Giants Bullpen A Big Key In Division Series Victory

The Giants just had a great comeback series where they trailed the Cincinnati Reds two games to none and came back to win the series in five.  It was a definitely a team effort for the Giants to win this playoff series. It is hard to pick an MVP for this series because so many players contributed at so many different moments in the series. However, I am going to tip my cap to the Giants bullpen, which I think played one of the biggest roles in this series victory if not the biggest.

            The old saying goes that pitching wins baseball games but the Giants starting pitchers did not pitch that great this series. Matt Cain gave up three runs in five innings in game one including two homers. Madison Bumgarner gave up four runs and seven hits in 4.1 innings in game two. Barry Zito didn’t even get past the third inning in game four as he gave up two runs, four hits, and four walks in 2.2 innings. Matt Cain did pitch better in game five but he still gave up three runs after his team gave him a six run lead and was unable to get past the sixth inning. Ryan Vogelsong probably had the best performance of the starters giving up only one run but he only lasted five innings as he had to battle throughout the game and raised his pitch count quickly. Overall, the rotation did not perform as you would expect on a team that has a reputation of having a great starting staff.

            Since the starting pitchers didn’t pitch deep into their games, the bullpen was used a lot and they did a great job at shutting down the Reds and giving the Giants a chance to win games. In many instances, they stopped the bleeding that was caused by the starter pitchers. There were times when the Giants starting pitchers were giving up runs and put men on base that could have easily led to high scoring innings. Instead manager Bruce Bochy was had great timing on when to take out his starters and bring in his relief pitchers. The relief pitchers responded with a bang.

            In game three when Vogelsong was taken out, the bullpen did not give up a run in five innings. This kept the Giants in the game while the score was tied for most of the day. In fact, reliever Sergio Romo was the winning pitcher for that game. In game four after Zito was being knocked around by the Reds batters, the game could have easily turned ugly. Instead Tim Lincecum came in the third inning with the score 3-2 Giants.  Lincecum would pitch 4.1 innings of baseball and gave up only one run which allowed the Giants to keep their lead over the Reds. Lincecum would be the winning pitcher of that game four victory.

            Then came game five and the Giants had a six run lead in the fifth inning. Cain, who had been pitching well prior to that six run output by the giants, started to struggle and gave up three runs in the next two innings which put the Reds back into the game.  Then relievers Kontos, Affeldt, Lopez, and Casilla put up zeroes on the scoreboard setting up the game for Giants closer Sergio Romo.

            Romo was quick getting the first out in the ninth inning but then he got into some trouble. He gave up a run and then put two men on base with just one out, cutting the Red’s deficit to two runs. I started having bad flashbacks of Romo from the 2010 postseason. I remember he struggled in finishing an inning because he gave up many hits and runs that postseason. While he had great pitching abilities, it seemed in 2010 when the game was on the line Romo didn’t respond well to pressure. Then I started to worry about the current situation Romo got himself into and wondering if he could close out a game.  That situation made me start to miss Brian Wilson. Wilson I felt comfortable with as a closer because he proved in 2010 he can close out games when the pressure was on.  Romo didn’t show that ability in 2010. So I said out loud, “Romo, this is your time to show whether or not you’re a closer.  This is your time to prove you can get the job done.” Romo would go on to prove that my worries were for nothing.  He would get a pop-up for the second out of the ninth and then he would strike out the next batter for the last out of the game.  Romo proved that he is a closer today. He will get more chances to save games in the next round and hopefully in the World Series too.

            It is hard to pick an MVP for the first round of the playoffs and luckily for the media, there is no official MVP award given out for the first round of the playoffs. If there was, it would have been tough to choose just one Giant player. If it was up to me, I would give out the MVP to the Giants relievers. They kept the Giants in the game during those three tough wins. Pitching wins games and for the Giants case it was the relievers that won games.  They are the reason the Giants are moving on.

           

Preview of Cal vs. Nevada Football Game

Cal Football is back and the team is preparing to play its first game in the newly renovated Memorial Stadium against Nevada. While playing in the new stadium should bring excitement to the Bears there should also be some sense of wanting revenge against Nevada. It was only two years ago that the Nevada Wolf Pack destroyed Cal in Reno. It was a game that Cal was expected to win and the the time of that game, Cal was ranked in the nation. After that loss however, Cal went on to have one of its worse seasons under coach Jeff Tedford while Nevada went on to have its best season in school history in which they ranked in the top 20 in the nation.

            The good news for Cal is that Colin Kaepernick is no longer Nevada’s quarterback.  Kaepernick was the main reason that Cal was defeated in Reno. Kaepernick ran circles around the Cal defense and scored touchdowns with his arm and legs.  He was unstoppable.  The other good news is that Cal is playing at home this time and recent history shows that non conference opponents that Cal loses to on the road, Cal gets their revenge by beating them at home later on.

            However, Cal should not get too comfortable with its first opponent this season. While Kaepernick may no longer be Nevada’s quarterback, they have a young good quarterback in sophomore Cody Fajardo who was named the WAC conference freshmen of the year. He can run the ball too in Nevada’s high powered pistol offense and has a good arm too. Fajardo may not be that known around the nation but that could be a problem for Cal. Kaepernick was not well known to the nation prior to Cal’s game against Nevada in 2010. It wasn’t until after he beat Cal and Boise State that he became a known player to the nation and NFL scouts.  Cal was not prepared against Kaepernick. They should not make the same mistake against Fajardo.

            So what will it take for Cal to beat Nevada this Saturday? There are two keys: one is that coach Tedford has got to outcoach Nevada head coach Chris Ault.  The second key is that Cal quarterback Zack Maynard needs to outperform Fajardo. Those were the two keys that cost Cal its game against Nevada in Reno. I remember watching the game in Reno and seeing how many bad decisions Tedford made. It may have been the biggest reason why Cal lost. Tedford had the team run the ball when they should have passed it and they passed the ball when they should have ran it. Every move Tedford made seem to cost the team and while Tedford seem to make all the wrong moves, Ault seem to make all the right moves. That cannot happen again. If Tedford wants to keep his job safe with Cal, he will need to coach better against Nevada then he did the last time.

            As far as Maynard, he will need to perform better than he did last year.  He will need to outperform Fajardo. Cal is not going to be able to shut down Nevada’s pistol offense. Nevada will score a lot of points as their system is effective in college and they have been one of the highest scoring teams in football in the past few years.  That is why it is important that Maynard scores a lot of points as they will be needed to outdo Nevada’s offense. While Maynard showed signs of being a good quarterback in some games last season, in other games he lost to teams he should have beaten. That is why Cal did not have as a good of a season as the team would have liked.  A team cannot get far if its quarterback struggles. Plus, the last Cal quarterback to play against Nevada did not have a good game and that was why Nevada was able to have a big spread on the scoreboard.

            Overall, everyone is picking Cal to beat Nevada this Saturday. On paper, Cal should beat Nevada. However, Cal’s biggest problem over the years has been losing games against teams they should have beaten.  Cal tends to overlook opponents and it comes back to bite them.  Two years ago everyone had Cal beating Nevada also. That didn’t turn out so great.  However, Cal is opening up there renovated stadium when they face Nevada. The team will be pumped, the fans will be pumped and the team will feed off the fans excitement.  The last thing Cal wants to do is lose their home opener and let Nevada rain on Cal’s parade. If Cal can’t be motivated to win this game, I don’t know what will motivate them. If Tedford can’t have his team play well in this atmosphere, then his job should be on the line.  I don’t know who is going to win this game because with Cal every game is unpredictable.

Sharks Doing More of the Same This Offseason

There is an old saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This offseason has shown the Sharks are clearly insane. After losing to the Saint Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs last April, their quickest exit from postseason play, you would think the Sharks would make some major changes in response to an embarrassing season. The Sharks ownership group even made a public statement saying last season’s postseason was unacceptable. With that statement you would think the Sharks were committed to fixing this team. Instead, they have stood pat this offseason, making only minor changes to the team. 

                The first big mistake was keeping head coach Todd McLellan. That was the first sign that the Sharks ownership group doesn’t care about improving this team. McLellan clearly lost the respect of his players towards the end of last season. The penalty kill was also terrible. Worst of all was that McLellan had the Sharks play a very conservative style of hockey despite all the skill that was on the team. He had them play that overrated dump and chase style of hockey where the player shoots the puck into the zone and then skates over to retrieve it near the goal. Problem was the Sharks never seem to succeed in retrieving the puck before the other team did. Yet McLellan still had them playing that style of hockey. It was the reason they could not score many goals in the playoffs. Instead of McLellan being held responsible for the team’s failures, his assistant coaches took the fall and a few of the assistants were fired. While that is a good start, the buck stops with McLellan. He runs the coaching staff. He should get the ax but he didn’t.

                The next big mistake was not trading a lot of the current players on the roster. Patrick Marleau should have been gone in a heartbeat but instead is still on the team. I know he has a no trade clause but I am sure the Sharks could have found a way to get Marleau to waive it, especially if the Sharks made his life miserable. They also didn’t trade Marc-Eduoard Vlasic, despite the fact that during the postseason, he was pushed around by opposing forwards with ease.  He is so small in size and weak in terms of physical play, you wonder why he gets so much praise. The Sharks then were dumb enough to give Vlasic a five year contract extension that will keep him with the team for six more years. That’s just what this team needs for six more years, a defender who gets pushed around like a rag doll. The only good thing the Sharks did in terms of getting rid of players was letting Torrey Mitchell sign with another team. However, most of the other players who were on the Sharks last season are coming back and that makes me want to puke.

                The final big mistake was not adding many new players to the Sharks. Sure, they brought back Brad Stuart and he will be a decent addition to the defense. However, he is not a difference maker and he is getting older. The only other big signing the Sharks made was signing Adam Burish but he is nothing more than a fourth line player. He isn’t going to score many goals and he isn’t going to be a big difference maker to the team. However, the team felt the need to give a player like this a four year contract.  Talk about a waste of money for a marginal player.

                I said earlier in the offseason that the Sharks needed to make big changes if they were going to be a contender for the Stanley Cup again. It appears that the Sharks won’t be a contender this year. They have stood quietly as other teams went and improved their rosters through free agency and trades. The Sharks are satisfied just keeping last year’s team together for one more year. If this same team couldn’t win a single playoff series last season, what makes the Sharks think they could do better next season let alone win the Stanley Cup. Expect the Sharks to be more of the same next year. The Sharks have truly gone insane.

               

Hector Sanchez Has Been A Valuable Backup Catcher

During Spring Training last March, I lobbied for the Giants to have Hector Sanchez be the team’s backup catcher. The Giants did as I hoped and allowed Sanchez to be the team’s backup catcher over Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart. So far the decision has paid off for the Giants and it was most obvious against the Los Angeles Dodgers, whom the Giants just shutout in three straight games. In two of those games, Hector Sanchez was behind the plate for a pitcher who was pitching shutout baseball.

                When I talked about having Sanchez become the team’s backup catcher, I talked about how important it was to have a player who can hit the ball, especially on days they needed to give Buster Posey a rest. I didn’t think the Giants would actually go with the catcher who can hit because traditionally, the Giants have been reluctant to try young players from the minor leagues on the Major League roster.  Plus the Giants seemed more concerned about having a backup catcher who can handle the Giants pitching staff rather than one that can hit offensively which is why throughout most of this last offseason they leaned toward bringing back Whiteside and Stewart.

                Sanchez so far has not only proven that he can hit the ball well for a backup catcher, but that he can play defense pretty well too. That was the concern of the Giants going into the season but Sanchez has eased those worries. He has caught for every game Barry Zito pitches. Last season while rehabbing in the minor leagues, Zito first experienced what it was like pitching to Sanchez and during his minor league stint, Zito succeeded with Sanchez as his battery mate.  Zito last year praised Sanchez’s catching abilities and said how comfortable he felt pitching to him. Zito may have been the one to convince the Giants front office to keep him on the roster this season and they did so, thinking it would benefit Zito. Zito showed his comfort with Sanchez against the Dodgers. After struggling for three straight starts, Zito pitched seven innings of shutout baseball and got the win against the Dodgers on Monday. After how bad Zito has pitched throughout his career with the Giants, anyone who can make Zito look like a decent pitcher is a winner in my book. Sanchez then did something he has not done often this season: he caught for pitcher Tim Lincecum. Lincecum had been struggling all season with the Giants. Sanchez, however, helped Lincecum regain his confidence and Lincecum responded by pitching seven innings of shutout baseball and getting a win against the Dodgers.

                It is no coincidence that Hector Sanchez has a way of helping struggling pitchers regain their form. Zito had struggled recently only to get a big win against the Dodgers with Sanchez behind the plate. Lincecum had been struggling all year but once he pitched to Sanchez he was his old self again. I don’t know exactly how Sanchez keeps these pitchers calm under pressure but whatever he is doing is working. This is not a knock on Buster Posey. Posey is clearly the leader of the team’s pitching staff and he has a World Series ring to prove it. However, having a backup catcher like Sanchez who can catch the pitching staff well is a great asset to have. The Giants wanted to give Buster Posey more rest this season after his severe injuries last year but circumstance could have easily forced the Giants to play Posey too much if the backup catcher was not playing good. That could have been the case if Whiteside or Stewart were still the backup catchers. Instead, Posey gets to rest every five days thanks to the good play of Sanchez. This keeps Posey fresh and could be a reason Posey is hitting the ball so great right now. That rest could pay huge dividends down the stretch as the Giants try to reach the postseason. Having a great catcher like Buster Posey is valuable. Having a good backup catcher like Sanchez is a luxury. Not many teams can say they have both.

Cain’s Perfect Game a Moment to Remember

For sport fans, there will always be moments that we never forget as they are rare and do not happen often. Fans always remember those moments that seemed unlikely such as witnessing a team winning the championship or someone setting a record that hadn’t been broken for years. It is those moments that fans know exactly where they were and what they were doing. For me and Giant fans around the world last night’s game against the Houston Astros was one of those moments. Matt Cain pitched a perfect game, the first in Giants franchise history.

            I will be the first to admit I did not watch most of the Giants game where Matt Cain pitched a perfect game.  I regret it, but who can predict the future and say, “Hey, I better watch tonight’s game because someone is going to throw a perfect game”?  Matt Cain’s perfect game was just the 22^nd perfect game thrown in Major League Baseball history and the first in the Giants 129 year history. So let’s just say a perfect game is rare. Anyone who says they knew Matt Cain was going to throw a perfect game is full of it.

            Still it was hard for me to miss most of that game knowing that I missed out on history. In fact I was going to go to the game with my dad but I told him I couldn’t go because I had plans. My dad then ended up planning on taking my mom but just a few hours before the game, he changed his mind and didn’t use the tickets. While I did not see most of the game, I did look a few times on my I-Phone to see how the Giants were doing on the scoreboard. I checked the score in the fifth inning and saw that it was 10-0 Giants. I then checked how the offense was doing on the stat sheet and saw that they were crushing the ball. It slipped my mind to see how Cain was pitching on the stat sheet so I had no clue that Cain was in the middle of history. I eventually went home to my place and was very close to not bothering watching the Giants game. It was around 10 PM and I figured the game was over and the Giants won due to having a ten run lead. Plus it was against the Astros so it wasn’t like I needed to see the game.  

            Luckily I did turn on the TV and the first thing I noticed was that Cain was in the middle of a count with a Houston batter. I then saw that it was the bottom of the ninth inning and there were already two outs. I heard the fans screaming like I never heard them scream before. It was as if Cain was pitching in game 7 of the World Series. I was thinking to myself, why were the fans acting so excited?  Sure, the fans have always been passionate but not to the level they were cheering. I was thinking, come on guys. They are playing a lousy Houston team and the game was already in the bag as the team was leading 10-0. It’s not like this would be the Giants first win of the season and it wouldn’t be the last, but I never head the fans act like this for other Giant wins. What made this game so special for this kind of reaction? Then I realized Cain was still pitching and had a chance for a complete game shutout. So then it hit me and I said to myself, “Is Cain pitching a perfect game?” I then saw the box score on the TV screen show the stats: no runs, no hits, and no errors.

            That’s when I knew what I was so close to missing completely: a chance to see a perfect game. Then Cain makes a pitch and the ball gets hit hard. I saw Joaquin Arias stumble with the ball and I thought, “Oh no! Don’t mess this up!” It brought me back memories of Juan Uribe, whose one error was the only blemish to Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter in 2009. That cost Sanchez a perfect game.  However, Arias recovered and made a great play and just like that I saw Cain pitch a perfect game, even if it was for a brief time. I called my parents right away, and when I told them that they missed out on going to a perfect game, they were shocked. Unlike me, they didn’t see the ending to the Giants game and were shocked that Cain threw a perfect game.

            Even though the moment was brief, I will always remember where I was and what I was doing, when Matt Cain pitched that perfect game on June 13, 2012. It will be just like Game 5 of the 2010 World Series. People always ask, “Where were you when the Giants won the World Series?” Well now people will ask the same thing of Matt Cain’s perfect game, the first in Giants history. It’s rare moments like these that fans like me cherish. It’s moments like these that go into history books. It’s moments like these that the media will always bring up. It’s moments like these that we will tell our grandkids about. It will especially be great moment for the lucky fans who were fortunate enough to witness the history live in the ballpark where it took place. My memory of this great game may not sound as sexy as some other stories that I am sure people can tell you, but it is one I will continue to tell people till the day I die. It is a moment that I will always cherish.

Giants Should Give Up on Freddy Sanchez

Freddy Sanchez suffered another setback on his rehab from an injury he suffered last year.  After getting setbacks from his injury to his shoulder, Sanchez now has hurt his back. I tell you, Freddy Sanchez is like fragile glass. You can touch him softly in the chest with your finger and he would manage to suffer a chest injury.  Every season that Sanchez has been with the Giants he has been on the disabled list with some freak injury. Sanchez reminds me a lot of Sharks forward Martin Havlat. Like Havlat, there is always a freak injury that Sanchez gets.

            I do not think Freddy Sanchez is going to return to the Giants this season. He is in his mid 30s and has not played since last June. That is why the Giants need to pull the plug on Sanchez now and put him on the 60 day disabled list and then show him the door of free agency at the season’s end. By doing this the Giants can add a more useful player to their 40 man roster since a spot will not be taken up by an injured Sanchez. The Giants can hope and pray all they want that Sanchez will return and help the Giants, but it is becoming more and more wishful thinking. Even if Sanchez does return, he will not be the same player.

            The Giants need help now. They are playing average baseball where they lose just as many games as they win. That is not going to cut it if the Giants are going to make the playoffs this season.  They need to get more offense. This offseason they didn’t get enough offensive help through free agency because the team was banking on Buster Posey and Freddy Sanchez being healthy again. Posey is back but Sanchez isn’t and that leaves a big hole in the team’s struggling offense.  Sanchez was expected to fill the number two slot in the batting order. He was expected to get on base a lot and give batters like Posey and Sandoval a chance to hit him home.  Since he is not in the lineup, the team has been struggling to find a player to fill that slot in the lineup.

            The team cannot continue to struggle on offense by waiting for Sanchez to come back. They need to go out now and find another second baseman through a trade. Who they get and what they give up is not a concern to me. The Giants need to do something to spark this offense and a trade is the best way to do it. If they can’t do that, call up another minor leaguer and see if he can give the Giants some offense. A trade acquisition or minor leaguer couldn’t do any worse than Emmanuel Burriss or Ryan Theriot right now.

            I criticized Giants General Manager Brian Sabean last offseason for letting go of Jeff Keppinger. I thought he would have been a good replacement for Freddy Sanchez in case Sanchez got hurt. Keppinger is now batting .298 this season, a much better batting average than the second basemen the Giants currently have. I still don’t understand Sabean’s reasoning behind letting Keppinger go.

            However, that’s in the past. The Giants have to admit they made a mistake and cut their losses with Sanchez. The gamble didn’t pay off for the Giants. Yes, Sanchez was a good Giant and he contributed a lot for the team when he was healthy. He was a big part of the Giants World Series team in 2010. However, like many other Giants from that great 2010 season, Sanchez has faded away. His contract expires at the end of the season and the Giants would be stupid to resign him. The Giants need to give up on Sanchez and let him retire.

Sharks Should Consider Getting Roberto Luongo and Rick Nash

A few weeks ago I said how the Sharks needed to start rebuilding their team if they were ever going to be a Stanley Cup contender again. Looks like the Sharks ownership group still thinks the team could contend next year and it sounds like they do not want to rebuild. While they are telling Doug Wilson to make changes, it sounds like they want to make changes so that the Sharks can win it all next year. That is a mistake on the Sharks part and I made that clear in my last article.  Having said that, if they Sharks want to play to win it all next year here are a few moves I would make if I was Doug Wilson.

            The first move is to get goaltender Roberto Luongo from Vancouver. Reports have surfaced that Luongo has asked for a trade and Vancouver seems willing to do so. The Sharks should jump at this huge opportunity. Luongo is a much better goalie than Antti Niemi. While Niemi has won a Stanley Cup, Luongo came close with Vancouver last year, losing in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Still Niemi only won his Cup because he had a great supporting cast around him. Luongo has been to more all star games than Niemi, has better stats, and has been known to steal more wins for his team than Niemi. Luongo also can win under pressure as he lead team Canada to an Olympic Gold medal in the last Winter Olympics.

            So how do you get a player like Luongo? Well, the Sharks would obviously have to give up a star player and that player is Patrick Marleau. It’s a trade I think Vancouver would accept. Marleau will be turning 33 next season, so he would be a few months younger than Luongo who already is 33. Marleau gives the Canucks more offensive power and speed. Plus Marleau is only under contract for two more years while Luongo is under contract for 10 more years so the Canucks would be more than happy to have less money to pay to a player. The contract for Luongo is a concern to me given the length of time and that he won’t be a free agent until he is 43. However, if the Sharks are going to ruin their future by having a win now mentality, a few good years from Luongo is worth the risk of a huge contract especially if he wins the team a Stanley Cup. Giving up Marleau for Luongo straight up is a no brainer for me. Marleau is not a winner. Never has been and never will be. It would be great for Marleau and the Sharks if they parted ways so that each side can start fresh. Getting Luongo improves the Sharks defense big time.

            So how do you replace the offense that you lose for trading Marleau?  Well, if the team gets Luongo, they will no longer need Niemi and he would make great trade bait for an offensive player. Niemi only has a salary cap hit of 3.8 million dollars and in today’s NHL that is easy to move to another team. If I am Doug Wilson, I would trade Niemi to Columbus for none other than Rick Nash. Nash is a goal scorer who averages out over 30 goals a season. Sometimes he scores 40 goals a season. With Joe Thornton at his side making passes, Nash can be an offensive machine for the Sharks. Plus Nash is only 27 so he is in the prime of his career. Nash wants out of Columbus and wants to play for a team that will get to the playoffs. The Sharks are that kind of team.  Columbus would be more than happy to rid itself of a player who still has six years left on his contract. Plus in return, Columbus would get a Stanley Cup winning goaltender that could get Columbus in the playoffs. The trade would work out for both teams.

            Whether or not Doug Wilson makes these kinds of trades is yet to be seen, but if he is serious about competing for the Stanley Cup next year he should definitely get Luongo and Nash on board. Together, those two can help the Sharks go a long way.