If there were a way this game could be one of the worst this season, the Giants have found every possible way.

This was not Ryan Vogelsong’s best start and his defense was not behind him tonight. It’s as plain and simple as that.

Brad Penny, as all have come to know by now, is absolutely not a major league reliever. Six runs in two innings is not necessarily some of the most reassuring stats, but alas. It is what it is and the Penny the Giants picked up was heads down.

It’s also very telling that I am writing this recap in the 7th inning. » Continue reading “Giants Recap: Blood On The Tracks”

Matt Cain because Matt Cain. (Photo: rocor/Flickr)

On any day where the Giants’ offense does reasonably well, usually there’s a hitter of the game or two to talk about – the guy who got on base 4 times, the guy who hit an RBI single at just the right time, the guy who got a splash homer if the Giants ever manage to do that again, and so on. Today was weird. Everyone contributed, getting on base and hitting with runners in scoring position. I think the entire starting lineup besides Cain scored at least once. Nobody really had a monster game, but the Giants combined into a Voltron of competence, and it turns out that when everyone in your lineup hits a baseball pretty good, the results are kinda awesome.

So let’s talk about Matt Cain. Going into this start, Cain’s numbers since El Perfecto were not Cain-like. 6.3 innings per start, which is good; 46 K/16 BB, which is less good but actually right in line with his career numbers pre-2012; and a .790 OPS against and 4.4 ERA, which is pretty crappy. 10 dingers was the weird, scary key here. Between his pitching and the Giants’ hitting in the mid-2000s, it took Matt Cain two full seasons in MLB before he understood what a home run was. Suddenly he’s giving them up like Armando Benitez in Coors Field on the moon. Has Matt Cain’s dinger-suppression luck run out? you had to ask yourself. » Continue reading “Giants Recap: Entire Giants Lineup Gives Rockies Reasonable Amount Of What-for”

Giants fans cheer for Hunter Pence in his first at-bat in a new uniform. (Photo by Mac)

1.

Hunter Pence arrived shortly after the game ended on Jul 31, greeted by the fans still at the park. Cameras followed him around and reporters talked to him and interviewed him in the clubhouse. It was #PenceWatch.

It was one of those “new eras” in San Francisco: the arrival of a somewhat big name player joining the Giants roster.

Now, it was only a matter of whether or not he’ll be loved as a ballplayer in the black and orange. » Continue reading “The Value Of A Pence”

There are two options I can pick from for this recap.

1. I can re-write Top 40 hits to be like, “TONIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT / THERE ARE HIIIIIIITS / SO LET’S MAKE THEM ALL LEAVE THE YAAAAAARD / LEAVE THE YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~RD.”
2. I can post the following image five times and then drink copious amounts of soda and then set the following image as a gif and make it run around a ballpark with its eyes acting like googly eyes.

But really, I just don’t have any words for this game. I can’t even begin to go through the box score and try to pick the highlights from it to snark about because I still can’t even comprehend what just happened.

I think it started with a rain delay. Maybe about six hours ago. Then it was this pitchers duel and the Giants couldn’t even get a friggin’ hit but there you go. The Giants got hits. Lots of ‘em. Or, enough to win the game. » Continue reading “Giants Recap: WHAT IN THE SITHSPAWN”

Brad Penny purchased from Triple-A Fresno and added to ML roster. Shane Loux placed on DL. Surkamp to 60-man DL. — Alex Pavlovic (@AlexPavlovic) Thus begins the second era of the Brad Penny. It’s also interesting to note that Eric Surkamp is being placed on the 60 day (typo there, Pavs?) for something that was called a strain in the beginning.

George Kontos sitting in the bullpen, May 25th, 2012. (Photo: Mac)

The Giants traded Chris Stewart to the New York Yankees for right handed pitcher George Kontos this past off-season. It was a trade that involved a backup catcher and someone that appeared to be stuck in AAA for a long time — not necessarily something that would make the big hot stove headlines.

However, Kontos has been solid in his time with the Fresno Grizzlies, putting up an ERA and FIP of 1.95/2.51. He has a K/9 rate of 7.16 and a BB/9 rate of 1.30. His K/BB rate is at 5.50 and his 0.98 WHIP.

It’s easy to ignore Kontos’ stats, considering he will be 27 in about two weeks, and was the Padres’ Rule 5 pick following the 2010 season (he didn’t make the team, thus returned to the Yankees organization). But maybe there’s a bit more to him than organizational filler. » Continue reading “Curious About George: Why Kontos Could Help the Giants’ Bullpen”