- Jason Schmidt goes on the DL. My reaction? I'm perfectly fine with it, because: 1) it just wouldn't be a complete season without all of the Giants most important players hitting the DL (Moises, Schmidt, Bonds, Benitez), 2) if a DL stint will help his arm get right so he can regain his velocity and control, great, and 3) he hadn't pitched all that well this year, so as an immediate impact this can't be viewed as that horrible. Will all of that reasoning stop my natural animal reaction to this (consisting of climbing a tree, screaming while jumping up and down, and throwing fruit and excrement around)? No, it won't.
- Jeff Fassero must've heard my chant yesterday, because he did exactly what I had hoped; he pitched five strong innings. Of course, Dave Williams of the Pirates pitched six strong, so it hardly mattered. The Giants lost 5-2 and now sit at Indy .500 again.
- As the weather is warming up, Edgardo Alfonzo is cooling down. Heck, he's cooler than a polar bear's toenails, going only 4 for his last 26 ab's. Mike Matheny is doing his best to regress to his mean as well, going 2 for his last 18, dropping his batting average to .231. Well, at least I know I'm going to see Yorvit Torreabla play on weekends -- Torry has only played in one weekday game this season.
- Lance Niekro continues to display power and a complete disregard for the base on balls. He's hit five home runs, but has only one walk. For a part-timer, though, he's mustard.
Now, for the Royal pain in the...
- Tony Pena has RESIGNED! I...don't know what to think of this, other than to be generally positive and generally optimistic that Allard Baird will not hire a nincompoop when they open up the job to candidates. Kevin Agee brings up Carlos Tosca as a shot-in-the-dark possibility, while I personally wish that Lou Piniella would give up on the Devil Rays and come to Kansas City, where...well, things aren't better there, but I'd like it better here if he were over there. And my feelings are all that matters. Meanwhile, the intern/sacrifical lamb/human shield that will pilot the Royals' sinking ship in the meantime will be Bob Schaefer.
- Mike Sweeney seems to have become interested in physics, as he is attempting to tear the cover off of the ball right now. He's run his OPS to about 1.000, and has popped up on the AL leaderboard for home runs and RBI -- he's two behind the league leader in home runs (Alex Rodriguez), and in 3rd place on the RBI board (three behind A-Rod, for perspective). As the abolute only bright spot in the Royals lineup right now, I appreciate what he's been able to accomplish this year even more than normal. (crossing fingers) Stay healthy, Mikey.
3 comments:
Daniel, did you see this mess of a game? I was happily ensconced in Irish Night section. Giants Abu! whatever that means.
Fassero looked great. I suppose they had set a pitch count limit and that is why Rueter (Rueter?!) pinch-bunted for him. I assume this is because Snow and Mushy Alou both had the flu.
Then, it became the same game I saw Saturday. The entire bullpen pitches. The lead is given up, and up, and up. And a pitcher ends up hurt. Eyre threw about 9 straight balls when he came in, so either he was totally gassed or injured. I think he was probably hurt going in.
It is frustrating to watch this all, but it's satisfying to see the Giants get what they've invested in for so long- a Bondsless, old, brittle, lousy team with the same horrible bullpen we had last year. Except for Jeff Fassero, which is just a ridiculous thing to say in itself.
I do keep reminding myself that it looked bad last year too, but the injuries weren't so bad. I'm starting to wonder if folks are developing the Tim Rattay syndrome- you want me to play behind that offensive line? Ow, my foot.
Maybe I'll start reading your Royals stuff instead...
BB
My screams from Giants related stuff is because it could be a bit better than it is, but it's more likely that it's worse than it seems, if that makes any sense.
With the Royals, the screams are straightforward and genuine, because things are exactly as bad as they seem. Read my Royals stuff if you want to feel better about the Giants, BB.
I did not see the game, and of course the Giants played a day game today, so I missed that as well. Tomorrow will be my first opportunity to see a game in about a week, and I'll have to rush home from work to do that. Yippee.
Yeah, I can vouch for how terrible things are here in KC.
But the Pena resignation brings some hope. I wasn't on the "Fire The Manager" bandwagon, but I was getting close. His leaving takes a ton of heat off the front office and gives them the opportunity to really make an impact.
I'd like to see someone with major league experience, but I have a feeling they are going to take a long look at Frank White. Unfortunately, I don't think he's the right guy at this time.
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