Aaron Rowand (.304 average) is getting hits in bunches.
Pablo Sandoval (11 walks) is working the count.
Matt Cain (8-1) is winning games... with run support...
OK. OK. I must be dreaming. In 2008, these Giants players (.271 average for Rowand, 4 walks in 2008 for Sandoval, 8 wins in 22 more starts for Cain) weren't this good, and the Giants were never close to contending.
Times have changed.
61 games into the season, the San Francisco Giants lead the Wild Card race. Spearheaded by the second best team ERA in baseball (3.65), the Giants are now five games over .500 for the first time since 2004 with a 33-28 record.
After starting the year 2-7, I thought the Giants were in rebuilding mode. I thought wrong.
Rowand, Sandoval and Cain have been key contributors to the Giants surge.
And it gets better. Brian Wilson had a save without going to a three-ball count, striking out the side June 10th at Arizona. Wilson has now successfully saved his last 8 games, and has not walked a batter in his last four appearances.
Barry Zito's ERA has dropped a full point (5.15 in '08 4.09 in '09). Zito has pitched better than his ERA indicates, or his record (3-6), with his two best starts being wasted by the Giants quite bats.
Tim Lincecum threw a shutout Friday, the second of his career. Randy Johnson followed with a dominate outing (7 innings 4 hits 2 earned 1 walk 3 strikeouts), and Matt Cain could secure a sweep for the Giants tonight against the A's.
The question is -- can the Giants keep it going?
The bullpen currently looks great, with Sergio Romo pitching the big moments instead of Bob Howry. Jeremy Affeldt has been solid and the aforementioned Wilson has never looked so comfortable on the mound.
The starting staff, dare I say it, should only get better. You can expect much of the same from Lincecum and Cain, but its Zito (4.09 ERA), Johnson (4.89 ERA) and Sanchez (4.84 ERA) who have room for improvement.
The big question mark is the offense as a whole.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Giants take series in LA
Rich Aurilia called it a "Huge Win". I will call it "the biggest win in years."
The Giants scratched and clawed their way to a 7-5, 13-inning win against the Dodgers on Sunday, taking the series from their inner-state rivals.
Tim Lincecum allowed four runs to the Dodgers in six innings, yet the Giants hitters, particulary Randy Winn and Emmanuel Burriss, picked up the Cy Young Award winner in come-from-behind fashion.
With the Giants down one in the eigth, Winn, Aaron Rowand and Burriss hit back-to-back-back singles, and Nate Schierholz's sac fly tied the game at 4.
In a similar 12th inning, Burriss slapped a single to left advancing Winn, who singled earlier, to third. Rich Aurilia knocked in Winn with a sac fly and the Giants had the lead.
Brian Wilson served up a home run to Casey Blake in the bottom of 12th, and I began to think that we were going to lose another heartbreaker to the dodgers.
But, the Giants had luck on their side in the 13th. After an infield single by Edgar Renteria and a walk, I repeat, a walk to Pablo Sandoval, Steve Holm hit a grounder to Furcal. Furcal could have turned two, but he misplayed the ball, and the official scoring was an infield hit for Holm.
Winn followed with a two-run single down the left field line, and lo and behold, the Giants were victorious.
Burriss, who I criticized a week ago for poor hitting, is now hitting .287, four points lower than the team leader Bengie Molina. He had four hits in the win and two of the Giants four hits in Saturday's 8-0 loss to the Dodgers.
Winn also had four hits, but he scored four runs and had two RBIs. Essentially, he accounted for six of the Giants seven runs in a game the team had to have.
On Friday, Barry Zito pitched out of numerous jams and recorded a solid 6 innings and one run allowed. The Giants would score three against Dodgers ace Chad Billingsley, and the bullpen held on for a key 3-1 win.
The Giants pitching, sans Sanchez, looks great, but the offense still needs some type of upgrade. The Giants are one of two teams in baseball without a home run from the first base position. Any one is an upgrade to what they have now.
As for the team, well, they are last in baseball in runs scored. Rowand needs to bat higher than .227, Renteria needs to be a steady .300 hitter and the first base position has to help out the offense.
When that happens, the Giants could be very dangerous.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Down goes Ramirez
This off-season, I was that Giants fan who could not believe Brian Sabean and Co. were not pursuing Manny Ramirez with all their money. To me, Ramirez was the only player available on the market that could make the Giants offense dangerous.
When the Giants essentially told the baseball world they weren't interested in him and the Dodgers got him, I was admitably angry. How could we sign oldies Randy Johnson and Edgar Renteria and then let the game's most feared hitter go to our arch rival without a fight?
Suddenly, we look like geniuses.
Ramirez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs today, and boy am I happy about it. That is 50 games that the Dodgers will not have Ramirez, and conveniently it starts right before the Giants start a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
I wrote in an earlier post that the Ramirez signing was the turning point in the NL West race. Now, with Ramirez down, the door is open for the Giants to contend for the NL West crown.
And as good news seems to come in bunches today, the Diamondbacks fired manager Bob Melvin, showing how desperate Arizona is after an awful start to the season.
The day got better when the games started. The Giants were spearheaded by two homers and five RBIs by Bengie Molina as they took down the Rockies 8-3. The Diamondbacks lost again, albeit to the Padres, 4-3 in 10 innings.
Best of all, the Dodgers scored six in the first inning, and still found a way to lose at home to the Washington Nationals. The Nats scored 10 unanswered runs, and Casey Blake was retired in the ninth with the potential tying-run on first. The Dodgers offense still scored 9 runs without Ramirez, but the loss ended their ML record 13 game home win streak to begin the season.
Next up for the Giants: Barry Zito vs. Chad Billingsley
Billingsley has started against the Giants twice and has thrown 14 1/3 innings and allowed just 3 earned runs -- both Dodger victories. But Zito has looked ace-like as of late, and without Manny in the lineup, he could throw another gem.
In any event, the Giants have a golden opportunity to take over this division in the next 49 games before LA's best hitter comes back.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Giants Update: Pitching carrying team
I owe Barry Zito a momentary apologize.
Since I wrote a lengthy post in April titled "Can We Get Our Money Back" in reference to Zito taking the Giants money and not producing, he has simply been dominate.
In Zito's last three starts, he has thrown 20 1/3 innings and allowed only three runs, all coming in one inning.
The Giants as a whole are over .500 25 games into the season for what has to be the first time since 2004. I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty excited about this fact.
Unfortunately, the Dodgers have decided to win every game at home this year, thus the Giants are still 5.5 games back in the NL West Standings.
Regardless, Tim Lincecum dominated the Cubs yesterday in a 6-2 win. Matt Cain is throwing the ball great this year and receiving more run support than he has got in his whole career. Randy Johnson's age may become a factor at some point this year, but right now his fastball is in the low 90s and his slider is still as dirty as ever. Even Jonathan Sanchez, at least until last start, has shown a new perpensity for control.
The Giants offense has been pretty pitiful though. Edgar Renteria is hitting in the .260s, not what you want from your $9 million shortstop. And Randy Winn is hitting in the .220s, but you can bank a summer surge from Winn, who always ends up batting around .300.
Pablo Sandoval swings at everything, and I'm starting to believe that he may have a very successful baseball career doing so. A .317 average this year and a .344 average last year can't be a complete fluke. After facing hundreds of big-league pitchers, Sandoval simply chases bad pitches and lines them into the allies like they are fastball right down the middle.
The Ishikawa and Burriss experiment is failing right now, and before long the Giants will need an upgrade at first and second if they want to contend for a World Series Ring.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)