It's more frustrating when you get these flashes of absolute brilliance sandwiched by mediocrity. What do you think it is folks? Is it that he's not as good as we think, or is it something mental? Weigh in people!

In Game update s5/30/09

It's still early but man, The Giants are looking great going up against Carpenter! The guy hadnt given up a run all year in 23+ innings pitched and were getting on top of him! 2-0 good guys in bottom of the third! Keep it up boys!

Giant's look to make it 5 tonight!

Tonight the Giant's will try to get win number 5 in a row against a very scary Cardinal offense. Zito will take the hill against the always dangerous Carpenter. Since Carpenter came back from the DL he has been nothing short of unstoppable. Also another interesting note: Bengie Molina will be catching Barry Zito tonight for the first time in what feels like forever. Can The Giants get to Carpenter? Will Zito Shut down the Juggernaut that is the Cardinals Offense? Can I haz series win?

Tonight's Line-up:

Rowand CF
Renteria SS
Winn RF
Molina C
Sandoval 1B
Lewis, LF
Uribe, 3B
Burriss 2B
Zito P

Extra Credit: When was last time Bengie caught Zito?

Dude, where're my legs?

As promised, from the Baggarly quote about Cain in the shopping cart:



Cain isn't so much glum as he is confused as to a. why he is in the shopping cart and b. why he doesn't have legs.

(Original shopping cart photo from zoovroo on Flickr; original Cain pic from sfgate.com; original Uncle Ben's pic from unclebens.com, original eggs pic from walmart.com)

Off Day Open Thread: 5/28/09

It's an off day today -- after today, the boys get three more days off before the All-Star Break (June 1st, June 18th, June 25th).

So, since we're gearing up for the Cards' arrival into town, here's an open thread, so I say we should take the opportunity to introduce ourselves -- names, locations, how and why we love the Giants.

I'll go first: I'm Jeanne, I'm 25 (!), Bay Area native, living in SF, working for a dotcom. I've mentioned my Giants history before; I really threw myself into the Giants in, oh, 2005 -- I remember Matt Cain wasn't even 21 yet.

Your turn! Leave a comment! Or, alternately, you can ask a question and I'll answer it. Woo! Open thread, have at it!

Dont push the panic button on the Cain rumors!!!

Perhaps things have been blown out of perspective.  Mercury news beat writer Andrew Baggerly, made a great post in regards to the trade rumors: 

The Internet can be frustrating. I tuck a paragraph about Matt Cain into a story, MLBtraderumors.com picks it up with the oversimplified headline,“Giants shopping Matt Cain” and everyone gets their knickers in a twist.

Sigh. Do they still teach reading comprehension in school?

Check out the rest of the article, its a great read and might calm your frayed nerves a bit....

The Aaron Rowand lead-off expirement

Well, It has been 8 games since Bochy moved Rowand to the lead-off spot. Let's review: He is 14-36 (.388 Ba!) 2 Homeruns, 5 doubles, 6 rbis, and perhaps most shocking 2 Stolen bases! I never thought this would work but damn. It is amazing how something as minor as moving someones order in the lineup can serve as a catalyst. Keep it up Rowand were loving the offensive explosion!

Two Points

1. I was at the game yesterday (awesome) and Lou Seal threw a shirt at me, but it was slightly too low and so some ass in front of me grabbed it. ASS. But it was a great game overall, and there was beer involved as well as a lot of heckling the outfield. Always a good time.

2. From Baggarly, on the "Giants might be shopping Cain" thing:

"At the least, I hope you understand that the situation outlined above is quite a different picture than Matt Cain sitting glumly in a shopping cart with a box of Uncle Ben’s and a dozen Grade AAs."

Does this mean I have to do another photoshop? Your votes, plz.

That said, I don't want to let go of Matt Cain, or anyone on the pitching staff, really. Sure, I grit my teeth a little whenever Howry goes out (I trust Affeldt and Miller; Howry has yet to win me over fully), and I know the boys have done their share of yelling at Wilson, but overall I think we're in a good spot with the starting rotation and the bullpen. If we want any hitters, we're going to have to give up a pitcher, and I don't think there's anyone we should be willing to give, especially since Lowry's pretty much out the door already.

Just my thought. And as a pitching fangirl, I will be pitching (hah) a hissy fit if we do wind up sending off any of our guys.

TIMMAH

Tim Lincecum was dominant tonight. 8 innings pitched... 8 Strikeouts... 5 hits scattered... 0 earned runs. He was in control all night! Its great to see the reigning cy young award winner in complete control. The Giants are looking solid after a rough road trip. That's two straight against the Braves to up our home record to a very impressive 15-8...

In other news... Torres was re-activated from the DL today,  Jesus Guzman was sent back down to Fresno.. Sergio Romo was spotted in the dugout tonight and should be activated within the next day or two... Tomorrow Randy Johnson takes the bump looking for win number 299.

Quick note from txt: Misch to Fresno, Lowry to 60 day DL, new catcher (Whiteside) today. Sandoval sitting, Molina DH.

(From Extra Baggs)
Jesus Guzman gets a shot at first base. Let the experiment begin. Looks like the window may be closing on Ishikawa, Burriss.

CF Rowand
SS Renteria
DH Sandoval
C Molina
RF Winn
1B Guzman
3B Uribe
LF Lewis
2B Frandsen
P Cain

Man I don't know about the rest of you, but this lineup does not impress me. Guzman had two errors in les than a full games work at First earlier this week, this is definitely going to be interesting ><

Your Breakin' my heart guys!

If the Giant's were my girlfriend, we would so be in counseling.

Ugh 5 runs in the last 4 games... that's 38 Innings... that Is 1.18 Runs per 9 innings! I am aware that our offense was not supposed to be great but 1.18 runs per game?! To make matters even worse, over that same 38 inning span, we have only allowed 9 runs! (only 2.13 runs per 9 innings) Look, when your pitching staff is allowing just over 2 runs a game, THERE IS NO EXCUSE TO LOSE! I'm not sure what we need to do, but please guys, figure it out!

The Giants have now lost 7 of the last 8 games. 2 more games in Seattle. Cain goes tonight. Perhaps he can restart this team. Regardless something has got to give!

Late-game update

It's 10:45, we're in the 12th, and we have two. hits. One being Aaron Rowand's home run at his very first at-bat. We're in the 12th, and with Rowand stealing second after his single -- yes, Rowand is 2/3rds of our hitting tonight and the only reason we got to 12 innings at all -- we have a RISP for the first time tonight.

So yeah, while it sucks when our bullpen melts down, there is no excuse for two hits going into the 12th, guys. Especially when we're playing in the AL and we have a DH, so we can get our pitchers to the mound for as long as we need (Affeldt, for example) without having to worry about them coming up to bat.

Justin Miller just finished up his second inning, and all I can think about is that he is absolutely covered in ink. You can see it on the backs of his hands, but he's actually required by MLB to wear long-sleeves because of his tattoos. (You can read all about him at this great blogpost by Joan Ryan.)

This game is going to last forever. I do need to go to bed eventually!

Edited 11:05 pm: I should have known that going "geez I am le tired" and Misch going in would mean I'd go to bed sooner than one would hope. Sigh.

But my point remains: twelve innings, three hits (two by Rowand!), one runner in scoring position TOTAL. Ridiculous, Giants offense, just ridiculous.

Ballin' on BART

Check out the new two-part Giants and A's BART tickets!

From the BART blog: "There'll be 1.5 million of them issued through the end of July. For the Giants you get Randy Winn in May, Matt Cain in June and Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum in July. For the A’s, Matt Holliday is featured in May, Jason Giambi in June, and Mark Ellis in July."

How collectible are BART tickets really, though? I mean, I always try to get exact change so that it gets sucked into the machine on my last stop, but I would leave an extra nickel or so on there to get the ticket back.

And now from Jezebel!

I already read Deadspin, which is the Gawker media sports blog, but now here's this charming post from Jezebel, on the Dodgers needing a mom to explain baseball to ladies.

From the LA Daily News article, we get such sweetly condescending quotes as:

One specific example occurred during a recent run through when Sweeney made references to the six hole, Zelasko said.

"I know what that is in the lineup, but I said to him, `Mark, tell people what you mean.' It's the sixth spot in the lineup," Zelasko told City News Service.

Zelasko said that in their goal of educating fans, "we're not going to talk down to people."

"If we miss a pitch, its going to be OK if we're educating people," Zelasko said.

and

Zelasko, the mother of a 7-year-old son, Trevor, and a 3-year-old daughter, Isabela, said she "might include what kids are saying at school" and "what moms and dads are saying" when they pick up their children in the broadcasts.

"Sometimes as broadcasters we almost lose touch with the people that are actually out there watching and listening to the game," Zelasko said. "I'll have an ear to the ground, just being a mom and being out there."

All I can say is, Alyssa Milano will not stand for this.

Ooh, ouch.

The MLB Fanhouse, with its awesome Dugout section, is taking on LowRibGate.

Some highlights:

LowryHole: Something's not right with my arm. I think I need to see the team doctor.
BochyBall: The team doctor?
What's he talking about?
RideTheSabean: /shrug
BochyBall: OH! Wait!
/rummages through Barry Bonds' old locker, finds dozens of used syringes
BochyBall: Hmm. Sorry, our team doctors are all empty.

BochyBall: Ohhhh okay okay okay...arm arm arm armmmmm
BochyBall: what do we know about arms
RideTheSabean: you can use them to manipulate the environment around you and stick up your middle finger at people
BochyBall: Anything else?
RideTheSabean: no

BochyBall: Sorry. Anyway. Let me go down a checklist of everything I know about human anatomy and medicine.
LowryHole: to answer your first forty or so questions, no, i can't do the regeneration thing that wolverine can do, i'm not the guy on that episode of 20/20 who had acute elephantatitis, and no, i have not recently ingested those suicide pills they give to CIA spies

Sigh. Sigh. Sigh. And lulz.

Why Rowand Is Batting Lead-off tonight...

    Ryan: just heard it on the bochey show pregame

said he wanted to try mixing it up

and didn't wanna move winn cuz he's been hot

and has been hitting runners in

so he talked to rowand and he said he was cool with it

Thank-you Ryan for the head's up info

Tonight's Line-Up 5/20/09 Giants at Padres

CF Rowand (!)
SS Frandsen
3B Sandoval
C Molina
RF Winn
LF Lewis
1B Ishikawa
2B Burriss
P Sanchez

Giants take on the Dads again tonight, with Rowand leading off. ...Okay! I'm interested to see how this experiment works out, since leadoff hasn't been a good spot for, uh, anybody this season, while Rowand's already been struggling at the plate.

Let's hope Sanchez keeps his head in the game tonight -- it's all about mentality on the mound, whether you're a starter or a closer, and Sanchez tends to get frustrated and slip further if he gets into a little bit of trouble and loses confidence. Like I said, his getting skipped in April must have hurt his confidence, and he's been having rough outings since then. Now's the chance to really get out there and prove he should be there (especially because Lowry ain't coming back...).

The perfect reactionfrom last nights game...

jeanne: "Is it funny or sad that this was Zito's first complete game as a Giant? I'd say both, like a clown who sits on a kitten. "

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Tonight's Lineup 5/19/2009 Giants at Padres

A different look today. Rowand and Ishikawa are off with Uribe and Torres coming back soon.

CF Velez
SS Frandsen
3B Sandoval
C Molina
RF Winn
LF Lewis
1B Aurilia
2B Burriss
P Zito

The Giants are facing Chris Young tonight. Lots of speed on the paths for the Giants tonight. We could see a lot of stolen bases tonight (if, you know, we can get on base!) Young's height makes for a slow delivery and one heck of an advantage for base stealers. Should be a good one tonight!

A twist in the Lowry Injury Story

Uh oh! This just came through the front page of Espn.com:

"As San Francisco Giants pitcher Noah Lowry prepared to undergo surgery for a circulatory problem Tuesday, his agent charged the team's medical staff with misdiagnosing a forearm injury 14 months ago, subjecting Lowry to an unnecessary arm operation...

Lowry was scheduled to undergo surgery at Baylor University in Texas for thoracic outlet syndrome, the same circulatory problem that befell pitchers Kenny Rogers and Jeremy Bonderman and Texas Rangers infielder Hank Blalock.
The surgery, which facilitates circulation with the removal of a rib, typically entails a three-month recovery period.

Damon Lapa, Lowry's agent, said Tuesday that Dr. James Andrews and Dr. Greg Pearl confirmed the diagnosis in separate consultations with Lowry last week. Lapa said the circulatory issue was the source of Lowry's forearm tightness in August 2007 and a mysterious control meltdown in spring training of 2008, but that the Giants' medical staff failed to identify the problem.

On March 7 of last year, Giants hand specialist Dr. Gordon Brody performed surgery on Lowry's forearm for exertional compartment syndrome -- a neuromuscular condition that can cause pain in the arms or legs. Lowry was unable to pitch last season, and underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery in September after suffering a setback in his rehab.

"Quite honestly, there's a sense of relief. Dr. Andrews and Dr. Pearl have been able to provide answers that the Giants have not been able to provide since Noah got hurt in the fall of 2007," Lapa told ESPN.com. "The two doctors have confirmed the condition and let us know that it's existed since 2007 and essentially been misdiagnosed."

The Giants had no immediate comment."

This is quite the Charge by Lowry's agent. I'm really curious to see how this Plays out. Stay tuned...

Giant's First basemen woes..

Talk about a depressing Statistic: San Francisco is the only team in the Majors without a home run from its first basemen. The National League average is six. The Giants also rank last at that position among NL teams in runs (12) and OPS (.549). The respective league averages, entering Monday, were 21 and .823. Ouch! As stellar as Ishikawa and Aurilla have been defensively, We need some pop from the first base side! Perhaps Jesus Guzman deserves to be called up to the show? (He is hitting .354 in 37 games in Fresno) All I know is it may be time to take a chance to improve the offense a bit!

Lowry officially out for the season

Noah Lowry's having season-ending surgery -- they're removing his rib (!!!) to alleviate the chronic pain on the left side of his neck/left shoulder.

I've been a fan of Lowry since I first saw him pitch, and I think the last time I saw him was in '07 when he was a substitute right fielder.

When I went to the game last Friday, I stopped in the Giants Dugout store to pick up a hoodie since I knew I would probably end up freezing if I didn't. On the sale wall were Lowry 51 shirts, just like the one I have, and while I know that it's because Lowry gave 51 to Randy Johnson upon his arrival to the Giants, it also was a bit of a slap to the face.

So I'm crossing my fingers and hoping and wishing for the best.

Sanchez to miss a start?

Jonathan Sanchez was spotted warming up in the bullpen in the sixth inning last night. The Giants have an off day today Before they Face-off against The Padres for a three game Set Starting Tuesday. Zito is slated to go for the first game of this series, however I would not be surprised if Lincecum is bumped up an extra day and Sanchez gets bumped for a week. Based on the way he has been pitching in his last few starts, this seems to make a lot of sense. Looks like we will have to wait and see what happens in the couple of days...

Franny's coming back!

Uribe is going on bereavement leave -- which is always a shame. And so, to fill the gap, they're calling up Frandsen. I always liked Frandsen, and was bummed when he a. was hurt for all of last season and b. didn't make the cut after spring training this year.

I'm glad to have him back, and it'll be good to get some fresh(er) blood in the line-up and in the infield, especially since the game's going to be on ESPN tomorrow (oy).

New York Mets at Giants Wrap-Up 5/15/09

I was at this game.

We should not have lost this game.

Lincecum was done after six -- looking up at the pitch count and seeing he was at 104 and getting tired, I was like, "all right, he's done, who's up?"... and then he was in the on-deck circle to bat at the bottom of the sixth. He should not have been pitching in the seventh inning and I was shocked that he was. He had just given up two runs in the sixth and was clearly losing steam, and so they put him back in? I don't care if he's the ace, he was done after six.

If Lincecum hadn't been up in the seventh inning putting on base runners without any outs, it would have been a very different inning for Valdez or Affeldt (depending on who they put in at the beginning of the 7th). We're damn lucky that Affeldt managed to get three strike outs, because it was a long, long inning, and it was also a good call to keep him in through the 8th.

We always talk about how we have great pitching and have to really scratch for run support. Well, we showed some great runs in the first couple of innings, but then the pitching just fell apart. (And yes, this is definitely on Wilson too, but it should NOT have been tied up when he took the mound.)

Plus, Uribe was looking really slow out there. No hustle, no trying. Way too many balls squirted past him last night. Dude, if you want to prove that you can stay out in the infield once Renteria gets healthy again, you better at least try to make those grounder plays. Otherwise, you're just going to be sitting on the pine while Renteria's out there. This is your chance to prove you've got good glove, and you're slacking out there.

Today's game (Johnson v. Santana) is going to be good... and probably brutal.

Brilliant Bochy quote

From Andrew Baggarly:

"Bochy, on Pablo Sandoval's belly flop on the basepaths Tuesday night: "I didn't think he'd get up. He's like a turtle on his back, but he was on his stomach.""

So, you know, this had to happen.



Really, though, I wanted a photo with a turtle on its back, but couldn't find one.

(Original turtle photo from Zevotron on Flickr; original Sandoval photo from the San Francisco Chronicle)

Lou Seal better watch out!

Because it's Pandoval.

(Original panda picture from JeffKubina)

Casey Blake is still a douche

Casey Blake officially responded to the media in regards to his mocking Brian Wilson. "I was excited. I got out of my box a little bit. Apparently they got real upset over it. Whatever." Whatever? Really? I know that Blake was more than likely unaware of the meaning behind Wilson's gesture, but come on really? I cannot wait until August when we get to play the Dodgers.

Natinals at SF Wrap-up 05/13/09

Well, The Natinals finally got to us today. I suppose even being a last-place bottom rung team, you manage to scrape a win or two. Unfortunately Barry Zito Just didn't get it done today. Allowing 4 earned runs in just a shade over 6 innings. Its the first time in quite awhile The opposition has gotten to the Baron ( before today's game, Zito had allowed 4ER in the last 26.1IN Covering his last 5 previous starts.) While Zito didn't look "Bad" he just didnt have enough to keep the Natinals at bay. I suppose if there is any solace we can take from today's game it is that Ryan Zimmermans Hit streak of 30 games was halted today. Nothing wrong with a little schadenfreude. Also, it is worth noting that Pat Misch made his season debut for the Gmen after being called up from Fresno. He flat out did not look good. In 1 inning of work he gave up 3 hits (2 being doubles) 2 Earned runs, and looked to lack control. Not a good start if he's looking to stick around. If there is one thing to be happy about, it' that The Giants won yet another series. In fact the Giants have not lost a series since being swept by The Dodgers April 13-16. Very impressive.

Next up: The Met's come to town for a four game tilt starting tomorrow night!The Giant's Jonathan Sanchez (1-3) will face off against Maine (3-2) In what should be a test of our boys abilities against one of the National Leagues truly elite teams!

Peanut Gallery: Nationals at SF 5/13

G: guh
J: yeah?
G: stranded the bases loaded
J: yup
G: the baron is cruising
J: yesterday was his birthday
G: yea
that was one of the best games ive been to
i mean i still cant believe they won
J: i was like "eh, giants got this, we don't need to bring in bwils-- crap, now we don't need to bring in bwils because they're winning-- YES AWESOME"
schierholtz in two days in a row, hmmmm
G: lewis has a foot injury
J: well, yes
J: and holm is catching

J: zito, wtf
G: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Morning-Juice-Sandoval-s-kung-fu-way-too-strong?urn=mlb,163065
what happened?
J: zito knocked down a ball that should have been an easy play for renteria
instead of letting it go
and letting renteria get it
so it became a hit instead of an out
G: Kung Fu Panda doesn't get hurt," Giants starter Matt Cain(notes) noted.
G: UGH!
J: ugh
G: COME ON BARON

J: finally
G: BARON!

J: what do you think of burriss leading off?
G: smart
hes fast as f---
J: and he's got a hot bat lately

G: man f--- nick johnson
ugly looking gremlin
J: zimmerman 0 for 2 so far, though
if we blank him today we will be kings
G: 0-3
J: yeah
well, hitless

G: blah

G: WHO
THE F---
Brought Pat Misch up?
I hate that dude
J: bochy
sent down matos
we needed a fresher arm
G: I cant stand Misch
also zimmermans streak is teh deads
J: yup
G: ALSO PAT MISCH SUICKS!
J: I stopped listening so I could charge my phone
G: Misch has seen 4 batters and has given up 2 doubles and a single
J: ick

J: oh, ick again
G: p[lease send him back down
J: yeah, that's probably what will happen

G: god damn you pat misch

G: also i think it might be time to release aurilla
J: aw, richie
but way to go lewis
way to get the rbi
and way to go schierholtz
G: blah
J: argh
well, we took the series
and we stopped zimmerman's hitting streak
G: i hope misch gets demoted
J: i'm sure he will be
that was abysmal
G: let someone else have a chance

---

Like I said: we took the series, and we stopped Zimmerman's hitting streak. Mets come into town tomorrow, and they just had their winning streak broken with a loss to the Braves. I'll be going on Friday (Timmy pitching what what), so it should be a good time.

Hell yeah, baby!

Walk-off three run homer! Little Panda's first of the year!

Everyone is so happy!

Edited 5/13: So here's the video of Pablo's walk-off.

Also, do we have a consensus on the use of "Panda"? Matt Cain has referred to him as Kung Fu Panda, the SF_Giants Twitter account has called him Big Panda, but I've also heard "Little Panda" (with "Big Panda" referring to Bengie, who is technically "Big Money").

Your Panda thoughts are welcomed.

A brief history of my Giants fandom

I've been a Giants fan for years, but I've been a die-hard Giants fan only the past couple of years. Here's a collection of some of my Giants memories:

- My next-door neighbor and I put together a neighborhood newspaper when we were maybe seven or so. One issue, the sports section was going to look like this: "Kevin Mitchell got traded. (My brother) got a new baseball glove. (Her dad) got a pool table." We eventually cut Kevin Mitchell's news item as he was technically not in our neighborhood.

- I signed a postcard to keep the Giants from going to Florida.

- During the baseball strike, we went to a San Jose Giants game for my friend's birthday. I was the only one who brought a glove. The SJGiants had a promotion where if you caught a foul ball, you'd win a free pizza. I didn't catch a foul ball, but one landed in the seat next to me -- between my friend's back and the back of her chair. We didn't get a pizza.

- In fourth grade, I played Bobby Sox softball (my one and only year of softball). Since we got our jersey numbers in alphabetical order by last name, I was #2. We then went to a game at Candlestick, where the player highlighted in the program was #2, Darren Lewis. I will never forget that, since D-Lew and I shared a number. When Randy Winn came in and took #2, I was like, "aw, that was D-Lew's number!"

- I think the last time I went to Candlestick for the Giants was in the mid-90s, probably the summer of '97. I didn't go to Pac Bell until at least '03.

All right, so far so good for '09 -- let's keep it going!