Baseball Like It Oughta Be: Giants 6, Cubs 2

Today was good day. I woke up late, watched the Giants beat the Cubs behind Lincecum and two 3-run innings. Bengie Molina got the Giants started in fine fashion, as his 3-run HR in the 1st gave Lincecum 3 runs to play with before he ever took the mound. As soon as the TV cameras showed Lincecum in the dugout, pumping his fist like he'd already won, I thought, "That better be enough, Timmy, because that might be all you get". For a long time, it looked like I was right. Lincecum led by the slim margin of 3-2 after 7 innings before the Giants added 3 in the top of the 8th, highlighted by a 2-run double by the eternally-slumping Aaron Rowand.

Getting to watch the Giants play a day game at Wrigley is one of life's simple pleasures. Getting to see Lincecum hold down the Cubbies for the win is the cherry on top. The Giants scoring 6 runs is the tab of acid on top of the cherry.

Bright spots: Merkin Valdez was nasty, and struck out 2 in an inning of work -- he hit 99 and had a devastating slider. Emmanuel Burriss had 2 hits, albeit from the right side. Molina continues to be a not-as-embarrassing-as-it-should-be cleanup hitter. Rowand (see above).

Downside: After getting hot the last 2 games, Fred Lewis looked very bad at the plate, taking a collar and still hasn't homered. Before looking nasty and striking out 2, Valdez couldn't get the ball over the plate with a 4 run lead in the 8th -- he was lucky to get his first out on what would've been ball 4.

Again, just awesome -- real grass, real sunshine, real baseball. Giants at Wrigley. Lincecum. Runs. Not working. Today represented everything great about America.

TOMORROW: The Giants travel to Colorado to play the Rockies, the Big Unit taking the hill against Ubaldo Jimenez (a.k.a. "Battle of The Uglies 2: Rocky Mountain Ugly").

In The Zone: Giants 5, D-Backs 1

Again, this was how Brian Sabean drew it up before the season -- great starting pitching, decent enough hitting, and solid defense. The defense and the hitting haven't been very dependable this year, but the pitching is starting to look like something the team can count on.

Counting on opposite-field HR's by Edgar Renteria, and getting 12 K's from your starter is not something they can do on most nights, but when Lincecum pitches it's certainly not surprising. Unfortunately, it's also not suprising to see the Giants leave runners at 3rd with less than 2 out again and again. Tonight, Aaron Rowand did it twice himself, and he wasn't alone. But when Lincecum is on, it doesn't matter much, as long as you score him a couple.

Rowand helped him off to a good start with a fabulous play to save a run in the 1st inning, cutting off a Stephen Drew double into the gap with a quick slide, then popping up and, in one motion, hitting the cutoff man with a strong throw. Lincecum then struck out Mark Reynolds to keep him there, and got out of the inning unscathed, going 8 innings and allowing only a single run and walk to go with the dozen K's (he struck out 13 D-Backs in SF less than a week ago).

The Giants managed to score 5 runs despite their lack of good situational hitting, mainly because of Bengie Molina, who hit one HR with the bases empty, and one ringing double with the bases full, driving in 3 runs total. He may not be the ideal cleanup hitter, but he's our cleanup hitter, dammit. Other highlights included Pablo Sandoval's 2 hits and a walk (yes, you read that right), and Fred Lewis chipping in 2 more hits to raise his average to .360.

For six straight games, the Giants have had dominant starting pitching -- not just in terms of results, but also peripherals -- and have won 5 of those 6 games. Lincecum has been the poster boy of the rotation, and for good reason, but it's nice to see all 5 guys contributing so well at once. It's gotten so good that the team can skip Jonathan Sanchez after a great start and not skip a beat., there might have been some controversy over choosing him and not Zito, but not when The Albatross goes out and mows down a division rival in a 1-0 extra inning win. It's too early to take these types of numbers too seriously, but there's no reason we shouldn't enjoy it.

The Trend Is Your Friend: Giants 8, Padres 3

The trend of Giants starting pitchers delivering great starts continued, as did the trend of me having to follow the game online and watch it later on TiVo. This is because I am whipped and need to spend time with my wife in the evenings after we get home from work. So, usually I'm watching shows on TiVo while I record the game. But not tomorrow -- I'm off work, and will be watching the businessman's special in my boxers. The bad news: Zito's pitching.

But there will be plenty of time to be glum about having to sit through a Zito start tomorrow. Tonight I'm just happy to watch Cain go to 2-0 by allowing 2 runs in 6 innings (with 5 K's and no walks!), and, more surprisingly, getting terrific run support -- mainly from Edgar Renteria, who made his first Giants HR a grand slam. Travis Ishikawa also had a nice night -- at the plate and in the field.

I'm also thankful to have power. Last night, just as the wife and I were settling in to watch shows, we lost our electricity. On the hottest day of the year (no coincidence I'm sure). No AC. No TV. No internet. After a few hours, no computers (the batteries ran out). Finally I tried to go to sleep, even though I can only sleep with the TV on, and tossed and turned for a couple hours. Just as I finally fell asleep, the power came back on. It was one of the worst night's sleeps I've ever had.

Also, I was unable to post late last night, as I'm accustomed to. I had planned to write an off-day post, but at least it wasn't a game day, or I would've broken my streak (it may be only two weeks, but I'm such a quitter, I've already impressed myself. Sad, isn't it?) Also, I had planned a special bonus post -- finally telling the story of the Crazy Flower Lady. But with no computer (the only one with batteries was playing 'Twilight' -- don't ask), I was unable to finish it. And because it turns I have one last round of notes on a script I've been polishing, I probably won't get to it for another couple of days.

RANDOM PREDICTION: I think little-used Nate Schierholtz will start in RF in the series finale. He's only had 5 AB's so far this year, but had a double as a pinch-hitter, and a day game after a night game is the perfect time to rest a vet like Winn or Rowand. Also, Nate's a high fastball hitter, and that's starting pitcher Chris Young's specialty pitch. But really, I think Bochy will think, "Hey, Nate's hitting .400, and he's also a lefty. And that Chris Young -- he's a righty", and from there it won't take him long.

RANDOM GRIPE: As much as I love Kruk and Kuip -- and I love them dearly -- they have one annoying trait: They tend to be apologists for some of the players, especially veterans. Being ex-ballplayers, it's no surprise, but they're so great in every other way, it kind of stings to hear them parsing their words, and bending over backward to avoid criticism. Tonight, Aaron Rowand got a terrible jump on flyball -- something which is less and less rare -- they were each guilty of making excuses for him. Kuip said he thought the ball would go futher, and Kruk wondered aloud if the ball might have knuckled. I'm not grizzly vet, but it looked like an end-of-the-bat bloop all the way to me. Later, when Rowand did get a good jump on a ball to make a nice play, they went out of their way to praise him.

TOMORROW: See above.

Day 2, Game 1: Giants 10, Brewers 6

This season, the Giants will survive only if their pitching holds up, because their offense won't give them much. In their first game of the 2009 season, not so much. It was Opposite Day at Mays Field, as Tim Lincecum struggled mightily -- as did a couple of the relievers who followed him (though Joe Martinez vltured a win in his big league debut despite struggling) -- the the prolific Giants offense out-scored the Brewers 10-6. While Lincecum struggled with his command all day (which was just three innings -- the shortest start of his career), just about every hitter had a big day.

The Giants compiled 12 hits, hit three HR's (something it took them 64 innings to accomplish last season), and even did a lot of the little things right (sac fly, successful hit-and-run, even a perfectly-executed butcher boy base hit by Lincecum). They also did some things very sloppily -- particularly Pablo Sandoval's D at 3B, but also including a very bad throwing error by Fred Lewis in LF.

The power came from Randy Winn, Bengie Molina, and Aaron Rowand, who bounced back from a terrible Spring to have two hits and a walk. Travis Ishikawa hit what would've been a grand slam in almost any other park in the first inning, but since it was to Triple's Alley, he had to "settle" for a three-run triple. Sandoval, Burris, and Lewis all chipped in, and one can only hope this was a sign of good things to come. Though, definitely not this good.

The pitching, likewise, will likely not be this bad. Lincecum didn't appear hurt, or really that far off -- it seemed to be a case of overthrowing leading to poor mechanics and rhythm, which isn't hard to understand. He is the defending Cy Young winner, and this was his first Opening Day start. Plus he met Sully Sullenberger like two minutes before the game started, and that can't help but throw you.

Watching the game on TiVo this afternoon after I got off work, I was reminded why Kruk and Kuip are tow of the best announcers in the game. They pointed out how small Ryan Braun is for a power hitter, and Krukow likened him to Will Clark, showing his swing, and how he maximized his strength with toque and timing. Moments later, they showed video of The Thrill hitting one out to compare and contrast. Kruk capped it off with a quote from Rick Reuschel, inspired by Clark's ability to hit: "A genius is a guy who makes something hard look easy".

This first game could be viewed by those looking to jump to conclusions as the first win of many for a maturing team, or a sign of the youthful, sloppy play which will plague the Giants all year. But it's probably neither -- just one game of 162. Who knows what the next 161 will bring. Whatever it is, I'm ready. Baseball is back. Yippee.

TOMORROW: A night game, so I might actually get to catch some of it live. The Giants will whip out the Big Unit, as Randy Johnson makes his SF debut against Yovani Gallardo.

This Year's Jason Ellison?

In my first spring training post, I said exhibition games meant that "some prospect/reclamation project will become the dazzling phenom who hits .460 and fools you into thinking they might contribute this year (see: Ellison, Jason)." Well, it's starting to look like this year's prospect/reclamation project is 31-year-old OF Andres Torres, a 10-year minor leaguer who's spent the vast majority of the last six straight years in AAA.

In fact, in that time Torres has had more AB's in AA (305) than the majors (257). His line in the majors --.210/.258/.276 -- doesn't bode well for his chances. Nether does his pedestrian minor league line of .272/.363/.396, or his age, though he has had decent lines in AAA the last couple of years. Still, on most teams, Torres just sniff a roster spot. But on this Giants team, anything's possible -- especially when you're hitting .433 with as many AB's as any plater on the team.

It's a nice story for now, and will be a really nice story if he makes the opening day roster. A nice story for him, that is. For the Giants, not so much. They already have OF spots held for Randy Winn, Fred Lewis, Aaron Rowand, and Nate Schierholtz. That's four, right there. Though the waiving of Dave Roberts would seem to open a spot for a 5th OF/pinch-runner type, that would likely go to Eugenio Velez. So, could they keep six OF's? Sure -- like I said, anything's possible with this roster. And Velez's ability to play 2B makes him more than a pure OF. John Bowker could be in the running for that six OF spot, but he's young, still has options left (unlike Schierholtz), and could probably use a full year at AAA to see what he can do. Torres has already had that year at AAA -- five times or so -- and the Giants might take that, and his spring, to heart. That's just the kind of short-sighted, bone-headed crap they do.