Week 3: Mixed Feelings

• Giants had a bit of an up and down week...
• The bad: They went 2-4, and were swept by the Padres, who have usurped the NL West throne for the time being by winning 8 in a row.  (Why does it always seem like we always visit Petco when the Padres are red hot?)  Cain continues to be winless and Wellemeyer continues to suck.  The offense has begun to show that it's nowhere improved from last year, stranding God-knows-how-many-runners-at-3rd-with-less-than-1-out, and it seems like another frustrating season at the plate looms ahead.  They'll have their work cut out for them on Monday too, as the Giants will have to face the 4-0 Roy Halladay and the reigning NL champion Phillies in a 3 game set.
• The good:  They did manage to take 2 out of 3 from the Cardinals, widely considered the best team in the NL Central.  Lincecum pitched brilliantly on Friday despite lacking his best stuff, but he was outshined this week by none other than Barry Zito - that's right, Barry Zito.  Zito struck out 10 Cardinal hitters and blanked them for 8 innings in an epic pitching duel with Adam Wainwright.  His performance was so inspiring that he had the entire crowd chanting "BAR-RY! BAR-RY! BAR-RY!" throughout his final innings and in the 8th, he finished off his brilliant start by striking out the side, sending AT&T Park into a frenzy.  More importantly, it rejuvenated the Giants and gave them the momentum they needed to finally scratch out 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th for a 2-0 win.  Wilson would get the save in both games.
• From an overall perspective, things still look bright.  Getting swept in San Diego was frustrating, yes, but the Padres were on a roll.  If the Giants can may be find a way to improve their situational hitting, whether through internal coaching or signing a big bat, there's no reason not to expect playoffs this season.
• The Tampa Bay Rays have been on fire - surging to a 14-5 start that included a 4 game sweep of the reeling Red Sox who now find themselves at 8-11, 6 games back in the AL East and in fourth place.  The hot start has the Rays on top of the AL East, 1.5 games ahead of the mighty Yankees, who have had a strong start of their own.
• Usually, 7 ER in 6 IP means a loss, but this was not the case for Dan Haren.  Haren decided to make up for his shoddy pitching performance with his bat - going 4 for 4 at the plate and nabbing an RBI of his own to help the Diamondbacks plate 9 runs in a win over the Cardinals.  
• Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez hit a new low on Tuesday, as he allowed NINE stolen bases.  Granted, knuckleballer Tim Wakefield was a huge reason for most of them (knuckleballers are easy to steal off of because of their slow delivery time), but nine??  What's more shocking is the fact that the Red Sox still somehow found a way to win thanks to some late heroics by means of a game-tying omerun and a walkoff hit from rookie Darnell McDonald who was just called up earlier that day.
• Brewers handed the Pirates a humiliating defeat on Thursday, outscoring them 20-0.  (Compiled highlight of all 20 runs here.)  The sad part is that the Brewers had already outscored Pittsburgh 16-1 in the first two games of the series.
• Dodgers were 2-4 themselves, so we're still a few games ahead of them.  They were blanked 1-0 today by the Nationals behind starter Scott Olsen.
• Livan Hernandez has a 0.75 ERA?? WTF?
• Hughes fails epically in losing his no-hit bid, but the Yankees still won that game 3-1.  Surprisingly, the A's continue to sit atop the AL West.  Maybe the Bay Area is finally turning it around...
• Baltimore still sucks, Houston - not so much anymore.
• The NL East is being hotly contested.  Phillies still reign with a 11-7 record, but three teams - Florida, New York, and Washington - are right on their tail with 10-9 records.

Other news:

• Sharks found their rhythm just in time to avoid a choke and overcome shooting two game winning goals into their own net for Colorado.  Pavelski's overtime goal gave the Sharks a pivotal Game 4 win in Colorado on Tuesday, the Sharks rolled to a 5-0 win on Thursday, and a 4 goal outburst in the final period gave the Sharks a 5-2 win in Colorado on Saturday to wrap up the series.  Things are good, but they gave up TWO goals to an ASIAN guy this series.  HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN??  I'm not sure if this is a testament to how surprisingly good that guy actually is, or if the Sharks just really suck.  They'll have to wait a few days to find out their opponent in the conference semifinals - it will be the lower seed of three teams: Nashville (7th seed), Detroit (5th seed), or Phoenix(4th seed).  Vancouver also joined the Sharks in advancing to the 2nd round by knocking off the Los Angeles Kings tonight.
• 49ers have a good draft - no Jimmy Clausen, two big offensive linemen in the first two rounds to augment their smashmouth style, and safety Taylor-Mays (from USC... but I'll suck up my Cal pride for the greater good.)  Hopefully, they'll have what it takes to finally win the West and make the playoffs this year, but Seattle's making a big push of their own.
• Lakers struggling to get past Oklahoma City, getting blown out consecutive days on the road to drop to 2-2 on the series.  Do I smell an upset coming??
• Jon Stewart is brilliant, South Park needs to be uncensored and Revolution Muslim can go to hell.
• One more week of real instruction before dead week...

Proof that Boston is evil

“Finally, it’s over,” said an exhausted Satan...

Link: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/recap?gid=2010042101

The Buffalo Sabres are in trouble though, Boston has found a way to score just enough to get by Olympic MVP and American hero Ryan Miller and have a 3-1 series lead.  Two of the remainign three games are in Buffalo, but the Sabres are going to have to win them all to stay alive.

Week 2 Recap: Reality Check

I have a ton of work to do, so I'll make this quick.

• Giants went a disappointing 3-3 this week, though they are still 8-4 and on top of the NL West.  They suffered a very tough loss in the rubber game on Sunday, as Zito's 7.1 scoreless innings (before the home run anyway) went to naught thanks to a Manny Ramirez 2 run homer that gave the Dodgers a 2-1 win.  They will play the Padres in a 3 game set starting Monday and then a daunting stretch ensues afterwards - Cardinals, Phillies, and Rockies.  This will be a true test of where the Giants stand among the elite teams of the NL.
• Ubaldo Jimenez throws a no-hitter against Atlanta on Saturday, the first in Rockies history.  This guy is good, folks.
• A scoreless marathon in St.Louis:  The Mets and Cardinals battled to the 20th inning on Saturday, a game in which the Mets won 2-1 thanks to runs in the top of the 19th and 20th inning.  To summarize quickly, the game featured:
• 7 shutout innings from both Johan Santana and Jaime Garcia, who took a no-hitter into the 6th inning.
• Both teams left a combined 35 runners on base (22 of them from the Cardinals).  The teams batted a combined 1 for 27 with runners in scoring position.
• The Cardinals left the bases loaded not once, not twice, but three times: in the 10th, 12th, and 14th.
• 46 of 50 available players were used in the game.
• Felipe Lopez, the Cardinals 3rd baseman, pitched a scoreless top of the 18th, highlighted by a 10-pitch battle with the opposing pitcher at the plate.  Kyle Lohse, a starting pitcher, played three innings in the outfield and made several key catches for the Cardinals.
• Joe Mather, an outfielder, would pitch both the 19th and the 20th for the Cardinals, surrendering a run in both frames and taking the loss.
• Francisco Rodriguez blew a save in the 19th inning, as Molina drove home Pujols with 2 outs to tie the game at 1 and send it to the 20th.
• Mike Pelfrey, a starting pitcher, earned a save in the bottom of the 20th.
• Wainwright was the hero tonight, as he saved the Cardinals bullpen by pitching a complete game for the victory.  In the end, I guess you can say that the Cardinals made the right sacrifice by electing to not use their starting pitchers on Saturday.
• Closer drama, continued:
• Fuentes to the DL, Rodney in as closer for the Angels.
• Gonzalez to the DL, Jim Johnson in as closer for the Orioles, although he's already blown a save against the A's.
• Frasor out as closer for the Blue Jays, Gregg in.
• Qualls blew two saves in consecutive games this week against the hated Dodgers.. he's still closing as of now though.

And for other news:

• Sharks appear headed to another playoff choke... I don't even want to go into this one.  They're trailing 2-1 in the series now.
• NBA playoffs are underway.. I'm not much of an NBA fan though.
• 49ers acquire Ted Ginn Jr. from the Dolphins for a 5th round (?) pick.
• Europe is covered in ash, flights are delayed thanks to ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland.
• Whales have six-packs.
• Soccer is still lame.
• I didn't get a chance to zipline.. apparently you had to line up at like 7am just to reserve a spot.

Baseball recap fail

"Jose Uribe also drove in a run for the Giants, while Sandoval scored on a wild pitch..."

"Jose Uribe"? Did we sign Juan's younger brother or something?  Or did Jose suddenly become a nickname for Juan?


Rick Eymer is listed as the author of this article.. I wonder when he'll notice.

Link: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100412&content_id=9258084&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf

Highlights, Headlines, and Notes from Week 1

• The Giants are 5-1 thanks to two dominating outings from Mr. Cy Young, Tim Lincecum (highlights here and here - check out his strikeout of Infante in the 7th inning for the 2nd out.. he threw like a wicked cut changeup or something on accident), a heroic two run 9th inning homer by the red hot Renteria, and some very timely hitting from the lineup as a whole.  Is this finally our year?  It's certainly starting to look like it.  The pitching has been superb - I dare say that we have the best pitching staff in the majors, rotation and bullpen combined.  Wilson has been nothing but lights out (save for that moment on Friday where he needed Romo to get him out of a bases loaded jam, but we can blame that on exhaustion), Affeldt is the reigning NL setup man of the year, Runzler and Romo  are excellent young relievers, and Lincecum continues to anchor an outstanding rotation. (How many teams have #3 starter as good as Cain and a #5 starter that can give you 6 strong innings?)  Especially noteworthy is Zito's performance in Houston - 6 IP, 0 ER, and a W.  If Zito can continue his success from the second half of last year and the offense can stay out of all those DPs (which might become a serious problem later... the Giants are by far the league leaders in GIDPs with 12) and continue the recent string of timely hits, there's no reason they don't have a legitimate shot at not only the NL West title, but the National League pennant as well.
• I hope Larry Dobrow knows how retarded he looks right now for ranking the Giants 19th in his pre-season power rankings.  "Aaron Rowand's .429/.492/.625 performance during spring training somehow doesn't carry over into games that matter ... Tim Lincecum's do-the-hokey-pokey mechanics start to work against him ... Pablo Sandoval inadvertently creates a sinkhole in the batter's box." Well... okay, to give him credit, he's right about the Rowand thing.  Something tells me though that even after this week, ESPN will refuse to recognize the Giants as an elite team...

• Dodgers stink it up.  They got blown out by the Pirates on Monday, they saw the Pirates walkoff with  another win on Wednesday (not only that, they lost to a team that had a starting pitcher named Ross Ohlendorf.. Yes, Ohlendorf.) , they blew a 2-run lead in the 9th and saw another walkoff on Saturday, and blew another late lead today.  Life could not be any better - it's still early, but they're now sitting at the bottom of the NL West with the Padres, a good 3 games back.  Oh, and did I mention that their opening day starter was actually Vicente Padilla? That's like asking to lose.
• Diamondbacks score 13 runs in one inning, including three homeruns - one of which from a pitcher who spent his entire career in the AL.
• Buerhle may already have a Gold Glove and a Play of the Year locked up after this defensive gem.
• The A's are 5-2? What is this?
• With all the talk about the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Rays, it's the Blue Jays that sit atop the AL East with a 5-1 record right now.
• The Astros are now 0-6.  Halladay threw a complete game today, as he looks to possibly dethrone Lincecum from the Cy Young seat.
• Pujols is still a monster.  Evidence here, here, here, and here.
• Heyward makes a splash, hitting a 3 run homer in his first Major League at bat.  He now has 3 on the year and looks to make a powerful presence in the Braves lineup. He struck out 4 times on Friday, but he's still adjusting and is maintaining a respectable .292 average as of right now.
• Closer drama:  Both Mike Gonzalez and Frank Francisco have blown two saves already.  Jim Johnson and Neftali Feliz (<-- especially this guy) look poised to unseat them from the closer role.  Hoffman also has two blown saves, both against the Cardinals, giving up three homeruns (one, two, three) in two appearances against them this weekend.  Maybe his days have finally become numbered... the Brewers lost as a result on Friday, but managed to pull out a win tonight despite Hoffman's performance with a walkoff homerun from Casey McGehee.

And now for some non-baseball related news/notes:

• Sharks have the #1 seed again in the West.  They will play the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the NHL playoffs.  As always, the question is: when will they choke this time?
• Steelers trade Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a 5th round pick - who does Roethlisberger have to throw to now?
• Warriors coach Don Nelson becomes the all-time NBA leader in coaching wins, winning #1333 last Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.  Too bad they aren't anywhere close to the playoffs.
• Tiger Woods is playing golf again.
• Less nukes?? Nooo!!!
• And lastly, I got hired as a tutor! Woohoo! $12.50/hour here I come.

Photos from Yahoo.

The Giants and Baseball: More Than Just a Pastime

Baseball.  America's pastime.  A sport where grown men in uniform wage war using gloves, balls, bats, and their bodies -  where enormous sums of money are given to players to do nothing more than hit a ball with a bat - where tens of thousands come to watch and cheer on their team in stadiums larger than mansions - where hundreds of thousands of televisions tune in just to watch for a few numbers or images... yes, baseball.  Why do we do it?  Why do we devote so much of our time and attention to something that on its surface appears so meaningless, especially to those who rarely watch it?

The answer is simple.  It's more than just a sport.  A baseball field is where hearts and dreams are made - and where they are broken.  It's a place where thousands of fans - strangers or not - can connect and bond, because on that field, for those three or four hours after the symbolic first pitch ritual and the emphatic "LET'S PLAY BALL" call from the hoarse-voiced umpire, nothing else matters.  There is but one purpose, one desire, one duty, and one common uniting dream, shared by thousands who would otherwise have absolutely no connection to each other - a goal of bringing home a championship.

Yes, it is true that these fans will never truly physically possess a trophy, but physical possession is not the only way to cherish a triumph.  When a fan sees his team win a championship, an inexplicable joy and happiness fills his heart - a euphoria unlike any other.  Because in that period - those fleeting days or weeks - his years or decades of devotion, faith, and loyalty have paid off.  All the time spent praying for miracles, pleading to the skies for just one more win, agonizing over heartbreaking defeats - it's all rewarded, it's all given meaning.

Even when one's own team is not the one celebrating, baseball gives us reason to believe - not just in the sport, but in life as well.  Who could forget when the little known Arizona Diamondbacks rallied off the presumably unhittable Mariano Rivera to win its first ever World Series over the big bad Yankees?  Or the time that Dave Roberts, now forever enshrined in Red Sox lore, stepped up to become a hero and stole the base of his lifetime with two down in the bottom of the 9th?  Every baseball match is essentially a David-versus-Goliath battle, a fight between good and evil, an altruistic struggle for an underdog trying to topple a favorite.

The times that the team we root for doesn't win - we are reminded of the realities of life.  Sometimes, we don't always get what we want.  Evil can prevail over good, David will lose most of the time, the rich obnoxious stud sometimes does get the girl, and tragedy isn't limited to Korean dramas.  These losses, however heartbreaking or disappointing, teach us about the downside of life.  From these losses, we learn to move on and to not only accept defeat, but to get up from it and come back strong the next day.  True fans are not defined by their devotion in times of joy.  They are defined by their resiliency in times of peril - by the fact that they still stand in pouring rain, to root on their last-place team in a meaningless game - by the fact that they still care, even if no miracle could possibly save their team - by the fact that they refuse to turn off the television, even when their team is being slaughtered.  True fans, and true people for that matter, are defined by their strength in times of crisis, not in times of celebration.

But the times that they do succeed - the times that the miracles do happen - these moments inspire us.  When we see the underdog prevail over the giant obstacle in its way, even when it isn't our own team pulling off the miracle, we are inspired and motivated.  We are reminded of what we can do, of our own potential, of our own possibilities.  Suddenly, our own problems become less daunting, our obstacles less tall, the climb ahead less steep.  A sense of vitality and inexplicable joy fills our veins, reinforcing our devotion to the sport.  These are the moments that true fans live for - to feel the awe and splendor of seeing the impossible happen.

In the movie "Fever Pitch" (Yes, shut up, I was bored and watched it.), one of the characters said, "Sometimes, it's nice to devote your soul to something that you have absolutely no control over," or something like that.  In a way, baseball is a religion.  You have Christianity, I have the Giants.  It's always there for you, whether your life is in shambles or couldn't be better.  You can always turn on the radio and forget about your day's worries.  A religion serves its purpose in society not because we care about whether God exists, but because it teaches us certain values and provides us with comfort in times of need.  Baseball teaches us how to deal with the ups and downs of life and to never give up, even when the odds aren't in our favor.  It serves as an outlet that anyone can turn to in any situation.  It is impartial to our actions and our problems - it's a constant in a tumultuous world.  Whether you just went bankrupt or got dumped by the love of your life, baseball will remain the same - pitchers will still be throwing balls and batters will still be swinging at them.  It is this consistency that defines baseball and it's this consistency that makes it such a great pastime.

With all that said, opening day is upon us - LETS PLAY BALL.