Observations from an epic Game 1

I've had a few Keystone Lights... so I will try to keep this as coherent as possible.

-- Amazing game by Tim Lincecum. If it weren't for Roy "God's Second Son" Halladay and his fancy no-hitter against Cincy, the world would be blown away by Timmy's complete game, 2 hit shutout against a capable Atlanta club.

That first inning was a bit rocky, but my God did he settle down. At one point I mentioned to my buddy Ryno, "Wow, looks like Timmy really settled down." and his response was, "Uh. Yeah. I'd say 7 strikeouts is settled down."

It was as impressive as any start we've ever seen from Timmy. It is just so amazing how far he's come from August, where his ERA was on it's way to being in the eights.

This is the part where I admit I was wrong. This is the part where I say, well, I guess he didn't need a skipped start or daddy Chris to re-teach him how to pick up a dollar off the mound during his follow through.

How Timmy was able to rebound from such a bizarre derailment in August is truly nothing short of a miracle. For Christ's sake! He was bringing his hands over his head and was changing his windup from hitter to hitter. Now look at him... he looks as good as ever, even without touching 95. Incredible.

-- Back to my point on Timmy's "on-the-fly" changes. Just as he switched up his mechanics while lost, he managed to learn a new slider from playing catch with Matt Cain that is now an incredible swing and miss pitch to right-handers.

That thing, coupled with his change-up are perhaps two of the most devastating strikeout pitches in the league. Oh yeah. Then there's the fastball with pinpoint location and the sharp-breaking curve.

It is truly possible that Timmy could get even better. Scary thought.

-- And TBS how about enough of the Buster Posey/Jason Heyward are both from Georgia and are both competing for the rookie of the year. You know, Brian McCann is an all-star catcher from Georgia too. That might be an interesting plot.

-- Here's a fun fact. Both Buster Posey and country music superstar Luke Bryan are both from Leesburg, GA. It has a population of 2,695. That has to be the best ratio of talent to population ever. In fact, it's Luke Bryan Day in Leesburg on Friday. Buster Posey day is coming soon to a Leesburg Dairy Queen town square near you!

San Rafael has Will Venable and Jesse Foppert though!

-- Chipper Jones would've made that play at third that Omar Infante booted, and this game would still be going

-- Cody Ross is now beyond being an official Giant. He's getting to the point where I want him back next year to play right field. Guy is a gamer and a solid player, like I said all along.

-- Does Bobby Cox want to go home early to begin his retirement? Walking Sandoval with Ross on deck, who is basically hitting .500 in his last 20 some-odd at bats, had me, my 3 buddies, and my dad all absolutely incredulous. Literally, it was as if we were Braves fans yelling at the TV because the move was so ridiculously absurd! You're going to walk Sandoval??? The double play artist? The guy who struck out on 5 balls in his first at bat? REALLY? Okay, we'll take it. Doesn't make a lick of sense, but shit brother, we'll take it.

--Dick Stockton and Bob Brenly weren't as offensive as I thought they'd be. They did a decent job and could really be the best crew in the whole TBS monstrosity

-- Buster Posey is a stone-cold beast. Guy is green as can be and it's as if he's a combination between Joe Mauer and Derek Jeter out there. We are truly blessed by this guy


-- I have an idea. How about TBS constructs a combination of broadcasters that represent both teams playing. Fans of the teams playing care the most about the games, how about a little consideration? Example: Duane Kuiper and Joe Simpson, or Chip Caray and Mike Krukow. Something like that. Or have Krook & Kuip do every other inning while Caray and Simpson do the others. Oh. Sorry. My bad. That makes too much sense.

-- Still trying to decide whether TBS PitchTRAX is cool, kinda okay, epic, or just another unnecessary graphic.

-- If you're a betting man/woman. Take the under tomorrow. Cain/Hudson will be a pitchers duel. I am concerned about Cain after his last start, but you can bet your boots he'll be ready to go. Hudson is an animal, so I am prepared for the worst, although I still expect to win.

-- Timmy's incredible game means our bullpen got another crucial day off, while the Braves ran through 4 relievers, including their stud lefty Jonny Venters.

GOOD NIGHT!