72-90

Barry Passable

And then there was the cessation of the lost season of Barry Zito, who, despite one of his better starts of the year, fell to 10-17.

With 17 losses, Zito now carries the distinction of possessing the most losses in a single season by a Giant in 23 years.

There's nothing more I can really add about our favorite male model/$126M pitcher that hasn't already been said.

So I'll leave the 2008 post-mortem at this: at least he's not him.

Ugliest Teenagers Take Each Other to Prom What was once presumed to be impossible is now a reality: the Giants have renewed their contract with the Connecticut Defenders.

Why? Default, that's why. No one else wanted the Giants, and, similarly, no one else would take the Defenders. The match is actually too perfect not to happen.

Here's hoping the Defenders rumored move to Richmond, Va. comes to fruition - contrary to popular belief, the aura of the frozen tundra does not, in fact, transcend football.

Comment! Best joke thread.

Dirty Dismissal

For Jonathan Sanchez, a season that started with so much promise ended with a whimper.

And if I were a betting man, which I am, I'd wager that Kevin Correia may have thrown his last pitch as a Giant. With all the young pitchers in the system, it makes little economic sense to keep the six year vet.

Plus, he kinda sucks.

Kudos to Andy Baggarly for this awesome find from last night's otherwise nausea-inducing proceedings:

They fielded nine rookies in the seventh inning: Catcher Steve Holm, pitcher Billy Sadler, first baseman Pablo Sandoval, second baseman Ryan Rohlinger, shortstop Ivan Ochoa, third baseman Conor Gillaspie, left fielder John Bowker, center fielder Eugenio Velez and right fielder Nate Schierholtz.

How long has it been since a major league team simultaneously fielded nine rookies in a major league game? [Snip]

Almost 25 years to the date, according to the hard-working folks at the Elias Sports Bureau. The Los Angeles Dodgers fielded nine rookies on Sept. 20, 1983, in a home game against the Houston Astros.

To counter this uncharacteristically youthphilic behavior, the Giants signed J.T. Snow to keep the average roster age at a Brian Sabean mandated minimum.

But seriously, folks, in case you didn't hear, he'll take the field this weekend with the starting lineup and get a nice sendoff from the fans. Class move.

Baggs also reports that Travis Ishikawa took the night off to be with his brand new baby. Congrats to Travis, and huge props to Baggs for using the occasion to recall tales of Harry Caray lore.

HEY! This provides me the perfect opportunity to link one of the best impersonations of all time!

Bye Bye Cy?

Soul crushing start for The Franchise last night. For the glass half full types, Timmy did eclipse Jason Schmidt's San Francisco K record, notching his 252nd.

Perhaps more importantly, with Lincecum's Cy hopes all but a glimmer, the braintrust (and I use that term lightly) may finally be convinced to forgo risking his health and skip his final extra start.

JLev, who's generally known as a crotchety contrarian, and I actually see eye to eye on this point. But maybe we're too indoctrinated by the elitist, wine and cheese Baseball Prospectus pitcher abuse points crowd, and it's possible we lack the hairy-chested, red-blooded, beer-swilling attitude of the "throw 'em out there and let God sort 'em out" mentality the Bruce Jenkinssssss of the world espouse.

So let me ask you - if Brandon Webb throws a stinker in his next start and opens the door a crack for The Freak, do we try to let the kid storm through it? Do you think, perhaps, that the reason the kid was uncharacteristically mediocre yesterday have anything to do with the fact that he has thrown 383 pitches in the three starts prior?

Let me ask: are we off our rocker for suggesting this behavior is completely reckless? After all, the great ones (Marichal, Gibson, Koufax) ran up high pitch counts regularly and they were fine, right? Responses rife with needless passion and angst encouraged.

Tuesday Afternoon Fun

My high school physics teacher once said that Tuesday is the worst day of the week, at which point I replied, "I'd say any day where I have this class is the worst day of the week."

I never did well in that class.

Digressions aside, here's a little something to spice up your Tuesday from way back in the vault. Start the clip at 1:19:

Shelly

It's the last day of summer camp.  In your hormone-infused awkward way, you have spent the last four weeks trying to get the second hottest girl at camp to let you get the goodies.

You have heard her gripe about how her boyfriend back home doesn't really listen to her.  You've been the benefactor of a number of arm squeezes and "Oh, you're so sweets."  You even copped a tiny feel while slow-dancing at the "Lucky Louie's Luau" dance in the dining hall.

Unfortunately, it became clear about a week ago that you probably wouldn't get any because she wouldn't want to forsake her beau.  "There's always next summer," you tell yourself.

You spend the last night on a moonlit walk, hand in hand, exchanging vows that you will keep in touch during the school year and even sketch out a plan for a winter-break visit.  On the porch of her cabin you say goodnight, she gives you a peck on the cheek, and you hug her as tight as you possibly can.

If you are the Giants, you then proceed to sneak in through the backdoor and hook up with her fat friend Shelly in her bunk as she watches, horrified.  You mortgage the future hottie for the immediate sow and you don't think twice.  This is what the Giants are doing with Tim Lincecum.

While the Giants remain hopelessly far out of playoff contention, not only do they continue to grope the fat girl, but they do so unabashedly.

Lincecum is presumably this team's best player.  He is also one of their youngest.  He is under team control for four more seasons at bargain basement prices and stands poised to lead this squad back to relevance in the very near future.  Why, then, when discussing pitch counts and pitcher stress am I hearing his name mentioned in conjunction with the likes of Mark Prior (done), Kerry Wood (limited), and Livan Hernandez (the opposite of Tiny Tim)?

Shouldn't we have shut this guy down already?  Isn't this the point in the season where a young arm is already stretched-out and each subsequent toss leads to exponential and not linear additional damage?

For your consideration: Over his last seven starts, Lincecum has averaged, averaged over 120 pitches.  That includes a 138 pitch outing which was the most by any pitcher this year and an outing in which he didn't get past the fifth, but managed to throw 92.  He has thrown more pitches this year than anyone in the Major Leagues.  He is seventh in the bigs with 215 IP and he has two starts remaining.  Am I going crazy here?

Additionally, Lincecum leads the league in Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP), a Baseball Prospectus metric meant to measure the stress or abuse that a pitcher takes over the course of a season.  Some of the names that have been near the top in PAP over the past few years:

- Daisuke: led the league last year, missed time this year
- Jason Schmidt: top-6 in '04, '05 and '06, do I need to say anything else?
- A.J. Burnett: top-5 in '02 and '07, top-10 this year and he has missed time in three of the last five years
- Wood and Prior: both top-5 in 2003, Prior again in 2005 and neither has been the same since

There are more examples, but I don't need to keep going.  You get the picture.

"But he might win the Cy Yooouuuuunnnnggg," you keep whining.

No.  No he won't.

Brandon Webb won his 22nd game last night making him practically a shoe-in for the award.  The BBWAA gets to see very few of Lincecum's games and may not realize how dominant he's been, so they look at W's as a default.

Timmy realizes this and has asked to pitch an extra game on only four days rest.  This game, the last of the season, is against The Bums and beating them would actually help D-Bags reach the playoffs.  This is a double-whammy in that not only does it hurt Lince's arm, it also helps Webb's CY chances if his team makes the playoffs.

In our earlier analogy, the attractive young maiden is the allure of, oh I don't know, a winning season somewhere down the line, while the pig-faced, pock-marked Shelly is the illusion of this year's Cy Young race and the benefits that such an award brings.

We are risking the future, nay The Franchise, for almost no payoff whatsoever.

Tiny Tim need not climb directly to the top in his first full season of major-league service.  He will compete for this award many times in the future.

Well, he will compete for it if he makes it that far without his arm flying off.

For discussion: Should the Giants have already shut him down?  Should they let him pitch tonight in his last scheduled start and then be done?  Or is the temptation of a Giants CY winner enough to let him pitch on the last day as well?

Further reading: Olney talks about Lincecum in the beginning of today's blog (subscription required).

Shades of '82

With Rich Aurilia playing the part of Joe Morgan.

Still, have to agree with Bobblehead Boch when it comes to playing spoiler: September euphoria ought to be limited to the spectrum of actual contenders, not those teams that barely stave off 100 losses.

Comment! So what role are the Giants playing next September?

Webb'd Feat

Brandon Webb collected his 21st win against the G-Men last night despite surrendering three runs in the first inning.

Webb also drove in a pair to make him 4-for-8 with six RsBI against the Giants this year.  That's Zambrano-like.

Tiny Tim takes the hill tonight looking to pick up his 18th W and bolster his Cy Young campaign.  The man he must best?  A five-time CY winner and Wet Rat.

Question:  If Webb gets to 23 wins, does it make Lincecum's achievements moot in the eyes of baseball writers?


 

Mission: Destroy Brandon Webb

San Francisco losses pile up in the desert - perhaps, may I speculate, due to the losses of Freddy Lewis and Manny Burriss - but, no matter. Because, for tonight, the real drama of the 2008 season continues: can The Franchise win the Cy Young?

Tonight, the offensive offense can redeem itself for the past two stinkers by hanging a crooked number on Timmy's chief competition in Brandon Webb, whose unpleasant September has put the hardware within his reach.

Relish the rarity of having a vested interest in the outcome of the game and cheer on Dirty and the troops.

- Power Vacuum: Both Schulman and Baggs mention the necessity of looking outside the organization in the offseason for reinforcements in the lineup, a list that includes Prince Fielder, Pat Burrell and Adrian Beltre.

Serious question marks with all of them, but man, does this make me depressed enough to pick up someone not coached by the Giants minor league instructors:

Haren played mind games in the eighth, after Conor Gillaspie came off the bench and made crisp contact on his first major league hit [Ed: Congrats, kid!]. Pinch hitter John Bowker was next. Haren turned to the scoreboard and noted that the rookie had drawn 19 walks all season.

"I didn't throw him one strike," said Haren, who offered a succession of splitters that Bowker swung through. "He's up there trying to tie the game, so I tried to take advantage of his aggressiveness."

Simply wow, both on JB's ineptitude and Haren's shocking candor.

Comment! Of Fielder, Burrell and Beltre, who makes the most sense for the Giants at this juncture?

A Shot of Hennessey

Evidently, it's good for what ails ya. Unfortunately, Brad's second gem in a row, this one of a complete game variety, can't bail out San Francisco.

And, since it has been a couple of days, let me ask, what the heck has gotten into Eugenio Velez? Even in last night's tough loss, the man who challenges Juan Pierre for the MLB Double Crown of speediest/smallest head was nails at the plate yet again.

For a team playing out the string, there has been plenty to watch for, including Velez's recent surge, the continued domination of the Pablominable Snowman, Ishikawa Redux and The Freak's race to the Cy Young/catastrophic arm injury.

Tonight's reason to watch: to play the pretend game where you have any idea how Matt Cain is going to pitch.

A. U. Haynio.

In spite of a blown save by Brian "Frown" Wilson, the Giants' lineup got a walkoff in the ninth against the venomless D-Backs.

In this game, while the kids played a big role, it was actually the work of the ----- WAIT A SECOND, this isn't the same story at all.  This game was about the kids, most specifically, A-U-Haynio Valez.  Four RBI, a double, a walk-off triple (his second walkoff in as many days, although OBnB failed to note it).  He is Manny Ramirez-clutch right now, and even playing decent defense (zero errors yesterday!) as he makes a bid to be this team's everyday starting 2B in 2009.  Worse things have happened.

At the top of the order, Win, Win, Win with Randy Winn looked great again, with three knocks to move his average to .315, which would be the highest of any everyday Giants Starter if the Pablominable Snowmandoval weren't swinging a scorching stick.

And Brad Hennessey was a welcome sight, providing a quality start on 100 pitches and leaving the game with his team in the lead.  If he were pitching every fifth day for this team, he'd realize he could do a lot worse than a No-Decision given that sort of effort.  Better luck next time.

Also, don't miss Baggs today - everybody loves a little rookie hazing, and Kuip said this morning that Manny Burriss was the French Maid and "shook his toosh like he knew what to do with it".

Thanks Geritol!

In spite of a blown save by Brian "Frown" Wilson, the Giants' lineup got a walkoff in the ninth against the venomless D-Backs.

In this game, while the kids played a big role, it was actually the work of the older dudes that got it done.   

Barry Zito turned in a Lincesque performance, going six innings and striking out nine, while only allowing two runs and driving one in at the dish. 

Food for thought:  If we throw out the horrendous performance of two weeks ago in Cinci, Zito has averaged more than seven innings over his last four starts with a 2.17 ERA and a 2.9 K/BB ratio.  Me likey.  Me likey very much.  It begs the question, is Zito finally settling down into his Lard Lad-sized contract or is it just Zito's MO to start horribly every year and then get hot when it matters least?  Only time shall tell, but this fan hopes it's the former. 

On the offensive side, Grandpa Richie had a three-hit game for his seventh time this season and continues to show that he is a valuable asset to a club full of whippersnappers.  Omar Vizquel added a hit and two walks (one of them intentional) and scored a run on the way to the win.

In other news:

- Giants first-round sandwich pick Conor Gillaspie made his Major League debut when he pinch ran for Bengie Molina in the sixth inning.  While he was thrown out at second on a fielder's choice, he was given a warm reception by the somewhat slim hometown crowd.

- Brandon Webb sat down with Baggarly to talk about the Cy Young race and Tim Lincecum before the game.  My favorite piece from that article came when the two discussed what criteria should be considered when handing out the CY:

Q: And what about who has the most wins?
A: The thing with wins is we’ve got no control. You could have a 1.00 ERA but if your team doesn’t score, you’re going to go 0-30. It’s not something you control. That’s why the wins and losses are skewed.

There you have it, folks.  Lincecum's win total doesn't matter to BWebb.  Too bad he's not a member of the perenially thick-headed Baseball Writer's Association of America.

Happy Dance

I guess the Cy race ain't over just yet.

Unfortunately, the win wasn't without a crappy casualty. Get strong and come back well next spring, Manny.

Many of you have inquired as to the reasoning behind the Giants shocking callup 2008 sandwich pick Conor Gillaspie. Per usual, looks like Andy Baggarly has the best theory:

So why call up a guy that you don’t intend to play?

I have to believe that Gillaspie’s promotion is part of a predraft understanding. It’s no secret that Gillaspie thought he should have been a first-round pick instead of falling to the supplemental first round. I’ll bet this was a way for the Giants to appease him into taking MLB’s suggested signing bonus of $970,000 – which puts the team in a little less hot water for going way, way, way over slot for giving $6.2 million to fifth-overall choice Buster Posey.

In return, Gillaspie gets a 40-man spot and all the requisite benefits — plus he’ll spend four weeks making a prorated portion of the major league minimum salary, which is $400,000. That’s roughly $66,000, not counting meal money.

Pretty good kickback right there.

Far be it for me to look down on opportunism, so I'll just say I hope the kid can back up his chutzpah come 2009. It looks like we might need a second or a third baseman.

Stupid Yeti Humor

A ten run inning by the 2008 San Francisco Giants is like getting a ridiculously hot girl's number - sure, you'd like to think it's a sign of things to come, but you know you're far too unattractive to expect a repeat performance anytime soon.

My jackassery notwithstanding, nice job, kids. I fall in love with the Pablominable Snowmandoval a little more every day.

Sabean: Burriss Likely to Replace Vizquel at Short

There must have been something in the Colorado River Compact, because Brian Sabean came back from Denver displaying a bit more chutzpah than his usual listless self in his fireside chat on KNBR last night.

Among the revelations in Sabes's brief flirtation with candor:

- Manny Burriss is penciled in to start at shortstop next year and all indications are that he will be given every opportunity to be there long-term. Omar Vizquel will not be back.

Ivan Ochoa will compete to be the primary middle infield backup, but, in a miraculous moment of clarity, Sabean now does not view him as an everyday player.

- Pablo Sandoval is likely an everyday player next year. What position that may be at is anyone's guess, although, given that he seems to be unaffected by the position carousel he's riding thus far, the current setup may continue through 2009.

- Regarding the position prospects, Sabean seemed to be strikingly emboldened by the success of the youngsters this year, and said he's not constrained by anything but the player's ability to play at the big league level to promote him.

Taking into account the past production and polish of '08 draftees Buster Posey, who was just promoted again, and Conor Gillaspie, those guys should be in San Francisco in less than two years and maybe even in one.

- With respect to 18 year old wunderkind Angel Villalona's arrival at Pac Bell: "anything's possible."

- As for offseason plans, Brian sees third base as the position most likely to be upgraded with a power bat, given the current free agent landscape, although I'm not sure what landscape he's looking at. Suffice it to say, his past flirtations with the likes of Hank Blalock and Joe Crede renders this poseur beat writer nervous.

- Sabean said he's looking to move pitching for hitting help, and his third base evaluation may make more sense if you include possible trade targets, with names like Beltre, Atkins, and Kouzmanoff potentially available.

Other names I would throw out at third would include Brandon Wood, Jorge Cantu, and Dallas McPherson.

But despite reports of Tigers owner Mike Ilitch ordering an offseason slash in payroll, my personal white whale (no pun intended) Miguel Cabrera probably isn't going anywhere.

- Other nuggets Sabean peddled: Fred Lewis and his toe may be heading to surgery given the recent leveling off of his play, giving Nate Schierholtz an extended look; absent an outside addition, Kevin Frandsen and Eugenio Velez would compete for the job at second (no mention of Travis Denker, although I hope it's an oversight); and an extension for Randy Winn will be discussed this offseason.

Comment! You can make one move this offseason: what do you do?

Yipee Ki-Yay

What a day for Scott McClain, who's 363rd career homer in the pros is the first of a big league variety. Our very own Crash Davis had two more RBIs by way of run-scoring singles en route to a nice 3 hit debut as the Giants throttled the Rockies.

And JLev would kill me if there wasn't a serious shoutout to Nate Schierholtz for his four hit outing.

Cy Go Cy Go Cy Go with Cy Go

Don't feel too bad, Tim, you'll have plenty of chances for more.

And, despite the heartbreaker, big ups to Nate Schierholtz, who backed up his Olympic medal with a nice debut.

Good Takeaways From A Bad Long Weekend

- Dirty returns and puts together a nice quality start; San Francisc still loses.

- Manny Burriss at shortstop. I'm not sure if Sabchy is grossly inept, doesn't care, or is pulling an Andy Kaufman on the Lunatic Fringe, but I guess it's better to have a completely obvious good idea later rather than never.

If Manny can hold down the position, and all indications are that he can, it frees up second base for a spring training competition between Kevin Frandsen (who's rehab from an Achilles rupture seems to be progressing), Travis Denker (who has put together a nice stat line since his demotion to Fresno), and Eugenio Velez.

- Yippee ki-yay, Scott McClain got called up!

Call me a sap, but I want this guy to get one good year in the majors. I can't think of a better team for him to do it than this rudderless ship. Do you have any better ideas for acquiring a dirt cheap power-hitting corner infielder?

- Speaking of power-hitting corner infielders, The One just had the best month of his pro career.

- The Franchise goes tonight. For those of you haven't noticed, NL Cy Young frontrunner Brandon Webb hasn't been all that in his past two starts.

Another dominant outing by Timmy and, at the outset of September, he could be in control of his Cy Young destiny.

Comment! Why will you watch the Giants this September? Or, perhaps, why won't you (you bandwagon fan)?