Hitting rock bottom never looked so good

My all SF rally beer didn't work. :(

As I drink my sorrows away with my (supposed) rally/jinx beer that I purchased during the 7th inning of the Homer Bailey no-hitter, I can't help but try to cheer myself up. The first thing I did was post a video of Buster Posey's NLDS granny against Nutsac Latos. The next thing I did was think about how to cheer up the rest of Giantsland without blowing smoke up everyone's ass.

Welp. Here goes...

As I detailed in my last post, the NL West is weird and lame. If the D-Backs end up winning their rain delayed game against the Mets, we're 4 games back of 1st. If they lose, we're still just 3.5 games back.

A team playing this badly has no business being in 1st right now, this is true. But hey, it's attainable and it's right there for the taking. Arizona hasn't gotten a win out of a starting pitcher in like a month, and neither Colorado or San Diago have made their move. It's like a division stuck in a vacuum.

The schedule doesn't get any easier on paper. We play a pretty much all teams above or near .500 other than Milwaukee, the Mets, and Florida (who plays us tough). There are a ton of divisional games remaining, and those are all opportunities to get hot and take out the rest of the NL West, one foe at a time. Easier said than done, clearly.

The month of July brings some relief in the form of the all-star break, and 15 home games-- all 15 taking place after this Reds series (with only 6 road games mixed in).

There's also the matter of help on the way. The non-waiver trade deadline is arriving soon.

This team needs a couple days off and an infusion of talent. Is Alex Rios a savior? No, but not once this season has this team managed to run on all cylinders.

The starting pitching (minus Kickham) is trending in the right direction. Cain/Bum are pitching much better and even Zeets has only given up 7 earnies in his last 18 IP. Get Gaudin back, and we're looking at a decent staff.

Obviously, our hitters have to wake up and we need more consistent bullpen appearances, but these type of things just click randomly sometimes. We just need everyone to start getting on board at the same time. That's how teams get hot and make runs. We have 3 legitimate top 50 hitters, including the reigning MVP, and some other guys that can't possibly hit worse. Panda and Crawford are in season-worst slumps right now, they can only get better.

We've been down to the wire in the playoffs before, and won it all. Just remember.

You'll see, this team has its run left in them. And if you don't believe me, just go home and look at pictures of our two World Series trophies.

On the verge of the unthinkable...

Don't lie to me.

Let's see a show of hands of who thought we'd win this series after being demoralized in Game 2.

*crickets*

Look, we're all great fans. We've stuck with this team through thick and thin, but this... the way we were manhandled in our own yard was enough to make anyone give up.

I was one of them.

I tried so hard to find a silver lining or a reason not to hang my head in defeat, and I couldn't. That being said, this team has proven most of us wrong.

Obviously, I wanted so badly for them to make an epic comeback in Cincinnati, but just didn't see it happening. Well... seeing is believing, and I'm back on board with everything I have.

Just like I said in my previous post, we've been with this team all year, and we know what they're capable of. They've been capable of this comeback all along, but we just weren't seeing it.

It's that "it" factor I've been talking about. It's something you can't explain and it makes no sense sometimes, but it's the reason we keep watching.

A potential win on Thursday proves that the impossible can be accomplished. We're playing a team with a stronger lineup, in a ballpark that favors them, and all in front of THEIR fans. Yet, we're now the favorites. If you haven't heard this before, we're on the verge of doing something that just hasn't been done before.

1) The Reds haven't been swept at home all season

2) The Reds haven't lost three games in a row all season

3) No team has ever come back to win a 5 game series on the road after losing both of the first two games at home

Simply historic stuff is what we're talking about, and it's all going to come down to Matt vs. Mat.

I hate Mat Latos and so do you. He's an insufferable little prick that I dislike as much as any Dodger. He is disrespectful, surly, and I wish nothing but the worst for him on the baseball field.

He broke Dave Flemming's sunroof, he's insulted us, and he's frustrated us with his excellent performances. For this, he will have to pay the ultimate price-- a playoff failure.

There are few people in the game of baseball that I'd like to beat more than Latos, and with a newly-inspired team full of Hunter Pence's disciples, I believe we will all have a great day.

I will leave you with this inspiring quote from Hunter Pence, as he fired up his teammates prior to the Game 3 win:

"Get in here, everyone get in here ... look into each other eyes..now! Look into each others eyes. I want one more day with you. It's the most fun, the best team I have ever been on, and no matter what happens we must not give in, we owe it to each other. Play for each other, I need one more day with you guys, I need to see what Theriot will wear tomorrow, I want to play defense behind Vogelsong because he's never been to the playoffs. Play for each other, not yourself. Win each moment, win each inning, it's all we have left."

Why we watch...

It may be 1:30 am, but I'm too excited to sleep.

It's partially because I just caught a 10:40 pm show of Taken 2. If Liam Neeson killing Albanians with his bare hands doesn't fire you up, then you don't have a pulse. Furthermore, if thinking about the Giants in the playoffs doesn't get your heart racing a little, then get the hell out of here, because you're not welcome.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and I for one cannot wait.

Am I apprehensive? Of course. A little scared? Maybe. But that's what makes it so goddamned incredible. The playoffs are an emotional rollercoaster-- a gut-wrenching endeavor. It's a feeling nearly impossible to duplicate and I wouldn't trade my fanhood for anything. Just as we learned in 2010, it'll all be worth it someday.

I'm not going to break down the Giants-Reds series. There's no point and this isn't that kind of blog.

If you're reading this, you know our strengths and weaknesses. You've read articles already about the Reds. We've all studied our opponent, and they're going to be tough.

We likely won't sweep Cincinnati, and it likely won't be a smooth ride, but dammit, we are going to win this series. Our team is battle-hardened and hungry.

I can't think of a single player who will take this lightly-- everyone from Ryan Theriot to George Kontos. This is why they play the game, and I feel like this squad has the makeup of potential champions.

Don't compare this to 2010, because it's not all that similar. There wasn't the same expectation of winning two years ago. We didn't clinch the West until the last game. We didn't have a batting champion or a steroid suspension. There is no Brian Wilson or red thong.

This is a different team and it has a different feeling. Like 2010, our guys have heart and character, but there seems to be an aura of workmanship and a businesslike tendency that was missing from the happy-go-lucky misfits from back then.

They've been there. Those that weren't have learned from the rest.

Our pitching is no longer bulletproof. We can't rely on Lincecum anymore and that's depressing. Is that same guy in there somewhere? Absolutely. Whether or not we'll see him on any given day is about as sure a thing as putting everything you have on red while watching that little ball spin around the roulette wheel.

You hold your breath, say a silent prayer... and wait.

There are guys who have been quiet with the bats who have the capability to lift this team to an entirely different level of success (Pence, Panda, Belt, I'm looking at you), but we can't count on them to get the big hit.

What if Posey has a rough series or Scutaro doesn't get those seemingly inevitable clutch hits? What if Pagan gets shut down and doesn't get on base the way he has in the second half?

There is no sure thing in this series or with this team-- on either side-- and that is what makes it an intriguing matchup.

In fact, if you were to look at stats on paper, the Reds are the clear-cut favorites.

That's why we watch though. We've watched paper champions like the Dodgers, Red Sox, and Rangers fail to make it to the dance, while young ragtag nobodies like Oakland and Baltimore perform like well-oiled machines.

Baseball doesn't make sense sometimes, and that's why we love it.

I will leave you with these thoughts:

We've lived and died with this team all season. Throughout it all, we've been both disgusted and elated, confident and deflated. I don't expect that to change come Saturday at 6:37 pm.

This is our team and we know what we're in for. We can't fully explain how they've managed to get to this point, but does it really matter? How these men overcame a worst-case scenario season by an ace and the loss of our closer, the demise of the rally thong, and the crumbling of a testosterone-aided idol, I'll never be able to explain.

What I can identify in this 2012 team, is that they have "it".

It's the same "it" factor that we had in 2010 and that the Cardinals had in 2011. It's that very same "it" factor that I see in Oakland, Baltimore, and St. Louis this season. After all my years of watching sports, championships more often than not are won, not bought. For every bought and paid for New York Yankees ring in the last 20 years, there seems to be an equally improbable "it" champion-- teams that no one gave a chance.

Let's hope that the gift of "it" blesses us with another long run into the playoffs.

Prediction: Giants over Reds in 5


Other AL/NLDS predictions:

Cardinals over Nats in 4
Orioles over Yankees in 5
A's over Tigers in 5

The good and the downright scary

Nothing like playing a going-nowhere team without its manager, best hitter, two traded-away middle infielders, and horrendous bullpen to really make you examine the state of your team.

I can't remember a Giants team changing its problems and strengths so frequently, and so unexpectedly. It's just so damned weird. We go to Atlanta, pitch pretty damn well, and can't hit a lick. We come home, pitch at an average to below average level, and smack the tar out of the ball like it's going out of style.

All the while, we managed to take 3 of 4 from a collective walking disaster called the Chicago Cubs. In all seriousness, this should have been a relatively easy sweep. On the other hand you've got to give Chicago a little credit for sacking up, having a little pride and playing their tails off. They know they suck, but their young players really stepped it up.

With this ESSENTIAL three game series against San Diago looming, we've gotta examine the good and the downright scary.

The Good: Pat Burrell & Pablo Sandoval

Doesn't it get your goat even more that Bochy was benching Burrell after his initial tear as a Giant? So dumb. The guy can flat out hit, and he's truly in a groove. Honestly, we haven't had 2 hitters like Huff and Burrell since the days of Bonds and Kent. Granted the Burrell/Huff combo of power hitters is a poor man's version of Barry and Jeff, but still. I just can't say enough about what Burrell has added to this team after his midseason acquisition.

Even Huff, who himself is a clubhouse sparkplug, seems re-energized by Burrell. My favorite part of the veteran Burrell is his even-keel approach to hitting. As Krook has pointed out, the guy's demeanor is dialed in, unfazeable, and simply professional-- for lack of a better term.

Take the grand slam he hit in the final game of the Chicago series. He calmly stood in the box. There was no fidgeting, no long walks outside the box, no batting glove readjustments. He stoically took two fairly close pitches. Boom. 2-0. Hitters count.

He knew he had to get something good to hit, or else he'd let it go. Hence the hitters count-- the pitcher either comes in to steal a strike, or risks running up a 3-0 count with the sacks full of Gyros.

We all know how that ended. Yup. Great scene.

Here I am, gushing like a schoolgirl again. OMG! OMG! Pat Burrell!

Perhaps Burrell's patient success has something to do with Panda's recent resurgence.

Now look. I'm going to be EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS about Pandoval and his recent play. The man tripled and donged one into McCovey Cove on Thursday. He drove the ball on Wednesday. He is 13 for his last 35 at Mays Field (.371 avg). In fact, his pattern of non-awfulness stems back to the Mets series about a month ago. From that time through the Cubs series, Pablo is hitting .284 with 11 extra base hits. Most importantly, he tripled and homered on Thursday, finally... FINALLY driving the ball like a man!

Again, I'm going to be cautiously optimistic about him. I was seriously on the verge of writing an article advocating that the Giants send him to Fresno for a week to send a message. Honestly. I was like 5 or 6 more groundouts away from doing it. Instead, he somehow managed to stop swinging at crap 100% of the time and actually waited for the ball to reach the plate before swinging.

Honestly, the difference between Panda's swings on those two hits versus the Cubs was night and frickin day to the garbage he's been pulling the whole season. He was relaxed, waited on the pitches, and transferred his power from the back leg to his front leg, and effing turned on those pitches... LIKE A REAL HITTER!

It was so beautiful, I nearly teared up watching the replays. That's the swing. That's was it. Now quick, do it again.

That's my main concern with Panda. I've seriously advocated for a medical evaluation of him for a couple months. As 22Gigantes pointed out a few days ago, ritalin is the main reason for Andres Torres's development as a baseball player. Before the pill popping, Torres was a distracted career minor leaguer. With hard work and the help of the medication, he's now a top line leadoff hitter and gold glove candidate in CF.

This relates to Panda because he has an uncanny ability to totally forget about his past successes and failures as fast as I change GAC when a Rascal Flatts music video comes on. I just worry that as soon as he's found his stroke, it'll disappear again into a grey washout of dribblers and 6-3 putouts. Let's hope I'm wrong, and that Panda really is back.

The Downright Scary: Tim Lincecum

I don't even know what to say. The other 3,447 Giants blogs out there have talked about it ad nauseum, so I'm not going to go through stuff you already know. That's why you read this one and not that other regurgitated crap on the internet.

There are a number of theories as to what exactly is wrong with Timmy. Some just say he needs to start smoking dope again. Some think he doesn't take his workouts and mechanics seriously enough. Some say he's been overworked and that he has a tired arm. People think his velocity is down because he can't control a 95 mph fastball anymore. The likely theory that's been floated is that he simply has lost his fine-tuned mechanics and hasn't been able to find them on his own.

Coming off two Cy Young seasons, this is just not the type of article I ever expected to have to write.

Carl Steward of the Merc really made a good point filling in for Baggs the other day, and it's an idea that the blogging public has floated as well (including myself). The guy needs his dad to put in for some vacation days up at Boeing and fly his ass down here to work with Timmy.

This is something that Dave Righetti can't fix. Why Tim has always been so amazing is his crazy windup and his crazy torso torquing and over-extension. The analogy is that he's a finely-tuned sports car, and you don't bring that into the Speedee Oil Change & Tuneup for service.

The interesting aspect of this story is that it seems like Timmy and his dad Chris aren't getting along these days for whatever reason. A lot of it has to do with the fact that fathers and sons have been pains in each other's asses for thousands of years. Timmy just wants to fix it himself, but unfortunately Chris knows best, and is the only one who can fix him and his complicated ass.

I would even go so far as to suggest that Lincecum should skip the start against San Diego on Sunday. I know you may think I'm nuts, but he's not right, and he didn't last 4 innings against the Cubs. If Zito can go Sunday on 3 days rest, and a day off Monday, this would give Timmy time to rest, and hopefully work out his kinks.

The reason I say this is because, yeah, I don't know if you've looked at our upcoming schedule, but, what can I say, it's a bear.

Following San Diego, we have 3 in Philadelphia and St. Louis. Both are playoff-bound teams in hot weather cities. Then we have the potentially playoff-bound Cincinnata Reds in San Francisco for 3. Those are 3 powerful teams all fighting for playoff position, and a bad Lincecum would not help our cause... at all.

Look, I know it's a radical suggestion, but it's just one skipped start...

Think about it?

Why would you leave Howry in? C'mon Boch!

What a frustrating loss!

Cain throws an absolute gem, and we let the game get away in 10.

Of course the Gyros' continual lack of execution with runners on base killed us, but in the end, it was a foolish Dusty Baker-eque managerial decision that sealed the deal.

It's not all on Bochy of course, but all of us in Giants Nation feel like Bobby Howry is THE LEAST trustworthy arm in our pen.

Every time Lurch Howry manages to pitch a scoreless inning, we all breathe a sigh of relief. We don't feel that way with Affeldt, Miller, or even Romo and Medders.

I swear to you on my life, I groaned aloud and wondered why Howry was still in the game to pitch a second inning. I bet you all did too. I could feel the uncertainty and was talking to myself the whole time. It seemed inevitable. Then of course, wide-eyed rookie Drew Stubbs, who had a silver sombrero going, crushed a ball into left field.

I wanted to throw out a few musings on the last two games though...

-- Zito pitched one helluva game on Wednesday. I had my misgivings about it. All the signs were there for a less than stellar outing. As you may have read in this article by my colleague PJ, Zito's numbers when working with Bengie Molina are far worse than when he works with any other catcher. That was strike one. Strike two of course is the bandbox known as Great American Ballpark, where balls fly out toward the Ohio River constantly. But, Zeets bucked the trend and threw 6 strong shutout innings.

Perhaps if Zeets had been given the opportunity to work another inning, Howry wouldn't have been called upon to pitch two on Thursday.

-- Not sure why I never noticed this, but Bronson Arroyo's bizzare leg kick reminds me of a pirate. He literally kicks his erect leg straight up and out, like a 2x4 attached to his thorax. I almost pulled my hammy and butt muscles just thinking about doing it...

-- In the second inning on Wednesday, Arroyo struck out Edgar Renteria on three pitches. To call them offspeed is being generous. 66mph, 74, and 76 consecutively on the radar gun. Grab some pine, meat.

-- Bengie Molina walked TWICE on Tuesday... STOP THE PRESSES.

-- Despite Garko's ofer on Thursday, he seems to be heating up. We'll need that in Denver.

-- Oh yeah... great graphic on CSN on Wednesday... The Giants lead MLB in shutouts with 16. The next closest team? Cincy with 11. We're kicking ass.

-- Krukow was in rare form in this series. I'm seriously thinking of compiling a book of "Krukowisms" or "Krookisms". Don't steal my idea, I think this means its copyrighted.

On Matt Cain's multiple bloop hits allowed:

"(Cain) is leaving some of his brain on the broken bat singles"

and of course...

About Jonny Gomes's aggressive approach:

"That's a yank-hack... he's trying to lift and separate."

Love that guy!

-- This Denver series is huge, and will play a huge part in whether Los Gigantes can hang in the Wild Card race. We're currently back 2 games of the Rockpile...

A sweep of course would put us in the lead by two games, with 2 out of 4 bringing us keeping us at the status quo. (God I sound like Tim McCarver... sorry)

Of course if we get swept... we'd be back 6 games. Though not totally insurmountable... that would be absolutely devastating. This is where it counts, boys...

We've got The Spaniard, Money Martinez, and Timmy going against Colorado with Zeets pulling up the rear. Let's do this.

-- ESPN has decided to cover the NL West! Tim Kurkjian (my favorite Armenian sportswriter!) wrote an article about the SF/COL race. The headline is "Giants don't have the bats to keep up with the Rockies".

Well, that may be true on paper, but they don't have the arms to compete with us. We can shut them down in their own yard.

Jay Mariotti and Tim Cowlishaw were slobbering all over the Giants on Around the Horn yesterday. I like it.

Let's kick ass and take names.

Timmy struggles, we still get the W

Timmy was definitely not himself out there tonight. His 5 earned runs are the most he's given up since May 15th vs. the Mets. He's still a freak, but he's human after all.

-- Another questionable call by the umpires. Homer Bailey stroked one down the 1st base line to break open the game in the second inning. Lincecum and Bengie Mo immediately protested the call, even while the ball was still in play. Bochy subsequently got thrown out for arguing it. Naturally the only cameras at the ballpark missed the play, so I can't condemn the play one way or the other.

Bochy has now been ejected 5 times this year and 3 times in the last 2 weeks. Love it. According to this Forbes article, Bochy is the 5th most ejected manager in baseball since 2004. Love it more. Never woulda guessed that though...

-- Timmy grew up in the Seattle area and prefers the temperature on the cool side. In his last two starts with 4 earned runs or more (in Atlanta and Cincy). The weather in ATL was 83 degrees with 64% humidity. The weather Tuesday in the Queen City was 82 degrees with 72% humidity.

Timmy doesn't like that stuff. Timmy likes fog.

-- Despite Randy Winn's newfound stroke, I still think it's totally wrong to sit Nate Schierholtz.

-- Nate Schierholtz is hitting .411 against lefties this season.

-- Nate Schierholtz is left handed. Go figure.