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.

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.

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!