Results tagged ‘ Randy Johnson ’
Mid-Season Reports Cards — Pitchers
Yesterday we graded the Giants hitters based on their first half performances, so today we’re going after the pitchers. Like I said before, I’m going to be as objective and as straight-forward as I can (without the use of profanity), so without further ado, here are your Giants’ pitchers’ report cards.
Starters
Tim Lincecum – Probably the easiest pitcher to judge out of everyone. With expectations after a Cy Young award running super high, Lincecum got off to a little bit of a rocky start. But then it all seemed to click and today he’s sitting with a 10-2 record with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. And to add on that deliciousness, the kid’s got 141 Ks in 127 2/3 innings. His assault on batters throughout the month of June was phenomenal and he could be looking at a second consecutive award. Grade: A
Matt Cain – After a couple of up and down seasons and withstanding the lack of run support, things have turned around for Cain and the Giants. Not only is he pitching better than ever, but the Giants are responding with tremendous run support. He also is 10-2 and is currently sitting with a 2.38 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. His walk total (46) is a little high, but other than that, I have no complaints. Grade: A
Barry Zito – Talk about bi-polar players….yeesh! Zito has flashed some brilliance this season, but unfortuantely follows it up with atrocity. Two starts ago he was pitching shutout ball into the 9th and the start after that he can’t get out of the 5th without giving up 9 earned runs. It’s tough to rely on a guy with no consistency, but even the most fanatical of Giants fans will say that this has been his best season for them to date. Grade: C-
Randy Johnson – There were two simple requests made of Johnson when he came to the Giants: give us whatever you have left on the mound and teach our kids how to be major league stars. Well, he’s given us both. Johnson’s presence in the clubhouse and his mentoring of Lincecum and Cain have paid major dividends while his 8-6 record and 4.81 ERA has given us a decent, not outstanding, middle of the rotation guy. I’ll expect a little more out of him on the hill when he comes back after the break (so long as his shoulder is ok), but for now, he’s been solid. Grade: B
Jonathan Sanchez – Seriously…as great as it was, we can’t put this kid on a pedestal for throwing a no-hitter against the woeful Padres. It was a tremendous feat, but let’s be realistic. That outing (plus a couple of scoreless relief appearances) actually lowered his ERA to a 4.69, and even that number seems low considering what he’s given us. He’s a 26 year old lefty who could be a huge commodity in the trade market after his acccomplishment, but for us this year, he’s been nothing short of disastrous. Grade: D
Ryan Sadowski – The rookie from nowhere got the call up instead of bigger names like Tim Alderson and Madison Bumgarner and performed admirably. His first 2 starts were rock solid and even his last one where he got touched up a bit, wasn’t awful. He doesn’t have great stuff and a guy like him concerns me down the stretch. I don’t think he’ll be up with the Giants for much longer. Still, he did ok for us whil ehe was here. Grade: B
Relievers
Brian Wilson – While the twittering has stopped, the mohawk still has to go. As does the anxiety he brings to each and every trip to the mound. I don’t know if he’s too amped up when he gets out there, but it looks like he’s overthrowing 80% of the time. His 23 saves rank among the tops in the league, but that 3.66 ERA ranks among the worst for closers. 15 walks in just over 39 innings is way too high. The kid’s got talent, but there’s not enough Pepto Bismol in my medicine cabinet to watch another half a season like this. Grade: C+
Justin Miller – Quietly becoming one of our better guys out of the pen, although he’s mostly been used in non-pressure situations. He’s appeared in 29 games, pitched 41 innings and has a 1.98 ERA with 24 Ks. The numbers aren’t phenomenal, but they’re certainly helpful to the team. A guy like him definitely has value when you need to call on him in the 5th and 6th innings when a guy like Zito falls apart. Grade: B-
Brandon Medders – Another decent bullpen guy that hasn’t done too poorly this season. Sure, he’s had a hiccup or two (who hasn’t?), but his 2.72 ERA and 32 Ks in just over 36 innings is pretty solid. The one major thing that isn’t solid is the 17 walks issued. That number is gonna kill us if he doesn’t fix it. Grade: C+
Jeremy Affeldt – I lauded this signing in the offseason and have not been disappointed one bit. OK, maybe a few times (also 17 walks in 34 innings….yeesh!) but overall, Affeldt has solidified the 7th and 8th innings with his performance. Batters are only hitting .209 against him and he’s leading the league in holds with 19. The walks are the only reason he’s not getting an A. Grade: B+
Bobby Howry – Another signing I was pretty happy about as I thought, with him and Affeldt, the bridge between starter and closer would be solid. Howry’s been ok, but not great. His 3.38 ERA doesn’t enthrall me and he’s given up 27 hits and a dozen walks in just 32 innings. Lately it seems like he’s losing his hold on his set-up spot, but he’ll still be a solid asset the rest of the way. Grade: B-/C+
Merkin Valdez – Tremendous potential, but he just doesn’t have it right now. He’s still pretty erratic and gives up far too many walks and hits to be an effective set up man. His 4.97 ERA and 1.45 WHIP are not the numbers ytou want from a guy whom you brought in to help protect a lead or even just to keep things from getting any worse. He’s like my mom’s chicken….needs more seasoning. Grade: D
Sergio Romo – This kid’s just getting started. He’s only got 13 innings to date, but his 2.77 ERA and 16 K’s are a pretty good indication of better days ahead. He seems to be getting some of Howry’s workload lately, so keep an eye on him. I think there’s fantastic potential here. Grade: B+
I’ve quietly left out guys like Osiris Matos, Alex Hinshaw and Joe (ouch, right in the noggin!!) Martinez due to a lack of quality sample size. Consider all them them “incompletes”. Maybe we’ll see a little more of Joe later on, but I don’t see any of the three having any kind of a major impact.
So that’s what it looks like, Giants fans, and it doesn’t look to bad. I think we’ll probably see some of our youngsters in late August/early September, depending on what we do with Sanchez, and eventually Zito, but for now, our pitching is still our biggest asset.
The season starts back up on Friday in Pittsburgh, so enjoy the second half. We’ve got plenty of work to do, but I think we can do it. Go Giants!
Giants Split First Two With Astros; Lose Unit to DL
”So we sadly drop the final two games of the Cardinals, come home, open up a can of whup-*** on the Astros on our fireworks night and then not only lose to them the following day, but lose Randy Johsnon as well. I know they say it’s about taking the good with the bad, but the bad really sucks. What if I want to opt out for the bad?”
These were actually the words of a friend that I was talking to as we were walking our dogs this morning.
“Opt out of the bad?”, I said. “Then don’t be a Giants fans anymore.”
That was my advice, plain and simple. If you’re only looking for the ups without the downs, the positives and not the negatives, then it’s time to stop rooting for the Giants. You just can’t have one without the other. Not with this team, and realistically speaking, not with any team.
Not that he was being serious or anything, but I understood what he meant. It was that sad sack sort of way of looking at his team doing well only to have to watch an integral part of that success falter. I can understand how he’s feeling.
And it does suck, for lack of a better phrase. Your team’s on a roll, they’ve got a fairly easy schedule coming up before the break and then suddenly your pitching staff suffers a blow when Randy Johnson ends up on the DL with a shoulder strain. But unfortuantely, there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s baseball, and these things happen. And let’s be honest. He’s how old? He’s thrown how many innings in his career? You didn’t think that he wouldn’t suffer from any problems that can be attributed to age and over-use? If you didn’t, then your cock-eyed optimism is going to be the death of your fandom. You just won’t be able to go on rooting for your team with each and every crushing blow you’re dealt.
So the Unit’s out. What can you do? Not the worst time in the world for him to be down….so long as it really is just a mild shoulder strain. At the time of this, Johnson’s MRI results have not been released and everything from shoulder strain to Bengie Molina’s diagnosis of “it was scary” are pure speculation. Wait until word comes before allowing panic to settle in.
In the meantime, let’s atleast try to look on the bright side of things. Rookie Ryan Sadowski has been more than solid and can hopefully deliver another quality start or two before the break. If the Giants just use Jonathan Sanchez as his rotation replacement, maybe he can turn some things around for himself. We’re not playing anyone that’s got any kind of a Murderer’s Row lineup, so maybe he’ll look sharp — sharp enough to maybe give him a little added trade value? Who knows? But I’m sure teams will be watching.
There’s also the fact that the All Star weekend provides a little extra time off, so that might be good for Johnson to take it easy and rehab properly. It’s one thing for this to happen in the heat of a playoff run in mid-August, but with the extra few days off with the break, there’s not that huge sense of urgency looming. It’s not much, but it’s something.
We can also be looking at the fact that our hitting has been light years ahead of where it was just a month ago. I’m not saying that we’ve got our issues settled, but we’re scoring a lot mor eruns lately and we’re looking sharper at the plate, for the most part. We do need to rein in this “free-swinging” mentality a bit.
As we’ve seen, it’s pretty sink or swim and when it’s not swimming it’s sinking hard. There is a subte difference between being a free swinging club and a group of bums that strike out all the time because they’re swinging at pitches int he dirt. We’d rather be the former with no mention of the latter, but like I said to my friend at the dog run, you can’t opt out of the bad.
The rubber match against the Astros is tonight at 7:15!! Go Giants!!
Is It In the Cards?
Short and sweet today, kiddies. Short and sweet.
The Giants open up a big 4 game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis today and there are a lot of pressing questions that this series might be able to answer. We’ve got our “big 3″ in the rotation going with Tim Lincecum getting things underway, followed by Randy Johnson and Matt Cain. But that little fact is neither a question nor an answer
Can Barry Zito pitch well enough to keep the Giants in the game on Thursday? Hell, forget Thursday….can he do it from now until the end of the season and (gulp!) the playoffs? And how about our fifth starter? Can Ryan Sadowski pitch well enough to squelch the cries for Tim Alderson and Madison Bumgarner? What’s up with Nate Schierholtz and Andres Torres? Is one of them going to be moved in a deal? How will Jonathan Sanchez react to his demotion? Will the Giants trade for a bat at some point? Is Matt Downs the answer at second base?
Phew! Now that’s a bunch of questions. None of which will we see answers to here in the first half of the season, I’m guessing. From my perspective it looks like the Giants will wait until the All Star Break to make the decisions, and if that’s the case, this series with the Cardinals has quite a lot riding on it.
Not only will the Giants need to use this series (and the one after against the Astros) to keep control of the Wild Card (I’m still laughing about talking about it so early), but this 4 game series is going to be like an open audition for the players mentioned above. Each one of them needs to step up their games this week and really show us what they’ve got.
Downs, Schierholtz, Torres and Sadowski have been solid, but can they maintain that level of play for an extended period of time? Sanchez already has one scoreless inning of relief under his belt, but can he continue to perform to show either A. the Giants, that he can return to the rotation or B. other teams that he has value they want to acquire in a deal?
Zito was much better in his last outing and has shown that the shellackings are coming a little less frequently, but will that hold through a grueling second half?
These questions….and probably a ton more….will hopefully be answered soon. The fun starts tonight in about an hour. Lincecum vs Brian Thompson.
Who?
Exactly.
Go Giants!
Big Unit Keeps the Fire Burning
Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti have been saying it all along, “Great starting pitching is contagious.” No question about it, and that adage has now had a Fountain of Youth sort of affect on Randy Johnson here in his first season with the Giants. Pitching behind Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and then ahead of 9 game winner Matt Cain, Randy Johnson has started to flourish in his role as support staff and mentor.
And while he’s teaching the youngsters a few things off the field, he is also trying to teach them when he’s on the mound…a lead by example approach. Sure, the record is 7-5 and sure the ERA is a bit high, now at 4.68, but Johnson has shown some serious flashes of “vintage Unit” here and there this season. Last night was one of those flashes.
After a rocky start in which Johnson gave up a leadoff triple to Adam Kennedy, followed by and RBI single from Kurt Suzuki, Johnson slammed the door shut on the A’s. He finished up the first, allowing just the one run, by striking out the side, and then went on to pitch 7 full innings, allowing only 4 more hits and a walk.
It really was a thing of beauty — watching the menacing 45 year old pick off the A’s with an apparent ease. The hits he allowed were pretty innocuous and he appeared to get better and better as the game progressed. In fact, in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings, Johnson put Oakland down 1-2-3. OK, fine…..he used a double play in the 6th, but still, he saw only the minimum number of hitters in his final three frames.
The fact that the Giants’ hitters staked him to a 6-1 lead by the end of the 4th inning had to help him a little too. Nate Schierholtz got the start over Randy Winn and put the Giants up 2-1 with his 2nd home run of the season to get things going and was followed up by a Matt Downs single and an RBI double from the hot hitting Aaron Rowand.
In the 4th, the Giants played a little small ball and through a couple of hits and a sacrifice, the Giants plated another 3 runs to chase rookie starter Gio Gonzalez from the hill. The A’s bullpen did a nice job of shutting the Giants down the rest of the way, but it didn’t really matter as Johnson had complete control of this game.
Now I’m not going to sit here and fluff the Big Unit to the point where I make him out to be something he’s not. I’m not going to sit here and say that he’s even going to pitch like this again in his next start. But what I will do is give credit where credit due. Johnson looked fantastic last night and by following up Lincecum’s complete game with a performance as strong as this one, he’s showing the rest of the Giants staff (are you paying attention, Sanchez?) how to and that he still can get the job done.
From the Rumor Mill
So I’ve finally gotten wind of a little trade talk here, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, what with the Giants technically owning the Wild Card right now. OK, fine it’s only the end of June, but we can hope can’t we? Anyway, I heard a little rumor that the Giants have been talkign to the White Sox about Jonathan Sanchez, and the player coming the other way would be OF Jermaine Dye.
Now the White Sox are saying that they won’t do a fire sale just yet, but as the trade deadline looms, you never know. Dye would be a great fit for the Giants. He’s hit 23 or more HR each season in 9 of the last 10 seasons, including 34 last year and a career high 44 three years ago. I’m sure his power will find a way to diminish here in the cold damp San Francisco air, but he’ll be a solid power threat nonetheless. Just imagine a quality power guy hitting cleanup between Pablo Sandoval (who should be hitting thrd) and Bengie Molina in the fifth spot. Makes your mouth water, don’t it?
Giants Start Interleague Homestand With Sweep of Oakland
After going 6-4 on a road trip against the bottom feeders of the NL, the Giants started off their 9 game interleague homestand with a crucial sweep of their cross bay rivals. Tim Lincecum, Randy Johnson and Matt Cain provided quality starting pitching, Bengie Molina, Pablo Sandoval and Aaron Rowand continued to impress at the plate, the sparsely used bullpen was perfect, and we even got clutch performances out of our bench, namely Nate Schierholtz and Andres Torres. With the A’s holding a 16-8 record over the Giants during the last 3 seasons, it was time for a turnaround. The Giants have the potential to go somewhere this season while the A’s are biding their sorry time until they deal Matt Holliday at the trade deadline. A sweep was a statement that needed to be made.
Friday night kicked off the battle and all eyes were on the mound. It made no difference who the hitters were. The focus was on Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum vesus hot upstart rookie Vin Mazzaro, and neither disappointed. Lincecum tossed a complete game shutout and Mazzaro actually had a no hitter through 4innings. Both were primed for dazzling performances.
The fifth inning was the only rough spot in the game and that obviously went the Giants way as Lincecum contributed to his own cause by hitting a 2 out bases loaded single to give the Giants the lead. Rowand continued his offensive explosion with a 2 run single of his own to follow. The Giants were up and they never looked back. As a matter of fact, Lincecum allowed only 2 hits the rest of the way.
Giving credit where credit is due, Mazzaro maintained his poise and finished off the Giants in the 6th and left the game with only one inning of blemish. This kid is on the right track for success at this level, and if/when we face him in Oakland next week, we’re going to need to be at our best again to beat him.
Saturday’s game was just as exciting as the Big Unit notched win # 301 on the same day the Giants honored their 1989 NL Championship team. Everyone seemed to ignore the fact that they got swept in the series back then, but who can blame them? Living in the past gets you nowhere.
In any event, Johnson was impressive going 7 strong innings allowing only a pair of runs, Bengie’s bat gave us an early lead, and the Giants got some key hitting in the 7th inning to break the 2-2 tie and take the lead, which they never relinquished. Torres, playing for Fred Lewis looked good going 1 for 2, and Schierholtz had a pinch hit RBI single to finish off the 7th and give the Giants a little breathing room. At no point did the A’s look like they were going to be coming back. Not at all. So much so that, if you ask me, they went into Sunday’s game already beaten.
And who could expect them to think otherwise with Matt Cain on the hill. He’s been the Giants most impressive starter this season, and Sunday was more of the same as he went on to pitch a complete game 4 hitter with 9 Ks. He was as dominant as I’ve seen him pitch this season. I guess a little run support can change your whole outlook.
After a first inning shot by Jack Cust put the A’s up 1-0, Cain settled down and took care of Holliday and Jason Giambi on 5 pitches. Then, in the bottom half, after a series of hits to tie the game, Sandoval joined the party with a 2 run shot to give the Giants a 3-1 lead, another that they would never relinquish.
With a 10 hit barrage that included and inside the park home run for Schierholtz who earned himself a little more playing time, the Giants cruised to victory and sent their AL counterparts back across the bay with nothing to show for it.
Hitting wise, the series was solid. Pitching wise, it was near perfect. 2 complete games from your top two guys and your ”third” starter allows only 2 runs in 7 innings. Seriosuly, how could you ask for more? Next up is a three game set against the Angels that begins tonight, so here’s a quick glance at the pitching matchups:
Monday: Barry Zito (3-6, 4.09) vs John Lackey (1-2, 6.61)
Tuesday: Jonathan Sanchez (2-6, 4.84) vs Ervin Santana (1-3, 7.47)
Wednesday: Tim Lincecum (6-1, 2.66) vs Matt Palmer (6-0, 4.11)
While the names you see on the Angels side look impressive, both Santana and Lackey are strill trying to get themselves back into game shape as they continue to recover from injuries. Palmer has an impressive record, but the 29 year old journeyman has shown some vulnerability lately and still has to match our ace. Now I’m not going out to buy more brooms just yet, but I’d be silly not to entertain the idea. Wishful thinking? Yes. In the realm of possibility though? Definitely.
Battle of the Bay 2009
Before I get to the part about how the Giants are going to pound the A’s this weekend, let me just touch on the finale of our 10 game road trip.
First of all, with yesterday’s loss to the D-Backs, the Giants wrapped up the trip with a 6-4 record and sit 8 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Not a terrible place to be, but by no means should they be considered “out of it”. There were a few bumps in the road as far as I can tell (again, I was away and couldn’t catch the games), but last night’s game wasn’t one of them.
The D-Backs threw their ace of the future, Max Scherzer, at us yesterday and when the kid is on, the kid is on. He’s got a crazy good fastball that sits in the mid 90″s, and his slider is just nasty. If he’s in the zone, there’s not many that can touch him, let alone the Giants…..no offense (gotta say those last 2 words like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack). So lamenting about last night’s loss and what could have been is a waste, so let’s move on to the upcoming interleague games.
The next 12 games are against the American League West with 3 game sets against the Angels and Rangers bookended by a pair of 3 game sets against our crosstown rival Oakland A’s. It should be a nice stretch and another opportunity to gain a little ground on the Dodgers. The Rangers are dealing with a key injury to Josh Hamilton, and as such, the bats are cooling a little bit. The Angels are starting to get their rotation back, but it’s real early and none of them (John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana) look unhittable by any means. And then there’s Oaktown…
What can I say? I’m just not a fan of the A’s. Sure they had themselves a 7 game win streak recently, and have taken 8 of their last 9, but I just don’t believe in them. While most say that this team is unlike other A’s teams in that it’s built for offense and the pitching is weak, I say it’s still the same old A’s. Their pitching right now may not be the ol’ Big Three that A’s fans drone on about, but talk to me in 3 years when you’re watching Vin Mazzaro, Brett Anderson and Trevor Cahill excel for a team that’s willing to pay atleast market value.
And the hitting has been a disaster. Matt Holliday may be heating up a little, but he’s still not the same hitter he was with Colorado, and between injuries and just bad form, Oakland’s hitting looks worse than that of the Giants.
These bats don’t scare me, and for right now, neither do the arms. Our rotation is set up to match them perfectly as well. Our ace vs their ace, and then our #2 and 3 guy against a couple of inconsistent youngens. Here’s a quick glance at the matchups:
Friday: Tim Lincecum (5-1, 2.96) vs Vin Mazzaro (2-0, 0.00)
Saturday: Randy Johnson (5-5, 5.14) vs Josh Outman (4-0, 3.17)
Sunday: Matt Cain (8-1, 2.55) vs Brett Anderson (3-6, 5.25)
While Outman’s numbers have been solid, I’m just not sold on him holding it up the way he has, and therefore consider the young Mazzaro to be the A’s best pitcher. I was scouting him in the early spring and turned my fellow fantasy owners onto him back in March. I see him being our toughest opponent, talent wise, but he is young….and he is facing Lincecum. The Cain/Anderson matchup is just a no-brainer.
First game is tonight at 7:15! Go Giants!
Back in the Trenches
After a nice little week long vacation, it’s time for me to get back to a little Giants baseball. This is just going to be a quickie today (hey, what’s wrong with a quickie every now and then?) since I don’t think it’s fair to make any assessments or judgements not having watched the Giants last 7 games. But I did want to chime in on a few things before we get back to our regualr routine…
1. 5-3 so far in June isn’t the greatest in the world, but it’s not too shabby either.
2. Aaron Rowand’s hit streak was stopped at 17 games but he picked it right back up with a 2 for 4 performance last night. I really like the way he’s attackign the ball right now.
3. Pitching Randy Johnson on 3 days rest thhis early in the season seems a bit silly.
4. Brian Wilson is looking real tough notching 6 saves in his last 6 appearances.
5. We still need a big bat if we’re going to make up these 8.5 games we’re behind on the Dodgers.
This is just after a cursory glance, so I’m sure I’ll have some nice hash criticism for someone out there real soon. For now, let’s just concentrate on beating the D-Backs and get ready to make our way home to pummel the kids from Oaktown.
Big Unit Grabs 300th Win
Greetings from the east coast folks!! No, I didn’t make the trip to Washington to catch the Big Unit’s milestone game. I’m back in New York right now visiting some family and taking in the Phish shows at Jones Beach.
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