Tag: Pablo Sandoval (Page 3 of 7)

      Plenty of blame to go around for Giants’ collapse in Game 2 of NLDS

      October 9, 2010 /
      San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Brian Wilson (38) reacts to making an out in the 9th inning against the Atlanta Braves during Game 2 of their MLB National League Division Series baseball playoff game in San Francisco, California October 8, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      There’s no shortage of blame for the Giants’ collapse Friday night in Game 2 of the NLDS.

      Had Pat Burrell not turned Derrek Lee’s sixth inning single into a double by kicking the ball in left field, maybe the Braves don’t score on the next play to cut the Giants’ 4-0 lead to 4-1.

      Had Sergio Romo not allowed the only two batters he faced in the eighth to reach base, maybe Brian Wilson allow three runs to tie the game at 4-4.

      Had Pablo Sandoval honed his craft at third base during the regular season, he wouldn’t have helped Wilson give up those three runs by making a throwing error in that fatal eighth inning.

      Had Andres Torres played fundamental baseball and lifted a sac fly into the outfield instead of striking out with runners at first and third with one out in the seventh, the Giants would have finished with five runs instead of four.

      And had sensational rookie Buster Posey not grounded into a double play in the bottom of the 10th with bases loaded and only one out, the Giants would be up two-games-to-none in their best of seven series with the Braves.

      But alas, things didn’t go the Giants’ way last night and they only have themselves to blame for their 5-4 collapse. Like so many times throughout his career, they wasted another fine performance by Matt Cain and once again like so many times throughout the past couple of years, their offense couldn’t step up when the club needed it to.

      Give credit to the Braves, who never gave up despite trailing 4-0 after only two innings. Starter Tommy Hanson settled in after giving up a 3-run dinger to Burrell in the first and the bullpen was absolutely outstanding the entire night. Kyle Farnsworth stepped up enormously in extra innings when Billy Wagner went down, and got the double play in the bottom of the 10th that allowed Rick Ankiel to hit the game-winning homer in the 11th (which was an absolute moon shot into McCovey Cove).

      Now the series shifts to Atlanta for two games, where the Braves finished with a NL-best 56-25 home record. They’ve also seized all the momentum and can close out the series at home on Monday if they can scoop up two more wins.

      We’ll see what the Giants are made of over these next three days, because they’ve definitely put their backs against it.

      External Sports, MLB

      Breaking down the 2010 National League Wild Card race

      August 26, 2010 /
      St. Louis Cardinals Albert Pujols receives high fives in the dugout after hitting his second two run home run of the night in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on June 29, 2010. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      Before their sweep of the Braves this week, I would have said that the National League Wild Card is a three-team race. But now that the Rockies are putting together a very Rockie-like charge, this is definitely now a four-horse competition in the NL.

      Let’s break down the contenders and make a prediction.

      (Side Note: I’m fully aware that the Phillies and Cardinals still have a great chance of catching the Braves and Reds in their respective divisions, but I’m going by the standings as of Thursday, August 26. In a couple of weeks, I’ll update this list so for now, let’s just call this Version 1.0.)

      Philadelphia Phillies
      Games Remaining: 36
      Games Back: 0
      What I Like About Their Chances: I like the Phillies because quite frankly, they’ve been here before. They know what it takes to play good baseball in the month of September and their roster is chockfull of veteran players. Even though they haven’t shown it of late, the Phils also still have the best lineup 1-8 of any of the four Wild Card contenders and a three-headed monster in Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt (who has been outstanding in the month of August) and Cole Hamels. This is, by far, the most talented team of the four listed…

      What I Don’t Like: …that said, this club isn’t playing very good baseball right now. In their last seven games, they’ve won only two and they were just swept at home by the Astros. Also, despite all of their offensive firepower, they’ve managed to score just 16 runs in those seven outings. They also have six more games against the Braves, who they are just 5-7 against this season. This is a club that seemingly can’t put it all together this season and you just get the sense that something’s missing.

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      External Sports, MLB

      Don Mattingly helps Dodgers find new way to lose

      July 21, 2010 /
      Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach Don Mattingly watches the action against the St. Louis Cardinals in the second inning at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on July 18, 2010. St. Louis won the game 5-4. UPI/Bill Greenblatt Photo via Newscom

      You know things are going badly for your club when Bruce Bochy does something to get the best of you.

      During the ninth inning of the Dodgers-Giants game last night, L.A. hitting coach Don Mattingly walked out to the mound to talk to closer Jonathan Broxton, who had once again gotten into trouble for the second time in three days. With the Dodgers leading 5-4, Broxton allowed an infield single by Juan Uribe to start the inning, then walked Edgar Renteria before recording the first out when Aaron Rowand laid down a sacrifice bunt.

      After Aubrey Huff was intentionally walked to load the bases, Mattingly came out to the mound to lay out the plan of attack with Broxton and his infield. But when he stepped off the mound and into the grass, then went back onto the mound to answer a question from first baseman James Loney, it counted as two visits. Bochy, or “Eagle Eyes” as his drinking buddies like to call him, noticed the gaffe and immediately complained about it to home plate umpire Adrian Johnson.

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      External Sports, MLB

      Giants’ Sandoval, Renteria skip haunted hotel

      July 6, 2010 /

      When playing in Milwaukee, most professional baseball and basketball players stay in the historical Pfister Hotel…except for the Giants’ Pablo Sandoval and Edgar Renteria, who say it scares the beejesus out of them.

      From the Sacramento Bee:

      While the rest of the traveling party is staying at the historic – and reputedly haunted – Pfister Hotel, Edgar Renteria and Pablo Sandoval requested rooms down the street at the Intercontinental. Sandoval got spooked last season. Renteria found the experience more leery than eerie, too.

      “I slept like a baby last night,” Renteria said.

      Some have complained about hearing weird noises while staying at the Pfister and at least one player reportedly sleeps with a bat when his team travels to Milwaukee. Brendan Ryan of the Cardinals also said that he saw “a moving light that kind of passed through the room” on one occasion.

      I for one don’t believe in ghosts, but if I were a professional ball player, I might do the same thing Sandoval and Renteria did and stay somewhere else. I wouldn’t want to go 0-for-4 with three strikeouts because I was up all night talking to dead great, great grandmother. C.R.E.E.P.Y.

      Of course, staying at another hotel certainly didn’t help Renteria’s game. He came off the bench in the seventh inning of the Giants’ win over the Brewers on Monday to lay down a bunt and instead popped up two attempts. The first one went foul, while the second wound up in Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy’s mitt.

      External Sports, MLB

      Burrell to make debut on Friday, Giants renew commitment to crusty old vets

      June 4, 2010 /

      It didn’t take long for the Giants to purchase the contract of Pat Burrell, who will make his debut tonight in Pittsburgh just days after San Francisco signed him to a minor league deal. After all, he’s old, and the organization is committed to old and halting their youth movement as much as possible. (See the signings or re-signings of Rich Aurilia, Edgardo Alfonzo, Bengie Molina, Dave Roberts, Omar Vizquel, Ryan Klesko, Jose Vizcaino and Neifi Perez – just to name a few – in previous seasons.)

      In calling up Burrell, the Giants had to make a roster move in the process, meaning 26-year-old John Bowker had to be optioned to Triple-A Fresno. Granted, Bowker was only hitting .207 at the time of the demotion, but the Giants, in all of their infinite wisdom, have decided that 82 at bats were enough to close the book on the outfielder for now.

      I have nothing against Burrell, per se. He could turn out to be a solid pinch hitter and I would much rather see him wasting away on the bench than Bowker. But it’s the Giants’ continued philosophy (if that’s what you want to call it) towards judging hitters that infuriates me. They never really gave Fred Lewis a chance and now he’s hitting .304 as the Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter. For as good as a Giant as Randy Winn was over the years, they stuck with him too long last year while a younger, more talented Nate Schierholtz rotted away on the bench. (Speaking of Schierholtz, where does he fit in with the addition of Burrell?) And I’m still not sure who Kevin Frandsen killed to have never been given a legitimate shot at sticking with the big league club either, yet Edgar Renteria is in his second year of wasting everyone’s time in the “City by the Bay.”

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      External Sports, MLB

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