by
GreekGiant
“This was one of the greatest postseason games I have ever been a part of. You can’t put into words what Bumgarner just did.”
-Bruce Bochy
In what will be seen as another postseason classic in Giants and Major League Baseball lore, Madison Bumgarner pitched a complete game shutout as the Giants prevailed over the Mets in the Wild Card game in front of a frenzied New York crowd. Conor Gillaspie’s epic home run in the top of the ninth with two men on was the dramatic hit the Giants were playing for all game long after getting blown away and humbled by Noah Syndergaard for seven innings.
The Giants Legacy Gets Even Grander
With this epic victory the Giants have won 12 straight elimination games since 2012, an astounding testament to their championship mettle. This game was why we watch baseball. It had the classic battle of aces in New York between two evenly-matched clubs with different styles. Madison Bumgarner threw 7 pitches in each of the first three innings in a remarkable display of effortless efficiency. That efficiency, thanks to the aggressiveness of the Mets hitters, would play a huge role in the game, allowing Madbum to go the distance with 119 pitches. His postseason ERA is now a ridiculous 1.93, the second lowest in Major League history for pitchers with a minimum of 10 starts.
The Drama of an Epic Game
While Noah Syndergaard matched Bumgarner with the brute force befitting of a Norse God throwing 97 MPH laser beams on the upper and outer portions of the plate, his pitch count was just a bit more elevated than Bumgarner’s because of the testy and disciplined Giants at-bats. Despite their tenacity, the Giants were hitless till Denard Span’s single on a breaking pitch in the 5th inning. While the Giants were making mostly weak contact and striking out there was reason for hope thanks to hard hit balls by Buster Posey and Brandon Belt, the latter with a runner on second and two outs in the 7th. That ball by Belt was crushed and only a spectacular running catch at the wall by Curtis Granderson in center field kept the game scoreless.
The Fateful Ninth Inning
While the Giants hitters looked mortal against the golden-haired demigod Met, there was a feeling in the air that the game was turning in San Francisco’s favor after Madbum outlasted Syndergaard. The game had all the makings of a playoff classic from the first inning. It did not disappoint. Syndergaard and Madbum were two powerful aces matching each other zero for zero. Eventually Terry Collins would remove his ace after the 7th inning and 107 pitches. That is the moment when the game began to turn. After Brandon Crawford lead off the 9th inning with a double off Mets Closer Jheurys Familia, Angel Pagan struck out after two unsuccessful attempts at laying down a sacrifice bunt. The key at-bat of the inning that lead to the homer by Gillaspie was Joe Panik’s walk after fouling off many close pitches, following Pagan’s strikeout. With runners on first and second and one out the Mets had no choice but to pitch to Gillaspie even with MadBum on deck. If Panik did not reach, Terry Collins would have intentionally walked Gillaspie and Bochy later admitted that he would have been forced to pinch hit for his pitcher, potentially altering the course of the game.
And They Are Stunned in the Big City: Conor Gillaspie Hits a Home Run for the Ages
Conor Gillaspie was basically an after-thought on the Giants roster around the first of August. When Eduardo Nunez was acquired it was entirely probable that Gillaspie would not even make the 40 man roster in September or the postseason roster. It was conceivable that he would be cut from the team when he was batting in the .220s. Instead, Nunez pulls his hamstring, Gillaspie gets hot in September, plays sterling defense the last two weeks of the season, and finds himself starting in the Wild Card game. This is the stuff of bad baseball novels and another example of Bruce Bochy’s faith in his players being rewarded. Things are not supposed to go like this in real life. Conor Gillaspie hits the biggest home run of his career, so far, and the Giants upend the Mets in a do-or-die game that lived up to its billing for all its nail-biting drama.
My favorite part of the game after Denard Span caught the final out was watching Madbum’s very subdued celebration with Buster Posey. He was business-like and acted as if he had a mid-season win against the Rockies. Pure Madbum!
“Conor, I appreciate the hell out of that.”
–Madison Bumgarner to Conor Gillaspie after his three-run homer.
Madbum, We appreciate the hell out of you.
Breckeroni says, he knew it all along.
Whew. I’m so glad you did Breckeroni, Sgbssfg. I did the one this morning. We gotta keep this tradition going through the postseason.
When I wrote a comment this morning to Baldy about places many of us live around the country, I found myself thinking afterwards: I wonder where Sgbssfg lives? Do you mind saying?
Yer so cool, dgg.
Well thanks, paul. I don’t usually think of myself as cool. I’m in my sixties and a grandmother.
My grandmother was the greatest person I’ve ever known. And the coolest. She lived 96 years and woulda been 100 in September. Cherish every minute as a Gram, because I miss mine so much.
I live on the SF peninsula, but I am in Ireland right now (watching the replay and reading the comments). Yesterday I rented a bike and rode around the area my paternal grandfather was from. He died before I was born and my father died when I was 13. A couple of years ago I started doing some research on family history and yesterday I found the ruins of one of the family homes.
Wow, good for you, HF. I lost my Gram and my Mom (the 2 closest people in my life, and they both raised me) 3 years ago, within 2 months of each other. I watched my Mom suffer through cancer and literally watched her die in front of my eyes in a hospital room all by myself. I watched my father drink himself to death 8 years ago. I was in the room when my Gram passed on.
It’s so hard to lose family, especially when you realize they’re irreplaceable. Sometimes that’s too late. Or sometimes you aren’t given that chance.
I wish nothing but peace for you, and hope your trip brings you a sense of connection with your grandfather and your father.
Love you, brother.
Love you too, my man!
That’s very hard, TS, to lose your mother and grandmother within 2 months of each other.
I am still dealing with it, and will always deal with it, but they live on in me, and that is better than anything.
Been thru it all meself, Sincere. Hang in there, Amigo.
Thanks for sharing your story. The night my father died I remember him being taken away in an ambulance in the middle of the night. The next morning I woke up and my aunt was in the living room waiting to give us the news. He had been in and out of the hospital for a couple of years with a bad heart.
Your father and your family will always live on in you, and that is the most important thing. Death cannot replace that.
Hac – what a cool story…thanks for sharing with us.
Your welcome. The community here on GG’s blog is a really great one. I can’t wait to read your guest post.
It’s obvious, dgg. :o)
I’m one of the Northern California contingent. Have lived in Yuba City for the last 31 years. Before that, Davis, and numerous communities in the Bay Area and Central Valley over my 60+ years.
And I chose militant optimism while Breckeroni was more sure of him/herself. It was Bumgarner.
One of the best baseball games I’ve watched. Instant classic.
Agreed. And yet, if we had lost, I would have hated it.
Reminds me of all the Yankees fans I know who claim the 62 World Series was the best they ever saw.
Thanks, guys.
Great game.
Simply incredible. Pete Rose has NUTHIN on Madison Bumgarner.
No, he had some money on him tonight.
Lol all the smart money. Just saw that he is 2nd only to Christy Mathewson in career PS shutouts. Christy with 4, Bum with 3. At 26. His legend is just dwarfing everything.
He leads in postseason ERA, too. He could be HOF material.
He is, by far, the greatest big game athlete I have ever seen. I don’t know if anyone else has ever seen anything like it either. At least so far. He could make it even more epic. It’s just astounding. Did anyone think, at the end of the 2002 WS, we would ever be led to the promised land so many times with this MONSTER? What a saviour he has been. What a middle finger to the past he has been. We now EXPECT to win in the PS, and THAT, is beyond description. And liberating beyond comprehension.
Well said. He’s the centerpiece of this era of Giants baseball. Posey not far behind.
Absolutely. Not forgetting Posey at all. They are the Batman and Robin of this team.
I remember that Series. I cried.
Kept saying that all night. Was texting 2 close friends that are Mets fans and we were all losing our s#$t all night. Absolute classic.
Epic.
You better believe it, pal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG_k5CSYKhg
You want it all, pal…
You dig those guys!
I stand by my earlier comment in that “This team is hard to like.”
But they are easy to love. I’m in, brother. This season has been hard to maintain faith, but I am ready to rock. ROCK ROCK TIL YOU DROP…
SAVVVVVVVV
Get some sleep, Ace. There are students out there that want you to teach them War Pigs and Sia’s Unstoppable tomorrow.
No way. I’m putting on KISS “Laid in the Shade” and pouring another high hard one.
Don’t be this guy…
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Def_Leppard_-_High_'n'_Dry.jpg
There is no guy I would rather be.
My Guy High ‘n Dry.
I lost my hope and faith in early Sept I think. I admit it. They tested us for 3 months. I buckled… gave up. Literally had no hope. Never quit watching or listening though ’cause I’m loyal to a fault, or just a glutton for punishment. I think because I had given up all hope this is one of the sweetest victories ever.
So the series starts Friday, correct? Then what’s the format? Chi, Chi, SF, SF, Chi?
Chi, Chi, SF.
Giants move on. Lol.
Good call.
I have seriously never been through a season like this. Ever. It’s beyond words. And it’s far from over.
House money from here on, Sincere. Let’s just enjoy it.
I hear ya. I feel like I’ve been turned inside out with this season. And you can bet your A$$ I enjoyed tonight.
And almost died 40 times lol. I coulda housed two fifths of bourbon and it wouldn’t have made a freakin DENT.
I opened a bottle of wine right before first pitch. I didn’t drink it ALL, but I was too nervous to eat a bite until the game was over. I was also too nervous to watch that game totally sober.
And me as well. I tried to eat and failed. Miserably. Or is it gloriously?
That first half, but then that second half, but then those last three, and now this wildcard game… I know what you mean.
Yes, that’s right. Will be interesting to see if it’s Moore or Shark in Game 2.
Giants postgame had it Cueto/ Shark in Chicago – Bum/moore in SF
Moore’s been stellar in SF–he’s a fly ball pitcher. His last two starts in that homestand were ridiculous.
Yup- he wasn’t bad in LA either – The Giants starters have to scare everyone a little bit
Also listening to KNBR post game – Flemming let this little gem out: Cubs organization is already designing their rings and planning the parade
Uh Oh- JoBu doesn’t like that
LOL. Four times in the last 26 years, the team with the best record has won the World Series. So that’s what, about a 16% chance the Cubs will win it all?
And, it’s the Cubs we’re talking about, so let’s lower it to about 10%.
The Cubs will have to earn it. The Giants will give them trouble. If they get by the Giants and the Dodgers win their series, the Dodgers will give them trouble. If they’re in the World Series, the Red Sox or Rangers will give them trouble. The Cubs are not steamrolling their way to anything.
The lesson is to never get the best record. Just don’t do it. Hang back a little. Baseball is so weird.
and then there was that little basketball “lesson” this year as well
So I was born a Cubs fan, and ended up adopting the Giants over the last 30 years- I really do want the Cubs to win a championship… but not this year…. and frankly they definitely have been a little arrogant and cocky- you can just smell it on them- and that really makes it hard to like them.
I would give my left testicle to win the first two in Chicago- just to watch the collective clenching….
That would actually be a fairly typical Giants script for the NLDS.
bad bad bad, or good for us. It is a looong way til the end. That is why it is so sweet and hard to win it all. A lot of things have to align just right in all the games. So, the Cubs getting cocky about it all is not a good sign.
I thought they already had the parade!
Cueto
mojofied!!!!!! bad ass bum et all!
great bb game. i love this game……and the result:) hahah
When they went to the ninth scoreless, I thought this had been such a tremendous baseball game that I’d be proud regardless of the outcome. I really did feel that way.
This is better, though.
I felt the same way. I was totally satisfied if the Giants lost cause the game was just epic.
It felt like they were going to lose. When Granderson made that catch on Belt’s ball and when Pence left the bases loaded, I thought “Well–not our night. The story of this season has been the inability to get the big hit. But Bum was Bum and no shame in losing when Syndergaard pitches like that.”
But there was still some magic left.
I totally agree. When Granderson caught that blast. My heart sunk and I thought. It was a good year but not in the cards. Any other team would have folded but these guys are used to this by now. All heart.
It was Bum. Bum kept them going. If he’d faltered just one little bit…
At some point late the G’Men were 0 for 5 with RISP. I figured, “so what’s new? We’ve been watching that since the break.” But right you are… there was Even Year Magic yet to be had.
they brought some of those AT+T particles with them — hope there are some leftover for wrigley
This was an epic pitcher’s duel with a perfect ending. No starter really lost. Syndegaard was every bit as masterful as Bumgarner.
I was sitting in my car watching on my phone. It was just nuts.
I thought you were working and taping the game, pac. Were you directing a movie from your car?
We got done early and I sat in my car cause I didn’t want to move.
That makes sense. I wouldn’t have moved either. I’m glad you got to watch the game live.
I thought if I moved. I would have jinxed it.
I was everywhere! Radio on my way to the water polo match. It was Senior night, so I had to stay there while they had players introduce the seniors. The one who introduced my daughter went with a whisper so I couldn’t hear a word and another girl taking pictures stood in the only spot that blocked my view! I snuck out in the second quarter to listen to a half inning. Then in the third quarter, I had the radio on again as I drove the boys to scouts. There was wifi there, so I tuned in the kindle to TWG on one page and Yahoo Sports on the other. I kept on the comments in the top of the 9th, knowing if there was a torrent, it would be a good thing. And it was! Stayed with the comments in the bottom half and let TWG tell the story. And a good story was told by all!
I got to watch 7th inning on.
I felt the same way because Bumgarner said before the game, “I’m going to give it everything I got,” and he did. But you’re right. This was the perfect ending for Bumgarner, Conor, the Giants, and us. The perfect beginning, I mean, to the postseason.
In all honesty, when I saw Familia on the hill, I thought “we’re scoring this inning”….
What a beautiful presentation of playoff style baseball….every single pitch mattered the entire game. That was exhausting fun.
For me, it was when Bumgarner caught that line drive at the mound for the 3rd out. Just felt like G’s were going to win after that.
THAT was impressive.
I believe I said that to mrs. spratt in the 8th inning.
Same. Absolutely. It helped that I was texting 2 of my closest friends that are both Mets fans. We just couldn’t believe we were witnessing this. One of the greatest baseball games ever played.
Just a terrific write-up, GG: “This game was why we watch baseball.” Brilliant!
Props to Denard Span for setting the tone atop lineup. He’s been dismissed as a poor leadoff hitter, but he knows how to professionally handle the job and his patience at the plate set the tone for getting Thor out after seven.
As for Conor Gillaspie’s swing? He’s always had a good stroke, and the brain trust in the Giant org has known this. He hit over .400 at Wichita St. when the Giants drafted him in the supplementary round years ago. He hones that swing and his work has paid off BIG TIME!
That swing of his is a beautiful thing.
I’m really happy for him, just like for Ishikawa in 2014. There was a very sweet tweet by his younger brother Casey, also a minor leaguer, about how proud he is of his brother.
Casey is a big time prospect in the Rays organization. 1B – .866 OPS, 18 HRs in AA/AAA.
High-ish first-rounder, IIRC.
we should trade for him and then move Belt in another trade;)
We’re going to make you a Belt fan yet, Efrain.
nope, won’t happen.
Not even if he hits 30/100, which many here think he already does because the live in never never land.
Casey at the bat?
He’s been on fire ever since he got the dentures I sent him.
He took em out for his interview.
maniac
People were beetching G’s couldn’t hit, but sheeesh, NS is a total stud. Give them credit for pushing his pitch count to get him out of the game. And Reed is no slouch.
Shulman : “and there’s handshakes all around for Synegaard”…
Me: “Yesssssssssss”
Yep. They’ve earned some doubt after the second half, but not tonight. When a guy like Thor is pitching like that, even a baserunner feels like a win. Heck, a three-ball count feels like a win.
And they got what, four walks out of him?
Okay… now the bad. Pence and Panik have to start hitting or this team doesn’t stand a chance. Pence’s head is in Jupiter cause he is swinging at garbage. Belt is locked in. Look for him to come up big in Chicago.
Pence and Panik made me especially nervous tonight. I kept saying, “Come on, Joe.”
I’m watching the game right now. Fast forwarding through it. Pence is completely lost at the plate. Maybe he needs to cut off all his hair and beard. He needs new mojo cause what he is doing … isn’t working.
I agree. He almost looks frantic at the plate. I wanted him to be more patient.
Pence frantic?
Okay, I deserved that.
You guys are freaking out. Keep your hands off Hunterpence, and he will be fine.
Joe P.’s walk in the 9th, after Pagan’s K, was huge. Kept the line moving for Mr. Happy. (Bochy noted it in his presser.)
The other bad is Pagan, who might have been the goat if Conor doesn’t homer, and if the Mets had done something after his fabulous rainbow throw. But despite his faults, and they are glaring, he has had a good year at the plate so what the heck, he stunk tonight but the Giants won, so it’s all good
I can’t go to bed. Impossible. And it’s almost 1 in the morning.
Yo, dude. :o)
With Lester on Fri, interesting to see who starts at 3b. Doesn’t sound like Nunez will be ready.
Oh gee, maybe….GILLASPIE??
Well, you know bochy and his R-L thing.
Yah I know…was just messin’. I think Gillaspie’s a shoo-in. Unless Gordon Beckham is miraculously added to the roster. Or Nunez rises from the hamstring dead.
Hit a homer, play the next day. Bochy law..
Yeah, well, that law has been broken a few times this year…However, I don’t think this will be the case in this instance.
Thank you Pal Joey.I did not want anybody but MadBum going out for the ninth. And to Conor Ishikawa -hit the game winner almost exactly where Ishi did. But most of all,thanks to me.I didn’t t fall off the couch when Denard squeezed the ball for the final out.
What a game.
Nice game, Pal.
Bochy laying on the Bumgarner platitudes in a locker room interview with a sticky champagne enormodome and finishes with…
“And he missed 2 home runs!”
23 scoreless innings in winner take all games. Bumgarner.
The focus…the mental toughness…he always is second fiddle to Kershaw, being in the same division and all of Kershaw’s accolades, but…there’s something just as special about being able to step up huge in the biggest moments. And that’s not just a shot at Kershaw or anyone else. I really feel that way.
I’m going at my friend right now saying that he better hope Opie doesn’t melt down again.
How could anyone (Giants fan or objective observer) feel otherwise? What is the goal as an athlete???
To win championships. By the REAL definition of the greatest, Bum is the best there is.
I think it was in the top of the 8th when I saw him chuckling in the dugout. Sleeping on the bus, laughing when everybody else was on the edge of their seats.He loves this stuff.
I saw that. But I think it was Posey laughing about something and pointing. Bum was like, “what, dude??”
that is a special gift no matter your profession – i’m thrilled that i get to witness this
PanIk had the biggest AB of the night.And that AB showed why we’re going for another title- the little things.
Bigger Bay Area post-season hero: Montana or Bumgarner?
Whoa – that’s legit.
Bum is 26. Breathing down Montana’s neck, dude.
Joe has 4 rings….Bum has 3
Joe wins for now. Stay tuned…..
Timmy who?
Must C clip: http://m.mlb.com/video/v1202970783
Nice post Dr
Let’s do it to them again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNLW6sEBlaQ
and Vinny made the call
Might not be a popular notion, but I’d ride this Connor thing out. He had a great O and D series in the last week of regular season and seems like a good enough fit on the field and in the line up. I’ve always liked Connor. Granted he had to find his happy zone but it looks like he’s found it. Until he goes cold, I’d ride him out. And if he does go cold, Nunez should be ready by then. Or at the very least, assuming Nunez is ready, start Connor vs righties.
Nunez will start if/when he’s ready. IMO.
Alex Pavlovic
@AlexPavlovic
31m31 minutes ago
A ton of praise for Syndergaard in winning clubhouse. Gillaspie: “As soon as he came out of the game, I was relieved.”
12 retweets
30 likes
Noah Syndergaard
@Noahsyndergaard
22m22 minutes ago
Baseball has a way of ripping your out, stabbing it, putting it back in your chest, then healing itself just in time for Spring Training.
I hope he’ll be alright by Spring Training.That’s a whole lot of stabbing and stuff.
Oy.
Get out, Noah, before they take it away.
The Mets anxious approach early in the game is what allowed Bum to throw a complete game, well, it helped to say the least. I’m a big believer in pitch count. Always have been. When you can rack up an opposing pitchers pitch count and get him out of the game while at the same time being totally inept at the plate, then the momentum shifts to your favor, as was evidenced tonight, in the 8th and the 9th innings ( I know we didn’t score in the 8th, but you could feel it percolating ).
I just hope that I have a close to average sleep Nite all.
I slept great…for 5 1/2 hours. Then…alarm clock!
Maybe a nap this afternoon, before the 49ers game tonight.
Conor Gillaspie: “I’ve worked my whole life to get an opportunity to play in a postseason game. I try to trust everything I do off the field and behind the scenes, what you guys don’t see. I work so hard at it. And to have a moment where it pays off is pretty special…
I won’t lie: I lost it. When I saw it go over the fence, it was like, this is something you dream about your whole life, to be able to do something like that in a postseason game. I’m so lucky.
It’s kind of overwhelming. I’m almost at a loss for words. It’s not that I don’t think I can do something like this, it’s just, how often does it actually happen? If I had taken a good swing and gotten out, I would’ve been proud of that, too.”
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/10/san-francisco-giants-conor-gillaspie-homer-wild-card-game-mlb
Wow. Just, wow.
I thought so too.
Me too. Conor, you definitely do NOT suck!
Tip of the cap to our skipper, who never stopped believing in Conor Gillaspie.
He was hardly at a loss for words tonight… probably the most humble, reflective, articulate athlete I’v ever heard. Every interview. The guy is deep and appears to really get how special these opportunities and personal successes are. And how fleeting.
I was awakened by a distant rumble…heavy footsteps approaching…the Giants are coming…it’s Orange October once again.
Welcome back Amigo! :o)
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eb81e8d7d67dbda839973f98824b46bb67d0e2e5ff873ce36aca603e87e394b6.jpg
Shout out to Alvise!
Isn’t Molly Knight an LA writer?
Molly Knight ✔ @molly_knight
Connor Gillaspie breaking a ninth inning scoreless tie with a three run bomb is peak #EvenYearBullshit. Sorry Mets fans you were warned.
I think she wrote a book about the Dodgers being the best team money can buy, or something like that.
Sorry. I passed out after Connor’s home run and just woke up….did we win?
LOL – I’m sure it’s been said a million times here but Panik working that walk was HUGE. I mean it changes the entire 9th inning.
Picking up my playoff tickets on Sunday now..way to go Giants!
Who will be singing this next week, and where?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2N9SPvtZ6pE
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p-L0NpaErkk
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zXPipzonWvI
Conor running naked at Carnegie Deli trying to order Liverwurst and Egg Plant saying “I want to kiss Pete Malloy, I love that man”
Good timing– NYTimes reports Carneigie Deli closing on 12-31
Whoa, too bad. I wonder why. it being such an institution.
BTW, I don’t see (after 3 reloads) any page of your scorebook.
Damn there goes the BEST Pastrami
http://ny.eater.com/2016/9/30/13120024/carnegie-deli-closing
I wrote this another site (csnbayarea) yesterday:
‘I’ve had a feeling for a long time that Gillaspie could be this year’s Travis Ishikawa. He really has been hitting the ball well and fielding well all year if you just objectively look at his stats (I mean contact stats), he’s just hit into terrible luck most of the year. Bochy has stuck with him among all the infielders he tried this year and with Nunez down he’s getting his chance and making the most of it, hitting .500 and slugging .857 in 17 PAs in the last week. So I’m not too upset about Nunez being out.’
When he singled in the 8th, I thought, okay, maybe this is it. Then I was counting the batters until he came up in the 9th. I was afraid Panik would get out and they’d intentionally walk Gillaspie to force the Giants to pull Bumgarner (why Parker and not Tomlinson?).
Against the Cubs? I’d say stick with Gillaspie because he’s hitting like .500 recently but on the other hand the Cubs’ pitchers are the 2nd worst in the majors at preventing stolen bases (individually Lester, Arrieta, and Lackey are bad, Hendricks is the only one who’s even average), so that points towards Nunez.
I think I remember reading that over there.
Hee hee hee.
Good stuff.
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Giants-Bochy-expains-how-he-might-use-Cueto-9802225.php
https://twitter.com/kimberlybhudson/status/783870108259250176
Ew, Kim Hudson. Ew.
Not your cup of tea?
Oh no just the opposite – problem with email miscommunication – Kim is The Bomb.
And they are stunned in the big city!
i love how calm the team was after the final out. especially bum. act like you’ve been there before. and they certainly did, and they certainly have. well done madison, conor, and the rest of the squad. now the playoffs begin. we’re heavy underdogs? beautiful.
i went to bed with a stupid grin on my face. i thought for sure it would be gone in the morning. it’s not..
Went to bed smiling, woke up a couple times, smiled again, woke up this morning smiling. What a great game and I’m so thrilled we won!
Here is the Giants page of my scorebook from last night– forgot how to note how the crowd went silent after the HR
How do you write so blurry, lol?
I took the picture in my hotel room after getting back from the game at 1 am– maybe it was my eyes. Ill try another
Here is a less blurry version
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9f0bc268381eee4ff66094ff0417f4427d751d182e8834e7a5ffced18ebdef48.jpg
I’ve kept score a lot in my life; what are you writing with? It looks like a fine tip something. Pen or pencil? Looks like ink. My pages hardly ever look that tidy.
Pencil. Surf Maui has good pencilmanship.
Pencil, 9 mm. Easy to keep neater when there are few hits. You should see some other games. I have scorebooks going back many years. If my house survives the hurricane they will be on display at the Bumgarner museum in Boynton Beach Florida.
I will make the website for the Bumgarner Museum!
That’s right–you have Bumgarner’s locker from the clubhouse before it was remodeled, right? That’s a good start to the museum.
That is correct. Hopefully it survives the hurricane. Increased in value yesterday
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a3d000783398c537794ec46e5c539163a28c6e40a5d19556dc057c6eaa9daf99.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/48e47242ed1c72f884ed6d80833cc3300867cab76436ee387f4b3d7c59a61c70.jpg
I just realized that you aren’t tracking the pitches and count. That makes it look neater.
I was tracking pitches. Check out the little boxes in the lower left corner of each batter. I’ll confess to losing a few. But also the pitch count for each inning and total is in the big X at the end of each inning
Mine never are quite that tidy. Maybe your book is larger than mine. I also use a Pentel 9mm pencil. I must have had 50 of them in my life.
Prncils or scorebooks. I counted when I moved and if I remember correctly I have 7 books of 25 games each since I started keeping them in an organized fashion
Maybe I should publish them as a memoir
I think as much as you’ve traveled with the team, the books and photos of your trips would be really nice if published.
We’ll see if they survive the hurricane
Is your place all buttoned up? No lawn furniture left out and all that?
Pencils. Good on ya. I tried ink once… big mistake. I also number the pitches in the count and always have trouble with high pitch ABs
I love those three black squares in the last column to the right! What do they signify?
That would be runs– somehow I think that you knew that
Yes thanks, I was being humorous…
Deafening silence at Citi Field.
The sound of no hands clapping
Excellent response sir!
Attababe. Did you put a star on Granderson’s play on Belt’s deep drive? That was a play for the ages in a game for the ages – catch, then splat.
Yes– can’t you see it?
Why is everyone going Lady Gaga over that catch?? It was a catch that every credible CF makes, no? Nice play…but “for the ages”?
Morning cynic. Sorry
I agree. I think that other than Thor, there wasn’t much else, so, although very nice, wasn’t a “one for the ages” caliber catch.
LOL
at me, or you?
New York.
So glad that I’m not the only one who thought that catch was nice but not special. He didn’t need to fall over, points for showmanship and all but not that fantastic a catch.
I rate it between ‘really good’ and ‘game-saving’ – if the Mets had won. Everything gets blown up in post-season.
It was a Blanco-minus catch.
I don’t see the photo. Is it uploaded?
I see it? How are you doing? Im at LaGuardia on my way to ORD. Stay safe and be careful. I’ll email it to you.
Got it. Thanks. We are prepped here. I am going to try to do some work and I hope the power doesn’t go out for too long. I have visions of a long drive on Friday to try to find the game somewhere. Have a safe trip.
My house is further inland. You and your folks are welcome to hang out there for the duration.
Thanks, maybe we will do that and throw a hurricane party for all the 90 year-olds in your community. It is bound to get wild. I will make sure I stock up on the La Croix seltzer water and serve the food at 4pm.
That home plate umpire should never work another playoff game again.
The poor guy had a rough night but both teams benefitted with his erratic calls to be honest. My beef is with that bogus out call on Span’s stolen base in the 4th. How did they miss that after a review?
It was weird. I could understand if they decided that his foot came off the bag for an instant while the tag was still on. But that’s now what they said – they said there wasn’t indisputable evidence. In that case it’s just a fail.
Yes. Regarding the home plate ump, I should have written that frankly, Rivera was brutal behind the plate receiving pitches. He cost the Mets at least 4 or 5 strikes that may have turned the game so it was not all on the home plate ump to be fair.
You’re right, a lot of it was Rivera. Makes you appreciate Posey!
Yes, it shows you how important it is to receive pitches well and frame strikes.
never seen so many balls away from the target called balls that were actually strikes – Mr. Winters was not going to reward the pitcher for missing his target.
He had on major make up call for Bumgarner after a slider at top of k zone called a ball and Bum was like WTF? A pitch above the K zone was later called a strike on Granderson I believe. Bum’s stare down effective.
He and HPU reconciled at the end of the inning when Bum apologized. Smart pitcher.
Definite good move.
Really? You saw that??
I seen that too! ;o)
Rivera was minor league! Man, he’d jerk his glove about a foot with his poor framing attempts.
Rivera is good at framing high zone strikes, but he was really stabby at those low zone strikes. Numerous times you could see a strike on the bottom line of that PitchFX graphic, but then see his glove stabbing below the line to catch the ball. He seemed to do it more as the game went on, too.
It’s true that both benefited, but the Panik walk was in particular a lot of bad ball calls and that was huge.
I’m happy for Conor. He seemed genuinely thrilled. Probably a long journey for him from SF to other places and now back. It’s always nice when a guy like that gets to come through and be forever a hero.
I’ve told my Madbum story before but this seems an appropriate time for repetition. He came to Asheville his senior year of high school for a game with Reynolds, the school my kids attended. His team was ranked #1 in the state (and would later win the state title) and he was highly touted. Our team was pretty good too with a pitcher who would be drafted high by Kansas City. We ended up winning (I think 5-3) as Bumgarner’s defense made a number of mistakes. An upset victory for us.
That being said, he was clearly a man among boys with a competitive streak that was deep and wide. He was the best player on the field by far. He hit a home run that may still be traveling….longest one I’ve ever seen by a high school kid. My daughter and I left impressed even though we had no way of knowing he would end up with our Giants.
If you look at the Sports Illustrated article from the Sportsman of the Year award issue in 2014 there is a photo of Bum at the plate in high school. Painted on the dugout behind him you see “Rockets” in green and gold. That picture was taken at the game we attended in Asheville.
It’s just one of those little pieces of serendipity in life that I find so interesting (though others might not). On a night like last night it is fun to reminisce about that evening and what lay ahead of the high school version of Bumgarner. I can always say “I saw him first”.
Great story. Thanks. I honestly believe Madbum could be an every-day player if he wanted to be. I could see him at first base and hitting a cool .280 with 27 homers and 90 RBIs a year. He is that good an athlete and he would be a good defensive first baseman.
That pitch he hit in the 3rd when NO ONE was touching Thor….wow. Maybe the hardest hit ball of the night other than Belt.
Adam Dunn type!
well even imaginary 1B Bum hits has better numbers than actual Belt.
I see the West Coasters are still sleeping… Only post by us East Coasters…
And we were up late too!
Yup…
And those in the middle of the country!
Im up now at 7:20 am
Fellow Togethers, Hurricane Mathew is bearing down right at me and Palm Beach County as I write this. We will likely lose power for days. I will do my best to keep the site updated. Don’t Joe Panik if you don’t see new posts today and tomorrow….
Be safe, Greek. Hope you have provisions.
Thanks Cynic. Yes, we are well-stocked on Feta cheese, bread and wine… all the necessary things for a Hurricane!
i hope you have some olives to go with the feta..
Yes, of course! Forgot to mention those.
just make sure you and your loved ones are safe, my greek friend. we’ll be fine.
Will do. Thanks Steve.
Be safe, my friend…just keep us updated on your well being.
Worry about yourself and do what you need to do to keep safe! In the grand scheme of things, thats the most important thing.
I’m sure we can take care of ourselves.
Pulling for you GG. Be safe!
What’s way more important, GG, is that you and your family stay safe.
that’s right – he’s got his parents to take care of – super son/human being that GG is.
he’s a keeper, no doubt. any surprise he’s a giants’ fan? none
If you can, text one of us to let us know you’re safe and we can put it on the blog. Thoughts and prayers to Florida and all of you. I have other friends there, too–Miami, Orlando, Tampa.
Twin brother’s in Sebastian (north of Vero) (Dodgertown!).
GG — I have a house in Florida (with splendid renters battening down the hatches). I lived there for a while myself. I know of Florida weather. Take care of your fam. Let us know when you can that you’re safe.
Worry not. We will abide. And we won’t pee on the rug while you’re gone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE_oIIIwWl0
The genius of the Coen Bros. And no one can drop an F bomb like John Goodman.
Did you see “Burn after Reading?” THE blackest, funniest movie ever.
Whoa. France, Oregon, Florida. You get around, GiantFrog.
Hah! Just keepin’ “One step ahead of the shoe shine.” (with proper props to Paul Simon)
You are in our thoughts and prayers.
May the winds blow easy on you. Stay in touch if you can.
Kudos need to go to Bochy and Evans regarding Gillaspie. Last year Gillaspie was cut by the Angles, a terrible team and signed by Evans who saw the potential in the young left-handed hitting third baseman. Evans surmised it was worth a shot to sign Gillaspie because of his sometimes potent bat from the left side that might play well in the postseason and regular season. Very shrewd move and foresight on this part. Bochy deserves a ton of credit too for keeping the faith on his veteran and giving him meaningful at bats during the season to prepare him for his epic moment last night. Remember when most on this blog and in Giants nation were screaming for Adrianza to play third or just about anyone else other than Conor?
Giants maintain faith in players they draft and develop. The Ishikawa comparison is facile because of the big homerun, but Gillaspie was always in the plans from spring to at least be a professional pinch hitter that could occasionally play 3B and 1B. Big props to the work Conor and Wotus put in on the defensive side. Conor has been solid at the hot corner, and that had been a real bugaboo about his game.
Well, his range still sucks, but his attitude has sure changed
But how about his hitting!!! He has been a monster the past two weeks.
Yup. Good for him. I think he’s had that potential and why he was drafted pretty high.
Hitting over .400 in DI can do that.
Compared to some not named Bob Brenly 😉
His range was pretty good when he dived over the railing.
That wasn’t range as much as it was cajones.
I think it’s the arm that sux – but his heart is HUGE.
If you haven’t heard the story about playing in Lancaster with Bum, Buster and Craw, he was playing 3rd Bum was pitching, Buster catching and Craw was at short. The batter hit a 2 hopper about 2 steps to the left of CG and he didn’t move, not an inch, and a run or two scored. After the inning, Bum asked him what the hell happened and Conor responded with, “I thought you were going to strike him out.” Bum just shook his head and said, “Yeah, I guess I should have.” Nuff said.
Just listened to it. It really makes the Bum quote (in the dugout following the HR) make sense – ‘Conor, I appreciate the hell out of that’. :o)
I always think of Conor and Culberson at the same time – both 3B busts – ironic that Charley is now a doger.
Conor has had an attitude problem for years. I think there were interviews before his coming back that convinced the Giants that his attitude had changed. Once back, his work with Wotus and his grinding played a big part. Lot’s of similar kind of guys never get that chance to come full circle.
Interesting. He seemed incredibly humble and articulate in the postgame interview on MLB. it was downright touching to be honest. He talked about getting released by the Angels and that it was not the worst thing in the world and he was ready to live a good life outside of baseball till the Giants came calling…
I think he was a 30-something overall pick who thought he was God’s gift to baseball. All that changed to the contrary over many years and many teams. Good on him.
I read that when he was drafted he signed with an agreement that he would be called up immediately. Clearly wasn’t ready.
From what I read, too, that call-up rubbed some of the veterans the wrong way and kind of poisoned his relationships within the team.
I remember reading similar things about Ishikawa’s first go-round–he resented that he never got a shot to be an everyday 1B and had an attitude about it (see Schierholtz, Nate). But when he came back he was just happy to be there.
It’s gotta be tough for the guys. I can’t blame them. Bochy always had a reason to not give Schierholtz a shot. Even in Randy Winn’s last season, when it was clear he wasn’t going to be resigned, Nate still couldn’t get much playing time. It has to be maddening.
I think that’s on his agent getting that agreement in his contract that Cynic points to…he wasn’t ready to be called up, he didn’t know he wasn’t ready, and the dugout listened to his naive bravado and turned away.
Flan told a great story last night about Conor finding him in Spring Training and apologizing to him and others for that…
Also, a post-game quote (somewhere) last night indicated he had other offers, but wanted back in S.F. Very Vogey of him!
Paul Konerko helped Conor fix those attitude problems for yrs now you are right
Both Tim Flannery and Rich Aurelia mentioned he apologized to them for his previous behavior when he came to spring training.
I recall a quote he made to the press about basically ‘being a jerk’ his first time around, and being grateful for another chance, and determined to make up for it.
It’s easy to remember. It was just last week. But it had to be this way, right? There always has to be “that guy.” Remember Cody Ross hitting that first homer off Roy Halladay–who hadn’t even given up a hit in the postseason at that point?
I remember those Cody Ross homers off Halladay like it was yesterday. The shock on Halladay’s face. The way Ross set the tempo for the series in that first game and Timmy hanging on for the win. It was something. Even my dad who is not a Giants fan couldn’t believe it. He was laughing at the amazement of it all…
When I watch the highlights of that game, after the first homer, when Cody comes up again, I always yell “Down and in, Doc. Cody can’t hit it down and in. Throw it down and in.” And every time, he throws it down and in, the exact same spot the first HR went to. It was an identical pitch, and Cody hit it almost to the same spot.
I went to that game with my son. The Phillies fans were _so_ angry at us. I remember the first homer, it was like a funeral: except for us acting out.
I always liked Gillaspie, but back then we had Panda. Gillaspie is one of those guys, like Duffy, where you think they are good guys to have around. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn’t. It worked out here.
I’d like to think the Giants will never face as tough of a pitcher as they did last night. But with this offense, they might have trouble hitting against anyone. Hopefully it gives them some confidence that they’ve beaten a guy who was as unhittable as could be.
I was thinking the same thing last night. No way anyone left in the postseason will be as tough as Thor. He was electric and dominant, whatever cliche you want to use. I was very impressed how the Giants hung tough and never quit on a single at bat.
…and drove up his pitch count to knock him out of the game.
Well, there’s that Kershaw guy, if we/they get there. I know he’s no Ty Blach, but on a good day, he can be pretty tough.
If I had to choose between facing Kershaw or Thor I would probably choose Kershaw but you are right, he is special too. Is it me or does it feel like the Dodgers and Giants are on an NLCS collision course?
Considering that we have two and possibly three lefty starters to throw at them, the Dodgers have to be praying we don’t get there. Pretty tough choice–the best team in baseball or your rival that beat you 11-8 in the season series…the only one with more than one lefty to torment you with.
It’s not just you, GG.
I think Kershaw is basically the best pitcher in baseball. Problem is, Bumgarner has a tremendous postseason performance record, while Kershaw, not so much.
Bumgarner is the biggest bargain in baseball. I remember when they gave Bumgarner this deal, it was considered a gamble by both sides. So far the Giants management is winning this bet by a long shot. That he is under team control through 2019 is nuts
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/54aaa5363d81c017ae7649fc1390fc7eedc13f40a305156ad8e21227ea54e0ee.jpg
Yes. I bet he doesn’t much care and I am sure the Giants will reward him well eventually.
I was gonna say the same thing! Bum is a country kid who feels honored to be making the type of coin that he’s making! With that being said he will get PAID HANDSOMELY!
Stay safe, Greek.
Thanks Chef.
Pay the man! Give him his 200 mil and a statue 🙂
With Peavy off the payroll and 3 possible 5th starters, Heston, Suarez and Blach, really cheap for a few more years, just hand him a new contract after the parade.
Funny to think of that alternate universe where Bochy cedes to the cries on the internet to play Tommy at third base. Tommy punches a single through to the right side and the Giants go ahead and win 1-0. That would have made for more tension in the bottom of the 9th.
Or the universe where Grandyman can’t hold on and Belt is the big hero.
Or MadaBum got one just a little more to the sweet spot and took care of all the bizness hisself….
Bum got a slider in his first AB and allllllmost…even fooled Kuiper for a second…wouldn’t that have been something?
I think you meant HisOwnSelf.
MMimosa and Sumatra
YEZZIR!!
whoa – those nurses know how to party.
Good, you’re here, ClutchUp. Would you send me an e-mail when you get a chance? Something happened to my contacts list.
I enjoyed this piece about the game and the Giants by the great NYT baseball writer (and lifelong Giants fan) Tyler Kepner: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/sports/baseball/mets-giants-madison-bumgarner-conor-gillaspie.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share
One thing missed by many is his sense of humor (Bob’s),
“He did what everybody expected him to do,” first baseman Brandon Belt said. “It’s almost boring. He needs to do something different next time.”
I liked what Jake Peavy had to say about Bumgarner: “He doesn’t let anything that’s happening affect the next pitch, and I think that’s what makes him so special. Just the poise and under-controlness, with all that rage and anger and competitive adrenaline throwing–the poise to throw the ball where it’s supposed to be thrown.”
Good piece. The comments were interesting too.
I had to pull Kepner’s most-excellent piece up on my phone to read because I already used up my 10 free articles this month reading about Donald Trump’s 1995 tax returns.
Tyler Kepner: “These are the San Francisco Giants. This is what they do. You were expecting something else?”
I liked that he made the connection from Cody to Marco to Travis to Conor. That’s a guy who knows his Giants.
That’s for sure.
Madison Bumgarner, Mr October for the new millennium.
Matthew not gonna meddle with game it DC after wreaking havoc south?
Sure hope it’s not as bad for the SE coast as it seems it will be.
—
Seems a long ways to Friday, but the AL will just have to help bide your time.
Gonna be some heat in Texas this afternoon! And Tito returns home….
The other Matthew advocated intensive flooding, but localized into the visitor’s dugout. That’s a great plan.
Conor- Look, I made fun of his teeth, called him a mouth breather who had not developed opposable thumbs,.. what more can I say? I love the dude.
Game balls in no special order
* Bum with Buster being a savant
* Conor
* Panik
* Crawford
* Span
Honorary game Balls
* Allen Hirsch
* Bapah for reverse Mojo
* JoBu
Mr Happy Comes Through!
Decided to get super nosey and stroll on over to the NY Mets fan page and it ain’t nothin nice over there!! Cats have some serious hatred for the orange and black but it’s all good.
I’m sure they’re disappointed like we would have been if it had gone the other way, but they have nothing to be angry about. It was a great game and the Giants won it fair and square. The Mets deserve credit for making the playoffs at all with all their injuries. Their fans should be proud of them.
At least they used their closer!
Well, I’m pretty happy we didn’t.
Yes, but Baltimore is not.
Their fans are ripping Familia apart.
The headline is stupid, but this is a nice article about Bumgarner by ESPN’s Jayson Stark. The stats he includes about Bum’s postseason exploits just take your breath away.
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17726162/san-francisco-giants-madison-bumgarner-owns-october
This is really good too. Thanks for finding these Lefty. You’re right about the headline. Just ignore it and read on.
Buster Posey: “Syndergaard was unbelievable. But there was such a calmness in our dugout. And I think it’s safe to say Bum deserves a lot of credit for that.”
I liked this one a lot.
Yep. Got no sleep all at all last night.
Stupid Bochy.
I’ve gotten a few texts from office folks in Chicago…most sound nervous. One old timer trying to act tough with a “this will be easy” note…I always find that interesting. Dudes my age, been watching his beloved Cubs for a lifetime, and hasn’t yet figured out the best way to show quiet confidence.
I asked him: “When Maddux throws out the ceremonial first pitch, can we have The Thrill at the plate, please?”
This is what 108 years of bumbling leads to. I’m around a lot of their fans. Somewhere down deep, they expect a peculiar event to thwart them time and time again. But they have a very solid team and the Giants of the last week need to show up in full force. Although they know their own team is good, that is in their brains, not their hearts and souls.
Cubs fans and announcers, by the way, know that the Giants are going to give them a very tough match, so it isn’t all self-doubts. They know that Cuetto and a revived Smaradzija and Moore are coming to town, with Madison Bumgarner standing tallest of all.
The natural way to end this seems to be to type Go Giants (sorry, Mom).
Reminds of something that happened in Spring Training 2008, I was in Scottsdale for a Giants / Cubs game. The beer vendor was coming around and a Cubs fan got a beer and was giving the vendor a little ribbing for whatever reason.
After the Cubs fan paid, the vendor said, “Here, I’ll give you a dollar in change. You know what that is? A penny for every year since your team last won the World Series.” He said it loud enough for everyone in the section to start howling.
It was classic!
Say, ‘Vamos Gigantes’ – maybe she won’t know what you’re saying.
Cubs fans are just ready to turn on their team. All they need is to lose Game 1 and they will be wallowing.
POTD
Nino, where are you?
Here of course. Just reading and being amazed by the baseball knowledge of my fellows in orange & black faith. Having a real good time (with the help of some shades…).
I did not think that we’d win this game if we fell behind- even by just a run. I’d bet that MadBum felt the same way.The game then became a microcosm of why we win these things. When the biggest at bat of the game was a base on balls, that says it all. They’re a bunch of dweebs who get lucky in the 10th month of the year 😉
U2 was nice enough to not start the show last night until a couple minutes after the win last night (I may have already posted this last night but I was a few beers deep so oops)
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY!!!!
The Giants didn’t let it slip away. They still haven’t found what they’re looking for.
Long live Peachy_Just
The moderator deleted your U2 photos for some stupid reason – wow you got down REAL close to the stage. Where was this show?
Really? Our Mod? Doubtful. Try re-posting. Disqus has been acting up for me and had to repost several things last night.
I was somewhat close-ish to the stage (showed up before 7 for an 8:15 start time), but they actually had an extension to the stage that went farther out into the audience (which I didn’t even realize until they started walking toward us) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c2b4282d66a96dd1d763d49ed2b9c6aaef3b79181fd93eb58d2bb008751b7f90.jpg
It was at Cow Palace
Also, when I got home after the show at 1am last night, I watched the end of the recorded game, but gosh darn it, it stopped recording in the middle of the top of the 9th. Lame sauce comcast.
Go to MLB channel right now! They’re showing the game with out a lot of the in between stuff.
The Giants won!!!
In spite of a so-so performance by Bumgarner…
Madison really sucked.
What?! Really? 😜
The Giants painted finger nails did it
I have all the highlights for you
Ahhhhh… It’s a beautiful fall morning here in the Sierras. A Post Season morning. An Even Year morning. Bathed in the afterglow of an amazing victory. Good morning all. Feels pretty damn good to be a Giants fan right now doesn’ it. Man, whatta game.
So, Conor’s this sort of prodigal Giants son I guess. Drafted, brought up, then nearly as quickly sent away. He wandered through baseball for several years, highs and lows. And perhaps when he seemed to be nearing his professional end, the Giants brought him home. Then he won a game in a most spectacular way, creating yet another unforgettable Giants memory. That was some serious Even Year Bullshit right there friends.
So we add the name Conor Gillaspie to a short but significant list. Ex-Giants who became Forever Giants:
Vogelsong… Ishikawa… Gillaspie.
The ways of the Baseball Gods shall remain a mystery. But one thing we can know is this… It’s Orange October once again!
“serious Even Year Bullshit” – awesome. :o)
I gather it will be Cueto versus Lester on Friday night. Remember, this is the team Cueto talked about at the end of August. Any fans going there, make sure to bring along some orange and black painted coconuts.
Ken Rosenthal’s post-game story:
“Jarrett Parker was in the on-deck circle, ready to hit for Bumgarner. Bochy said he watched Parker high-five Gillaspie, then screamed at him to return to the dugout.”
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/mlb-playoffs-sf-giants-new-york-mets-madison-bumgarner-ready-for-chicago-cubs-100616
Nice shot in the dugout- Parker on the left rubbing up his bat and KT on the right side rubbing up his bat.
I wrote this earlier but it looked like to me, MadBum was in such a zone that he didn’t even know he could get pinch hit and maybe Buster told him “Hey look Parker is on deck”. Even then MadBum didn’t look fazed.
dgg
Because if Parker gets tooooo close to homeplate batters box they declare Parker in the game and Bum would have been out
Conor, Conor, Conor. What can I say? This has Edgar Reneteria-ish feeling…although looooong way to go until the Fall Classic. But, Conor, I was wrong. And thank you so very much for proving me wrong. Even Bobby Evans admitted he wasn’t sure if you’d still be around come June/July when you were hitting on the interstate. But Ron Wotus stood up for you and said he believed in you. And wow does that man look like a genius now. It’s like the spirit of Mike Schmidt has possessed you for the last few weeks (although you’ve been hitting better for much longer than that). You have been remarkable in getting the Giants to this game…and then winning it in dramatic fashion. Onward Conor, hope to see you starting at 3B on Friday night.
MadBum is a living legend who has accomplished things, at age 26, that I didn’t think was possible. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last 23 postseason innings and has yet to allow a run in 23 elimination game innings. It is a true privilege to watch him in the postseason.
On to Chicago were I guarantee you the Cubs and their fans are getting more nervous by the minute.
They never forget that The Goat is always at work.
Great Admit from a great Giant Fan. Bravo!
Last nights game inspired me to pop the 2014 dvd in while home today. Love these world series movies, let make another!
Conor Gillaspie hit his first home run 5 years and ten days ago: Also in support of a Bumgarner shutout.
https://youtu.be/d5THPG02Xzw?t=9399
Dear Edoardo Quattromani, I love your avatar. Good ole Desiderius.
Great find!
Awww, there’s Andres Torres, first guy out of the dugout to greet him. Andres was ALWAYS the first guy with that great smile.
Wow I remember that now – he was running on empty when he flopped over HP. Great call.
(Boy has Conor aged in 5 years! Mr. Happy worries too much…)
I didn’t realize that was the second home run the Mets closer allowed all year. And it was to Gillapsie. He of 30 career HRs.
Familia only gave up one home run all season long.
Two now!
One in the regular season. One in the postseason.
I hadn’t realized he blew three saves in last year’s World Series, though. I vaguely knew he’d had a rough time, but…three?!
i just remember the gut punch HR he gave up to gordon, to dead center field, in the first game. it set the tone for the rest of the series.
I feel sorry for him now. He’s toast in NY.
I have to say first couple ABs I thought there is no way Gillapsie is making contact tonight. His swing looks too long and loopy. But when he hit that ball from Familia…. wow. What a sweet swing when he is on.
here’s a video where he admits that he was over matched by thor..
http://www.csnbayarea.com/video/gillaspie-3-run-hr-best-thing-thats-ever-happened-me
well, a fastball from Thor and a fastball from Familia are two different monsters.
CG himself said he was over overmatched all game and was glad when Thor was out.
I’ve watched it over and over and can’t see the contact, he was so short to the ball.
Never let it be said that I’m one of those professors who never updates her lecture notes. This is on one of my lecture slides for today as an example of a compound sentence:
Conor Gillaspie hit a three-run homer, and Madison Bumgarner pitched a shutout, so the Giants won the Wild Card game last night.
(Oh, and there are a couple of photos to accompany it, of course.)
What do you teach? I teach engineering so I like to bring in examples of curveballs.
I’m a professor in the writing program at UC Davis. This quarter I’m teaching an English grammar course that’s cross-listed between Writing/English/Linguistics. Mostly Linguistics and English majors, but many who just want to improve their own writing.
Very cool. No wonder you never have mistakes on your posts!
I do, though. I’m a terrible proofreader. Knowing the rules doesn’t mean you don’t make mistakes! I can’t tell you how many times I look at a comment I’ve made, see a missing word or a typo, and edit it.
That’s a terrific here-and-now compound sentence, Lefty. Good work!
Next week is subordinate clauses, so hopefully there will be some new material!
Guilty as charged Lefty. My headlines are really long but I want everyone to know what is going on when they ready them!
I like your headlines. They’re good guides to what’s inside.
That was an excellent writeup, BTW.
LOL. Even Baggarly reads your stuff.
He must be lonely over there in his little ghost town
He’s his own best audience, so I’m sure he’s just fine.
Bada bing.
One reaps what one sows.
Wish I could have had an English teacher like you.
I try to make it fun…Youtube videos, cartoons, funny sentence examples (I have a whole riff about Prof. Lefty running a meth lab out of her office because she’s breaking bad). Last week I used the first verse of “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds” to illustrate how to identify parts of speech. For extra credit, they could do the first verse of “Born to Run.”
speaking of “Breaking Bad” — PS It didn’t work …….
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CuAzbBdWIAQL_Fn.jpg:medium
My teacher had a chalk board!
Mine had a clay tablet.
Have you ever had any student who was a Doggies fan? I would like to have been present at your dialogues.
Some years ago, a young man sauntered into the first day of class wearing a Dodger cap. I said, completely straight-faced and grim: “I’m sorry, but there will be no Dodger gear in my classroom.” He looked chagrined, and I told him I was kidding, but two days later he came in wearing a brand-new Giants cap and wore it everyday for the rest of the term. We still keep in touch, and he wrote me after the Giants won in 2010 to say I was the first person he thought of.
Very cool indeed.😎😎😎
Obviously his future was so bright, you must have worn shades.
Cespedes is opting out evidently. Is he our left fielder for next year?
http://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/124595/opt-outta-here-mets-brace-for-yoenis-cespedes-expected-free-agency
No, too expensive and too injury-prone. He will break down physically during the term of his next contract. And Crawford’s double in this ninth was fantastic but Cespedes’ route to that ball was awful so it gave me a glimpse why defensive metrics aren’t kind to him. He’d obviously provide much needed pop, but IMO the cost is too prohibitive and the Giants don’t need another expensive aging outfielder.
Agreed on all counts. He is more of an American League player in my book.
It WAS an awful route. Glad to know it’s not just OUR left fielder.
I’ve been a Cespedes supporter…however…
Besides being swing happy, his defense is an issue. Whereas Angel has an aversion to walls, Yoenis has an aversion to baseballs
MadBum sure had his number last night.
big key to the game
I surely hope not.
None chance. He won’t come here.
he thinks Bay Area clubhouse toilets are all backed up like his homeland…Oakland left a mark
I too don’t think he liked the Bay Area as member of the A’s.
However (and not about Cespedes) I think other top Latin talent will take the Cueto example and think of the Giants as a destination more so than before this season.
Or Reddick, or Ian Desmond, or Brandon Moss or Pagan/Williamson/Parker, or …
Desmond is very intriguing. Can play multiple positions, extremely athletic with power and speed. Will be interesting to see what lies ahead in the market for Desmond now that he no longer plays the premium position of SS. I think October may play a role in Desmond’s offseason contract too.
He’s become a Zobrista – & can play CF!
Desmond could probably play 3B, right, after all those years as a SS?
My Mom (a Cubs fan) has now made contact:
“And I am very worried that the Giants will kill Cubs’ hopes for reaching the World Series. As you can imagine, local sportscasters are in ecstasy about former Shocker Gillaspie!”
Shocking!
http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/cowkzy/picture50906720/ALTERNATES/FREE_640/Conor%20Gillaspie
Cool pic!
I remember when they drafted him, I really liked the pick. He seemed like a pure hitter. Not as athletic as other players but a good swing. I guess he rubbed some the wrong way having a MLB 25 man clause placed in his contract. But all worked out fro the best. I think he was more misunderstood than anything. He has always been soft spoken and quiet and as far as I know humble.
Not quite. There’s been quite a bit written about his “career.”
Portent of things to come? Our closers in the postseason:
Casilla 2014 4 for 4 saves 0.00 ERA
Romo 2012 1 win 4 for 4 saves 1 ER
Wilson 2010 1 win 6 of 7 saves 0.00 ERA
That has to be a record. 29 games pitched ,1 ER, 14 of 15 Saves.
i think that those numbers are correct.I have fact checkers on board so we’ll soon find out.
Certainly better than Familia’s postseason numbers…
Seriously. 51 saves this season notwithstanding, I wonder how we’d feel about a closer who blew three saves in the World Series and the next year lost the Wild Card game. Not very good, I’m thinking.
It seems like Romo got more than four saves in 2012. He had three in the World Series, and there was that epic one in Cincinnati where he faced Jay Bruce for 273 pitches in one AB (I may be one or two off on that pitch count, but I’m close). I’m sure he would have closed that Game 3 in Cincy where they got the extra-inning run on Arias’s grounder that Rolen bobbled, but maybe Romo was already in that game and got the win(?). All of their wins vs. St. Louis in the NLCS were lopsided, so no save opportunities.
Casilla had a bad outing in the last NLCS game right before Ishi hit the homer. Affeldt had to come in and finish the inning after Casilla loaded the bases. But that was a tie game, not a save situation, so it doesn’t mess with your stats. It does, however, mean that Affeldt is the answer to a pretty cool trivia question about which relief pitcher ended up being the winner in both the pennant and World Series clinchers in the same season.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=garcija01&t=p&post=1
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=romose01&t=p&post=1
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=wilsobr01&t=p&post=1
i’m waiting.
I believe you. I just went from memory. Anyone can look up BB Ref, right?
Right, we all do. I looked them up to confirm what I suspected- all three were lights out closers in our title years.
Not arguable.
That 2012 postseason was so intense that I remember every game like it was last week.
I remember every detail of the Reds and Cards series. The actual world series is almost a blur for me though. I think I was emotionally spent by that point.
You’ve got me on that one. I remember more from 2010 than the later ones.
I would bet someone out there has better numbers, perhaps Mariano alone.
If you’re surmising that this 2016 pen will keep those numbers going because of numbers as far back as 6 years ago, that’s absolutely ridiculous.
The pen’s numbers this year are due to performance issues not luck or timing or a bad spell, getting into the playoffs does not change that.
The key is the closer, though, not the whole pen. In 2010, it was really about Wilson, with a supporting actor nod to Javi Lopez for neutralizing everyone’s lefties. (Affeldt had that epic performance in Game 6 of the NLCS, but overall, 2010 wasn’t a great year for him, and Romo gave up a bomb that almost lost them Game 3 in Atlanta.)
In 2012, they had key contributions from Lincecum, and in 2014, it was Petit.
But really, in the postseason, Bochy rides his starters as long as he can, minimizing bullpen exposure. This year’s team is most like the 2010 team, with excellent starters who can go deep into games. I expect to see 2010-like managing for as long as this run goes.
wholeheartedly agree! The Giants will go as long as the starters will go.
The cubs most likely eat our relievers for lunch if it gets to that point.
No matter whats happens this post season, the Giants must and should fix the pen by next spring. A strategy of having to throw the starters out there for as long as possible is not a recipe for destruction. Good thing that Cueto and Shark pitch around 200 innings, this year its the most Moore has ever pitched (plus he had the injury).
It would behoove the team to kept hem as fresh as possible all season long.
I still hold that the 2nd half collapse was partly due to all the innings accumulated in the 1st half (wasn’t it 3 starters in top 5 in innings in NL?) Even Bum looked a bit tired at the start of the 2nd half.
Yep. Bum, Cueto, and Shark were in the top 5 in innings, all over 200 IP. Moore had 198 innings. If they give Blach a shot at the fifth starter position, well, he’s an innings-eater, too, having led the PCL in innings for the last two seasons. With Blach’s AAA and MLB innings, he’s almost at 180 now (and could get more if he’s the middle reliever in a postseason series).
Still–they can’t go nine EVERY night, and the Giants MUST fix the bullpen. I’m sure they will. Last year they knew it was the rotation, and they did a great job overhauling it. MadBum is now the only guy left from last year’s rotation. This year Evans will know he has to fix the bullpen.
that’s true, crazy that Bum is the only one left from last years starting rotation, that’s a hug overhaul. Says a lot about the core of the team (Posey, Crawford, Pence, etc.) to be able to keep the ball rolling and still be competitive in a hard league to stay at the top continuously.
Now let’s trade Belt for Chapman or Britton in the off season and we are golden!!!! 😉
I showed the CLOSER’S records in in our title years.
Samardzija 2016 2 for 2 saves, 0.00 ERA
Up yours, E
Thank you for the lesson, Bapah. I didn’t know that sentence. Very up to the contingency, I think.
A hole
Coming from you, that’s an honor.
Amazed that Collins apparently got no questions about removing his best pitcher, who may have been able to go 2 more. Once again only Bochy understands the meaning of elimination game. At best Collins burned through his supposed 3 best pitchers and would have faced extra innings without them. And no questions on it that I can find.
No one in NY is questioning that since most think it was the appropriate time, he was at his pitch count. He is not Bum and the Met’s lost three of their young starters to injuries this season.
If they had won the game they would have needed Thor to be ready ASAP for the Cubs.
Shouldn’t be so “amazed” if you put logic into the equation.
Not very pitcher is Bum.
Nothing to do with being Bum. 120 pitches is not a heroic workload. Unless Noah asked out, he pulled a dominant pitcher for no reason except speculation and fashion. Bochy wouldn’t have done it regardless of who the starter was. But the real point is, a journalist asks a relevant question without assuming the answer. Collins should have been given the chance to explain his possibly game losing decision. If he gave the pitch count answer so be it. If he said he needed him for the Cubs it would prove he doesn’t understand the elimination.concept
Thor is usually on a pitch count, the local press know it as well as the team.
livefree: The Mets have a roster of damaged aces, AND Thor had a slight arm issue earlier this season. Kinda makes good sense
and Buck says “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t…”
Probably true … But it reduced the Mets of winning. The question should be asked. Collins will have his answer.
I just looked up Thor’s game logs. His high this year was 118. He was over 110 just four times, and the last time was his first start in August. In September, all but one of his starts were under 100 pitches. Remember he has bone spurs in his elbow that he’s pitching through. They’ve been handling him carefully, and I can see why.
Remember Thor is a kid, and many young pitchers are overused. I don’t think it was wrong to take him out. I’m not even sure it was wrong to take out the pitcher after he walked Buster in 2014, but that pitcher at least was very experienced.
Wow. from Baggs column this stat is remarkable: “The drive left Belt’s bat at 105.9 mph with a 25-degree launch angle – a combination of contact that cleared a major league fence 91 percent of the time this season, according to Baseball Savant. The expected batting average on such a drive was .971.” So the odds of it not being a HR are very small and not being a hit that much smaller…and Belt is basically the one guy who didn’t get a hit on that. Good thing Conor was there in the 9th to save the day (a sentence I had no doubt I’d be typing in June/July/August).
Belt smoked that ball and deserved better, as these stats show. Great AB by him!
It *was* a great AB, very encouraging. I actually thought at the time, man Belt is looking locked in since moving back to the 2-hole and that was a great AB. If the Giants can win this game I want to see what Belt can do for the remainder of the postseason. Well, thanks to MadBum and Conor we get to find out.
Belt worked two walks, too. In fact, the Giants did a great job of working walks against some tough pitchers. I think they had at least six(?). They may not be so great with those clutch hits, but in a close game if you put pressure on the pitcher and defense, good things can happen.
Belt was actually very good in the 2014 postseason. Watch out for him ……
He was. One behind Crawford for the team lead in RBIs.
It led to getting Thor out of the game which was huge. CG was not picking up Thor but got the pitch he wanted from Familia.
JP12 had an enormous AB right before CG’s. i think the count was 1-2 before he started fouling off some tough pitches, and getting a walk. there was one filth sinker that he somehow just barely clipped a hanging red thread on the ball to stay alive. if he strikes out there, gillaspie gets an IBB, and who knows what happens. pretty cool game, baseball.
Yep. Obviously CG’s AB was the AB of the game, but JP’s walk set it all up.
Yes. Belt had a good game overall in his other at bats. Belt, Span and Posey really pushed Syndergaard in their at bats even when they made outs. They and Panik helped set the stage for Syndergaards pitch count climbing… Then he was pulled, correctly by Collins I might add, after the 7th. I think Bum’s stamina, his conditioning and fire are also among the greatest all time. To keep doing what he does is really something special. I have been watching baseball for 41 years and I have never seen anything like it.
Yeah, he crushed that and with Belt’s bat speed, it took a lot to keep that in the park. It was 408 to center and also I think the ball wasn’t carrying well. You could tell by Belt’s reaction that he hit that one well
Imagine if Bumgarner pitched like that year round? Not sustainable, right?
It’s like he saves himself for these moments. He perfectly channels his adrenaline into every pitch.
His 93 seems like 99 with his slinging deception. His fastballs ride up in the zone such that pro hitters cannot get on top of the ball for the life of them. Just pounding the upper quadrants relentlessly, then toying with the hitters who have starter their swing early by dropping a slider in the dirt – or even more cruel, the back door slider.
Can he bring this same intensity into his next postseason start? Stay tuned…
Yep, his average fastball velocity last night was 92 and I think in the regular season it’s below 91. I recall in the 2014 WS he was regularly hitting 94. He really does have an extra gear for the postseason, which makes him so much fun to watch. And his placement with the high FB last night was impeccable, probably the best game I’ve ever seen from a pitcher consistently pitching up in the zone.
It’s a special gear indeed. Uncanny to be able to so deftly find it every October he gets a chance. He ain’t too shabby in the regular season – but this is a cut above even how outstanding he is in the regular season (#3 in the Bill James rankings).
Definitely noticed that about his velocity. The life and velocity definitely played up last night compared to the 2nd half. He was leaving it all out there. Great zip on the ball and routinely hitting 93 with life. It makes a difference for him when he is in the 93, 94 range…he is very toug to hit when his fastball is that live.
Makes you wonder what he was like in high school. He threw upwards of 98 mph in those days.
Hitters used to tell the umps, “Hey! That sounded low!”
LMAO. I bet some kids just backed to the back of the box and waited for the inevitable.
Bum ended up fourth in the NL in ERA, had a career-high 251 Ks (which also set a new franchise record for a lefty starter), and pitched 226.2 innings (second in the league), taking the ball 34 times. His W-L record was mostly bad luck–he could easily have won 20-24 games with some run/bullpen support.
This is to say that Bum is one of the best pitchers in baseball in the regular season and THE best in the postseason. We don’t have to imagine anything.
# 3 in the Bill James rankings behind Clayton and Max – with a game score like last night, he’s moving on up (playoffs count).
What was his game score last night?
I believe 88 for Bum & 82 for Thor
Wow.
he doesn’t operate as consistenly up in the zone during the reg. season like he does in the post.
he plays off not only his adrenaline, but that of the hitters. It’s a perfect context for his stuff.
great response, not many would understand that nuance if you didn’t play the game.
you can also throw in that certain umpires alter their strike zones in the post season.
In a one game WC every pitch is important, the batters are trying to do too much and that’s an advantage to the pitchers.
I love how they attacked Cespedes up in the zone. Another great postseason game plan executed.
those battles were epic – he was swinging for the downs.
I think his arm action is so tough to pick up with his athletic delivery-0 hitters can’t pick up in enough time whether it is a cutter, fastball, or curve because they all look identical coming out of his hand and release point. Bum must have worked really hard to make those all look similar coming out of the hand.
But still I think this year was Bum’s best regular season of his career. He would have had more wins if not for a few blown saves and some non existent offense.
if the cy votes were made today – a shoe in!
Thinking ahead to the Cubs, thought back to 2014. Memory is sketchy at best so…
http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2014_NLDS1.shtml
Interesting to me how they pulled that series out without Bum winning a game. (He lost game 3).
Forgot about Petit 6 amazing shutout innings (7k’s!) to get the win in game 2, after Belt’s 18th inning hr. Casilla had already been used, so Strickland gets the save on 29 pitches!
A walk in the park.
Giants win game 4 behind Vogelsong, who was 8-13 during the reg season. Everyone probably remembers Strickland giving up the game tying hr in the 7th. Giants come back the bottom of the inning and Romo Casilla, nail it down with near perfect 8-9th.
Somehow, someway. October magic.
Last night I was comparing what Bum did to Petit’s six innings in extras in 2014. Petit had zero margin for error. Every one of those innings was sudden death–one mistake and it’s over.
Bum had almost no margin for error, either. The way Syndergaard was pitching, you just knew that if the Mets scored first, it was going to be tough. And unlike the game in Washington, it was an elimination game.
Those two games, along with Bum’s five scoreless in Game 7 of the World Series, are the gutsiest pitching performances I’ve seen in this golden era of Giants baseball.
I thought it was also gutsy because I’m not sure MadBum had his A+ stuff in terms of command or movement. Lots of hitters were getting wood on his balls. But he was mixing pitches by the middle of the game and being very very smart (for example how we pitched Cespedes). Lots of smarts and moxie there.
Great essay on Bum and last night’s game from Mike Lupica:
http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/205129258/giants-beat-mets-wild-card-bumgarner-gillaspie?partnerId=ed-10911987-934938883
I repeat: We need a shot of Cueto going into Wrigley with some coconuts: I guess a few cans of black and orange rustoleum wouldn’t hurt ……
I get the feeling a lot of players have a sour taste from that Cubs series and are tired of hearing about them.
I got that impression from Bum’s postgame interview too.
I notice that Baggs just retweeted that quote about Cueto and the Coconuts.
“Cueto and the Coconuts” sounds like a cool garage band …
Love that he blew off Olney’s stupid question about ‘legacy’ – “Aw, what’re you asking me that for? I dunno. We just gotta get to Chicago…”
For reasons that on the face of it make absolutely no sense, I waked up this morning with fragments of this quotation running through my mind. Given it was 4:30 AM, some might say I was out of my mind.
“From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
―
William Shakespeare,
Henry V
It absolutely makes sense, it’s the greatest locker room speech of all time.
What personally struck me was I saw Kevin Branagh in Henry V in Chicago, where we are headed now.
Speaking of which, St Crispin’s Day (cobbler’s patron saint) is October 25; that corresponds to Game 4 in 2014 (Win) and Game 2 in 2012 (Win). I don’t think the G’s have ever lost on that date.
It’s also our anniversary ….. thanks for bringing it up! 😉
Wow, that beats my first wake-up thought of the morning:
“My bologna has a first name… It’s O-S-C-A-R …”
Fantastic speech. I can visualize Kenneth Brannaugh saying the words.
Sweet victory and sweet lovely silence from the loud mouth know-it-all Bochy detractors.
Where’s that guy who said Cespedes was going to hit a home run, helicopter his bat, stare down Bum, and salsa around the bases?
He didn’t say it would happen. He said he would like it to happen and it was a very funny comment.
They’re here.
Well, Bochy didn’t really have to do anything in that game.
“Don’t take Bumgarner out.”–Check
Uuuhhh,TWG pinch ran for Gillespie earlier in the game.
So did Krukow and Flemming on the radio when it was happening. (I had the TV muted and listened to the KNBR call.) They even pointed out that Bochy could bring in Blanco as just a straight pinch runner. I knew he wouldn’t take Gillaspie out, though, because KT hasn’t played any 3B at the big league level this year, and EA’s played very little. Too risky late in a tight game.
Yeah, that is kind of scary. That both EA and Kelby don’t have much any experience at 3b this year and with Nunez hurt we don’t much else to play 3b even late in a game. I guess that is why they got Beckham, even though he can’t hit. But in the playoffs they don’t have a real solid defensive 3b option.
Well, I actually think either one of them would probably be fine–but off the bench, cold, in the late innings of an elimination game is not the time to find out.
It will be interesting to see if Nunez is right back in there if/when healthy or if Bochy goes with a platoon with him and CG. The Giants are 6-1 since Nunez got hurt–and he was about the only guy sparking the lineup when he went down.
Anybody not watching, MLB Network now has top of 9th on.
Thanks, Bap! I may dial up the whole game after work tonight. Now that it’s over, I think I’d really enjoy watching it!
Ooooh, Angel said a bad word in the dugout after striking out. Hope his kids weren’t watching.
I was confident that Angel could get that bunt down. He bunted vs COL the other night and it was a beauty.
HAHA Gotta love NYC were the team’s fans give each other the business.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eda1df6f0b4158152a2417d9c959a5e9d73c0f5ac53a8112bf8e0b9dd9f8ba98.png
I think I was a little rough on Conor earlier this year. He has given me two thrills now, just in the last week. The first was vs COL last Thurs when he laced that double into the RF corner near where my son and I were sitting. There were high fives all around and much celebration. And we all saw the second. Conor: I was wrong, I apologize, and THANKS!!!
Good for you Sir! I will relay this to Gillaspie and have you added to his Christmas Card lis and fan club!
NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/sports/baseball/mets-giants-madison-bumgarner-conor-gillaspie.html?smid=fb-share
So is Shark for sure starting game 2? Has that been announced?
I would have thought Moore made sense starting gm2 but I keep hearing Smarge for Gm2 everywhere. I guess one thing is that Shark is comfortable pitching at Wrigley and may be better suited for it? Although Shark also has better numbers pitching at spacious ATT
Moore’s been the #3 starter since he was acquired, but…there are three arguments for using Shark in Game 2. First, he’s been absolutely dialed in the last month or so. Second, Moore is fantastic at AT & T, and I might save him for a game there.
Third, if you use Shark in Game 2, you’d have the option of using him out of the bullpen in a Game 4 or 5. Assume the rotation in five games goes Cueto-Shark-Bum-Moore-Cueto. Then you have Bum ready to go for Game 1 of the next round on normal rest. Considering how shaky our bullpen’s been, I love the idea of Shark getting some relief opportunities.
Spot on!
Good point on Moore starting at home. Unless they go down 2-0.
They should slot Moore in a spot would would allow him to pitch twice against the Dodgers, should they have to face them next.
Seriously. And I bet Ty Blach’s on the roster if they face the Dodgers, too.
Really a great AB by Panik. That 2-2 pitch that he BARELY fouled off (just inches from the ground) to stay alive…it was THAT close.
He is such a good ballplayer. I know he is struggling, but it can’t last forever. I hope he gets hot. That plate appearance was gutsy.
Whenever he is up I always think its about to turn and good things will happen. Agree, he will turn it around eventually. Too good and too smart a player.
I’m waiting for him to bust out. His timing is off. He loves high fastballs and he is often great at hitting them but these past weeks he has been late on almost all of them. He either flies out or pops them up. I am sure they are addressing it. I wonder if this is still a by product of his concussion.
The secret to this post season is, IMO, to get Pence going.
His zone right now is Pablo-esque.
He has a zone?
Good point.
He got absolutely porked by the HP ump in the 6th(?) on 2 outside pitches for a called K.
Had he walked, and Span’s SB call reversed, Thor would’ve walked the bases loaded with 0 outs. As it turned out, nobody remembers that today.
Get his hair mown down
Yeeeesshh, that AB in the eighth with the bases loaded…
He a bad night- like most of the hitters, but he has not been struggling.
It lasted all season.
The Reverend needs a Reverse Samson. Trim the beard and he’ll destroy the Midwest Philistines.
Zackly – dunno how he hit that pitch, and the BB was huge.
it was discussed quite a lot last night- even the ESPN crew talked about how crucial that was. While on the subject, those HRs in 2014 were probably the hurrah for Ishi and Morse, it was a sweet way to go out.
( I know that they have played a bit more since then but with not much success.
This piece from NYT ends with the statement…”the Cubs should be terrified”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/sports/baseball/mets-giants-madison-bumgarner-conor-gillaspie.html?ref=baseball
I love it when the Times does our PsyOps for us. BTW, Anyone asking Arrieta about his “I don’t give a sh*t who we play” remark?
Tyler Kepner at the Times ought to be the archetype for a first rate sports writer, IMO.
And he’s a Giants fan!
No kidding, I didn’t know that.
Yep, I believe he’s a NorCal native. Also a Warriors fan.
He must have a real grin on his face this AM. Finnerty’s must have been wild last night. Wonder if SM made it by post game?
That’s the replay I’m dying to see. Any film of Finnerty’s celebration?
Efrain was at Finnerty’s, and he said it was rocking!
“I’ve been blessed with a lot of opportunities,” said Bumgarner, now 8-3 with a 1.94 E.R.A. in nearly 100 career postseason innings. “But I’ve played this game long enough to know that anything can happen, especially this time of year, so I’m not going to take anything for granted or expect it to come easily.”
He might not expect it, but everyone else does. After three harmless fly outs in the ninth, the Giants had done what the Giants do. The Mets should not have been surprised — and the Cubs should be terrified.”
One of my pet peeves is hearing that a game is must win. Unless it’s a do or die like last night, no game is really must win. But it sure feels like to me that Game 1 is very important. With Cueto pitching and MadBum not pitching until Game 3 and Hendricks going in Game 2….a Game 1 win would be really nice.
Now that the Giants got over the Wild Card hurdle, which they had to do because they lost the division, and now that they have won 5 games in a row (last 4 games reg season and this one), which were all, in effect, playoff games, I have to say I am satisfied.
The three other teams — Chi, Wash, even LA — have endured long droughts and could easily win a ring, and I’d be happy for them (well, the Dodgers, that would be hard.) However I would not be happy if we lose to Cubs who then lose to LA, or, we lose to any of them who then lose to the American League.
I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the playoffs.
I’m just happy to see more games.
Yesterday on KNBR, I heard Murph & Mac talking to Chris Russo from MLBN’s “High Heat” program. They asked if the Giants making it to the Wild Card game erased the “epic collapse” storyline.
He said “No. If they win tonight, it does.” That puts them in the same spot (in a five-game division series) that they would have been if they’d won the NL West (i.e., no “epic collapse”). Sure, they have to play the Cubs without home field advantage, but in all likelihood, they would have had to go through the Cubs no matter what at some point.
I agree. Winning the Wild Card game rescues the narrative. Losing it would have had us thinking about a lot of “what ifs.”
Even when they were playing their worst in August I still expected them to make the playoffs, it’s just that as second wild card or even first wild card it doesn’t amount to much, since it’s an elimination game.
However, in all fairness, it _is_ a postseason game; it’s not like 1998 where we played 163 — and lost to the Cubs.
Ugh, I remember that. They had a late lead in Game 162 and blew a save, forcing a tiebreaker.
Neifi Perez off of Nen… Still have nightmares about that one
That’s right–I remembered Nen but not who hit it…then they went out and got Neifi later.
Plus you would think it easier to beat “the best team in baseball!” three times instead of four. Hopefully the Cubbies will show some rust, which they would not have in the next series.
He actually said that–could be easier to knock them off in a five-game series than a seven-game series.
I thought that last night. Especially if we can steal Game One behind Cueto.
Here’s hoping that Matt Moore sends the Giants to the NLCS with a win in game four, proving that a little bad karma is no match for an actual curse.
Just watched the replay of last night’s game, and now I get to watch MadDog Russo wave his arms around. Wonderful stuff.
Just also wanted to say how much I appreciate this site – thanks to GreekGiant (and I hope you are safe through the hurricane) – what with quotes from Shakespeare and great posts. Thank you all for making this season such fun.
Amen. Thanks everyone, and especially GG!
Ditto, GG. Stay safe.
Same guy, different year. Even the HR “trots” were the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uogT8X26-ko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1VZjkEfPiU
Where was Peavy this time?
Yeah, Conor didn’t molested between 2nd and 3rd.
i’m not a big fan of buck, but that’s a great call on ishi’s HR
Yeah. I have to begrudgingly agree.
I always laugh when he hands it over to “Jake and Dan” at Fox Sports Live… and no one is there. LOL
Considering we won all three WS clinchers on the road, is that Ishikawa walk-off the biggest single moment in Pac Bell’s history?
We talked last week about the JT Snow HR in 2000, but they lost that game so yeah, I think the Ishi HR ranks higher.
To me, the only thing that comes close was the rain falling in Game 7 of the 9th inning vs St. Louis in ’12, but that wasn’t a “play” so much as an extended visual.
That was as close as I’ll ever come to a religious experience in baseball. Scutaro’s image is transfixed in my mind.
Yup.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e6e6df65c3fa13cc5f641d887b86afd5b6682595c89673508335370012c955c0.jpg
Remember Lofton single for 2002 NLCS walkoff …..
They are close, because in 2002 it had been 13 years since the WS ……
The walk-off to win the pennant in 2002 was pretty big, too–not a HR, but still a pennant-winner.
I’ve noted this before, but Reynolds nails Ishi’s HR- even before hits it.
I noticed that too. :o)
Excellent dissection of what Bumgarner did to Cespedes last night, and a hint at what Chicago should expect. Look carefully at the table that highlights Cespedes relative problems with the fastball and notice Belt’s name.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/madison-bumgarner-yoenis-cespedes-and-two-extremes/
Gotta love NY tabloids…
Kuiper posted this on Instagram this morning:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/26b4f56b4b0e9e69311f1f592c5263e1c2f4998c9025d5dc5c8b959484f2b7b4.jpg
Those Mets fans looked VERY annoying. I wonder how SurfMaui was treated.
Their annoying but nothing like Yankee or worse, NY Giants fans.
I’ve worn my Giants cap to Met’s games for years and other than a couple friendly jabs no big deal.
If they leave the effervescent, sweet toned Efrain alone, we’re ALL safe!!!
I said it before, Efrain is made outta teflon. You can’t hurt him.
hahahha, well as much as a jerk I can be on this blog, I’m a pretty easy going and respectful fan at other peoples stadiums. Figure it’s the best way to be. I will wear my gear, but never obnoxious (Funny thing, I am a HUGE sports nut and actually hate sports bars, with exception of Finnertys).
The one time I did go off was once seeing the Niners at Metlife, because NY Giants fans are the scum of the earth. I wore a Niner hat and tee and I was yelled at, threatened, called a f%$@#t, etc.
It was quite funny, I called out a whole section of drunk firemen who kept giving me the business to come to my section to fight, They talked a good game but non of them had the cojones to back it up. F’ em.
You are like the new magic copper pan I won in a raffle. Everybody wants to use it but nobody dare goes first ……..
never would have guessed the NY Giants fans are annoying. Are they bitter at SF?
Don’t know if its an SF thing per se, the crowd is much more blue collar than the other teams in NYC, a lot of drinking so it turns into a sort of Raiders East sort of vibe. A lot of guidos from New Jersey and such, steroid looking muscle bound idiots.
I was thinking NY baseball Giants (since you cited Yankees & Mets), not football Giants. That makes more sense, football tends to have a more…how do I put it?….plebeian crowd than baseball.
very much so, plus any sport that allows it’s fans to drink and build up a frenzy in the parking lot 4 hours before a game is looking for unruly crowds.
Was that from the Hooker or the Mets fans?
6 “pages” of highlights
http://mlb.mlb.com/search/media.jsp?game_pk=487596&partnerId=ed-10900957-55341579
Jenkins reporting Krukow is making the trip to Chicago after swearing Wrigley off two years ago due to their stairs. Gotta love it.
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Wary-Krukow-heads-to-Chicago-9877353.php
atta babe!
Those guys have fun together in the radio booth. Kuip would piggyback him if he had to. When on the radio, they can wear whatever the hell they want, which naturally means they can wear their chaps.
Have a great sweaty day, podnah. Woof woof.
-Big Dog
Eat, Big Dog.
Haven’t played golf in years. But for you, I’ll dust off the old bag and unleash the Tommy Armour’s on the range.
Do it!!! Seriously, though, the next time you’re in the area we gotta meet up. I’ll brush my teeth and everything.
I’ll come and see momma and poppa within the next few weeks. Look for me on I5.
Cass Elliot?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZfKcYlefE
I will carry your bag and even intro you to a Renee Russo carbon copy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb9ARJdM81I
I love the ramps. It had been 40 years since I had been back to Wrigley this summer. Not to much has changed outside of the Monster scoreboards lights and stands across the street.
There is an elevator now. Carey had one installed.
I’d be careful. If the Giants win this next series the vengeful Cubbies might take it out along with all of the ramps in the place.
Well, he IS the original Gamer. They don’t give the Willie Mac Award twice to just anyone.
He now has re-upped on his various REI walking sticks – the recent purchase will allow him dexterity
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11617731/the-giant-friendship-san-francisco-giants-announcers-mike-krukow-duane-kuiper
It was nice to be in Giants playoff mode last night and not worrying about the lack of hits early on, because Thor’s pitch count was getting up there and they were getting him in the stretch…more and more. It was also nice seeing Bum at only 21 pitches after 3…and knowing he could go a long way.
Conor Gillaspie? Keep it going, dude!
Credit to Bum, Buster, and the advanced scouting folks…that did their usual outstanding job of keeping dangerous hitters quiet in the off-season. I expect the same in the Cubs series.
The only head-scratching moments…in my opinion…came from my good friend, Angel Pagan. Rivera’s double should have been a single with any amount of hustle to the ball. Many guys in the dugout would’ve busted their &%$# to try and catch the ball…let alone getting over there to throw the ball to second right away to keep the guy to a single. Then the bunt. I know there was balls being thrown, but it seemed like he was more concerned about getting a walk…perhaps getting a hit…then executing the sacrifice that was needed. Heck…Bum looked infinitely better at executing the bunt. How many of you were thinking that could’ve lost the game? I’ll cheer for him loudly the win the 2016 World Series for the Giants, but I look forward to another LF in 2017.
Great job with the scouting report once again indeed. They pitched the Mets club very well and clearly had a plan in place. Good job in particular with Cespedes and Granderson.
Timing is everything!!!
Giants CommunityFund @giantscommunity 2h2 hours ago
Check out this Conor Gillaspie autographed jersey in our 2016 GCF @MLB Playoff Auction! http://auctions.mlb.com/iSynApp/auctionDisplay.action?auctionId=1384413&pgmode1=teamsearch&pgcust1=GCF&pgmode3=livebid&&qt%5B0%5D.type=fieldmatch&qt%5B0%5D.name=panname_keyword_s&qt%5B0%5D.value1=GCF …
So Arrieta is pitching game one?
And I thought he was their third best pitcher this year.
The Giants have Joe’s attention and he thinks this is the move. We’ll see…
Even though Hendricks has the best numbers, I would make him the number 3 starter. Think Arrieta and Lester are better pitchers and more capable of dominating.
Then again we struggle with guys like Hendricks too
He is Pitching game 3, Lester Game 1, Hendricks Game 2, Arrieta Game 3, this is old news was announced a few days ago .
Bingo. Sorry for my confusion. Kept reading his name. My bad, Pete.
Get with the effing program, BD.
Too many Visalia bullpens?
No…he’s game 3
From my understanding Arrieta asked for Bum….. careful what you wish for.
Objectively speaking, if I were a Mets fan, I would have preferred the band-aid be peeled off quickly, rather than enduring the slow(er) pain of advancing with the only realistic hope being for one more win, Thor on Monday. Not a good team. Decimated yes, but still. Would have been a very ugly series, whereas Giants-Cubs could be epic.
you’re right about one thing, pretty OBJECTIVE.
More than one I think, Mr. Easy Going.
that’s him!
Steal on of these two in Chi-Town. Bum goes in game three…..
Play to close out in four.
People seem to forget in 2014, that Peavy , Hudson, and Vogey were the Starters in the 3 games the Giants won vs the Nats, and the Giants lost Bums start, all I hear on the radio and on tv is in 2014 the Giants had a 1 man rotation and Bum carried the Giants to the title .
Yeah, I know. People exaggerate. In 2012, it was Vogelsong who saved our bacon over and over and over. Him and Timmy.
Bum had a kink in his delivery, and blew two starts. Cain was average, Timmy’s start wasn’t good, Zito had two good postseason starts, etc. Vogelsong and Timmy in relief.
Yep, and that’s why Bum’s ERA is so much better on the road, his 2 bad starts in 2012 vs the Reds and the Cards were at home .
They lost the Bum start on an error….. granted it was a throwing error by Bum, but still……
Bum will be Bum.
I was worried it was 2014 anymore before last night.
But Bum was Bum….
I think we showed during the regular season — including the end of August set — that our starting pitching can contain Chicago’s offense. So then the question is which Giants hitters show up, and which bullpen.
If the hitting in the past ten days — except for last night and the Chatworth start — is for real, we should be able to score runs and make a series of it.
Then the question is bullpens. As long as Casilla doesn’t close, I think we are OK.
In short, if the first half Giants show up, we can win this thing. If the second half Giants show up, probably not.
Casilla can close just give him a 2 run lead. He is nails on that. He is 65% on 1 run leads handed to him
Or have him pitch the 8th. He’s great with runners on and at any point before the 9th. I don’t have stats, that’s just what my observations tell me.
But you don’t care if they if lose,though
“I don’t care if they if lose though”?
I care, but it’s different after three rings. I mean, as a 49er fan, I didn’t like losing the NFC title games three years in row to NY and Dallas (1991-1993), but it wasn’t like the early ’70’s. Not at all.
I wouldn’t like to get swept by the Cubs. But I’m not greedy. It’s been a long time for them. But if the Cubs beat us, and then lose to the Dodgers, not good.
“I’d be satisfied with 1 or 2 wins against Chicago, TBH. I’m not greedy.”
Just one example. But maybe you were gong for a reverse jinx.
No, my position is consistent. I wanted to win the division, #1 to show up LA, and #2 to avoid the WC. Now that they have hurdled the WC, I want them to win, but I don’t be on pins and needles like last night or in previous years. I’m just being honest. I won’t be bent out of shape if they lose at some point here.
This team has 3 rings this decade, tons of national exposure and players who get a ton of national respect. I have nothing to complain about at this point.
But I do think that the Giants can take the Cubs. Whether that happens or not, is why they play the game.
You guys should listen on the KNBR podast to the Interview Brandon Crawford did on KNBR yesterday on the Murph and Mac show, at the end of the interview Crawford told a funny story about Connor when Brandon was playing in Lancaster with the San Jose Giants , with Bum, Buster and Connor .
Per Peter Johnson
https://audioboom.com/boos/5130823-10-5-brandon-crawford-talks-about-the-giants-match-up-against-the-mets
When my bus pulled up at my brothers condo last night I noticed his “friend the painter’s” van was still outside. This meant to me that the painter was either (1) not finished or (2) my brother invited him to stay and watch the game. The over sized pizza on the table confirmed it. My first reaction was Oh No, because the painter is a Canuck who sleeps with his hockey stick. The thing I did not know was he is a magic wandoo guy when it comes to syncing up Sirius KNBR with the TV broadcast to the DVR. WoW, I love Jessica Mendoza but to be able to listen to all four of our guys – Jon-Dave-Kruke and Kuip was amazing. There was no lag in the TV with them announcing.
Kuip (like Lefty said) even had Bum’s first A.B. going out. Later after the game Jon mistakenly gave Dave some news on Conor that Jon meant was an Ishi moment – when Ishi almost retired from baseball. With his earpiece in Dave mentioned to Conor “I hear you considered retiring”? Conor: ” Well no I don’t think that ever crossed my mind”. Later during the Post game Pick your players and when Miller did the highlights Jon sort of apologized over the air for giving Flemm some fuzzy information.
That said – for Krukow and Kuiper – this articles a thumbs up to you guys for your great relationship.
http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11617731/the-giant-friendship-san-francisco-giants-announcers-mike-krukow-duane-kuiper
Conors Home Run in Spanish
http://m.mlb.com/video/v1203002883/?c_id=mlb
Bust out the Guns Madison
http://m.mlb.com/video/v1203014983/?c_id=mlb
http://m.mlb.com/video/v1203007483/?c_id=mlb
John Miller calls all homeruns in Spanish the last couple years, so no need to listen to the Spanish version of that call .
Adios pelota! Vaya con dios!
Te amo estribaciones
“Raul de las colinas”
“em del paseo del vaquero”
Not so Peter. All JON (not John) does is say the words Adios Pelota. This was in it’s entirety and done so by the great Tito Fuentes with Erwin Higueros.
I will say that was a more enthusiastic call. That was Erwin with the call, right?
Correct!
ummm, nope.
Worlds of difference, Peter
Yeah, what’s up with that? The “Adios pelota!” call used to only be used when a latin player blasted one. He must have been called a racist by Efrain and decided to use it for white guys too…
Seeing MadBum sitting next to Gillaspie demonstrates just what a phyical presence he is. Gillaspie looks like a little kid next to MadBum. He is a real man!
The manliest man I knew was a sailor 5′ 3″ tall. Harder than iron, more stubborn than a mule, swift as a viper.
Amen to that!
How do we know that?
Now, it’s better the Giants didn’t win the division. Although they might have had a better chance of advancing to the NLCS against Washington, they’ve been there, done that. The five game format is the most exciting, Wrigley Field and AT&T are the two best venues in the NL.
If I were writing a script: Sweep the Dodgers to make wildcard game. Win a nail biter against a seemingly unbeatable starter in New York. Win three out of four against the Cubs in dramatic fashion. Sweep the Dodgers again. Play game seven at Fenway with Bumgarner going all Babe Ruth on the mound, doing a Carlton Fisk HR shimy-shake to go ahead in the ninth.
Ahhh yeah, I think my avatar is looking a bit manlier.
Boom! CG = Complete Game = Conor Gillaspie
Nothing computer generated about last night. That was real men playing real hardball.
Wheras MOST complaints from peeps on this board come from their belief that what they are watching is “hella” easy….
“Why’d he do that”
“He’s not hustling”
“Terrible route”
“DFA him, cut him a check”
the majority of Bochy’s moves stem from how he and his peers were treated as professionals – I’m gonna give my guys every chance to prove they are the pros that I believe they are.
Your post might be the Summation Post of the last six years. Nice!
Bochy played for Skippers who (a) treated players like men (b) were gentleman (c) Were Hard nosed (d) were maniacal
(1) Bill Virdon all his years as a Astro 1978–1980)
(2) George Bamberger for 82 Mets
(3) Dick Williams 1983 Padres 1984 – 1985
(4) Steve Boros 1986 Padres
(5) 1987 Larry Bowa 1987 Padres
I just did our complex home run handshake at the plate after your bomb…well said
I use to know that one ……
even if it leads to long loosing streaks, an overall record that is close to .500, and not making the playoffs every other year (despite having nearly the same lineup as the previous year that was successful). How much credit is the guy going to get for sticking with the simple rule that past performance predict future performance? Is there a more conservative way to choose a line-up? It is a minor miracle that Belt, Panik, and Crawford ever got enough time to prove they belong based on how other young guys have been treated.
You forgot Duffy and Kontos and Romo and Kontos and Strickland and Sandoval and Heston and probably a bunch of others. It’s a myth.
Well sure it sounds like a lot when you count all of the different Kontos.
It’s not and you are the one forgetting. How long did Duffy sit behind McGehee? How many tired old guys were tried before Panik and Crawford? and how long did we have to suffer with Huff with Belt on the bench? Do you remember what it took for Heston to get a chance? As for the bullpen, Bochy defers to Rags so I don’t give him any credit/ blame for any young guys who make the team.
Of course you can’t give Bochy any credit. After all, he’s the worst manager EVER! I’m sure you remember Bochy was run out of San Diego because of the vet love myth. How’s that worked out for the Padres, who went to the playoffs 4 times with Bochy and every year since. No, wait. It’s every other year. Or is it every 3 years. Nope, it’s NEVER. I bet to this day you can see Padre fans walking down the street wearing their #NeverBochy T-shirts!
Getting back to the Giants – How long did Duffy sit behind McGehee? Let’s see, Duffy wasn’t even a 3rd baseman, so it’s not clear he was even sitting behind McGehee to begin with. If Bochy hated rookies so much, how did Duffy even make the team? Oh, that’s right, he EARNED it. Even at that, this rookie who had never played 3rd base found himself to be a starter after only 6 weeks. Kind of daring to put a rookie in that position, wouldn’t you say?
As for Panik, he was given the 2B position despite being released by the GE Board, because he dropped a couple of throws from third base and was hitting about .208, but despite that, Bochy stuck with him. Unfortunately, he turned his ankle, and with Adrianza with a hamstring pull, their hand was forced and they brought up Uggla, who had been playing in Fresno for about a week. They stuck with him for what seemed like forever (3-4 days) before Panik was well enough to play and Panik took over 2nd base for good.
Since Heston (who wasn’t claimed after being DFA’d) will be getting several Cy Young votes, I guess you got me there.
Giants are Heyman’s second favorite to win it all…
http://www.todaysknuckleball.com/inside-baseball-with-jon-heyman/heyman-power-ranking-mlb-playoff-teams
Giants and Red Sox WS – Boom!
Cubs Indians WS. BAM! Zing! Pow!!
Reading between the lines it looks like either Giants or Cubs. I was sort of hoping the Nats would knock off the Dodgers, but now I don’t think so.
And if they win again, everyone will start to believe.
Uhhh, come on. If you don’t believe now, you’ll never believe.
#beliEVEN
Peter mentioned the Crawford interview (thanks PJ) that Clutch linked….and listening to it gives you such a great sense of the cool collection of characters we have.
We sit and watch every game through the years and the players change out as the core is built and polished. What we forget is the way they all grow up together. Hearing Brandon talk about a random game in Lancaster with Bum on the hill, Buster catching, Crawford at short, and Gillaspie at 3rd…think about how these guys not only rode buses together all over the country, but how they really transitioned from High School and College kids into men chasing the major league dream. They have gone through everything together.
You know as they were in a rental bus outside of Earlimart heading to another game, San Francisco was a very long way away…it was that prize dream. It consumed them…and every error or strike out or mistake seemed to have such high stakes. Yet they all made it in some form, and now, as the 3 stars with their rings go for yet another, the kid that was at 3rd base is now getting his taste of the playoffs.
One of the reasons that I think the Giants get more out of what the experts think is “less” is there is a Giants Way. No, they aren’t the ONLY team that has a way, a method. But this run of unprecedented modern success has roots. It has roots in an organization that preaches trust, brotherhood, togetherness….Conor, last night, jumped into the lore of this glorious period.
It’s been a different ride, but it’s a world away from 3rd base in a random game in Lancaster, CA in Class A ball alongside other dreamers.
Conor, welcome to October Glory. Your buddies had been hoping you would join them
Conor is an original Giant. There’s a reason the team keeps signing guys like him, and Ishi. Tradition is important in any group setting. I don’t know why other teams don’t emphasize their roots the way the Giants do.
The Oracle and giantc trashed his a$$ from the git go
I also have to admit to a certain bias which was historically based.
That was fine because I knew you knew what you were talking about…
Where’s the link for Crawford’s interview?
ClutchUp put it right below Peter’s comment down below about an hour ago
Okay, thanks Matthew.
…..
https://audioboom.com/boos/5130823-10-5-brandon-crawford-talks-about-the-giants-match-up-against-the-mets?t=0
Here ya go
https://audioboom.com/boos/5130823-10-5-brandon-crawford-talks-about-the-giants-match-up-against-the-mets?t=0
Dude,… Nobody told me you were this literate. I always thought you were a marketing guy.
But then again, you DO have a staff, right?
You mean Team Millineal Noodleheads? Yes, I do.
Well, Cudos, Kudos or Qudos. Whichever applies.
I see the team named themselves without the aid of a spellchecker.
They specialize in selfies at bars, and asking for raises.
Giants on a mission at Wrigley Field. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7e063c555499fd3ed21c9eb5d9b47acafce9e48640bdfc0af4177b34df95270c.jpg
I am pretty confident that whichever team comes out on top in the Giants Cubs series, they will win the WS.
My guy Matthew thought this was a pretty pedestrian catch last nite.
I think the context makes it a little more impressive – the distance to the ball, the route, the wall, the score, the stakes, and that the Grandyman is 35 and hasn’t exactly been playing a lot of CF the past few years. Grandyman would’ve been perfect in SF, but it wasn’t to be.
http://thebiglead.com/2016/10/05/video-curtis-granderson-made-a-sensational-catch-while-crashing-into-the-wall/
I stand firm in my analysis, Cousin. None of the factors you mention: not the distance, not the route needed, not the wall, not the score, not the stakes make it anything more than what i see it as:
A catch that should be made by every major league centerfielder every time
I believe the headline “sensational” should be tweaked. It was a wonderful catch, a good catch, a nice catch but not a great or sensational catch.
The key with the Grandyman was his JUMP. The Jump or READ that Centerfielders like Paul Blair or Darren Lewis or Garry Maddox or Jim Edmunds is what makes those balls catchable and yes every true major league centerfielder needs the ability to get that JUMP.
Grandy as a non-true CF with those stakes really pumped it up for me.
WOW! & EPIC! given the circumstances.
Tigers – Yankees and Mets – he has had lots of reps out there IMO
Back in the day…
or Juan Perez.
True, there ARE several past-current CF’s that get that initial read and are off to the races. The KC Royals have about three guys that come to mind.
The “Greatest Basket-Catch” in Baseball history.
Span yes, Pagan no?
WALLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Walls retired Rowand’s Mojo
nice to see Belt put a rip on that pitch – that pitch found it’s way to his happy zone: lower half and away where he gets his power extension.
Given our destination in Chicago, Wrigley Field. Interesting analysis of baseball in October in Wrigley.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-physics-of-october-baseball-in-wrigley/
Bumgarner’s curveball has changed and the speculation as to what he did is rampant.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/how-did-madison-bumgarner-fix-his-curve/
You are correct + Rags is a savant and Buster is a master.
Due to slow mo HD video and Krukow, we know he started throwing a spike curve. Our secret.
If you’re reading around the web, a surprising amount of pundits are picking the Giants. The majority is picking the Cubs, but after all the publicity the Cubs received during the season…35-40% are picking our guys.
All the Giants need is one game in Chicago; preferably in the first 2.
Can’t discount the rust factor. When was the last time they played a truly meaningful game, let alone that they haven’t faced game action since Sat/Sun?
That factor has hurt Giants’ opponents in the past.
I really think that’s the overriding factor as to why so few teams who finish with the best record end up winning it all. You’re usually facing a club who have been grinding for a few weeks already. Its hard to just flip the switch.
my rust may catch up with me on the links. If I shoot 120, I have my excuse.
I thought for a bit, your BBQ grill just needed cleaning. Phew.
I shot a 115 in Tahoe two weeks ago.
How many holes did you play?
54
Neat. you beat the all-time lowest 18 hole score in the universe .3 times!!
How’d you do on the back nine?
lmao
Be that as it may, they were the best team in MLB this year, and they’ll have a good home field advantage. These guys can rake; Bryant, Rizzo and Zobrist are major threats. Hold them down and there’s another group of guys who will hurt you.
We will need clutch hits with RISP from Belt, Posey, Pence and Crawford.
All good points, they had the best record and best offense by a wide margin. They have a top 5 pitching staff and a smart manager. I seriously doubt that some rust and the pressure of 108 years will affect that team.
Nice Sacramento Bee look at last night via AP writer BY Mike Fitzpatrick
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/mlb/san-francisco-giants/article106325917.html
A Chicago take on the Cubs weaknesses.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-cubs-worries-playoffs-spt-1007-20161006-story.html
Co-Anchorman Spoof including Our Girl Jaymee Sire
https://twitter.com/HisAndHers/status/780801148907245568
“The Giants Got Conor Gillaspie for Nothing” (61 photos)
http://tinyurl.com/Hank-Talking-Conor
His post season share could be more than he’s ever earned before.
John Sickels on Derek Law: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/10/5/13175806/giants-rookie-derek-law-what-happens-next?utm_campaign=minorleagueball&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
I think the only worry about Law is him staying healthy.
Yes indeed. The only thing that may hold him back from being “the closer”. How much load can be put on his arm ? – his delivery seems to created a hot spot. He may be well suited to a “closer platoon” which could happen next year. Or just be a Big Dog set-up man with Big Dog Mark Melancon in for the 9th.
If he does close successfully, he may become known as the goofiest closer ever.
Jim Nabors?
His cousin (Goober?).
Lots of serious competition there.
I know he doesn’t look it, but Gearrin may be the goofiest of all of them.
I also believe when he implemented the Cueto quick pitch gizmo it hurt him rather than helped him. Law IMO is all about consistency. When he had some scuffles he seemed to throw the ball in areas that were “easy takes”
John Sickels is good. His take on Law is pretty much the consensus.
He’s my guy, but I’ve found some of his blind spots.
He’s missing Tyler Beede in his Top 100 prospects and he has Phil Bickford greatly over ranked.
YMMV
We really need to see Beede take a big step forward in 2017. All these first round pitchers seem to have stalled. We need one to break through and jump to the 25-man.
How is 2017 any different than other year where there was atleast 1 hole in the rotation? Does the problem lie with the young men or those who set the standard to make the team or those who drafted and coached them?
Beede didn’t stall. He had a great year and won the ERA title in the Eastern League.
The only thing stalling some of these pitchers is the team not bringing them up. I’m not sure what some of them could even accomplish at this point to make them look more “ready”.
Lefty and Syndergaard
http://tinyurl.com/Lefty-and-Syndergaard
Ron Wotus backing Conor Gillaspie
http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Giants-Bochy-expains-how-he-might-use-Cueto-9802225.php
Was great to see Cory Gearrin in the dugout last night and was one of the first players who jumped the railing as Span caught out number three!
Roberto Kelly channeling https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f8586371883d4bc2079de07edd07cb93c2541d9f2706c60b3b733c143ea0cb2d.jpg John Travolta
Conor with eyes CLOSED.
Time to name that Giant from left to right below https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e6622b054946987ac5c81178aaf03f0a3796be57cd834539b7729ddf542c1079.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8d21fc6d41703fcf369976630ea71088bfd069c39f49267e9a6f54b05038e3a2.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ffb0a6fb73deaeae55fcd0e300f04dda8a5e43da16c7e8dbd6b29c6a73dfbbb1.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d30619dac70fa8e897093337534ad6e41eb2a81220a7bd81aa4c696e93f55f34.jpg
Finally, Finally, Finally our own Goof Ball BB9 decided to leave the confines of the Clubhouse – go OUT onto the field and drag Conor back in.
https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/783874189296017408
https://twitter.com/BigCaseDawg16
What a moment for a good kid
And Wotus is center middle cheering like a proud papa
That’s cool. I love all the joy. Nothing like winning in the postseason!
The blow back from deferred contracts. Bobby Bonilla and the Mets.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-bobby-bonilla-retirement-plan-quit-baseball-in-2001-get-paid-until-2035/
They gave the Ivy some fertilizer – still green says Baggs
https://twitter.com/extrabaggs/status/784134345061642240
Happy flight https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/784091575592873984
Although it now appears Hurricane Matthew may miss the DC area and not interfere with the NLDS, it will body slam Florida twice maybe. Current predicted track.
https://i.imgur.com/seDeyBw.png
whoa, is there predicted track with wind speed estimates? Does it have the potential to pick up energy again after veering south to warmer waters?
Hurricanes are like the baseball gods: they do whatever the h*** they want to do.
CBS Sports concludes Madison Bumgarner is a cyborg. Nothing else seems to explain him in October.
Well there was that pod people rumor that was used to explain the post ASB performance.
He was originally sent back in time to save John Connor, but he blew off his mission to instead become the most dominant postseason pitcher in history.
Poor Mama C did not choke on a ham sandwich AND the gal could sing (and dance)
And rumor of Karen having no kitchen in her house were reprehensible Hollywood fodder.
Both left their marks.
California Dreamin
We’ve Only Just begun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN3GbF9Bx6E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__VQX2Xn7tI
My Father’s second wife kept the phone books in the oven. I’d guess that they ate out a lot.
Was that the origin of cooking the books?
Hey, y’all: this hurricane is a serious issue. Thousands of people fleeing westward; this is going to cause major damage, and likely some injury and death.
GG: are you OK down there? We’re appx 300 miles inland (Atlanta suburbs), so we’ll be OK, but a lot of people are already here seeking shelter.
You know it’s serious when they start talking about changing start times and game days for SEC football games.
I am sending lots of safe charms to GG and whoever else lives near this horrible hurricane.
Thanks vixenflem. We have battened down the hatches and stocked up on wine, feta, olives and bread! I’m just hoping I can find a place to watch the game tomorrow night as I am sure we will be without power or worse very soon.
I love the wine & food, so sorry this is going on for you et all:(
Have you been through this before?
I
Mix in some pastichio, dolmathes and spanakopita and I’ll be over…after the hurricane passes! So glad to hear you are hunkered down. I know you’d be out of there if they told you to go.
Thanks TF. Yes, so far so good. We are braced for the worst.
The Art of Adjusting Ones Cup
Conor – Adjusts his cup. Rubs dirt. Adjusts cup again. Only heroes “adjust” in mid at-bat on live television.
https://twitter.com/aaronfalk/status/783868347947454465
Yeah, I’ve mentioned that.I thought that he was checking to see if his balls were still there.As we can see, one can never check too often. They like to get out.
almost forgot – there is a ballgame. Seems Toronto has 5-0 lead on Texas.
Not Cole’s best day on the bump.
That lineup can chew up LHP
Melvin says 6-0 .
7-0
Ian Desmond might be off the Giants Outfield wish list, he just pulled up on a fly ball to the wall with the bases loaded .
Throw Cespedes in that pile too
Weird route last night but what happened was he did not negotiate the speed of Crawford’s slicing line drive.
Pretty much the downside of being a jack of all trades.
Saw that….ouch.
Not sure if this was posted or not. Great piece on Bumgarner’s epic game last night.
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/madison-bumgarner-yoenis-cespedes-and-two-extremes/
The Giants really do a great job with scouting reports in the postseason. Especially good job against other teams best players.
Last nights Span attempted steal attempt – out call – appeal – upheld – still bothers me. To quote Matthew: “Why even have replay then”?
About two-three months ago I posted to get rid of the “preponderance” word as in “preponderance of evidence” because this is a baseball game NOT – a court of law. I watched his lead slide leg come in hard to the bag and with contact kept, slide over to the back of his thigh area, meanwhile his bent leg rear foot – piggybacked the front side without any “daylight” occurring. I would say this regardless of who I was rooting for.
So if the call is OUT and the evidence (without having to use ‘preponderance’) shows he was safe, then he should be safe. Somebody is too confused with *Confirmed* – *Overturned* * Upheld* and all the other semantics. Do the right thing. If he is called safe and it shows Out, call him out. If he is called Out and evidence shows Safe, then he is safe.
Flannery said: @TimFlannery2 The System needs fixing. Might as well,”challenge”, then Judge Judy comes out, hears testimony, & yells at both sides.
Preponderance of the evidence is not the standard. It has nothing to do with MLB replay. The actual standard is that, in order to overturn a call, the video evidence has to be “clear and convincing,” which is a much higher burden of proof. Preponderance means more likely than not. If that were the standard, then the Span call would likely have been overturned. Because of the angle, however, I don’t think it was completely clear that Span’s lead leg stayed on the bag until his knee made contact. If it wasn’t clear, then the call can’t be overturned.
So since the game was in NY and the headquarters is in NY – do we gather that there were more camera angles than a normal regular season game?
Flannery “Good Day” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaTC8kmh_OU
I just thought of a headline for the Dalls papers tomorrow with a nod to the brilliance of New York papers:
NOT KING COLE
Whaddaya think?,
Very punny, Bro.
Punter Hence says Yes-siree-Bob
Everybody needs to check out the long haired righty kid out of the Texas pen, Barnette….he is seriously a Cory Gearrin Doppleganger in both looks AND delivery…
An interesting podcast by Statcast on last night’s game. There will be a handful of things you’ve never heard discussed..
http://mlb.mlb.com/fan_forum/podcasts/index.jsp?c_id=mlb&podcast=statcast_podcast&partnerId=as_mlb_20161006_66649986&adbid=784155039208054784&adbpl=tw&adbpr=2565963218
The before and after New York Post Sports covers
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4df591490c38a1c6e172217f8de0a151f3c73d3982efc863bb3d8b6afdc45c15.jpg
It was pretty funny that ultimate cheerleader Tim Ryan got caught calling Mike Purcell “garbage” when he didn’t realize his mic was live.
Love the Jays. Lol this post-season is starting wonderfully.
I got the Indians beating the Red Sox.
I dunno man. The Panda factor….
The Mookie factor.
So you can take the cookie and sti…
Mookie Wilson? That ship sailed, brah…
Does Panda ever make his way back? He had some good postseasons.
Funny how the player making the least but with big hunger hits a money shot.
Ah, the generic player prop is here. What sport, sport?
Article on Koufax. How sabermetrics shaped him (yes it did), his early pitch tipping issues, and to grunt or not to grunt.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/10/sandy-koufax/503036/
Just read that they’ve closed Disney World through tomorrow. That’s huge. Be safe GG.
Whoa – Bauer draws the start in G1 – one of Bapah’s guys along with Juan Perez and Andrew Susac. There’s a king and his court somewhere in there.
I like him because he’s smart. He has an ego I don’t care for, but he has to deal with some pretty stupid people in his line of work. His problem is he gets too amped when he starts and needs to get through an inning or two to settle down. Trouble is…
As for Perez, anybody that didn’t like this kid’s defense in CF just doesn’t know squat about baseball. Andy I just like because I’ve seen him play over several years. He’s a good baseball player and could be a very good hitting catcher. He’s a better one than Trevor and certainly has a much higher upside.
Yo quiero Juanito Perez!!!
Ah the old the kissing defense.
http://m.huffpost.com/ca/entry/12376116
Ok so I now have absolutely no idea how to change my avatar photo…please help…
Go to gravatar.com …. It should walk you thru
Is this the only way to do so now? I tried doing it the old way and it just won’t happen.
That’s how I always do it. You can log into your account and upload as many different images as you like. Then you can easily change it. Takes maybe 10-15 min for it to show up here after a change.
When I try uploading a photo on Disqus after opening the file, it just won’t pop up. Unbelievably frustrating.
I meant Gravatar, not Disqus.
I always changed it on Disqus. And now it’s just impossible. Technology is such a wonderful thing.
Do you save changes and then look to see if the new photo appears in the box the old one was in?
Go to your little name pull down just above “Sort by newest.
Click to open
Go to profile
Go to Avatar, Choose method
download from computer
Open file with pic
Click on pic then open
Once it appears in Avatar
then save
Yes. Everything.
Except save.
Then it occurred to me. I am a freaking moron. And starving.
One thing in my defense. The pic never appeared in the avatar after I clicked open. That’s why I never thought to hit save.
Welllll
Dude I need a sandwich or Chicken Piccatta or something.
Well as the old saying goes, Suede Goats
I’m waiting on my co-engineer to get here to mix an album I started 2 years ago. He played keys, and is a brilliant musician. And certified in Pro Tools. He’s supposed to bring the grub. And he’s late.
It’s how I’ve always done it, by I’m partial to Juan anyway
LOOK AT YOU, tech wizardry at its best
That’ll be quite enough from you, young man. I had a small-ahem-oversight. Now I’m starving. Help me with that, Disqus!!!!
Tomorrow’s lineup: Does last night’s hero get the nod vs the lefty Lester, or is it KT or EA if Nunez can’t go? Any other changes? Bochy used Beckham vs Hill and Kershaw last weekend, but we know that’s not an option. KT instead of Panik? Gorkys instead of Span?
I think the Panik platoon is over. I think Conor gets tomorrow. Just my guess
I think Bochy plays the “same soup” routine. Conor and Joe P. no brainers, Gorkys over Span a tough decision–I think BB leaves Denard in CF.
KT probably more value as a PH. My guy Joltin Joe Jr stays in for defense and stay with the hot and settled in CG. But we shall see.
I think Panik is not a platoon lefty hitter, any more than Belt and Crawford are.
Hope so. Hope Panik starts and stays, and heats up. His walk in the ninth changed the game. CG can handle it. Boch has a seasoned line up.
I agree, but his ABs have not looked good. I vote for Panik, but Kelby could deliver a big hit.
yes, the strong RH lineup — get everyone involved and do what has been successful over the course of the last week. Conor can rest until a RHP comes in. He will be a valuable bat off the bench, if needed. I’m not big on EA, so I would prefer KT at 3rd and Panik at 2nd. But if we have to have EA in there, who knows, he may be the next hero.
Who cares, just play ball.
OK, Mr. GrumpyPants. I think it’s fun to have a roster/lineup to still talk about. 24 hours ago, there was no guarantee we’d be talking about anything except the 2017 team.
I woke at 4:30 thinking about Henry the Fifth’s Band of Brothers speech, Agincourt, and the Giants this morning. I’m a little taciturn about now. 😉
That’s really strange. I woke up thinking about exactly that, except for the part about the Giants.
LOL. Welcome, you Welshman.
It was a beautiful speech. Almost as good as Hunterpence.
(I could see that crazy bastardo (not Antonio) in kilts.)
To those who haven’t seen Branaugh work. Great stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvFHRNGYfuo
Definitely. What we need are more links to articles examining the effect of high winds on the slider, both above and below the equator.
I heard that was totally what sunk Casilla this year. It’s science, people.
I think it was sun spots.
I told you to wear your shades.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qrriKcwvlY
It means Arietta wil be 4-6 inches high in the zone in the 1st inning. It means get him early, my man.
As I mentioned earlier, there is NEVER EVER a question to the Giants organiztion or Bochy regarding Panik or KT.
PANIK IS THE STARTING 2B ON THIS TEAM, PERIOD!
Roster guesses for LDS:
Starting lineup: Span, Belt, Posey, Pence, Crawford, Pagan, Panik, Gillaspie (8)
Starting rotation: Cueto, Shark, Bum, Moore (4)
Bench: Brown, Gorkys, Kelby, Adrianza (if no Nunez), Parker (5)
Bullpen: Romo, Casilla, Law, Strickland, Smith, Lopez, Kontos, Okert (8)
I’m also guessing that if they advance to a NLCS (7-game series), they’ll swap in Blach or Suarez–definitely Blach if it’s the Dodgers.
OK, 49ers: national audience, good sports karma in the Bay Area, AZ struggling–good place for “rise up” win. OK, at least play a good game.
Color splash unis’? 90% yes. Gross. But have seen worse.
Hate these unis. Same as they wore for one game last year. These Thursday night monochromatic themes: dumb. Especially given our classic, long standing red, gold and white.
“Absolutely no talent” trumps “good sports karma” in the National….Football ….League
Mini toilet bowl game?
Blane Gabbert: who we thought he was
Word. Others, too.
Here comes top five draft position next year…maybe worse.
That doesn’t help if Baalke makes the pick,
or if the owner’s son can’t stop meddling with stuff he knows next to nothing about
Though the black uni’s seem to make the team look faster.
* Conor hasn’t hit lefties well at all this year, or ever. But seeing as he’s played good defense of late, I don’t see him sitting for KT or EA.
*Gorkys or Blanco? Bochy is a sentimental guy- I think he’ll go with Gregor unless there’s still concern about his shoulder Tough call.
*Panik, KT-the only question is Game One. Another tough call- sound of coin flipping in the background- KT in game 1.
*Not much more intrigue.What we’ve been seeing is what we’ll get- and why the hell not?
I think Gorkys is a done deal and that it’s Blanco vs Parker for a spot. I’d go with Blanco for speed and defense, but Bochy did have Parker ready to pinch-hit last night, so that MIGHT be a clue (but might not, too).
Question- WC roster seemed fine, is there a compelling reason to change it?
Usually in a WC game, you have every available position player and a couple fewer pitchers, since it’s just one game. Also, Moore wasn’t on the WC roster, and I’m guessing you’d want him. 🙂
Yes
Not really.
Michael Scott’s Game # 4 starter – Javier Lopez!
It was just a trial softball toss. Good news- you passed!
I think we will see platooning in CF and 3rd. Gorkys and Nunez.
There is NEVER EVER a question of Panik or KT.
Panik is the starting 2B on this team through thick and thin.
PANIK
“There is NEVER EVER a question of Panik or KT.”
Bochy used KT at 2nd against lefties 6 times in September, including against Hill in the Dodgers series.
You may be right about today’s game but get your facts straight- you seem to have problems with that.
.
You may be right that at times I post without checking my facts as you call them, but I know baseball.
Joe Panik is the Giants 2B, he is their best option in critical games, and the post season they are all critical. Knowing baseball, you shoud understand that starters need rest during the season, they all look flat time to time.
And you may like KT, which is cool. But no Michael, it is never a question, barring injury, at this time of the year who will or should start at 2B. KT is a backup, a roll bench player, this is not a platoon system going on here.
Best postseason HRs, from 2010 through last night? Here’s my list, considering various factors such as whether it was a walkoff, an elimination game, etc.
1. Edgar Renteria (2010, World Series Game 5). Because it just is.
2. Travis Ishikawa (2014, NLCS Game 5). Because it won a pennant in Bobby Thomson style.
3. Buster Posey (2012, NLDS Game 5). Because it was an elimination game AND off Latos.
4. Juan Uribe (2010, NLCS, Game 6). Because it won a pennant.
5. Conor Gillaspie (2016, Wild Card Game). Because it was in the ninth inning of a scoreless elimination game.
6. Brandon Crawford (2014, Wild Card Game). Because it ended an elimination game in the fourth inning.
7. Pablo Sandoval (2012, World Series, Game 1). Because it broke the Tigers and Justin Verlander.
8. Cody Ross (2010, Game 1, NLCS). Because it broke the Phillies and Doc Halladay.
9. Brandon Belt (2014, NLDS, Game 2). Because it ended an 18-inning marathon and turned a series.
#7 Give Pablo 3 on that one.
And two for Cody on #8
Your gargantuan memory, and incredible Gigantes’ freaky history – are making me feel guilty. A surfeit of success. It’s too much. It’s not to be believed.
This cannot continue. No way. Nunca. Niente.
BELIEVEN!!!
Honorable Mentions:
–Michael Morse, 2014 NLCS Game 5–tied the game that won the pennant
–Hunter Pence, 2014 World Series, Game 1–gave Bum all the runs he’d need
–Angel Pagan, 2012 NLCS, Game 4 (led off an elimination game)
–Aubrey Huff, 2010 World Series, Game 4–gave Bum all the runs he’d need
Yeah, I was gonna throw in Huff’s, because like you said–it put Bum in charge. Also because it was a majestic moon shot.
Morse has to be on your first list.
I was being somewhat selective. You have to have Ishikawa’s HR because it was a walk-off and it won a pennant. But the Giants were in the driver’s seat in that series, up 3-1. So Morse’s homer, while very memorable, wasn’t quite as do-or-die as the others on the list.
It might not have been do, but it might have been die!
Yeah, that makes sense. I just remember thinking “we lose this game and go back to St. Louis it’s 2012 reverse deja vu. When Morse tied it, I felt in my heart we would win.
How about Buster vs. Tigers?