SF Giants Games 16 & 17

I'm bummed that I've been so busy because that means there is little time for baseball. When I can't watch the games, it gives me anxiety.

On Thursday, I had back to back meetings, so I didn't get to watch or listen to the game much. I did follow along on the MLB app while I was in training, so you can't say I didn't try ;)

Quick tidbits from Game 16 
- I'm sure you're aware of this, but let's start from the beginning: the Giants lost 2-1 versus the Dodgers, but secured the series win with their victory the day before.
- Pablo Sandoval's batting average continues to plummet. 
- "Trader" (lol, Twitter folks that can't spell) Brian Wilson came in to pitch in the 8th inning. I heard the loud boos on the radio broadcast. Ehire Adrianza doubled to lead off the inning and then Hunter Pence walked. Unfortunately, Wilson got Sandoval and Buster Posey out to end the threat.
- This was the 7th consecutive one-run game the Giants have played in.
- Madison Bumgarner only lasted 4 1/3 innings due to high pitch count. 
- Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched so well against the cold Giants bats and shut them down until he exited the game. 
- The lone run the Giants scored was in the 9th inning. Michael Morse struck out, but reached base due to Kenley Jansen's wild pitch. Brandon Belt grounded into a force out and later advanced to 2nd on defensive interference. Hector Sanchez struck out, followed by a walk from Gregor Blanco. Adrianza singled to left, scoring Belt. He was 3 for 3 after coming in to replace Brandon Hicks. The rally was on and I was excited for the possibility of our boys tying it up, but then Brandon Crawford struck out to end the game. 

Friday night, I was busy making penis shaped cakes and blowing up penis shaped balloons. No, I'm not a weirdo (well, actually I am, but let's not get into that)...it was for a bachelorette party. By the time the game started, I was seated at Mas Sake in San Francisco with five of my girlfriends drinking many, many sake bombs. But of course, the TV showing the game still had some of my attention.
 
Quick tidbits from Game 17
- This was the 8th consecutive one-run game for the Giants. Their record in these games is 4-4.
- The Giants have only scored two runs in the last 19 innings, and four runs in the last 26 innings. Pitiful. 
- Angel Pagan led the game off with a ground rule double, but Blanco, Belt, and Sandoval were unable to get him home. In the Padres half of the 1st, Chris Denorfia tripled to center. With two outs and Jedd Gyorko at the plate, a passed ball by Hector Sanchez allowed Donorfia to score. I was so frustrated at this.   
- Posey and Morse had the day off, but were both put in as pinch hitters in the 8th inning. Neither got a hit. The Padres' Yasmani Grandal, pinch hitting for Tyson Ross, hit a home run off Juan Gutierrez to bring the score to 2-0.

- Belt hit his 6th home run of the season against Huston Street in the 9th, cutting the lead to 2-1. Pence walked with two outs and then stole second base. Sanchez then ended the game with a silly strikeout.

- The Giants had three stolen bases in this game.   
- Matt Cain pitched really well but got Cained by his teammates once again. 

I'm hoping the rest of the San Diego series goes better and our guys get hot at the plate again. It's not just one player, it's so many of them. I'm most concerned about Sandoval though. He needs to find his groove...and quickly because I'm getting really frustrated with him. However, the Giants offense as a whole needs to get hot. Losing these one-run games sucks :(

GO GIANTS!

xoxo,
JC
 

SF Giants Game 15

Sup y'all. To be honest, I'm still pretty happy about last night's game. I'm running on empty since I only slept four hours last night, so it was probably dumb to go on a short hike after work especially since I didn't eat much today. Thankfully, I survived! I didn't want to be a jerk and say "Umm, is it time to turn around yet? The game starts soon..." but we completed our 4-mile loop just in time for me to turn on the radio and listen to the first inning on my drive home.

1st inning highlights
Dee Gordon led off the game with a single. Carl Crawford flied out to left field, and then Hanley Ramirez grounded into a double play. Angel Pagan grounded out and then Hunter Pence ended up on 2nd due to a field error by Kemp. HAHA, Kemp. Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey stranded Pence at 2nd.

2nd inning highlights
After Adrian Gonzalez was out for interfering with Posey, Kemp walked. Kemp was picked off at first and called out. Don Mattingly challenged and four very long minutes and 25 seconds later, the call was upheld. HAHA, Kemp. I wish the umps hadn't taken that long, but glad that Ryan Vogelsong was able to stay loose. 

Side note: Jon Miller mentioned that the Giants were down one Brandon tonight. Brandon Crawford was given the night off due to tightness in his hamstring. It happened last night when he was racing around the bases. Miller mentioned it wasn't that serious. Fingers crossed!

3rd inning highlights
Juan Uribe singled to left field and then during Drew Butera's at bat, Posey gunned him down trying to steal 2nd. POSEY AIN'T HAVIN' IT. In the bottow of the 3rd, Paul Maholm walked Pagan. He was out at second on a ground ball force out by Pence. Sandoval singled and the Posey singled deep enough to Crawford, giving our speedy kale-monger more than enough time to make it home. Unfortunately, Morse hit into a double play to end the inning.

4th inning highlights
Quiet inning from both sides. Nice to see Vogey cruising along without any issues.

5th inning highlights
Gonzo was out on one pitch and Pagan singled. That's about all that happened this inning.

6th inning highlights
With two outs, Vogey walked Maholm. The other PITCHER. That was annoying enough until Gordon tripled to right, driving Maholm in to tie the game. It sucks so bad when a two out walk to a pitcher ends up scoring. In the Giants half of the inning, Posey walked, but then Morse hit into ANOTHER double play. Please stop that shit. Belt singled and then made it to second on a wild pitch. Brandon Hicks hit a deep fly ball to center, ending the inning and leaving the score tied.

7th inning highlights
HanRam was hit by a pitch, directly on the hand. Looked pretty awful. Hope he's ok. Gonzo singled, knocking Vogey out of the game. I'm glad the fans gave him a loud ovation. Jean Machi came in to pitch and promptly struck out Kemp. Andre Ethier singled on a weird ass play where Hicks looked like he was going to throw to Belt, but threw to Machi instead. With the bases loaded, our nemesis Uribe hit into a double play, to the delight of Giants fans everywhere. Our turn! Arias was walked on four pitches. Ehire Adrianza bunted him over to 2nd. Pagan struck out and then the Dodgers intentionally walked Pence to pitch to Panda. In all honesty, I thought that was a wise choice, given Sandoval's struggles at the plate this season. Thankfully Sandoval made them pay with a single to center, scoring Arias. This put the Giants up 2-1.

Side note: The Giants bullpen has been pretty amazing thus far. They currently hold the 2nd lowest ERA in the National League. I am confident that they will continue to be strong.

8th inning highlights
Butera and Puig were out rather quickly versus Santiago Casilla. After Gordon singled, the Giants brought in Javier Lopez. He sidearmed to first on a pickoff attempt and threw it away. It ended up being harmless as Crawford grounded out on the first pitch to end the inning. Nice to see Morse get a hit this inning, considering he had to GIDPs in this game. Brandon League was surprisingly good. Shocker!

Side note 1: 
X-rays on HanRam's hand were negative. It looked really bad, so it's good that it's not broken.

Side note 2:
Twitter couldn't get enough of some Giants fans misspellings, and rightfully so. There was a group of six people, each with an individual letter to spell out Beat LA. Unfortunately they were in the wrong order so #BaetLA was trending for a while. I like to drink at games too, so I'll pretend they were just too drunk to realize. How hard is it to remember to stay in the the same order when you do that though? Spelling error number 2 featured a sign that said "Go Gaints!" Come the fuck on, people. Get it right.

9th inning highlights
Sergio Romo came in to save the game. Justin Turner - one pitch, one out. El Mechon then struck out both Gonzo and Kemp to end the game. THAT'S WHAT'S UP!!!

Fun tidbits:
- Great to see Happy Panda during his post game interview. 
- The Giants have won four out of six consecutive one-run games.
- Vogey pitched his best game of the season, allowing only four hits and one run. He also faced only 15 batters through five innings and only gave up one hit during that time.
- The Giants won their 2nd game today in honor of Bruce Bochy's birthday. Happy birthday skipper!
- The Giants are now in 1st place.

- I'm going to relax now and either watch P.S. I Love You or last night's episode of The Voice :)

Sweep LA.Duck the Fodgers. Together, We're Sleepy. Enjoy the rest of your night!

xoxo,
JC

SF Giants Game 14 - Jackie Robinson Day

First off, the Giants always do excellent pregame ceremonies. We are so lucky that our announcers, including Renel, do such a great job with baseball festivities. Hall of Famers Jon Miller and Vin Scully announcing the starting line-ups was so cool! I may despise the Dodgers, but Vin Scully deserves so much respect, even if he makes me a little sleepy :) 

Seeing our players wearing 42 gives me a sense of pride for the game I love and obsess over. Most importantly, It's wonderful that Jackie Robinson is honored like this once a year throughout the MLB. His story will always be a highlight in the history of our beloved national pastime.

I was nervous for Timmy Lincecum and his hideous porn stache, but he has historically pitched well against the Dodgers, so I was hopeful that he would have a great start. I haven't been able to record my thoughts as I watch the game in a while, so this should be fun.

HERE WE GO...

- Lincecum started the game with a strike. Good omen! The only downside was that it took him 20 pitches to get out of the first. After giving up a home run to former Giant Juan Uribe in the 2nd, Timmy was already up to 38 pitches.
-Stupid bastard Josh Beckett hit Michael Morse in the elbow during his AB in the bottom of the 2nd. Beckett then threw the ball away on a pick-off attempt, allowing Morse and his long legs to saunter over to 3rd. Unfortunately, Brandon Crawford struck out and stranded Morse and his sore elbow at third base. 
- Beckett, Dee Gordon, and Carl Crawford all struck out in the 3rd. Great inning by Lincecum. GRAB SOME PINE, MEAT! Times three. 

- In the 4th, Timmy loaded the bases with Adrian Gonzalez, Yasshole Puig, and Andre Ethier with one out. I held my breath as he struck out Uribe and Tim Federowicz. Crisis averted.
- Unfortunately for the Giants, the same thing happened to them in their half of the 4th inning. Brandon Belt got the first hit of the game, Buster Posey was unintentionally walked, and Hunter Pence singled to load the bases. There was only one out, but Morse struck out and Crawford grounded out. Dodgers still leading 1-0 :(
- Beckett is one of the most annoying pitchers to watch. He's so fucking slow. It's painful. 
- The Giants had another good chance in the 5th with the bases loaded (Brandon Hicks, Belt, and Sandoval were all walked) with two outs. Posey hit a shallow fly ball to center and yet again, more missed opportunities for our guys.
- With Beckett out of the game, the Giants finally tied it. Pence started the 6th off with a single and Morse reached on an error by Hanley Ramirez. Pence was safe on a close call at third following a wild pitch and BCraw sacrificed him in to tie it up. 

Look at this gem after Pence hustled home. 

- Javier Lopez came in to pitch in the 7th. Let's take a moment to enjoy him, shall we?

Unfortunately, he gave up an RBI single to put the Dodgers back in the lead. Stupid Uribe led off the inning with a double and scored when Justin Turner got a hit off Lopez. That is two games in a row now that Lopez has inherited a runner and gave up an RBI. Not happy about this. 
- My patience with Sandoval dimishes with each game. I think I'd be a lot more supportive of him if his agent weren't such a dumb ass. 
- I'm sick of repeating this, but the Giants wasted another great opportunity to score. In the 8th, Pence collected his 3rd hit of the game and then promptly stole second while Gregor Blanco was at bat. He eventually walked. BCraw struck out on a filthy pitch that made his swing look absolutely dreadful. Hicks then grounded into a pitiful double play. And just like that, the 1,000,000th runner was stranded by the Giants. Have fun in Fresno, dude! You and Jean Machi (Macheeeee) will have fun there. Please give us Hembree. Or Kontos. And a position player. Maybe Minicozzi?
- In the 9th, with my blood pressure rising, Hector Sanchez struck out. Angel Pagan singled, followed by a Belt double that scored the speedy Pagan to tie the game! (Photo credit to my twitter follower @SanDiegoGiants. In fact, the majority of photos in this post are likely all his, copied from his TL. Thank you for screenshots of great moments throughout the game.)

Check out Pagan's helmet. I love that it flops around like that when he's racing home. Useless Sandoval struck out and the Dodgers intentionally walked Posey. Scared much? Unfortunately, that strategy worked and Pence flied out to Puig.That ended the ninth, bringing us to extras.
- Adrian Gonzalez hit a sharp liner and Hicks made a great defensive play, robbing him of a hit. I forgave Hicks about 10% for that double play earlier. Puig walked, but was left there whining as Andre Ethier popped out to BCraw. Note: Sergio Romo was hyped up facing the big boys, but he had a score free inning, and that's all we could hope for.
- In the Giants half of the 10th, Gregor Blanco slid into first on a close play at first base and was called out. Blanco did a double finger shake at the ump - NOT TODAY. Ha. I wish I found a good picture of the actual play, because it was epic. 

Bruce Bochy challenged the call, and it was successfully overturned. It still makes me laugh thinking about how unsuccessful Jim Harbaugh is at challenges as the 49ers coach. Glad Boch doesn't have the same losing percentage as him. Anyway, BCraw singled, followed by a beautiful bunt from Hicks to move both runners over. Another 10% forgiven, Hicks! Sanchez walked to load the bases. What could possibly go wrong? The Dodgers put five infielders out on defense and that was interesting to see.

Pagan flied out to HanRam. My guess is that the Dodgers defense freaked him out. Belt also flied out, and another opportunity with the bases loaded and one out was wasted. How many batters left on base at this point? A GAJILLION.

- The Giants offensive woes had Boch and Giants fans everywhere doing a Bochy facepalm.

Santiago Casilla replaced Romo, and our former friend, now foe Uribe singled. The Giants were lucky when Dodgers catcher Federowicz laid down the worst bunt ever. I don't remember the last time I saw a bunt double play. I screamed pretty loud with happiness when that happened. Matt Kemp got a double, but Justin Turner grounded out and we fans rejoiced at the chance for another walk off. 
- Useless Sandoval grounded out to start the bottom of the 11th. Joaquin Arias came in as a PH for Casilla. I was really hoping we'd see another awesome Casilla at bat, but alas, it didn't happen. I wish this could've happened again. Why so serious, Jairo? 

Arias singled to center but unfortunately my baseball crush Pence grounded into a double play to send us to the 12th. Womp womp.
- Yusmeiro Petit came in to pitch the 12th, leaving Bochy with no bullpen and no reserves, just starting pitchers left. HanRam doubled and Gonzo was intentionally walked, but thankfully Petit got Puig to fly out. Worth mentioning that King of Douches thought he hit a three run home run, douched it up at the plate, and Pence caught the ball with MILES of room left. Wasn't even close. Puig also gave up on the ball and was barely out of the batters box. He didn't even fake run. What a dick. How do you root for that idiot? I hope he's benched again for his shitty attitude. Ethier grounded out and it was the Giants turn.
 -Team Brandon gained another member as Brandon League came in to pitch for the Dodgers. Blanco flied out and then BCraw singled. Hicks' ground out moved BCraw to 2nd.  A wild pitch sent him to third with two outs. Sanchez then singled past Turner's outstretched glove and BCraw scored to FINALLY end this nearly 5-hour long rollercoaster. 
- Sanchez's post game interview was hilarious. He was hungry and wanted to go home because it was almost time to drop his daughter off at school ;) Gotta love the humor of our guys. The post game dog pile on Sanchez was so adorable and it was great to see our guys happy and celebrating. It was also officially April 16th, Bochy's birthday. They won for the skipper!

Other random observations:
- Former hottie and Giants closer Brian Wilson and his disgusting beard and hobo looks warmed up a couple times, but never got into the game. He was booed lustily by Giants fans, as expected.
- Jeremy Affeldt is close to coming back and while I like to talk shit about him, the bullpen needs him! Can't wait to welcome him back. 
- Posey and Morse were taken out of the game and I missed them both in extras. 
- The Giants left 16 runners on base. Pretty pathetic, but I think they'll fix that problem.
- The game that would never end lasted 4 hours, 54 minutes.
- Forgotten in all this is that Lincecum had a decent game and lasted five innings. 

I'm going to pray that Ryan Vogelsong has a good start and lasts at least six innings. Pretty please? The bullpen is tired. Time to step up Vogey!

I was too excited to sleep, so I had to finish writing this before I went to bed. Long day at work in store for me in the morning, but it's worth it because our guys won. 

Beat LA. Fuck the Dodgers. Good night, faithful and loyal fans.

xoxo,
JC

SFGiants Game 5

I had a conference call during the first inning of the game. Generally the first inning can be boring and uneventful, but it wasn't today. Bummed that I couldn't cheer like a lunatic out loud the way I normally would if I were home alone and not on a work call.

Let's recap that inning, shall we?

It all started with a two out walk. It's been great to see the guys produce with two outs. Michael Morse singled and plated Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey. After Matt Kemp fumbled the ball around, Morse was at second base. Up next, Mr. April Brandon Belt singled in Morse to make it 3-0. I was already pretty excited at that point. After an intentional walk to load the base to get to pitcher Ryan Vogelsong, he helped himself out and had a two RBI single, with Belt and Brandon Hicks scoring. And it didn't end there! Gloriously coiffed Angel Pagan continued his hot streak with a single that scored Joaquin Arias. After what felt like forever, the inning mercifully (for the Dodgers at least) ended after that. I wouldn't have minded a few more runs though. I mean, it's the Dodgers!

My wish was granted in the top of the 2nd when Hicks doubled and Posey scored. Soon after, Arias singled him home. I glad they both are getting playing time...I hope they both do well too! Sadly, the bats went to sleep after the 2nd inning. 

Vogey was doing ok until the Dodgers half of the 4th inning when Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier hit back to back home runs. I honestly thought Bruce Bochy waited a little too long to pull Vogey out of the game. All scoring stopped in the 5th inning, as the Dodgers failed to close the gap and the final score was 8-4.

Other thing to mention is when Posey gunned down Ethier at second base when he was trying to steal. He was called safe. Boch challenged and the call was overturned, and rightfully so. The best part was when Ethier just walked over to the his dugout, knowing that he was out. He pretended to get water, but Kruk & Kuip definitely called him out on it and it was hilarious. 

Lastly, I'm worried that Vogelsong won't last through the season, but I'm hoping he will. Fingers crossed!

During all that, I found out my truck was ready. $500 later...I'm back on the road. Yay? Oh well. Life goes on. Time to continue watching Iron Man. Onto the next game!

xoxo,
JC