Monday, April 9, 2012

Game Wrap 4/9/2012: Giants 7 Rockies 0

Statistics are an integral part of baseball. There are things you can understand about the game from studying statistics that you would never guess from just watching the game. On the other hand, there is a reason why they play the games! Barry Zito has been maligned about as much as any ballplayer who has played the game. His performances have truly been wretched at times. There is something about his demeaner that makes you wonder how much he really cares or really even wants to be a ballplayer. On the other hand, Barry Zito has never publicly complained about some humiliating decisions made by Giants management that many, if not most, other players making his kind of jack would have never tolerated. When he stayed back in Arizona to "work on some things", it was easy to write it off as yet another futile way for the Giants to just forget about him for a few days. Gotta hand it to the guy. Whether this resurgence is good for just one game or a few or for the rest of his Giants career, dude stepped up and stepped up big today. I don't think I've ever seen an emotional turnaround quite like this in a long time, if ever. Key Lines:

Melky Cabrera- 2 for 4, BB. BA= .333. Melky stays hot.

Pablo Sandoval- 1 for 4, HR(2), BB. BA= .375. Pablo has come out smokin' at the plate this year. 40 HR's anyone?

Aubrey Huff- 1 for 3, 2B, 2 BB. BA= .214. Maybe the way back for Aubrey Huff is a game like this. He does better when he's more selective and drawing BB's.

Hector Sanchez- 2 for 5. BA= .400. Gotta find more ways of getting Sanchez into games, even if they have to bring back a 3'rd catcher.

Brandon Crawford- 1 for 4, 2B, BB. BA= .133. Crawford's second big double in as many days.

Barry Zito- 9 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K's. ERA= 0.00. I didn't see the game. I didn't want to see the game. I have no idea what kind of slop he was throwing up there today. I have no confidence in Zito being able to sustain this, but for one day, I take back everything I've said about him being done. Man, what a psychological lift this has to be for the whole Giants team, including management, maybe especially management!

The Giants have the day off tomorrow then Tim LIncecum tries to get back on track on Wednesday evening against Jeremy Guthrie.

19 comments:

  1. OGC might stop by to gloat, and he should. Truly amazing performance. While I would love for him to just put everything aside and pitch like this the whole year - go after batters, avoid the walks, have some control - I bet this is the tease before he lowers the hammer on fans hopes. I would love to be wrong.

    Baseball is a fun strange sport, and you truly never know whats going to happen. Which is why you play the game. That is quite the memorable first win.

    And good for Hector today, nice first game.

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  2. Saw the game and zito was great. Kept hitters off balance and would throw and pitch at any time. Defense helped a lot in that they had Cabrera, Pagan, and Blanco with speed to cover the field and nothing was dropping in the outfield, if they had huff out there in outfield today there might have been a few doubles and a run or two.

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  3. I wonder if the key today was:

    Crouching Zito
    Hidden 'Tunnel?'

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  4. Speaking of stats, let's remember this:

    All baseball stats are ballpark figures at best.

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  5. i said it at the start of the season...posey shouldnt be playing day after night or 3 games in a row...at least not early in the season

    no doubt that even at this early point in his career, hector can start for a number of teams....gotta have him working with other pitchers while posey gets himself back to full strength

    the offense has been solid (what a change) and the defense today was too (there really was something wrong with the snakes if)

    as for zito...im happy for him...i think knowing that there was a solid d and with the lead, he was able to relax and hit his spots....

    man...baseball is a wacky game...aint it

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  6. Anybody else intrigued by the obvious bond between Zito and Hector Sanchez that started last year when Zito was pitching in the minors rehabbing an injury?

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  7. I watched the game and was really amazed. I found myself rooting for Zito to finish the game. He also had some good at-bats where he worked up the pitch count and even got a hit.

    I enjoyed watching Sanchez and Zito work together. You even saw them strategizing in the dugout between innings.

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  8. Now I've seen everything...The Dodgers have money, the Giants can hit, and Zito tossed a shutout in CO.

    Like everyone else, I'm hoping against all reality that Zito can somehow sustain this. Is Hector the magic Zito needs. I love the theory. I mean, one season where Zito earns his paycheck?

    Yeah, it's all such an insane tease.

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  9. Excellent point on Huff - this is exactly what he needs to do to get going. Maybe Brandon Crawford could explain to Aubrey that leftfield is NOT closed, despite all our fond childhood memories of such rules.

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  10. This was what fans have been waiting for out of Zito for 5 years. Nobody is expecting 16 K's every outing, just hit your spots and be competitive! I don't think there is a Giants fan out there that doesn't want to see Barry do well. With money comes expectations and he hasn't been meeting them but if he can somehow figure out how to continue what he did yesterday, Giants fans will cheer louder for him then for Timmy! Get ready for a standing ovation on saturday when he pitches at home against the Pirates and I hope he does well again and gets a huge boost of confidence from the fans when they show their support.

    A few things to watch going forward; with the amount of guys on this team that are raking right now, guys like Pagan and Belt may need to take a back seat until they heat up or others cool off. Even though Blanco didn't have a hit yesterday I really like his at bats (I saw 2 of them and in both he got behind in the count but made good contact his first at bat and then worked the count full in his second before striking out). He looks like a leadoff hitter where as Pagan just looks like 2011 Torres.

    I can't wait to see what lineup is trotted out when a lefty takes the mound against us. With Sanchez showing up strong yesterday, Posey may see more time at 1B which would either put Huff in LF or the bench against lefties. That would give us a little thump off the bench as well but the key will be putting a lineup out that can be affective against lefties since they haven't gotten a hit off of one all year!

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    1. This is about the time Cody Ross starts looking good eh? I agree completely with your Zito stuff. I used to be on the league average train, and he did very nicely in the last half of 2009 and the first half of 2010 when it looked like he was pitching with purpose. And that is what he did yesterday - pitch with purpose. It will be interesting to see if this ups his confidence. I think fans would love to get behind him, they're just tired of getting burned. It looks like the 87-88 velocity isn't coming back so he has to work hard to set up the fastball that he has. I love the Hector Sanchez chemistry. Well, I just love Hector Sanchez.

      Pagan is scuffling, and he might not be the best man for the leadoff job. When he gets hot Pato, you will like the guy. He is a notorious slow starter, and he's slready done a couple bonehead plays as well. I stand by my Pagan support. This isn't a washed up vet situation like Tejada or Cabrera.

      Also, the struggles against lefties makes Freddy Sanchez being out even more acute. Freddy has some great splits against lefties. I'd even go so far as to say he almost mashes them.

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    2. I like Pagan Shankbone so you don't have to convince me there. I do however think he would be better served in the 2 hole or further down the lineup if we have a better option like Sanchez to bat second. Just think what this lineup would look like now with Freddy in teh 2 hole! All of a sudden we would have some serious depth reminding me a little of the balance we had in 2010 (maybe even a more productive low key offense then the 2010 club).

      I am also keeping track for the record on a few things that I have said in the offseason to see if I know what I am talking about. Affeldt is one guy I have my sites set on and so far he has one bad outing in 2 appearances so right on track to prove me right! Cespedes also looks like a stud already, think I wrote a post about how it would be worth our while to invest in him. Yu Darvish was the other guy I argued would be worth going after and I'm not sure that prediction will come true but we can continue to watch and see. Shankbone, you were high on Theriot and Pagan so hopefully they heat up making your predictions come true. Dr. B got the Cain signing right. Anyone else make outlandish predictions that are either coming true or way off?

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    3. I got the Cain signing right. DrB wanted to save RDF moneys for other projects. Theriot is a funny one - I was mainly high on him because it would lead to Burriss complete irrelevance. DrB is sticking up for Handy Manny. Lets not kid ourselves, Theriot is just a nice cheap alternative who can scrap along, hopefully hit lefties. He is also expendable if he is found lacking, much easier than Tejada's 6.5MM last year for example, or a Clint Barmes 2/12MM (which I was also in favor of).

      The Yu Darvish dust up at Lefty's was funny. As I remember DrB was against Japanese pitcher hype and posting fee's and you were for Darvish. I drafted the guy, and I have to say he was very wild but he held up well which got the Texas crowd excited. I saw clips as MLB broke in on the game.

      Cespedes is going to get a steady diet of breaking balls now, we'll see. I side with Sabean on the Cuban situation. And remember us getting a bit punchy about Cuban politics? Well, somebody should have sent DrB's memo to one Ozzie Guillen it seems.

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    4. OK, speaking of Cuban politics....This business of apologizing for Guillen's comments and then suspending him is a way overreaction, IMO. He didn't say he agreed with Castro's policies, just that he gave him credit for being a survivor, which he is. Just my opinion, but Castro would have been gone a long time ago if the U.S had not tried to isolate his country. People like Castro survive because they are able to keep information away from their citizens. The U.S. has made it a lot easier for him to do just that. No, I am no apologizing for anything I've said here.

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    5. So just to be clear Dr. B, you aren't apologizing for anything you have said including your praise for Affeldt? Hehehehehehe. I think I have mentioned it before but worth repeating, my wife is Cuban and I have been to Cuba and my opinion of how the Miami Cubans are reacting to Guillen's comments is that if they want to behave this way then they can no longer call themselves Cubans, they are officially Americans because only Americans react this way and look for anyone they can point fingers at so they can say "that's the bad guy" (love me some Scarface). What a stupid and ridiculous thing to get your panties in a bunch over. If their skin was any thinner they would hemorrhage with a gust of wind. Were Ozzie's comments stupid... maybe, but firing people over words is like burning witches at the stake. Grow up everyone already and find something better to do with your time then worrying about what some loudmouth baseball manager says! Bold prediction from Pato, Cespedes will be Rookie of the year... narrowly beating out Darvish!!

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    6. Cespedes has lightning in his bat, that's for sure. Romo absolutely abused him with the slider, though. Swung at a pitch that was at least a foot beyond the reach of his bat. He's definitely a pitch hunter though. I was surprised at his plate discipline and ability to adjust mid-AB in the game I saw on TV against the Giants. We'll see. The jury is still out on him, IMO.

      Not sure what you're all excited about Darvish for. His walk rates would make Jonathan Sanchez blush. Great stuff, but can he get away with that many walks? We'll see.

      It sounded to me like Ozzie made a very lame joke that was in no way meant to condone Castro's policies. Yeah, the reaction is over the top.

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  11. Yep, saw Cespedes really flail at a couple of wide sliders in the final few games the A's played the Giants in ST. Word is going to get around quick. Wonder if he's going to adjust. If no, his bat is going to be of the Pedro Feliz type. Dangerous when he's hot. But when a pitcher needs it, sliders off the plate all day.

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    1. I know he had some issues with sliders in spring training but every game I have seen him in during the regular season he has looked pretty imposing. When he faced Cain as well I remember him being on every pitch and I fully expect he will make adjustments and still be able to turn on an inside fastball. I would say that 25 HR and 90 RBI's is not a stretch to expect from him this year and that is pretty damn good for a guy who hasn't even played in the minors!

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    2. I thought he'd be in the minors until July at least. So, there's what I know. The A's were a good situation for him to walk in and play, so, nice fit there.

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