And with Cain on the mound, that increases the odds for us, with a low 2 ERA for Cain, Hammel has a mid-4 ERA, but Hammel has actually been very good on the road, high 2 ERA, and he had a shutout the only time he pitched in AT&T. It will be a good test of the mettle of both Cain and Hammel, whether they can summon up enough to do well for their respective teams.
But with Kung Fu Panda healthy enough to slug two homers in the last two games - that was what was the big factor in our 17-10 month of June, him hitting homers - that has to give our team some confidence that we can pull out a victory tomorrow. His stature as THE man in our lineup has risen in this series, and if he can do it again tomorrow, I wish Bochy would just start batting him 4th, he would have proven his mettle to me, that the pressure of that lineup position wouldn't affect him.
Go Giants! Go for the Sweep!
Zito was great tonight. The team will be so hard to beat if he can keep this up.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping Sabean signs Brad Penny. He may not be that dominating pitcher that he was with the Marlins and Dodgers but I think he represents a clear upgrade for the team as the fifth starter.
I'm surprised you haven't mentioned San Jose locking up the second half title or Conneticut locking up the division title. Gotta love the minor league strength. It really is such an exciting time to be a Giants fan.
Hey Martin, I forgot to mention the Neukom interview I just read on th Wall Street Journal's website. Nothing real in-depth but still semi-interesting.
ReplyDeleteSchierholtz is batting 3rd today. That's how it should be. So when Molina returns he should slide into the 5 spot. Wouldn't surprise me if Bochy puts him back at cleanup though.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments Matt. I will have to look for the WSJ article.
ReplyDeleteEven after that 3-run homer?
Perry would be good to get.
Been wanting to mention but you beat me to the punch, been busy. Really surprised by Defenders.
Lincecums next start has been pushed back a day. With a day off coming up, normally the team would skip the 5th starter spot but is not this time and willhaveto call someone up or sign someone to start Wed. Penny maybe?
ReplyDeletePenny would be OK, but I wouldn't mind seeing Pucetas up here too.
ReplyDeleteActually in the dog days of fall, most teams do not skip their 5th starter with a day off, as most players are suffering with the aches and pains of playing a full season.
Also, this would keep us on schedule to throw Lincecum, Zito, and Cain at the Rockies the next time we face them. Skipping this turn would make it Zito, Cain, Sanchez. And with another off day, if skipped, it would be Cain, Sanchez, and 5th starter. We want our three best against them.
Skipping, however, would mean that Lincecum would face the Dodgers in both series we have with them in mid-September. With 9 games to go before then, should we somehow get much closer to them, they could still skip on the next off-day and have Lincecum pitch in both LA series. That's a nice option to be able to do, if necessary.
Looks like Penny is gonna be a giant. word comes from Jon Heyman and Buster Olney.
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