SF Giants and the MIA Offense

I attended the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds at AT&T park on Wednesday afternoon. Madison Bumgarner pitched a good game and so did the bullpen. It was a beautiful day at the yard. Game time temps at 70 degrees. The only thing ugly was the scoreboard. The crowd really did not have much to cheer for. This has been going on for too long. The final score 2-1.

The Reds are better than their record. However, the Giants offense is making every pitcher they face look like Cy Young  candidates. I keep looking for the Giants to make a move for another bat or two before the trade deadline. I keep hoping to see something on Bleacher Report saying help is on the way. I understand that a couple players are out with injuries, but every team has that issue going into August.

Mistakes in the outfield on defense and strong arms that were not accurate cost the Giants yesterday. That being said, very few games are ever won when the offense can only put one run on the board.

The Giants take on a much tougher team tonight with Johnny Cueto going against Tanner Roark and the Nationals.

Go Cueto! Go Giants!!!

Pictures from game 7/27/2016

Giants End Six Game Losing Streak

The San Francisco Giants ended their six game losing streak. It seems like all Giants games of late have been weird in some way. On Saturday the Giants won in 12 innings beating the New York Yankees 2-1. There were many good defensive plays by the Giants today and there were some odd, what the heck are you thinking plays too.

It was a win for the Giants, so let's focus on a few positive plays that made a win possible. On defense Angel Pagan makes a sliding catch and alertly throws to first for a double play. Watch the MLB clip of this play by clicking HERE.

Mac Williamson reaches into the stands to end the inning. Watch the MLB clip of the grab by clicking Here.

Williamson was active on offense too. In this MLB video he drives in the go ahead run in the 12th inning. Watch the clip by clicking HERE. In the 5th inning Mac hit a solo home run to tie the game 1-1. Watch the MLB clip by clicking HERE. It was a Big Mac day!

The bullpen got the job done too. There is no clip on MLB of the outstanding job Santiago Casilla did to keep the Giants in the game. He came in with two runners on base and literally kept the Yankees from getting a walk off win. With men on second and third base with less than two this was no easy task.  Casilla does not get enough credit when he works his magic.

Finally, Hunter Strickland saved the game in the 12th and the Giants losing streak is over. Watch Strickland end the game by clicking HERE.

Losing streaks are far from abnormal for any team. Most fans don't follow teams other than their own so it is easy to forget every team goes through these ups and downs of the baseball season. This six game losing streak will be forgotten with a future winning streak, especially if the Dodgers get into a losing streak similar to the one the Giants just snapped.

Jeff Samardzija  is on the mound vs Nathan Eovaldi Sunday afternoon in New York for game three of the series. For those on the west coast coverage starts early Sunday morning.

Go Samardzija! Go Giants!!!

SF Giants Looking to Break Five Game Losing Streak

UPDATE: 5:10 PST Bumgarner struggles as Blanco gets thrown out at the plate.

The San Francisco Giants have Madison Bumgarner on the mound tonight against Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka is coming off a solid performance against the Red Sox.

Keys to a win for the Giants include the following:

1. Bumgarner needs to command his pitches, especially early not letting the Yankees obtain an early lead. The Giants don't need another away game where they play catch up.
2. Solid defense behind Bumgarner. If Bumgarner is sharp the chances are good the defense will be too. If they stay on the field too long, watch out. Keep the pitch count down and get the defense off the field.
3.  The Giants need to get the bats going early. They did a fine job in the second game against Boston. The hole was just too deep to crawl out from.  Scoreless innings early could prove disastrous to the Orange and Black. Score early and often not allowing Tanaka to get into a grove.

The best case scenario for the Giants is for Bumgarner to go deep into the game and even finish.  I would like to see him complete the eight inning with a comfortable lead and then see a one-two-three nineth by the bullpen. No Giants fans would complain if Madison pitched a complete game and the bullpen got the day off.

A strong series against the Yankees before coming home could make short memory of the five game losing streak, especially if the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in their series at Busch Stadium.

Game time is 7:05 ET, 4:05 PST

Go Bumgarner! Go Giants!!!

SF Giants Look to Matt Cain to End Four Game Losing Streak

The San Francisco Giants have come out of the all-star game looking pretty flat. San Diego was a surprise when they lost all three games. No doubt these things happen in baseball. The NL West is very competitive from top to bottom. However, it has been surprising to see such little offense after several rest days. None of the games have been big blow outs, but the lack of offense has not picked up the starting pitching.

Matt Cain comes back from injury tonight. As a fan, I am a little puzzled by the timing of his return. This couch manager would have Matt waiting and making his return to the lineup in San Francisco against a team that is not currently leading MLB in offense. Matt had some good starts before his injury and has been a great presence in the lineup his whole career. I want to be wrong, but I have a hard time visualizing a first start after injury by Matt or any other pitcher going well against this Boston lineup. Please prove me wrong Matt and go further than the fourth inning.

Matt Cain will be facing a new pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Drew Pomeranz will make his much anticipated debut for Boston.

Go Matt Cain! Go Giants!!!

Side note: With Clayton Kershaw out for the long term with lower back issues the Los Angeles Dodgers are looking to make a big time trade. The Dodgers are looking to solidify their lineup in their chase to catch the Giants. Read the MLB story and video clip by clicking HERE.

This blogger hopes the Giants are looking to bolster their lineup with another bat and a right-handed closer. I'm just saying...

Giants Swept by Padres-That's Baseball!

SF Giants fans don't despair! Every team gets swept. It happens every year to every team since this game was invented. There is no need to panik. (pun intended)

It is true the Giants looked uninspired. The team lost one in a weird way Saturday night with that balk. Hey, in baseball weird things happen. It's what makes the game fun to watch.

It's also true the Giants front office is probably looking for an additional closer and maybe even a position player with all the injuries. They are not in panic mode, but looking at holes that need to be filled. Sometimes getting hit on the head is a good thing. It points out some changes that need to be made. Otherwise management could pretend there is no problem and no need to make any changes.

The San Francisco Giants move on to Boston. No matter what happens there and later in New York, remember it's still July and late August and September is when the nail biting begins. I personally don't bite my nails. Bratwurst and a beer is my game day practice when I have the opportunity to go.

Matt Cain will be on the mound Tuesday.

Go Matt! Go Giants!!!

MLB Second Season Starting Tonight

I like the All-Star game. It's fun for fans and acknowledges the great play during the first half of the season. Some who deserve to play get overlooked. It happens every year. Tonight the second half or what I like to call the second season begins. The second season is the one that determines which teams and players are gamers who can still be strong after a 162 game season and play in the third season, the playoffs.

The San Francisco Giants are ready for the final push. Hunter Pence should be back in the lineup towards the end of the month. Joe Panik should be ready as early as Sunday according to reports for a rehab after recovering from a concussion.

Starting pitching has been pretty consistent and there was no June slump. Santiago Casilla gets some flak from fans, but he has been a solid performer closing 21 of his 25 opportunities. Castilla does put fans on the edge of their seats and drives Bruce Bochy's blood pressure up. In the end he has done a fine job.

Should Casilla have this much pressure on him at the end of games? This blogger thinks he needs some help and that might come in the form of a trade deal before the August 1st deadline. Sergio Romo came back strong and if he stays healthy and sharp he could see a lot of action in the 8th inning with games on the line.

I could see the Giants making a deal for a right handed closer before the deadline. The Giants farm team(s) have provided solid support during the first half while key players recovered from injuries. I see the Giants making a move for an additional right handed closer before anything else.

The Giants second season starts in San Diego with a matchup of Madison Bumgarner vs Andrew Cashner.

Go Bumgarner! Go Giants!!!

San Francisco Giants Defeat Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks have been a thorn in the Giants side. In April they came to AT&T park and swept the Giants in a four game series. I was at one of those games and remember thinking, gee this is not very good. It was April and I have been around long enough to not like it, but know that April is an extension of Spring Training.

The first game of this series proved to be very interesting. Both managers were tossed. What made the tossing of Bruce Bochy interesting was his standing up for Buster Posey after the Diamondbacks pitcher threw at him twice. Seriously, why would anyone intentionally throw at Buster? It's like the bully on your block picking on the kid next door who is an Eagle Scout. Like, who does that?

Brandon Crawford stepped up to the plate after Buster walked and showed with as much emotion as you will see from Crawford on the field, that he and the rest of his teammates were not pleased. Brandon launched one deep into right field which was much, much more satisfying than seeing anyone charge the mound. Talk about justice!!! Awesome job, Brandon! An All-Star in character and one that should be in the All-Star game too. As the first half of the season ends, Crawford is at the top of the National League RBI list. To watch Brandon Crawford pay back MLB video just click HERE.

Gregor Blanco has such a great public persona and looks like such an awesome teammate. Gregor hit his first home run of the year and it was not a cheap shot by any means. I think the exchange after the homer with Pagan is priceless. Like, yes man I have power too! Watch the MLB video of of Gregor's home run by clicking HERE.

The Giants are filling highlight reels. Oh my gosh this was a beautiful catch by Bernard Span to save runs. Span has saved so many runs in the first half of this season. This was a Willie Mays style play. To see the MLB video clip click HERE.

Jake Peavy is on the mound vs Robbie Ray at 1:05pm at AT&T in game number two of this three game series before the All-Star break.

Go Peavy! Go Giants!!!

UPDATE 7/7/16- I'm Over the Fact We Are in a New Era

UPDATE-Ok, it's July 7th and I have gotten over the fact that players don't stay with one team like in the golden age of Charles Barkley. That was a pun since Charles disliked the Kevin Durant move to Golden State less than this blogger. I have moved on from my statement below and as a fan of the Warriors and Sacramento Kings, (Northern California) I am ready to look forward to watching Kevin play for the Warriors. Welcome to California, Mr. Durant :-)

Kevin Durant is a Great NBA player. Without knowing him, he seems like a good guy.

Sports in general has changed and not necessarily for the better. Imagine if Jerry West had decided in the middle of his career to be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Boston Celtics to evolve his game and take it to the next level. Chasing $$$$ and championships has eclipsed team loyalty.

Players in all sports chasing dollars and championships has been going on for a long time now and it appears there is no turning back. A great player staying with one team because they truly want to play for that team is a thing of the past and will be rare in the future. This is sad for old timers like myself and maybe for younger fans who don't want to see their best players leave for greener pastures.

Sports in General Changed and Not Necessarily for the Better

Kevin Durant is a Great NBA player. Without knowing him, he seems like a good guy.

Sports in general has changed and not necessarily for the better. Imagine if Jerry West had decided in the middle of his career to be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Boston Celtics to evolve his game and take it to the next level. Chasing $$$$ and championships has eclipsed team loyalty.

Players in all sports chasing dollars and championships has been going on for a long time now and it appears there is no turning back. A great player staying with one team because they truly want to play for that team is a thing of the past and will be rare in the future. This is sad for old timers like myself and maybe for younger fans who don't want to see their best players leave for greener pastures.

San Francisco Giants Win Series in Arizona

The San Francisco Giants managed to win the weekend series in Arizona. The third game of the series went into the 11th inning when Santiago Casilla threw a beautiful curveball to end the game. As always the bullpen made the game very exciting and put Giants fans on the edge of their seats. In the end a win is a win!

There is a lot of debate in terms of the bullpen and who should stay and who should go. I will write a post later sharing my viewpoints. In the meantime it's good for fans to remember the Giants are doing great with a 5 game lead as we near the All-Star break.

In this MLB video Brandon Belt hits another one of his doubles and gives the Giants a 4-1 lead. To view the MLB video click HERE.

Ramiro Pena gives the Giants the lead with a double scoring Jarod Parker in the top of the 11th. To view the  MLB clip click HERE.

Santiago Casilla has taken a lot of criticism. His numbers are very good and this curve ball is a great display of why the Giants keep winning. To view the MLB clip click HERE.

While the Giants were in Arizona this fan went to see their triple A team the Sacramento Rivercats in Sacramento. A fireworks display followed each weekend game and another show will happen tonight for the 4th of July.